strip down and re-build number 2

[_SBD16v]

wellll today a nice big box turned up :D:D

and inside was my new inlet ive been waiting for :D

here are some build pics there are 4 main parts to the manifold.

first is a head flange this is cnc cut on a milling machine, out of billet alloy

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00212.jpg

in this pic you can also see one of the runners that is the 2nd main part to the manifold

next is the base plate for the plenum

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00208.jpg

the ''lines'' are just machining marks that look worse because of the camera, you cannot feel them to touch.

this plate has built in velocity stacks for proper air flow.

and the final part is the plenum.

add all these bits together and you have :D:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00461.jpg

cannot wait to get it fitted now and get it back on the Rolling road to see how it effects the power output

some pics of it all fitted up (with one bolt lol)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00466.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00464.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00468.jpg

more than happy with the manifold just hope it goes as well as it look

[astrasteve23]

looks like a nice bit of kit!

[Anthony]

Love it, looking good :grinning-smiley-043
Did you solve what ever your oil problems were a while back?

Regards

[mph(old_account)]

top top notch there rob :thumbsup:

[MontyGSI]

looking good m8!

[Belmont turbo]

looking good! will be good to see RR print outs when you get round to it. is it a one off or are more available? and how much if you don't mind me asking?

[_SBD16v]

been doing more work today, still got quite a bit left to do before mapping on monday (fingers crossed)

most of what i have been doing is not picture worth however i did get another parcel today.

after donnington being cancled and us booking onto mallory park instead, we were both a little worred about not having a decent baffled sump yet as one of the corners is a little vicious by all acounts


http://www.mallorypark.co.uk/Portals/0/Mallory%20Circuit%202007%20Map%20copy.jpg

Gerard's
Following the road behind Gerard's, you come to the exit of the corner, with another Park 'n View area high above the track. Speed through Gerard's is vital to a quick lap at Mallory Park, so racers are really "tanking on" here. Exit speeds of over 125mph are not uncommon. There are fine views of Gerard's, Stebbe Straight and the Esses.

with the size of the corner and the speeds involved its very possible that i may get some oil surge so it was decided that in the absence of a decent baffle or a dry sump we would use a acuasump.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/sump.jpg

and some gumph to save me typing

http://www.accusump.com/accusump_tech.html#whatis


they recomened it to be fitted inside in easy reach to open and close the manual valve so i fitted it on top of the gear tunnel


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/sump3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/sump2.jpg

took most of the day to fit that as i spent quite a while out getting hydraulic fittings

final thing to do was to check that when i get my new 90 deg fitting for the inlet that the boost pipe work will work ok

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/engine-4.jpg

should be getting the turbo bolted back on tommorrow ready to be fired up this weekend ready for money

[Anthony]

Interesting.. never seen or heard of these 'accusumps' before tbh??
Be interesting to know how it performs! What sort of costs involved with all fittings etc?

Been looking into getting a hellier baffle plate for mine as can't really justify the costs of a dry sump system at the moment unfortunately :(

Regards

[_SBD16v]

Interesting.. never seen or heard of these 'accusumps' before tbh??
Be interesting to know how it performs! What sort of costs involved with all fittings etc?

Been looking into getting a hellier baffle plate for mine as can't really justify the costs of a dry sump system at the moment unfortunately :(

Regards


im going to add a baffled sump ASAP aswell.

the costs were about 180 quid so miles cheaper than a dry sump.

we use accumulators all over the submarines for all the hydraulic systems, so they deff work

[_SBD16v]

time for a update :D:D

after doing a few miles in the car now i have decided that the weight of a let, big sticky tyres and quick rack and not power steering (plus a little bit of gettting old LOL) is far to heavy to drive with

i was very happy with the way the car handled and was happy with the rack rate so i did not want to change to a hydraulic set-up, so i started looking into using a corsa epas system.

i decided on using a corsa c system now on the standard car it uses a speed input and engine speed to decide how much assistance to give, thats far to difficult to implement in bespoke item so i decided that i would use a control box these are now avalible for as little as £30 from ebay and replicate the 2 signals required, then via a dial on the dash you can change how much assist you get.

anyway enough chat lets have some pics

the first problem was that the rack was the fitting at the bottom of the column was different

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00573.jpg

after some measurments i decided that i could file down the shaft to the correct shape and there would be more than meat left on the shaft so out came the file

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00575.jpg

as you can see i even had to flat the smallest part of the shaft so there is alot of flat to grip on

the standard astra uj was then able to slot straight on

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00577.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00578.jpg

next up was to hold the rack in place

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00580.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00581.jpg


my strechable mounting system worked perfect to show that the column would be much better fitted upside down so was turned upside down, this ment that the key was on the wrong side

so i removed the rivets that held the second half of the shaft on turned it around and used bolts to hold it

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00596.jpg

it was then time to make some brackets first i made some out of very thin alloy so i could bend into shape i then made some thicker steel ones.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00595-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00593-1.jpg

another difference between the new corsa rack and the old astra ones was the steering bose they are no longer tapper fit but are much larger sline and parrell fit, this ment my old bose would not fit

i could have got a new one but the problem is they are very long and with the extra length of the corsa rack vs the astra one i was already having space problems, so decided that i would make my own.

first i cut apart a corsa wheel for the spline part then chucked it into the lathe to clean it up

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00589.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00589.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00591.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00592.jpg

i then made a 8mm spacer than slots over that shaft this was to screw the steering wheel snap off onto as the pcd fell just in the wrong place on the standard corsa part, im afraid i dont have any pics of this thou :( was just a bit of alloy i machined down thou so im sure you can get the idea

anyway

the final piece you say

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00599-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00598.jpg

there was one final problem i had and it was keys i have a single key on my astra and was a little annoyed that i was going to have to have a big corsa key with lots of buttons that are no good to me.

so toyed the the idea of just not having a key but i happen to like the steering lock, it was then for some reason i decided to see if the mk2 and the corsa c barrel was the same, my head was telling me i was being silly but there was a little voice saying go on try it you know you want to

so out came the corsa one on first inspection i thought **** me that does look like the mk2 one, so sloted the mk2 barrel in and to my shock it worked,

so in 20 year vauxhall have not changed the fitment of the key barrel.

ive had it working and im more than happy with the assistance it gives, i can now turn the wheel on the spot without causing myself a mischief lol

[untouchable]

Wow, what a result :D

Cars looking gooooood Rob, do you get much help from the Chip chap?

[_SBD16v]

i dont get any mechanical help from him thats all my own work

but he does map the car

[laney]

pukka job matey, keep up with the modding :thumbsup:

[Harvey]

Nice one Rob, glad it all works OK. Can you still use the column if the motor looses power i.e. packs up?

[_SBD16v]

Nice one Rob, glad it all works OK. Can you still use the column if the motor looses power i.e. packs up?

you can indeed :D i had been told that without the power it is much harder to turn but when i had both columns out there really was only a VERY small difference between the power and standard astra one so i dont think that will be true.

the older corsa b had a problem that the motor would fail and it would work in one dirrection but not the other

you could still turn the steering but it would go from one finger one way to nothing the other and that was a problem as it takes a while for your brain to kick in and say shit this is hard

but the later corsa c ones hardly ever have a problem, thats the reason my dad sold me one of them as he gets loads LOL

[DarrenH]

i missed your earlier updates, fantastic work on the inlet manifold. is that the nissan pulsar based one ?

i'm a big fan of mallory park, i've done 3 track days there. hope you enjoy(ed) it. (didnt see a date!)

[_SBD16v]

after driving the car for a while i have found the dash to have a horrible rattle at around 70mph

so while it was out deicided to do something about it

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00630.jpg

cue the sound deadening, when you tap it now instead of a tinny rattle you get a nice firm knock.

[laney]

bet that weighs a bit mate?

[_SBD16v]

bet that weighs a bit mate?


got to be all of 200 grams :(

[Harvey]

I'm now on the hunt for a Corsa EPS column myself Rob but don't think I'll get chance to do it until later in the Summer.

Have you sorted your turbo manifold yet?

[_SBD16v]

Have you sorted your turbo manifold yet?

afraid not :(

he has still got problems getting the pipe

[_SBD16v]

time for a update

been doing quite a few things over the last week to get the car ready for bedford at the weekend

dash has gone back in after being out for the steering to be fitted.

ok some new bits

new manifold is now here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00674.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00676.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00678.jpg

needed a new one as the old one cracked inside the collecter and welding it was not possible DOH

while the exhuast was all off i decided that i wanted to fit another silencer to the exhuast with bedford being quite strict on noise i dont want any problems

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00695.jpg

if you can belive it there is 2 boxes in that part of the exhuast LOL, it should make quite a big difference as the exhuast was more like a single box system but now its good a rather large center box lol

with not having a huge amount to do i decided to takle a few random jobs

fitting the F/G tailgate was sometime i wanted to do, after deciding to use the same aero catches on the front i needed to cut the correct holes for them

first drilled some holes then used the dremel to take the holes out to the correct shape

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00680.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00681.jpg
to hold the pins i done the same as the front using some strips of alloy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00682.jpg
tailgate is a good fit pins are a little tricky to get in place but only take a few more seconds to fit

i think it looks quite cool from behind with them

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00684.jpg

because my engine bay was getting a little cramped i went on the look at the scrappy to find a new header tank

in the end i found a zafira one that fits perfect into the scutle panel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00679.jpg

perfect fit :D

i also have some roose hoses for the water pipes and i ordered a load of silicon for doing the other water pipes (turbo feed/return)

had a bit of a problem yesterday

raised the car on the ramp and the passegers door opened as it was on its way up and the door caught on the wall oopps

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00687.jpg

its not all that bad now was able to bend it back its not 100% but its close enough for now, lol

after seeing this on olly h's nova i really wanted to give it a try

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00696.jpg

i cut all the ruber off the handles and then drilled them out, just for looks more than anything but they do look good imo

anyway the car is nearly ready for bedford so fingers crossed

[laney]

as i have prob said many times before, really nice work mate, looks a work of art to me, you and harvey should display your cars together at billing?
are you going to the pod on sat night?

[_SBD16v]

as i have prob said many times before, really nice work mate, looks a work of art to me, you and harvey should display your cars together at billing?
are you going to the pod on sat night?

i dont think ill be at billing this year

well i might come for the day but not with the astra im afraid, i start a very serious course at work on the monday and its very important that im fuly ready

night racing i will be going to aslong as the weather is nice lol althou dont have a clue what this car can do (shock)(shock)(shock)

[_SBD16v]

well i guess its time for a little update

ive been a busy boy again, althou im afraid i dont have many pictures:(:(:(

the astra developed alot of problems with torque steer and generally not even being able to drive in a straight line, alot of this was down to tracking after the off at bedford you could see the wheels where towing out, knowing that the tracking needed doing i deiced to just replace a load of compants before to save 2 lots of tracking

so got new lower wish bones (thanks mr G )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00813.jpg

removed the wheels as the begining of the strip down and i could not turn the steering from the disc (shock)(shock) so i started to remove bits to find the problem, removed the epas and this did help but was not the problem,

on digging a little deeper i found that my quick rack was very tight and noisy, so i removed the rack and decided to strip it upon stripping i found alot of damage to the teeth inside the rack on the poinion damage that i feel was cause by the rack not beeing properly hardended :hissyfit::hissyfit::hissyfit:

i fille down some of the damage on the top od the tooth the fack i could file it down was telling me the metal was not even close to hard enough, and rebuilt the rack althou it was now free to turn it was also very noisy and rough, so i have basically thrown that in the bin.

now ive gone down a slightly different route this time i have fitted a PAS cav rack that is 2.8 turns the same as the quick rack but i have removed all the pipeing and im using it in manual mode, so ill let everyone know how i get on with that.

the car is now built back up with the rack, new track rod ends and new lower arms i have also refited the standard manual column for the moment as i think there was a little damage to my epas one as it was a little tight i set the tracking with some very basic gauges at work and took it for a quick drive

and to say its a different car is a understatement

the car is ALOT lighter to drive turning on the spot is now quite easy and when moving its perfect im now back of the opinion that the epas is not really needed atm but time will tell.


while the car was in bits i checked the brake pads and its a good job i did !!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00811.jpg

looks like i have got the pads far to hot and they have burnt out the resin so started tot fall apart ordered some ds3000 pads today so that should cure that problem


car is all ready now bar tracking for the ace caf meet next week and combe on the 25th :D:D

[richie00boy]

Always wondering if you could just run a PAS rack without the PAS. Did you stuff loads of grease in or something as I wonder if the fluid normally lubricates it?

[_SBD16v]

Always wondering if you could just run a PAS rack without the PAS. Did you stuff loads of grease in or something as I wonder if the fluid normally lubricates it?

ive been told many a time that you cannot as the rack is not lubricated,but i can 100% tell you that the power steering fluid does not lubricate the vauxhall rack :bananajump::bananajump:

so im pretty sure it will be ok, i think it will kill the seals for the PAS part so i doubt you could go back but i dont think running it in manual will be a problem

[johnl]

I ran the pas rack on my old GTE for around 12 months and 20k. After it started to leak at one of the pipes. It gave no issues during all the time. I even eventually pulled my finger out and fixed the leak and it gave me no issues afterwards.

[_SBD16v]

I ran the pas rack on my old GTE for around 12 months and 20k. After it started to leak at one of the pipes. It gave no issues during all the time. I even eventually pulled my finger out and fixed the leak and it gave me no issues afterwards.

just the feedback we need ;)

[Blue Calibre]

I've always wondered myself about running a pas rack with no fluid as a cheap quick rack. A mate ran one with a dead pump for about 6 months and had no problems.

[_SBD16v]

ok ok time for a update

i finally found the problem with not going in a straight line !!

one of the engine mounts was loose, im ammazed a loose engine mount made the car feel so bad but im just glad its handling good again, so with the car going in a straight line should be all ready for pv right

pfff that would be boring ;)



as some of you will remeber i had a problem with my engine smoking, first we thought it was valve stem seals but the actuall diagnosis was that oil is leaking between the valve guide and the head i get a streek of oil on the roof of the exhuast chambers and wet inlet valves lol.

i have ignored it for quite a while as it only used to smoke on the first start of the day but its got worse :( first it started smoking every time i started it then if i left it ticking over it would smoke ALOT althou it was not damaging anything it did make the car kind of emabarrising.

to the point that at combe i had a blowing exhuast gaket under the bonnet and a guy walking past was telling me to turn it off becasue it was on fire :(:( which i knew it was not but it really did look like it was.

after a chat with chip it turned out he had a spare coscast head atm in good nick, so i decided i would fit that before pv, the idea was to fit with standard valves as we were not to bothered if i trashed the head as we were pretty sure my pistons would be needing a replace soon anyway.

this is the oil that has leaked from the guides back into the inlet

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00035.jpg
much to my surprise when i opened it up there were no damage to my pistons or bores so this got me thinking
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00033.jpg


do i just want to fit the head as standard or fit my over size valves, after talking to steve boy slim it was soon aparent that just fitting the valves was not possible as you end up with a step in the throat

so the throats would need a little work, and after some more words with steve it was decided that the new head would not only be fitted out with the valves but would also be going to neil roper for a full port job (that hurt lol)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00036.jpg
i decided while the engine was near all out anyway that id change the gearbox and drop the enigne out so i could properly clean the bay where it spat cv grease everywhere like i said dont like to do things by halfs LOL

so a few hours later

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00037.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00039.jpg

new head should be with me an in a week or so then its rebuild intime for the

ASTRA-MK2 1/4 mile showdown

[PaulGTEturbo]

I really got to get my stuff together!!!!

my car is all stripped out!, cage ready to go in!

You look like you have some work cut out for you mate. But i guess I have too.

Mine will defo be arriving on a trailer, not got time for all that MOT and tax stuff!!!

[laney]

woo, nice work rob, hope your gonna give it a buff while the engine is out, lol. mine also having some top secret work on it tomorrow, i also have to take me gearbox out, it has a clonk, and i want it sorted before pv :hissyfit: it will also need a clean, lookin a bit dirty and ill need it spanking clean to dazzle u on the start line

[PaulGTEturbo]

woo, nice work rob, hope your gonna give it a buff while the engine is out, lol. mine also having some top secret work on it tomorrow, i also have to take me gearbox out, it has a clonk, and i want it sorted before pv :hissyfit: it will also need a clean, lookin a bit dirty and ill need it spanking clean to dazzle u on the start line



You bunch of tarts!!

All I need to do is get a smoke machine behind robs car, he will think he has a melted piston and start crying......

then........

I will release a pigeon and it will do its business on Laneys car....he will be inconsoleable and he will start crying!!!!

Making 2 cry babies and 1 winner!!

[laney]

ah its like that is it, hmmmm cheating eh, keep ya eyes open for the secret weapon

[_SBD16v]

ive not just been taking things apart thou lol

this week i have mostly been making a new external crank sensor bracket, rick d asked me if i would make him a trigger set-up like mine and after id finished his it was so much better than my original one (that someone else amde for me ) i decided to make my own

started off with some lumps of alloy and some rough meassurments
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/cvm.jpg

the bracket is made from 2 parts one that bolts to the block and the other holds the sensor to allow it to move and set the correct sensor gap.

this is the mill i was using
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00014.jpg

and this is cutting the L shape part of the bracket

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00012-1.jpg

and then

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00016.jpg

once it was the correct shape i then cut the slots in for adjustment

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00019.jpg

and was finally left with

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00020.jpg

then onto the second part this is a T shape

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00017.jpg

once the T part was finished it was time for some drilling and tapping

the slots are exactally 6mm and the bolts are m6 so the tollerance was very tight and holes needed to be perfectly square and tapped straight.

first a hole was drilled

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00021.jpg

then the drill bit was replaced with a center in the chuck and a tap holder was used that enables me to tap perfectly straight

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00022.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00023.jpg

once all 4 holes were it could be assembled

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00024.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00025.jpg

it was then fitted to the car so the final alighment of the sensor could take place and the 15mm hole drilled for the sensor

and here she is near enough fitted and finished

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00030_renamed_18157.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00029_renamed_6680.jpg

there is now no up and down movment and the sensor gap can be set up to the correct distance.

[_SBD16v]

woo, nice work rob, hope your gonna give it a buff while the engine is out, lol. mine also having some top secret work on it tomorrow, i also have to take me gearbox out, it has a clonk, and i want it sorted before pv :hissyfit: it will also need a clean, lookin a bit dirty and ill need it spanking clean to dazzle u on the start line


yeh i am giving the engine bay a clean while its out already got rid fo most of the cv grease with gunk LOL

[laney]

nice one for the cleaning mate, i see you using a classic bridgport milling machine, its been a long time since i fiddled with one of them, does the external crank sensor give a better reading then?

[_SBD16v]

does the external crank sensor give a better reading then?


sort of, the autronic strugles to read 60-2 correctly but it works really well with a 2 teeth 180 degs apart type arangment

so thats what i run with a cosworth sensor

[laney]

ah i see, wondered why you had done that, so after the rebuild, will it have better power or just more useable power

[_SBD16v]

ah i see, wondered why you had done that, so after the rebuild, will it have better power or just more useable power


it depends on how much of a problem this oil burning has been the port job should be better as the new one is neil roper and the man is a bit of a legend.

and its getting mapped again before with a trick or 2 up our sleves ;)

[laney]

cool, fingers crossed it all goes to plan mate. we all love a trick up our sleeves. he he

[_SBD16v]

ok so its a few weeks from PV and the engine is out

not being the night before i dont feel like im under even close to enough pressure so i decided to make it harder for myself

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00057.jpg

foot wells were getting a little tired

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00052.jpg

and a few petrol spills had started to peel the paint

so decided to strip it and repaint it with hamerit, i was unsure how it was going to look but i thought it could not really look any better

WELL happy with the results thou 100 times better should be back together tommorow :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00062.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00065.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00064.jpg

[laney]

lookin good mate, did you use hammerite?

[Harvey]

Nice and bling Rob. You have me thinking now, should I paint my cage white...mmm

[_SBD16v]

lookin good mate, did you use hammerite?


yeh brushed it on im surprised how good it looks tbh

[untouchable]

Looks fab Rob...well done :D

[Anthony]

yeh brushed it on im surprised how good it looks tbh

Looks very good in the pics, wouldn't tell it was a hammerite job.
Looking forward to getting mine sprayed this summer hopefully.. ashamed to say they'll be another white gte about :love-smiley-028:

[laney]

yeh brushed it on im surprised how good it looks tbh

its good stuff, looks like ill be getting my silver and black hammerite out for some touching up on my car!

[astrayorkie]

looks very good

[_SBD16v]

its good stuff, looks like ill be getting my silver and black hammerite out for some touching up on my car!

your going to need too :wasntme:

[laney]

could paint the tops of me pistons with hammerite? that could hide some problems, lmao

[ant]

ive been told many a time that you cannot as the rack is not lubricated,but i can 100% tell you that the power steering fluid does not lubricate the vauxhall rack :bananajump::bananajump:

so im pretty sure it will be ok, i think it will kill the seals for the PAS part so i doubt you could go back but i dont think running it in manual will be a problem


You may have worked it out now. But I ran a PAS rack for 10 years in my rally car from a Calibra but I just removed the pump and joined the high presure hose straight to the oil resovior... so it still had oil but no pressure.

I eventually fitted a electric PAS pump from a Mk4 Astra 3 or 4 years ago and I am still using the original rack... it's never been looked at since factory.

[_SBD16v]

little update, gave the engine a good clean today and its come up as well as it did when it first went in also been cleaning the engine bay trying to make it all a litle fresher

only one picture today

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00071800x600.jpg

been cleaning evenrything as it goes back in so its all fresh

[laney]

ah, whats rob up to, making it all shiney, why is that mate? lol, lookin good tho mate, will it still be clean for pvs?

[_SBD16v]

ah, whats rob up to, making it all shiney, why is that mate? lol, lookin good tho mate, will it still be clean for pvs?

its never going to be that clean mate, itsw still a very tired looking car on the outside,

this is the first time in ages where i have finished fitting things out so there is no need to drill holes etc so perfect time for a tidy up

[laney]

for a minute there i thought u was trying to out shine me, lol, yours still looks the nuts tho mate

[_SBD16v]

for a minute there i thought u was trying to out shine me, lol, yours still looks the nuts tho mate

**** no i dont have the patiants for something like yours

[laney]

lmao, neither do i at the moment.

[_SBD16v]

Time for a little update i have been plodding along with getting the car ready for PV

i have now got my new head spec as follows

neil roper ported
1mm oversize RCE valves
double valve springs
steel retainers
early spring platforms
13mm cosworth bronze guides
both XE cams
arrow solid lifter conversion

while the engine was put decided to change the gearbox as mine got very noisy

gave the new box a lick of paint before going in

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00086.jpg

and then sloted it all into place

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00089.jpg

turbo and hoses back in
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00093.jpg

while fitting bits today i rememebered that my gearbox has been breathing really heavy so decided to plumb the gearbox vent into the catch tank

first i adapted the standard vent

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00095.jpg

drilled the center out to 8.5mm and then tapped it with a 1/8npt tap

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00096.jpg

this allowed me to screw in a 8mm push fitting

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00098-1.jpg

and fitted

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00099-1.jpg

drilled the catch tank and fitted the same fitting in there

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00100.jpg

then got some of my 8mm silicon hoses i had left and there we have it a gearbox vent

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00101-1.jpg

and with all the hoses neatly run

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00104.jpg

also recived some new leads from magnecor under warrenty

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00074.jpg


atm well on target for being done for pv :D

[GTE16v]

good work there chap

[laney]

ah looks like rob is a thrill boy with the hammerite like me :thumbsup:, lmao
looking good mate, mine nowhere near finished, its 1x laney power atm, running race at pod?? i have been practicing me starts lol.

[_SBD16v]

ah looks like rob is a thrill boy with the hammerite like me :thumbsup:, lmao
.

things just look soooooo good in hammerite

[laney]

hehe, er i noticed ur alternator is lookin VERY DIRTY, lol

[_SBD16v]

hehe, er i noticed ur alternator is lookin VERY DIRTY, lol


i dont want it to be too clean, i have to let your car win at something ......

[laney]

its not going mate, :hissyfit: mk2 cav ftw:thumbsup:

[_SBD16v]

only one picture as i forgot to take any more

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00133.jpg

interier is back in and engine is running

so bar a nut and bolt check and mapping its ready for pv

[laney]

woo hoo, nioce one mate, spankee whats in on the race at pod, but he will prob bottle it, he's getting on a bit, lol

[Belmont turbo]

looks awesome!!

[Mr-G]

Looking good mate :D

[_SBD16v]

update time

well thats me 99% ready for pv, not without last minute drama might i add !!

3 o'clock yesterday, 1 hour before chip was due to arive i had the car ticking over sorting the idle speed when i caused the engine to stall and a puff of smoke came out arounf my spark plugs which i thought was a little odd so decided to have a look and i was greated with this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01361.jpg

a 2 inch crack down the center of one of the welds :(

i quickly jumped into the car and drove thought the base to the welding school (lucky enough we have a welding school on the base and i get on well with one of the tig welders)

i tell him my problem and he said how fast can i get it off beaing in myind he finishes at 4, 15 mins later the inlet was off and being welded, he welded over the crack and around the bracket to make sure everything was sealed all within 30 mins of finding the crack

within the hour it was all back in one piece ready for mapping.

when chip turned up we went out for some mapping first we checked with a timming gun the crank possision this was 6 degs out to what my crank angle was orignily sat at so we decided to correct it and go out with 6 degs more advance and see if we had any det.

the good news was it swallowed the 6 more degs, everywhere so miles better for EGT's than the last time it was out and it drove nicer with the extra timing, now pulls very clean though the gears we upped the boost to 1.8 bar again had one more run thought 4th, 5th 6th to 6500 in 6th then decided that was more than enough checking for pv so leaving it at that.

the combination of a new gearbox, 2 new drive shafts has made the car drive much much nicer it seams alot more controlable in a straight line and is nice in long corners somewhere it was always a little sketchy.

so bar a few cable ties (always needed) the car is ready to be loaded onto the truck for pv :D:D

fingers crossed it all goes well

[_SBD16v]

thought it was time for a little update following a little work lol

i have not touched the car really in the last 3 months partly due to work comitments, partly due to dad comitments and partly due to waiting on an exhaust manifold AGAIN.

but this week i did start doing a few jobs ive been putting off, first was the roof a few years ago i had the roof rails welded and filled, or so i thought

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01626.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01629.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01630.jpg

as you can see the job they done was not to hot so i decided to have a dig foolishly thinking i could do it without damaging the paint to much lol what i found was the rail was TOTALLY full of filler with no plate at all no wonder it was cracked to ****

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01627.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01633.jpg

anyway i was going to get the car painted soon however ive been making some purchases lol as you will see in a min, so i decided as a temp fixing to get a pair of roof rails after making a few calls i found a set from brett and he posted them to me, i was hoping they had a decent overlay as that should cover most of the problem areas

i was plesently surprised

this is the worst part where it still shows from under but there is only one place like that so quite happy

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01683.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01682.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01684.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01685.jpg

i dont normally like them but there kind of growing on me now.

i also made a new purchase for it last week aswell, im fed up with problems with my dash and a few gauges have recently died so i decided to get a new dash

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01652.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01653.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01654.jpg

race technologys dash 2 and a DL1 data logger ive been playing the with data logger and its quite cool can do track mapping and upload all your data onto videos, with dials and maps of tracks etc but annoyingly for some reason when i got the dash 2 wired in it did not work :( so i have sent it back to be looked at but here is a pic of it working

http://www.motokinetic.com.au/shop/images/RaceTechnology%20Dash2%2001.jpg

[Steve Heley]

The roof looks alot better like that.. get the skirts and black bumper trims on!..

[mick g]

I bet it will be faster with the rails on Rob as they are lighter than all that filler... I really like the new dash gear too, will be good to see it all fitted and working.. Have you had your car weighed ever? it would be interesting to see how light it is with all the mods you have done:)

[_SBD16v]

The roof looks alot better like that.. get the skirts and black bumper trims on!..

i think it will be getting the side skirts back

but im not sure what colour yet lol i dont want it to end up with too much black

[Steve Heley]

yeh.. black trim. white spoiler and dark silver wheels would be smart..

[_SBD16v]

yeh.. black trim. white spoiler and dark silver wheels would be smart..

also like every other standard astra on silver wheels :wasntme::wasntme:

lol

[Steve Heley]

..but it aint standard.. there's the sting.

[Anthony]

Gutted to see the rails crack as i decided to do this on the new one.... we did go for metal elded in so hopefully shouldn't crack!
Interesting to see the you went for the Dash2 as i nearly bought one myself... went for the aims dash instead.

Regards

[_SBD16v]

Interesting to see the you went for the Dash2 as i nearly bought one myself... went for the aims dash instead.

Regards

i could not make my mind up but what sold me was cost tbh, the aim has gone up ALOT with the £-$ and i dont think it does anything the dash 2 dont and for a little more than the aim i got the gps data logger aswell :grinning-smiley-043

[laney]

just need a nice dash board to mount it in now, still liking the orig dash, LEAVE IT ALONE! lol

[_SBD16v]

just need a nice dash board to mount it in now, still liking the orig dash, LEAVE IT ALONE! lol

nope its time she was potty trained

[laney]

nope its time she was potty trained

???????? wtf u on about, lol

[_SBD16v]

???????? wtf u on about, lol

time for it to grow up ;)

[laney]

ha ha, i see, is it getting a make over then, paint and polish, and stored in a barn and not used so it dont get dirty, hmmm sounds familiar, lol

[_SBD16v]

ha ha, i see, is it getting a make over then, paint and polish, and stored in a barn and not used so it dont get dirty, hmmm sounds familiar, lol

na mines to be used :applause:

[laney]

mine too, once in a blue moon, its going out next tuesday to ace cafe, lol

[_SBD16v]

mine too, once in a blue moon, its going out next tuesday to ace cafe, lol

god knows when mine will next go out, got alot to work on anyway

[laney]

:( fingers crossed its soon mate, weather will be crap soon too :hissyfit:

[_SBD16v]

little update

ive not been happy for a while with the inside of the car, i have decided to turn it back into a little bit more of a car

with the purchase of a new dash i was going to need to make a new dashboard i decided that this time i wanted a proper dash and the dash is

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01687.jpg

once i have it properly fitted it will be getting sent off to get flocked

had a quick trial of the dash 2 inside the instrment panel and it fits really well

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01686.jpg

got a few idea's on how to fit the dash 2 hopfull ill be atacking the dash at the weekend when i am duty so have 2 days to work on the car :D:D

[laney]

nice dash mate :applause:, im sure you will make it fit pukka.

[_SBD16v]

yeh with a little work it should look good

[Harvey]

My mk2 dash took some cutting to fit it round the cage but I get there in the end, just depends how neat you want it to look and how much patience you have.

[_SBD16v]

My mk2 dash took some cutting to fit it round the cage but I get there in the end, just depends how neat you want it to look and how much patience you have.

well if i want it very neat

im going to ahve to get another new dash :(:(:(

[laney]

well if i want it very neat

im going to ahve to get another new dash :(:(:(

new dash it is then, bring it over here mate ill make it look nice, lol

[Anthony]

well if i want it very neat

im going to ahve to get another new dash :(:(:(

nah fook that, its a track car remember Rob :thumbsup:

[_SBD16v]

nah fook that, its a track car remember Rob :thumbsup:

ive owned a ''track carr'' for a few years now

and its not all its hyped upto be, we will have to test your track car agaist my half hearted effort ;)

[Anthony]

we will have to test your track car agaist my half hearted effort ;)

sounds good... just give me another 2yrs to finish mine! :thumbsup::(

[_SBD16v]

sounds good... just give me another 2yrs to finish mine! :thumbsup::(



im sure ill still be finishing mine in 5 years so i would not warry to much lol

[Harvey]

im sure ill still be finishing mine in 5 years so i would not warry to much lol

It'll never be finished, a bit like mine :thumbsup:

[_SBD16v]

little bit of progress on the dash got the old one stripped out and the new one cut into place, i must admit its harder than it looks cutting around a cage and i cut alot more than i needed to lol

so im going to get this one all mounted then once im fully happy ill get another to get flocked and cut it a minimal amount

but the good news is its now in i have properly mounted one side, using the original mounting points on the dash i cut a piece of metal the correct shape then welded it onto the cage going to do the drivers side tommorow in the same way, what it means is that i can mount the new flocked dash simply on original points

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01700.jpg

took a cheeky picture of what you can see though the steering wheel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01706.jpg

should look really nice once properly mounted and you can see the shift lights perfect

[Anthony]

Good work getting it on the original points.. should look very smart once all flocked!

[fastec]

got through reading all 36 pages of this build......awesome !!!!

i'm also building something similar for the track.....picked up alot of helpfull tips from your build, thanks and keep up the great work !!

[Harvey]

All sounds very familiar Rob, took me ages to get my dash looking spot on but when I did my second attempt it took no time at all.

[_SBD16v]

All sounds very familiar Rob, took me ages to get my dash looking spot on but when I did my second attempt it took no time at all.

well i have the brakets all in place for the dash to bolt in and out and it fits perfect

i never used the original drivers mount but i have a possition it mounts to that is very repeatable so wont be a problem on the new dash.

just got to get stuck into thw wiring today :yuck::yuck:

[BazW]

you need to get it ready for Mallory...I'll be up against a load of Escort RS turbos on my own lol

[_SBD16v]

you need to get it ready for Mallory...I'll be up against a load of Escort RS turbos on my own lol

lol

nothing to new but the dash is all in on its own mounts now, i powered it up tonight so it deserved a picture lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01717.jpg

[laney]

very nice clocks rob, looks very light too, no big holes cut into the dash yet then, lol

[_SBD16v]

a few pics

i want the dash to be held very firm as im fitting my data logger inside where the standard stereo went and it has sensors to measure movement so need to dash to be ridged

so i decided to leave the metal backing behind the dash and mount that to the cage

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01710.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01709.jpg

little bracket welded onto the cage once it was bent in place and i was happy with the possition i whiped the dash back out and strengthened it

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01712.jpg

there was still a little movement so i went back to the scrap yard to see if the mk3 astra lower mount would fit, it turned out the mk3 astra tunnel is higher than the mk2 so it would not fit dirrect but all it needed was spacing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01835.jpg

mount fits well i need to space up the accusump but thats easy done, i then gave the inside a good clean out and started on some wiring

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01834.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01833.jpg

thats as far as i got, i have all the switches for the lights etc working now on the original ones.

[KEV]

Nice to see your still working away and improving this car all the time sbd. Dash looks good, can that oil accumulator store pressure so its there for start up? Or does it explete as soon as the engines stopped? Did your friend ever get anywhere with the saab 2.3 engine project? Think it was an Omega you said it was going in. I'm going to get mine started soonish, once my workshops built. Really miss having projects to do and a big space to work out of like I did in my old motor club when I was in the raf, servicing cars for homers out of my single garage at home just isn't the same. Hows navy life these days anyway?

[_SBD16v]

little update


had to go pick up a cake for my boys 1st birthday and it was in the same direction as performance trim (the carbon ppl) so i gave them a ring in the week to see if they had any offcuts and they said to pop in

so i went over and picked up this bit of carbon for £10

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01895.jpg

perfect for what i need

first i cut it down to a more manageable piece

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01898.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01900.jpg

i then covered the whole piece in masking tape so i would be able to mark it out and then i made my markings for cutting

i made a cardboard cutout for getting the correct shape on the bottom

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01901.jpg

here it is mostly cut out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01902.jpg

i used a hacksaw and then a bench grider for cutting and shaping

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01904.jpg

and here it is fitted

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01906.jpg

need to bond it in and drill wholes for the electrical conections and mounting screws, overall well happy with the job and it only took me an hour which was a bonus :D:D:D:D

[laney]

nice one mate :thumbsup:


oh and happy birthday to rob jnr

[gte addict]

Just sat myself down and read this from start to finish, Epic car you have there mate.
Whilst mine will be no where near in league with yours (ie standardish GTE) you car is an inspiration to me that I might be able to tackle a bit more on mine than I initially thought especially in the steering department.

Top work mate and a top notch car, I will be following this from here on in.:thumbsup:

[_SBD16v]

had 30 mins spare after work so i decided to mount the clocks onto the carbon then bolt it in for a quick picture

more than happy with the way its turned out
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/dash.jpg

[Astra Dan]

Oh that's niiiiice.

[laney]

getting there mate, like the dash a lot.

any news on manifold yet?

[_SBD16v]

been working on the car today, alot of the jobs were rebuilding the car with parts ive taken pics of before so could not be arsed with any of that.

i have been doing something new thou, i never got the EPAS working properly before as it keep breaking the controller i was using, i decided that while its all in bits i was going to give it another shot with a new column and a new controller so hopfully it should all work this time.

i was never 100% happy with how i mounted the column before as there was some movement so i took this as a good time to make some new brackets

first i found a suitable piece of steel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01936.jpg

i then used the sheet metal cutter to get the right shape of metal using my spare column

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01938.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01939.jpg

i then bolted it into the car and cut a second piece of metal for the upright of the bracket

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01940.jpg

tacked that in place in the car then took it out to be properly welded

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01941.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01942.jpg

i wanted to make a small gusset to make sure the bracket did not flex, it is a odd shape due to space constrictions around the pedals

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01943.jpg

quick quirt of paint

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01948.jpg

and here it is fitted to a column

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01950.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01952.jpg

going to finish putting the turbo on tomorrow morning, then its on with the wiring

[DarrenH]

nice one, the dash looks proper touring car chic'

[_SBD16v]

not really alot to take pictures of today but im a pic whore so found a few
lol, been working on the car all day again mostly wiring

how the day started

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01959.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01960.jpg

a mess of wires the good news is the dash is now all wired in, for controlling the dash menu,select, up and down i have used a cruise control indicator stork and a trip computer reset one for the wiper, this has meant i dont have to have 4 random buttons on the dash and they are easy to get to with your hands on the wheel.

i also got the ECU interface working, this allows me to transmit any of the ECU parameters to the dash.

i chucked a few up and took a picture this is screen

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01964.jpg

that is screen one atm and it has water temp, battery voltage and ambient air temp
you have 5 different screens with 3 different parameters on each screen, this is screen 2

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC01965.jpg

boost pressure and throttle percentage


the dash allows you to set high and low warnings for all parameters that as displayed on each screen, when you get a warning up it flashes the red shift lights brings up the channel that is alarming and reads low/high pressure etc.


i did not get any pics of it all fitted but the dash is all in and the lights are wired in to the orignal switches

[astrayorkie]

Wow good bit of kit .

[_SBD16v]

woohoo

she runs again :D:D

[laney]

nice one mate, all ok now then?

[_SBD16v]

well no pictures im afraid been far to busy for them

but the good news is the dash is all in and fully wired in, and last friday she passed her mot so is now ready to move to plymouth :D:D

[laney]

woo hoo nice one mate, all legal again, comon with the pics :thumbsup:

[_SBD16v]

ok time for some updates (as its been a while)

new manifold turned up a month or so ago lots of changes on this one fingers crossed it will not break

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC00046-1.jpg

i have also changed over to a 44mm v band wastegate will i was at it as the 4 bolt tials do my head in lol, because the turbo was lowered on the new manifold i needed to remake the oil drain, i had some problems last month with using -8 fittings so i have now gone upto -10 and instead of going into the block i am going to go down into the sump.

ill put some pics up of how i have done it once i get the correct size hose tommorow as DT sent me -12 :(

this little bad boy also turned up today

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC02929.jpg

its a rollover valve for my fuel tank, it lets the tank vent if it goes under pressure but also lets air into the tank to stop the pumps pulling a vacum, but if you end up on your roof it stops any fuel coming out the tank.

ive been looking for a new steering wheel one ebay etc for a while but yesterday decided to just get a new one so ordered a 330mm momo suede wheel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC02925.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC02933.jpg

just a few more bits to do inside the car with bits of trim but overall im getting very happy with the inside

also got a ctek battery charger

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/DSC02927.jpg

this is a charger/conditioner you basically conect it and leave it conected to the car it then keeps the battery charged running it thou use cycles slightly discharging then charging the battery to keep it in good condition.

just got a few little bits to sort before combe on the 24th of april :D

[mick g]

Good stuff Rob, really like the steering wheel. I must look back through your diary to see what happened to the old manifold...

[_SBD16v]

the old manifolds just kept on cracking this one is made from a better grade of stainless steel though so with some luck this one will last better than the old ones did.

been doing on jobs on it last few days nothing really to take pics of as its all been seen before lol

will have a update at some point soon just starting to collect the bits for a new engine......

[Harvey]

just starting to collect the bits for a new engine......

What spec you going for Rob?

[Davey J]

How much was your charger dude?

[GTE16v]

Is she coming to Combe Rob?

edit. doh! just read the post up there!

[_SBD16v]

time for a bit of a update

first off been doing a little maths have worked out that with the length of my front shocks to gain 1 deg of caster or camber i need to move the top or bottom of the shock by roughtly 11mm, also with the help of alister olsen the amount of caster i will gain just by dropping the rear is around 1.5 degs !! at the moment i have just under a deg on the passnegers side and 1.5 degs on the drivers and i would like to achive 4 degs.

so the plan is atm to lower the rear to gain the 1.5 avalible then modify the lower arms to push the ball joint forward which should allow me to have the 4 degs i want atm

this very very poor paintshop should give you an idea of my plans

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/lowerarmsmod.jpg

first stage was to get hold of some lower arm parts for the moding, quick post on ASTRA-MK2 came up trumps and today i recived

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/67a6c6af.jpg

i shall get some pics up once i start to mod them.

and now onto the larger work ever since i built the engine its smoked on tick over when cold and burnt a little oil in use this has always been put down to the total seal piston rings that seam to be very fussy on running in and bore honing.

anyway i decided i wanted to sort it out and in true fashion it spiralled lol

ive got most of the parts now for the rebuild

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/b5f3ed3f.jpg

new block bored to 87mm fitted with oil jets

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/88b91b0b.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/fbee7ab4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/56748118.jpg

omega pistons and arrow sbd rods also have a girdle for the new engine, a opc vauxhall steel crank and zlet pump and pickup pipe.

decided to order a set of solid lifter profile cams from steveboyslim to quiten it down as the solids obviously dont like being on hydraulic cams.

and finally just cause im feeling a little picture whore today, a picture of my new side extension on my tool box :D:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/d786b08d.jpg

[Harvey]

Front wishbone mods lok interesting.

[_SBD16v]

no pictures tonight just a quick update

went out to the garage last night a checked the bores to ensure they had been bored to the correct clearence, then gapped the rings correctly, should be able to go out again tonight and start to put the jigsaw puzzle together.

big thanks to al olsen here i was chatting to him about shimming the rear beam as mine is not straight and at the moment toes out so could explain some of my handling issues, but because the rear hub does not have square bolt fixings if you just shim the rear to increase toe in then it causes the wheel to ''twist'' and can remove camber when you add the toe in which is not ideal

so i measure the hole distances and sent them over to al who then worked out the exact amount i need to shim each bolt to keep the camber the same as it is and just adjust the caster

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/shims.jpg


not only did he work out how much ill have to move in a theretical world he also worked out the effect that using a washer would have on the possition.

these settings should allow my beat to toe in on the drivers side by 10 seconds instead of toeing out by 30 !!

[_SBD16v]

well thats the head off and boxed ready to send to steveboyslim ready for the new camshafts :D:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/c2379574.jpg

had a look into the turbo tonight once i got it off and there is no wet oil anymore so im hoping the new oil drain has solved that problem.

had a few deliverys today aswell new set of R888's as mine are starting to look like they have seen better days

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/bf5ca643.jpg

and because im changing the crank to an xer one i now need to use a late cambelt set-up so got a new set of verniers, i also bought some steel cambelt rollers as the standard plastic ones have been know to fail.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/539f1dc8.jpg

[mick g]

There are some nice bits going into your engine Rob, are you going for more power as well? Is it your rear beam thats not straight, would it be easier just to swap the beam for another one? Also I like the tool box:thumbsup:

[_SBD16v]

No staying with the same power, getting it mapped again on the 2nd of July and hoping for 400bhp

na much easier to unbolt the rear stud axel and put some shims in than buy a beam remove it transport it fit it new bushes 5 stud convert it and then dispose of my beam to then find out vauxhalls tollerance is not as good as I would like it to be, and then end up shimminghe new one to get the geometry settings I want.

It's not alot of work to shim it only have to work it out (that I did not do hee hee) and then remove the stud axel

yeh toolbox rocks

[Astra Dan]

Nice workings on the beam.
Where does one get those steel rollers from, they look the nuts! Are they available for the 20XEV too?

[_SBD16v]

Had a really busy veru productive weekend :D

big thanks to alister olsen, he was doing some work in plymouth for the weekend and said he might be able to pop over so i emplyed him for every second he had free lol

or focus was to try and sort out some of the geometery settings on my car.

first was to gain more caster on the front, my first sugestion was to cut the arm in half between the ball joint and the arm mount and then reweld it 22mm forward (giving 2 degs of caster), however once we removed the arms it because clear that we could gain the 2 degs by rotating the ball joint in the arm.

as you can see here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0471.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0472.jpg

we decided this was the new plan due to being able to us an original hole and a drilled hole with just one of the holes needing repairing it would make a very strong arm.

before we started any cutting/welding we put the leg back onto the car and tested that it was giving us the caster we belived it was and to check clearences.

2 degs might not sound like alot but it is surpising the difference it makes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0475.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0476.jpg

and a check on the oil filter

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0482.jpg

once we were happy we could start to cut and weld them up, the front bolt hole was now in a possition that could not be drilled so we cout it out and then set about using a repair washer to make a new hole due to the thickness of the metal there would have been a large gap so we built it up with a few half washers first
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0500.jpg

then a waher ontop to give us a new hole
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0503.jpg

the rear bolt did not make full contact due to being so close to a ''slope'' so this was also packed with a half washer, welded then ground back to give a flat surface

arms were then welded up ground back and painted black

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0497.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0501.jpg

you can see how much its moved in this picture

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0504.jpg

thats the front now completed in theory with my shock length 11mm of movement on the lower ball joint is 1 deg and with the lowering of the rear and adjusting the drivers top mount i should now be around 2.5 degs of camber both sides and 4 degs of caster on both sides.

with the front complete it was time to shim the rear beam out came my shiming material, in varring thicknesses

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0506.jpg

these were then cut into strips

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0509.jpg

while trying to find the correct sizes i found out i had the .1mm .4mm but no .5 al was toying with the idea of gluing to shims together where as i just started to measure things

and i found a ruler was .5mm perfect so it also got the chop

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0514.jpg


al then set about cutting a half circle into the shims, the measurements he had worked out were for the shim to be down the center line so the best way to achinve that was to fit the face on the center line

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0516.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0517.jpg

after all the filing and cutting al was starting to feel a little hot so out came the magnums (that came in there own little boxes lol )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0510.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0511.jpg

and the final job was to fit the axel back up with the shims in place

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0518.jpg

this should now put my beam toeing in instead of toeing out :D

once again big thanks to al for the work this weekend

[laney]

nice work mate :thumbsup:

[screamer69]

fook me 2mm and its moved that much :eek:

i take it now its moved that much the trackings all to shit now ??

[_SBD16v]

fook me 2mm and its moved that much :eek:

i take it now its moved that much the trackings all to shit now ??

I'm guessing you mean 22mm ??

You have to move it 11mm to change caster and camber by 1 deg, it is surprising how much 2 degs is noticable by to the eye.

The tracking will be out but it's was gong back for full alignment anyway to check these changes are as we predicted, also I had mine tracked in by1.5 degs to try and make it feel more stable at speed becasue of the lack of caster

It worked but that mind of toe in is not ideal in a track car you actually want to turn in lol

[_SBD16v]

After my last trip to combe it became aparent that my radiator was a little underspec'd untill now i had been using a corsa c rad and it had been coping well with power levels upto 330 bhp but it did not enjoy a 20 deg day with 2 bar of boost lol.

i was having a look though passionford when i see someone selling a pro alloy one for £40 because it had been previously damaged but had since been repaired and checked i snapped there arm off i had in my possession one pro alloy cossie rad, as you can see there is a ''small'' size difference lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/92c76512.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0477.jpg

putting it into the hole and i could not have asked for a better size if i spec'd it myself perfect use of all avalible space

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0481.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/IMG_0479.jpg

the only real problem with it is the inlet and outlet are on different sides of the rad,my first intension was just to cut them off and move them around and have them rewelded however the cossie uses 32mm pipes but the vauxhall hoses need 35.

so i ordered a hose joiner that is 35mm at both ends, i ordered one with a flange in the middle as this might have been easier to fit

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/2abb3d85.jpg

but once i have cut it in half i found it did not work that well so cut the flanges off, i then redrilled the holes with one in the possition for a top hose and one half way down like on a vauxhall

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/b58c4057.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/d3fac2c2.jpg

i have made blanking plates for the holes i created and im having a boss welded into the top ''cossie'' one for the water feed for the turbo, its going off for welding tonight.

hopefully this should cure my coolent issues :D:D

[_SBD16v]

yeh i was very suprised about the rad fitting so well.

well first off i have had a little bit of bad news i was hoping to have my cylinder head back intime to put the new engine into the car before rscombe on the 3rd of july due to a unforscene head issue should have it all back for total vauxhall live thou.

in the meantime chip has ordered some rings for the bottom end im going to re-ring it and put a standard head on, turn the power down to around 330-350 and then do rs combe with that im not bothered atm as im looking forward more to the changes in suspension than the overall pace for my next outing so this should all work out well in the end.

been doing one of them jobs you just keep putting off, i have a fibreglass bonnet and when i first fitted it i tried to fit it on 4 pins however the front ones were not just a straight fit and needed some washers welding on, because te bonnet can use the standard pin this has always been put off lol, but as im starting to do the ''little'' jobs no one ever wants to do.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/cc69ca3b.jpg

only problem was as some will notice just as we started to weld we ran out of gas ARRRRGGGGG

ill get some more gas next week and go around the rest of them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/a658277d.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/79c157aa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/0e65e999.jpg

[_SBD16v]

quick update for tonight decided to have a look into the rear archs, i had to jack the car up to clear the tyres but this was not ideal and was effecting the handling alot, i was going to put it into a body shop but im not going to have time before combe, so i just thought id have a go at it.

first of all got out the heat gun and warmed the arch to try and stop the paint from cracking then gentally beat the lip upwards, i was quite surprised as it was not overly hard lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/0d6c4260.jpg

and the tyre now clears on the drivers side just need to do the passengers at some point next week

[_SBD16v]

time for a gloomy update

simon(STT) came around last night to give me a hand as im on quite a tight schedual to get the car finished for mot before the weekend, as i will not have time after the weekend as im back at work.

the list of jobs was not that long re-ring the block and then just fit a new head on, this is a standard head untill i can fit my new engine between rs combe and tvl then i would have tonight for any finishing jobs/mot bits then for mot on thursday.

once simon was down we pulled out the pistons and gave the bores a quick hone with a bore deglazer to help the rings bed in, while simon was cleaning and checking the ring groves on the pistons i pulled out a ring to see if they needed gapping

and there was a big problem staring us in the face

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/b33b6c1a.jpg

ummmm thats a little large lol

so i decided to give it a measure

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/3f87c474.jpg

2.04mm now to those that dont built engines that figure wont mean much so ill tell you what it should be, it should be somewhere in the region of 0.3-0.4mm.

it was quite obvious straight away what had happened and a quick look at the box confimed it i had been send 86mm not 86.5mm rings, have spoken to steve who could not apoligise enough and is sending a set of 86.5mm rings out today special delivery so ill have them tommorow morning (fingers crossed)

this will give me just tommorow to get the car built and ready for an mot on friday so fingers crossed it passes first time.

i had a second bad bit of news last night aswell the cheap pro alloy radiator i bought is going to make a wonderfull door stop, the repair that had been carried out on leaked, but not only did that row leak when we reapaired that one we found another 7!!!! that leaked meaning far to much of the rad is going to be sealed up to stop it leaking and if that many leak already it aint going to be long till more do, so its back to the drawing board on the rad front.

this problem spured me on to make another change to the car ive been thinking about for a while make the slam pannel removable, to change the rad in my car i have to remove the turbo, manifold and external wastegate, this as you can imagine is a pain in the arse, and with the current rad problem i have no choice but to fit the corsa rad to get me to mot and look for something else to fit next week.

so out came the tape, a hacksaw and a simon few cuts later and we were left with

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/d04fd63f.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/533f3d1c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/df3a45b2.jpg

this should make removing the rad alot easier, i dont think im going to use the standard metal back in the whole as it weighs alot for something that now does nothing so im prob going to make a simple alloy one for the time being with maybe a carbon one at a later date

going out tonight to put the front supension back together and make sure the car is in a possition that its just a head gasket rebuilt tommorow night, simon is hoping to come down again tommorow to help and is going to see if one of his mates is free aswell so it will be all hands on deck lol.

[Harvey]

Good read Rob, keep at it and let us know the results of the wheel alignment when you get them done.

[_SBD16v]

sorry for no updates before the trackday but it all got a little busy with me running out of time.
i managed however to get it all in one piece for rs combe, but more about that in a min.

got a few new bits for when it went together this time

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/5f1ca32d.jpg

one piece rear water hose, i had been using a blocked 3 way one but this is much better

i got a new camera for the car now its a contor hd camera and will record in 1080P im recording in much lower deff atm as my computer will not actually edit the hd movies

made a quick bracket to hold onto the cage as you now have to have your camera solid mounted at combe sucktion mounts are not legal

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/113933d8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/fa85f800.jpg

now something important, once it was all running i took it back for some alignment figures

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/dd451dba.jpg

all i now need to do is space the passengers side lower arm forward to match up the caster then re-adjust camber and tracking and it should be at the figures i want, the rear now toes in the correct amount alister worked out.

to say im happy is a understatment from the second i had the alignment done it was clear that the car had now stepped up to a different league of handling

it was just so much more positive, had good mechanical grip and the rear now actually follows the front.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/8caeec4b.jpg

the changes that have been made are even noticable from outside the car, the amount of body roll has been drastically reduced.

picture of me using all the kerbs (and a little more lol)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/b218846a.jpg

once again i had overheating problems i was not able to use the alloy rad i had bought as when it was pressure tested after welding the new inlets and outlets it was found to be leaking on 7 rows !!

i was able to get a larger rad into the whole for combe thou i fitted a cav turbo diesel rad now obviously not as good as a aftermarket perfermance rad but should have been upto the job but i was only able to complete 2 laps before temp were 110 degs + so i have a quite serious issue.

im not 100% sure what the problem is yet but im about to have a copper core rad custom made and i will fully shield the turbo from the rad as i think there is a possiblity that the heat from the turbo is boiling the water in the rad because of this problem i was only able to complete 2 laps, but they were 2 quite good laps.

my target for the gte has always been to run 1:19 around combe, and i was able to run 1:20 on my second lap with the car handling

so im pretty sure my target will be achived infact im thinking of giving myself a new goal of 1:18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm9fqJ0cVlU

hope you enjoy :D:D

[BazW]

I don't know where you get your enthusiasm...send me some as mine's fooked again

Good work again...

[_SBD16v]

i nearly forgot to say that the car had new tyres fitted and because we we rushing the tyre pressures were not checked untill after that session

my 1:20 lap was with

front left 37psi
front right 36psi
rear right 35psi
rear left 90 psi

YES 90 psi !!! the tyre had not had the pressure dropped after having the bead broken.

so there is still a little more to come from tyre pressures

[laney]

wooo nice track action, shame it was cut short mate, looked like the car is lees of a handfull too now, much improved! keep up the good work,


oh and the front looks a millon dollars with the trim! lol

[screamer69]

looking good :)

i take it your interwarmers in front of the rad ??

had the same problem with mine even with an ally rad 105 plus all the time and couldnt get it to drop even with cool ruuing switch and stat and the fan on :hissyfit: interwarmers now removed and dont go over 85 all day long :) smae with my brother tigra and his rad now is stupid size its half the size of a nova rad atleast no interwarmer in front of it temps stay spot on put the interwarmer infront and temps straight up and wont come down and both our turbos are about 1/2" from the rad

just a thought as we had this trouble last year and the begining of the year but solved it now

[_SBD16v]

What have you done for intrcooling now jay ??

[screamer69]

charge cooler :) seems to work very well concidering what ive been told about them :) 30 deg day and i was hitting 42deg on a full bore run so im happy over all with that and that was just warmish tap water i wasnt useing ice like i plan on doing i just need to get the pipe work sorted over winter as they what looks like garden hose but a few rolls of black tap sorted that it will do till winter lol then im having another new tank made for it and get a load of pipes made up for it as theres so many joints in it its stupid :(

but even on the other car with a intercooler removing it from infront of the rad drop the water temps down by a bloody lot and that rad like i said in the other post is stupid small 18" wide and prob the same hight . before it had the original rad in it with cooler infront of it and it would sit at 100 all the time no matter how it was driven by now it sits around 90 and concidering the size of the rad i think it works bloody well mine sits even on a 30deg day and hammering the car sits at 83-85 and all i have is a ally version of the astra rad nothing special and a 10" slimline fan

[_SBD16v]

think i found my problem head gasket was going again :(

[_SBD16v]

Hello everyone back again

There have been no updates as I have not done anything since my last track day in July, bit of work, bit of family stuff but mainly I could not be arsed lol

However now Dewis has moved down that's given me the motivation to crack on and get it all running again.

So I'm reviving my thread and will try to update with progress as I go, first Job is to get the old engine out.

Decided to remove the engine in Dewis workshop as there is alot more room than in my garage

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/802286a8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/0ea10c5f.jpg

Since I removed the slam panel there is alot more room so decided to take a picture of the turbo and manifold with the rad out lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/7c75784f.jpg

Dewis then decided he wanted a mince with a big spanner ( they don't make marines like they used to) lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/cf99c9dd.jpg

While Dewis was removing boost pipe he noticed a odd looking engine mount

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/d09e4417.jpg

The bush on the passengers front engine mount is well and truly f.....d not only was there a massive amount of play in the bush it had also elongated the hole in the mount, so that will explain it being a little bit tq steering last time I took it out, dews has managed to source a bush that with a small shim should fit perfect.

And then a few hours later the old engine was out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/4d394843.jpg

And then stripped all ready to go upto chip

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/82309b69.jpg

Going to start a dry build on the engine tonight, then once im happy I have everything get it built and into the car.

[mick g]

Looking forward to the updates Rob, you always have something on the go with your car...

[_SBD16v]

Looking forward to the updates Rob, you always have something on the go with your car...


yep cant help but tinker lol

im hoping this engine will be the last for a few years, its being build very strong but running the same power with a few vital upgrades for reliability.

then ive got some new buts to fit and back out for bedford in feb

[_SBD16v]

quick update

spent the last few days dry building the engine to check i had everything, had to get various bolts and ordered some bits from sbd

new cambelt rollers these have uprated alloy rollers instead of the standard plastic ones

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/15c4d587.jpg

and then a new ''tensioner'' with the autotension part removed and replaced with a fixed spacer

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/4fa1bba3.jpg

once this is fitted you tighten the cam belt using the water pump, looks like i now have all the parts for the new engine BUT

as is often the case when you take these things apart items that are working perfectly can be found to have issues, and this strip down has been no different :(

taking my clutch off the old engine i found a very odd and alarming blue mark that looked like the clutch had been slipping

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/496182d4.jpg

we then found cracking on the plates

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/e0705d8d.jpg

there is 7 of these cuts in the plate to make 6 paddels and one had 3 cracked the other has 4 :(

i then started to measure the plates to see how warn they were and i was quite happy with the results finding that the plates were between 2.36mm and 2.4mm now they only start with 2.62 and these plates have done about 4k miles several track days and 1/4 mile days so have lasted very well, while measureing i found another problem one of the plates was no longer parrell

measuring accross the whole face of the material was 2.36

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/9c65d925.jpg

but if i measure 3mm in then the figure is 1.96

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/c6bb788a.jpg

checking accross the various plates with a straight edge confirmed my fears

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/twitchell/db6ff8ab.jpg

the outer ring is bent like a bannana its .4mm lower on the inside than the outside.

ive spoken to tilton and this plate is known to do this and is considered a consumable part but they now produce 2 plates the first one is as i have, the second is a cast iron item that does not warp it comes with a weight penalty but is alot more reliable.

at £370 worth of damage a painfull day, but as my wife said to me

''well we know your hobby is expensive''

[Davey J]

If only my other half was as understanding! I have to round my prices down a fair bit!

[rossi]

hi it could be so you can remove the wish bones quickly as the bolts would not have rusted in the chassis.as its a x rally car do you know if used for forest or tarmac hope this helps.