| 1971 (2006 rebuild) Dearborn Automobile Co. / Autodynamics Mid-Engine Deserter GS/GT Sports Car, Serial #710320 1560 lbs. / 270+ hp Presented here to stimulate the senses of serious auto enthusiasts. Please Note: A quick look at this page will not let you understand what this car is all about. Dive into the details and you will see that this is a serious, well built and unique car. Built in 2006 by Mike Ragonese 508-326-4491 mragonese@comcast.net |
| The bare frame weighed 145 lbs. It was widened in the front to grab the front end further out at the ends of the torsion tubes to increase the stiffness of the front end especially about the central axis. The overall torsional rigidity of the car was greatly increased by bonding high strength aluminum to the frame using structural adhesive combined with hundreds of structural stainless steel rivets, forming an aerodynamic, rigid, semi-monocoque structural chassis. Most of the aluminum-to-aluminum joints were done with aircraft style hammered hard rivets. The body was bonded and riveted to the chassis. The result is a very tight car. |
| FIT and FINISH |
| IMPROVEMENTS FOR 2007 1) Fabricated convertible Sunbrella top with stainless steel tubular support framework, hinged/opening/removable side doors/windows and removable rear window. 2) Removed 1-1/2 quart oil sump from bottom of engine and changed the oil pump to a 4-gear dry sump pump and added an aluminum oil tank. System now uses 7-1/2 quarts of oil. 3) Larger oil pump necessitated changing the crankshaft pulley to a 6” pulley with rear spacers plus machining of the back of the pulley to clear the pump. Changed the alternator pulley to a smaller diameter Porsche 356 pulley to bring the engine cooling fan and alternator back up to speed. 4) Pulled engine and transaxle to change the 3rd and 4th gear sets to taller gearing to provide better upper end performance. 5) Fabricated various custom aluminum exhaust pipe heat shields. 6) Replaced plastic seat belt grommets with custom machined aluminum ones. 7) Changed 3” single exhaust pipe from outlet of turbo to a 3” into four 1- 5/8” center/rear mounted pipes. 8) Inverted oil cooler core to put fan on bottom to increase the air flow into the oil cooler box. 9) Deleted engine lid front latches and added four hood pins to more securely hold down the engine lid 10) Added VDO quartz clock. |
| IMPROVEMENTS FOR 2008 1) The seats were removed and widened 1” for better driver/passenger fit. Layers of memory foam were added to improve comfort, lumbar support, and thigh support. 2) Two 15” long, finned, extruded aluminum transmission oil coolers were added and plumbed with braided lines and aluminum fittings. The transmission oil (now with two additional quarts) is circulated through the transmission and coolers by a Tilton pump controlled by a thermostatic switch where the oil is drawn from the transmission. A Trans. Temp gauge was added to the dash with an LED indicator light to show when the pump is running. 3) A cable-actuated remote control to open/close the dry sump oil tank ball valve was added to the interior of the car to prevent drain-back of the oil into the engine case when the car is not run for a while. A piezo alarm, mounted next to the open/close-knob is attached to the cable and sounds until the valve is opened. 4) The oil tank was wrapped with a 120V oil preheat wrap to bring the oil up to temperature if desired before running in colder weather. 5) The rear brakes master cylinder was changed from a 5/8” bore cylinder to a ¾” bore cylinder for improved front/rear brake balance. The entire brake and clutch systems were pressure bled/flushed with new fluid. 6) A VW tow bar was modified to fit the car and a wiring harness was tapped into the electrical system for rear lighting control by plugging into any standard towing connector so the car can be flat-towed whenever desired or necessary. The GS end of the harness plugs into a covered connector mounted at the front of the car. 7) Additional custom heat shields and shielding wraps were added to some components that were seeing a lot of engine exhaust heat. |
| IMPROVEMENTS FOR 2009 AND BEYOND 1) Fabricated custom aluminum front brake backing plates with custom fiberglass brake cooling ducts. 2) Modified the Sparco racing seats to be more old-school style. Removed the high backs, trimmed down the side bolsters and then rebuilt the rolled edges. Re-worked the foam cushioning and re-upholstered them with “glazed antique” black cowhide with tuck-and-roll center panels. 3) Shortened rear view mirror-stem by1-1/4” to improve forward visibility. 4) Fabricated custom chrome-moly front tow rings. 5) Changed to MSD Billet Distributor with customizable advanced curve. 6) Changed coil to MSD High-Vibration-Resistant 45,000 volt coil. 7) Changed spark plug wires to MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Posi-Lock Wires. Installed new sparkplugs with .040 gaps. 8) Added MSD 15 Degree Base Timing Control Unit with adjustment knob near shifter. 9) Changed fan shroud to one without the heater duct outlets and changed the color from black to red. Modified the shroud to accept original style thermostat controlled “shutter boxes” with original style bellows-type thermostat. Modified thermostat bracket to clear shift rod. 10) Added modified portions of Super-Cooling-Tins under the front and rear edges of the main/top cylinder cooling tins to direct cooling air down under the heads and cylinders. 11) Relocated the engine oil filter for easier and quicker access for filter changes. 12) Deleted oil dipstick. Not needed with dry-sump system. 13) Reworked and renewed heat insulation materials as needed. 14) Replaced plastic oil-fill cap with machined metal cap painted with wrinkle-red coating. 15) Painted carburetor pressure-hats with wrinkle-red coating. 16) Installed LED flexible gooseneck map light. 17) Installed custom muffler inserts in the four pipes to tone down the muffler-less system. Held by cotter-pins, they’re removable. |
| ENGINE; Built by award winning engine builder Pat Downs of CB Performance, it is a 2332cc VW Type-1 air- cooled horizontally opposed four cylinder, dynoed at 270 HP at 10 psi of boost, now running 12 psi of boost (Capable of approx 330 HP at 15 psi but not on pump fuel). Aluminum Super Race Case. 84mm stroke, 2” Chevy journal nitrided crankshaft with 5.5”chromoly H- beam race rods with ARP2000 bolts. 94mm Forged Mahle pistons and cylinders. Teflon wrist pin buttons. CNC ported Wedge Port heads with dual springs on 44mm x 37.5mm stainless valves with 7 degree locks and chromoly retainers. .040x94 mm copper head gaskets. 1.1:1 ratio rockers with swivel feet adjusters and chromoly shafts. T04 turbo blowing through dual turbo-modified Weber 44IDF carburetors. CB Perf. wastegate. Turbosmart blow-off valve. CB Perf. #2242 camshaft with 252 duration @.050, .390 lift @ cam. Chromoly straight cut cam gears. Chromoly 10mm head studs. Chromoly flywheel gland nut. Lightweight racing lifters. 7.5 qt.dry sump oil system. Chromoly 12.5 lb. Flywheel. Stage 3 Kennedy pressure plate with Daycon 200mm Super Disc. 36HP fan shroud with doghouse cooler and complete factory thermostat and flapper system. Additional external fan cooled cooler. MSD magnetic pickup billet distributor, MSD Blaster coil and 8.5mm plug/coil wires. 6” Billet sand-seal crank pulley machined to clear dry-sump pump. Smaller Porsche 356 alternator pulley to bring the alternator and cooling fan back to normal operating speeds. A considerable amount of effort and money was spent on heat isolation, control and shielding. |
| "Hearing this motor scream above 6,000 rpm right behind you, as it thrusts the car through the gears to 60mph in 4.6 seconds, on its way up to 125mph with the current gearing, is something that will really get your heart pumping. To have the same motor pull strong while cruising back roads comfortably all day long at 2200rpm is equally amazing." Mike Ragonese |
| Kit Car Builder covered the 40th Anniversary of Dearborn Auto and the Deserter in 2007. The car won 1st place at that show. |
| With Alex Dearborn who was the founder of Dearborn Auto and creator of the Deserter. Alex also raced the Deserter. |
| With Reeves Callaway who was the sales manager at Dearborn auto. Reeves also raced Deserters. |
| INTERESTING and IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW Because this is a one-off version of a car you perhaps have never seen before, you should read and understand all of the information contained on this web page to get a good grasp of the serious amounts of engineering, innovation, time and money that were invested to build this car. Then you will appreciate its value. The car is lightweight, powerful, well balanced and really fun to drive. The attention to build quality and the many serious and unique features and construction methods are evident upon close inspection. Some of the primary objectives from the beginning were light weight, power, handling, durability and longevity. The mid-engine configuration, turbo system blowing through dual modified 44mm Weber carburetors, dry-sump oil system, etc. make for a somewhat more complex car that deserves an owner (or owner's mechanic) with a higher (Porsche level) degree of mechanical knowledge and appreciation. The car is driven whenever possible (with about 14,000 miles on it now) and it has been very well sorted out. Passengers frequently comment about how tight the car sounds and feels. The car has always been given proper respect, care and maintenance. It is kept in a climate controlled garage and driven only on clean roads in dry weather. To preserve the car as best as is possible, water has never been used to clean the car. Cleaning has always been done by hand using micro-fiber rags with appropriate cleaners. The only time this car was launched hard was to get the 0-60mph times. With the current gearing, it tops out around 125mph. With your rear end only several inches from the ground and the motor screaming about a foot from your head, 125mph is quite an experience. As it is only driven by the owner/builder it is always driven properly and every minute the car runs it is being analyzed to see if it can be improved. The engine loves to run between 2,500 and 5,000 rpm with the best max. shift-point at 6500 rpm (the motor will keep pulling beyond that because of the turbo). Good amounts of torque permit the car to lug around in fourth gear at 1,500-2,000 rpm without a problem. The motor is both very flexible and strong which is what makes it amazing. It is run with Mobil One V-Twin 20W-50 Synthetic Cycle Oil which is designed for hot-running air-cooled motors. It contains high levels of ZDDP for better wear resistance. Much experimentation has shown this oil to be best in this motor for heat control and resistance to breakdown. The seats are very comfortable. I am 6 ft. tall, 205 lbs, with size 13 feet and I fit comfortably. Much larger drivers may not fit well. Getting in and out of the car with the roof on is a challenge that requires flexibility. The seats tilt forward or come out by removing two pins but since the cockpit is small, they are not adjustable fore and aft. The gas pedal is adjustable fore and aft about 3 inches. There is storage in the front of the tilt nose and in both weather-sealed opening side pods. Two 3" fans in the engine bay can be used to push engine compartment heat into the cockpit for extending the driving season. The amount of attention this car gets surpasses how it was in the Cobra replica I built before this car. Nobody knows what it is but everyone loves it. It has won First Place at many car shows, including Best Of Show and Best Engine. The car is located, titled, registered and insured in Massachusetts. Call or e-mail Mike Ragonese for additional information or photos or if you have an interest in buying the car, at 508-326-4491 or mragonese@comcast.net There are many more small details that are not shown in the pictures here. Thanks, Mike R. Note that although many of the pictures shown are current, not all of the pictures represent the car exactly as it sits today as many changes/improvements were made every year as noted. Most notably would be the seats that are leather now as shown in some of the pictures, the engine sheet metal is now trimmed in red with wrinkle red on the carburetor pressure hats, recently added tinted plexiglass sun visors, etc. |
| SPECIFICATIONS DESERTER GS/GT OWNER/BUILDER; Mike Ragonese, MA, USA, 508-326-4491, magonese@comcast.net BUILD TIME; 1-1/2 years. Completed July, 2006 BODY; The body is an original that was in very rough shape. It was originally ordered to be built thin because it was raced and not registered for the street. It required huge amounts of re-work. I ground the entire underside clean, removing the fiberglass that was sprayed dry and also puddles of excess resin from the chopper gun. Then the bottom was re- covered with new layers of hand-laid fiberglass matte with the resin tinted black. On the top I ground off all old paint, putty, bondo and original gel-coat down to the raw fiberglass. I cut, pulled, patched, sectioned, and then re-covered the entire surface with new layers of hand-laid fiberglass matte. I then covered and smoothed the entire body with an epoxy resin/fairing compound mix, re-defining the body lines and doing a lot of sanding and then finishing putty and more sanding, eventually coating with basecoat/clearcoat Ferrari Rosso Corsa Red paint. The original fiberglass interior tub/liner was deleted. The front spoiler lip is aluminum with rolled edges. CHASSIS; Built from 1-½“ square and round tubing, it replicates the original from the roll bar back but the front was improved by adding additional top tubes and widening the frame to grab the torsion tubes of the front end out by the shock towers rather than at the center. A cross bar was added to the roll bar for additional strength and seat belt attachment. The desired chassis strength was obtained by skinning the frame with high strength aluminum sheets attached with structural adhesive and hundreds of structural stainless steel rivets and hammered aluminum hard rivets forming a true semi- monocoque chassis. The center tunnel, with removable top, is structural and contains all plumbing, electrical, and cable systems that run from front to rear. INTERIOR; Custom modified Sparco fiberglass-shell racing seats covered with Glazed Antique Black supple leather, ¼” thick Brazilian Rosewood dash face and tunnel top accent, black ostrich hide (vinyl) upper dash top, glove box with hood latch release, interior lights in footwells, VDO and ISS Pro instrumentation, Momo leather covered steering wheel, pill-controlled shift light, front/rear brake-bias adjustment knob, pull-cable activated Halon fire suppression system, MSD boost-responsive timing control and base timing control knobs on console, remote cable-controlled anti-drain-back oil tank valve, Simpson racing seat belts, no carpet etc. to keep weight to a minimum, removable cockpit/engine bay partition. FRONT SUSPENSION/STEERING; VW Type-1 ball joint height-adjustable front end assembly with torsion leaves, Bilstein gas shocks, 2-½” dropped spindles, Saco centerload rack and pinion billet aluminum steering box with equal length aluminum tie rods with outer ends moved to the bottoms of the steering arms to minimize bump-steer, hydraulic steering stabilizer. Borgeson stainless steel steering shaft and u-joints attached to shortened late model VW steering column head. |
SPECIFICATIONS cont. REAR SUSPENSION; Transaxle swing-axles are connected to adjustable custom radius arms. Coilover Carrera shocks with 10”, 300 lb., 2-1/4” springs support the car. Travel limiting straps prevent full drop of the axles. BRAKES/CLUTCH; CNC hydraulic brake and clutch pedal assemblies with dual braking cylinders, 2 lb. residual pressure valves, brake pedal front/rear bias adjustment knob on dash, stainless steel brake and clutch lines, 4-wheel disc brakes with drilled rotors, console emergency brake, Hurst line-lock/roll control solenoid for front brakes with switch on shifter, custom aluminum front brake backing plates with integral epoxy/fiberglass-cloth cooling ducts. TIRES/WHEELS; Yokohama AVS ES 100 tires on American Racing Torq-Thrust aluminum wheels with 5 x 4.75“ bolt pattern. 195/50 VR15 on 15 x 6 wheels on the front and 245/50 WR16 on 16 x8 wheels on the back. ENGINE; Listed above. TRANSMISSION; Rancho built Pro-Mid Type 1 with 3.88 R&P, 3.10 / 1.93 / 1.21 / .82 gears, Super Diff, HD side covers, Gusseted case, Sway-Away axles, welded synchro hubs, HD clutch cross shaft, powder coated case, twin extruded aluminum finned Derale 15” transmission oil coolers (2 qts. oil added to capacity) with transmission oil circulated by Tilton pump tied to thermal switch on bottom of transmission. Pump indicator light over Trans. Temp gauge. Solid mounts at bell-housing, tail cone and at mid-case joint plus at the front of the engine. FUEL SYSTEM; Custom removable aluminum fuel tank (approx. 11 gallons) with quick- disconnect feed and return line fittings, rotary electric fuel pump, aluminum-body Canton/Mecca 1-micron fuel filter assembly, turbo-boost controlled fuel pressure regulator with return line. LUBRICATION SYSTEM; Seven qt. aluminum oil tank feeding dry sump oil pump intake. Outlet feeds to remote full flow oil filter, through (or back from) remote oil thermostat, to Derale 14-pass fan-cooled oil cooler, back to tank. All braided stainless lines and anodized aluminum AN fittings. OTHER SPECS; Car weighs 1560 lbs. Split 41.5% Front / 58.5% Rear. Car was clocked electronically and did 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds with an amateur driver. A considerable amount of effort and money was spent on heat control/shielding. To extend the Fall driving season out to the first snowfall, a custom Sunbrella top was constructed utilizing a stainless steel small diameter tubular framework, removable rear window and removable side windows/doors. Two 3-speed 3” fans pull heat from the engine bay into the cockpit and can be reversed in the Summer to blow cool air into the engine bay. |
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