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Thread: Pauls Astra Mk2 rallying adventures...

  1. #121
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    In December we finished the mods to the gear level - new stronger mounts, new bulkhead hole to get the correct angle of the gear rod with a Mk3 Astra gaitor and plate on the bulkhead to seal it up



    Then got some new springs ordered and fitted - 12" 45nm (260lb) for the front and 14" 35nm (200lb) for the rear. Im learning to use the damper settings rather than the springs to control pitch, roll (to an extent) but improve traction.



    and then took the car to AP Racing Engines to have it remapped. We dropped fuel pressure a touch to 2.75 bar to conincide with the much bigger injectors being fitted and the car was remapped to suit on the rollers. Took a fair while to get the part throttle and mid-range sorted but she takes off like a scalded cat now...



    Also took the car to get the alignment checked and balanced as best we could and MOTd the car. Then did a "rally trackday" to test the car after the rebuild - pretty quick and stable was the answer but found a sticking rear caliper. So back home, changed those, spanner checked the whole car..



    New 2018 rally licence arrived and realised the MSA had changed their rules on fire extinguishers so new system bought and fitted. Big bottle at 4.25 litres just about fitted in footwell, new piping and 6 nozzles on this one. Meant a lot of work to route everything but got it all fitted..



    and so it sits, just needing a clean and some wheels and tyres ready for its next event at Blyton on February 10th..



    Meanwhile in the main garage, I decided that a year had passed and I needed to make a start on the roadrally car...



    Paul..

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    So managed to to do a bit on the Mk3 this week. First job is to replace the parts of the car with rot.. So I started with the A pillars. The drivers side had already been cut out to repair but the passenger side was still untouched. Luckily Id cut up a donor car a few months ago for various parts I would need.

    Passenger A pillar rot cut out..



    New donor panel trimmed to match



    and trial fitted into place



    Then a few hours of trim, weld, grind etc later... not perfect but strong enough to do the job..



    The drivers side was already cut out around the hinges etc which made it a several hour job to get anything to fit..



    but after the same procedure as the passenger side, and some awkward bits to weld, it got fitted..



    First "bodywork" repair Ive done and whilst Im happyish with the way its come out, its not the prettiest. Mind you, neither am !.

    Paul..

  3. #123
    Club Member Club Member TallDave's Avatar
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    Thanks for the update Paul, always nice to hear how fellow rally folk are progressing.
    Looking at your Road Rlly Mk3 I thought it looked pretty solid, obviously you've found otherwise, still if we must persist with reusing old cars I suppose we must expect the unwanted restoration work....
    My Nova project was moving at a galcier like pace so I resorted to buying a Citroen C2 Rally Car to do a few events in, nothing special as its basically a Challenge car, but hey I've managed a couple of events in it and managed not to destroy it yet... Hopefully I'll get the Nova project back on track sometime?

    Keep the updates coming.
    Cheers Dave
    I love a good build thread, so heaven knows why I'm here...

    My C20XE Rally Car Build

  4. #124
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    Cheers Dave.. I knew of the work on the Mk3, just hadnt had time to start.

    So on a bright and sunny Friday (albeit still cold) we loaded the car up and headed off to Blyton Park in Lincolnshire for our first event of the season..



    Scrutineered OK, then onto Saturday morning which was very cold then it started raining.

    First 2 stages were done on winter road tyres and were slippery but OK times albeit punctured a rear tyre on the 2nd stage, 3rd stage wasnt great after a switch to supersoft slicks all round and 4th stage was terrible after putting some wets on the rear which resulted in nearly 30 seconds time loss..



    The upside was a huge number of moments captured on camera..including this one..



    So I started again with the setup. Changed to a different (older) set of wets on the rear, softened the front and rear suspension on both low speed and rebound, and we also changed the rear brake pads as I was struggling to stop without locking the fronts up and couldnt get more rear bias on. All those changes transformed the car and we went from 40th quickest on stage 4 to 15th quickest on stage 5.

    We made up 27 seconds of the deficit to the guy in front and went into the last stage 3 seconds behind him. However, we got stuck behind a much slower Honda Civic who just didnt see us and lost a lot of time meaning we finished 3rd in class.. Still, good positives from the event - like no mechanical issues, superb gear change now and a much better setup for the next event at Donington in March if its damp..

    Then Sunday morning was spent cleaning the car properly..



    and putting it back in its home ready for a full spanner check and maintenence



    Ive put together a compilation of the "action" from the event at


    Paul..

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    and a quick stage 8. Not bad for a 1600cc :-)


  6. #126
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    Next event is The Imperial Commercials Volkswagen Donington Rally on 4th March at Donington Park.

    No damage from the last event so just a few things to do.. Firstly, remade some of the sumpguard mounts that tie the bottom chassis legs into the Sumpguard for rigidity..



    Then gave her an(other) oil change.. Gets one every event so was around 50 miles this time..



    and then removed the brakes and checked / cleaned the pads and bled the fluid through, full spanner check on everything, and finally started and run up to temp before fitting wheels and loading on the trailer ready to go..



    Time to get back on the yellow car this coming weekend.. Then Donington the weekend after.

    Paul..

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    Senior User Iain's Avatar
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    Oil change every event using Millers? Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus.

  8. #128
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    Quote Originally Posted by Iain View Post
    Oil change every event using Millers? Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus.
    £30 or so in oil change each event is around £300 a season. Compared to the money and hassle of potentially more frequent rebuilds or issues then Id say its money well spent as preventative maintenance..

    Paul..

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    Been an odd month for us...

    The event on March 4th was cancelled due to the snow so the car was converted across to "Gravel spec" for a rough airfield event in April which was then cancelled due to landowner issues so it was then converted back into smooth tarmac spec once again ready for Cadwell Park on the 8th April..

    Meanwhile, the Mk3 has moved forward a bit..

    Rot cut out



    Repair panel made



    and welded in.. Not the neatest but didnt want to grind back too much



    Passenger side rot..





    and a badly fitted / tacked on part of a sill.



    which was removed..



    showing the extent of the rot inside. Not too bad as the inner sill was still solid but the outer sill and the rear of the sill was a mess





    so we decided to remove the entire sill section and fit an almost complete panel.

    Spotwelds drilled out



    Reinforcing plate to join inside rear jacking point and middle sill welded in



    Then everything cleaned up and painted inside. Plus rear quarter panel joggled to help with join to new sill then new sill plug welded in old spotweld position and in joggled section then ends were fully welded and new plate made up for the rear section to infill the arch



    Some light flapdisking and some filler later and its getting there..



    Then added some rally strengthening with a pair of front strut tops inside the existing ones



    and a full sill stand tube kit in the sills all round. These are thickwall tubes fitted between the inner and outer sill to take a sillstand with a strengthening piece on each side. Now has a bit of primer on to protect it a little and time to start on the inside..



    Paul..

  10. #130
    Go low or Go home. Moderator Benn's Avatar
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    Nice work, most aftermarket sill replacements are spotted on due to warping from heat.
    All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi
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