Toms Nova Rally Car Build

[tomfromdelmonte]

Top man Paul.

So you retain the original fusebox. Any ideas about mounting location? I guess it will all become clear once ive got it in front of me. I was an electrician for quite a few years and i studied mechatronics at uni so i should be able to suss it out. The cables that feed the corsa epas look pretty beefy though, apparently it wants a 50A fuse!

[RallyMarshal]

I always try to retain the standard loom / fusebox / connectors for all the standard stuff Im keeping - lights, wipers, heater etc. I also usually try to keep the fusebox in its standard location if possible - again, simplicity.

I then run additional circuits (with relays and fuses as appropriate) for each of the rally specific items added. Much easier to trace and you can label them as you go.

For the EPAS, I would run a secondary connection from the "output" / non battery side of the cutoff to a 50 amp fuse to a 50amp relay input and wire the output to the column and have a separate switch operate the relay and turn the EPAS on or off. In fact, thats the way I run virtually everything else - spots, fuel pumps, etc

Paul..

[tomfromdelmonte]

Can anyone advise:

Ive been offered a paddle clutch from a nova 1400 8v rally car. Will this fit my application? im using an F13 box and an x16xe engine... is there anything i need to find out first

Just need to confirm before i part with the hard-earned...

[greene94]

it will fit but it's 190mm. the one of them engines are 200mm

[RallyMarshal]

What box are you using specifically?

The F10/F13/F15 use a different input spline to the F16/F18/F20 boxes and both are different to a Quaife kit . So is is a std F13 box you are using?

The 1300s used a 190mm clutch, the 1400s / 1600s used a 200mm clutch.

According to Helix

Std F13 = 19 x 14T input,
Quaife is 22.5 x 20T (My F20 kit is certainly this - not sure about F13 kit as depends on dog or sccr I think)
Std F16 is 20.4 x 24T

So measure the input shaft splines on your intended box and the number of splines on the paddle clutch. 190mm will be fine but 200mm is a little better.

Paul..

[tomfromdelmonte]

Good info there.

Paul did u mention that u had an F10 SCCR cluster squirelled away somewhere? ;-)

So this turned up today:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1030.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1030.jpg.html)

which means its time try and make sense of this:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1032.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1032.jpg.html)

wish me luck :P

[tomfromdelmonte]

Well, the wife has been away visiting friends all weekend so ive been mostly on childcare duties. I didnt touch the wiring but i did respray the tailgate, rear bumper and both front wings aswell as re-doing the roof as it was horrendous. The company that are doing the decals gave me some sizes to double check before they print them off so i did that aswell. Pretty sure its gonna look awesome, ive tweaked the design a bit so it also resembles the Bernard Munster nova.

Biggest update i guess is that i tried to fit the polycarb window to the tailgate and i couldnt do it. I mean i literally spent about two hours on it and the c*** just wouldnt go in. I think i may need to take a grinder to one edge and reduce the size slightly.

In other news: ive got a paddle clutch and cover (that wont fit lol). Also got a new terratrip intercom on the way. Got hold of an EPAS controller and during the week i will order the bits so i can make a start on the wiring. Next weekend im doing some overtime so probably wont get much done but thats life.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1042.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1042.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1045.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1045.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1044.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1044.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1047.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1047.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1046.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1046.jpg.html)

Thats it for now.

[kenny_afh]

to, when doing any additional wiring (assuming you are going to use a standard loom as a start point and add extras to it) try and stick to the vauxhall wiring colours, i.e brown for earths, white (i think) for your switch wires for spotlight relays etc etc. makes life alot easier not just for you but for anyone who works on it later. even you yourself will forget what the random colours you used are, and when youre upside down in a footwell trying to trace/cut/join wires you'll be thankful! i used vehicle wiring products for all my wiring stuff, they have alot of tack on thier site but plenty good stuff too!

[tomfromdelmonte]

Cheers Kenny, ill have a look at the site

[scott.parker]

Tom, as for the plexi window, i know it shouldn't really need alterations, but if it does then check out this page from my old track car build, in here i cut aand fitted my own plexiglass window, hope it helps.

http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?90109-Project-Apache-Orange/page59

Scott

[Connor]

Top progress mate. This thread has made me looking for another nova shell to play with :roll: lol

[tomfromdelmonte]

Some recent and not-so-recent purchases... getting booyaka excited at the prospect of burning some hydrocarbons...

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1052.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1052.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1051.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1051.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1048.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1048.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1050.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1050.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1049.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1049.jpg.html)

New Terratrip intercom (with 2 ear/mouthpiece sets), 2 helix paddle clutches (14 tooth so i think they are for a quaife box, i'll use the cover now and save the for when i upgrade), alloy spare wheel holder, arp bolts and twin 45 inlet for me x16xe to suit the carbs i bought when i first started the project.

There are some other bits but they arent as exciting such as 16mm battery cable, crimping lugs, auxillary fuse box etc.

Got to take my little lad to soft play and then after that i'll see about doing some stuff on the rally car.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Decals turned up today. Woohoo!!!!

What i want:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/munsternova.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/munsternova.jpg.html)

What ive got:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1062.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1062.jpg.html)

The crea logo and some other bits are also being done in a separate order but at least now i have some stuff to put on the car so it looks like a rally car. My mate lent me a rasp and i shaved the tailgate window down a bit enough to get it in so ive won that battle. Also got both rear quarters in today and put the mobil 1 decals on the shell and bumper. Really is starting to look the part now..

Also had some shiny bits turn up for the cylinder head but more about that later....

[tomfromdelmonte]

By the way Cheers Scott for the teaspoon advice... it really helped :)

[tomfromdelmonte]

Spent most of the day sorting out the wiring... my god what a nightmare, cables everywhere.

Put some decals on and that put a smile on my face, looks like a rally car.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1065.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1065.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1066.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1066.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1064.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1064.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1068.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1068.jpg.html)

EPAS controller:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1069.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1069.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1070.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1070.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1072.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1072.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1073.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1073.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1075.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1075.jpg.html)

Auxillary fusebox:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1076.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1076.jpg.html)

So ive now got a massive 'to-do' list plus a shopping list for stuff to keep me going on this next week. Need a box to mount the battery in and the lugs i bought for the master switch were too small so i need some M10 ones.

[greene94]

the car looks cool. good job:thumb:

[Les Frangins]

Good work, I'm looking forward to see more !!!

[chris gsi]

Looking smart with the graphics on, although the rag out the fuel tank does look like you might torch it

[tomfromdelmonte]

HEy CHris,

yep youre not the first to comment on that!

[Slippy]

Good progress mate keep it going

[scott.parker]

Starting to come together nicely now mate.

[Benn]

Love the decals.

[dionbee]

As always Tom, Car is looking well. Keep up with the good work and it'll be done in no time! Atleast now you're onto the fun bits! :)

Dion.

[Connor]

:thumb:

[gary_126]

looks fantastic! Where did you get the epas controller from? looks to be the best/most robust looking one ive seen.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Gary EPAS controller was from ebay, the company is called harnessing solutions and they're are based about 5 minutes from my house. Cost 35 quid, looks pretty well made yeah and it says on their website that they have a rally nova too.

[tomfromdelmonte]

What a nightmare! took my windcreen down out of storage and its smashed to ****, i must have put too much stuff on top of it ( i know how stupid that sounds). Also ,the gearbox i bought which i had assumed was an F13 is an F10!!!! double bollox. So i now need a windscreen and a gearbox...

I resprayed the bonnet and both doors so im pretty much done with painting now which is great cuz i dont like it. Managed to get a bit done on the loom,.. well not really the loom. Ive been trying to fabricate some stuff to replace the glovebox and centre console. Im using 3mm polycarb and when its complete it will be wrapped in carbon effect vinyl. Problem is there is nothing to fix to so i spent lots of time messing around trying to fabricate little brackets ( i used roofing brackets i bought from wickes).

So this is where im at now:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1081.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1081.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1088-Copy.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1088-Copy.jpg.html)

Battery box:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1083.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1083.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1084.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1084.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1086.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1086.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1087-Copy.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1087-Copy.jpg.html)

Well. I feel the car is getting close to completion now. So ive booked 2 days off work this week to hurrying things along a bit. Decided to put the engine in with just the twin-carbs and try to get it running so i can get the car MOT's and logbooked. Thats the priority now..

Oh and ChrisGTI very kindly bought me a new pull-cord, Cheers Chris.

[cb_motorsport]

Hey Tom,

ChrisGTI here...had to re-register as for some reason I was unable to post anything before! Hope that pull cord is fitted! Harnessing Solutions is the guys that is that is making up my loom and supplying my ECU, Selwyn is a top bloke :thumb:

[Les Frangins]

Love the decals.

I agree entirely !

A real race car ! :thumb:

[tomfromdelmonte]

Well, overdue for an update so here goes. I decided its time to put the running gear in. Realised at the last minute that i didnt have the right type of flywheel for the paddle clutch/f13 gearbox... oh no!!!! looked on ebay and there were only 2 for sale in the uk and one of them was a lightened/balanced gte flywheel only 30 miles away. Sent the guy a message and we agreed on a price to end the auction so i high-tailed it over there and picked it up last night. Hired an engine lift this morning for £15 and spent the whole day trying to get the engine on. I opted for lifting the chassis and putting the engine in from underneath. It was a bit tight but i got there eventually. Here are the pics.

Oh and i also got the rollcage certificate come through :)...

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1090.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1090.jpg.html)

ready for work :)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1091.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1091.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1093.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1093.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1106.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1106.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1108.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1108.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1109.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1109.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1115.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1115.jpg.html)

I pray to god i dont have to do that again soon. It was a real battle!!! probably due to my lack of experience. Tomorrow ill try to get the inlet manifold and carbs on as well as the coolant pipes and wiring loom. Doubt ill get round to firing it up this weekend but i can try and get stuff in place for next week.

Also the loom is in but nothing works yet so need to start digging into that. I thinks its because none of the chassis earths are in place yet.

[Benn]

A host and engine in from the bottom? madness. Car's coming on very well.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Wow, bloody full on day. Got loads done.

Nearly finished the dash. Got a lot of wiring done, lights all work.. indicators dont, havent looked at the wiper motor yet but thats all that i need to get it through the mot.

Powered up the MBE ignition and connected my laptop to it, excellent news is that the laptop could 'see' the ecu although i couldnt pull the current configuration file from it, not sure if that is significant or not. Ill be looking into the software in more depth this week in preparation for trying to get the engine running next weekend.

So here are some pics:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1133.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1133.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1131.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1131.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1129.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1129.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1126.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1126.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1125.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1125.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1124.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1124.jpg.html)

So yeh, engine in plus all these bits. Not bad for a weekends work. Although if it doesnt run ill be uber-gutted!

Cant wait for next week :)

[jimbob-mcgrew]

that fuse box is sick ! ... liking that :)

[zeifer33]

Really nice rally project, I´m enjoy it from the start. The "Bernard Munster team" decals are fantastic for a rally nova. We have on here his ex-Octavia WRC compete on the regional championship. I´m waiting for your next post.:thumb:

[tomfromdelmonte]

Thanks Zeifer, appreciate your comments. I have some more 'Munster' decals to go on the wings, bonnet and doors. Ill probably put them on next weekend. Ive also asked them to make me some of the CREA and 'TEAM OPEL BELGIUM' logos.

[tomfromdelmonte]

I need to order some banjo bolts for the Astra GTE calipers. Does anyone know what thread the bolt is?

[chris gsi]

I will ask at work if they are still available, as they are just 256 calipers and I'm sues I got some new ones for mine

[tomfromdelmonte]

What a cnut of a weekend.

Feels like 110% effort and 1% results.

Tested the MBE ECU at a friends garage and it appears to be all good, just wanted to verify before i try to spark up my engine. Been advised to fit a throttle position sensor to enable 3D mapping so ill be ordering one from omex this week. The loom already has a plug for it. Turns out the ECU is already set up for the 2 litre Valeo type coil so i'll be using one of those.

Ordered a massive amount of stuff during the week .. most of which turned up and some of which they sent the wrong stuff (2 pack paint instead of celly, an3 hose fittings instead of an6)

Also the digidash i bought appears to be dead... not happy....!!

So the only stuff i really did this weekend was paint 1 wheel white (which looks pukka) and fit the twin 45s to the manifold. Ive got to make up a new backplate for the air filter as the one that was fitted was miles out and wouldnt allow the carbs to bolt up to the manifold so ive made a new one out of some polycarb that i had lying around.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1140.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1140.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1143.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1143.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1139.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1139.jpg.html)

[Slippy]

Chin up mate keep pushing

[tomfromdelmonte]

Just a minor update. I took the digidash to london with me so i could prod and poke it at my leisure. Bought a little 12v battery rig from Maplins for a couple of quid and hooked the dash up to that. Turns out there are some soldered connections in the wiring loom courtesy of one of the previous owners. This had broken and the dash wasnt getting any power through. Simple once i sussed it out really so happy about that as its one less thing to do this weekend.

[chris gsi]

Good news you have got the dash working, the parts you needed for your brakes have arrived, so I will drop them around when your back.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Well, the battle continues and what a f**** battle it has been today.

So... what i *want* to be doing is firing up the engine and making some noise.

What ive actually been doing all day is trying to sort the gear linkage out.

I got a quickshift thing with a gearbox i bought so i thought this would be a good time to make a rose-jointed linkage. Also i have a corsa shifter and dont have the nova pinch bolt but i do have a corsa one so i thought i could use that to cobble together something that works.

Turns out the quickshift thing i have is made of uber-hard stainless steel and it just laughed at my drill bits so i took it to my local fabrication shop and asked them to drill 2 holes in it. 4 mashed up drill bits later and a lot of head-scratching and swearing i had 2 8mm holes in my quickshift linkage thing. I cut and welded the shifter as per the guides and tried it out.....

couldnt get a single gear lol.

Been fettling around with it and i can now get reverse and second but the corsa pinch bolt is basically fouling on the rear gearbox mount so im going to have to take a grinder to it but thats a job for tomorrow. I also modifed the corsa shifter to accept my quaife style white nylon gear knob by welding a washer and an M10 bolt onto the top of it. I put the seat in to double check the position of everything before i welded it up and its spot-on so im happy with that.

HAd a lot of bits turn up in the post, have some more decals coming tomorrow but i doubt ill have time to fit those.

I also bought and fitted a throttle position sensor from omex (who are just down the road from me) to the twin 45 carbs. This will allow me to use 3D maps on the mbe which ive been told will really help iron out any flat spots on the carbs as well as providing some other essential functionality such as getting flames to shoot out the exhaust which sounds like ****ing #WIN to me.

Also noticed a probelm which ill need to out tomorrow. The carbs have a fabricated linkage on but my SBD manifold seems to have them sitting slightly further apart from each other which means that the throttle spindle linkage doesnt quite live up to its name and is about 5mm too short now. Ill have to take it off tomorrow and weld on a tiny piece to bring it to the correct length.

Also have a fair few electrical jobs to be getting on with although im not here how much ill have time for this weekend. Still hoping i might be able to get the engine started. I have laid out the exhaust under the car and i think that may also require some cutting and welding as the manifold flange is pointing one way and the exhaust flange seems to be pointing another. Thats defo tomorrows job.

Pics from today:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1161.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1161.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1166.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1166.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1165.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1165.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1167.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1167.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1159.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1159.jpg.html)

Carb TPS and linkage problem:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1151.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1151.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1156.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1156.jpg.html)

[Benn]

I've never seen carbs with a TPS before.

[zeifer33]

Interesting mod you have here, well done!

[tomfromdelmonte]

Carb Throttle position sensor is only used if you have some sort of mappable ignition system like MBE or OMEX.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Pretty happy right now. Got a fair few important jobs out of the way. Managed to get the exhaust to fit which was a major mission. I had to cut the flange off and also cut and bend the pipe to point in the right direction. ChrisGSI was kind enough to sort out some braking parts for me aswell as showing me the correct way to set up the gear linkage so with a bit of help i can now get all the gears with my rose-jointed quickshift linkage and i have to be honest its pretty sweet! Turned out the reason i couldnt get 1st 3rd and 5th is becauxse the corsa pinch bolt was fouling on the gearbox mount and not allowing any foward movement, quick touch with a grinder and we are all good.

So.. exhaust is on and gear stuff is sorted. That means tomorrow i will put all the coolant pipes on and fill it up then start sorting out the electrics in preparation for firing it up. So here are some pics from today:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1172.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1172.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1173.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1173.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1169.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1169.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1175.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1175.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1176.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1176.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1182.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1182.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1181.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1181.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1178.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1178.jpg.html)

Feels like its starting to come together now...

[tomfromdelmonte]

Didnt get a massive amount done today but i did add a few more of the decals i had made. The car now really looks like how i imagined it, copy of the Bernard Munster nova with a few of my own additions. Been struck down with Man Flu so not gonna type too much but here is a few photos from today. Fitting the sun strip nearly ended in disaster so i have cut a bit of the end and will fill it in next week.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1184.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1184.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1187.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1187.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1188.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1188.jpg.html)

See how we go next weekend trying to get the engine running and sorting out the electrics, also will try and fit interior stuff to final positions etc. Mud flaps and a list of things to do for the MOT...

[tomfromdelmonte]

Did a fair bit on the car today, had a few little jobs to get out of the way.

The fuel pump and the box it lives in had to be moved back about 4 inches to make way for where the drivers seat is going to be fixed. This meant that the rear harness mounts (for the lap straps) are now useless so i had to drill holes and weld in new plates. I had anticipated doing this for a while so i bought the bits to do it and have ust been waiting as its a real pain in the ass now everythign is painted and undersealed etc but hey ho, its done now and thats good news.

Ive had real bad luck wth digi-dash's. The first one o bought on here the guy did a runner with my money. The second one i bought from a guy on here, well fair pay to him it definitely worked but it appears i have killed it. It worked fine up until today when i powered it up it just goes crazy and seems to be putting out gibberish. I also bought another dash last week on ebay which was listed as spares/repairs, i powered it up and it works! well almost... one of the segments on the speedo display is not working but that doesnt bother me too much as im planning a little project which will do away with the speedo and use it to display what gear youre in, ive bought prototyping bits so i can try to figure this out later and i'll take the crazy dash and use that for testing, all i really want to do is de-solder the speedo and drive it directly from a microchip which i will program and link it up to some hall sensors which will read the gear position via a magnet mounted on the gearstick.

So, i kind of have a dash which illuminates at least but have had some problems getting the lights at the bottom to work properly, need to do some more testing with that.

Next job was a real CNUT! i put the starter motor back on and it totally fouled on the rose-jointed gear linkage which obviously is a real bad problem . I had to take the linkage off and cut/bend/re-weld part of it in a desperate effort to get the neccessary clearance, a real ball ache since i spent i whole saturday last week getting this all sorted or so i thought. Anyway, finally got that sorted and the feel of the thing was actually slightly better after i modded it.

Got the linkage off the twin carbs and welded a tiny piece onto the but that links the throttle on the 2 carbs as it wasnt long enough. Then i put it all back together and got the manifold on the engine aswell as putting on all the coolant pipework and filling it up with water.

Finally before i threw the towel in for one day i hooked up my laptop to the MBE, plugged everything together and TURNED THE ENGINE OVER!!!! woohoo.

Bad news is i didnt get any reading from the crank position sensor... might be cuz the engine speed was so low. Also the MBE isnt reading the signal from the throttle position sensor, thats not good. So definitely got some work to do there... oh joy of joys....

Thats it for now, ive got a bit of time tomorrow to work on it and ive booked 2 days off work this week because i knew it would never go smoothly!

Here are some pics:

Linkage:

http://i12136.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1194.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1194.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1195.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1195.jpg.html)

Dash

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1196.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1196.jpg.html)

Fouling big time:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1190.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1190.jpg.html)

Sorted now:
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1192.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1192.jpg.html)

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff451/tomfromdelmonte/SAM_1191.jpg (http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte/media/SAM_1191.jpg.html)

[tomfromdelmonte]

IT LIVES!!!!!

Got the engine running.

Crank sensor was faulty so managed to borrow one and after that it fired up.

Sounds like a rally car too :) buhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuh

[jimbob-mcgrew]

gwaaahn tom. bet that was good to hear her fire up :thumb:

[Connor]

Top work! Liking the simple layout of your dash, might have to do something similar on mine.

[dionbee]

As always, looki g good mate! Bet you can't wait to get it on the road finally.

Dion

[tomfromdelmonte]

Yeah Dion cant bloody wait. Going through all the annoying little things it needs for the mot now like getting the indicators working, need to fit some sort of cable handbrake and ive got an air horn that needs wiring up.

The engine starts easy enough but runs pretty rough which is to be expected since its a rebuilt engine with a set of twin carbs that came off a rally car. This weekend im going to try and set up the mixture aswell as balance the carbs. Ive bought a gunsons colourtune and a carb balancer. Pretty sure ill take it to a highly reccomended local rolling road guy at some point once its driveable..so , after the MOT basically.

Will stick the driveshafts in this weekend and see if it moves! ... might want to do the brakes first... hmmmmm

[tomfromdelmonte]

So here it is, a video of the car being fired up. Its running on 3 cylinders at the moment, have no idea why... ideas and advice much appreciated.

Plugs and coil are brand new. It seems like number 4 cylinder that isnt firing as i pulled the plugs one at a time and pulling number 4 made no difference whatsoever whereas the other 3 made it sounds very rough if they were pulled out.

Had a real nightmare with the alternator today, had to fabricate a bracket to drop it down 55mm out of the way of the twin carbs. This meant taking the whole manifold off again. On the plus side.. the indicators/hazards work now... it was a bad earth. So now i just need horn, handbrake, windscreen wipers and brakes for the mot. Im going to a breakers tomorrow to look for parts to fabricate the handbrake with.

http://youtu.be/c9TyzcyNo2I

[8valve-craig]

Are you taking it to Dave Young?

If so good choice. I thoroughly recommend him for carb tuning.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Yep ill be taking it to him after the MOT. Would like to fix that bloody misfire first though.

[Will F]

Yeah you can't mot or take it dave with that misfire! Dave is a legend though, he's done three of mine. Re the misfire, could be something simple like the balance of the carbs and not a nicked valve from a bad timing experience...

[Will F]

Also you need to check the values for the tps against the values for the ignition if you haven't already. But that should cause it to miss on one cylinder...

[8valve-craig]

Hi did my XE on 45's and I was much pleased. Normally only books one car per day too so you get his undivided attention.

Be prepared to work though, unless you are leaving it with him.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Ok this is turning into a bit of a comedy show now.

Good news is: Engine now runs pretty sweet, the misfire was due to me not having the HT leads the right way having followed some sketchy internet drawing. I changed the coil from a corsa one to a C20xe one (apparently?) as these are supposed to work better with the MBE. Bought a gunsons carbalancer/manometer type thing to help me set up the carbs. Pretty good bit of kit although very overpriced for what it is. Measured the airflow in each carb and adjusted the linkage screw so they sound pretty sweet now, any tuning beyond this is best carried out by the local guru.

BAD news is: I decided that with such a nice sounded engine (and the Cunty neighbours being on holiday) it was time for some sort of test drive so i set about putting the driveshafts in. Problem was the damn things wouldnt go in, sent an SOS to Mr ChrisGSI who dropped by and we both had a look. On closer inspection, shining a light into the hole it didnt look right at all... one of the diff gears was at some funny angle. I took off the diff cover plate and the bloody diff side gears fell out with it.

NOT GOOD!

I paid 80 quid for this box on ebay becuase it was listed as being in good condition and removed from a GTE/GSI. Sent the guy a message detailing what happened. Pointless asking for a refund as it would be too much trouble to remove the box and take it back. SO i think the best thing to do here is replace the diff with my quaife diff and take the cluster out and compare it to the other CR cluster i have then put whichever one looks best in the car. I also have a 4.2 final drive so now would be a good time to fit that. I had saved these as an upgrade for later but since the diff in this thing is buggered then its probably worth doing all this stuff now.

The list for MOt things is also pretty small. Horn, brakes, windscreen wipers and handbrake.

/here are pics from today and also a youtube video showing how nice the engine sounds now.

Opened the diff cover and:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1204_zps1690cde0.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1204_zps1690cde0.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1206_zps631c1d1d.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1206_zps631c1d1d.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1207_zps9bdcdd65.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1207_zps9bdcdd65.jpg.html)

Stripped the 4.2 FD from this one:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1202_zps0e23e679.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1202_zps0e23e679.jpg.html)

Engine running better:

http://youtu.be/SMep5YbSUNU

[tomfromdelmonte]

I have to install a quaife diff tomorrow. Can anyone point to a guide for doing this on a nova or corsa? i was informed today you have to grind part of the diff casing to get clearance.

Would appreciate any advice from anyone who has done this before. Ive put the 4.2 crownwheel on and tomorrow im going to pull the cluster out and swap the pinion over then put it all back together (yeah right! thats the plan anywhere, we'll see how much gets done)

[jimbob-mcgrew]

engine sounds like it wants to play in that video - good job tom :thumb:

[_Jake]

I have to install a quaife diff tomorrow. Can anyone point to a guide for doing this on a nova or corsa? i was informed today you have to grind part of the diff casing to get clearance.

Would appreciate any advice from anyone who has done this before. Ive put the 4.2 crownwheel on and tomorrow im going to pull the cluster out and swap the pinion over then put it all back together (yeah right! thats the plan anywhere, we'll see how much gets done)

cant offer any advice on the quaife diff but the cluster/pinion swap is as simple as youve described :)

[Southie]

Not probably the exact things you need but may guide you in the right direction.
Is any of this any help Tom?
http://www.reidracing.co.uk/gearbox-photos.asp

Also found this just incase it's something you may come across.
http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums/engines-transmission/415904-lsd-quaife-pic-prob.html

[jonn]

when i was fitting my tranx lsd in my f13 i had to grind part of the casing where the bearing is fitted. when you go to fit it you will know what i mean. i used a die grinder. just keep removing metal until you can get the lsd in the box.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Excellent thanks guys. I dont know if ill have time to do it today as ive got my little lad and the missus is at work. I think that piece that catches on the bearing is the part my friend was referring to when he said you had to chamfer a lip inside the casing. Does anyone know if the speedo drive gear fits on the quaife diff?

[phunkynova]

The Gear box needs to be ground out if your fitting a Quaife sccr box as the 5th gear cog is to big to go in with work. If your fitting a Tran-x LSD the diff housing need some work but as for a Quaife diff I don't know there are some photo's of the bits you need to grind out on my build thread.

http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?147449-Czech-it-out-Nova-Rallyx/page3&highlight=Czech

[tomfromdelmonte]

Had a lot of fun today, ive never done anything with gearboxes and most of what i know about them is from reading and looking at what other people have done in their build threads. So today i got the chance to take apart not one, but THREE gearboxes!! pretty cool huh?

So firstly i had a corsa F10 that i needed the 4.2 final drive from, id already taken out the diff and put the crown wheel on my quaife diff but i needed the pinion gear.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1216_zps0bd8d0ac.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1216_zps0bd8d0ac.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1217_zps40b1db1b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1217_zps40b1db1b.jpg.html)

So once i had that it was time to remove the knackered diff from my gearbox and also take the cluster out. I didnt want to drop the gearbox down because i had such a hard time getting the bolt holes to line up for the gearbox mount so i decided to cut a little bit of the chassis rail so the cluster can be swapped out without altering the gearbox position. I got this idea from the photos on Reid racing so thanks to Southie for pointing me towards that. I'll weld the seams back up when i get a chance next weekend. So at this point i now have the diff and the cluster out:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1209_zps5c9cadb7.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1209_zps5c9cadb7.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1219_zps042ce855.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1219_zps042ce855.jpg.html)

I also had a spare gearbox i bought for 40 quid with driveshafts which i thought was a bargain. It came from a nova GTE so i assumed it was an F13, ive just stripped the cluster out and it looks like its an F15CR3.74. Here it is compared to the F13 cluster i removed from the car (F15 is on the left, notice no gap under pinion gear to get the gear puller under):

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1225_zps595c76a3.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1225_zps595c76a3.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1226_zpsff0d0161.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1226_zpsff0d0161.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1227_zps332119ae.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1227_zps332119ae.jpg.html)

Wonder what the deal is here, circlip is missing from the F15 cluster:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1224_zps60a19d56.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1224_zps60a19d56.jpg.html)

SO my question is can you put an F15 cluster in an F13 box? Also on the F15 cluster there is nowhere to get the legs of the gear puller on so how can i get the pinion gear off? ive tried tugging on it and it appears to be solid... heat it up maybe? Perhaps the F13 cluster will do me for now, just a bit dubious because if the state of the diff but ive inspected as best i can and i cant see anything obviously wrong with it.

I'll have to count the teeth next weekend and make sure it is a CR cluster, the stamping on the box is illegible. I do have a cluster i bought off ebay a long while back which is definitely an F13CR cluster so i could use that too if i have to.

Im glad i managed to get this far and im confident ill have it all back together (with driveshafts this time!) next week and pretty stoked that the car will be ready with the LSD and 4.2 FD for when i first get the drive it, should be a real beast.

[RallyMarshal]

I havent done anything with std F15 boxes but is the pinion part of the output shaft rather than being separate? I know they are on the later F13 and F15 quaife sccr kits.

Paul..

[dstevenson]

I havent done anything with std F15 boxes but is the pinion part of the output shaft rather than being separate? I know they are on the later F13 and F15 quaife sccr kits.

Paul..

The pinion is part of the mainshaft so you can't change the final drive ratio without getting a complete mainshaft. Probably best to either put the 4.18 pinion on your original cluster or use the complete corsa cluster (whichever is a CR) and go with that as the F15 at 3.74 would reduce the acceleration, not make it better as you intend.

The grinding is around the bearing area to allow the diff to clear when putting it in. I also had to remove the speedo drive lower bearing boss, etc. to clear my TranX diff but not sure about the Quaife ATB - will become very clear once you try to put it in.

If fitting a Quaife SCCR cluster you also need to grind for clearance for the 1st gear to clear the area between the main casing and the diff casing (not 5th gear as previous post) but you wont need to do that if using a standard VX cluster.

David

[tomfromdelmonte]

Thanks David. I thought the older F15s were not a one piece shaft. As you can see in the picture there is a circlip groove to retain the pinion gear and it doesnt look/feel like a 1 piece shaft, i could be wrong though. There is no way im putting 3.74 FD in there!!!!

[dstevenson]

Thanks David. I thought the older F15s were not a one piece shaft. As you can see in the picture there is a circlip groove to retain the pinion gear and it doesnt look/feel like a 1 piece shaft, i could be wrong though. There is no way im putting 3.74 FD in there!!!!

Did you remove a circlip? I think it is just an undercut between the bearing part and the pinion to avoid a stress riser. If it is removeable the splined joint should be pretty obvious - not clear in the pic with the dirty oil, lol!

i do also think that it was later boxes that became one piece - VX must have been having issues with the splined pinions, can't see it as being any cheaper to manufacture?

David

[tomfromdelmonte]

Good point David. I didnt remove the circlip and i cant see any reason why the previous owner would have had the cluster out. It was sold to me as an F13, i dont think he even realised it was an F15. Looks like the way forward is to throw the F13Cr cluster back in and just thrash it until it explodes lol, they arent hard to get hold of. Plus im only looking at running about 150bhp tops if im lucky!

[tomfromdelmonte]

Hey David, i just cleaned up the shaft and had a close look. Its a one piece jobbie just like you said. Really not much use to me then....im going to count the gears on the one that came out of the f13 tomorrow and make sure it is a CR cluster.

[tomfromdelmonte]

No pics this week sadly but the news if mostly good...

Have the gearbox back together with the quaife diff in. Replaced the driveshaft oil seals.
Have driveshafts fitted.
Have welded in the brackets for the sumpguard, just need to drill the holes in the guard itself.
Fabricated an exhaust hanger and fitted it.
Front brakes almost finished, just need a banjo fitting, connect to reservoir then bleed and test.

Have a bit of an issue with the golf rear calipers. I dont seem to be able to push the piston back into the caliper on either of them, im not sure if this is normal but it seems as if they are both seized. Im not sure if there is a special tool for winding the piston back in.

Once i have the brakes sorted it will be time for a test drive!

[novarally]

Have a bit of an issue with the golf rear calipers. I dont seem to be able to push the piston back into the caliper on either of them, im not sure if this is normal but it seems as if they are both seized. Im not sure if there is a special tool for winding the piston back in.

Once i have the brakes sorted it will be time for a test drive!

Golf rear calipers are notorious for seizing up, so these ones probably are..........

[tomfromdelmonte]

Bugger

I think they are seized too, i put a g-clamp on them and they didnt move.

This will be the third set of rear calipers i have bought. The first ones didnt fit.

[jonn]

i don't know about the golf ones but on some cars you have to press and wind the piston in at the same time.

[8valve-craig]

^ Yes you will need a wind back tool as the pistons are threaded and self adjust (My Corsa-C ones are very similar)

I use a 6 sided dice.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LASER-BRAKE-REAR-CALIPER-WIND-BACK-CUBE-TOOL-5541-/161089167065?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2581a99ed9

[greene94]

I have the golf ones on my car and you need to wind them back.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Another weekend, another update on the car.

I bought a caliper wind-back tool and that has sorted out my rear caliper issues. They wound back fine and i managed to get them fitted and piped up. I got someone to help me bleed the brakes and it looks like i now have a functioning brake set-up! awesome!

Before fitting the brakes i did a bit of a test to make sure the car actually moves. The clutch felt horrible and spongy and the revs seemed way too high since i was only doing a few mph. I thought there was a problem with the clutch (its a 3 paddle helix clutch)... turns out this is not the case!

The clutch is absolutely fine however the gear linkage is not. I thought i was in 1st... i was in 3rd!

Ive had the linkage on and off the car about 20 times so far... i seem to be able to get every gear now except reverse. Ive adjusted the throw a couple of times and re-fabricated part of the linkage. I think the throw just needs a little bit more tweaking however ive run out of time for this weekend. This is now on the list of jobs for next week and since the doors are also on now i can see a test drive possibly happening next weekend.

I have a list of things it needs for the mot and i think ill probably need to book a few days off work in a month or so to have a push and get it through the test then get it logbooked. Seems to be really slow going now but i guess thats mostly due to teething problems and such.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1232_zps62e85475.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1232_zps62e85475.jpg.html)

All i can say is it was early in the morning :

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1230_zpse7b34488.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1230_zpse7b34488.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1233_zps2fc554b5.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1233_zps2fc554b5.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1235_zps9c63d495.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1235_zps9c63d495.jpg.html)

This worked for about an hour :)
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1239_zpsde09fd7b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1239_zpsde09fd7b.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1241_zps650d4856.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1241_zps650d4856.jpg.html)

[tomfromdelmonte]

**** you nova... FUUUCCCKK YOU!

[chris gsi]

What's it done to you now?

[tomfromdelmonte]

gear linkage is fubar..

I cant get reverse. The threaded M8 bar for the throw is the problem. When it is in reverse then the rose-joints are at their limits in terms of misalignement. There is just not enough movement on them to be able to get reverse... its hard to describe...

I might be able to fix it with spacers....

[tomfromdelmonte]

Im already using misalignment spacers but they are not enough.

[Edd]

Sounds like you need the treaded bar to be longer to me

[mk1nova_rich]

Fantastic work :)

[therealnovaboy]

gear linkage is fubar..

I cant get reverse. The threaded M8 bar for the throw is the problem. When it is in reverse then the rose-joints are at their limits in terms of misalignement. There is just not enough movement on them to be able to get reverse... its hard to describe...

I might be able to fix it with spacers....

I had this problem with mine. I ended up twistng the gearbox end top ball/arm to et the alignment for the threaded bar.

I got it in the end with a bit of adjustment. its a bit of a fanny on till you get it right.

I also did mine slightly different with the rose joint the other way around, see:

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd375/therealnovaboy/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/60F5409E-CA79-407A-80BB-12198A16C31E_zps5hs3pba7.jpg

[8valve-craig]

Im not sure if this would help atall, but i was looking at a friends Saab track car last week, which had the right sort of setup to eliminate the linkage altogether.

Its set up very much like the quaife lever and linkage, only factory parts. Basically it looks like it will reverse the throw action so that with a couple of UJ's and a bulkhead bearing the shift rod could be connected direct to the turret.

Obviously without exploring it Im not sure how viable it is, and already having a direct shift myself probably never will. Definately worth looking into in my opinion though, especially for a competition car on a budget.

[tomfromdelmonte]

therealnovaboy.. many thanks for the pics, thats a real help. I could potentially do the same and see if it helps, i have a welder do cutting and welding is no big deal.
Craig, that sounds really interesting, i had considered using a vectra cable gear change as my mate has done this on his nova rally car and it is pretty sweet.

[therealnovaboy]

therealnovaboy.. many thanks for the pics, thats a real help. I could potentially do the same and see if it helps, i have a welder do cutting and welding is no big deal.


no probs. You dont have to cut/ weld anything. Just take your rose joint off and screw it into the arm instead of where the linkage that attaches to the selector end. I then Just got a shifter and twisted the top joint (where the screwed rod attaches anticlockwise a bit when looking down on it. you can see mine is a bit twisted.

this gives you enough movement in and out when it is at its furthest Points i.e reverse and fifth.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Mahoosiv ball achings today. Pretty much rebuilt the whole back end of the car...

when i fitted the tank i used a bit of fluoro lined silicone to connect the filler to the tank. It had been kind of bugging me that this wasnt the right stuff to use so i managed to find a filler neck i had in the roofspace with the rubber attached so i decided to put that on instead. This meant taking off the whole rear axle as the exhaust (which sits above the axle) wouldnt come down far enough for me to get the tank guard off and get at the jubilee clips that hold the hose on. So with the guard off i found, much to my horror that the little 5mm breather pipe had actually come off and basically the tank would have been open had i not discovered this. In normal operation not a problem but if the car ever ended up on its roof or its side (yeah what are the chances! its only a rally car...) then it would have pissed fuel out everywhere, no thanks!

I dont think the hose was too loose in the first place, i had left a lot of slack on it and have a rollover valve knocking around somewhere to go on . A few times when ive been pushing it in and out of the garage it has got stuck under the wheel and thats probably what pulled it off. Ive now trimmer it and cable tied it to the filler neck so that shouldnt happen again. Got it all sorted out and put some juice in the tank, ran the engine for a while and checked for leaks. Really does sound like it wants to go rallying.

SO whilst im in the process of putting all the beam back on etc, i have got hold of some golf vr6 handbrake cables and got a golf handbrake from the scrappy. They are a perfect fit and looks like doing the cable handbrake will be a piece of piss. I had been losing a bit of sleep over that as i just couldnt imagine how it was going to go together and what bits i was going to use but i saw a golf v5 in a scrappy and had a look at the set up, i could see it would be a very easy swap to the nova since i already have golf calipers on the back.

Most of the wiring is also finished, just need to tidy up the engine bay and wire up the dash. So for the mot i now just need to sort out the windscreen wipers, fit the front perpex windows and wing mirrors to the doors, fit the door handles and locks, get a radiator fan, wire up the dash, and....

sort out the gear linkage, its still Fuct. I tried a few things but just made it worse. Going to leave this til last.

And a video of the beast sounding like it wants to go! brrrrbrrrbrrrbrbrbrbrrrrr

http://youtu.be/9zvojU63dF4

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1249_zpsbfac294e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1249_zpsbfac294e.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1250_zps1881d287.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1250_zps1881d287.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1252_zpsc312b9c4.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1252_zpsc312b9c4.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1253_zpscbcaadc8.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1253_zpscbcaadc8.jpg.html)

that little c*** on the right
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1254_zps7f5a7c34.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1254_zps7f5a7c34.jpg.html)

proper job now..
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1255_zps182e1bf7.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1255_zps182e1bf7.jpg.html)

bit of heat wrap
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1256_zps54c51638.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1256_zps54c51638.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1258_zps31fdba1d.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1258_zps31fdba1d.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1259_zps8d0e19a2.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1259_zps8d0e19a2.jpg.html)

[dgbnova#1]

What's with the gears then we're is it hitting ?
Post some pics up someone may see something but if it was me I'd want it done sooner not last as it would p me right off lol

[phunkynova]

Are my eyes playing games on me or have you used plastic tie raps on a exhaust ?

[tomfromdelmonte]

Lol, no your eyes do not deceive you.. its only temporary. I need to fabricate some brackets as nothing seems to line up properly and there is nothing for the rubbers to attach to at the moment.

[tomfromdelmonte]

So, bit of an update. Things went fairly well today, i managed to get the gear linkage sorted once and for all! The fix was to modify the plastic gear selector so that i could move it just a little bit further to the left and hook reverse gear. I did also modify the linkage slightly. Here is what i did:

Before -
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1262_zps73344585.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1262_zps73344585.jpg.html)

After
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1265_zps4c71a8eb.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1265_zps4c71a8eb.jpg.html)

In reverse gear:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1266_zps2b5aecb9.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1266_zps2b5aecb9.jpg.html)

Ive taken some pics to show how it all sits, i had to have the part of the linkage that connect to the selector rod moved back about an inch as it was fouling on the starter motor. The pics below show how close it sits to the motor when in 4th gear:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1271_zps7d3a296c.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1271_zps7d3a296c.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1268_zpscad39db7.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1268_zpscad39db7.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1269_zpse5a2b9d4.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1269_zpse5a2b9d4.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1270_zps4d29d92b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1270_zps4d29d92b.jpg.html)

So, with the gear linkage all being good i decided its time for a little test drive, woohoo \0/ !!!!!!

At 0:26 in the video there is a horrible noise when i start to give it some juice. It came from the back of the car so im pretty sure its the rear shocks, they are super tight against the chassis (theyre thick group A bilsteins), i think it was these trying to move against the chassis and getting stuck but then it was all quite funny with my little boy running around covering his ears and saying "thats funny daddy". The grinder needs to come out next weekend. Comments much appreciated:

http://youtu.be/3oHoguo3zlc

[tomfromdelmonte]

Ah the joys of building a rally car....

have been working through the list of small and not very exciting jobs. So, this weekend i:

- fitted a slimline radiator fan
- replaced the ****ty sytec throttle cable with a much higher quality kingspan one and also modified the pedal to accept twin throttle cables (only 1 installed now)
- Sorted out the alternator bracket and put a shorter belt on there.
-fitted the handbrake and cables and made a bracket for the cables (need to fix to the shell, probably tack weld the corners)
- fitted 7 mm wheel spacers to the rear wheels to stop them rubbing on the shocks
- fitted the bonnet and catches
- modified the bumper iron catch to raise the bumper a bit as it wasnt sitting right (cut and re-welded the iron)
- fitted door handles and door rubbers to drivers side.
- faffed about with the horn a bit but didnt wire it up.

So, as you can see... really not exciting but unfortunately there is bad news. Did another test drive just this evening and again, horrible noises which are coming from the front of the car. Sounds like the gearbox perhaps or the driveshafts... really unsure. Its fine if i go slow but as soon as i give it the beans it just makes this awful racket.

Im not sure if swapping out the gear cluster would help... it could be something else... did seems to be coming from the right hand side....
All conjecture really, would help to have someone elses opinion (Chris if youre reading this!)

Here is the video:

http://youtu.be/ZlEL7iSPc7c

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZlEL7iSPc7c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1317_zps8f9ccb58.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1317_zps8f9ccb58.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1315_zps5cd495cd.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1315_zps5cd495cd.jpg.html)


http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1314_zps46b42d52.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1314_zps46b42d52.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1313_zpsbc5065c9.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1313_zpsbc5065c9.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1309_zpsfa06efa1.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1309_zpsfa06efa1.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1311_zps69c907e7.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1311_zps69c907e7.jpg.html)

[tomfromdelmonte]

Desperately need help here. Can someone have a look at the video and give me an idea what it could be. sounded like it came from front right which makes me think driveshaft. CV joint but it sounds like gears grating.

[cb_motorsport]

Have you run it up on axle stands Tom? Might be worth a try, stick it into 1st/2nd, hop out and have a listen.

Cheers

Chris

[tomfromdelmonte]

Yeh thats one test i thought of. It only makes that noise under hard acceleration. It potters about in 1st quite happily.

[Will F]

That wont give a true indication of the engine/box under proper load though, so wont tell you a lot..... Could be anything unfortunately!

[therealnovaboy]

Is it the alternator rubbing on the chassi leg?

[tomfromdelmonte]

I dont think so but i will check on Friday. Ive bought the wife a new coat and she has agreed to let me work on the beast all day Friday without interruption.

[scott.parker]

Have you at any point fiddled with the gears in the casing? Might sound silly, but im sure theres a cuirclip on the end of the custer, if you remove the end casing in the wheel arch, check its not come out, been forgotten after being worked on etc, as i had an f20 do this once, produced a similar noise, and once i turned a bend hard it meant i was loosing the drive from the gears. Worth checking?

[tomfromdelmonte]

Have you at any point fiddled with the gears in the casing? Might sound silly, but im sure theres a cuirclip on the end of the custer, if you remove the end casing in the wheel arch, check its not come out, been forgotten after being worked on etc, as i had an f20 do this once, produced a similar noise, and once i turned a bend hard it meant i was loosing the drive from the gears. Worth checking?

Hey Scott, i had the cluster out and changed the final drive. I replaced the circlip on the shaft. Which circlip are you talking about, with the cover off you have access to fifth gear and some sort of cassette. The gearbox itself could be ****ed, i bought it on ebay and its the same one where the diff fell apart.

[scott.parker]

Oh right, yeah that's the one I was thinking of, probably right then, it possibly duffed..
:(

[chris gsi]

If you are working on the nova Friday I will pop over and have a listen

[tomfromdelmonte]

Many thanks to Chris, we now know what the horrible grinding noise was/is; not the gearbox but the alternator under load the engine flexes on the mounts and the alternator fouls on the chassis leg. Pretty good news really since its an easier fix than anything gearbox related. Also managed to spot another problem which was a leaking bulkhead fitting on the rear brake line which partially explains why the brakes are ****e.

Spent most of yesterday pottering about and doing bits but somehow managed to royally **** up my back which means today im 100% out of action.

on the plus side though, that means there is really not a whole lot left to do now to get it ready for mot. Have ordered some solid engine mounts and will also be taking the inlet manifold off so i can box in the chassis leg to give a bit more clearance as well as re fabricating the top alternator bracket as its a bit sh**. Happy days.

[scott.parker]

Glad to here that mate, Chris is another top lad, best part about being a proper car club. :)

Oh, just an idea, try fitting the rear mount first and see how feels, as it might help stop the alternator issue, and be stiff enough, as a full set might be too stiff, trust me ive had them lol

[_Jake]

run a narrorer alt rather than notching the leg mate

[TallDave]

I'm beginning to feel your pain Tom, but glad to hear the gearbox noise isn't!
I hope the back gets better soon as I'm looking forward to seeing (the videos of) this on the road.

Keep the update coming as I need the insperation to get my own project moving forward, forward as opposed to going backwards as I play hunt the rust in my own Nova shell?!

Any idea when/where you may be hitting the stages?

[chris gsi]

happy to lend a hand and help tom,as Scott said it what makes this club so good.
and you probably hurt your back trying to get to the bulkhead fitting for the brakes as someone fitted a cage in the way:thumb:

[tomfromdelmonte]

I'm beginning to feel your pain Tom, but glad to hear the gearbox noise isn't!
I hope the back gets better soon as I'm looking forward to seeing (the videos of) this on the road.

Keep the update coming as I need the insperation to get my own project moving forward, forward as opposed to going backwards as I play hunt the rust in my own Nova shell?!


Any idea when/where you may be hitting the stages?

Hi Dave, looking to get it complete asap. Have someone who is happy to MOT it when its ready and then ill need to get it logbooked. Im guessing its a few weeks work since im only around at weekends but the list of things to do is really getting small now so it just needs a good push to get it finished. I was hoping to get it done for the Corinium stages which is a single venue tarmac event near cirencester but that will probably be a bit tight. Other than that ill be looking to do Caerwent or any of the other rounds in the CMSG championship. Not too fussed about being competitive this year (goes without saying) since this is my first go at rallying. Just want to get the car built and get it to a couple of finishes, its all about getting seat time really.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Thanks to the power of voltarol back patches i managed to get a bit done today.

Notched the inner wing in case the solid engine mounts arent enough. also re fabricated the alternator bracket.

The problem:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1339_zpsb2eb74c6.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1339_zpsb2eb74c6.jpg.html)

The solution:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1340_zpsa779ea79.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1340_zpsa779ea79.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1346_zps8478da73.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1346_zps8478da73.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1347_zps56c6ff6e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1347_zps56c6ff6e.jpg.html)

Big pain in the ass!
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1338_zpsc5ba5c26.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1338_zpsc5ba5c26.jpg.html)

Fabricated alternator bracket
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1345_zpsff5322af.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1345_zpsff5322af.jpg.html)

Handbrake bracket before i put it all together
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1332_zps5b48519f.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1332_zps5b48519f.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1329_zpsde70a797.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1329_zpsde70a797.jpg.html)

More decals:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1350_zps7ff053eb.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1350_zps7ff053eb.jpg.html)

Getting there now...

[tomfromdelmonte]

Video of a standing start without the crunching sound:

http://youtu.be/lkAmIapvKLU

[tomfromdelmonte]

Pottered about today, didnt get a massive amount one, mainly due to my back feeling like its ready to give way at any moment. Was supposed to do some electrics but that meant clambering around inside the car and i didnt fancy that much.

So what i did instead:

Drivers side window:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1353_zps689fbe72.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1353_zps689fbe72.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1352_zps28fe817e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1352_zps28fe817e.jpg.html)

Horn.. and it works too. Button mounted on the dash centre console.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1355_zpsb034bcdd.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1355_zpsb034bcdd.jpg.html)

Applied a sticker or two:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1351_zpsce1e3b5b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1351_zpsce1e3b5b.jpg.html)

Wanted to put the manifold on but i need a gasket and nowhere was open so its on next weeks job list. Need to sort out the windscreen wipers and wire up the dash. Thats pretty much the plan for next week.

[_Jake]

You didnt need to notch the leg!!

[TallDave]

Tom, don't think you'll make the Corinium Stages as its running on the 3rd May, even the Red Dragon Stages (also at Down Ampney) on the 24th May might be a bit tight bearing in mind the state of your back...

Maybe Abingdon or the Fat Albert at Keevil then, both are quite good events with not too much in the way of stuff to hit outside of the twiddly bits, which contrasts with Caerwent with its myriad of curbs to catch out the unwary...:(

I hope to be out on the Fat Albert Stages on the 12th July, that is so long as my driver can get his Pug 205 sorted (even he hates French cars!).
I'd like to return to Abingdon again, but the driver isn't too keen even though we finished 2nd in the 1600 class last year, albeit we did get a bit lucky with others retiring. There again we did overcome a bu**ered drive shaft and boiling brakes on the way, so we earn't it I reckon. If I'm not competing I'll be there marshaling.

I'm loving the decals by the way, very retro :)

PS I think you need to buy your little lad some ear defenders...

[cb_motorsport]

Tom, bring it to Smeatharpe on the 22nd June! (Or you can come and spanner for me!)

Fat Albert Stages not running this year, or bring it to Caerwent, sorts the men from the boys!

[TallDave]

Fat Albert cancelled! Serves me right for being a Luddite and not joining Faceache I suppose, thanks for the update though, will have to break the joyous news to my driver now, he ain't going to be happy! :cry:

Normally timekeeping at Smeatharpe, so assuming that I look forward to seeing you (both?) there.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Bit of an update...

wife was working this weekend which means i had to juggle looking after a 4 year old with getting bits done on the rally car.

Yesterday i put the inlet manifold back together and got the engine running again. Put some more petrol in the tank and noticed it was leaking onto the floor. Real pain in the ass because the kevlar guard is on you cant see where its coming from so i removed the exhaust and got the guard off, turned out the jubliee clip which holds the filler neck rubber on needed tweaking up so no biggie. Ive left the guard off for now just until im happy theres no leaks, ill put it back on when the car goes for logbooking. While the exhaust was off i welded a universal flexi section on just before the flange to help it seal against the corsa manifold as it is a bit of a funny angle, this has helped a lot and im happy with the exhaust now. I also set about wiring up the dash, managed to get the petrol gauge working but i cant get the coolant sensor to read, i took a reading from the sensor and i was getting 1.96k when it was cold and .5k when hot... doesnt sound right, i assume the sensor is supposed to be some sort of thermistor... might get a nova one and compare.

Today i put the seats and harnesses back in and set about getting the windscreen wipers working. I fabricated a bracket for the motor, i have tested it in situ and the wipers are working correctly, just needs bolting down now. With that done its now almost ready for mot, there is just some funny wiring to be done on the sidelights (when u turn on sidelights you get lights on in the mainbeam part of the headlight). I'll be booking it in for the 11th to get mot and after that ill tax and insure it and see aout getting it logbooked the week after. Here is the evidence:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1357_zps50ac117c.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1357_zps50ac117c.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1359_zps2cdd595e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1359_zps2cdd595e.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1360_zps1418aa2c.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1360_zps1418aa2c.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1368_zps661b1bde.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1368_zps661b1bde.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1374_zps5e3b6b40.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1374_zps5e3b6b40.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1371_zpsfe1fe358.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1371_zpsfe1fe358.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1372_zps58ccdc7d.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1372_zps58ccdc7d.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1376_zpsc20ab77e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1376_zpsc20ab77e.jpg.html)

:)

[8valve-craig]

Good effort. Try and keep calm when fitting those pro-tec mounts. Its a pig of a job to get all 3 in.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Craig, ive just had a look at them, the drivers side engine mount only has one hole in whereas the mount thats in there now has 2.. any idea what the deal is with that?

[Will F]

Echo what Craig said. It took me two jacks an engine crane and a big bar to get them fitted... That drivers mount is a nightmare too, you have to lock it with a spanner against the chassis leg to tighten the nut...

[8valve-craig]

Yes that's what I did, but the bolt they supply is a deep cap head and wont fit with a chassis plating kit either. You can hole saw through both skins of the chassis leg, or replace the bolt with a shallow hex head. Watch out though, its imperial. Half inch from what I remember.

And yes, only one bolt required on that one. I too used a crane, a jack and half a fence post.

[stuartp]

Chassis rail mod.... Ow. When I put the jenveys on the rally car, the alt needs lowering meaning it only had a mm clearance if that it rubbed before. So I sent the all the engine mounts over to the passenger side (elongated holes). I still wasn't happy. So changed the pulley for a Saxo one which is a rib narrower. If I had seen your thread sooner I would of overed to post you a spare one. Ow well. Might see you at a venue looking at the prev comments. Keep it up

[dionbee]

I've got the same engine mount kit as you have, and between two of us fitting, I had no stress whatsoever.

Dion.

[Benn]

Love the wiper motor mount. I really need to beef mine up like that.

[tomfromdelmonte]

MOT booked for 19th of this month... im off that whole week so should get it logbooked and mapped in the same week.

[Slippy]

Good luck mate

[tomfromdelmonte]

Long weekend almost over and not a single thing done on the rally car...

I have been distracted my something else, some people are going to hate me for posting this lol.

Bought a Saxo VTS to replace the mind-numbingly slow 1.2 clio. Got it uber-cheap on ebay as the clutch is completely knackered. The power steering pump leaks and the brakes are crap. It does however have 5 months mot so i managed to tax and insure it and drive it home. The guys i bought it off seemed pretty shady so i stripped the whole interior out and went over the whole chassis looking for evidence of anything nasty like welding or bits that have been messed with. The chassis is pretty good, very little rust and no welding apart from a bodged repair on one of the seat runners. The engine is good, sounds smooth and no smoke. What has happened is someone has left the cover of the clutch/flywheel housing and a stone got in there and caused damage to the clutch. I got the gearbox off which took all day and got the new clutch on, next week i will hopefully have it all back together and that will be my new daily drive!

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1380_zps47b8bd27.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1380_zps47b8bd27.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1382_zpsd96ba268.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1382_zpsd96ba268.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1394_zps34551c15.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1394_zps34551c15.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1399_zps21f26500.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1399_zps21f26500.jpg.html)

New clutch:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1400_zps30276035.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1400_zps30276035.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/SAM_1386_zps86858169.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/SAM_1386_zps86858169.jpg.html)

Should be a good bit of fun once its back on the road. Then i can get back to sorting out the nova... most of the mot stuff is done but the brakes are complete crap so that will be the next thing to look at.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Well, spent the last few weeks sorting out the saxo vts daily drive so didnt have much time for the rally car. Anyway, im driving the saxo now and am back on the rally car.

So, here are the things i got done today:

wired up the power steering got it working
put catches on the tailgate to keep it shut (obviously lol)
got the sidelights working
got both windcreen wipers working and set the return position
did the piping for the windscreen washer
fiddled with the brake bias a bit
put £10 of petrol in the tank

and then....

Fired up the engine and it ran like an absolute DOG. It was knocking like **** and sounded horrible. I checked a few things and found that the crankshaft pulley felt a bit loose. I took the bolt off and found this:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140525_181654_zpseedfed07.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140525_181654_zpseedfed07.jpg.html)

The woodruff key part of the crank sprocket had crumbles and as a result the pulley had moved and thrown the ignition timing out completely. So will have to go to the scrappy tomorrow and see if i can get a new one. Bit of a pain in the ass but on the plus side the car is almost ready for MOT now. Here are some other pics:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140525_185821_zpsc9ca4ac6.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140525_185821_zpsc9ca4ac6.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140525_185104_zps576cfa69.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140525_185104_zps576cfa69.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140525_185044_zps23618f2d.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140525_185044_zps23618f2d.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140525_184931_zps749359ed.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140525_184931_zps749359ed.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140525_184940_zpsf4c43645.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140525_184940_zpsf4c43645.jpg.html)

[dgbnova#1]

Saxos are great fun did 50k on my 1l no probs at all just tyres lol

is that not just the drive pully part gone or the crank key also

[novarally]

Tom - if you need another engine I am collecting an Astra tomorrow with a low-mileage 1600cc 16v engine in it.

[AndrewC]

How the hell did you know to check that! I had so much to learn...undiscovered, could this have put the timing out enough to send pistons into valves etc?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tomfromdelmonte]

Dont think its killed the engine, just moved enough to upset the ignition timing and make it 'knock'.

I knew to check it because of a thread i read on here once!

[deneil_gsi2000]

Check the keyway for cracks. I've got 2 1600 cranks here and they've both got cracks around the keyway.

[phunkynova]

Tom you may find that running a good suspension setup you don't need the anti roll bar on the front. I took mine off and found the car turned in better with out it and in back to back testing on a local test track my times where faster with out the ARB.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Phunky, thats interesting as ive often wondered how it would handle without it. Im guessing the rear anti-roll bar however is still essential?

[dionbee]

I'm also running my nova without the front ARB Tom and following 5 events i wouldn't say I need it. Handles great.

Dion

[tomfromdelmonte]

Got the timing belt off at the weekend and got the broken crankshaft sprocket off. It didnt come off easy and i had to tap a chisel/screwdriver in behind it to force it off. The plastic rear cover was already damaged and a piece of it came off while i was working, namely the piece with the crankshaft timing mark on it. When i put the new (2nd hand) sprocket on i noticed there is a bit of play where it sits on the keyway and that the old one is the same, perhaps this is normal. I made marks on the timing belt and cam sprockets to show which tooth should set where on the wheel so i could get it back the same but i have not 100% sure that i did everything correctly. Will just have to turn it over a few times by hand before firing it up to see how it runs.

Noticed when i took the belt off that with the crankshaft sprocket timing mark aligned that the 2 cam sprocket marks were not dead level, have put up a pic of this along with the old ****ed crank sprocket.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140601_205256_zps4dbf98ec.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140601_205256_zps4dbf98ec.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140601_205318_zpscd5b531b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140601_205318_zpscd5b531b.jpg.html)

Going to weld and file where its worn to get a decent fit:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140601_205409_zpsfcf880a8.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140601_205409_zpsfcf880a8.jpg.html)

New bit of kit:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140601_220438_zps207ee479.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140601_220438_zps207ee479.jpg.html)

[tomfromdelmonte]

Put it all back together with a new crank sprocket and it sounds exactly the same, a horrible knocking sound coming from the engine. Perhaps the ignition timing is off but ive had a bit of trouble with the ecu in so far as im able to connect to put and pull data FROM the ecu but ive not been able to write the data back to the ecu. Ive never really played with the MBE much so it could be that im just doing it wrong. Id like to advance the ignition and see if the knocking sound improves. If not then it will be a case of engine out, strip and rebuild... :(

I have a video on my phone but i dont think it really demonstrates the noise very well, ill upload it anyway.

[tomfromdelmonte]

i meant retard the ignition as it seems to be too advanced right now... i.e its hard to start, starter motor turns over sluggishly even with jumper cables attached and the knocking sound could possibly be pre-ignition but since ive never experienced that before its hard for me to say.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Not much of an update. Am on holiday up in the Scottish highlands (Isle of Mull), proper rally country and have had a week of scorchio beautiful sunshine. Engine problem is really giving me a headache so here is the plan of action.

when i get back at the weekend i will buy an omex wiring loom from a local guy (www.harnessing-solutions.co.uk (http://www.harnessing-solutions.co.uk)), that means i can get the new ECU fitted and ready to run the car probably in an hour or so. I can then play about with the timing and see if this cures the issue (knocking noise, hard to start). If it doesnt then i will drop the sump off and inspect the crank/bearings. Depending on what i find i may have to buy another engine or rebuild the one ive already got even though it has already been built with new bearings etc (according to the guy i got it off). Im also looking for a second engine as it makes sense to have more than one.

Dont really want to have to take the engine out but if thats what it needs then so be it. If the engine has to come apart then i will look at putting the rally cams in when i rebuild it. Also need to have a quick look at the carbs as i dont know at the moment exactly what jets, venturis, emulsion tubes are installed, once i know that i'll be speaking to someone 'in the know' about what i should be using with my set-up.

I have also bought a vectra c cable gear set up and will be saving that as a conversion project for the near future, especially if the engine/box has to come out. Bought a few other little bits on my list such as an m14 nut for the steering wheel and a new thermostat. Will also be ordering some Ds3000 pads as ive been told these are the nuts when it comes to stopping power. Will also be looking for some decent tyres to go on the front.

[cb_motorsport]

DS3000's are the mutts nuts Tom, that's what I'm going to be running on the front with standard pads on the rear. Hope to catch up with you soon mate!

[RallyMarshal]

I run Mintex F4R pads on Astra GTE 16v 256mm ATE calipers. Theyre also awesome :-)

Paul..

[tomfromdelmonte]

Hi Guys,

Back from my holiday up in Scotland and full of enthusiasm for the rally car which is ust as well really considering the major setback im facing now. Ive spoken to a couple of people and done a lot of googling/youtubing and it seems the noise my engine was making is known as 'rod-knock'. I think what happened was when i started the engine the throttle cable had jammed and the engine immediately revved up to 9k before i hit the cut off. After this happened i didnt run the engine for 2 weeks and the next time i did... the horrible knocking noise was there. It looks like a may have spun/damaged one of the con-rod bearings. Today i dropped the sump off and there was a very small amount of metal in the sump but really not much. I tried to check the con rods for vertical play but there didnt seem to be any. Ive decided that the best way to tackle this is to strip and rebuild the engine. Whilst im doing this i will check the crankshaft myself with a micrometer and also send it off to be checked by a machine shop. Ive bought a set of bearings/piston rings and also a 2nd x16xe engine which i will strip/rebuild at the same time so i should have 2 good engines. While the crank is out i will get the pistons pocketed and fit the newman tarmac rally cams i bought a while ago. Also the head will get double valve springs, titanium caps etc and possibly a light porting/polishing once i get a die grinder. I got the carbs of today and checked the over to find out what jets/venturis they have, ive made notes of the info and will be checking with an engne builder during the week to see what he thinks they should have jet wise. Turns out they are fitted with 34mm venturis. I also have a rocker cover come back from bill falconer with an oil re-circulation mod that he does. In addition ive bought a vectra c cable gear shift mechanism which i may fit later if the rose-jointed quickshift isnt to my liking. Oh yeah, and some R6 throttle bodies which may or may not find their way onto my saxo :P

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140622_171734_zps929c6c3a.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140622_171734_zps929c6c3a.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140622_174633_zps1c2a572f.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140622_174633_zps1c2a572f.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140622_183729_zps3c8af089.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140622_183729_zps3c8af089.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140622_185354-Copy_zpse85d4f95.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140622_185354-Copy_zpse85d4f95.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140622_185413-Copy_zpsf042d3cd.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140622_185413-Copy_zpsf042d3cd.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140622_185333-Copy_zps46734882.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140622_185333-Copy_zps46734882.jpg.html)

[novarally]

Hi Guys,

Back from my holiday up in Scotland and full of enthusiasm for the rally car which is ust as well really considering the major setback im facing now. Ive spoken to a couple of people and done a lot of googling/youtubing and it seems the noise my engine was making is known as 'rod-knock'. I think what happened was when i started the engine the throttle cable had jammed and the engine immediately revved up to 9k before i hit the cut off. After this happened i didnt run the engine for 2 weeks and the next time i did... the horrible knocking noise was there. It looks like a may have spun/damaged one of the con-rod bearings. Today i dropped the sump off and there was a very small amount of metal in the sump but really not much. I tried to check the con rods for vertical play but there didnt seem to be any. Ive decided that the best way to tackle this is to strip and rebuild the engine. Whilst im doing this i will check the crankshaft myself with a micrometer and also send it off to be checked by a machine shop. Ive bought a set of bearings/piston rings and also a 2nd x16xe engine which i will strip/rebuild at the same time so i should have 2 good engines. While the crank is out i will get the pistons pocketed and fit the newman tarmac rally cams i bought a while ago. Also the head will get double valve springs, titanium caps etc and possibly a light porting/polishing once i get a die grinder. I got the carbs of today and checked the over to find out what jets/venturis they have, ive made notes of the info and will be checking with an engne builder during the week to see what he thinks they should have jet wise. Turns out they are fitted with 34mm venturis. I also have a rocker cover come back from bill falconer with an oil re-circulation mod that he does. In addition ive bought a vectra c cable gear shift mechanism which i may fit later if the rose-jointed quickshift isnt to my liking. Oh yeah, and some R6 throttle bodies which may or may not find their way onto my saxo :P



Tom.

It will be more cost-effective to just get another engine surely?

I have this complete Astra for sale on EBAY, so you can listen to and try before you buy..............;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310985788066?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

[tomfromdelmonte]

Hi Colin,

Got another engine on the way :)

[tomfromdelmonte]

Quick update,

Engine is out of the car but i havent dismantled the block yet so the cause of the engine problems is not yet known. Got a spare engine now so took a good few hours to also dismantle that.

Cheap ebay engine stand had shockingly bad quality welds on it, total bird**** so i rewelded some parts of that also. Successfully managed to get gearbox all over the floor again which is such a pain in the ass to clear up.

Been a hell of a weekend. My childhood heroes Metallica headlined Glastonbury and a (girl) friend of mine who ive known since school died of a heart attack at the age of 33.

We always think we've got more time until it runs out.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140629_120922_zpsd7081617.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140629_120922_zpsd7081617.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140629_131530_zpsf80e001f.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140629_131530_zpsf80e001f.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140629_192111_zps34741a0b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140629_192111_zps34741a0b.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140629_192111_zps34741a0b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140629_192111_zps34741a0b.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140629_192101_zpsde737c7f.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140629_192101_zpsde737c7f.jpg.html)

[BRoadGhost]

Nice MIG

[tomfromdelmonte]

Errrrr, thanks.

[tomfromdelmonte]

Ive just stripped the block down. Couldnt find much wrong except that one of the big end shells oil hole didnt line up with the whole in the crank, maybe this bearing spun. Im going to have the crank checked and the piston valve pockets machined for some rally cams. Ill build it back up with arp bolts and new shells and see how we go. Tempted to weld up a little frame so i can run the engine up out of the car.... will think about it. Ive noticed the keyway on the end of the crank is damaged, i didnt take a pic of it but i will tomorrow. This is allowing the crankshaft sprocket to have way too much play. I think a bit of JB weld will sort that.

Interesting that 2 of the piston have Z14 marked on them
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_133442_zps4be9564e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_133442_zps4be9564e.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_130000_zps0ad2dd87.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_130000_zps0ad2dd87.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_134609_zpsb82ff99a.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_134609_zpsb82ff99a.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_134906_zps7acef319.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_134906_zps7acef319.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_134916_zps44d131b9.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_134916_zps44d131b9.jpg.html)

Bores look good, can tell they were honed recently

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_135132_zpsba92ea4a.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_135132_zpsba92ea4a.jpg.html)

Off to the machine shop

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_135551_zpseb74ebb7.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_135551_zpseb74ebb7.jpg.html)

[chris gsi]

Looks like the valve has said hello to the piston it might just be the picture

[tomfromdelmonte]

damage to crank keyway, i think caused by me not torquing up the crankshaft pulley bolt properly, hoping a bit of jb weld will fix this.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140705_210828_zps3e827a76.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140705_210828_zps3e827a76.jpg.html)

[dgbnova#1]

I thought I seen evidence of that also 2 little rings
you not just tempted to replace crank while it's out and damaged key way ?

[tomfromdelmonte]

I have a spare engine here now. When my micrometers turn up next week i will measure them both to see if they are in tolerance and if they are ill swap them over. I wonder if the play in the crank sprocket would have been enough to cause the timing to slip such that the valves started to touch the pistons (resulting in that metallic knocking sound). The bottom end looked ok and i dont know really what the problem was, the only thing i can see thats wrong is the crank keyway. I guess if i just swapped the cranks over that would be a good indication. All the bearings and shells in the engine are new so i could potentially reuse those.

[TallDave]

Tom
Sad to hear of your engine problems, so near and yet so far, hope you get them fixed without too much more bother.

You might find this thread of some interest http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=148000&page=14 it gets a bit anal and its about re-building a six pot M3 engine, but its still full of bloody good information for anyone wanting to broaden their knowledge of engine building. The stuff about sorting out both crank and camshaft timing are in my humble opinion, definitely worth a read...

Keep at it, looking forward to seeing the car on a stage somewhere soon...!

[tomfromdelmonte]

Been a pretty good weekend and despite having a friend over to stay i still managed to get a fair bit done. Started stripping and inspecting the spare engine that i bought. IT looks to be in much better condition than i expected and im pretty sure its been re-con'd t some point as the block appears to have been painted black and the bearings are smooth and have no marks or scoring. I took off the piston rings and checked the end gap which was bang on spec (0.45mm) so im going to re-use them. I fitted new big end bearings to all the conrods along with arp bolts, i also cleaned up the pistons. Going by the condition of the bores and big end bearings im fairly confident that the main bearings will also be in a good state so im going to leave the crank in place and just refit the pistons with the arp bolts and put it all back together. Ive had another look at the original engine and im beginning to think there may have been an oil problem as the bearings, despite being brand new are scored to f***, on a couple of them the scores have gone right through the coating exposing the yellow brass of the bearing. Im thinking the only thing that could have caused this is an oil problem, and being the inexperienced noob that i am, i was running the engine with the pressure gauge and oil pressure switch not wired up (#FAIL). First couple of times i started it i just checked it with a multimeter, looks like i would have done well to have got the gauge wired up. So when the new engine goes in i'll make sure the oil gauge and pressure switch are good before i start running it. Hoping to get this all back together and back in the car next weekend. Fingers crossed.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_164219_zps16eee9ef.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_164219_zps16eee9ef.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_164232_zps18a7f29c.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_164232_zps18a7f29c.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_164251_zps285ac7f5.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_164251_zps285ac7f5.jpg.html)

New bearings

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_164359_zpsebfd9299.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_164359_zpsebfd9299.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_182549_zps6068a912.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_182549_zps6068a912.jpg.html)

Stripping head, going to check the valves are sealing properly and install the kent valve springs that i have
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_184756_zps06dfc922.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_184756_zps06dfc922.jpg.html)

Mixture probably a bit rich?
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140713_184908_zps88196f95.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140713_184908_zps88196f95.jpg.html)

[tomfromdelmonte]

Bit of a **** today, didnt get much done. Batteries have been feeling a bit low, probably because of the heat and looking after a 4 year old. I was in the garage for a bit putting the block back together, specifically the oil pump. 2 of the oil pump bolts sheared off when i was retightening, god knows how because i was only torquing them up to 15nm! so i took the pump off again and in doing so the oil seal got slightly damaged (the little spring/ring popped out). So i made the decision that im not putting the pump on without a new sea so thats going to be next week... bugger. That didnt however stop me from doing the pistons, i got them all installed and the arp bolts done up finger tight however you need a special socket for the arp bolts which i dont have so i'll go down to halfords tommorrow and pick one up. Ive got some plastigauge and i will torque 2 of them up and check the clearances aswell as measuring the bolts with verniers before and after to see if they stretch at all.

I have taken some pictures of the con rods that came out of the old engine (the one that died), they do seem to tell a story. Despite being brand new bearings they appear to be scored to f***, i wonder if there was some issue with the oil, the main bearings also look similar. The bearings that came out of my ebay engine looked in much better nick. Check the pics:

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140719_210145_zpsf0b97629.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140719_210145_zpsf0b97629.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140719_210136_zps22898830.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140719_210136_zps22898830.jpg.html)

This was fun

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140719_171220_zps00237997.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140719_171220_zps00237997.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140719_172208_zps4372a3bf.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140719_172208_zps4372a3bf.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140719_174816_zpsb694475e.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140719_174816_zpsb694475e.jpg.html)

Its slow going at the moment. Im going to make next weekend a 'Big One'.. make sure i plan everything and be organised, not going to be stopped in my tracks for want of a £3 oil seal. I'll get the big end clearance checked tomorrow, torque up the arps bolts, put the sump back on with a new gasket and also test the cylinder head valves for leakage. Spoke to BF during the week and he has talked me out of using the rally cams as it makes everything more complicated. Cant afford decent pistons at the mo so it kind of makes sense, should of got the pistons before the cams! Having said that i will be selling the MBE ecu and loom soon so that should go some way towards the cost of pistons (which i ill build up in the block that came out of the car, currently sitting on garage floor).

[TallDave]

Ouch! Those bearings look very nasty, have you managed to identify the all too apparent problem with the oil pump/circulation?
I'm liking your approach to getting the car up and running, keeping it simple works for me, the ARP bolts will keep the engine in one piece pending the completion of a new engine.

Do you reckon you can reuse the old crank? Or does the damage to the journals, combined with the damaged key-way mean a replacement is the best way to go?

Keep on trucking...

[tomfromdelmonte]

Cheers Dave. I stripped the oil pump down today and couldnt find anything wrong with it, gears all looked ok, orifices clear, pick up pipe wasnt blocked. Only thing i can think of now is if maybe the oilways in the block are blocked? how else could there be an oil supply issue. The old crank may be ok, only way to know is to get the micrometer on it, i have a 2-3" mitutoyo which will be ok to do the main journals but i need to get hold of a 1-2" to do the big end as they are just under 2" iirc. I also need to get a calibration piece for both of them. Ive inspected the journals and they dont look scored which is a relief. The keyway im not too bothered about as i think a bit of JB weld would fix that.

So, working in IT sometimes has its benefits, such as occasionally working from home. That meant i also got to pop in the garage for a while. I went to the vauxhall dealer and got an oil pump seal (£15... *******s!!!). I already sourced the gaskets etc on ebay. SO after fitting the oil pump and forgetting that i hadnt put the pump internals back in yet (doh!) i then proceed to shear off about 5 bolts. No idea what was going on but these piece of **** bolts were shearing left right and centre... i ended up taking the pump off 3 times to remove sheared bolts. Good news is i got the bottom end all sorted, arp bolts fitted and torques up, oil pump and sump all back together. New head gasket on and cylinder head sat on ready to torque up the head bolts. So all i need to do now is re-fit the cams with new oil seals, refit the cam belt and cam covers, flywheel etc and then its ready to go back in the car so a couple of hours work hopefully. With a bit of luck it will be back in the car this weekend and maybe ready to fire up (if i can source a loom for the omex ecu). Coolios.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140721_161502_zps0c96b458.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140721_161502_zps0c96b458.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140721_161452_zps36e7b9df.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140721_161452_zps36e7b9df.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140721_170553_zps399a0207.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140721_170553_zps399a0207.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140721_170559_zps16ce222f.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140721_170559_zps16ce222f.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140721_172306_zps989e1d82.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140721_172306_zps989e1d82.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140721_175341_zpsb3d86b37.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140721_175341_zpsb3d86b37.jpg.html)

:)

[zeifer33]

top work mate:thumb:

[AndrewC]

I would have been having a right old stress will those s**t bolts shearing. Looks like you're back on track. Looking forward to the weekend posts and some new video of her bursting into life!!

[tomfromdelmonte]

Have some personal stuff going on right now which is making it difficult to work on the car. I did however manage to get the engine sort of 'in'. None of the mounts are on yet but it is sitting on a block of wood with the gearbox bolted up. Hopefully this weekend ill be able to get it buttoned up.. perhaps not ready to run unless i stick the mbe back on it. We will see.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140727_154126_zps673a543b.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140727_154126_zps673a543b.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140727_202152_zps8001f0ee.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140727_202152_zps8001f0ee.jpg.html)

[boffer8]

Were you experiencing high or low oil pressure issues?

[_Tomiboy]

I have also in the head pressure sensor.

[tomfromdelmonte]

On thin ice with the other half so only managed to get about 2 hours in the garage this weekend. The engine is completely back together now, all i needs is oil and coolant, connect the exhaust to the down pipe and then it should be ready to spark it up! So thats the plan for next weekend. Here are some pictures of the beast, which hopefully now has a new lease of life. Regarding the oil pressure, i didnt have a gauge on it before so dont know if it was high or low. This time im wiring up a gauge so i can keep an eye on it. Its more likely than a span a bearing and this caused some sort of oil starvation. Im using the same oil pump as before as i stripped it and it looked fine, plus its brand new. Roll on next weekend, i want to hear engine noises, healthy ones! not horrible washing machine filled with bricks noises.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140803_173351_zpsbef97b30.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140803_173351_zpsbef97b30.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140803_173343_zps18e45e15.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140803_173343_zps18e45e15.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140803_173409_zpsaa9cd9f2.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140803_173409_zpsaa9cd9f2.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140803_173501_zpsdd9a5044.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140803_173501_zpsdd9a5044.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140803_173532_zps779c714a.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140803_173532_zps779c714a.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/tomfromdelmonte67/IMG_20140803_173559_zps0d2a3fe8.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/tomfromdelmonte67/media/IMG_20140803_173559_zps0d2a3fe8.jpg.html)

[zeifer33]

I like so much this thread, good luk next weekend!!:thumb:

[tomfromdelmonte]

Sad news im afraid.

the worse has happened.

My wife has completely lost the plot. She has been treaed for depression which appears to have gotten the better of her again. While i have been working away in London she has been running up huge credit card debts, about 10k, behind my back and hiding the statements so i never found out. This came to light recently in a credit check that was run against me as part of my job. This is not the first time this has happened and i vowed that if she ever did it again it would be the end of our marriage so unfortunately i am now initiating divorce proceedings and will need to sell the rally car to try and repair the financial damage she has caused and also to cover my legal costs.

I have decided the car is probably worth more in parts since most of them are brand new. It has cost in the region of 10-12k to build so far. I will be listing things separately over the next couple of weeks. hopefully in the future i will be able to rebuild my life to the point where owning a rally car might again be possible... and next time ill just ****ing buy one lol.

[philip]

Sorry too read this matey. No way you can keep it and the wife/ex have too sort out what shes done? Or sell whatever it is she has bought?

[chris gsi]

Sorry to hear the news tom definitely not the up date we wanted, if you need a hand with the car give me a shout

[AndrewC]

Tom really sorry to hear what you're going through. Let me know if I can help in any way at all.

[boffer8]

Really sorry to have heard about whats happening, i know its probably no consolation but the project was coming on well, and, as you say, fingers crossed in the future something may come your way. Im sure you wont have any issues selling the parts as there is good quality stuff in it and i know id be interested in some so good luck with what ever you choose to do with it.

[nova.mike]

Sorry to hear it mate was a cracking little car

[TallDave]

Tom, I'm mortified to hear the sad news, I know I'm not the only one that was looking forward to seeing the completion of the car and then seeing it out on the stages where it deserves to be.
I can't be the only one that would love to give the car a good home, sadly I couldn't come up with 12k, but just maybe I could afford the shell hmmm?
Whatever you do, I hope you recover as much money as possible, good luck and chin up.

[dgbnova#1]

Very sad indeed this happens a fair bit unfortunately when working away hope you can re coupe some money from the car to sort some if the debt out

[scott.parker]

Mate really sorry to hear this, it's such a shame as you put so much time and effort into the build.
I understand how these things can happen, but do try to not let it stress you out or get you depressed also.

[watchmeout]

Get bit silly...

[Edd]

Wives coming on PNG has always been entertainment

[Stuart]

Ok, this will turn ugly, fast. I suggest no one stirs this and some sort of solution where png doesn't get involved would be good :)

[8valve-craig]

Edited..... Fair enough

[watchmeout]

I'm not here to entertain.

[Stuart]

How ever he may or maynot be behaving, its of no business of ours.

[watchmeout]

Sorry I know. It shouldn't. but just can't sit and watch. frustrated. u cacan remove it if u want. I don't mind . thanks

[nova_stee]

ALWAYS two sides to a story

[dgbnova#1]

Exactly internet Is a nasty place to air your graces as it's instant and cut throat

[tomfromdelmonte]

Unbelievable