2006 Deep Black Track Shed BudgetBoltOnBuild

[Helpimonfire]

So I was pretty knackered when I wrote that post last night..

Jobs left to do (More for my benefit so I don't forget to do something);
Finish rebuilding the driveshafts and refit them.
Gearbox oil.
Drop the front struts off and change the springs to the softer ones I've bought.
Finish cutting the rusty outriggers off the rad support as they fell apart.
Double check wiring and sort any snags.
Spanner check while I have access (and re-fit the starter heatshield!)
Fit up the hoses, re-fit the core support and radiator, fill and bleed the system.
Rebuild the front end.
Abuse.

Once this is done I'm planning to pull the old engine apart and see if I can find what was making the grim noises. I think I'll be stripping off the new parts that have been recently fitted (dephaser solenoid, pulley, injectors, coils and water pump), then I'll likely take the original cams out to sell to a MK2 owner if they're in good shape. I've now got a stack of spares in the garage so everything is going to get cleaned up and bagged to keep it clean and dry once I work out what I need to keep.

 

[Helpimonfire]

Productive day today. CV joints re-packed with grease and driveshafts fitted, gearbox filled with fresh oil and a spanner check done, no real issues other than the O/S driveshaft being an absolute cu... pain in the bottom. Next up was fitting the coolant hoses, modified rad support and radiator.



Had a bit of a scare when the car decided it was overheating, mainly because it refused to bleed the coolant from the thermostat housing, I thought I was loosening off the wrong bolt so I kept loosening... Then hot coolant went abso-fucking-lutely everywhere

Disaster averted, got it all bled up and left it running for a good 15-20 minutes. Topped the coolant up after losing a load onto the floor.

This was how the car was left when I called it a night tonight.


Last jobs to do now...
Subframe brace to re-fit.
Front wheels back on.
Bumper on.
Road test.

All ready for Snetterton on Thursday? Fingers crossed!

 

[Helpimonfire]

 

[RSRowe]

 

[Helpimonfire]

Road test complete. Other than the usual odd smells from greasy handprints and spilt fluids burning off, I can safely say it was a success! Roll on Thursday!

 

[burrellbloke]

Good work.

What has happened to your front badge?

 

[Helpimonfire]

Good work.

What has happened to your front badge?

Wes happened He made a carbon plate for his because he didn't like the black badge, next thing I know he has a screwdriver in one hand and the badge from my front bumper in the other

 

[Alistair]

Good job dude

 

[Helpimonfire]

It survived!

Had a few minor jobs to do during the day, had a bit of a temperature spike on the first hot lap so dived into the pits and bled that off (airlock in the system, I knew there was one as it was a pain in the arse to bleed the other day). The clutch bite point is a bit low so bled the clutch again which has improved it but still doesn't feel quite right. More investigation needed.


A moderately sideways @EthanMenace in the last session of the day. We'd been lucky that the weather held out for the most part, it was supposed to rain all day but we somehow stayed dry until about 3:30, then the rain hit. It was a quiet day anyway and this downpour meant that at most, there was only about 4 cars on track!

Steering angle for entry into Bombhole wasn't great...

In other news, the car now has an MOT too. So it'll see some road miles to try to sort the suspension out as that's all over the shop now as it's been apart loads of times, tweaked, adjusted and generally fucked about with. I need to ideally return it to a baseline and work from there, I think running the car as low as it is has messed with the roll centre a bit, the car doesn't seem quite right at the minute. We'll see how it all goes!

 

[Tarticmonkey]

glad car survived mate and you all had a good day!
Your mate Wes’s car looks mint on red wheels.
Gutted I couldn’t make it.

 

[Helpimonfire]

glad car survived mate and you all had a good day!
Your mate Wes’s car looks mint on red wheels.
Gutted I couldn’t make it.

I wasn't sold when he bought them but they're slowly growing on me. Any other colour car and they'd look shite I reckon. He got a bargain with those though, they're 8j Cup Racers and the AR-1s were practically new, they still had the little mould nubbins on.

Some pictures from Snetterton.



As it stands there's no immediate plans for more trackdays, there's a couple of potentials but nothing set in stone yet. There is a possibility of a trip to Scotland to go around Knockhill on the 16th Nov but that's still in the planning phase.

 

[Helpimonfire]

Small updates.

First up, I've been bullied by @RSRowe in booking Oulton Park in December. (And by 'bullied' I mean he sent me a message saying "Fancy a Christmas trackday?". That's basically bullying.) Circuit Days - 6th Dec

Secondly. The car was miserable on the road and the front end was a bit pushy at the last trackday, so I've raised the car up by about 20mm up front, the rears need work though as the coilovers are a bit seized.

Preferred the look of the car when it was decked but it's a struggle to get out of the driveway...

Last up. After seeing a few videos I noticed the new engine was puffing a bit, plus there's a bit of a stutter in the rev range so I'm booked in with Andy at Engine Dynamics to have a map tweak to be on the safe side.

 

[RSRowe]

The never ending story

 

[Helpimonfire]

Great success! Drove the car down to ED this morning as it's actually road legal now, had a chat with Andy about the changes to the car and wanting to make sure the engine is healthy etc... Explained it felt really strong and I had a feeling it would at least make more torque. Andy said he'd do a power run and see where it needed to be with regards to fuelling (my main concern) and such, so off he went and got the car bolted to the hub dyno. Heard everything ramping up and then the ran started, he followed up with another 3 pulls, then everything slowed down, fans off and the engine was cut. I hadn't heard a bang so I wasn't expecting a tragedy.

Andy popped his head around the door and said the car was running a bit lean and needed the fuel table fattening up a little, he'd only need 1 adjustment then he said he'd be done. "Oh yeah, it made 208bhp on the first run". Good news then.

Off he went to make his fuel table adjustments. Car fired up again and again, 4 runs back to back, everything was shut down and he called me through. He added around 3% extra fuel from around 3k up to 7k, the final 500rpm had 4% increase. Final figures...

209.7bhp and 165.8ftlb, up from the previous 201.2bhp and 161.5ftlb! Healthy gains throughout the rev range too.

There's life in the old girl yet!

 

[EthanMenace]

Result!

 

[Big Ben]

How is she still alive!! That’s some healthy numbers though mate. His new hub dyno seems a bit more generous than the old rig he had

 

[Mardgee]

Love this and your attitude towards it. My first clio was a black 197 so have a bit of soft spot.

Wish I was as confident with the spanners

How do you rate the yellowspeeds? I see you’ve changed some aspects of them, would you recommend?
Cheers

 

[Helpimonfire]

Value for money, the Yellowspeeds have been decent, I've changed bits on them but not always for better results, I'm actually toying with putting them back to standard because the car was more predictable then. However I'd you could afford the extra I'd go with the tried and tested GAZ Golds which is the path I'll be going down eventually.

Confidence with spanners was born out of necessity, as a rule I can't really afford to pay people to do the work for me, so the majority I'll do myself where possible. I still won't do a timing belt myself though, but I have a mate that'll do that for a good price for me!

 

[Helpimonfire]

Blyton Park today. The forecast was for rain and we got plenty of that, it seems every time I go to Blyton it absolutely tanks it down and today was no exception! Photos from the TDO aren't up yet but my mate stood on the mound and got very wet, he kindly took some photos on his phone whilst drowning in the sideways rain.



The Clio was flawless all day, literally drove it off the trailer straight out for sighting laps, came in the paddock entry and swung round to go straight out again. Spent the next 40 minutes hammering round until I realised I was busting for a wee. So I came in, went to the loo and thought about checking the car over (Spoiler alert: It didn't get looked at in the slightest, not even checking the oil!)
Spent the following hour on track, just hammering round like a madman lap after lap. I've been chatting with a mate about how to drive quicker and I realised I was leaving a lot of time on the table by coming off the brakes before turning in, I hadn't realised I was doing that until I sent him a few clips and he pointed it out. So today was re-learning how to trail brake with varying results. Most of the time I was getting it pretty much spot on, other times I would get it very wrong and enter the corner sideways.

Session 3 took us to lunchtime. A total of 2 hours 20 on track in the morning alone. The car just felt perfect all morning.

Straight back out on track at 1 when it re-opened. Had a 45 minute session then and once again, didn't even give the car a cursory glance, just got in and sent it. Had a quick break to have a drink then straight back out. About 30 mins into the session the car started spluttering under load, struggling through the fast section to gain any speed so as you do, I figured it was broken. Looked at the dash to see if it had any warning lights and 1 was showing.

Low fuel. The needle was sat on the stop. I didn't hear the annoying beep to tell me it was low on fuel. I barely look at the dials when I'm on track now, I probably should...

The only casualty/breakage of the day was noticed at 8.15 this morning when I got out of the Mondeo and stepped in a puddle.


As days go, today was brilliant. I didn't get passed once while out on track and I think there was only 1 car that I didn't pass which was the TDO's Mini!

Mega result!

 

[burrellbloke]

The joys of the new engine.

I am glad to hear the car is still running well.

How many track days have you done this year?