MK1 Racer (ALL BROKEN PHOTOBUCKET PICS FIXED) - Painted and out of the bodyshop....

The big question is, will it ever come over the border!?

 

Yeah, that was the plan. I am not very good at sticking to those plans though...!

Your box is still in one piece Martin! Fair bit of chatter when the clutch is in but I guess that will be the flywheel...

Crack on Dave! Will be good to see the Rallye out

Iirc, hard front & medium rear - radials. Would need to check on exact compound to be sure.

Definately. It is going to Inters but would like to tie that trip in witha trackday either just before the weekend or after.

 

There was a pro photographer from SMC Photography who happened to be at the track and he got some cool pics. He does work for the magazines so he wants to get some pictures together and send them off and maybe a feature so that would be cool.


Early on in the day, clean ish...





Not so clean now...






(The mapping is very conservative and it is not tuned for peak power, so it runs on the rich side to try and keep exhaust valve temps down. Flames a bit)

It does corners too







Different photgrapher but shows a bit of brake temperature with faint glow from discs. If it can generate brake temp on a cold and damp track with new unscrubbed slicks, it is going to be mega in the dry. Dont think it locked up a wheels all day either...





So happy with it and still have a few small improvments I want to make. First race is April 7th, can't wait.


Btw, anyone notice that the ride height has been raised a bit?



EDIT: Photobucket links were all broken so I have reloaded these pics from the day

 

Excellent! Noticed the ride height - too polite to say! lol

 

Amazing. You must be very happy, and rightly so!
It seems very stable considering it was on slicks.

Slight flex in the front bonnet, does it have an inner skin?

 

I have raised it a lot, over 30mm.

Not corner weighted it but set it using steel ruler and all heights the same from hub centre to lip of arch. Was a little concerned over running out of travel over the kerbs at the 'esses' and also with the angle of the drive shafts at the previous height. Will maybe change it again when I look at the bump steer and get it a little lower.

Wishbones and steering arms are level with how it is in the pics and it was good on Sat so think dont want to go too low now.

The panels are rough. They are FG with a bit of wood to brace it!

It is bowing a little. Might weld on another bonnet pin in the centre although almost needs to be x 2 as it will look pish with just one...

Maybe a carbon bonnet but reinforced would be an idea and I need to take moulds of the wings before they get smashed and lost for ever

 

well done!! glad its running well

 

So, I've been trying to think of some words to describe this wonderfully built car. So far I've come up with 3. 'Dirty, well, fit'.



I reckon it kind of sums it up.

 

Awesome thread mate well done on a great car, hope to see you at knockhill sometime

 

I understand you are enterd for the race this Sunday ?

If so proper good luck, fingers crossed it stays dry.

 

Thanks. I got to run in the dry for 1.5 laps in race 2!! lol

 

Bit of an update due but it made it to the first race last weekend, with thanks to Craig, Martin, Inne, Warren and many others along the way.

First off, a pic that I found from the last test session shows the brakes are working well...





It is running Pagid RS4-2 pads at the moment but may go to something with a little more friction. I had been worried that the brake setup was too big and had concern over locking but aftert the test session and racing in the wet last weekend, I am yet to lock a wheel! They are awesome.

I am strill fidling with the correct M/Cyl at the moment as there was too much pedal travel initially (when that pic was taken) and now I have a much larger Cyl, there is not enough pedal travel and difficult to heel & toe so will try the middle one now and it should be perfect.

I did some work on the geometry and just fiddling with a few thingswhich seems to have worked

In the photos in the last post you can see the bonnet flexing up so rather than an expensive carbon bonnet I opted for a 15 1990's spec 'eyebrow' spoiler for the front bonnet. I didnt like the look at first but it is growing on me and seems to have worked as didnt notice any lift of the bonnet or in any of the recent photos either.

A few stickers on now...





Thank you to everyone who came down today to support and a big thank you first and foremost to Mr. Craig Annison who kept the Golf running throughout the weekend, closely followed by Scotty from Motorweks, Warren from Northeast Autobody, the Robbert's massive, Glen and many others (Including Stuart who was entered in the Ibiza, for lending me the hacksaws).

A bit of a bittersweet weekend...

Late for testing on Sat as was still sorting the car after trying to dial out bump steer issues and cornerweighting the car as best I can. Brimmed the tank on the Golf in Dundee on the way down the road and then arrived at Knockhill. Craig then saw a fuel leak which was from the top of the tank where the sender seats. Long story short, we fixed the leak but as far as I was concerned, last thing Saturday, the leak was from the top of the tank and then there was still plenty fuel in it. Will come back to this later...

Scruiteneering didnt go well. They did not like the brake fluid resovioirs inside (knew this was a danger area but decided to try it as I just find it stupid putting them in the bay. They are going in the bay now!) So a tupperware box donated by the minis guys (in pink) was taped to cover the resovoirs. The bars welded in going from strut top to chassis legs were also a problem. In order to race they had to come out. 1 hr later, Craig and I are going at the MK1 with a powersaw to remove them. It was a massive low point but it needed to be on the grid. So they were cut.

Passed scruiteneering this morn after a list of jobs and all good.

Then the car wouldnt run for quali. Missed quali completely. ****.

I was then told if I completed 3 laps behind the fiestas I could race. Just as well I didnt have to set a time as I could barely keep up with the XR2's on slicks on a wet and oily track. Anyway, completed and could race.

Race1

Started from the back of a grid of 30 cars with a few others. Somehow managed to finish 6th overall despite a missfire and no power for the last 4/5 laps. I then had a meeting with the race stewards and left with 2 points on my licence for overtaking under yellows. My fault, I just didnt see them.

Leaving park ferme the car was hauled into scruiteneering bay again for a noise test. Limit is 105, the mk1 did 114! It does have a silencer but obviously needs looked at again before the next event.

Then we set about trying to find the source of missfire. Craig checked coil and found no problem. Ended up running another set of plugs kindly donated/borrowed from the Seat Leon of Andrew Morrison and it seemed to have worked. Discussed tyre choice with Glen and ended up making th best from what was available and well suited to conditions. .

Race 2

Went out for race 2 lining up 6th on the grid staring at the back of the very quick 2.0 SBD red top Nova (4th), Evo X (3rd), Leon Cupra (2nd) and the SC E46 M3 on pole and had a slick shod newage Impreza on my RHS in 5th.

Here is the Cupra (on pole for race 1)...



The car died twice just going to the grid. "Please, not now. Start, start, start" Thankfully it did fire and I just sat with part throttle on waiting for the boards. 30 sec boards, then 5 sec board and dialled in some revs and just dropped the clutch. I now had 2nd which hooked up and went from 6th place straight into to 2nd behind the race leader after going round the outside of dufus.


The supercharged E46 M3 in 1st was quick and had me on the straights but I was gaining on him, I think!





...then, I heard the lift pump go dry by the start of 2nd lap and knew it was just a matter of time. ****.

Should have retired then but I kept going until it literaly conked out by marshal post at Clarks and retired.


Gutted

Going back to the fuel issue earlier, as it was still leaking from the top of the tank before it was fixed last thing yesterday, I assumed there was still a 3/4 tank there which is approx 35 litres. Didnt think I would have used that in one race but as I know know, from when that lift pump ran dry, I had 1 litre in the swirl pot and that barely lasted 1/2lap. I wont make that mistake again (at least, not if I can help it)

Possible doubts over engine damage due to fuel starvation on boost but have done a compression test and no blue smoke so it looks ok. Will check along with sorting the other issues and the Golf will be back out for next meeting in May.

Really pleased it has good pace and very happy with 6th place result in race 1 and the promising start in race 2.

 

a thirsty beast then!

 

Epic story - stunning results all things considered! Must be so frustrating having to do major mods to race, but hey, you managed it in the end which is the name of the game. So much potential!!

I always thought 'you guys' had a free for all at Knockhill from seeing the machinery going round on YouTube. Maybe I don't want to move to Scotland after all! 114db lol

Haha, you've got an eyebrow spoiler! What next single wiper and TSW Venoms! Just kidding, necessary evil, does its job, who cares!

Brill write up - keep 'em coming

 

Well done man, i can just imagine how yer **** was twitching going to the grid at the 2nd race. When I raced the bike there were so many little things that happened to ruin a race that you kicked yourself over but the good thing is you learn from them and they (should) never happen again. Good thing I found was have a small white board and write a list of things to do before each race then score them out as you do them.

Whens the next outing as I would like to come down?

 

Awesome even with the niggles!!
Well done my man, pat on the back for you

 

Sounds like a difficult first event with all the issues, but at least you got some time on track. Sounds promising for the future!

 

Hmmm, Venoms could look noice...

Spoiler seems to have worked but would need to see a pic on the straights to be sure. Have a few ideas for panels but just want to concentrate on using it for now. Really need to take some moulds of the wings before they get damaged and I can make new.

Dont worry, I have a white board and have been know to make a list or two. Off for the rest of the week getting the car ready. Next race is this Sunday. Would be good to see you there

For some reason I wasnt so nervous this time. The first time I raced in a Fiesta St I was much worse, no idea why.

Thanks again for the box Martin, it is working well. Just hope I keep it on one piece. Btw, pm on the way...

 

SMRC footage that was on MotorsTV last week...

Race 2 - Good start from 6th into 2nd before retiring half way round the 2nd lap

[video=youtube;SPx-xLLJaYg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPx-xLLJaYg&hd=1[/video]

 

This is the 1st race. Missed quali so started at the back, 28th of 30 runners. Passing the Imprezas was into 5th overall and finished in 6th as it thankfully got red flagged towards the end. It looks like quite a a good battle with the Impreza from the outside but you can see what is really going on from my onboard that finally got uploaded...

Looks a bit weird off the start as dont have 2nd gear in this race and is slow out of the hairpin (in the dry it is ok as can get power down in 3rd) but I got a nice bump from one of the BM compacts that helps me on my way!! (No damage)


[video=youtube;RTDhm8ttOZ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTDhm8ttOZ8&hd=1[/video]


[video=youtube;Zen0ZQVs1n4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zen0ZQVs1n4[/video]


Away to get the car ready over the next few days with another silencer going in (not keen on that but needs must), reservoirs being moved to the bay, new fuel tank, tidying wiring and some other jobs and hope its ready in time rather than running round last minute and being disorganised as usual lol

I think I have found the problem with the missfire/ignition problems. Not so good that I am finding my own schoolboy shocker of a mistake! While todying wiring I shortened the TPS wires and didnt insulate them and so they were shorting out. We think the ECU had no idea WTF postion the throttle was at and was just chucking in max fuel, hence needing about 3k dialled in at idle to get it to run and also drinking like a V12.

Craig was not impressed. I should stay away from wiring.

Thanks to Andy (AMD) with the Evo X for uplaoding the Motors TV footage