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Aussie Invader 5R
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The Build

 The Construction of Aussie Invader 5R
This is probably the most anticipated page on the Aussie Invader website. Theory is great and very necessary, but no land speed records are going to be broken unless we can translate ideas from the drawing board to the physical. This page is a pictorial history of that journey.

Aussie Invader 5R has been 10 years in the planning, but actual construction started in late May 2009, with the delivery of the rollover stand from Park Motor Body Builders and the chassis (mainframe) arriving in early June 2009. Click on each image to see a larger version.
 Mar 2010 - May 2010
Putting the mock nose on really gives the car some shape and allows us to work with something physical Another angle of the car with the mock nose. The car is over 16m ( 52ft) with this in place A temporary canopy frame was made in steel to work out the hinge arrangements before the proper mould was made The framework in place to start making the canopy "plug" to take the mould from Final creation and fitting of canopy "plug" supports from one of the Aussie Invader team craftsmen
Pete Taylor the Team Manager, put the final touches to the canopy "plug" A view of the canopy "plug" strapped in place before going to the spoiler factory Recent interview about the progress of Aussie Invader for a TV documentary Pete Taylor and Rosco discussing the new front suspension set up, before major work starts on this New front suspension set up under construction
 
 Dec 2009 - Feb 2010
Using a forklift and a purpose built piece of equipment to turn the car over. Over 30 frames all need to be lined up perfectly on the underside on the inverted car. Pete Taylor carefully lining up the frames ready for welding The car inverted, the underbelly frames being welded in place by Sean Patterson Brian Cailes welding the rear axle box in place.
Rear axle box welded in place with the Nitrogen lines clearly seen Frames in place with some of the rocketry piping offered up to see it all fits correctly. Starting to come together, ready for another film shoot. The legth of the car and the large amount of frames is clearly seen in this shot. The new temporary nose under construction. This will give us room to experiment with wheel and steering clearances, etc.
 
 Sep 2009 - Nov 2009
Top hat section assembled ready to offer up to mainframe The 11 top hat section installed ready for preliminary welding. Rear view of top hat section ready for welding Side view of the 11 top hat sections in place The great guys at LF Performance with Rosco, handing over the rollcage
Rosco with the start of the assembly of the rear axle housing Rosco with the rollcage prior to forst fitting. The rollcage will not be welding in place until all ancillaries are in place. Rosco with rollcage What becomes apparent in this shot, is the length of the car. The rollcage is installed for fitting and to mark up the bulkheads for drilling. This will in and out several times before final being welded in.
  
 Jun 2009 - Aug 2009
Rollover stand built by Nick Di Nella from Park Motor Body Builders Seen from a different angle. The rollover stand, allows for the chassis to be rotated 360 degrees to work on. The mainframe (chassis) of Aussie Invader 5R - weight is 2.5 tons Drill support housing for the jig. It can move up and down the length of the mainframe and allows precision drilling How do you build a 50' long rocket car with a limited budget and all the following prerequisites? Maximum safety, Minimum chassis flex, Simple in construction & Extremely strong - The answer is simple, a 40' (12m) long high grade steel pipe
A series of bulkheads along the length of the mainframe separating oxidiser, pressure vessels and fuel from the driver and adds further stiffness and strength. Some of the bulkheads are fixed and some removable. You can see this one has a lip on it. This is in case of an explosion the lip expands and hopefully limits movement Rosco on the tools, cutting out the drivers cockpit, where he will be sitting Job done! cutout removed This is the start of precisely cutting out the drivers area, ready for the rollcage, being made by L F Performance
The start of the rear axle. This has to be super strong as the car will weight 8 tons fully fuelled and in extreme circumstances weights of 50 tons could be exerted on each wheel Rosco with the preliminary rear axle assembly Aussie Iinvader - several parts on the car were 'mocked up' to give shape to the car. We are getting a lot of media interest and wanted maximum appeal Peter Taylor (Team Manager) and Rosco after another day of hard work Rear view of car with mocked up "top hat" section. This does serve a genuine purpose, of allowing parts to be offered up before being finally made.
 

Aussie Invader 5R - Australia's World Land Speed Record Challenge Contender with Rosco McGlashan. Go to HOME PAGE