Trophy Project 40/500

[480bhp.com]

Looks like it will be fun, but i have to ask, why didn't you just save the hassle and buy an ex-Cup car?

Also, i'm not sure about acid dipping myself. It stays there, which means it will slowly eat at your fresh paint job.

An ex cup car may have been a suitable purchase, but there's no fun in just buying cars Having said that the cup car has non adjustable dampers, non mapable ecu (or as good as) standard throttle body etc etc,

So by the time i'm done it won't really be like a cup racer.

As for the acid dip, there is loads of rumours around about the process, longevity etc, yet everyone i've spoken too who has actually had this done, is very pleased with the results and has had no problems, the only word of caution i was given, is down the possinilty of panel damage through mishandling during the process.

While it's called an acid dip, the process isn't that simple, Basic Chemistry tells you that alkaline neutralises acid in the right quantities, and part of the process is an alkaline dip after the acid, alond with several other processes


Anyway, it's all systems go from now on, the shell is off for dipping Thursday, the next 2 months it will spend it's time between the dippers, fabricators and spray painters.

So all being well by mid November it should be back in the garage, agreed a good price for what should be a quality spray job today.

Stone guard arches and floor (in white) and then the rest of the car in white. The stone guard should help prevent chips and scratches seeing as there will be no under seal on the car.

Fingers crossed everything goes to plan from now

Also spoke to Curtis and he's sending me an M3 top mount to use as a template for the chassis fabrication

Chris

 

[Russ Rallye]

Also spoke to Curtis and he's sending me an M3 top mount to use as a template for the chassis fabrication

Chris

What for? Looking good, thought about using aerocatches on my boot but decided to stick with the oe latch instead. Be nice to see the pics as it gets dipped + goes throught the process, good luck mate
Russ

 

[theduck]

Looks like this will be an interesting project.

 

[480bhp.com]

Russ, the clio lacks any Castor adjustment, all year i've been running the car with almost 1 degree difference in castor from left to right :dapprove:
Tired to get it with the subframe etc, but no joy, so the only way is to fit some adjustment in.

While i'm aware of the AST adjustable clio mounts, i wasn't happy with the quailty and potential longevity of the mounts when i received mine, so i sent them back and used Mark Fish Mounts. These were not adjustable though so, they now have to make way for a better adjustable Top Mount, After speaking with Scott and his Dad a few months back (scooty motorsport) they showed me there set up using M3 mounts.
The M3 mounts are just what i need and they're a lot more substantial than the clio offerings.

And that's where i'm at it's not a mod for the fainthearted though, as it involved redesigning the front strut towers.

As it gets under way i'll get some pictures up

Chris

 

[Whiteley]

Love it Chris, keep it up.

 

[Jay Payne]

Saw Scottys mod for the strut tops, very good idea but as you say not for the squemish. Castor is seriously lacking on a Clio, phase 2's are better. the MOST we can get out of my phase 1 with the ast mounts is 1deg :dapprove:

 

[Russ Rallye]

Hmm, interested to see some pics of the mods needed, take it you have to plate the original strut top area and cut a hole to suit an eccentric type adjustable topmount that normally fits an M3?
Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

Just had a look at scots project thread, looks really good, great idea on the strut tops, guess the best time to do it is when the shell is stripped for doing all the other fab. How much are the M3 top mounts then and are they a simple fot for the clio ast dampers/other dampers?
Russ

 

[shiftspark]

Russ, the clio lacks any Castor adjustment, all year i've been running the car with almost 1 degree difference in castor from left to right :dapprove:

Chris

Ah! I have been wondering why no one seems to alter the castor angle, just assumed it was "right" anyways cutting the mounts out of mine is a no no as I have to keep the mounting points standard.
Were the AST's that bad ?
Cheers

 

[480bhp.com]

Get the turrets cut Jay

Russ, i'm not sure what exactly is involved in matting the M3 mounts too clio dampers (more than likely a top hat spacer) as i've not seen either yet, But Curtis tells me he's sold this combination a few times before and as i'm buying both the top mounts and dampers from him, he'll make sure they're compatible whne he sends them.

Colin, as you're aware no one seems to alter castor, mainly due to the lack of adjustment, (even with the Ast clio mounts as Jay said) so it's often something not spoken about on forums, there could be plenty of cars running around with mis matched castor or a severe lack of. As for the Ast clio mounts, i'm sure they're up to the job as many people are using them, but they're just not for me

While i'm not a good enough driver to exploit the car to the full, the adjustment will help get that bit more from it.

Chris

 

[Jay Payne]

tempted to do it. Might have to wait. I'll see how you get on first, Lol

 

[480bhp.com]

Weighed another major component today

While moving the engine etc around the garage i decided to see what it weighed, so all the items listed below came in at.....................

Engine (no inlet manifold)
Gearbox
manifold
gear shift rod
wishbones
N/s driveshaft
Anti roll bar
Subframe
Steering Rack
Subframe mounts (the triangle ones)

217kgs

I'm getting ever optomistic that i'll reach under 900kgs finished


Also made a start thinning out the engine loom the other day, only left with handful of wires, a good 7/8ths of the loom is on the garage floor ready for the bin

Chris

 

[480bhp.com]

Now the Shells at the acid dippers, i've enough room to make a start on the rest of the parts.

1st off is the engine, the very slight oil leak i've had through 2009 has been annoying, so while the engine is out i can address the issue.
It turns out the oil is leaking from rocker cover gasket, between cylinders 1+2 and 3+4, as your probably aware the f4r doesn't lend itself to kindly to simple jobs around the rocker
So rather than buy the tools to sort the cam belt, i've contacted Fred at BTM, for little more than the price of the tools Fred agreed to sort the job while wait.

That brings up another thought i've been toying with, CAMS
While talking with Fred he reccomended 3 brands, Schrick, C&B and Cat cam 428's

I've opted to go for the C&B's, so once they arrive i'll be taking the engine down to Fred's to get the cams dialed in and the rocker cover gasket sorted. While playing around in that area i've also decided to replace the sump gasket, timing belt (only done in may) and water pump (pics to follow)

Back to today, the engine needs cleaning up and degreasing ready for paint, due to missing the qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, garage time has been cut short too just an hour or so.

While removing the gearbox i noticed that in 2008 it was fitted with a new clutch, strange as the car had only done 25000 miles when i bought it in January :S

Then i removed the water pump, really glad i did too, as you can see from the picture one of the vanes is missing, no idea where it is, so i'll be removing the thermostat to check there, i'd like to find it if it's still in the engine to prevent premature failure of the new pump.

Other than that i've just stuck the Front hubs in a solution to remove the rust, when i take them out tomorrow (in between the GP and BTCC) i'll get some pictures up, they'll look like new trust me


Engine as removed

The other side of the removed engine

Engine cleaned

Water Pump

Front Hubs

 

[480bhp.com]

Just removed one of the hubs from the solution and cleaned up
Dropped the other one in and i'll take that out about 7pm

Both will be ready for primer and paint (tomorrow's job)

 

[theduck]

This thread never fails to amaze!

 

[Russ Rallye]

Whats the story with the rocker cover gasket then, i think i have a leak from there also and had inteded to do it while my engine is out. Is it a massive job, thought it was just a case of rocker cover off replace gasket and an refit, is it not just a straight forward rocker/cam cover then, needs other bits removed to do it, not had a proper look yet.
Hubs look good, definately better than a wire brush and repaint like i was intending on mine, was it some kind of caustic solution you put it in?
Russ

 

[480bhp.com]

Russ, to get the hubs clean do a search for Electrolysis, basically you get a bucket of water add soda crystals (cost about 70p from the supermarket) then attach the negative side of battery charger to the part you want to clean, and the positive side to a piece of steel (don't use stainless) also in the bucket, but not touching the part to be cleaned.

Leave for as long as you wish, but 6 hours is plenty depending on your set up, remove part from bucket (it will be covered in black iron) and clean with a wire brush (litteraly falls off), then just prime and paint

That makes it sound really easy, and it is, give it a go and you'll wonder why you ever bothered cleaning rusty parts with just a wire brush.

As for the rocker cover, unlike the more usual set up, the f4r rocker cover also holds the cams in place, so removing the cover will require the cam timing re setting, and if your going to them lengths you may as well do the belt too, and replace the cams

Chris

 

[The Boosh!]

you could also have just placed your parts in a bucket of vinegar for a day or so

Awesome work though mate, wish i had the time and space to take some sort of project on.

 

[shiftspark]

the cam timing re setting, and if your going to them lengths you may as well do the belt too, and replace the cams

Chris

Wish I could justify new cams and re-map that "easy"

Nice job

 

[480bhp.com]

Had some time in the garage today

Cleaned up the rocker cover and gave it a couple of coats of Halfords VHT in Metallic black (it's dark grey if you ask me, and that's why i bought it)

Then gave the engine (or at least on side of it) a couple of coats of gloss red engine laquer
No need to mask anything as the oil filter will be replaced, the knock sensor and oil level are no longer required, so will be blanked off and the oil pressure is to be replaced with the stack one.

2nd Coat

When i've sorted a few more things i'll be removing the sump, cleaning it up and spraying same as the rocker.

While all that was happening a few parts were in the solution being prepped ready for priming.

Rear stub axles

Rear stub plates

Front wheel hubs

Plus i also gave the front hubs a few coats of acid etch, the final colour coats will be done once the bearings have been fitted.

And that's it for now, hopefully the Nobbly sticks arrive this week and i'll be able to get the engine down to Freds for the rocker resealing.

 

[Jay Payne]

Amazing, that all done in that bucket of soda crystals?

 

[Greeny.]

All looking good so far mate, ill be looking through all your progress

 

[Jonny1*2]

Looking good chris, keep the pics flowing

 

[pritchard182]

this thread is ausum cant wait to see the finished item

 

[480bhp.com]

b011ocks

Got an issue with the Colombo & Bariani cams, the only supplier i could find in the uk can't supply them, they didn't give any reason why, but i got home today to find my bank account had been credited and an email, saying they were sorry they could not fulfil the order :dapprove:


Just fired off an email to them direct, hopefully they'll export direct to customers

Still not too worry everything else is going to plan at the minute

 

[Jay Payne]

Chris, what are you doing with your interior loom? Just trimming down?

 

[480bhp.com]

Chris, what are you doing with your interior loom? Just trimming down?

I was going to build one from scratch, but that depends on the availability of the pins for the plugs, if i can't get any, then i'll just give the stock loom a hair cut, albeit a quite severe one

As i'll not be using any of the any of the clio fuses, modules, relays etc, if i use any of the loom it will just be for the plugs

What you thinking?

Chris

 

[Jay Payne]

Sounds good mate, depends how much you need/want to keep funcional

 

[480bhp.com]

I'm going to Mot the car once it's done, not for driving on the road as such, but it will be a benefit for testing and checking on repairs/ problems etc. I don't see the point of turning up to a trackday or race meet to find issues with the car that could have been sorted easy at home with the lift and tools.

So what you thinking?

Chris

 

[Jay Payne]

Jus interested thats all

 

[agil]

Good Proyect, but at same time sad to see a great car like this one destroyed

 

[Russ Rallye]

pmsl at destroyed
Russ

 

[Gray]

I chopped ALOT of my standard loom down, its surprising how much of it you "don't need"

I removed 2 carrier bags full of wiring and excess plugs, taped all the loom up into 1 main piece and 3 small parts coming off..... fuse box, steering rack/dials, heater controls..

Makes it a lot tidier!

 

[Addz]

I chopped ALOT of my standard loom down, its surprising how much of it you "don't need"

I removed 2 carrier bags full of wiring and excess plugs, taped all the loom up into 1 main piece and 3 small parts coming off..... fuse box, steering rack/dials, heater controls..

Makes it a lot tidier!

is that anything to do with why you were spotted on a recovery truck earlier?

 

[Gray]

is that anything to do with why you were spotted on a recovery truck earlier?

How do so many people know hahaha....

the auxiliary tension bolt snapped... sloppy belt FTL!

 

[ado]

Great project you got going here. Will be better than new soon.

If you don't mind me asking how much did you get quoted for the dip and coat? I'm not sure if I can justify sending my new shell off.

 

[Jay_A]

Good Proyect, but at same time sad to see a great car like this one destroyed

Amen

 

[Matt@Stealthsport]

Amen

What crap it was a CAT D car and Chris is at least doing something different instead of polishing his Trophy!

I met him at Cadwell and he's a great bloke and I for one can't wait until its on track next year.

 

[theduck]

Lol at all the people crying over it. Especially fellow Trophy owners! Just makes yours worth more

 

[480bhp.com]

Just looked through some of the pictures again

I'm surprised no one picked up on it, but look at the stub axles :dapprove: one of them is bent, in fact it's totally useless, shame as i bought it too replace a damaged one

So on the look out for another one

Oh and if your worried i'm destroying a Trophy, you far from it, i'm obliterating it, The only redemable thing to point to it being a Trophy is the log book, and i'll not be driving round with that stuck in the window :nono:

To me it's a little red car, like the one Nicole used to drive

Chris