Discussion
A bit more progress this week. The radiator is in and properly mounted now, along with the coil packs. I've had to order the leads from Magnecor so am keeping my fingers crossed that they're still working.
The suspension is in now too, although it'll obviously want the geometry sorting. The LSD is still to be picked up from the engineering shop where it was built up.
It's getting closer though.
The suspension is in now too, although it'll obviously want the geometry sorting. The LSD is still to be picked up from the engineering shop where it was built up.
It's getting closer though.
Thanks. I'm really looking forward to finally getting it back again. When I bought it, I though I was getting a car that was mechanically done as the last thing I wanted was another money pit project that would sit in ARM's workshop for months. Hopefully though, now pretty much everything bar the steering has been replaced, it'll mean I can rack up a few thousand miles over the summer.
I've still not been able to mess with tyre sizes and see if I can get the Minilites under the standard arches. I've fitted lower camber plates and adjustable top mounts, so at least there's some adjustment available up front now. I imagine there's a little more clearance to be had if I roll the rear arches but it may be that I just have to wait till the 'pig cheek' arches go on instead?
The newly fabricated front subframe and engine mounts all need to go off to be powder coated but I'm not sure if the plan is to get it all fired up and mapped first? I'm looking forward to seeing how it runs on the S54 throttle bodies? I know that some people say they're too big for the M44 and they're not great at low revs, making drivability a bit hit and miss. If that's the case I guess I will just have to see if that can be addressed when mapping or possibly play with the length of the velocity stacks? Just how possible that actually is though, I have no idea? I'm not after ultimate power gains and really just want reliability and a good induction noise.
Anyway, I've waffled on enough.
I've still not been able to mess with tyre sizes and see if I can get the Minilites under the standard arches. I've fitted lower camber plates and adjustable top mounts, so at least there's some adjustment available up front now. I imagine there's a little more clearance to be had if I roll the rear arches but it may be that I just have to wait till the 'pig cheek' arches go on instead?
The newly fabricated front subframe and engine mounts all need to go off to be powder coated but I'm not sure if the plan is to get it all fired up and mapped first? I'm looking forward to seeing how it runs on the S54 throttle bodies? I know that some people say they're too big for the M44 and they're not great at low revs, making drivability a bit hit and miss. If that's the case I guess I will just have to see if that can be addressed when mapping or possibly play with the length of the velocity stacks? Just how possible that actually is though, I have no idea? I'm not after ultimate power gains and really just want reliability and a good induction noise.
Anyway, I've waffled on enough.
The ITB's are getting close to being finished now..We had intended using the S54 injectors in the Z3 rail but they sat too far from the inlet ports. (or so I'm told as I know as much about injectors and spray patterns as Mr Trump does about super-duper rockets!) As a result we are going with Vauxhall VXR type long injectors and hopefully that will solve the issue.
Just ordered some new gauges from Racetech and am thinking an AFR gauge might be a sensible move. I'd planned on getting one of the O2 turbo style gauge pods that sits alongside the binnacle but the shipping cost in ridiculous. £70 for a piece of plastic! I'm hoping I can find a European supplier instead.
The only other thing I've been doing is looking to try and find the widest rim I can fit under stock arches? I know E30 BBS 15's will fit, but I really wanted to stay with 13's. I guess 14's might be a compromise?
Just ordered some new gauges from Racetech and am thinking an AFR gauge might be a sensible move. I'd planned on getting one of the O2 turbo style gauge pods that sits alongside the binnacle but the shipping cost in ridiculous. £70 for a piece of plastic! I'm hoping I can find a European supplier instead.
The only other thing I've been doing is looking to try and find the widest rim I can fit under stock arches? I know E30 BBS 15's will fit, but I really wanted to stay with 13's. I guess 14's might be a compromise?
Well the ITB set up is just about finished now and we ended up using the longer injectors, as opposed the the OE s54 ones we'd planned on using. The fuel lines are all in and we opted to go with a 1 litre swirl pot in the boot and 3 bar pump. The battery is also boot mounted now and I'm hoping that overall the weight will be pretty evenly distributed. I may actually go with one of those rear strut brace and battery tray combo things? I very much doubt they do much in the way of bracing but they're a tidy solution.
I've also opted to ditch much of the OE wiring, although being as the car is nigh on 48 years old, there's not a huge amount of wiring anyway! I'm also going to replace the tired auxiliary gauges with 52mm Racetech items. I figured oil pressure, oil temp and coolant temp should be enough? The only other thing is the rev counter, but hopefully the OE one will still work OK even if it isn't overly accurate. I'll fit a simple shift light at whatever level I set the limiter, or just before anyway. Another bonus of having a left hand drive 02 is the availability of the occasional period accessory. In this case, an Alpina style dash mounted gauge pod. Mind you, they're out of stock despite being £95! Why a piece of plastic should be £95 is beyond me but they do look good. I could import one from the US but they wanted another £70 for shipping!
At the moment we are stuck waiting on the plug leads from Magnecor. Once they get here though, I'm pretty sure we should be close to firing the MM44/1.9 for the first time and I'll finally have a 16v02.
Once the engine is running and mapped, it'll all come back out again to be made to look a whole lot nicer. I'm hoping to make it resemble a Schnitzer M12 from period. Well that's the plan anyway. I also have a couple of interior bits that I am going to refurb' when I get time.
I've also opted to ditch much of the OE wiring, although being as the car is nigh on 48 years old, there's not a huge amount of wiring anyway! I'm also going to replace the tired auxiliary gauges with 52mm Racetech items. I figured oil pressure, oil temp and coolant temp should be enough? The only other thing is the rev counter, but hopefully the OE one will still work OK even if it isn't overly accurate. I'll fit a simple shift light at whatever level I set the limiter, or just before anyway. Another bonus of having a left hand drive 02 is the availability of the occasional period accessory. In this case, an Alpina style dash mounted gauge pod. Mind you, they're out of stock despite being £95! Why a piece of plastic should be £95 is beyond me but they do look good. I could import one from the US but they wanted another £70 for shipping!
At the moment we are stuck waiting on the plug leads from Magnecor. Once they get here though, I'm pretty sure we should be close to firing the MM44/1.9 for the first time and I'll finally have a 16v02.
Once the engine is running and mapped, it'll all come back out again to be made to look a whole lot nicer. I'm hoping to make it resemble a Schnitzer M12 from period. Well that's the plan anyway. I also have a couple of interior bits that I am going to refurb' when I get time.
Thanks, I appreciate your comments.
We're at a point now where there are a couple of mounting tabs that need welding on the ITB / fuel rail and we can then load a base map and (hopefully) fire the M44 for the first time. The diff is back from the engineering shop now, having had the new LSD fitted, so hopefully that'll be back in the car any day now also.
The Matter full cage is on its way from Greece now also, although I don't plan fitting it till next year and the same goes for the wide arch kit. I'm getting impatient for getting it up and running now though. It's been a good few months since the old M10 let go and it's frustrating spending the cash I have for something I can't use. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait though.
We're at a point now where there are a couple of mounting tabs that need welding on the ITB / fuel rail and we can then load a base map and (hopefully) fire the M44 for the first time. The diff is back from the engineering shop now, having had the new LSD fitted, so hopefully that'll be back in the car any day now also.
The Matter full cage is on its way from Greece now also, although I don't plan fitting it till next year and the same goes for the wide arch kit. I'm getting impatient for getting it up and running now though. It's been a good few months since the old M10 let go and it's frustrating spending the cash I have for something I can't use. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait though.
Fuel rail is now sorted, along with the vacuum take off for the servo. I intend having all these parts powder coated once we fire it up and get the mapping done.
The ITB (or one of them) is very slightly pissed, which is slightly annoying from an OCD perspective.
Overall though, I really love how it's coming together. Once the engine bay is repainted and the engine block and ITB are all powder coated (satin gold) with crackle black cam cover and alloy catch can, brake fluid reservoir etc, it should be even better. I want to lose the blue Samco hosing for the velocity stacks too.
Huge thanks are owed to www.passionautofrance.com and J3Driveline for supplying a nice new LSD. I figured it made sense to have the whole differential overhauled, so it's a sintered clutch pack, 45% lock and custom 02 output flanges with a 4:1 CWP and re coated casing. I'd like to add a finned Alpina type rear cover eventually.
In an effort to at least keep the aesthetic looking period correct, I have a genuine Matter roll cage coming.
In an effort to at least keep the aesthetic looking period correct, I have a genuine Matter roll cage coming.
Some more progress yesterday and the finishing line (in as much as getting it running and mapped anyway!) is tantalisingly close now.
Due to trying to keep costs down and squeezing it in between other jobs, we opted to whip everything out again and prep the engine bay for paint. Fortunately it wasn't done all that long ago, when the car was still in Greece, so the prep work was pretty minimal. Better still, there was no corrosion to deal with either and this is all purely cosmetic. As well as painting the bay I figured parts like the servo, master cylinder and alternator could use a freshen up. The grubby plastic brake fluid reservoir, catch can and washer reservoir are also being binned for aluminium. That said, this isn't a show car and it'll be racking up the miles getting used (and sometimes abused) as often as possible. Yes, I want it to look good and kind of period'ish looking but more than that I want it to be reliable, nimble and revtastic!
I'm really looking forward to seeing what sort of power the m44/1.9 makes too? I'd be pretty happy with anything around the 170 mark, as 02's are pretty light anyway and mine has been on a bit of a diet thanks to aftermarket seats and suspension. Eventually I intend having Bruno at BDS open the head up a bit, raise the compression and see if it'll reach 200?
I also had to get some new lower ball joints up front, as the one's on the car were (like 99% of the mechanical components) pretty tired. Unfortunately OE are ridiculously expensive and best price I could get on genuine ones was £500 the pair plus VAT! Instead (on recommendation from James at JFi Classics) I oped for Moog ones at just £38 the pair including delivery from Germany!
I'm still in 2 minds whether to fit the Cibié up front? I love the look of an early 02 but the headlights are truly woeful. Candles in jam jars would be a significant improvement.
Anyway, off to get the daily back later so will hopefully get some pics of a nicely refreshed 02 engine bay?!
Due to trying to keep costs down and squeezing it in between other jobs, we opted to whip everything out again and prep the engine bay for paint. Fortunately it wasn't done all that long ago, when the car was still in Greece, so the prep work was pretty minimal. Better still, there was no corrosion to deal with either and this is all purely cosmetic. As well as painting the bay I figured parts like the servo, master cylinder and alternator could use a freshen up. The grubby plastic brake fluid reservoir, catch can and washer reservoir are also being binned for aluminium. That said, this isn't a show car and it'll be racking up the miles getting used (and sometimes abused) as often as possible. Yes, I want it to look good and kind of period'ish looking but more than that I want it to be reliable, nimble and revtastic!
I'm really looking forward to seeing what sort of power the m44/1.9 makes too? I'd be pretty happy with anything around the 170 mark, as 02's are pretty light anyway and mine has been on a bit of a diet thanks to aftermarket seats and suspension. Eventually I intend having Bruno at BDS open the head up a bit, raise the compression and see if it'll reach 200?
I also had to get some new lower ball joints up front, as the one's on the car were (like 99% of the mechanical components) pretty tired. Unfortunately OE are ridiculously expensive and best price I could get on genuine ones was £500 the pair plus VAT! Instead (on recommendation from James at JFi Classics) I oped for Moog ones at just £38 the pair including delivery from Germany!
I'm still in 2 minds whether to fit the Cibié up front? I love the look of an early 02 but the headlights are truly woeful. Candles in jam jars would be a significant improvement.
Anyway, off to get the daily back later so will hopefully get some pics of a nicely refreshed 02 engine bay?!
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