my mk1 cup racer blog (updates page 29)

[geesus69]

Right i was gonna wait until i had made further progress before posting this up but here it is anyway

after having thoughts of selling my 106 for a faster motor i came to the decision of keeping my wee pug and buying a track/weekend toy that i could do up in my spare time. wasnt sure what i wanted but after coming back from FCS i knew i wanted a clio (especially after seeing northy and the yozzasport clio). so looked around and eventually found an M reg mk1 valver (williams replica, basically meaning it had some stickers and willy wheels ) went to see it, looked in ok condition, non runner but i didnt mind as i had some 'plans' :evil: . borrowed my brother in laws van and a trailer and picked it up a week later, for the pricely sum of £280!

it had a near new ktec ss cat back and leather interior, plus the wheels so didnt think the price was too bad

as soon as it got back i started diagnosing the running problem, soon became apparent that the cambelt had snapped so set about getting the engine out not long after

head off

the offending article

result

havent got an engine hoist and would be a while before i could get hold of one i resorted to taking the subframe off and dropping the botton end and gearbox out the bottom, but then my gf's neighbour said we could lift it out the top. i wasnt sure how much it weighed so was a bit reluctant but he talked me round to the idea after about 15mins of finding a good grip and jacking it up as far as we could we man-handled it out of the car and into the garage

where it now rests

i toyed with the idea of a replacement f7r, but after seeing a few on here i decided on the f4r from a mk2 ph1. after a bit of waiting and searching one popped up on ebay for the right price. called in a favour from a mate with a wee trailer and away we went

where it currently sits

the tired valver lump has to sit opposite its younger replacement, cruel i know!

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

next i set about stripping the interior, helped by my gf (cheers hun) that didnt take long, and soon had a buyer for the leather interior and door cards which were taking up room in the garage

interior and dash out

although it is going to be a stripped track **** i decided to keep the heater, not cos of the cold, but because of people i know who have had major problems with demisting!

bought a tin of GUNK and let it loose on the engine bay area, have to say this stuff is top notch and will be using it again

subframe with all the crap removed

nice and clean

my mate is doing his own saxo track car and after seeing his i was expecting some rust when all the dirt was removed. needless to say i was pleased to see there wasnt anything to worry about

got the hammerite out and gave the subframe a lick of paint

then the gf's parents were understandably sick of seeing the clio with a tarpaulin (sp?) over the engine bay

so i got some bonnet pins so that i can remove it quickly when wanting to work on it

her parents are happy and it saves me a job in the future

and there it stayed for a week or 2 whilst i spent some hard earned on:
172 gearbox (cheers winston)
FK coilovers (cheers john @ 2modified)
new clutch fork and release bearing from renault
FK 15mm hubcentric spacers (cheers russ@gasperformance)
braided brake flexis (group buy on here, cheers to ricerocketuk)
manual steering rack
manual steering column (cheers wayne)
new bottom ball joints
track rod ends to suit new rack
some new hand and power tools

 

[PS autoshine]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

cool,looks like hard work.should be fast tho.

 

[philthy]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

280 notes?!? the wheels are worth more than that!!

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

280 notes?!? the wheels are worth more than that!!

sorry my bad that should say £380

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

next i set about fitting the coilovers and steering rack and column. the ride height after the engine came out was shockingly high and was depressing me to look at (i like low cars:evil: )

had to get these out of the box and take a piccie

waiting to go on along with spacer

old and new rack

old and new column (notice the difference in length)

my apprentice technician inspected the new column and gave the go ahead (sadly he didnt stick around as apparently chasing flies is more interesting than helping your dad with the car )

this rubber gaiter tested my patience, but i won in the end

 

[Marky_]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Great to see another project thread
Keep us updated!

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

got the grinder on the hubs to aid camber adjustment although i may need to take a bit more off, depends what the camber reads as it is

while i was there i fitted my new bottom ball joints, a couple of the bolts were playing tough guys, so out came the grinder again

ahhh thats better

just the back to sort next weekend

i'll update this as and when i make progress and get some more pics, apologies if some are poor quality, i do have a digital camera but its so much easier to use the phone to take quick pics, especially when hands are caked in crap

 

[leighk18]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

coming along good mate i wanted to this do and run a 5gt engine but jsut have not got the space mum hates me working on myn as it is never mind to projects lol looking god tho mate shoud be fasr

 

[Christopher]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

great read!

keep it updated

 

[DannyR]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Looking good, You need to get that engine in though!

Mines in now just the whole running and starting thing is pissing me off! Omex is harder than you'd first think!

And Just got coilovers through to so mine shall be sitting as low as yours soon!

Good work though! We definitely need ouw own club for proper Mk1 172's

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

cheers for the comments guys

dj - yeh theres just a few things im sorting as they are alot easier while engine is out (steering being one of them), having some brake lines made up as the union at the flexi is rounded off so once i have fitted them i will be good to go

got a mate who is lending me an engine hoist so its all gravy :approve:

im currently keeping myself busy by spraying my fuel rail, engine mount and battery tray/gearbox mount (i know i said it was going to be a ****, but i cant help tidying it up a bit:rasp: )

 

[GarethM]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

good thread fella
making good progress, car was a bargain too!!

 

[Rage]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

t'was a nice base to start working on...and a bargain at £380!

kool project...keep us all updated

 

[Renault_Boy01]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

amazing thread...would love a project like this

 

[Renault_Boy01]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Double post

 

[fuel_slut]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Great read, plz plz keep us updated. Love threads like ths.

 

[Limca]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Interesting read.. cant wait for more on this project

 

[Djw Dave]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Nice 1!

 

[wayneclio16v]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

about time u put sumthing up lol hopefully not too long for the engine now ? u goin santapod in2 weeks ?

 

[Djw John]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Great stuff although when you put the engine in the arches will sit on the tyres at that height!!

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

about time u put sumthing up lol hopefully not too long for the engine now ? u goin santapod in2 weeks ?

lol you cant talk! yours was complete before we saw any pics! :rasp:

i doubt i'll be at pod mate, im busy on sunday so that only leaves saturday to work on the car, and god knows i need all the time i can get lol

would love to see your car in action so im a bit gutted :dapprove:

forgot to mention, one of the first jobs i did was convert the electric windows to manual, main reasons were that the car had a flat battery so couldnt move them, another was that im making my own door cards and wont have anywhere to mount the switches. some might argue ive also saved some weight

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Great stuff although when you put the engine in the arches will sit on the tyres at that height!!

yeh i just left them at what they were set at in the box, were around half way so wasnt sure whether it would be too high or low

will adjust them when the time comes

 

[Djw John]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Ah right, not a bad plan!!

 

[Ali]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Lookin good mate. Is the 172 lump an easy conversion...?

 

[DH_GTI]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

nice work keep us updated !!!

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Lookin good mate. Is the 172 lump an easy conversion...?

there are a couple of others who are doing it but afaik only one is up and running and thats waynes

mechanically it is easy, uses same engine mounts, same driveshafts (can use either valver g'box or 172 box) can use valver clutch and throttle cables. cant comment on power steering as ive ditched it and gone for manual.

its just the electronic side im not looking forward too, people say its not that hard, i'll have to judge that one for myself lol

 

[wayneclio16v]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

lol quality

 

[northy]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

looking good there mate ! keep up the good work !

 

[Beaniemoo]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

YAY, glad you put this up i've been wondering what you were up to lol. All looking really good.

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

YAY, glad you put this up i've been wondering what you were up to lol. All looking really good.

aye busy busy

ordered my seats last night aswell

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

right i have hit my first major problem

the torsion bars are absolutely seized solid, tried all sorts of methods to get them out but they are having none of it

tried the socket and bolt combination, but ended up damaging the thread on the nut i was tightening!:quiet:

all i can try is a slide hammer, but im not sure how effective its going to be. the only other option is to buy another rear beam and hope i have better luck

 

[matty w]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

right i have hit my first major problem

the torsion bars are absolutely seized solid, tried all sorts of methods to get them out but they are having none of it

tried the socket and bolt combination, but ended up damaging the thread on the nut i was tightening!:quiet:

all i can try is a slide hammer, but im not sure how effective its going to be. the only other option is to buy another rear beam and hope i have better luck

i had this problem but got it out in the end i gave it some heat got a bar and hammered the torsion bar in then sprayed in wear the torsion bar had moved in with release spray then it pulled out

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

will it move inwards then if i whack it? i thought they couldnt be moved inwards any further?

i'll give it a go though, its gonna be next weekend before i can give it another go

 

[cat171]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Looks like it coming along nicely, seems to be one hell of a job though !

I assume you've caked the torsion bar in wd40 or something & left it overnight to free up ??

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

caked is an understement mate lol

knowing they were gonna be a pain i soaked them in penetrating fluid about a week ago and kept soaking them, got the wire brush on the ends aswell but still nothing

i couldnt believe it when it started stripping the thread on the nut!! im scared of snapping the bolt or damaging the thread on the torsion bar. im wondering whether i will be able to get enough purchase on a slide hammer?! anyone got a slide hammer they are willing to lend me lol

 

[matty w]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

give it some heat mate and screw a bolt in if your going to knock it in with a bar and lump hammer so you dont mushroom the end,i used a seatbelt bolt as there high tensile

 

[geesus69]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

good tip matty

will be getting medievel on its ass next weekend (wait for the 'ive mullered my torsion bars' thread lmao)

ah well if i fook it i'll just buy another

 

[phil1988]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

mate looking good, fair play to ya, cant wait to see more of the project
good luck with the torsion bars

 

[Dan@SJM]

Re: My mk1 track car blog

Glad to see your progressing on yours.

Im waiting for my chipped willy ecu to get back to me, then mine should be running on a dizzy!

but before that ive gotto go back, get the engine out, change the clutch. fly etc. main reason for taking the engine out is so that i can change the loom and tidy it up a bit whilst im at it!