Cullen's new track toy

[Cullen]

Good evening all, thought id throw up a little build thread to keep progress of the new toy.

For the last 10 years ive been developing my little mk1 from a classic to an all out track weapon.

First rebuild saw the car like this
2.0 16v
close ratio box
quaife diff
kw coilovers
half cage
omp bucket seats
sabelt harnesses
bias valve
astra gte calipers
strengthened rear beam

Phase 2 saw me turn it into a hillclimb monster. 790kg's 162hp 164ib ft
205hp per tonne was a little weapon

Now to the present, the mk1 is off the road for a full restoration so i thought i better get a new track toy,
after 3 friends bought clio's for track cars i thought it was the best choice, or was it

Enter Cullen's RB 182

Day of purchase

Few marks but a clean 106k 182
Supposedly had new dephaser and belts but it wasnt til i got to the car the owner said there was no paperwork for it
front coilovers
cup shocks springs on the rear
172 cup turini's
decat
ramair filter and intake pipe
2 bucket seats, one sparco one omp
wind deflectors.

With our second year of spa francorchamps looming i thought i better order some part's.

i ordered new balljoints and 2 new outer tie rod end's from euro's as i was tackling this job i noticed my cv joints where kaputt so i ordered 2 new driveshafts aswell to be on the safeside.

no pics of this we all know what they look like.

Once i had found my way round the forum i started researching and decided it was time for a half rear rollcage with harness bar and remove one seat.

Arrival of the metalwork

During

Fitted and sprayed in my mk1 golf's jazz blue colour

That was it for a couple of weeks while i waited for more parts to turn up.

In the meantime i had booked onto the track obsession rolling road day at AMD essex, i thought it best to get the car fully alligned after the new ball joints and outter tie rods,
i dropped the car off at finishline in baldock to get the tracking setup

Snow problem for the little clio

Last sunday's track obsession rolling road day.

Went with a friend in his 350hp evo 6 and my other mates 320hp megane rs

Que the next thread 10 pic limit

 

[imprezaworks]

Looking great.

 

[Cullen]

Car made a healthy 183hp and 163 ib ft

As this week drew to a close, more parcels kept arriving, (not to the wife's amusement tho)

new ad08r's arrived to replace the shocking ns2 road tyres on it.

Fitted a sunstrip too.

Satin blacked my front grill and washer blanks as they had turned grey over time.

Dogbone mount
Caliper rebuild kit
Whiteline rear anti rollbar
polybush exhaust mounts all turned up.

Then arrived my k-tec braided lines and dot 4 fluid, happy days get the brakes sorted as there a bit spongy currently even with the ds2500 and new brembo discs.

Today was the day to get it all fitted or so i thought, got the car ready and loaded to go to my mates workshop.

New rear brembo disc's bearing's and pad's too

After the wife came down with tonsilitus last night i only managed to get the whiteline anti rollbar on and get the car remapped, until coming home to look after my boy.

Car getting mapped

That brings me upto date but not for long, lots going on with the car including sorting out a misfire, which happened after the remap so new coil, new leads, new injectors and new 02 sensor all on order.

theres also some graphics coming for the trip to spa, so watch this space

 

[t90_lle]

Haha I had pic limits when I 1st started my thread as I had to many pics also, looks a cracking RB though.

 

[imprezaworks]

Same figures as mine, goes well.

 

[Cullen]

Haha I had pic limits when I 1st started my thread as I had to many pics also, looks a cracking RB though.

Cheers not a bad little motor few niggley bits but she will get there.

 

[Chambers_RS]

Clio looks like it will progress well but more pics of the Golf needed!!!

 

[Cullen]

Clio looks like it will progress well but more pics of the Golf needed!!!

 

[Coops Mk1]

Golf is awesome !
Clio is best colour!

 

[182_steve]

Looks a great little project this, nice list of parts coming through already........ how annoying is that about the belts when you arrived for viewing tho!! Do you think they WERE done?

 

[Cullen]

Looks a great little project this, nice list of parts coming through already........ how annoying is that about the belts when you arrived for viewing tho!! Do you think they WERE done?

Ive had a look around since owning the car and im fairly certain they have been done. Time will tell, if the car stays for long enough i will most probably do it myself for piece of mind.

 

[Cullen]

Quick update as i sit here eating my last burrito :smile:

INJECTORS, LEADS AND COIL

After the the car was mapped on saturday the ol girl decided she wanted to run on 3 cyclinders on the way home with a flashing eml 😧
what with spa looming ever closer i decided to go and order the lot, coil, new leads, new injectors and new o2 sensor, as i just couldnt be arsed to diagnose it all individually.

So monday i popped to euro car parts picked up my order and this evening i decided to fit it all minus the 02 sensor.

I know there not magnecor but they will be in due time

Step 1 dismantle

Has anyone else had trouble when putting new leads on they dont push onto the spark plug due to the flex in the lead, pain in the arse i had to skin my knuckles turning the lead while pushing down.

Step 2 replace injectors and leads

upon inspection it appears one injector has already been replaced so im glad i have now done all 4 the one on the right had a differnt nozzle too (fiddly nail breaking buggers)

Second problem was euro's seem to have sent me a peugeot injector, so i had to look at the 4 old ones and decide which looked the most reliable to put back in.

Shiney shiney except the end one

And a back together shot car fired up after getting fuel to the rail and purred like a kitten, the smoothest it has sounded since i bought it.
Maybe the ol firl has had a slight misfire from the start.
Dropped fuel on my painted grill 😧 so now need to redo that.

Tomorrow the car gets its graphics for spa and friday is tyre and brakes day,
will update soon.

 

[Kosy]

Nice cars! Great dyno figures out the Clio. Bet that shifts nicely.

 

[20vKarlos]

What a shame, after all that work ECP let you down with the injector!

Loving the swift upgrades too! Coming along very nicely :up:

I shall be sure to keep an eye on this one

 

[Cullen]

Nice cars! Great dyno figures out the Clio. Bet that shifts nicely.

Feels good
now the car has been mapped with the decat, it feels alot more aggresive right through the rev range, no flat spot either.

just need to get the weight down some more.

 

[Cullen]

What a shame, after all that work ECP let you down with the injector!

Loving the swift upgrades too! Coming along very nicely :up:

I shall be sure to keep an eye on this one

Just order some jelsol after reading your thread for the tar removal from the sound deadening, will see how good this stuff really is.

 

[20vKarlos]

Just order some jelsol after reading your thread for the tar removal from the sound deadening, will see how good this stuff really is. :wink:

Plenty of OLD cloths! (They’ll be good enough for the bin only) and gloves!

I’ve learned a trick with this stuff.
spray it onto the offending sticky stuff, let it sit for a minute or so and try and use the same cloth as much as possible, the Jelsol that’s already on the cloth will aid removal and the sticky stuff on the cloth with jelsol embedded will also pull up more sticky stuff.

The worst section to do is the roof sound deadening as you’re working upside down and naturally it wants to drip on you 😂

Make sure you do a better job than I did in documenting how good it really is... maybe I’ll do a video on it at some point :up:

 

[182_steve]

That's some nice service type items ticked off the list, i'd be the same, just get it all done at the same time and you know where you are

 

[Cullen]

UPDATE NUMBER 3

Some good stuff happened and some bad stuff happened

Tonight was the night i had booked in with a mate to get down his garage and use his ramp.

Things started off well with a surprise early package from ktec racing, which i swiftly loaded into the car on route to the garage.

Finally got down the garage after the friday traffic and got stuck into opening the package.


Brand new cup dampers all round and cooksport springs to get rid of the crashy cheap bouncy ebay coilover kit.

After reading alot of stuff on this forum i came to the conclusion this was the best option without buying bilstein's or similar.

And some camber bolts, not to be fitted til i get it down to northampton motorsport for alignment.

While my mate got the front ktec braided lones on and did the caliper rebuild for both front brakes, i got my rear dampers on and cooksport springs.

Old and new

Be gone springs be gone.

new dampers, springs and whiteline in its newly adjusted position.

In my hast in ordering the dampers i completly forgot the fronts were coilovers, which meant i didnt have any of the original top hat, so the fronts cant be fitted til i source some new top mount's. (first thing to not be straight foreward)

Any ideas best place to get them? should i get uprated ones as it is primarily a track car?

Next up was getting rid of the old shagged rear discs and pads.

New pads and discs, shiney shiney

 

[Cullen]

I Didnt want drilled and grooved as i like matching front and rear disc's (must be some sort of ocd) but i couldnt turn down the price

Now this is where things got interesting, upon closer inspection i noticed this

Some idiot has obviously cut off a siezed bearing i can only imagine, and cut into the stub axle, i mean what a f***in idiot (if the person who owned this car and did this is reading this thread your a moron.

After alot of swearing and the thought of taking everything apart again during the week with no ramp we had some pizza to cheer me up.

Glad i did all this as it now means i have less chance of the wheel randomly falling off on track and me scratching my head baffled.
(second ballache of the night)

Few pics of the newly unsiezed sliders and braided lines with some used ds2500's (soon to be swapped out for some mintex f2r's) and brembo hc discs which are still in good condition.

(third ballache of the night)

We couldnt do the rear braided lines as the joints looked very corroded, we have rearranged monday night to re-do all the rear brake lines in new copper and add the braided pipes too.

We finished the brakes off by topping up the fluid and bleeding the system as im not wasting my racing fluid when we have to take it apart in 2 days, what fluid came out was black like oil so clearly never been done.

Previous owner must of had one hell of a shite trackday before he sold it

shite suspension
shite brakes
even shiter tyres

Another item ticked off the list tho was the solid rear dogbone mount

Old

New

With it now being nearly midnight we called it a day got the car down off the ramp loaded what parts i had left and went homw for some well deserved sleep.

On the drive home the rear end felt amazing pitch perfect with the new setup, car turns in on a knife point, just a shame ive still got the crashy coilovers up front.

Brakes had been transformed aswell completley different and confident feel to them now there all unseized.

Next update will be monday all being well
Stay tuned

 

[t90_lle]

Great progress keep up the good work, as for top mounts I recently went with the pms mounts and brace. Car feels so direct with them on now coupled with the 330mm wheel feels awesome to drive.

 

[Cullen]

Great progress keep up the good work, as for top mounts I recently went with the pms mounts and brace. Car feels so direct with them on now coupled with the 330mm wheel feels awesome to drive.

Cheers.

ive ordered standard top mounts for time being, bit of a cost saver to see how the car does over the next couple of trackdays.

In due course i will most probably go the full coilover route change all the top mounts and get a brace.

Do you know if i can fit a brace on the rear as i had to remove mine last night due to there not being enough thread showing with the standard rear damper rubbers?

 

[182_steve]

Great update again, the job list is getting ticked off well.......... there always has to be a set back though doesn't there!!

I have brand new Cup shocks and Cooksports also and it is a very good set up - I also too have new genuine top mounts so very similar to your car

With the above, I have an OMP upper front AND rear strut brace fitted

My rear one (ignore the mat in the boot 😂)

 

[t90_lle]

Do you know if i can fit a brace on the rear as i had to remove mine last night due to there not being enough thread showing with the standard rear damper rubbers?

As far as I was led to believe your supposed to sandwhich between the top and bottom rubber mounts? Others will probably correct me on this.

 

[Vicky.]

That mk1 :hearteyes:

Good progress thread! Love an RB. What graphics are you putting on it?

 

[imprezaworks]

Some pms top mounts for sale on here

 

[Cullen]

That mk1 :hearteyes:

Good progress thread! Love an RB. What graphics are you putting on it?

Cheers mk1 has been my prode and joy for 10 years, there will be a few updates on that in july.

All will be revealed soon on the graphics front

 

[Vicky.]

Looking forward to seeing them in that case.

 

[Stuiemc]

Are your U-clamps on the Whiteline crushing the rear brake pipe and ABS sensor cable? Might be best putting the U-clamp underneath that's how I fitted mine.

I've got Powerflex rear top mounts and managed to fit my rear strut brace, if it's stripped out you might need a hand. Get someone to bounce the car whilst you try and get the nut on. I didnt fit the top washer as there wasn't enough space and the strut brace acts like a washer.

 

[Cullen]

Are your U-clamps on the Whiteline crushing the rear brake pipe and ABS sensor cable? Might be best putting the U-clamp underneath that's how I fitted mine.

I've got Powerflex rear top mounts and managed to fit my rear strut brace, if it's stripped out you might need a hand. Get someone to bounce the car whilst you try and get the nut on. I didnt fit the top washer as there wasn't enough space and the strut brace acts like a washer.

I checked and checked again there not being crushed and there not rubbing either but im not too keen on the design.

Im getting my lines re done tomorrow as there corroded going to see if my mate will put 2 kinks either side of the u clamps so the pipes are in front and no chance of rubbing.

Will take another ganders at the rear brace tomorrow, i have the old mounts from the ebay suspension and the new bushers for the cup dampers so will have a play.

cheers

 

[Cullen]

Update time

HIT OR MISS

While the weather was shite and im having withdrawals from my mk1 :,( i equipped myself with a £11 heat gun and some milk for much needed tea.

I decided to use the leftover martini graphics and jazz the RB up,
its hit or miss if im honest going to keep it like this for a couple of trackdays and see how i feel.

comments good and bad welcome and any other ideas people have would be handy.

Drum roll please

Excuse the one polisehed exhaust i got bored

 

[Stuiemc]

When I unclipped mine to put the U-clamp underneath the hose started leaking. I highly recommend Pro-line Motorsport, the two rear lines were only £40 posted inc PayPal fees.

 

[Alex__]

I really like those graphics tbf!

 

[Cerrone]

I’m not a fan of graphics normally but they really suit the colour and car! Keep them on!

 

[imprezaworks]

Yeah, I like that

 

[182_steve]

Yeah to be fair they actually look alright!

 

[Cullen]

UPDATE 5 (i think)

Finally the car is almost back to how a clio cup should be.

The tyres are finally on. ad08r's

(worst picture of a tyre ever )

While my mate did the lines, i split the stub axle down so that when the new one arrives later in the week it would be free and easy to take off the car when the ol girl is on axle stands at home.

Picture of the f**k up. proper butchered by someone.

While i stripped this i noticed someone had previously put camber shims in (bonus)

During this my mate put on the rear braided lines, and a new set of pad retaining clips as the old ones were knackered and not supplied in with the new discs and pad's.

State of that fluid

New pad retainer's

Car is booked into northampton motorsport saturday for a full alignment,
hopefully my top mounts arrive in time so i can fit my front cup dampers and cooksport spring's.

Also awaiting on some jelsol to remove the sticky tar/glue residue left from the sound deadening, then i can paint the floorpan.

my universal cv boot is leaking so means i am now going to by a new drivers shaft to go with the existing new pass shaft.

Wheels need a refurb, thinking silver or anthracite? any ideas?

also looking for a deep dished steering wheel any recommendations?

Nice pice @track_it got of mine before all the work at amd essex.

thanks for tuning in

 

[Daz.]

Love the graphics!

 

[welshname]

Nice thread.

Love the Mk1, is that the wolfsburg kit? Bloody love them. Also recognise the Mk5 from some of the instagram pages.

 

[Cullen]

Nice thread.

Love the Mk1, is that the wolfsburg kit? Bloody love them. Also recognise the Mk5 from some of the instagram pages.

No not the wolfsburg kit that is alot smaller

more custom made job from a plastics company, that i cant remeber the name from.

I went to italy with the wife so i did my old mk5 in old skool graphics too.