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Thread: Another bloomin Rally Car build/rebuild?

  1. #11
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    Good progress. These are my favourite type of building threads with plenty of metal work .

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    Club Member Club Member TallDave's Avatar
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    Many thanks, its always nice to have some feedback, it stops me feeling lonely...

    I was hoping I wouldn't need to do quite as much refurbishment, but as has already been said the car is over 25 years old, and crucially pre-dates the current build methods which include total immersion in rust proofing coatings AFTER the shell is built. Hopefully if we find ourselves doing the same thing to Corsa D we won't have quite as much corrosion to deal with, will we?

  3. #13
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    Keep up the good work.

    Personally, not sure on the merits of a Nova with an XE - only one that really worked was Rob Watsons highly developed one on the IoM - but good luck with the project.

    I run an SBD 230 kit in my newly built Mk2 Astra rallycar but with a John Ashley custom Manifold as you wont fit an SBD Spec C type system with long primaries on the car with a sumpgaurd fitted. Bonus is that the shorter primaries and longer secondaries helped to boost torque a bit.

    Theres a decent build for the new car on Astra mk2 forum and a cut down version on Mig...

    Paul..

  4. #14
    Club Member Club Member TallDave's Avatar
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    Hi Paul

    I'm not overly convinced about the merits of an XE powered Nova if I'm honest, however that's what the car came with so I decided to stick with it, heaven knows how I'm going to get to the 1000kg weight limit (where do the MSA get these stupid ideas from?) but I sure ain't going to start adding ballast...!

    Thanks for the heads up on the exhaust manifold, am happy to go for as much torque as I can get, its the way all clubman rally engines should be built, I know I for one wouldn't have the skills to get the most out of a peaky high reving motor.

    I've been following your Astra thread since late last year, in fact you may well remember me (the really tall lanky bloke) mentioning the fact at the Sunday Power Stage re-group on last years Wales Rally GB....?

    Cheers
    Dave

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    Club Member Club Member TallDave's Avatar
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    To finish off the section I started earlier today...
    Even though I have moved the handbrake mounting back about 7 cm, in order to be able to get the gear lever back far enough I decided to trim the end off the actual handbrake lever loosing around 2cm off the front of it. After a bit of tweaking, it still works perfectly, though you can only get 3 fingers around the grip now.



    The holes in the tunnel to the front and rear of the handbrake lever mounting are to accommodate the passenger seat rails.

    The drivers seat is mounted to a single rail (tube) to the front, while the sear seat mounts are fitted to lowline seat mount towers (will add a picture eventually) that allow me to get the seat as low as possible so I can actually sit comfortably in the car with my crash helmet on.

    Meanwhile out front a new front panel and cross member have been fitted



    Not OE but it seems to fit pretty well. Measured between the suspension pick up points on both sides and the were within a millimeter of each other which seems pretty good to me.



    All welded in nicely, puddle spot welded and along the seams as well, the cleaned seams are pending additional welding as well as the HH strengthening panels (fitted underneath...!).



    Meanwhile the seam along the underside of the nearside chassis rail was very crusty, so much so that I cut/ground it off in 10cm sections, seam welding the resulting butt join as I went. I finished it off by wrapping the join with a bit of plate to help to reinforce the join. Helps to makes it easier to get to the gearbox clusters as a result.



    The bit of welding you can see in the upper arch consist of two small posts to support my relay box (see earlier in the thread), the square bit is a patch I had to add when I realised that a rusty patch I had cleaned up was in fact perforated, funny what you discover when you leave the lead light on the floor...!
    Last edited by TallDave; 28-08-17 at 04:44 PM.

  6. #16
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    Had a lot of late nights since last years WRGB but vaguely remember a conversation!

    Why not sell the XE and go 1600 smallblock? 920kg min weight limit, less weight over the front, keep the F20 box (just fit different clutch). I might be interested in a deal on a spare 1600 or 1400 16v for the XE if you wanted to go that route.

    Im having a 1600 16v built for the Gravel / single venue car at the moment.

    Paul..

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    Club Member Club Member TallDave's Avatar
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    Paul, an interesting offer, which I might have been tempted to take you up on if I hadn't already bought a spare engine and gearbox.

    Also I thought I'd check over the bottom end of the engine that came in the car, well I'd struggled to get it stood up in the engine stand (had to pick it up of the floor!!! I have an engine crane now), so I though I might as well inspect the big ends before I fit new ARP bolts?

    Notice the slight copper coloured line in the right hand cap?



    So a tad worn then, boll*$ks! A minimum of a new set of bearings across the bottom end of the engine then at best, question is what else lurks within?

    Funny really as the engine looked nice and clean inside, unlike the spare engine which looks like it had''t had an oil change ever! Talk about carbon deposits, it was tragic, but the bearings are unmarked by comparison...



    and



    Not to sure on that trade now I guess
    Last edited by TallDave; 28-08-17 at 04:46 PM.

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    Senior User saloonwoody's Avatar
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    looks good , keep up the good work

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by TallDave View Post
    Paul, an interesting offer, which I might have been tempted to take you up on if I hadn't already bought a spare engine and gearbox.
    ...

    Not to sure on that trade now I guess
    If that was aimed at me then it wouldnt bother me too much..

    Paul..

  10. #20
    Club Member Club Member TallDave's Avatar
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    If that was aimed at me then it wouldnt bother me too much..

    Paul..
    Errr sorry, yes it was. Since I wrote that I've caught up with your other build threads, I was exhausted just reading them, I can now see quite clearly that a few iffy bearings wouldn't faze you in the slightest. Fair play to you, you certainly know how to build a competition car.

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