2025 Project Competition Runner-Up: Rupert

Congratulations to Rupert Rodrigues, the 2024 Project Competition Runner-Up, on his under-2-litre Toyota MR2 Sports Sedan race car with a tubular space frame chassis.

Using hollow bar and CDS tube, Rupert built a steering column bearing holder, suspension bell cranks for pushrods and suspension wishbone and toe links.

The inspiration

From an early age, Rupert has loved cars and has been involved in the modified racing scene for some time.

“I’ve grown up around racecars and motorsport, and now I work in sales in the auto industry, specialising in fuel injection components,” Rupert explains.

I got involved in racing when I was much younger, and this kind of car racing allows for a lot of modifications. I did a bit of club racing and ended up racing at the state level in my modified Datsun 1600.

You just have to work within a set of racing regulations as far as the dimensions of the car. As long as it looks like the car from the outside and meets the dimensions, then you can do what you like within the car.

I started off doing a lot of performance-based modifications on cars, but these were minimal, buy-off-the-shelf modifications.

Although I don’t have any formal training in fabrication or metalwork, I have learned many skills over the years, but I’ve never built anything like this before.

I have had to learn a lot, like teaching myself how to weld.

I haven’t raced in years, but I’m determined to get this finished and get this out there to race

The process

The current car is a tubular frame chassis that will be in the under 2L sports sedan class.

“When I got the car, the roll cage was already built, but a lot of work has gone into it since then. I’ve been working on this project most weekends for the last 2 years or so,” Rupert explains.

“In terms of the design process, I used AutoCAD Fusion 360 for the suspension, as well as another software program called SusProg 3D. This enabled me to design the suspension with some objectives in mind and find the right pick-up points,”

Using design software is helpful, but because I don’t do this all the time it is a very laborious project.

I bought CDS tubular steel to fabricate the suspension links, and as I’m new to welding, it could take multiple welds before I was happy with it.

For the ends of these, I needed to mount a universal joint or a rod end, also known as a racing helm joint. Then, I welded on a ferrule, which is a threaded section of steel. I have a hobby lathe at home, so I’ve taught myself to turn up parts and fabricate. I fabricated these myself so I could weld them to the suspension links.

Accuracy is crucial, so having everything exactly as needed was the biggest challenge. A lot of time is spent measuring and checking all the parts to ensure they are right.

I selected hollow bar and CDS tube for the strength-to-weight ratio. Because the engine has a capacity under 2L, I’m trying to make the car as light as possible, so the strength-to-weight ratio is very important.

Long-time customer

“I’m based in Melbourne, so I found Edcon Steel online,” Rupert explains.

“Some companies in Melbourne had steel, but none had the right materials for my needs.

Edcon had a wider range of products and certainly an easier online platform to use. Everything is easy to find, and the times that I’ve needed a quote, the response time has been amazing.

I don’t have time to run around looking for steel, so the online store just made it so easy. I can order, have the materials custom cut, and have everything delivered so quickly. The custom cutting is amazing because it saves so much time and money on delivery.

The thing that impresses me most is that even though I have had relatively small orders, the response time has been incredible. Each order was treated like a priority, and it wasn’t pushed aside for a bigger order.

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