What will the conversion take?

[Kalstar]

Anyone know what is needed to turn a 818 street car into the race version? I know there is welding in new supports but what else it there? I have a chance to purchase an 818 but I do not want a street car.

Thank you for the input.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Anyone know what is needed to turn a 818 street car into the race version? I know there is welding in new supports but what else it there? I have a chance to purchase an 818 but I do not want a street car.

Thank you for the input.

Kalstar,
Great to see you back here.
90% of the difference between the 818S to the 818R has to do with a much stronger cockpit.
The 818R has significant side impact protection compared to the 818S. The R also has a higher roll hoop and also has a front hoop. See the picture below.
The 818R also came with better shocks. Setup is different. Safety equipment like seats, harness, fire equipment, and fuel-cell is all on you.
Bob

Here is a link to the 818R supplemental manual https://1drv.ms/b/s!AgduxxAs3q-xhCZZb_9AC2PG3rLy?e=oHCGyE



https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=143870&d=1615077305

[Kalstar]

Thank you Bob. Another question, is it possible to retrofit the cockpit reinforcements?

Still have the GTM, added a cobra a few years back too.

[wallace18]

A good fabricator can take the above picture and retrofit it to the street chassis. The street chassis has the R suspension pick up points so that is just using the correct holes for the suspension. Good to have you on the forum again. I am up to 15 FFR kits. See what you started, LOL.

[Kalstar]

I feel honored by both of your sentiments. Thank you for the kind words.

[Hobby Racer]

If you go to the photo galleries on the FFR web site they have detailed, high resolution pics of both the 818S and 818R frames to aid in your transformation.

[Santiago]

You might also take the opportunity to do the sides with "NASCAR" style bars to give yourself a bit more elbow room (literally). If I had a say with FFR (they don't listen to me), that's one of a small handful of changes I'd make in the R-car version.

The taller hoop should be pretty straightforward - it ties into the front with more reinforcement as well. Any shop that's done cage work shouldn't have trouble with it.

[Sgt.Gator]

Agree with the above. As long as you are making the mods:

The NASCAR Door Bars are worth it for both safety and elbow room. I didn't do that but really wish I had.
The standard R main hoop (rollbar) is not high enough to pass the broomstick test for taller drivers. You will either need to make it taller (Bob n Cincy) or do a full halo (me). I literally cannot drive Retro Racing's R, because I'm not even close to passing the broomstick test at conference races. But Retro's team can drive mine.
The S bar is way too short for almost any driver.

The hoop to frame junction should be filled in or reinforced. There are several ways of doing that in various build threads.

Mod the top of the engine bay supports so you can remove them to get the engine/tranny out much more easily. There are several ways of doing that in various build threads.

You will want to drop the transmission tail, which requires frame mods. See my build thread and/or this one in the R forum:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?36455-Track-and-Post-your-Tranny-Temps-with-IR-Thermometer-or-a-Gauge

and here:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?26054-Gator-s-818R&p=417204&viewfull=1#post417204

There are so many mods to the R that it probably doesn't matter if you start with R or an S. Whichever you can get the best deal on. Great to have another track R in the works!