GTE valver fast road/track car project

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Clio Sport, Megan thingy, Mazda RX7, Lotus Elise, Scooby's, BMW's, Audi TT, Porsche Boxter, Laurie etc

Wasn't really paying much attention to cars I was passing as it was more about enjoying the GTE. It certainly felt quick and I thought I'd be running out of gears with the Quaife 4.2 but having the extra rpm made all the difference and the car felt lovely to drive. Coppice was my favourite as I was getting on the power early, I could lean on the R888's, really push out the corner and get decent speed down the straight. My left wrist has been playing up all week (not sure what it is yet) and it was niggling me yesterday so I was struggling with the chicane (Roberts) before the start finish later in the day. The EPAS felt really good and gave me so much confidence and feedback. Had a scary one at the Old Hairpin, cold tyres and fast cornering equate to a very slippery backend. Just caught it so spin avoided and no pant emptying required.

[1800turbogte]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Top work as always H, Car looks awesome on track

Chris

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Had a bit of a road trip yesterday with a 360 mile round trip to Bridgend in South Wales. The reason behind this was to collect something of a treat for both myself and the GTE, the final piece of my wish list for the car. Quaife part no.QKE13C which is a Vauxhall F20 5-speed synchromesh Quaife gearkit with the added bonus of a Gripper LSD. More details to follow later this week once I get the rebuild pictures through.

Doesn’t look much like this…



…until you take a peek inside, yum yum.

[dazz150]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

I wondered who would end up with this!! Nice purchase!

[BenH]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Nice I have a gripper in mine! Do you know what ramp angles are in that one?

One thing to do is to measure the preload on the diff to make sure the plates are ok. I use 2 old inner cv joint with the spline cut off, one has a bar welded on to mount in a vice. Then the other has a 30mm outer cv nut welded on, just use a torque wrench to measure the slip. DR engineering will let you know the correct amount for the diff, depends on if it's a 45/45 or 30/60..

[iainel]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Nice nice did you find out what 5th gear was in it?

[RallyMarshal]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

That looks familiar after the issues I had last weekend!

Will absolutely make the car. However, youre getting so close to rallycar spec that you may as well find a nice smooth one (like Rockingham) to do :-)

Paul..

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

getting so close to rallycar spec that you may as well find a nice smooth one (like Rockingham) to do

It's a track toy, not a rally car...but you never know what the future may hold

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

The write up I promised for my newly acquired Quaife straight cut gearbox. I noticed it for sale on http://britishrally.co.uk/ and there was a link to the eBay add so I contacted the seller and a deal was struck. It was a little more than I wanted to spend and had a 4.5:1 CWP (Crown Wheel and Pinion, also known as the final drive) which was a bit low for my liking but the seller also had the original 4.2:1 CWP for sale. He had purchased the Quaife cluster and diff brand new as well as the 4.5:1 CWP. After a chat on the phone it turned out he was an ex-transmission engineer so agreed to swap out the CWP and fit the 4.2:1 and rebuild the box for me. 1st and 2nd baulk rings (the syncros') were showing signs of wear so these were replaced during the rebuild and everything else fully checked so it’s like new now. It had only covered 70 miles since he had fitted the 4.5:1 when new bearings were also fitted but the baulk rings weren’t replaced at that time.

The Gripper diff had been fully serviced when the 4.5:1 was installed so has only covered 70 miles. It’s running 45/45 ramp angles (load/coast) so not sure if this will be too aggressive for tarmac, my driving or the car but I’ll find out when I fit the box next year and start playing. As it’s a plated diff I can get it changed and setup however I want if needs be. Further reading on ramp angles and different types of diffs here, here and here. The Gripper diff is a clutch/plate type diff which do require servicing unlike standard open or Quaife ATB diffs but for the amount of miles and abuse it’ll get mine will last me a good few years before requiring a service.

5th gear in my Quaife box is a 1.043 ratio which is the standard supplied with the box but two other versions are optional. These are a 0.958 and a 0.870. I’m going to initially see how things go but I might be buying one of the other ratios from Quaife, time will tell. The figures below show the speeds obtained running my tyre size of 195/50-15.
5th ratio – Speed at 8,000rpm
1.043 – 123mph
0.958 – 134mph
0.870 – 147mph

Now for the pretty rebuild pictures the seller took while my new box was having the CWP swapped over.
4.2:1 Crown wheel being fitted to the Gripper diff.




Mainshaft gears and baulk rings going on.









Layshaft, mainshaft and selector forks being built up into the box.







5th gears going on.





Diff housing nice and clean prior to fitting the diff. Note the cut down speedo drive to ‘plug’ the exterior hole as the Gripper diff can’t have a speedo ring gear fitted due to its size. I’ll be using an ABS sensor on the front nearside hub and a Corsa C impulse amp to drive my speedo, more on that when I fit it next year.

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Had a successful trip to the scrap yard yesterday and managed to grab a few bits and pieces for the new gearbox. Today’s update is the selector as the stock F20 item is ok but there is a little known selector upgrade that can be done. I can’t say exactly what box it comes on as I’ve read it’s the F15 and F17 but after yesterday’s trip I found them on Zafira A, Vectra B and Corsa B so all I can say is to have a poke around your local scrappers if you plan on fitting one.

Stock F20 selector on the left and upgraded on the right. You can tell them apart as the upgraded version has the linkage alignment locking plunger on the front of the selector.



Closer pic with stock first followed by upgraded.





The important bits, again stock left and upgraded right.



Stock selector close up of the underside.





Upgraded selector close up and the reasons why I’m fitting it.





The upgraded selector has a sprung plunger that assists with a more positive gear selection from the neutral position.



It also has gear selection gate machined into it which helps stop wrong gear selection and gives a more positive feel when changing.



Part number of the upgraded selector for those interested but as I said just look for the spring linkage alignment plunger on the front and not the rear which you get on the stock selector.



Fitted to the gearbox.

[Roger]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

nice write up!
The gearbox looks nice, wonder how it will drive..

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

My weekend scrap yard trip netted me a steel diff cover so I could make an oil drain for the new Quaife box.



It came with a funky steel and bonded rubber gasket which is in tip top condition so I plan on using it with a bit of RTV sealer for extra sealing power.



I also had a eureka moment when removing the diff cover and removed the engine sump and cut the oil drain off so I could use it for the diff cover drain.





First job was to make a 22mm hole followed by cutting out the engine sump drain.





Trial fit before welding commenced, all checked out fine.



I then did some measuring to make sure the drain plug cleared the diff crown wheel in the box and I’ve got 2mm clearance so all good.



Next job was to bosh some weld on. Not exactly what I was hoping it would look like but it’s going nowhere.





While the welder was out I blobbed some weld on the gear linkage pivot pin as the top fixing came off last time I removed the pin at Donington and I struggled removing the pin as the nylon bushes are a snug fit.



Sploshed on the etch primer and then satin black before it was left in the spare room to cure for a few days prior to fitting at the weekend.

[Davey J]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Typically well thought out of you.

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

When I purchased my Quaife box it originally had a 4.5:1 CWP fitted so I asked the seller to fit the original 4.2:1 and I purchased the lot. I intended on selling the 4.5:1 CWP but after speaking with RallyMarshal (Paul) I now plan on keeping it until I’ve had chance to try the box and see how I get on with the gearing. Then if needs be I can fit the 4.5:1 and buy a longer 5th gear giving me a nice punchy 1st to 4th and a cruising 5th gear.







It even came with the original bags as it has only covered 70 miles.



The Gripper diff has now speedo drive so I’ll be using an impulse amplifier as fitted to the early 00’s Vauxhall models which used no speedo cable and had no ABS fitted. It’s all fitted in a nice relay style casing so will be a simple plug and play using spade connectors.



I’ll be making an adaptor loom so no cutting required of the original chassis loom as it’ll just plug straight into the original transducer wiring. I got the plug from a later Astra mk3 driver’s door as it’s used for the dead locking in the c/l motor. So with a bit of faffing I’ll be able to take a speed feed from an ABS sensor fitted to the nearside front.

[Harvey]

Re: GTE valver fast road/track car project

Welding it’s exactly my forte but it’s getting there. I set about fixing my failed quick shift and this time did it properly Ved both sides of the snapped weld. Then deciding to leave the weld as it was to keep the strength. Quite impressed with how neat I welded actually.







Tarted up with etch primer and satin black before it got fitted the other week.





Gearbox diff cover now fitted but my measurements were slightly out as I had to chop the thread down for the drain plug as it was tight against the crown wheel when fitted.



I also made a blank for the speedo drive hole using some thick alloy and rubber. Looks quite fetching with the brushed alloy finish.







Restocked on some essentials as I’ll be replacing all my tie wrapped CV boots with stainless steel fixings bands.



As well as the new bands I purchased a proper CV band crimp tool as I previously used pincers but I could never get them really tight. Pincers top with new tool bottom.





Dug out some old spare CV boots which are OE plastic versions which last longer than the rubber replacements.