Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Cheers Dan!  Yesterday's progress, more work on the cage in the rain / snow / hail showers - getting there! Didn't take too many photo's as it wasn't that exciting really, mostly drilling holes, doing a trial bolt down of the cage, drilling more holes, and that sort of stuff.   Did get round to working out the fitment of the door bars once the rest of the cage was bolted down. On this OMP cage you can cut the bars to whatever length you want and weld the lugs on wherever you want to bolt them too. With the seat on the car I cable tied a door bar in place and adjusted many times it until I was happy with the position and the seat would slide back and forward fully on it's runners without catching the bar. Also simulated driving and doing some steering to check my elbows wouldn't catch - seems ok.  Didn't take a pic of the drivers side, but similar to this one on the passenger side.  They are both now tacked into place with the welder and the bars cut to length. Will weld all the bits properly when the cage is back out of the car before painting this week hopefully, that's the next job along with knocking up some plates for under the car where each leg bolts through.  |
| |
Last Edit: Apr 7, 2008 6:59:15 GMT by Stu
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Bit of progress last night after work... Door bar lugs welded on properly:   Then painted all the cage bits in grey primer:   Hopefully do the next coat of paint tonight ;D |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Last night's progress...  RED!  |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
tri
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,572
|
|
|
|
Oooh, much prettier. Getting there! Quite fugly things unpainted really ain't they?  |
| |
 I forgot how to retro...  |
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
Apr 12, 2008 18:30:18 GMT
|
Bit more progress last night and this afternoon... Tidied up the foot plates ready for painting:  Decided to have my first go at some un-supervised welding (brother in law is usually on hand to help) and box the b-pillar plates in a little bit. Not the neatest but quite pleased with myself for a complete novice!   Did some painting:    That was all last night, started again this aft and did the various bits in red:   Decided to tidy up the inside of the roof where we removed the sunroof, it was a bit messy so I cleaned up the rough edges and gave it the duck tape treatment (it's going to be covered up anyway).  Made some headlining just for the front half of the car using the rear of the original headling and some Blue Peter scissor skills. Remember I couldn't use the front end of the headling as it had a big hole in it for the sunroof!  Fitted, looks alright and will fit snugly once the cage is in:  Sealed up the sunroof better with some black gutter sealant rather than the duck tape we had on there previously. Looks like a factory sunroof when shut now more or less. Hopefully will be watertight as it's started raining now!  Second coat of Tornado Red on the cage which is now drying in the garage:  Any comments or suggestions appreciated as always. Cage fitting and plates for under the car next |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
street
Posted a lot
6.2 ft/lbs of talk
Posts: 4,662
|
|
Apr 12, 2008 19:01:09 GMT
|
Great progress! A very entertaining read, love the write-ups |
| |
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
Apr 15, 2008 21:44:17 GMT
|
Great progress! A very entertaining read, love the write-ups Thanks! ;D Small update, few more pics... Sunday afternoon it was raining so I finished off painting the cage in the garage and made up some plates for under the car where the cage bolts down. Front leg plates:  Car being wet weather tested...  Front plates and rear wheelarch ones, not made the b-pillar ones yet. Painted these after the photo's to stop rusting:  Over the last few evenings I've been installing the painted cage back in the car, fits nicely and looks much better now it matches the car:    One of the rear wheelarch plates in place with washers and nylon lock nuts. Will underseal it when I'm sure it doesn't have to come apart again!  That's where it's up to for now, more soon ;D |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
Apr 27, 2008 20:24:18 GMT
|
Been a while since I updated this but been making steady progress with the car. Finished off installing the cage, a-pillar legs now have plates underneath the car like this, again with locknuts.  Cage install looks much better now it's painted to match the car, headlining has tidied up the inside of the roof after sunroof removal.  Testing a special wooden harness bar I've designed, not painted to match the car yet though...  Few more cage pics showing door bars etc.   Had a problem with a ratty exhaust heat sheild underneath the car in the tunnel, was driving me mad and making it hard to diagnose if the manifold was still fouling the bulkhead. Drilled through the tunnel and sheild from underneath and secured the sheild with some small nuts and bolts - barely noticeable inside and it's stopped the ratting.   So, a nice quiet heat sheild... although now I can hear the manifold still fouling the bulkhead when the car is revved hard and the engine moves a bit on it's mounts. Bah! |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
Apr 27, 2008 20:25:35 GMT
|
Next job was some cage padding. Got the stuff from Rally Design, great service with next day delivery and the cheapest place I could find.    Bought all new engine mounts for the car to try and tighten up the engine a bit and stop the exhaust manifold fouling the already modified bulkhead. This is the front one, ordered the early 16v mount which seems to be the same part as used on the early Mk2's and diesel models. It's certainly a bigger sturdier looking thing than the old one, which wasn't in bad shape to be fair. Fitting was relatively straightforward, unlike the rear one...! (New mount on the right)   Fitting the rear gearbox mount was quite straightforward too, old mount on the left, new in the middle and the bracket that holds the gearbox to the mount on the right.  This is where the mount fits on the subframe on the passenger side.  Next came a flood!   Fitting the rear mount would have been straightforward if I'd just swapped it straight in, but then the engine would still have sat too high. So, after lots of trial and error, I removed the mounting bracket from the subframe, cut it, filed it, drilled it, hammered it and swore at it until it could be reversed and re-drilled to sit the rubber mount 1/2 inch lower. Took some pics but none came out too well, will take a better one and post it but basically achieved what I intended to, engine is now lower! It worked well, engine sits like this now - quite level and a bit lower, probably won't need to grind anything off the bonnet and more importantly, no bulkhead / manifold contact when revved now!  That's all for now. Next jobs are to fix a blowing exhaust, just needs fitting properly I think where the four branch joins the centre pipe, engine setup, then MOT stuff, lights, horn, wipers etc and trim, door cards and all that stuff. There is a brake upgrade planned but will get to that once the car is MOT'd then we can start using it to iron out any issues. |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Right - another busy few days on the car, here's some pics ;D Better shot of rear driver's side engine mount after modifications to lower the engine a bit:  New ignition parts - leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm:  Fitted:  Finally tracked down a long 3mm allen key to adjust the fuel mixture:  Door cards. I decided to make up some door cards so bought some offcuts of plastic sheet from a local sign making firm and got busy with the stanley knife and drill Blue Peter style. This is the result, white for now but may paint them to match the car at a later date. Trial fit:  With extra fixings in place:  I fitted the footwell plates back in, they used to be riveted but I drilled through and bolted them down securely instead. May remove the passenger one again to make a passenger footrest.  Next I started on the rear strut brace / harness bar using a metre of CDS tube. I made up some plates for the end, very warm on hacksaw duty this weekend I have to say! Cut the tube to length and did a mock up:   Next it was welding time. Bear in mind when looking at the pics that this is only my second attempt at unsupervised welding, not too bad I thought?  Trial fitted and took some paint off where it needed welding into the turrets:   Welded in place, again - a very hot job indeed given the weather on Saturday afternoon was roasting! Welding isn't too pretty, but it's certainly not going to come apart in a hurry!  Gave it the usual, couple of coats of primer and then a few of tornado red. Probably do another coat next time I'm out in the garage and then it's finished. ;D   Here's a few pics of the engine, was double checking the inter-cam timing. I'm still trying to sort out a baffling misfire / pinking issue with the bloody thing! Hmm... oily    That's all for now - as ever, comments and suggestions much appreciated |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking great! Track preparation isnt half as easy as it looks when you start 'Oh yeh you just take all the interior out and bolt a rollcage in, 30 minute job!' HA |
| |
1997 TVR Chimaera
2009 Westfield Megabusa
|
|
kee
Posted a lot
Posts: 4,991
|
|
May 12, 2008 17:55:46 GMT
|
that looks cracking, wanna do this to mine in a few years, already half way there ;D did you reuse the original door card fixings or buy new ones. i have some plastic sheet to use but i am selling the original fixings with my cards and don't know where to get new ones  you know anywhere? |
| |
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Thanks for the replies - yes, there's a lot more to it once you start preparing a car for track use. Must admit I thought it'd be a case of giving it a quick once over mechanically and loosing the trim but I've got a bit carried away and it's turned into a big job! Kee - not sure where you'd get door card fixings. I used new ones but into the original holes in the doors. I still have all the clips and stuff off the original door cards but they were no use for these panels as a different type. I got new springy clips from my Dad, he's into VW campers and has all kinds of bits and bobs 'in stock' from fitting out his camper. I was going to rivet the panels on but thought I'd probably need to get them off again if I did that so better not! Maybe try a camper place, 'Just Campers' or similar? |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
kee
Posted a lot
Posts: 4,991
|
|
May 13, 2008 17:16:59 GMT
|
ordered some this afternoon, in the post already apparently ;D cheers Stu, good luck with the build and keep us updated. will keep an eye on this as i love a good stripped out motor. Mate has a mk2 golf on throttle bodies and slammed to the floor, sadly aint stripped though |
| |
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Note updated this for a while... Found the source of the running issues, after changing all manner of parts... this pic might help explain...  Close up...  Head gasket failed between 3 & 4!  Right, so on Monday as it was a Bank Holiday and my mate was up for the weekend we thought we'd start the brake upgrade, couldn't do anymore with the engine 'til the new gasket and bolts arrived. It currently looks like this in the engine bay...  So, off with the wheels and the driver's side looked like this. It had already been upgraded to 256mm front brakes from a late model 16v (this is an early one) but we wanted to go bigger again. Bit crusty but worked ok...  Unfortunately a variety of problems arose on the driver's side of the car. Firstly a stuck brake union, then a tricky new boot to fit on the steering rack tie rod and then the final killer - a snapped off carrier to hub bolt. I did know about this in advance but expected it'd come out with some WD40 and mole grips. No such luck! Spent a few hours on it, drilling it, trying to get it out one way or another - even welded a nut on the end and tried to turn it that way, knock it round with a chisel but it won't budge. We gave up with that side on moved onto the passenger side which went much easier...   So, the passenger side has new plain Brembo 280mm discs fitted, G60 carriers and calipers which we'd painted black, Goodridge stainless hoses and new Mintex pads. Will crack on and finish the driver's side to match when time allows then move onto the rear of the car - looking forward to fitting the four little stainless hoses around the rear beam, they are great fun!  |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Update on the brakes. My Dad managed to extract the stuck carrier bolt for me yesterday, he's much better at this stuff than I am!  So, I was able to put the new brakes on the driver's side to match the passenger side...  I then topped up with fluid and bled them. Seemed to take a lot of fluid to fill the new lines, empty calipers etc but came right in the end. Will move onto the rear brakes once the engine is back together. More new parts: 1. Metal HG  2. Head bolts:  Head is going back on next - might finally get this b@stard running properly then! ;D |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
Cleaned up the head and stuck it back on with the new gasket and bolts...  That was a few days ago. Set the car up, timing, fuelling etc again and gave it a try... success - it pulls like a train! Took it for it's MOT today and guess what... it passed... ;D   More jobs still to do but it's roadworthy now, runs well and dare I say it, quicker than I expected! It turns out a 2.0 16v in a stripped out Mk2 with no A/C, PAS, sunroof, seats, trim etc etc is quite a potent combination! |
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,976
Club RR Member Number: 71
|
|
|
|
More jobs still to do but it's roadworthy now, runs well and dare I say it, quicker than I expected! It turns out a 2.0 16v in a stripped out Mk2 with no A/C, PAS, sunroof, seats, trim etc etc is quite a potent combination! Want quicker - Add less weight ;D |
| |
|
|
Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
|
|
J.P
Posted a lot
I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Posts: 1,175
|
|
|
|
|
Fantastic! Great thread. It looks brilliant, didn't dawn on me before that it was a small bumper GTI, even better. Big fan of the sebring alloys. Now enjoy the 'ring!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
