Track Car Project Thread - Eventually

[arch]

Well its been quite a while since I updated the thread mainly due to the amount of hours I have spent on the car over the last 2 months.

I have made good progress with the car and sorted out a lot of the issues that were holding me up. That said I have found more and sometimes it feels like you solve one problem and find 4 new ones.

The first issue that was a real problem was the gearbox to diff gearing. I have fitted a rear R180 3.9 diff but in order to mate this with my gearbox I needed to change the 1:1.1 drop gears to a 1:1 ratio. Should have been pretty straight forward pick up a set of 754 1:1 drop gears swap them over job done. Well not so simple. I managed to pick up some 1:1 754 and 752 drop gears from Ali Burrows Motorport ( http://www.aliburrowsmotorsport.com/ ). Cant recommend these guys highly enough, dealt with Ali myself and he is a cracking guy and very helpful.

The problem is that there are two different types of 754 drop gears some use a normal bearing and some use a taper bearing and surprisingly enough I needed the taper bearing type and could only source the normal bearing type.

The only fix open as a quick option was to use a set of 752 drop gears and a 752 rear tail casing, this is not detrimental in any way just a little more work. so once done got the gear box back in and could concentrate on sorting out the inlet manifold and engine ancilliries.

The next task was to cut out the holes for the intercooler pipework and start thinking about the routing of the pipework. I made the cuts in the inner wing areas to bring the pipes through using a hole saw and and an air driven pad saw which made quite a neat job of it.

Once I had done this my intention was to cut the intercooler pipework I had and use joiners to make up the necessary bends. It became obvious straight away that this would be an impossible task and would always be a bodge. I knew Peter (Fai17) had used the guys down at Meercat a lot so he contacted them and they managed to fit me in at VERY short notice. I had used Wullie and Scott for the exhaust on my road car so knew their work was first class. So I trailered the car down to kilbirnie and they sorted it out quick style using my alloy pipes. They made a cracking job of the pipework and the routing is perfect - thanks guys reall apprecuiate the help

http://www.meercat-exhausts.com/

With the intercooler pipework done it was a case of starting to connect everything up. I had to use a 45 deg bend to allow the fitment of the filter and a new inlet filter trumpet from RCM, big thanks to Tom Hayes from RCM for all his help

I also had to mount and plumb the remote resevoir for the power steering which was a pretty quick job.

I also had to fit the cage which took quite a while and fought me all the way but its in now and will get some pics later.

I had a few fuel leaks when I leak checked the system so had to remake a few unions which was time consuming but all sorted now.

Next I had to get the geometry set up so it was off to progrip in Bonneybridge for John to apply some Stevenson settings

This gave me a chance to get some pics of the underside that didnt invole me lying on my back on the floor under the car.

This really has not been a smooth build this year and has caused me no end of grief. I still have running issues and was unable to get the car mapped today due to these. Sorry Andy This is a bit of a concern but hopefully will find a solution very soon.

I also have some suspension niggles, but hopefully I will be able to this sort out. I also have to rewire the alternator feed to give it a switched 12v supply but that is a quick and easy job. Oh and sort the breather hose the copper joiner is temporary honest

Edited May 21, 2009 by Arch

[seafar99]

Looking fantastic Archie, hope your mafsim issues are sorted for Kames. Car's looking very clean, nice to see someone taking some pride on how it looks! Careful with those extra horses.

[st3ph3n]

Looks good Arch. Hopefully see you at the weekend if you get things sorted.

[arch]

Thanks guys a few decisions to make before sat/sun

[hi_jac]

Car is looking impressive mate. Hope you can get in ready in time for Kames This weekend.

[arch]

Car is looking impressive mate. Hope you can get in ready in time for Kames This weekend.

Highly unlikely Jac

[hi_jac]

I don't know whether to be happy or sad

Edited May 21, 2009 by HI_JAC

[arch]

You should def be happy

[the squiggle]

Looking good Arch and you can defo tell that a fair amount of work has taken place

Will you be at Kames on Sun, car or no car? As i would like to pick your brains about something you may know about

[jimser]

great work arch,your build is like a john stevenson build from 2 years ago lol

if only he would take a couple of years out you may catch up with him

[arch]

The car has moved on a lot quicker than even I anticipated and to be honest thats down to John's help and a lot, an awfull lot of hours in the garage. If some work hadnt dried up it would have been like Johns car from last year apart from those hair dresser style wide arch things.

Must admit to feeling I know most of the radio Clyde DJ's better than my own family the amount of time I spend in the garage mmm suzy Maguire now that opens up a new line of questioning

Edited May 22, 2009 by Arch

[braveheart]

Well done Arch looks a fantasic job you have done i like the RCM bits and pieces some nice mods done indeed, what sort of power you aiming for ??

[john_stevenson2]

mmm suzy Maguire now that opens up a new line of questioning

More like George Bowie !!!!!

[arch]

Well done Arch looks a fantasic job you have done i like the RCM bits and pieces some nice mods done indeed, what sort of power you aiming for ??

I am aiming for 850BHP and 950 Lbs/ft prob not this year tho

George Bowie does make me laugh but his front mounted air bags just arent big enough for my liking

Edited May 22, 2009 by Arch

[hi_jac]

More like George Bowie !!!!!

More like Gina McKee if he spends any more time in the garage

[john_stevenson2]

I don't know whether to be happy or sad

I'd be afraid

[arch]

Well I think i may have found the reason for my suspension issues. I had trouble getting the rear camber i wanted via the camber bolts as any adjustment to the camber bolts was bringing the strut to close to the tyre for comfort. I therefore had to achieve the camber by use of the top mounts and the adjustable lateral arms. This had the result of widening the track too far as the wheels protruded well beyond the wheel arch.

This would not normally be a problem using a 7.5" rim and a 215 or 225 tyre as there would be plenty clearance for camber adjustment but me being greedy and wanting an 8" rim and 235 tyres as well as more than normal rear camber has just streatched the limits of what the AVO set up will allow. Now I could go back to a 7.5" rim and narrower tyres but where would the fun be in that. Apparently the width of your tyres is directly proportional to the size of your gonads mmm maybe a 135 would be more appropriate then

The Eibach's on the right fitted fine last year and the AVO's on the left dont. The Eibachs spring seat sits 2" higher and the springs are 2" shorter than the AVO's. This would have meant the Eibach spring seat would have sat just above the tyre and would have allowed the adjustment.

So the search is now on for something that will fit but its a bummer as I just spent a fortune having the AVO's compeletely overhauled by AVO with completely new internals, seals and damper struts, new springs, new helper springs and had them valved at the fast road race setting. This with a reasonably soft spring would have made a cracking set up which would have enough give to allow me to hammer over the kerbs without upsetting the car the way some cars are that are too hard and over sprung just cant. Oh well anyone looking for some new coilovers, guess the fronts will be coming off tomorrow. They have only been on the car for a few weeks and have only been pushed onto the ramp at Progrip and back off again - bummer.

[fai17]

Not a problem on helping you Archie...

Project is looking good and hope to see you at Doune

[arch]

Well eventually making some progress after a lot of head scratching and some rewiring and some tweeks on John's laptop the car now runs and doesnt seem to have wheels that would make Charles Fandango jealous, for all you youngsters ask your dad he will explain .

I have sorted the suspension issues I had by changing the coilovers to an inverted set up which has made all the difference. The car now has clearance all round and visible negative camber and there is still clearance to adjust the camber more via the bolts if required without having to widen the track again.

I finally decided to sort the holes in the floor left by the grommets which came away when I removed the underseal last year. Was going to just use new rubber grommets but struggled to find any the right size at a reasonable price so just shaped and rivetted some bits of ally, aircraft grade obviously, and sealed with seam sealer - sorted.

I seem to have created a hoste of wiring issues as a result of removing the dash, most of them minor and only really MOT issues but since the MOT has expired they needed fixed. One of them was the hazards only working on the RH side but all indicators working properly. It wasnt hard to work out what the fault was but took ages finding the plug breaks under the dash and then tracing the fault. This one turned out to be a broken wire at some point between the hazard switch and the plug break next to the fuse box. Continuity check proved the wire open cct, New wire spliced in problem sorted - 4 hours later tho . most of the other problems I had were poor connections at plug breaks I had disturbed and most only required a clean with contact cleaner and the plugs reseated.

There just seemed to be a raft of niggling issues that seem to run away with silly amounts of time but managed to get the car MOT'd today with only an advisory for all 4 tyres being near the limit. Not surprised since I forgot to put the road wheels on and went with the Khumo's on oops. The guy who MOT'd it was hilarious he just kept saying "I am wasting my time everything is new even the bolts are new, the underside of this is cleaner than our canteen table" was another cracker, probably true tho it was probably the quickest MOT he has ever done

Managed to get some pics outside today as well which was nice instead of trying to take pics in the garage where space is restricted.

Some of the finished engine set up

And one showing my new lightweight windscreen washer bottle, its actually a pish sample bottle adapted to fit

And one of the Carl Davey's cracking alternator bracket set up, it is a really nice piece of engineering, thanks Carl

I am still using the tank from last year which I have put back in but it will be replaced before the Sprint at Boyndie.

Some of the inside which is a vast improvement from last year.

Its off to John at Progrip tomorrow to have the Geometry set up again which hopefully wont through up any more issues. After that its just the small matter of getting it mapped.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Arch

[jimser]

good work arch

looking forward to seeing it in action sometime soon.

[arch]

Thanks Jim must admit i have a lot of built up frustration itching to get out

[Spaceman]

Whats happening with now Arch you trying to hold off till Don changes car and (poss Class) next year before coming out to play?

Your not scared of a standard Evo 4 are you lol

Or option B you waiting on driving lessons from Stevenson?

Peace out Old yin

[arch]

Whats happening with now Arch you trying to hold off till Don changes car and (poss Class) next year before coming out to play?

Your not scared of a standard Evo 4 are you lol

Or option B you waiting on driving lessons from Stevenson?

Peace out Old yin

Thats exactly it Grieg I have finally been rumbled I am scared of Jac and Don and am hiding this year But be assured i value your input

[Spaceman]

I knew you would arch am always here to help you out buddy

You want me to take the car out and do some testing for you?

Promise i won`t hurt it,

Anymore pics or updates?

[arch]

Grieg I have to be honest I really cant think of anything you could do to help me ! But just for you I will update the thread later once I have removed the gearbox again today.

Just a quick update for now.

Things were starting to look good the car was pretty much finished and was idling fine. The MOT was done and the geometry was set up to pretty much what I needed at this stage. Unfortunately Andy F was off on holiday so I couldnt get it mapped in time for Boyndie. But desperate to get the car out Andy offered some advice which was greatly appreciated and Simon (Jolly Green Monster) also offered to help out, thanks Simon really appreciate the help .

Armed with the info required, John's wide band set up, data log software and a few other Gizmo's, John and I decided to map the car ourselves. We took the car out on Tue using a base map and proceded to tweek things to get the fueling right. The car felt good and really pulled hard through the gears. It felt SIGNIFICANTLY quicker than last year. Just when things were looking good for Boyndie disaster struck I took 5th gear after a hard run through 2nd and 3rd and the gearbox stuck in 5th lucky white heather . We eventually got it into neutral, initially I had thought it may be an issue with the short shifter and bushes that were fitted but it happened again, the gear change although very tight was not smooth at all. Unfortunately I had to go down to Exeter to work for a couple of days which gave me no time to sort it before Boyndie. The only viable option was to withdraw from Boyndie, totally gutted about that, and remove the gearbox and see whats went wrong. So the gearbox will be out in a few hours and I will start to strip it down to see what can be done.

The hope is to get the car out for Kames on the 1st Aug although there really is nothing to aim at now as there are not enough events left to score any points worth talking about so the rest of this year will be about tweeking the handling so that the chassis at least is where i want it for next year.

Edited July 5, 2009 by Arch