|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jan 22, 2018 9:12:15 GMT
Well, another 3 steps forward, 2 steps back weekend. Wheels off, brakes off, old discs on, callipers on... Hang on, it doesn't line up, the discs are too small. What am I missing? It turns out that the callipers I've bought aren't the standard 1.8 ones, they are the 2.5 big brakes. I had no idea and the seller clearly had no idea either as they were a bargain. Finally, a bit of a win on this car - a free big brake upgrade!  Oh, hang on, no. the discs and pads I have off my old 1.8 aren't big enough anymore. A quick trip to Euros and more money later and I'm trying again only to find out I also need hoses. Not only that, but the OS connection between the hose and the pipe is corroded to the point of an MOT fail, so now I need hoses and pipes. The new hoses, copper/nickel pipes and some joiners are now arriving Tuesday, and mine is off the road yet again. You're all starting to see why this build thread is named how it is now, right? |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jan 22, 2018 9:36:45 GMT
At least something went well this weekend, of sorts. You might have spotted the previous owner thought that putting a bit of gauze across the opening of the turbo was a suitable air filter, but I didn't. But, having no money thanks to other car issues left me with a universal setup, so Ive made the best of what I had. Just need a new jubilee on the turbo connection and that'll do. It's not pretty. and I have no idea how it sounds as the cars not running because of the brakes, but it'll do for now.  |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Feb 11, 2018 15:16:42 GMT
The brakes are finally sorted. After mucking about with the factors and them keep supplying me wrong, I spent the money and got some HEL braided lines made. I say this every time and I mean it, HEL are just the best. Custom made hoses, delivered next day, a perfect service. I have them on my bike too, wouldn't have anything else.  I also treated the roof as it was porous and dripping on the seats. I used the Autoglym 2 bottle cleaner and treater kit for £20 and it's worked really well. I also did the drain holes with a trombone cleaner.  Lastly, I've spray tinted the sidelights to match the carbon wrapped reflectors. I sanded them all smooth too so they came out pretty good.  Getting there! |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Mar 10, 2018 15:55:20 GMT
Had a proper good session on the car over the last week, I found a breaker in the same colour.
Bonnet replaced so the dent is gone
OS headlamp cover will be replaced but needs a bit of restoration
Changed out the NS inner door handle as it was broken
replaced both the headlight lifting arms as mine were loose
fitted a new steering boss as the old aftermarket one didn't have a horn
fitted new rubber bungs for the front of the bonnet so it sits straight
replaced 12v socket
Got a few other bits too but haven't fitted them yet. Didn't bother with pics as it's all pretty boring stuff but it's making a big difference ticking off so many boxes and going from a tatty project to something someone would actually want to own.
|
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on May 22, 2018 14:46:20 GMT
It's been ages since I've updated this, I need to remember the things I've done!
The biggest highlight is replacing all the tyres. The fronts were proper cords-out illegal, very small and very stretched, and the backs were way too big and rubbed all the time. Ive changed them all to a full set of Toyo Proxes in a 215/45R15 size, the same as that black time attack car on here (I forget the owners name). Bigger than the front to reduce the stretch and smaller than the back to reduce the height. I wanted Nankang RSRs in 235/45R15 but they were too much money.
But nothing is ever easy, and changing the sizes has brought on front wheel clearance issues. I've upped the rideheight with the (awful) coilovers and will I'm catching the rear of the wing. After a week or so a moment of madness while the missus was out and I've cut the wings along the swage lines and bent them in. Conveniently there was a 10mm bolt behind there so I drillied the panels and screwed them back.
The clearance is much better but not 100%, and I believe the fix for it is a big hammer so will get to that next, and the rough edges will not pass an MOT so I'll weld them up once the clearance is sorted.
The car has also had a 4WA to stop scrubbing the tyres and it drives a lot better now too.
The front splitter had to come off to do the alignment as it was in the way of the lasers so while it was off I stripped it, fibre glassed the cracks and painted it gloss black. So much better than the chipped, cracked silver from before.
What else have I done? Fitted the horns. The car didn't have a horn at all, and I sorted the steering wheel end when I changed the steering wheel. I bought some used Hella horns off ebay, and typically they are broken so I'll buy some more next payday.
Fitted a Vindi ducktail. Didn't line up as nicely as I hoped, and managed to hold it all in place with ratchet straps while the Tiger Seal went off.
Also...
Fitted the flash to pass mod
Moved the electronic boost controller to a place with better access
Removed a completely pointless AC wiring loom
Stripped and recovered about 4 looms around the engine bay
Repaired the broken wire on the footwell lights and cleaned the connectors, so they work now.
Removed the Roadster badge from the boot and fitted a Japanese flag badge (the one in the pic bent so I've fit another one)
Work on the car is slowing down at the mo, as I'm at a critical (read: expensive) part of my motorbike build and need to shift some focus over to that, so jobs on the car will be cheap/free stuff for a while. Theres still a few bits to do though, it'll keep me busy for sure.
|
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jun 19, 2018 12:42:45 GMT
I got a massive step in the right direction over this weekend, thanks entirely to Vindi. A trip to his house late Saturday to pick up a gearbox before it went to scrap and a towbar that was pre-arranged, but with his exhaustive saving and organisation of spare parts plus a breaking mk2 on the drive I was able to tick off a massive long list of small niggling jobs that make the difference between having a tatty car and a kept car.
So, the gearbox made its way home as my passenger, the towbar will need a sand and paint to tidy it up a bit, and in the pic there is an already fitted centre console as mine had pulled through the screw in the tray and also an AC delete pipe, which will make its way to the car soon.
I also got a complete set of rear weatherstrips as mine were completely rotten. The ones of Vindis mk2 were much better condition and with a quick cleanup and a coat of hammerite they look like new.
I also changed out the exterior strip as for some reason my old one had a section of the rubber missing. A lot of work for not a lot of gain, but its something you don't even notice when its good but something that's obvious when its bad. (excuse the rear arch paint, it's next on the list)
Next up was an air vent. My boost gauge has been rattling around in the vent for ages so getting a vent assembly to butcher and wedge the gauge in looks much nicer and also rattles less.
The mk2 that was being stripped for parts had a set of cobalt HT leads on there. I didn't need them, but they look cool so I had them too
Other parts not photographed were:
Replacement fog lamp switch as mine was scratched Replacement steering column surround as mine had a switch cut into it Replacement centre console screws as mine were missing Replacement door pull handle screws as mine were flathead woodscrews Bracket to mount the diag port as mine was missing
All in all a brilliant trip, and a huge thanks to Vindi for helping this sorry thing made a huge leap towards being a real car. |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jun 19, 2018 12:49:05 GMT
Oh, almost forgot, I have a complete exhaust now.
My turbo downpipe is 2.5" and the centre and rear sections are 2", and the previous owner/moron decided that the best thing to make a decat pipe out of was some offcut 1.5" and some shonkily welded flanges off the same exhaust. It was blowing a lot and sounded terrible.
I've done the same bodge but slightly better, I bought 2" and 2.5" flanges and a 2.5" to 2" reducer, and then had an offcut of a 2.5" full system going in the bin at work and made a decat section that seals and fits properly. It's much quieter now, and it's plenty enough to be able to get it mapped, and tide me over until I ever find the money for a longlife system.
|
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jul 19, 2018 9:29:07 GMT
Quick update, another job off the list towards the MOT. On a checkover a few months back I spotted a loose ARB link, so instead of replacing it I could a poly bush kit. Its from Duraflex and cost £30 posted, and has the bushes and sleeves for the links and the bushes for the arm, front and rear. The fit was really easy, though I wouldn't have wanted to do it without a press, and the whole job took less than an hour.
(if youre thinking I should have cleaned and painted everything while I was there, I did think about it, but it's not that kind of car. it has waaaay too many issues to be a show car of any description, so it's built to go, not to show, and the buts were serviceable to I saved my efforts.)
Ive also fitted the AC delete pipe, and because I couldn't find any help on youtube for it I did one myself. I'm no TV presenter in the slightest, but if it helps someone then great.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rickster on Jul 19, 2018 11:56:19 GMT
Looking forward to seeing you and your car again
Will you be back at some autosolos soon?
|
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jul 20, 2018 8:42:38 GMT
I've got a couple more jobs to do before I can race again, the next one is some welding in the boot to resecure the battery and replace the whining gearbox and then it'll be ready to race again. I'm hoping to get in a couple of solos late in the year and then maybe do one of the series next year.
Desperate to get back into it!
|
|
|
|
Post by Whistler on Jul 24, 2018 0:15:49 GMT
Lastly, I've spray tinted the sidelights to match the carbon wrapped reflectors. I sanded them all smooth too so they came out pretty good. Getting there! Looks really good with tinted sidelights! |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Jul 31, 2018 22:12:38 GMT
This weekend I dealt with the screen surround. It had a large patch of paint missing and a big rust spot too, and I'm a fan of the blacktop look so..  Peeled back the screen trim with lifting tape, masked off the rest, sanded it all down and then...  Its all gloss black to match the splitter, skirts and ducktail. I really like it too. I'll post a finished pic once the trims are refit properly. |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Aug 25, 2018 6:57:56 GMT
Just a quick job yesterday... did the rear fog light mod, putting it in the OS reverse light. Made slightly more difficult as the car didn't have a fog light at all - the previous owner but one fitted a nice illuminated switch with telltake and ran the wiring, and then the idiot owner ive been dealing with had basically cut it all out and removed the lower light to fit a rear diffuser, and just cut the wiring.
Luckily found the cut wire and patched it into the reverse socket. Still a white bulb at the mo but it's working at least.
Also fitted a popped number plate bulb - with MOT next month its all hands on deck!
|
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Sept 3, 2018 13:00:29 GMT
Slightly out of date, I did this over a week ago now, but Ive finally fitted the towbar. Bought from Vindi a while back, given a quick sanding and hten painted in hammerite, and now fitted to the car. The electrics are wired into the rear loom and then run out of the bootseal, so when the towball is taken off the whole lot will live inside the boot leaving only the bracket behind.   It towed my trailer beautifully! The trailer was a little nose heavy and the rear suspension is quite low so there was some rubbing on rougher roads, but it did the job really well and certainly got some attention on the roads!  Theres a big update coming soon too... it's been a busy one this weekend but I'm still going tonight so will post it all up soon. |
|
|
|
Post by BikeTuna on Sept 4, 2018 7:41:44 GMT
The big update is bigger than expected and taking longer than expected, so I'll post a few pics now the rest when its done.
Its time for all the welding. The MOT is looming and it all needs to be done so the car has come off the road while it all gets sorted in one shot.
First up is the battery tray that had a rusted hole through it, plated over and then a new battery bracket fabbed to cater for the 073. The front edge is also braced but this was a better photo.
Then on the cut arches. The wheel clearance still wasn't 100% despite the bodge cut previous, so it's all out this time. The arches are cut, tack welded and them seam welded, the car has had the bottom corners hammered back for clearance and now the car has full lock (without the front bumper on, that's another day). The arches are going to be cleaned up a bit before refitting, but this is how far it is atm.
What else? While the bumpers and everything were off the snapped bolts were dealt with, so 7 in total have been drilled and tapped including the one needed to fit the 2nd Hella horn. Ive also fitted the washer bottle in the scuttle, though that needs plumbing and wiring before being called finished.
Serious progress!!! |
|
le sigh