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Preparations for Donington 2 hour race started this week starting with retrieving the car from its new storage space. A mate of mine has just had a storage unit built for his car collection so I had to ask if he might have room for one more! A Clio takes up very little space after all! And in...
No GoPros for the Brands Hatch race. They hate the heat! So I cobbled together the VBox footage. If you can stomach the poor quality the racing gets more interesting about 15 minutes in.
Was definitely a fun race! Not sure on the fueling issue yet. Possibly fuel vapourisation due to the heat, or possibly more crap in the system. I've got a Walboro uprated lift pump to fit in the tank which I'll do in the next couple of weeks in the run up to Donington on the 21st. Someone has...
Great to hear someone is reading it! People rarely seem to comment but to be honest I find it good post race therapy!
Yes it was a busy weekend. the CSCC race meets always have a mix of classic to contemporary racing and the "Brands Brittania" is always on the May bank holiday and is always a...
Brands Hatch 24th & 25th May
What a weekend!
Not withstanding the ridiculous temperatures on track and in the car, it was an eventful weekend. Not the result we wanted but a great couple of days all the same and by all means not a disaster.
Sunday morning I was in the paddock at 6:20 with a...
Looks great but its the same weight as the fibreglass ones that are only £180. Admittedly probably stronger and look great if you like the bare CF look. I'd be interested to see one in the flesh.
The hub is back and back on the car. So last night I set about ticking the last items from the list. The problematic fuel system being the main focus.
After finding the filter blocked at Snetterton a couple of months ago and not checking it at Brands last week I was expecting it to be clogged...
Back in the workshop today, I've strated working through the, thankfully quite short list of things to address before next weekend.
With the remnants of the trip into the gravel still evident under the car I started with getting it up on the Quickjacks and giving the underside a jetwash.
After...
8 days to RACE DAY
Earlier this week John and I convened at Brands Hatch for a day of practice. Little did we know what biblical weather lay ahead.
I arrived early to try and grab a garage only to find that every one had been reserved. Fortunately though, I recognised a name on one of the...
Craners is fantastic... until it isn't. I rolled at Craners about 10 years ago and it took me a good few years to find my confidence there again. Now I absolutely love it again.
The gearboxes are made of chocolate so don't try and rush gearchanges. If it starts crunching into 3rd then start saving for a rebuild! And these engines love to bend valves if you over rev them or miss a gear. You can change the bottom pulley for a keyed version (from a Megan) that will stop...
Pre Brands Hatch prep has started today. Hinge reinforcement being first on the list.
After removing the hinge from the door it was clear that the fibreglass was starting to fatigue with some noticeable flex.
Definitely needs reinforcement although to be fair its lasted this long, so it can't...
It is possible that its not the cam cover leaking. The heads are prone to leak from the core plugs between the exhaust ports (I've fixed this with silicone before) and also from the seal around the dephaser solenoid on the top. Worth checking both first.
Welcome to Clio ownership. Sadly, unlike Hondas a cam cover leak is not an easy fix but if you don't know the service history you can tie it in to a cambelt and dephaser change.
Other than that, you'll find answers to any questions in this community and some might even be right!
The last week since Donington has been quiet thankfully. It's a welcome change to come back from a race without a long list of issues to sort.
So, with so much optimism we booked the next race already. At Brands Hatch Indy on the 24th May. Again with the Tin Tops. Second driver to be confirmed...
Race report
Packing tetris complete, I began the 2 and a half hour drive up to Donington on Saturday afternoon with a view to getting a good spot in the paddock, unloading the car and then heading to the hotel for the evening.
An uneventful journey followed but they weren't letting any Sunday...
So, one day to go and I think we've done all we can in preparation for Donington on Sunday. Yesterday John came over for one final spannering session before the weekend and we may have found a smoking gun. Some fraying wires on the external cut-off button. One of the terminals was literally...
Parts have arrived and a bit more progress made.
New - second hand steering column arrived. tested the stiffness and feels pretty much the same as the existing one. So, I've cleaned and repainted the existing one and for now that will go back in.
Also received the new controller
I'll look at...
Had a bit of time on Saturday this weekend to start investigating our issues. First off was draining the tank so we can see what's going on with the sender and possibly look at the pump.
Once starting to pump the fuel it became apparent that there was air in the swirl pot. I only managed to...
Except that the car has been runing in this configuration for 5 years. Nothing has changed which suggests something is breaking down in some way. The most draw from the EPAS is normally when moving the car around at slow speed/stationary when it needs to make the most effort so I'd say something...
Alternator is fine I think. Producing way over 13v while running but you can see voltage drop below 12 as the steering is turned. Might be worth investigating. Its a new alternator too.
Its always a sign of a good day at the track when you can drive the car on to the trailer at the end of the day.
Weather wise, we couln't have asked for more and with a rare private trackday at Snetterton the day promised some good, clear track time.
If only the car behaves...
Not off to a...
Yeah, this engine has stock internals and standard cams. Everything else is the same as when I run the race engine. ITBs with high pressure pump and fuel return, 182 manifold and Yozza system and of course the Emerald ECU.