605bhp Per Ton 200SX Powered Kitcar
Discussion
This is a post to document my journey into kit-car ownership.
How it began - 130bhp
Near the start - 170bhp
New engine - 260bhp
More power - 300bhp
several engines and ££ later now almost 400bhp
Read on for the full story.....
I decided around a year ago that I wanted a kit-car. I got rid of my 172-cup and started looking in the Classifieds.
I quickly realized my budget simply wouldn't cover a road-worthy car so looked at some 'part-built' projects on eBay. I'd almost given up hope after seeing some utter drivel for sale - it amazes me what people try and pass of as 95% complete but has an engine missing?!
So on a lonely night working away in South Wales I saw an advert for a 99.9%(!) complete Ron Champion Zetec Locost in Spalding. I took a detour on the way home to see the car. It had been scratch-built by the seller over the previous SEVEN years and now needed the dreaded IVA test before getting a registration.
It was built using this:
A deal was done (a steal if I say so myself) and the car was brought back home.
Upon arrival -
Brief Spec when bought -
2.0 Zetec rebuilt pre aug 95 with letter from ford.
fuel injected
Scholar sump
Scholar lightened flywheel
Dunnel alternator kit
Mt75 gearbox
Fisher stainless exhaust manifold
Capri atlas axle
Cortina fronts
Gaz shocks
D&F prop
Cai dials
Obp pedal box
Obp fuel tank
Obp catch tank
Mk2 escort steering rack Quick ratio 2.9:1
Front wish bones 4" wider than stock to match the atlas rear axle
Sierra column
Momo 10" caterham steering wheel
Gts fiberglass
Descent 15" alloys pug offset
So I went for an IVA -
and failed -
Then went for another, and passed -
(I wont go into how s
t the DVLA are and how it took 6 weeks to get my documents!)
Maiden voyage -
Decided it wasn't quick enough so fitted some throttle bodies
Had it mapped -
Drove it -
Got annoyed carrying my helmet about when I got somewhere so made a boot -
Tidied up the inside to make it look less 'homemade' -
Drove it somemore -
Went to my first trackday in it. Towed it. It was a tad wet when I arrived -
..and didn't get any better as the day went on -
I learned alot LOL -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGBskzP6mkk
Fitted an oil cooler -
Did another trackday (Blyton this time)
broke it -
I became disappointed with the 'start-line' performance, and the fact it wouldn't really power around corners so decided to get an LSD fitted. The car has an Axle atlas so off the axle came to have a 2.8 special Capri LSD fitted
Then had a roll-cage fitted for a bit of additional safety -
Fitted a full flat-floor and rear diffuser. I know the 'aero' won't really work for this car but seven-style kits have a bad habit of 'parachuting' due to the air under the car hitting the rear panel.
Fitted a new, higher aeroscreen (I'm 6'4 so suffered from buffeting at high speed)
Fitted some lower, carbonfibre/kevlar front arches
..and that brings me to current day pretty much.
The car now runs at 168bhp/145lb ft torque and weighs around 550kg wet. This weekend I'm fitting a 3.75kg flywheel (to replace the 7.5kg one I have at the moment) and then in July/August will be fitting a race cylinder head and performance cams to hopefully push me nearer the magic 200bhp number.
I know this is a very limited-budget build (and car) compared to the majority of motors on here but hopefully it will interest some.
I've also had a nightmare going through the IVA and DVLA registration process and would be happy to help anyone where I can
Thanks for reading
How it began - 130bhp
Near the start - 170bhp
New engine - 260bhp
More power - 300bhp
several engines and ££ later now almost 400bhp
Read on for the full story.....
I decided around a year ago that I wanted a kit-car. I got rid of my 172-cup and started looking in the Classifieds.
I quickly realized my budget simply wouldn't cover a road-worthy car so looked at some 'part-built' projects on eBay. I'd almost given up hope after seeing some utter drivel for sale - it amazes me what people try and pass of as 95% complete but has an engine missing?!
So on a lonely night working away in South Wales I saw an advert for a 99.9%(!) complete Ron Champion Zetec Locost in Spalding. I took a detour on the way home to see the car. It had been scratch-built by the seller over the previous SEVEN years and now needed the dreaded IVA test before getting a registration.
It was built using this:
A deal was done (a steal if I say so myself) and the car was brought back home.
Upon arrival -
Brief Spec when bought -
2.0 Zetec rebuilt pre aug 95 with letter from ford.
fuel injected
Scholar sump
Scholar lightened flywheel
Dunnel alternator kit
Mt75 gearbox
Fisher stainless exhaust manifold
Capri atlas axle
Cortina fronts
Gaz shocks
D&F prop
Cai dials
Obp pedal box
Obp fuel tank
Obp catch tank
Mk2 escort steering rack Quick ratio 2.9:1
Front wish bones 4" wider than stock to match the atlas rear axle
Sierra column
Momo 10" caterham steering wheel
Gts fiberglass
Descent 15" alloys pug offset
So I went for an IVA -
and failed -
Then went for another, and passed -
(I wont go into how s
t the DVLA are and how it took 6 weeks to get my documents!)Maiden voyage -
Decided it wasn't quick enough so fitted some throttle bodies
Had it mapped -
Drove it -
Got annoyed carrying my helmet about when I got somewhere so made a boot -
Tidied up the inside to make it look less 'homemade' -
Drove it somemore -
Went to my first trackday in it. Towed it. It was a tad wet when I arrived -
..and didn't get any better as the day went on -
I learned alot LOL -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGBskzP6mkk
Fitted an oil cooler -
Did another trackday (Blyton this time)
broke it -
I became disappointed with the 'start-line' performance, and the fact it wouldn't really power around corners so decided to get an LSD fitted. The car has an Axle atlas so off the axle came to have a 2.8 special Capri LSD fitted
Then had a roll-cage fitted for a bit of additional safety -
Fitted a full flat-floor and rear diffuser. I know the 'aero' won't really work for this car but seven-style kits have a bad habit of 'parachuting' due to the air under the car hitting the rear panel.
Fitted a new, higher aeroscreen (I'm 6'4 so suffered from buffeting at high speed)
Fitted some lower, carbonfibre/kevlar front arches
..and that brings me to current day pretty much.
The car now runs at 168bhp/145lb ft torque and weighs around 550kg wet. This weekend I'm fitting a 3.75kg flywheel (to replace the 7.5kg one I have at the moment) and then in July/August will be fitting a race cylinder head and performance cams to hopefully push me nearer the magic 200bhp number.
I know this is a very limited-budget build (and car) compared to the majority of motors on here but hopefully it will interest some.
I've also had a nightmare going through the IVA and DVLA registration process and would be happy to help anyone where I can
Thanks for reading
Edited by dave2007bc on Wednesday 13th May 09:37
Edited by dave2007bc on Wednesday 13th May 09:40
The car was originally fitted with a 2.0 zetec flywheel which had been lightened by Scholar engines; reducing the weight from around 10kg to 7.5kg.
A friend who races a Ginetta G40 had an old engine going begging, a deal was done and I acquired the Ginetta race flywheel from that engine. The Ginetta G40's use a crate-blacktop 1.8 zetec engine, standard apart from a Raceline sump, race flywheel and bespoke camshafts.
The new flywheel weighs 3.75kg but the clutch setup will be a bit mix and match.
To make sure I get the right bits I took a visit to Calder Clutch in Brighouse, West Yorkshire who suggested the best way to progress would be to take my old flywheel, clutch and release bearing setup down to them and they will build me a suitable replacement kit for the new flywheel.
That meant taking the engine out;
First few bits off
Wheeled into the garage and under the crane (Excuse the mess!)
and out
Took me just over 2 hours to remove it all. To say I was by myself and half an hour of that was arsing about with trailers and shifting cars around I'm quite happy with that.
This dinnertime I'll be taking all the old bits to Calder so I can pick up the relevant new bits.
I also interestingly found that my old clutch wasn't really working properly -
It appears as though either it was the wrong friction plate, or the Scholar flywheel wasn't flush - eitherway it meant I probably had less than 30% of the actual friction plate touching the flywheel. The outside edges of the clutch was literally brand new - I always thought I had clutch-slip but this being my first RWD car I just dismissed it as the tyres spinning.
Nevermind - adds to the reasoning for taking it all apart anyway!
A friend who races a Ginetta G40 had an old engine going begging, a deal was done and I acquired the Ginetta race flywheel from that engine. The Ginetta G40's use a crate-blacktop 1.8 zetec engine, standard apart from a Raceline sump, race flywheel and bespoke camshafts.
The new flywheel weighs 3.75kg but the clutch setup will be a bit mix and match.
To make sure I get the right bits I took a visit to Calder Clutch in Brighouse, West Yorkshire who suggested the best way to progress would be to take my old flywheel, clutch and release bearing setup down to them and they will build me a suitable replacement kit for the new flywheel.
That meant taking the engine out;
First few bits off
Wheeled into the garage and under the crane (Excuse the mess!)
and out
Took me just over 2 hours to remove it all. To say I was by myself and half an hour of that was arsing about with trailers and shifting cars around I'm quite happy with that.
This dinnertime I'll be taking all the old bits to Calder so I can pick up the relevant new bits.
I also interestingly found that my old clutch wasn't really working properly -
It appears as though either it was the wrong friction plate, or the Scholar flywheel wasn't flush - eitherway it meant I probably had less than 30% of the actual friction plate touching the flywheel. The outside edges of the clutch was literally brand new - I always thought I had clutch-slip but this being my first RWD car I just dismissed it as the tyres spinning.
Nevermind - adds to the reasoning for taking it all apart anyway!
iacabu said:
Very nice and great colour.
I think a set of lightweight multi spoke wheels would finish the looks off nicely
I'd love some 13" caterham wheels but I get my Michelin 15" road tyres for free so can't justify swapping to smaller wheels for the road unfortunately. I suppose after doing all the things to lighten the unsprung weight I should start looking at lightening wheels and brakes etcI think a set of lightweight multi spoke wheels would finish the looks off nicely
Spaceman; there maybe some forced induction coming over Winter but it will be in the form of a supercharger as I prefer the linear power delivery of these.
Joema; always have my lid on so quite cosy actually! :-)
Sway; theyre a great way to enter kit car ownership and alot more track focussed than Robin hoods and the like but there are ALOT of dodgy ones about - those that have 'missed' SVA/IVA and registered as something else and those that have apparently passed an IVA but god knows how. Have a very good look around and a drive before spending your hard earned on one.
Joema; always have my lid on so quite cosy actually! :-)
Sway; theyre a great way to enter kit car ownership and alot more track focussed than Robin hoods and the like but there are ALOT of dodgy ones about - those that have 'missed' SVA/IVA and registered as something else and those that have apparently passed an IVA but god knows how. Have a very good look around and a drive before spending your hard earned on one.
Today was set to get the car back together.
Bolts all organised
Old flywheel and clutch, around 12.5kg
New flywheel and clutch - 7.5kg. A decent 5kg saving!
New flywheel and clutch on the engine
Ready to go in
Engine all in
All done and finished
First impressions are good, it revs soon much faster and sounds like a racecar with a bit of heel and toe around the twisties.
Looking forward to getting out during the week for a blast, hope the weather warms up a bit!
Bolts all organised
Old flywheel and clutch, around 12.5kg
New flywheel and clutch - 7.5kg. A decent 5kg saving!
New flywheel and clutch on the engine
Ready to go in
Engine all in
All done and finished
First impressions are good, it revs soon much faster and sounds like a racecar with a bit of heel and toe around the twisties.
Looking forward to getting out during the week for a blast, hope the weather warms up a bit!
B3MX5 said:
It's so good to see one of there, especially one so well looked after and modified. My friend at uni was Ron's son, James, and it's him sitting in the car on the book cover! I always thought it cool that the few who had cars at unit were the typical FWD sheds, James had an X19
Yours looks awesome, bet it's amazing to drive.
Thanks for the comments - there are so many of these cars still being built (all be it with zetecs instead of pintos, or a mazda MX5 base alternatively).Yours looks awesome, bet it's amazing to drive.
I absolutely love driving the car, the speed, handling, thrill and reactions from everyone that sees it is like nothing I've ever experienced before - from 3 year old to 80 year old everyone has nothing but praise for the car.
I know it's not what it should be about, but positive feedback is always welcoming from others, regardless of the price tag.
Since getting through the IVA test in August 2013 the car had always needed setting up properly. I'd just ticked over the 1,000 mile marker on the car so decided that now would be as good a time as any to get everything pointing in the right direction.
I chose to take my car to Procomp Motorsport in Birmingham. Father and son team, Ivan and Matt, have worked in the kit-car industry for many years and compete in the Locost Race series; racing their own car and providing support for many other racers.
I feel I should point out that, as the name of the car suggests (Locost) that this was never a big-budget build by the creator of my car. The front wishbones are 'static' and made to a spec, the chassis is home-made (box section welded together by a chap in Lincolnshire in his garage) and most significantly the car runs a big, heavy Atlas rear axle as opposed to having the independent rear suspension of the factory-built cars. (There is an argument that live-axle cars are better on tracks than IRS but we'll save that for a later date).
After the car was loaded up on to the trailer I made the 200 mile round-trip to Procomp. Upon arriving the car is wheeled into the garage and all 4 shock absorbers are removed. They are then put on a shock-dyno and measured for rebound and compression on each 'click' setting for consistency.
My car runs GAZ Gold shock absorbers which is not expensive suspension by any stretch of the imagination. The shock dyno, aside from highlighting any physical issues with the shocks, also checks the pairing of the adjustment i.e. That 4 clicks on the LF shock is the same stiffness as 4 clicks on the RF shock.
Once all 4 shock absorbers had been put through their paces on the dyno, each spring was then tested for lb-age on a press.
Once all the suspension is built back up they move on to the height and then corner-weighting of the car.
The end results, without me in the car were:
They then move on to the camber, castor and toe adjustments - however as noted already most of mine is fixed so it was more of a case of adjusting what we can and checking to make sure none of the other readings are massively out.
Although I have a solid rear beam, there are many cases of these distorting when extra mounting brackets are welded on. In my case, due to having the larger, Atlas rear axle instead of the English axle, mine was within a couple of mm of being straight.
Once the settings have been checked and OK'd, the car is then corner-weighted against incase any of the adjustments have altered anything.
After that, there's some complex testing in order to assess the best shock absorber stiffness setting
The end result can be seen below:
The guys started at 10am and I didn't leave until gone 7pm, and all for a fixed price.
My car was found to have no dangerous, or worrying issues however a couple of points were noted:
1 - We ran out of camber adjustment on the RF so ideally the wishbones needs a few mm shaving off in order to obtain another turn.
2 - The RF wishbone has less castor than the LF but not enough to cause me any issues on the road.
3 - My rear springs are 160lb and ideally could do with being around 120lb due to the weight of the rear axle. (one for the shopping list)
My car isn't an out and out track car and spends most of it's time on the road, I also live in Yorkshire and, despite what the roads looked like on the Tour-De-France route we probably have some of the worst-maintained roads in the UK.
I didn't get chance to get behind the wheel of the car yesterday so have no comparisons to make yet, I just wanted to document my day whilst it was still fresh in my mind.
I chose to take my car to Procomp Motorsport in Birmingham. Father and son team, Ivan and Matt, have worked in the kit-car industry for many years and compete in the Locost Race series; racing their own car and providing support for many other racers.
I feel I should point out that, as the name of the car suggests (Locost) that this was never a big-budget build by the creator of my car. The front wishbones are 'static' and made to a spec, the chassis is home-made (box section welded together by a chap in Lincolnshire in his garage) and most significantly the car runs a big, heavy Atlas rear axle as opposed to having the independent rear suspension of the factory-built cars. (There is an argument that live-axle cars are better on tracks than IRS but we'll save that for a later date).
After the car was loaded up on to the trailer I made the 200 mile round-trip to Procomp. Upon arriving the car is wheeled into the garage and all 4 shock absorbers are removed. They are then put on a shock-dyno and measured for rebound and compression on each 'click' setting for consistency.
My car runs GAZ Gold shock absorbers which is not expensive suspension by any stretch of the imagination. The shock dyno, aside from highlighting any physical issues with the shocks, also checks the pairing of the adjustment i.e. That 4 clicks on the LF shock is the same stiffness as 4 clicks on the RF shock.
Once all 4 shock absorbers had been put through their paces on the dyno, each spring was then tested for lb-age on a press.
Once all the suspension is built back up they move on to the height and then corner-weighting of the car.
The end results, without me in the car were:
They then move on to the camber, castor and toe adjustments - however as noted already most of mine is fixed so it was more of a case of adjusting what we can and checking to make sure none of the other readings are massively out.
Although I have a solid rear beam, there are many cases of these distorting when extra mounting brackets are welded on. In my case, due to having the larger, Atlas rear axle instead of the English axle, mine was within a couple of mm of being straight.
Once the settings have been checked and OK'd, the car is then corner-weighted against incase any of the adjustments have altered anything.
After that, there's some complex testing in order to assess the best shock absorber stiffness setting
The end result can be seen below:
The guys started at 10am and I didn't leave until gone 7pm, and all for a fixed price.
My car was found to have no dangerous, or worrying issues however a couple of points were noted:
1 - We ran out of camber adjustment on the RF so ideally the wishbones needs a few mm shaving off in order to obtain another turn.
2 - The RF wishbone has less castor than the LF but not enough to cause me any issues on the road.
3 - My rear springs are 160lb and ideally could do with being around 120lb due to the weight of the rear axle. (one for the shopping list)
My car isn't an out and out track car and spends most of it's time on the road, I also live in Yorkshire and, despite what the roads looked like on the Tour-De-France route we probably have some of the worst-maintained roads in the UK.
I didn't get chance to get behind the wheel of the car yesterday so have no comparisons to make yet, I just wanted to document my day whilst it was still fresh in my mind.
I'm built for agility not Directorship 
Not impossible to change the rear axle but certainly not worth the effort on this car. What I loose on the road in road-handling I make up for in traction on a track - unfortunately these cars will always have compromises in certain areas. Thankfully the car was bought knowing 'what it was' so I don't feel hard done by. The larger axle will also be beneficial over Winter when the new engine goes in
Not impossible to change the rear axle but certainly not worth the effort on this car. What I loose on the road in road-handling I make up for in traction on a track - unfortunately these cars will always have compromises in certain areas. Thankfully the car was bought knowing 'what it was' so I don't feel hard done by. The larger axle will also be beneficial over Winter when the new engine goes in
Hi Garett - I love Holme-Moss, too many damn Tour-De-France wannabees on it now though 
Anyway, since the suspension was setup I still haven't er, driven it. Life has got in the way, or something like that.
Despite just 10 posts ago saying that I didn't like the power delivery of a turbo'd engine, I have decided to go to the dark-side.
Shortly, I will be fitting a CA18DET engine into the car. These engines were originally from an S13 200SX. (My aim was to fit an SR20DET from the S14/S14a 200sx but aside from being a bit trickier on the wiring, a bit heavier than the CA18DET, they are ridiculously priced). (IMO)
So, after doing some top-class Internet snooping, Googling and forum searching I actually found the donor parts through a friend that does drifting.
A shopping list was given, an offer list given back, some money changed hands and a few days later my donor bits arrived:
- Engine Loom
- Dead Engine with bigger turbo
- Rebuilt Engine
- Gearbox
- Spare manifold and turbo (Standard)
- Spare manifold and turbo (unknown)
- Huge box of spares...
When completed and working the engine will be running Stage 2 which will consist of uprated fuel pump (255 litres per hour), more boost (14psi), 3" downpipe, hard induction pipes, FMIC and a stage 2 chip. It should hopefully produce around 250-270bhp which should take me to around 450bhp/ton (or the same as an MP12C).
The engines:
The engine with the red camcover was the dead one, so that needed stripping so I can take the working bits off it and re-claim some space in the garage.
Think there is something missing?
This is the bigger turbo compared to the normal T25 that 'should' be on a CA18DET
The dead engine had a nearly new 6-plate paddle clutch on, but the flywheel has obviously taken some hammer and could do with a skim, or replacement.
...and that's where I'm up to at the moment. I know this should be a Winter project but I'm itching to get this lot thrown in and working so I aim to collect parts quickly over the next few weeks with the aim being to fit the engine and box early September.
Anyway, since the suspension was setup I still haven't er, driven it. Life has got in the way, or something like that.
Despite just 10 posts ago saying that I didn't like the power delivery of a turbo'd engine, I have decided to go to the dark-side.
Shortly, I will be fitting a CA18DET engine into the car. These engines were originally from an S13 200SX. (My aim was to fit an SR20DET from the S14/S14a 200sx but aside from being a bit trickier on the wiring, a bit heavier than the CA18DET, they are ridiculously priced). (IMO)
So, after doing some top-class Internet snooping, Googling and forum searching I actually found the donor parts through a friend that does drifting.
A shopping list was given, an offer list given back, some money changed hands and a few days later my donor bits arrived:
- Engine Loom
- Dead Engine with bigger turbo
- Rebuilt Engine
- Gearbox
- Spare manifold and turbo (Standard)
- Spare manifold and turbo (unknown)
- Huge box of spares...
When completed and working the engine will be running Stage 2 which will consist of uprated fuel pump (255 litres per hour), more boost (14psi), 3" downpipe, hard induction pipes, FMIC and a stage 2 chip. It should hopefully produce around 250-270bhp which should take me to around 450bhp/ton (or the same as an MP12C).
The engines:
The engine with the red camcover was the dead one, so that needed stripping so I can take the working bits off it and re-claim some space in the garage.
Think there is something missing?
This is the bigger turbo compared to the normal T25 that 'should' be on a CA18DET
The dead engine had a nearly new 6-plate paddle clutch on, but the flywheel has obviously taken some hammer and could do with a skim, or replacement.
...and that's where I'm up to at the moment. I know this should be a Winter project but I'm itching to get this lot thrown in and working so I aim to collect parts quickly over the next few weeks with the aim being to fit the engine and box early September.
I've spent the last few weeks amassing a pile of parts and doing a minor rebuild on the new engine.
255 litre per hour fuel pump
Tim Boost gauge
Gearbox jetwashed and de-greased
6 plate paddle clutch
Flywheel skimmed
My spares pile is growing rapidly!
Engine block all painted up
Old vs New Alternator
HKS Mushroom Filter
New Intercooler, 2.75" Outlets
..it just fits inside the nose-cone
New alloy radiator - from a civic!
Turbo Blanket to keep under-bonnet temps down
Engine taken over to my mates house to get cleaned up inside (work horse VW Golf LOL)
Rebuild time
Before and After (eewww)
New alternator brackets made up, and alternator side swapped for more clearance
All timed up!
My current engine and gearbox is coming out this weekend and all the new bits are going in from Monday onwards, I'm just a little bit excited now!
255 litre per hour fuel pump
Tim Boost gauge
Gearbox jetwashed and de-greased
6 plate paddle clutch
Flywheel skimmed
My spares pile is growing rapidly!
Engine block all painted up
Old vs New Alternator
HKS Mushroom Filter
New Intercooler, 2.75" Outlets
..it just fits inside the nose-cone
New alloy radiator - from a civic!
Turbo Blanket to keep under-bonnet temps down
Engine taken over to my mates house to get cleaned up inside (work horse VW Golf LOL)
Rebuild time
Before and After (eewww)
New alternator brackets made up, and alternator side swapped for more clearance
All timed up!
My current engine and gearbox is coming out this weekend and all the new bits are going in from Monday onwards, I'm just a little bit excited now!
I've had a busy couple of weeks -
So I took the engine out:
New engine ready for it's new home
Cut some bits off
Fitted the new alloy racing radiator
Fitted the intercooler
Engine Mounts mocked up
First Test Fit
Modifying some chassis rails
Back in For the Last Time
Plenty of Room (sort of)
Ummm, not as subtle as I first hoped! haha
Then brought the car back home and began with the joyous task of hose fitting.
First trial fit -
Had to trim the nose-cone abit
Then started on a test-run of the wiring
That's where I'm up to, I've written a big job list today so know what's left to do.
My boost controller also arrived yesterday so once it's working I can get that thrown on and get a map put it that should take it to a safe 260-270bhp, as, when I opened my ECU I found this inside
So I took the engine out:
New engine ready for it's new home
Cut some bits off
Fitted the new alloy racing radiator
Fitted the intercooler
Engine Mounts mocked up
First Test Fit
Modifying some chassis rails
Back in For the Last Time
Plenty of Room (sort of)
Ummm, not as subtle as I first hoped! haha
Then brought the car back home and began with the joyous task of hose fitting.
First trial fit -
Had to trim the nose-cone abit
Then started on a test-run of the wiring
That's where I'm up to, I've written a big job list today so know what's left to do.
My boost controller also arrived yesterday so once it's working I can get that thrown on and get a map put it that should take it to a safe 260-270bhp, as, when I opened my ECU I found this inside
Edited by dave2007bc on Tuesday 9th September 09:59
Edited by dave2007bc on Thursday 7th May 09:53
Edited by dave2007bc on Thursday 7th May 09:56
Hello
Made lots of progress. Whilst I have tried to do the job properly first time there are a number of improvements I already know I want to make - notably in relation to the way the coolant pipes run - these will be getting sorted once I know there are no issues that I've yet to discover!
Does everyone hate wiring or is it just me?
Did some final hose fitting
Even though at this stage the car wasn't running yet, I decided to take it to get an exhaust made. Yep it's short and yes it will be incredibly loud. I will be having a silencer that I can put on as and when necessary but I've always wanted a turbo car with no silencer so now I have the chance I'm not missing out on the opportunity!
All done, just needed to tidy the engine bay wiring up at this stage
I then needed to chop my bonnet up to allow it to fit properly. I know this looks a tw@. The inlet is being shortened so that no cut is needed and the bonnet will be replaced next month.
Test drive this evening!
Made lots of progress. Whilst I have tried to do the job properly first time there are a number of improvements I already know I want to make - notably in relation to the way the coolant pipes run - these will be getting sorted once I know there are no issues that I've yet to discover!
Does everyone hate wiring or is it just me?
Did some final hose fitting
Even though at this stage the car wasn't running yet, I decided to take it to get an exhaust made. Yep it's short and yes it will be incredibly loud. I will be having a silencer that I can put on as and when necessary but I've always wanted a turbo car with no silencer so now I have the chance I'm not missing out on the opportunity!
All done, just needed to tidy the engine bay wiring up at this stage
I then needed to chop my bonnet up to allow it to fit properly. I know this looks a tw@. The inlet is being shortened so that no cut is needed and the bonnet will be replaced next month.
Test drive this evening!
Well, it works!
It is quite frankly f**king awesome - I can't believe it's only running 8psi when there's potential to run nearly double that.
Can't wait to get everything put back together properly to really get some miles on her and see what she can do.
It is quite frankly f**king awesome - I can't believe it's only running 8psi when there's potential to run nearly double that.
Can't wait to get everything put back together properly to really get some miles on her and see what she can do.
Edited by dave2007bc on Thursday 7th May 10:00
Sorry, I've let you down - couldn't deal with the noise of just the 'downpipe'. It wasn't the sheer volume of the thing, it was how awful it sounded on idle; almost tractor like and echoy.
I went back to Clark Customs in Barnsley and we fitted a fairly small backbox and pipe. It's still a 3" system and can if needs be, come off for some loud holliganism if I ever feel the need.
Jason Clark, my mate that did the exhaust and downpipe is also a pro-drifter so I offered him the key to see how my car would perform. I think it's safe to say he was fairly happy with it
I have got a few niggles with the car that I need to sort:
- Clutch biting point is too high and needs altering some-how
- Clutch pedal needs a 'clutch-stop' on the bulkhead
- Had a water leak (this is now sorted)
- Need my new inlet making so that I can get my new bonnet on
- Side panels need flairing to let out the heat - it was getting really warm yesterday
- Swirl pot needs some heatshield adding to it; it was that warm yesterday that it was actually boiling in the pot!!
I went back to Clark Customs in Barnsley and we fitted a fairly small backbox and pipe. It's still a 3" system and can if needs be, come off for some loud holliganism if I ever feel the need.
Jason Clark, my mate that did the exhaust and downpipe is also a pro-drifter so I offered him the key to see how my car would perform. I think it's safe to say he was fairly happy with it
I have got a few niggles with the car that I need to sort:
- Clutch biting point is too high and needs altering some-how
- Clutch pedal needs a 'clutch-stop' on the bulkhead
- Had a water leak (this is now sorted)
- Need my new inlet making so that I can get my new bonnet on
- Side panels need flairing to let out the heat - it was getting really warm yesterday
- Swirl pot needs some heatshield adding to it; it was that warm yesterday that it was actually boiling in the pot!!
Edited by dave2007bc on Thursday 7th May 10:01
It's been a while since my last update - the car has probably spent more time off the road than on it unfortunately. I've had a very very bad run with alternators dying on me - I've been through 4 so far. The first couple of times were probably my own fault but the latter I'm blaming on part failure.
Just to prove it did actually get driven -
I've finally fitted a gizzmo boost controller to the car and it's running just over 1 bar of boost, so should equate to around 270-280bhp, or around 450bhp per ton.
The car was suffering from serious heat issues - this was down to me routing the coolant pipes on the rear of the block incorrectly This has now been resolved and the car really seems to manage the heat a lot better. I also wrapped the downpipe with exhaust wrap which make a huge difference to under-bonnet temperatures.
I've replaced my remote gear-shifter solution with an extended linkage straight from the box. The other one worked well but was a bit too tight for my driving style and kept causing me to miss gears. The new extended linkage is from a VW campervan and cost just £12 from eBay The tunnel panel and carpet will be getting changed over winter.
I still needed to resolve the issue of the inlet sticking out the top of the bonnet, so I went back to my fabricator (Clark Customs in Barnsley) to have the standard inlet shortened and adjusted accordingly.
Inlet Off
Before and After
Fitted to the car again
The new bonnet was fitted but the cambelt cover still sticks out, there's nothing I can do about this so bought a carbon scoop to sit over this. I intend to fully cut out the bonnet underneath the scoop - this will give additional air into the bonnet which will hit the coils and keep them cool. (CA18 coils on modified engines have a habit of over-heating)
Over Winter I've decided the car will be getting a colour change, most likely to green. I realised that 8 lights on the back of the car looked ridiculous so I'm changing that as well. The inner fog and reverse lights have been removed. The reverse has gone in the bin and won't be returning. The fog will be replaced by a tiny rain-light.
The 2 lights on each arch will be replaced by a 'hamburger' style clear LED light, thereby reducing the number of lights on the rear of the car from 8 to 5.
Whilst in the bodyshop the arches will be resprayed in a metallic black to tie in with the carbon-kevlar shimmer of the front arches.
A fairly boring update but there'll be lots of change over the Winter break.
Just to prove it did actually get driven -
I've finally fitted a gizzmo boost controller to the car and it's running just over 1 bar of boost, so should equate to around 270-280bhp, or around 450bhp per ton.
The car was suffering from serious heat issues - this was down to me routing the coolant pipes on the rear of the block incorrectly
This has now been resolved and the car really seems to manage the heat a lot better. I also wrapped the downpipe with exhaust wrap which make a huge difference to under-bonnet temperatures.
I've replaced my remote gear-shifter solution with an extended linkage straight from the box. The other one worked well but was a bit too tight for my driving style and kept causing me to miss gears. The new extended linkage is from a VW campervan and cost just £12 from eBay
The tunnel panel and carpet will be getting changed over winter.
I still needed to resolve the issue of the inlet sticking out the top of the bonnet, so I went back to my fabricator (Clark Customs in Barnsley) to have the standard inlet shortened and adjusted accordingly.
Inlet Off
Before and After
Fitted to the car again
The new bonnet was fitted but the cambelt cover still sticks out, there's nothing I can do about this so bought a carbon scoop to sit over this. I intend to fully cut out the bonnet underneath the scoop - this will give additional air into the bonnet which will hit the coils and keep them cool. (CA18 coils on modified engines have a habit of over-heating)
Over Winter I've decided the car will be getting a colour change, most likely to green. I realised that 8 lights on the back of the car looked ridiculous so I'm changing that as well. The inner fog and reverse lights have been removed. The reverse has gone in the bin and won't be returning. The fog will be replaced by a tiny rain-light.
The 2 lights on each arch will be replaced by a 'hamburger' style clear LED light, thereby reducing the number of lights on the rear of the car from 8 to 5.
Whilst in the bodyshop the arches will be resprayed in a metallic black to tie in with the carbon-kevlar shimmer of the front arches.
A fairly boring update but there'll be lots of change over the Winter break.
Hello, back after a 2 month break.
I've slowly been putting the car back together, there should be hundreds of photos from the hours I've put in but alas, there are just a handful.
I finished the bonnet by cutting in some rear holes to allow hot air to escape at the rear to hopefully prevent future heat-soak issues.
I also smoothed the holes where my previous rear lights were
Then went grocery shopping
When I got home, I was stripping the car ready for the paint shop when I noted this. Not ideal obviously but thankfully just a reinforcing bracket and not the actual bracket itself (I had wondered why it was creaking abit when setting off). [This has since been re-welded by a good mate]
I stripped everything off the car ready for paint;
The car then went for paint and came back looking absolutely stunning VW Viper Green with a matt-lacquer
Since it came back I've started re-fitting some bits - new nose-cone scoop in CF, need rear arch guards in CF, new interior carpets.
I've now I've moved on to the new dashboard in of course, CF.
..and that takes me to current day. Still lots to do till it gets back on the road but I will get there ready for the nice weather
I've slowly been putting the car back together, there should be hundreds of photos from the hours I've put in but alas, there are just a handful.
I finished the bonnet by cutting in some rear holes to allow hot air to escape at the rear to hopefully prevent future heat-soak issues.
I also smoothed the holes where my previous rear lights were
Then went grocery shopping
When I got home, I was stripping the car ready for the paint shop when I noted this. Not ideal obviously but thankfully just a reinforcing bracket and not the actual bracket itself (I had wondered why it was creaking abit when setting off). [This has since been re-welded by a good mate]
I stripped everything off the car ready for paint;
The car then went for paint and came back looking absolutely stunning
VW Viper Green with a matt-lacquerSince it came back I've started re-fitting some bits - new nose-cone scoop in CF, need rear arch guards in CF, new interior carpets.
I've now I've moved on to the new dashboard in of course, CF.
..and that takes me to current day. Still lots to do till it gets back on the road but I will get there ready for the nice weather
Edited by dave2007bc on Thursday 7th May 10:04
Update time!
6 weeks since the last one and loads happening
Dash has been finished, and includes a new battery switch for security and safety.
The car went to RS Tuning to have the Gizzmo boost controller setup. It was running a bit lean at high-end (needed a bigger fuel filter - now fitted) so boost was set to around 15psi and the car made 262bhp (Flywheel).
Went for a run with out with my mate Matthew Morton
I really love the new colour, the pearl looks stunning in the sunshine.
Booked in on a last minute trackday at Teeside -
Video here -
Need to get used to the new car a lot more; I'd nailed heel/toe in the zetec but the new pedal layout and engine means it drives a lot differently to when it had the Zetec in it [still learning], and I need some new rubber. These PE2 tyres are great but they just can't deal with the power I'm trying to put down. My semi-slicks get fitted this evening, hopefully that will make the car a bit easier to drive.
6 weeks since the last one and loads happening
Dash has been finished, and includes a new battery switch for security and safety.
The car went to RS Tuning to have the Gizzmo boost controller setup. It was running a bit lean at high-end (needed a bigger fuel filter - now fitted) so boost was set to around 15psi and the car made 262bhp (Flywheel).
Went for a run with out with my mate Matthew Morton
I really love the new colour, the pearl looks stunning in the sunshine.
Booked in on a last minute trackday at Teeside -
Video here -
Need to get used to the new car a lot more; I'd nailed heel/toe in the zetec but the new pedal layout and engine means it drives a lot differently to when it had the Zetec in it [still learning], and I need some new rubber. These PE2 tyres are great but they just can't deal with the power I'm trying to put down. My semi-slicks get fitted this evening, hopefully that will make the car a bit easier to drive.
Edited by dave2007bc on Thursday 7th May 10:05
clarki said:
Great stuff - love the new colour scheme well worth the effort.
Always think that the wheels look too big though??
Top motor.
Agreed - they do always look big in photos; they're only 15" though. They're getting done in gloss-back in the next month or so, at the moment they're just a dirty black lolAlways think that the wheels look too big though??
Top motor.
My friend gets slicks/semi-slicks cheap for 15" so I can't justify moving to 13" wheels as in the long run it will cost me a lot more money and it would lower the car (a bit) and the Nissan sump is already dangerously close to the floor.
Thanks for the other comments, really appreciated.
selym; I hope you enjoy it. If you go for it you've just lost about 300 hours of your life building the thing, haha
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