Craig Burleigh

Email: craigburleigh@optusnet.com.au
Town & State: Melbourne Australia

Type of car: Diable SE30 Jota
Body: Manufacturer yet to be decided
Chassis: Square Tube space fram chassis
Engine: BMW M70 five litre V12
Transmission: Porsche G50 five speed
Starting Date: Jan 2002
Projected Finished Date: 2005

A bit about Sharon and myself to start with and then a brief update on where the project is at.

This is Sharon and myself, we are both 40-mumble years old and just loving life. Both of us are car enthusiasts and so the move to build a Diablo Replica is very much a team effort. We have recently moved country and thus setting up home, workshop jobs etc has taken a little while, but we are now looking forward to getting the Diablo project back on the road. The project was started back in New Zealand which is where it still resides while we have moved across the Tasman to Australia. Back in NZ we were members of a very well organised car constructors club for several years. If you have a moment have a look at their web site Constructors Car Club. They offer support and advise much as your site does, but they also have members trained in certifying vehicles and can assist in getting cars through all the red tape required to get them on the road in New Zealand. The club held a car show recently where some 50 of the members cars were on display. In think the club is some 250 strong now and we miss going to the club meetings and the support of so many enthusiastic car builders, but advise is still just an email away, and in the mean time we are looking for a club here as we have no local knowledge of what companies are in the area for those jobs that only a professional has the equipment to tackle.

As far as cars go, we both have our passions, I am a died in the wool Lamborghini fan, and Sharon has a thing for Corvette’s. My initial training was in mechanical engineering and in my younger years I spent a lot of time working on a string of cars, both road and Race. In latter years I have been in the IT industry, and although still keen on cars they took a back seat to the other usual aspects of life.

A couple of years back I briefly had a Countach replica that was a stunning car to look at, but sadly didn’t go as well as it should have. This was no fault of the kit manufacturer, as they had supplied all the right parts, but those who built the kit used a very odd rear suspension setup that never worked well and would have been very difficult to have replaced once the car was finished.

The car was stunning though and it was enough to wet the appetite for a properly completed car with the handling and power that such a car should posses.

Thus our decision to build a Diablo.

But which one. For me it had to be the SE30 Jota. Very few were produced, but I like the lines and fact that it was an anniversary model. I also know from experience with the Countach that cooling can be a problem on these mid engined cars, so with that in mind, I opted for the Jota version as it gives me greater scope to duct air into and out of the engine bay. This is even more important here in Australia as the temperature is far higher and has hit the mid 40s regularly this summer.

So where are we up to.
Well I have the engine. It is an M70 BMW V12.

I had it checked over and everything was fine except the oil seals on the tops of the valves needed to be replaced.

This done the engine was purchased with all accessories and wiring so that I had all the required plugs and brackets.

The Chassis development has been done and although I don’t have any pictures that I have taken myself, It is very similar to those used in the Countach kit, which I do have a picture of

.The next stage is to select a body shell from one of the suppliers and get it shipped to New Zealand. Given the cost of doing this from the far side of the world, I am taking it slowly and checking out the companies involved carefully before parting with any money. It tandem with that The G50 is about to go to the engineering shop to get the adapter plate made to mount it to the V12. I have tried to find a manufacturer who has these in stock, but so far no luck. In my first email I mentioned that I had a Porsche clutch on its way, Well it never arrived and all attempts to contact the seller has fallen flat. Morel of the story, is be very careful about things purchased from individuals on Ebay. The matter is currently with the VISA people but I am not holding my breath. Life is full of little lessons, and this was just one of them. ?

So that is about it, I hope to sort out which body shell I will be using in the next month or so, and by the time the project is ready to be shipped from New Zealand, I hope to have extended the Garage to accommodate two cars and my workshop.