Our track project - including diary of a Sprint N00b... - Page 2

vix · 27-01-2008, 16:52

27/01/08

Too ill to help on the car today. I’ll explain now that I have very bad back problems, (caused by a car accident!), and sometimes can’t move very much.

There wasn’t much I needed to do anyway, although it could have been a good day for cleaning. Phil changed the droplink over, apparently the original droplink was difficult to remove. I swear none of these bolts have ever been undone before! He found a droplink in the garage to replace it with, deciding his own made ones might not be suitable. How handy having a pile of spares!!!

He has decided to just stick the numberplate on to the front bumper with sticky tabs! It’s a bit of a risk drilling into the front bumper as the metal bumper bars are notorious for rotting away, and we don’t particularly want to be drilling into nothing.

Windscreen people are coming on Monday so that’s another task out of the way. Welding is booked.

We’re away next weekend so no updates for a week and a bit unless the windscreen people do something horrible!!!

Zirax · 27-01-2008, 17:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by vix

We've just given up on spending money on anything else but the cars

I'm rapidly heading that way. Gradually building up a stash, what I need is a rich gf who really likes being driven around at warp 9

Phils car that gave out, was this the dark blue MR2. I thought that was in reasonable nick?

vix · 27-01-2008, 17:22

Phils blue one had big big holes in the floor although the rest of the bodywork and mechanics were great :/ It's very very sad seeing that sat in the garage as a breaker.

kaiowas · 27-01-2008, 19:28

Got plenty to do First event is 16th March. Before then I need to: (This list is as much for my benefit as anyone elses!)

Get windscreen fitted - Currently booked for tomorrow but I need to phone them first thing and maybe change this to later in the week
Get welding Done - booked for 8th Feb
Take it back for MOT retest - Ideally need to get it in same day as the welding is done as my free retest is only valid up until that day, otherwise it'll cost me again

Once the MOT is done I can start preparing it properly (This is things I'd like to do, it's likely that not all will be done before the first event, some might not happen at all):

Replace cracked exhaust manifold (ideally this will be done at the same time as exhaust (see below)
Get a decent exhaust on there - This will involve some serious juggling of the exhausts we have on various cars atm. Essentially I'll need to remove 4 exhausts and fit 3 to get everything how we want it and unfortunately the track car is at the end of the line.
Have another look at brakes - They passed MOT OK but they're a bit soft for my liking, probably still some air in there somewhere as I suck at bleeding brakes, also got some braided hoses to fit if I'm feeling brave
Simple stuff to meet regs (Yellow tape on battery earth, timing strut, mark tow points etc)
Remove as much weight as possible including interior strip.
Fit better suspension - Either mk1a KYBs or swap rear hubs over which should allow my mk1b Konis to fit
Fit poly bushes - Got them already just need to find the time to get everything apart and fit them
Ideally both of the above suspension jobs will be combined then followed by a proper alignment.
Gearbox swap - Not having 5th gear really shouldn't be an issue for the sprints but if we want to use this car on trackdays as well then the gearbox has to be swapped out. Unfortunately my road car also needs a new 'box and as far as I'm concerned it's a higher priority.
Fit smaller steering wheel - Will entail getting a nice leather one for my road car as the suede one that should be in the track car is fitted to that at the moment
Fit a race seat and harness - Currently classed as a nice to have but will probably be quite a way down the list as these are things I'll need to buy. Most other things can be done free using parts I already have
Wheels/Tyres - Again not a high priority as I've got plenty of standard wheels and part worn tyres to use up but ideally I'd like to have some nice light wheels and decent soft tyres when funds allow.
Bodywork - Proper low priority. It's really tatty atm. At a minimum it needs a good clean plus probably a once over with a PC to bring the red back from faded pink, ideally want to rub down the scabby bits and paint the whole car matt black then stencil on the various original stickers in yellow.

Flibster · 27-01-2008, 20:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by vix

My costs so far are £69 for the helmet and £66 for the suit

*sob* wish mine were that cheap....

SCA Race and Rally is a top place though. Not cheap, but most of it is decent quality.

Enjoy yourself.

vix · 27-01-2008, 21:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flibster

*sob* wish mine were that cheap....

SCA Race and Rally is a top place though. Not cheap, but most of it is decent quality.

Enjoy yourself.

Well, I kinda wish I could have afforded more expensive and better gear, but I really couldn't :/

vix · 31-01-2008, 15:41

Just a quick note to say the screen was put in this morning. They managed to get the screen in before it started to hail, which is always a good thing!!! Looks good!

vix · 09-02-2008, 17:56

9th Feb 08

Wow, we have had a productive day. Phil has devised a schedule so we know what we should be doing each weekend. Today was exhausts. We have to remove 4 exhausts, one from each car, and fit three, one to each working car. This palaver is because Phil wants his Mongoose which was on Mister Two (the breaker) on his car. I’m a bit fed up with my rattly Janspeed as it’s rather loud, so I’m having the one off the red one, which looks like a custom job. Humphrey is having the Janspeed as it’s a good racing car noisy exhaust. He currently has a standard one. His new exhaust will be fitted when we do the gearbox change…

Earlier in the week, Phil removed the Mongoose from Mister Two, so today he set about removing the custom one and once this was off I polished the tailpipes with Autosol, whilst he fitted the Mongoose to his car. Just as I was Autosol-ing the mongoose, the bodywork guy called to say that Humphrey was ready, yay!

We zoomed down to the bodyshop in Sakura and admired his handywork. It had taken him longer than expected and cost Phil about £262. However we now had a car that would pass the re test. We booked Humphrey in for a retest and had an hour to kill. We had noticed that one of Humphrey’s indicator bulbs had blown and upon investigating discovered that the indicator/ sidelight assembly was sat in a pile of rust and not much else! Phil made a little bodge, in case the indicators were tested again. We weren’t sure what a re test would cover and didn’t want a failure on something as small as a blown bulb, and we especially didn’t want the MOT guy to see that nice pile of rust!!!

Here's what the bodywork guy did, not that it's particularly descriptive!

Anyway, he literally just had a look at the work done to pass the re test, so it was all panic for nothing. We now have a MOT’d Humphrey!!! I drove him back from the test centre too, so at least I can say I have driven him now!

As it was such a nice afternoon, I decided to attack him with soap and water whilst Phil removed the Janspeed and fitted the custom exhaust to Sakura. I got thoroughly soaked as I tried to power wash him with the hosepipe, and then rather frustrated as I realised how dirty he actually was. I swear I have never seen a car so dirty! There were cobwebs in the headlights!

It took a lot of elbow grease but he now looks passable.

We have a Porter Cable polishing machine thingy which we will use to try and improve the paintwork a bit, as it’s horrendous but I thought I’d have a go with the T Cut to see what a difference I would make. You can certainly see a difference now but it took a heck of a lot of polishing and my arms ache!

Well that’s it for this weekend as it’s Phil’s birthday celebration at his mums tomorrow. We both feel a real sense of achievement at the moment though and are currently on schedule!

Zirax · 09-02-2008, 18:47

Cracking progress there, bit organised on what needs doing each weekend. Have either of you two had a go in the mk2's, specifically the turbo'd ones?

There are some mk 1's on pistonheads and autotrader that look cracking! I'm really leaning this way over say an mx-5 because of the mid engined setup...... that and mx-5's cost a fortune (well a 1.8S with the LSD does). Longer term I will head down this route especially when for £1500 + new head you can take the elise to 180bhp and then it becomes ~220 bhp/ ton

vix · 09-02-2008, 18:49

Cheers Zirax, no never been in a Mk2, they don't interest me in the slightest. Lardy old things

There are some decent examples of mk1s out there for very little money comparitively, although Mk2s are now becoming as cheap too. You know you want to

27-01-2008, 16:52	#11
vix Penelope Pitstop Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,426	27/01/08 Too ill to help on the car today. I’ll explain now that I have very bad back problems, (caused by a car accident!), and sometimes can’t move very much. There wasn’t much I needed to do anyway, although it could have been a good day for cleaning. Phil changed the droplink over, apparently the original droplink was difficult to remove. I swear none of these bolts have ever been undone before! He found a droplink in the garage to replace it with, deciding his own made ones might not be suitable. How handy having a pile of spares!!! He has decided to just stick the numberplate on to the front bumper with sticky tabs! It’s a bit of a risk drilling into the front bumper as the metal bumper bars are notorious for rotting away, and we don’t particularly want to be drilling into nothing. Windscreen people are coming on Monday so that’s another task out of the way. Welding is booked. We’re away next weekend so no updates for a week and a bit unless the windscreen people do something horrible!!! __________________

27-01-2008, 17:22	#13
vix Penelope Pitstop Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,426	Phils blue one had big big holes in the floor although the rest of the bodywork and mechanics were great :/ It's very very sad seeing that sat in the garage as a breaker. __________________

27-01-2008, 19:28	#14
kaiowas The Stig Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fightertown USA Posts: 1,458	Got plenty to do First event is 16th March. Before then I need to: (This list is as much for my benefit as anyone elses!) Get windscreen fitted - Currently booked for tomorrow but I need to phone them first thing and maybe change this to later in the week Get welding Done - booked for 8th Feb Take it back for MOT retest - Ideally need to get it in same day as the welding is done as my free retest is only valid up until that day, otherwise it'll cost me again Once the MOT is done I can start preparing it properly (This is things I'd like to do, it's likely that not all will be done before the first event, some might not happen at all): Replace cracked exhaust manifold (ideally this will be done at the same time as exhaust (see below) Get a decent exhaust on there - This will involve some serious juggling of the exhausts we have on various cars atm. Essentially I'll need to remove 4 exhausts and fit 3 to get everything how we want it and unfortunately the track car is at the end of the line. Have another look at brakes - They passed MOT OK but they're a bit soft for my liking, probably still some air in there somewhere as I suck at bleeding brakes, also got some braided hoses to fit if I'm feeling brave Simple stuff to meet regs (Yellow tape on battery earth, timing strut, mark tow points etc) Remove as much weight as possible including interior strip. Fit better suspension - Either mk1a KYBs or swap rear hubs over which should allow my mk1b Konis to fit Fit poly bushes - Got them already just need to find the time to get everything apart and fit them Ideally both of the above suspension jobs will be combined then followed by a proper alignment. Gearbox swap - Not having 5th gear really shouldn't be an issue for the sprints but if we want to use this car on trackdays as well then the gearbox has to be swapped out. Unfortunately my road car also needs a new 'box and as far as I'm concerned it's a higher priority. Fit smaller steering wheel - Will entail getting a nice leather one for my road car as the suede one that should be in the track car is fitted to that at the moment Fit a race seat and harness - Currently classed as a nice to have but will probably be quite a way down the list as these are things I'll need to buy. Most other things can be done free using parts I already have Wheels/Tyres - Again not a high priority as I've got plenty of standard wheels and part worn tyres to use up but ideally I'd like to have some nice light wheels and decent soft tyres when funds allow. Bodywork - Proper low priority. It's really tatty atm. At a minimum it needs a good clean plus probably a once over with a PC to bring the red back from faded pink, ideally want to rub down the scabby bits and paint the whole car matt black then stencil on the various original stickers in yellow. __________________ Anal Fish Porn

31-01-2008, 15:41	#17
vix Penelope Pitstop Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,426	Just a quick note to say the screen was put in this morning. They managed to get the screen in before it started to hail, which is always a good thing!!! Looks good! __________________

09-02-2008, 17:56	#18
vix Penelope Pitstop Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,426	9th Feb 08 Wow, we have had a productive day. Phil has devised a schedule so we know what we should be doing each weekend. Today was exhausts. We have to remove 4 exhausts, one from each car, and fit three, one to each working car. This palaver is because Phil wants his Mongoose which was on Mister Two (the breaker) on his car. I’m a bit fed up with my rattly Janspeed as it’s rather loud, so I’m having the one off the red one, which looks like a custom job. Humphrey is having the Janspeed as it’s a good racing car noisy exhaust. He currently has a standard one. His new exhaust will be fitted when we do the gearbox change… Earlier in the week, Phil removed the Mongoose from Mister Two, so today he set about removing the custom one and once this was off I polished the tailpipes with Autosol, whilst he fitted the Mongoose to his car. Just as I was Autosol-ing the mongoose, the bodywork guy called to say that Humphrey was ready, yay! We zoomed down to the bodyshop in Sakura and admired his handywork. It had taken him longer than expected and cost Phil about £262. However we now had a car that would pass the re test. We booked Humphrey in for a retest and had an hour to kill. We had noticed that one of Humphrey’s indicator bulbs had blown and upon investigating discovered that the indicator/ sidelight assembly was sat in a pile of rust and not much else! Phil made a little bodge, in case the indicators were tested again. We weren’t sure what a re test would cover and didn’t want a failure on something as small as a blown bulb, and we especially didn’t want the MOT guy to see that nice pile of rust!!! Here's what the bodywork guy did, not that it's particularly descriptive! Anyway, he literally just had a look at the work done to pass the re test, so it was all panic for nothing. We now have a MOT’d Humphrey!!! I drove him back from the test centre too, so at least I can say I have driven him now! As it was such a nice afternoon, I decided to attack him with soap and water whilst Phil removed the Janspeed and fitted the custom exhaust to Sakura. I got thoroughly soaked as I tried to power wash him with the hosepipe, and then rather frustrated as I realised how dirty he actually was. I swear I have never seen a car so dirty! There were cobwebs in the headlights! It took a lot of elbow grease but he now looks passable. We have a Porter Cable polishing machine thingy which we will use to try and improve the paintwork a bit, as it’s horrendous but I thought I’d have a go with the T Cut to see what a difference I would make. You can certainly see a difference now but it took a heck of a lot of polishing and my arms ache! Well that’s it for this weekend as it’s Phil’s birthday celebration at his mums tomorrow. We both feel a real sense of achievement at the moment though and are currently on schedule! __________________

09-02-2008, 18:47	#19
Zirax Goes up to 11! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,577	Cracking progress there, bit organised on what needs doing each weekend. Have either of you two had a go in the mk2's, specifically the turbo'd ones? There are some mk 1's on pistonheads and autotrader that look cracking! I'm really leaning this way over say an mx-5 because of the mid engined setup...... that and mx-5's cost a fortune (well a 1.8S with the LSD does). Longer term I will head down this route especially when for £1500 + new head you can take the elise to 180bhp and then it becomes ~220 bhp/ ton

09-02-2008, 18:49	#20
vix Penelope Pitstop Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,426	Cheers Zirax, no never been in a Mk2, they don't interest me in the slightest. Lardy old things There are some decent examples of mk1s out there for very little money comparitively, although Mk2s are now becoming as cheap too. You know you want to __________________

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode