2006 Deep Black Track Shed BudgetBoltOnBuild

[Helpimonfire]

Had a few PMs about fitting rear the tow eyes so it's probably easier to chuck it in here for all to see. This goes through the mounting plate for the rear crash bar, all you need it to replace the bolt that goes through the rear of the chassis leg with one longer, I think I used an M10x110mm but I reckon you could use a 100mm bolt instead.


@Chambers_rs

 

[Helpimonfire]

Had a good couple of days on this over the weekend, avoiding the heat where possible (still got very burnt though)


Trimmed and test fitted the dash bar, realised I could do away with a few extra brackets so the angle grinder came out and upset the neighbours for a bit. Realised it was the perfect time to run the hoses for the fire extinguisher while the bulkhead was accessible. I was going to run the T7Design micro heater that I bought last year but once I actually tested it with a solid 12v, I realised that an asthmatic person could blow harder. So I decided to pull the original heater box apart and pull the AC condenser/evaporator? out of the the heater unit and that's halved the weight of the original blower. Ended up refitting the original so it retains the factory climate controls in the centre console.

Also got the extinguisher lines fitted in the engine bay (the kit has 3 nozzles for the bay and 2 for the driver) which was a dick of a job.

There's a bulkhead fitting that goes into a T, 1 of which goes into a nozzle pointing at the manifold and top of the engine, that then feeds into another T which goes to either side of the engine bay. So this should now be up to spec for racing. I have 2 nozzles in the footwell now that'll be pointing at me once I make some brackets to mount them.


Hacked the dash top to bits to fit it in, the "full fat" car has a soft touch nonsense on the top which is a pig to cut and all of the plastics are way thicker so I've butchered it to be honest

To do list before CSF @ Cadwell 10th-12th July
Mount fire extinguisher bottle
Fit pull cables for extinguisher
Wiring tidy
Set ride height on the GAZ Golds
Nut and bolt check all round
Service
Refit seat and harness, try to source a second harness so I can refit the passenger seat.
Get replacement MRFs fitted to the wheels with the toasted Direzzas
Alignment

Not much considering I only have evenings and 1 weekend to do it all in...

 

[burrellbloke]

You have got loads of time!

 

[Helpimonfire]

One item ticked off tonight that wasn't on the list and it's an important one.

First start. Wasn't without issues though! First time connecting the battery and there were relays clicking, headlights were on and the dash just kept saying the auto lights were activated and then deactivated. Start button did nothing except make the clicking relays even more angry sounding. There was a squealing from behind the dash and the headlights refused to turn off. So battery disconnected, checked connections under the dash, remembered the rear harness was still unplugged so connected that up again. Same thing, only the fuel pump was doing mad stuff too. Was the ECU fried? Did I forget to disconnect the battery when the cage was being welded? Found the issue...

When taking off lots of brackets from the dash bar, remember to make a new earth point for the ECU. 1x M6 bolt and a nut connecting a single ring terminal back to the dash bar... Fired up, well, second attempt anyway. The battery I found was from my old 172 and wasn't man enough to crack the 197. Jump pack connected and it fired right up!

 

[Helpimonfire]

Update. Big one (but small. you'll see.)

New(er) hub fitted, had a balljoint and wheel bearing that both called it a day and waved a white flag

New track rod end and anti-rotation link also fitted.
Filled with coolant and bled, car hold temp nicely and the fan kicks in as it should.

Lots of scaffolding.

Did notice however that visibility in the NS mirror is a bit... Poor.


Worst bit of the day...

Absolute carnage.

Worth it though.


Ride height needs a bit of a tweak as it's a bit high for my liking so it's going to be dropped about 10-15mm all round, but keeping the rear rake. Off for alignment tomorrow with a man that used to run a big power Evo in Time Attack so hopefully he knows what he's doing...

 

[Helpimonfire]

Also, enjoy my lovely work area.

Which consists of 21mm ply, stacked and on top of gravel

 

[Helpimonfire]

Quick wash before CSF. Forgot the car was black because it was so bloody filthy!

I'd refitted the passenger seat as I had a couple of people mention they might come out for some laps, with a replacement harness kindly donated by @RSRowe

The big mirror certainly takes some getting used to...

CSF was held at Cadwell this year and they opted to run the track time in sessions which I wasn't sold on but as a shakedown for the car it was actually ideal, it meant I had to come in and give the car a look over, make sure all was good and nothing had come loose (or cracked...)

First session done, I went out with the suspension set to full soft just so I wouldn't push the car too hard, 26psi cold all round. It's been a while since I was out on track so I wanted to make sure nothing fell off and thankfully all was well. Came in after the first session and ramped the shocks up, 10 clicks front and 12 rear (from soft) and the car felt great so that's where they stayed for the rest of the day, same with the tyres, they came in quickly and stayed predictable and grippy all day.

The car felt great all day long with no real issues. The only thing that popped up was an electrical fault on the dash but my code reader couldn't see anything unusual, from a bit of Google-fu it seems it could be a blown fuse, dodgy bulb or an entire control unit could have failed. It didn't stop the car running so it got sent.

135 track miles complete and no mechanical issues, car felt brilliant and it was SO good to be back out. Chassis feels stiffer (full cage will do that I suppose) and the new GAZ Golds make the car feel more compliant but gave me way more confidence to push and take the piss a little. Only things I really need to do it sort the heat shielding on the bulkhead and close off some of the gaps in the bulkhead too, the cabin was getting VERY hot with the open windows to the exhaust manifold. Also need to fix the passenger window as that won't open...