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Thread: Pauls Astra Mk2 rallying adventures...

  1. #11
    Senior User Iain's Avatar
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    Those modifications look cracking with the rosejoints. You're welcome to develop a Nova kit and use mine as a test

  2. #12
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    Will be the same top connector and Id use Astra H cables as theyre slightly shorter than the Vectra ones. Im struggling as the Vectra ones are a little too short on mine due to the other constraints but going to try to resolve..

    Paul..

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    Wifey was working at the weekend so managed a fair bit of garage time..

    Front proflex arrived back. These have now been checked for leaks and the top swivels replaced. Also bought some 250mm 60nm springs for the front.



    Rebuilt them into the front uprights with the 60nm springs and some tender springs to try to get ride height correct.



    Then removed the standard diff we had fitted to keep the car rolling



    We have rebuilt the TranX diff with a new clutch pack and a new casing - the inner CV had milled out the casing on the diff and the threads were pulled.



    Because the casing in these diffs are thicker, the standard length crownwheel bolts (26mm) dont pick up a full thread in the diff casing. So I imported from the states some ARP bolts that were 30mm long so that they would help the threads..



    Also managed to swap the speedo ring without too much damage to it.



    Then moved onto the brakes - pads out and roughed up, discs cleaned and roughed up.



    Then refitted everything in the car - diff, shafts, uprights, brakes etc



    I then spent 4 hours tracing a slight water leak. Wasnt much of a leak but needed solving. Was from a gasket underneath the throttle bodies and had to remove a load of things to get at it.

    Then onto the rear of the car. It had 350mm 35nm springs fitted but I wanted to go harder so used the springs Id removed from the front which were 300mm and 45nm



    Swapped them on the car and wound the spring platforms up a little so the springs sits tightly in its caps.



    Then spanner checked the rear end and refitted the wheels etc



    Then pushed it outside to check the ride height



    I then started back on the inside, removing the drivers seat, gearstick and handbrake mounts.



    Then decided to clean up and temporarily fit some carpet tiles Id been given to see how they would work in the garage as a floor to work on.



    So all in all not a bad weekend. Important things crossed off the to-do list.



    Paul..

  4. #14
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    Treated myself to a new toolbox set from Halfords and had a bit of a tidy up of the bench.



    Seems like very little progress over the last few weeks but had lots of niggly jobs to do.

    I started by moving the seat position towards the centre of the car. The build position had the seat mounts tight against part of the tunnel so that was initially sliced



    Then gently tapped to give clearance to check



    Then checked - gained just under an inch of sideways movement towards the centre of the car to improve the position.



    Then spent a day trial fitting the gear lever, seat, gear lever, seat etc etc to try to get the optimal position without hitting the dash with my hand and being able to operate the hydraulic handbrake.



    Once I was happy with the position, I made another mounting bracket with the new dimensions. This also helps with 2 other problems - codriver seat clearance and cable handbrake clearance.



    I also remade the MBE mounting bracket with a flat plate bolted to the bottom of the dash and 2 big cable ties more solidly mounting it but allowing quick swap if needed.



    I had sourced a brand new M20 gear-lever unit so fitted that (as reverse is in the same place as on an F20 series box) so no sloppy play



    and I finally refitted my seat in its new improved position



    The seating position is a bit better, the gear lever operation is now better, the actual gear shift in the garage is very direct and short front to back with only a little slop which is across the box from the selector.

    Then I started on the black roadrally car. Got a night rally event in 2 weeks so put it in the garage and gave it a very quick check over..



    and found this hole in the drivers sill..



    So plate made up



    Welded in, ground it back a little and quick paint and hopefully good enough for MOT. Not worried structurally as the car has a full cage so its quite rigid anyways



    MOT booked for tomorrow morning for this one. Wont be surprised if it fails but hopefully not to much. It has been laid up in the garage for the last 15 months.

    Paul..

  5. #15
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    This thread will be an interesting one to follow...

    Nice to see something other than Novas!

  6. #16
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    So the car indeed failed its MOT..

    Front wheel bearing
    Rear wheel bearing (that old chestnut)
    50p hole in the inner sill that Id missed
    Emissions

    Took the car to a mates garage to do the welding and patching as the tank needed to be removed.. So tank guard off, petrol tank off and had 3 screw holes in the top from a previous owner! Then started cleaning up the inner sill. Ended up making a 50p hole into this..



    An hour and a half later we had this fully remade inner sill.



    Dave (the welder / mate) wasnt happy with the outer sill patches either so he took out the cutting disc and cut it all off, then we trimmed a sill section down and welded that on. This is that outer sill a little while later after some Bilt Hamber primer has been put on.. Not pretty but strong and this isnt exactly a pretty shell anyway!



    We also did the wheel bearings and did a few emissions tweaks and it passed so its now MOTd, taxed and insured.

    I also got the roadrally tyres mounted. Im moving to 15" wheels and these part worn knobblies should work pretty well and the Corsa Sxi wheels should be decently strong.



    I then swapped the seat from the Gravel car into this one. This seat is out of date at the end of the year and the older OMP seat was too narrow for my lard arse but the Cobra Monaco are pretty wide and therefore comfortable for me. Dont need indate seats for road rallying so this can stay in the black car now.



    and I also swapped to a smaller steering wheel too. This is a bit boy racerish with the flat bottom but its what I had in my spares box.



    Couple of things still to do - steering rack needs changing as its leaking and tracking needs doing too plus would like to swap to standard inlet rather than a powercap but thats not essential.

    The tarmac car is going to MOT tomorrow so will see if that passes or fails.

    Paul..

  7. #17
    Senior User Iain's Avatar
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    Enjoying your recent updates Paulie Paul. Nasty bit of rust on the inside of the sill, wouldn't be fun without a ramp!

  8. #18
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    This shell was well used before I got it as you can see.

    I sense a reshell coming on for next year but thats yet another big project so we might just keep patching this one then build a proper one once its no longer fixable..

    Besides, I still have the 1400 > 1600 partial rebuild to do and thats not a small job either. At least its only tidying up the shell and not a huge amount of fabrication.

    Paul..

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    MOT passed for the tarmac car - another step closer to its next event at Donington



    Paul..

  10. #20
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    Back to the black roadrally car. Had an event on the weekend of the 19th/20th and a list of to-do items still so cracked on. Harvey came up and we did the steering rack in-situ which was so much easier with 2 people than 1.



    and we also swapped back from a powercap to a proper SFI airbox too.



    Also filled the door properly and painted it black, fitted new 1144 pads and some used discs and took it out for a run to check it drove OK and set up the lights.

    Then onto the Mercian Roadrally.. 149 miles navigational event, starting at midnight, couple of special tests around an old airfield. Slow start for both myself and Ian my navigator as been a while since the last event. Bedded the car in and progressively got quicker through the night. This is us at petrol halt after 80 miles.



    Was going fairly well after that, but there were patches of fog that kept coming and going. One such patch of thick fog led to this on a tightening left hander..





    Annoyingly we were on the last section so only another 3 miles to go.. The car wasnt really damaged at all. Just front bumper, mirrors, spotlights and some paintwork to do.



    Managed to get it towed out and got to the finish venue in time for Breakfast though :-)

    Paul..

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