We will not start machining untill all the castings are made.We have an original crankshaft.

start today , I would love to see your 251 on the road driving .

As there are no drawings for this type of Bugatti,we will wait until we have all the castings so that we can work out the machining details.Single seater Racing cars do not get used on the road in my part of europe.

you can do it with trade plates .

I would imagine that it would be far more interesting development wise
and sensible to use a circuite...and safer
why the rush ?

every time I had a racing car ready , like for example Austin Healey 280 hp . Trade plates and - german autobahn . Lots of fun und the best test road

I am afraid I have always done this as a job.So fun is not really a consideration.I live 17 KMs from the french racing circuit Val de Vienne,and my ex next door neighbour's nephew is the manager there......I am therefore well placed to test cars as necessary.Road cars get both road and track tests.There is however no excuse whatever to drive an illegal single seater racing car on the road.

No offence Lazarus, I think your project is brilliant!

But still, shouldn't this topic be in the "Replica" section?

No.

If this were simply another T35B [yawn] replica then I would agree with you.The T251 project was however for me the most interesting story to come out of Molsheim.The worlds greatest engineer Colombo,with all the experience and skills available at the Bugatti works.As well a a very large sum of money,and yet the car only managed 17 laps of Rheims.I wanted to know why this car which promised so much should deliver so little.Using Colombos original drawings and the Bugatti factory's wooden patterns,we have made a third car.A "mule" like the first.It may never get a body as it is the handling that we are investigating.Unless it becomes obvious that aerodynamics were a contributing cause of the poor handling.It may then have to get bodied [Stirling Moss recently told me that he felt that the aerodynamices were probably the problem].Several sources agree that the engine ran all day on the testbed at up to 10.000 RPM without problems or issues.Likewise there is no criticism of gearbox or differential.The disc brakes were removed after testing at Rolands request as he had no confidence in them.The designer however says that they worked perfectly.I have never been happy with the end of the Bugatti story.So as far as this project is concerned it is still THE T251 project and as changes will be made to any area considered to be responsible for the original problems it cannot be considered a replica.

if you call it original or replica , get it ready ! We all want to see it driving .