One man, two Cups.

[Filters]

After the last trip to Dan at SJM Automotive, we noticed the cam cover was leaking so booked back in to get that done along with a lower mount and 5th gear syncro and new rear shocks. Sadly the syncro didn't arrive nore did my lower mount but....

The day started with the engine stripped...which finally gave me the chance to spray some bits up whilst dan cleaned up the cam cover

Cam cover freshly sealed with a new timing belt fitted (dephaser has recently been done) inlets refitted

Some new rear cup shocks were then fitted as it was on non-cups on the rear. No pics of this...however.

finally got the Sabelt wheel and OMP boss kit fitted....turned out the wrong stalk was supplied with it so...

Sourced one from renbreakers and fitted it at home.

That's all for now. Few more things to finish off before winter comes in but over all...happy wih how things are progressing.

 

[dablk]

Nice mate, very nice. Get the ends of the strut brace painted up to match the bodywork. You might have seen I did mine. Looks way more Intergrated.

 

[Filters]

Nice mate, very nice. Get the ends of the strut brace painted up to match the bodywork. You might have seen I did mine. Looks way more Intergrated.

Cheers chap...I prefer it to stand out a little...makes everything else pop out to the eye a little more

 

[Filters]

Well, it's slowly getting there. Took the cup down to SJM Automotive again the other week to get the ttv flywheel fitted that was provided by @NorthloopCup and a new 5th gear cog and syncro ring as it was crunching a little. Sterling work by Dan again. Also had some OEM rack bushed fitted. Will have to do a "fitted parts" run down soon as the lists just too long now. Spent a few thousand in the last couple of months, mainly on getting the car running and driving spot on again.

Also taken on a new little project....Managed to get my hands on a low mileage shell with MSA log book, cup racer cage with additional omp door bars fitted.

Sadly I didn't get to keep the wheels so they're first on the agenda along shocks and springs.
Will get the breaker in the unit tomorrow...the real fun can start then.

 

[Iain C]

Looks great. Your clearly not scared of spending out!

 

[Filters]

Looks great. Your clearly not scared of spending out!

Cheers chap....It's getting scarier on the wallet as I go along. 😅

 

[Welsh.Dan]

I look forward to seeing what you do with the track build! Gonna be bonkers!

 

[Filters]

I look forward to seeing what you do with the track build! Gonna be bonkers!

You're more than welcome to pop down and help chap Nothing to bonkers planned yet.....the future how ever is another matter.

 

[Filters]

Finally made a start on the track build a few days back. I've got a full donor car luckily so it makes life a little easier...It's my old daily that met it's end. The engine and box are still fine as is all running gear. It was quite well set up, pipercams + matched inlets + K-tec induction, cup shocks + cooksports and a few other goodies.

First job was getting them both in the barn...a lend of a friends 4x4 with a winch and two mins of his time later.

Next up was removing the bonnet, lights and T bar ready to make a start on removing the engine and box. Bumper was already long gone.

Working in the welsh hills...there's only one way to keep warm!

Next step was to strip the the dash out so all the vital bits were ready to go straight in....some bits were a right fiddle. Then came the brick wall for the day. The previous owners must of had a sound system fitted (theres some MB Quart goodies stashed under the dash top) and it's seems to be preventing the sodding dash top from pulling out.

So that was that...rage quit until my new cutting disc arrives!

Big thanks to @Dano' for lending a hand on the interior and snapping a few pics :up:
Shall be cracking on with this over the next few weeks in the aims of having it ready for CSF, here's hoping!

 

[Filters]

Been a few months since I bothered with the track build so thought I should crack on with it.

Popped the rear shocks and springs on (cup shocks and cooksports for now) removed the petrol tank from the breaker and popped it underneath for safe keeping.

Finally fully removed the dash to get at the wiring loom.

Removed the dash brace and made a start on removing the loom.

Loom out and removed passenger and drivers door (set aside for spares)

Fitted the steering wheel and stalks from the breaker on to the new shell, laid the loom out ready to fit....took a step back and thought that will do for the day.

Next on the cards is to finish the wiring, lift the engine and gearbox out, swap over master cylinder and pedals, fit the engine..buy some seats...plum everything in and off we go. Hoping to have it finished by CSF.

 

[Filters]

Little update for the cup.

Fitted a fatty induction kit for extra noises.

Treated her to some new disks and pads on the back (brembo) front had new wheel bearings, brembo HC discs and mintex 1144 pads.

Sent it for its MOT, perfect score.

Got some new door handle fixtures as the current ones have split slightly around the securing hex bolt.

Update for the MSA berg.

Bought some F1s with ns2r wellies. May well use them on the cup for a bit.

@Dano' donated a set of OMP harnesses, judging by the bed pic I think him and his GF have been using them for sexual purposes, oooer.

Now back off to carry on with the build :up:

 

[Dano']

Cheeky! The bed is the only "Clear" area in the house at the moment lol

Its all starting to take shape matey!

 

[Filters]

Cheeky! The bed is the only "Clear" area in the house at the moment lol :tongueout:

Its all starting to take shape matey!

Cheeky, but knowing you...probably true 😂

Slowly getting there.
Another brick wall today though, radiator I was planning on using from the breaker is kaput, bottom mounts have rusted off/snapped.
Bolt missing from the lower inlet too with a pretty servere oil leak. Wondering what else I can find/goes wrong. No way's that engine still going to be pushing 196bhp :sweat:😢

 

[Filters]

Got around to doing a few more jobs yesterday, radiator/piping removed, ecu removed with most of the wiring loom ready to transfer over. Disconnected the aircon pipes to be pump as that's not needed (will be looking for a cup alternator set up)
Not much left to go now before it's ready to be taken out. How long it lasts is another matter all together.

 

[drewos]

Hi, regarding the fuel filler metal repair. Do you know what sort of money he spent getting that sorted?
Cheers, Andrew

 

[Filters]

It's been a while since I’ve made any updates on the cars.

The caged shell kind of sat there rotting away due to personal reasons at the end of 2016, again through 2017 and in to the 2018. Some areas would of required so much attention that I decided it was best to break it, being an ex rally car that had taken a fair bit of abuse in its time, it made much more sense than to push on and sort it all out.

That made way for the new addition/future project for when (if) im back on my feet, pun intended.

So now I've two cups and a lot to update on here about the daily as its had some small changes over the last couple of years, more so this year with the help of a good few folk!

Might include some of havoc with @Cerrone @DaveDreads and @HMS Derv Destroyer at CSF too for good measure.

 

[Filters]

So, 2016 seems to be where I left things. The week before CSF I’d dropped the car in Somerset to have some work done.

Ds1.11s and hc discs upfront with padgid discs and pads at the back. Removed axle spacers on the rear beam, fitted 20mm spacers all round, fitted a genuine front splitter, whiteline rear arb, vibratechnics gearbox mount to go with the engine mount. Fresh oil and filter + gearbox oil. Lambda sensor, new ns2rs all round on the OzF1s. Geometry sorted then a live map, limiter set safely to 7500.
Some fancy bolts and washers under the bonnet for free thanks to bolternatives. Also as much weight stripped out of the back as possible without loosing the wiper mechanism.

Picked the car up, then headed up to blyton for the Friday night.

At CSF the cup spent the morning on display for bolternatives to promote and sell his kits, think a fair few sold off the back of it.

In the afternoon it was time for a bit of fun on track, the car performed flawlessly! Seemed the money spent was well worth it more so as the car just pulled and pulled all the way. Felt like the limiter was set to safely/liberally. Did have one “s**t a brick” moment however when I lost the back end I front of an expensive supercharged trophy ? who ever that was...sorry!

I’ll try and catch up with 2017/18 later this evening.

 

[Filters]

2017 and the car barely got used as I had a surgery towards the end of 2016 and other dramas. Can’t say there was much work to do aside from a new set of rear calipers as they’d seized on while it sat, had new track rods and ends fitted, new rear beam and bushes as the old one was apparently tweaked on one side of the axle beyond shimming (more on this in 2018) serviced and MOT’d which it sailed through without a single advisory. The specification of the car hadn’t changed from the previous year as I was happy with it.

Went to CSF again, as I was leaving wales in the early morning hours I hit a rabbit that shattered the front splitter and cracked the bumper slightly.
Did the afternoon session...ran faultless yet again. Won some raffle goodies. Made sure @DaveDreads ended up in a complete state spewing everywhere! Job done.

Got home, slept for what felt like a week. The next time I drove the car it had a strange sensation at the back end. It was only a load of pick up still left on the tyres...well, that was my first thought...again more in 2018 on that.

Put my winnings to good use.

Then the car was back to daily life...which is more weekly than daily.
That’s about all for 2017.
2018 however...things weren’t so great...stay tuned.

 

[gez 172]

Edit: just seen your next update.

 

[DaveDreads]

Made sure @DaveDreads ended up in a complete state spewing everywhere! Job done.

Get f*cked I never threw up once!

 

[Filters]

Ohhhh brilliant!
Is this my old cup that you’ve got up and running for track now? ???

Sadly not mate, I’ve still a long way to go with that one as it was a 50/50 deal with a mate that went sour. Have an engine and box here for it but as per, I need more work myself than both cars combined ?‍♂️

 

[Filters]

Get f*cked I never threw up once!

You’re right, it wasn’t once. It was multiple times

 

[DaveDreads]

That was years ago.

 

[Filters]

2018...almost getting there.
Now, I’d had work carried out by a garage in South Wales. They’d replaced my rear axle in 2017 and I wasn’t convinced it needed doing but, needing the car back for appointments etc I gave the green light. They absolutely f**king mullard the casings for the bushes to the point that the rear axle was becoming increasingly unstable. Utter bellends also ruined my steering rack and replaced it without my knowledge so I got much more than a track rod change, though there was f**k all point as the rack itself that they changed it for was weeping and worn to s**t!

After lots of back and forth with the owner and at points being told he felt like I had a gun to his head (too right I did!) a deal was struck and the car booked in with someone I knew was trusted.

Off came the axle, old bushes came out along with the cases. Replaced with powerflex black series.

Off came the s**t rack. On went...

..some trickery from Pure motorsport.

At the same time, I had a new dogbone mount fitted with PF purple bushes...new lower arms, powerflex arb bushes. Brembo HC disks with ds1.11 pads front and ds2500 rear.
Clutch kit and cable. Gearbox swap. Fresh inlet gaskets. Full service.
Tracking and geo set up by centre of gravity.

Got the car back...

Took it for a drive and couldn’t believe the difference in how the car drove and handled. The quick rack in itself was a godsend! But everything felt so much better.

Then, disaster. Days before CSF I noticed oil on the drive, somehow the sump decided to split, I still can’t understand how as this only time the car gets driven hard is at blyton.

So, a quick call was made and plans made to get it sorted so that I could still make it to CSF.

More to follow...

 

[Filters]

That was years ago.

No s**t sherlock ? learn to read.

 

[Filters]

So, not long before CSF the cars back on the ramp with @Cerrone and his stunning RB182.

Sump came off and replaced it with a spare and a new gasket. Had the shocks all round replaced at the same time with the eibach sportline springs

Then this strange looking thing turned up.

Headlights polished up and the car given a good clean. I could be completely wrong on the order of all this now as the stress levels for myself and the poor lad doing my car was ridiculously high.

Car finally done and on route to blyton for CSF18.

New tow eye fitted along with a headlight blank/cold air feed I’d made and she was ready for track. Decided to book the whole day so I could take my time.

Overall I was very happy with how the car ran, aside from a crunch in to third occasionally. The car felt much crisper than ever before and I found it a lot easier to drive. Possibly down to the fact that near enough everything has now been replaced for either new or updated parts. The only thing left to do is have another rear beam powder coated and fitted to match the subframe again and get the box refurbished which is all on the cards for this year. Along with loosing more weight (the car not me) and some new seats.

Now we’re up to date-ish, I’ll carry on with more on cup2 and get a full spec list up of cup1.

 

[Filters]

Managed to pick up a bit of a bargain for cup1. Genuine Recaro profischale for less than a round of drinks, it was in a bit of a state so I set about repairing it.

The material had pulled through the belt guides, so first up I had to remove the covers and cushions. Realigned it all the, made sure the material was pulled back through each guide hole in equal measure before clamping them in place and bonding them back to the shell.

Then set about recovering the seat with new side bolsters and side padding.

Made sure the cover lined up neatly all around the edges of the seat and belt guides.

Then set the cover in place with a new spring on the underside that had slightly less tension than the old one to prevent any future issues. The end result being that it now looks near enough new and is ready to fit in the car with an XLow subframe.

Difference is night and day.

 

[20vKarlos]

One man two cups ?????

How have I not seen this thread before! I know you’re digging it out of the woods, but still!

Looks like you’ve had some fun times and some shite times! Just like the rest of us ?

 

[Filters]

One man two cups ?????

How have I not seen this thread before! I know you’re digging it out of the woods, but still!

Looks like you’ve had some fun times and some shite times! Just like the rest of us ?

Hopefully it's more fun times than s**t times now everything's done on the Cup1 ?

 

[Cookson]

I really want a fixed bucket for my TT and often contemplate picking up a ropey one for a refurb

 

[Filters]

I really want a fixed bucket for my TT and often contemplate picking up a ropey one for a refurb

They're really not all that hard to refurbish at all. I've past experience with quad/motorcross seats so just transfered what I know across to a car seat.

In two minds whether to sell it now though as these are fetching between £300 and £450 without cushions and with huge tears and rips ?
These fit well in TT's mind, same dimensions as the pole positions but a kilo lighter ?

 

[Cookson]

I'm looking at Corbeau Club Sports at the moment, £210 each brand new

They're really not all that hard to refurbish at all. I've past experience with quad/motorcross seats so just transfered what I know across to a car seat.

In two minds whether to sell it now though as these are fetching between £300 and £450 without cushions and with huge tears and rips ?
These fit well in TT's mind, same dimensions as the pole positions but a kilo lighter ?

 

[Filters]

I'm looking at Corbeau Club Sports at the moment, £210 each brand new

Can't go wrong with clubsports they're good seats.

 

[Filters]

Well overdue an update...

The project 172 Cup was sold at the end of 2019 as I didn't have the time to get it done, that and the fact I'd undergone another surgery this time on my wrist.
Kept my the one that worked and sent the car off for a few things to be finished.

BRT quick rack - 2.1 turns lock to lock.
E-Pas conversion.
OMP wheel as the novelty of the Sabelt wheel had worn off with the constant worry of it getting dirty.
Renault clutch and clutch cable fitted/replaced.
Corbeau Clubsport fitted on a Jon Fonz Xlow subframe with Sparco harness as I sold the Recaro SPG due to it being a tight fit!

Next on the card was investing in a cage and a few other goodies but something else cropped up at the start of 2020.

Made the move to motorsport, again.

3 podiums and finished P4 in class in the championship. 2020 was a weird season , very empty tracks with no one watching due to covid restrictions. Still had plenty of battles, trading of paint and overall a damn good laugh!

at the start of 2021 I moved from the 1 series in to an M240i, totally different machine with a lot more power, big brakes and a bit of downforce.

This meant a move in classes and a lot to learn in the short period of time we've had for testing. Being one of a handful of disabled drivers in the world of motorsport means the car's also very different in terms of controls. I have a steering wheel fitted that allows me to control the accelerator and brake with my hands, accelerator is on a paddle behind the wheel on the right with the brake on the left, rocker switches fitted on front of the wheel for gear shifts.

I then decided at the end of March that the 172 Cup would be turned in to a track car, parts are on order to make this happen, full cage, coilovers, wheels and tyres.
It's also due the all important cambelt change so that's on my list of things to get done with the above.

So being back down to one cup I felt it was appropriate to buy another....in the form of a low mileage Megane RS275 Cup-S as my new daily fitted with a few options from the factory.

It's standard aside from hooked disks and uprated pads, centre silencer delete and a spoiler extension....though I'm not so sure if I'll keep it "standard"
Time will tell.

 

[Filters]

2022 was a bit of a busy year for me so the cup was treated to a bit of an overhaul.

Belts needed doing so it was up to Mick at Diamond for them and a refresh.

In total it had..

Front wheel bearings.
New HC discs all round.
DS1.11 front pads
DS3000 rear pads.

Front main crank seal, clutch and replacement TTV lightweight flywheel.

New cup shocks and eibach springs.

Belts, dephaser and water pump.

Mick also fitted a rebuilt gearbox supplied by @NorthloopCup complete with a quaife diff.

Had the car back and it felt amazing,

Set about sorting out the wheels and tyres, a well priced set of Prorace LTs came up on Tweeks so I snapped them up.

Got a set of Giti GTR2s fitted that were going spare.

Took it to Combe with @TRH_Racing for a day on track, was faultless all day and had bags of grip. The brakes are spot on with a really firm pedal feel and the diff has made a massive difference.

Didn’t really have much time left in the year to enjoy it so only really used it for the odd trip to the shops. That meant not getting it finished off fully but it started coming together.

 

[Filters]

2023

After having the cage sitting around for a while taking up space in the garage I thought it was about time it got fitted.

Had a bit of spare time this month so got plans in to motion to get it installed.

First up was getting the majority of the interior stripped out, luckily that didn’t take too long as the back was already done.

A short trip to Cooksport in the van first to drop the cage off, followed by the car.

Received a call yesterday to say it was ready to collect so dropped my plans and headed on down and picked it up.
The lads also installed a four point OMP harness, couldn’t fault the turn around time and even left with some pics taken by them.

Safe to say it’s finally heading in the right direction. Coilovers and a roll center kit are up next on the list along with a set of door cards.

Until then I’ll make a start on tidying the redundant wiring and smarten the interior up a touch with some paint.

 

[TRH_Racing]

Wicked day at combe last year .. car was flying!
Great to see it moving to an even more track focus’d build now, can’t wait to get back out and get lapped @Filters 😂

 

[Filters]

Wicked day at combe last year .. car was flying!
Great to see it moving to an even more track focus’d build now, can’t wait to get back out and get lapped @Filters 😂

We need a repeat soon mate!
It was about time let's face it, it's taken long enough 😂