Pauls Astra Mk2 rallying adventures...

[RallyMarshal]

I know its not a Nova, but I did start out rallying in a Nova and thought you guys might be interested..?

Have had various build diaries open at Astra Mk2 and MIGweb for the various cars Ive built cars over time, but thought it would be a good idea to amalgamate them into one as they get changed and developed and keep a thread up to date here.

The story so far....

2011 - Built a Mk2 Astra to take to Rally Barbados and have competed with it since. Fitted with a 1400 8v engine affectionately known as Old Faithful, its had various upgrades and changes over the past few years but is essentially still the same car we built and is next in line for some love...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F697KUR-Astra-Rally/Astra_2014_NumberPlate.jpg

Full build thread is on MIG at http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums/projects-restorations/591322-astra-mk2-rallycar-2011-now.html for anyone that wants to catch up with the full build..

In late 2012 I bought a cheap rallycar from Ebay, then promptly rolled it on the first event I did in it. That was very quickly and roughly reshelled in early 2014 into a tired stage rally shell to make a road rally car to allow me to do night events.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Black_Astra_2014_Bruce_Robinson_After.jpg

After doing that project, I started on the most ambitious one to date - the Tarmac Astra build.. I was offered an unused shell that I just had to buy, had collected a redtop, SBD engine kit, Quaife box and Proflex along the way and we built that from mid 2014 to April 2015 into an awesome car for Rally Barbados 2015..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/Rally-Barbados-2015-11.jpg

Full build thread for the new car is on MIG at http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums/projects-restorations/662433-tarmac-gpa-mk2-astra-rallycar-build.html

So thats where we start from... A roadrally Astra GTE, a stage rally Astra 1.4 8v and a stage rally 2.0 redtop..

[RallyMarshal]

F20GTE - the Tarmac build, has just arrived back into Portsmouth from its voyage from Barbados and will be collected at the end of the week but we decided to do an event - The Flying Fortress Stages - which my club organises next weekend so brought the 1400 car - F2GTE out of the garage and gave it some love.

Sumpguard off, suspension off, brake pad cleanup, oil change..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE_2015_FlyingFortressPrep1.jpg

Then changed springs from 8" 275lb on the front to 9" 250lb to soften the car a little.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE_2015_FlyingFortressPrep2.jpg

Refitted to the car and reassembled all the suspension, slackened off the ARB and give full spanner check along the way.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE_2015_FlyingFortressPrep3.jpg

Then changed the rear springs from the Eibach tarmac ones to gravel springs more ride height and lower poundage and softened up the back end dampers

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE_2015_FlyingFortressPrep4.jpg

Which means she is nearly ready for next weekend.. Just fuel, brakes to bed in and a couple of small things to finish on Friday.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE_2015_FlyingFortressPrep5.jpg

As the weather was decent, I started a job I havent had time to do.. I bought a redtop Calibra SE2 last year and hadnt had time to get it stripped so started on that.

Started with this "beauty"..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015_Calibra_Strip_1.jpg

Complete front end subframe removal...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015_Calibra_Strip_2.jpg

So I now have this stored..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015_Calibra_Strip_3.jpg

Not a bad weekends work really.. The plan is to fully rebuild this engine for the roadrally car - not sure whether to go dizzy or keep DIS though. The car has to keep its standard inlet tract but otherwise engine is free but you cant do too much to them on std inlets.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Busy end of week and weekend for us..

Wednesday evening I picked up another Mk2 Astra shell. This is going to be a parts donor for some bits I wanted.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015-Astra-16v-Shell.jpg

The early start on Thursday down to Portsmouth to collect the tarmac car from the port after its Rally Barbados trip.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/F20GTE-Rally-Barbados-2015-18.jpg

Then emptied that on Friday and put all the spares etc into the truck and loaded the 1400cc car to go down to the Flying Fortress stages

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-FlyingFortress-1.jpg

Then helped set up the venue on Saturday in glorious sunshine and then it pissed down overnight so was a damp start to the rally on Sunday

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-FlyingFortress-2.jpg

We started very well and took fastest class time on stage 1, encountered various issues but mainly a bad oil leak but kept the lead all morning. Incurred a 30 second penalty for hitting a chicane on stage 3 so were joint class leaders going into the afternoon.

In the afternoon, the weather improved and the rally just got better and better for us although an engine fire due to the oil leak on stage 5 was a little frightening but didnt damage anything luckily. We swapped onto well used Dunlop tarmac tyres for the afternoon and managed to eek 3 stages out of these before they were too worn.. Think its fair to say Ive had my moneys worth..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-FlyingFortress-3.jpg

We finished 22nd overall (from 58 starters), 1st in class by 30 seconds and even beat all the 1600cc cars - not bad for a 1400 8v on carbs and dizzy! This was the engines last event as its having a 1600cc 16v motor built for next season to see how well we can do.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-FlyingFortress-4.jpg

Nice little class winners glass award to go on top of the cabinet :-)

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-FlyingFortress-5.jpg

Paul..

[boffer8]

Well done Paul, good effort and i'm sure i have seen you out previously on a few events, i'm a member of Ilkley and District and often get out marshalling.

Love the wheels on F20GTE, don't have a spare set you'd be willing to part with do you? do a swop for some Compomotive MO's?

[RallyMarshal]

Thanks :-)

Sorry the wheels arent for sale. My favourites (on F20 coming back from Barbados) are Compomotive TH2s in 15x6. I think they really suit the car. The others are Compomotive TH in 15 x 6 as Im sure you know.

I had a hell of trouble finding any Th2s in 15" ET49 and paid over the odds for them really, but although theyre a pain to clean due to the spoke design, they remind me of the wheels used on the Bastos Astra 4S and think they suit the car. If I could find any more then Id snap them up.

http://groupbrally.com/old/images/opel/kadette4S/Kadett4RM.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Had another good weekend of tinkering... including much needed help from Harvey.

Started on the tarmac rallycar to get the various bits repaired so its drivable / moveable again.

Stripped the driveshafts and diff from the car and replaced the oil seals before fitting a standard diff to get it moveable.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-2.jpg

Then rebuilt the driveshafts with new inner CVs..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-1.jpg

Did an oil change and removed the ARB as it has pulled the threads out of the bulkhead on the passenger side so no easy fix for that.

I also fitted a different gearstick. I had noticed that the Astra H m20/m32 stick / unit was physically shorter so ordered one of those and fitted that. Vectra C is shown on bottom and Astra H is on top. This helps shorten the front / back throw a little - around 15mm.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-3.jpg

Also started making an F17 short shift kit for the gearbox end. The idea is to shorten the distance between the pivot point and the cable pivot. The issue is leaving enough clearance for the cable end against the body of the selector unit. Started by straightening the arm.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-4.jpg

Will take a photo of the finished item when finished but I think it will reduce the throw to approx 100mm in total.

We also stripped the rest of the parts from the Calibra and took it to the scrappers. Shame really as solid shell but no-one was interested in buying it and I dont have the space to keep it indefinately.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015_Calibra_Strip_4.jpg

Paul..

[Iain]

Nooooo the spoiler got scrapped? What's the plan with the diff then

[RallyMarshal]

Not a huge amount to report recently...

Went to Billing for the weekend with both rallycars - F20GTE to the right of the Astra Mk2 stand and F2GTE - the 1400cc car still dirty from its last event further to the left.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015-Billing.jpg

Then stripped a rotten 16v shell for parts. Pembo needed various bits which happened to be decent so out came the angle grinder

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015-Black-Shell.jpg

Then stripped the Proflex from the rallycar and swapped for std uprights to keep the shell movable

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-5.jpg

These can now go back to proflex for checking as the seals are leaking.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-6.jpg

Also washed the dirty 1400cc car so its nicer to strip down. This car will be getting most of the attention over the next 12 months.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-Rebuild-1.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2015-Rebuild-2.jpg


However the tarmac car needs finishing first ready for MSA logbooking and its next event which will be Donington in October.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Quick update..

Proflex sent off for rebuild.

Black Rallycar given some love. Fitted and bonded in rear window seals and opening rear windows again and started door / wing repairs after a little accident meant that the door wouldnt open and close. Not perfect but will be good enough start and will be fine after some more filler, sanding and paint.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_1.jpg

Also added another one to the collection...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015-Red-1600-Auto.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Bought a shiny new multi-battery charger and a pair of new 4ah batteries for my power tools as the 2.4ah ones have been hammered for the past few years and wallmounted it.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015-Ryobi-Charger.jpg

Then finally got back to working on the 2.0litre car. Have to get the modifications I want done to test the car at the Astra Mk2 trackday in October.

The main one is solving the gear cable issues I had in Barbados. However I also have an issue with the gear lever to seat position which means 2nd gear is really uncomfortable to go into.

To resolve both of these needs a multi pronged approach but started like this:

Bought a new M20 / M32 gear lever change unit - nice and new means no slop in that unit.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-7.jpg

Cut off the plastic ends of the gear lever cables and welded on some small rod ends - to give a solid unit that wont pop off the shifter as happened in Barbados

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-8.jpg

Cut, shortened and rewelded the swivel arm on the cable shifter to shorten the forward and back throw of the gear lever

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-9.jpg

Removed the side to side pivot and drilled out the ball

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-10.jpg

The old and the new throw pivot arms. The new one is approx 10mm shorter. Ive also welded a bolt in place of the old ball.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-11.jpg

Trial fitted the cable rod ends onto the pivots using some misalignment spacers.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-12.jpg

Fitted to the car

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-13.jpg

This has now reduced the front to back throw to approx 100mm total and means I can move the gearstick unit forwards towards the dashboard hugely helping with the spacing issue.

The next steps are going to be to rerun the cables, move the drivers seat a little sideways towards the centre of the car and reposition / remake the mounting bracket for the hydraulic handbrake and the gear lever to alleviate the issue as much as possible.

[Iain]

Those modifications look cracking with the rosejoints. You're welcome to develop a Nova kit and use mine as a test lol

[RallyMarshal]

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

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-14.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-15.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-16.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-17.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-18.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-19.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-20.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-21.jpg

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-22.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-23.jpg

Then spanner checked the rear end and refitted the wheels etc

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-24.jpg

Then pushed it outside to check the ride height

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-25.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-26.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-27.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-28.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2015-Toolbox.jpg

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-29.jpg

Then gently tapped to give clearance to check

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-30.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-31.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-32.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-33.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-34.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-35.jpg

and I finally refitted my seat in its new improved position

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Barbados-Repairs-36.jpg

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_2.jpg

and found this hole in the drivers sill..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_3.jpg

So plate made up

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_4.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_5.jpg

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

Paul..

[mk1nova_rich]

This thread will be an interesting one to follow...

Nice to see something other than Novas! lol

[RallyMarshal]

So the car indeed failed its MOT..

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_6.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_7.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_8.jpg

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_9.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_10.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_11.jpg

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

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

Paul..

[Iain]

Enjoying your recent updates Paulie Paul. Nasty bit of rust on the inside of the sill, wouldn't be fun without a ramp!

[RallyMarshal]

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

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

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

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-1.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_12.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra_2015_Rebuild_13.jpg

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-1.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-2.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-3.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-4.jpg

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

Paul..

[1396rally]

Oh, i didn't spot you off, were you running behind me at that point? Black Corsa number 26.

[RallyMarshal]

Oh, i didn't spot you off, were you running behind me at that point? Black Corsa number 26.

Hi - small world :-)

Yes must have been. It was the last section before the finish. Came over a bridge with a photographer and then a straight and a tight left which I just didnt see as the fog closed in at that precise moment!

Did you nearly get the back end of me at an SGW on a triangle turn left earlier in the night? I wasnt really on it at times....

Paul..

[1396rally]

Yes, that was me almost getting the rear of you at that triangle. Sorry about that, i hadn't clocked the SGW on the exit of the triangle. It was also our first event in that area. It was a good fun event. Found some of the whites a bit rough. Have you had a chance to look at the damage to the Astra, it does not look to bad from the pictures.

[RallyMarshal]

No probs. It happens when travelling a little in convoy :-)

Was my first time at that event too - did 3 roadrallies last year (Bruce Robinson, 061 and VK) and nothing this year so very much still a novice otherwise and the car is built from bits and bobs so has never been quite right so I dont have that much confidence in it plus Im still getting used to driving roadrallies as such.

Not much damage. Spots, front bumper, mirrors, a tweak on the wing and some paint needed from the prang. Had a bad knocking from the back from the first (rough) white all the way through and havent looked at that as yet but not too worried. We also stuggled on the special test as the heater failed so ended up driving with a steering wheel in one hand and a cloth in the other to wipe the screen.

Got too much going on stagerally wise over the next few months to sort the roadrally car quickly but thinking Im going to either strip and rebuild this one properly or maybe reshell it into a better starting base as this shell is tired already.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

So after last weeks exploits, thought Id better had a decent look at the black car. Spots off, front bumper off and out with the jetwash..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-5.jpg

Apart from the spots and bumper, the only other damage seems to be a dent in the front of the bonnet plus lots of paint marks / scratches from the bushes themselves and of course 2 wing mirrors.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-6.jpg

Also gave the engine bay a once over...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-7.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Mercian-2015-8.jpg

and swapped new spots onto the subloom ready for refitting.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/BlackAstra-2015-Rebuild-14.jpg

Then started on the tarmac car to get it ready for a trackday in 2 weeks. Had a small leak from the long driveshaft oil seal so checked it under the car

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-2.jpg

I found that the driveshaft wasnt full seated in the diff, and was far to easy to push in and out - the snap-ring wasnt locking it in properly. So driveshafts out, bottom plate off and diff removed so we could play on the bench with it. Even with snap-ring removed, the outer edge of the CV was hitting the diff casing before locking.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-3.jpg

So, Plan B was hatched. The black roadrally car also has a TranX diff fitted. So back out of the garage with that and stripped the shafts, bottom cover and diff off.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-4.jpg

Swapped the crownwheel onto a standard F20 diff from the spares box to keep the black car rolling

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-5.jpg

and reassembled everything and put it away (again)

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-6.jpg

So we now have 2 TranX diffs on the bench. The "black car" one locks onto the shafts properly whilst the "tarmac car" one doesnt. You can feel theres a difference in the way the sidegear grooves are machined within them with a finger inside it.

The "black car" one has the snap-ring groove machined further away from the cross pins so the inner CV doesnt bottom out before the snap ring locks into place. It does make me wonder if we had this issue on the tarmac car prior to Barbados and never noticed it, and that led to the damage to the short inner CV and diff and our retirement..?

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-7.jpg

This weeks next step is to take the diff to Big Dave and build one good diff with new plates and decent sidegears and to have the groove in the sidegears that arent right, machined to match those that are right.

Paul..

[Iain]

Damage not so bad then. I'm booked onto blyton with you so should be good being out with you

[RallyMarshal]

Nope not badly damaged. Looking forward to Blyton as I need to get to grips with the car :-)

Went over Daves last night to get diffs sorted. First job was to strip the diffs down...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-8.jpg

Then inspected the gears and found as we expected.. The snap-ring groove on the one that works is 3mm deeper / longer / wider than the one that doesnt.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-9.jpg

So rebuilt one casing with the new drive plates and correct side gears and that can be refitted at the weekend. Im going to speak to TranX (now Quaife) about the other ones but expect I will just end up getting these side gears machined locally.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Rebuilt diff ready to be fitted..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-10.jpg

Got that done, refitted the shafts, spanner checked everything and refitted the sumpguard

Then fitted the MSA spec mudflaps - these are insanely big - need to be no more than 8cm from the ground and stick out 4cm from the wheel as well. But rules are rules...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-11.jpg

Also moved the passenger seat so the codrivers position is a bit better then rolled it outside on its "test" wheels which look pretty good in grey!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-12.jpg

I also got the "wrong" sidegears machined down

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-3.jpg

and started rebuilding the TranX diff for the gravel car with it. However, it needs a new set of clutch plates fitted so have to order those.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2gte-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-4.jpg

Just a gratuitous side shot :-)

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-13.jpg

Ive got a scrutineer coming on Tuesday to (hopefully) give the car an MSA rally logbook then doing a trackday at Blyton Park next weekend (along with a bunch of other Astra mk2s and other Vauxhalls) as a test day and to give me seat time before Donington Park rally on 25th October.

Paul..

[Iain]

What big flaps you have. Looking snazzy.

[RallyMarshal]

Thanks- glad your enjoying it.

MSA scrutineer checked the car on Wednesday and gave the OK so I have a logbook receipt for the next 30 days and the MSA will issue me with a proper logbook shortly.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-14.jpg

Got asked by one of my service crew to take the rallycar to his local scout group to try to get some younger minds interested in motorsport so did that last night too. Lots of potential new marshals, competitors and service crew :-)

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Various-1.jpg

Looking forward to the trackday on Sunday :-)

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

The Astra-Mk2 trackday at Blyton on the 11th served as a useful test to shake the car down and set up the suspension ready for the next few events. Ive borrowed a few of Harveys photos as I didnt get any on the day but a group of us from the forum camped the night before and a couple more came on the day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/harvey.emsley/GTE%2016v/Blyton_Oct_2015/IMG_0712%20Small.jpg

We had significantly changed the spring rates on the car to 340lb front, 255lb rear and also removed the front ARB but hadnt changed the damper settings to suit. We therefore spent the morning making changes to rebound, high and low speed bump on the rear which took the car from being snap oversteery to being very predictable through the corners. Didnt

Then spent the afternoon doing some passenger runs to build up confidence in the car and myself.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/harvey.emsley/GTE%2016v/Blyton_Oct_2015/IMG_0674%20Small.jpg

We did however get a nasty noise from the box when we pulled in after one of the runs - 4pm ish so we put it on the trailer after a little diagnostics. When stripped I found one of the diff bearings was very tight and gritty and needed replacing. This is the bottom of the diff cover - lots of metal paste - and the bearings were covered in it too.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-15.jpg

Bearings changed, new oil seals, various bits cleaned up and refitted..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-16.jpg

Then (with some help) cracked on with spanner checking, engine oil change, sealing a few holes, quick clean and got her ready for next weekend.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-17.jpg

Next stop, Donington Park on the 25th October for the Rainworth Skoda Dukeries Rally - http://www.dukeries-rally.co.uk

[RallyMarshal]

Very mixed weekend for us at the Rainworth Skoda Dukeries Rally at Donington Park.

Took the car to scrutineering on Saturday and wasnt happy with the noises coming from the box so made the decision to swap to the spare box. Only problem was that it was at home and still fitted to the 1400 car. So off home we went, and 90 minutes later we had this...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-18.jpg

Then back to Donington and started work on the 2000cc car at 8.30pm - an hour later we had this..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-19.jpg

Then by 10.15pm we had this... all refitted and pretty much ready for go for the Sunday.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-20.jpg

We also stripped the cluster out to see what the issue was and found this under the mainshaft bearing

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Prep-21.jpg

Seems like the bearing surface case hardening has gone, its now very pitted. Also allowed some end float and we think the noise was the 5th gear touching the end casing under load.

Anyways, no point worrying about that at this stage. Onto the actual rally. Tested the box on stands at 9am in the morning (due to noise curfew) and all seemed OK.

First stage started fine. getting used to car again when this happens.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Rally-1.jpg

Also caught by the TV crews - see https://www.facebook.com/specialstage/videos/1151914744836021/

Got out of the narrow section as quickly as I could as the car filled with smoke and pulled onto grass. Straight out and grabbed handheld extinguisher and put out the oil fire which hadnt taken hold of anything luckily.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Rally-2.jpg

Towed back to pits area and investigated what had happened. Harvey and Iain stripped the bumper, rad fan, rad out of the way and found the oil cooler pipe connection had broken and lost 4 litres of oil. Lots of cleaning up ensued, the pipe and connection temp repaired and the car just about made it out for stage 2 as the last car on the stage. We were out of the competition at this point due to taking a stage maximum on the first stage, but wanted to keep going. Slight problem with the fan cabling being damaged from the first stage issue meant we missed stage 3 as car wanted to overheat but that got sorted and we then did stages 4 till the end trouble free as a superb test.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Rally-3.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Donington-Rally-4.jpg

Next event is Rockingham in early December.. New oil cooler lines to be made up for then and we might look at box options and/or rebuilding the boxes and diffs. I also have a 4.5 CWP and output shaft here which will give slightly longer ratios than the 4.8 currently fitted.

Have incar from some of the stages which will be posted on Youtube when I get some time to edit them.

Paul..

[Iain]

Nice pictures Paul, the oil smoke was quite spectacular from the grandstand. lol Glad we managed to rescue some driving time for you in the later stages.

[Harvey]

Lots of this on Sunday but we made it to the end :)

http://neoavatara.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/bandaid.jpg

[RallyMarshal]

Stage 1 incar with the oil cooler blowup..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLlBUFmswdg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Stage 6 incar once we got everything right again


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_89tmt3UFc

Enjoy! Have another couple from Stage 7 (in Twilight) and Stage 8 (Dark) to post tomorrow

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Stage 7 - Twilight..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM-jCp4O0B8

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

and finally Stage 8 - Dark with spotlights fitted (but not quite properly set up)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok-o5KQiuRw

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Had a couple of weeks off doing House stuff after Donington and then Harv came up to help so we cracked on with dealing with the various issues needing resolving..

1 - Removed the (spare) gearbox from the car. This is actually a newer gearkit, but the wrong diff is fitted. Going to be checked over, synchros checked and the correct TranX diff fitted and then back in the car as the main box.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-1.jpg

Its actually an F16 casing but works fine and no issues at Donington.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-2.jpg

2 - Removed the front bumper, cooling system (for access) and oil cooler and pipes

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-3.jpg

These pipes are going to be remade with swaged fittings so they cant come off again..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-4.jpg

We also removed the aircon compressor, drier unit, condensor and piping to save a little weight (and allow easier access to things) as theyre not needed in the UK.

3 - Removed the Exhaust system. We barely passed noise test at Donington and I struggle to hear the codriver so needed to try to resolve that issue

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-5.jpg

Took it back to John Ashleys in Wallsall to discuss options.John thought the sizes should be OK and then tapped the side of the boxes and they sounded hollow so we opened them to investigate..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-6.jpg

... and found that 2/3 of the wadding had already burnt out meaning little silencing. So we decided to repack the box with a denser wadding as the first step.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-7.jpg

Then rewelded the boxes back up. If this quietens it right down then we know the sizes are good and we can make the system repackable..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-8.jpg

Next job is to check the box then we can refit things to the car!

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Update time...

We swapped the "spare" box in prior to Donington. Thats now been checked over - a little synchro wear but nothing major and swapped to a 4.5 CWP and swapped back to the TranX diff.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-9.jpg

We will see how that pulls / manages at Rockingham. Refitted the box with the help of Harvey and Paul last week..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-10.jpg

Also refitted the oil cooler with new swaged pipes, swapped the dashboard petrol gauge as it was a 60- litre Calibra one so swapped to a 50 litre one, fresh oil, coolant and ran it all up on the stands. Sounds a little quieter but difficult to tell in the garage. Now sitting on roadwheels so it can be test driven this week and spots set up..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-Prep-11.jpg

As we managed to finish earlier than we thought, we put the 1400 car in the garage and started work on its transformation.

We had already removed the gearbox to use at Donington so we set about removing the engine and ended up with this..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-5.jpg

"Old Faithful" removed. Now up for sale!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-7.jpg

Engine bay needs a good clean / maybe partial repaint but have a long list of things to do.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-6.jpg

1 - Carb fuel system needs removing,
2 - New injection fuel system and return pipes making up and new box in spare wheel well to accomodate the pumps.
3 - Moving the gear stick position to raise it plus new cables with rose joint linkages and quick shift
4 - Front suspension being converted to adjustable bottom arms,
5 - Rear suspension off, check, rebuild and powder coat
6 - Fit new 1600 16v engine on TBs once its ready
7 - Fit new Quaife SCCR box once built up
8 - Various other small jobs to tidy up certain bits that Im not happy with now..

Xmas break is going to be busy!

Paul..

[Iain]

4.5 sounds quite wide compared to what you normally run? Is it Rockingham this weekend?

[RallyMarshal]

4.5 sounds quite wide compared to what you normally run? Is it Rockingham this weekend?

Its only 1 step down as ran a 4.8 at Donington. The 2.0 will pull a higher ratio nicely and Im keeping the "short" 5th gear (1.04 ratio).

The 4.85 gives 44mph / 64mph / 79mph / 94mph / 108mph on 580 profile tyres
The 4.5 gives 48mph / 69mph / 85mph / 101mph / 116mph on the same profile

We will see this coming weekend how well it works I guess... Its only 1mph "longer" between each of the gears and I struggle with traction in 1st off the line anyway so a longer 1st gear wont hurt in slippery conditions.

Paul..

[TallDave]

Best of luck at Donington this Saturday, hopefully you should get a good result, especially if the afternoon performance at Donnington is repeated of even improved upon :thumb:

I, among many others, will be looking forward to the in car videos, so do try to keep the thing on the island!

[RallyMarshal]

Best of luck at Donington this Saturday, hopefully you should get a good result, especially if the afternoon performance at Donnington is repeated of even improved upon :thumb:

I, among many others, will be looking forward to the in car videos, so do try to keep the thing on the island!

Thanks Dave

Rockingham this weekend, which we have done in 2012 (won 1400 class), 2013 (with 2000cc 8v engine which blew up, engine change on Sat night and won Sunday trophy rally with the 1400cc) and 2014 (3rd in class with same 1400).

Looking forward to it, just gotta wake up with my "game face" on and push hard from the start. Would be nice to finish this one after 2 mechanical DNFs. Not expecting any kind of class result as its an extremely strong entry - 23 in our class! but want to push the car more, get some confidence in myself in the car and see where we end up.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Update is overdue so here goes..

Rockingham Stages was at the beginning of December. 3rd event in the new car and a 2 day event which we have done in the past and enjoyed as an end of season fun event.

Started extremely well for the first couple of stages but on stage 4, the gear cables started to go tight. On stage 5, part of the outer cable broke and I lost 2nd and 4th gear and the guys did a temp repair to get us back out on stage 6 but I was careful with the gears and lost time too. Spanner checking the car after day 1, we found a brake caliper seal gone so we swapped to standard 256mm calipers and old disks for the start of day 2 but couldnt fix the cable properly. Brakes and cable shift being knackered affected us but kept going until the linkage broke on stage 9 and then again on stage 10 as we started so put the car on the trailer to come home without further damage to the car or box..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-1.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2015-Rockingham-2.jpg

Cables are stripped out of the car now, ready to be re-engineered but not much other progress made.

So onto the other car rebuild

Removed front suspension and stripped down then painted with etch and black topcoat.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-9.jpg

Then rebuilt with new wheel bearings, hubs and studs and nuts

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-10.jpg

Started stripping the engine bay of fuel system parts and cleaned a little..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-11.jpg

Then started the bottom arm mods - this car is having adjustable bottom arms so had to drill the centre of the mount out.. Took a step by step..

As it started..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-12.jpg

40mm Holesaw with auger modified to take 1/4 inch drive socket as guide then through the outer wall

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-13.jpg

Then the back section removed and the crush tube cut out with different size guide

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-14.jpg

and finally the replacement centre section fitted - just needs welding up and the outer support fitting

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-15.jpg

Started on the rear of the car at this point. Removed the exhaust, tank guards, cross brace, dampers and rear beam

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-16.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-17.jpg

The removed the hubs to fit new bearings, disks and studs

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-18.jpg

Stripped down the internals for cleaning and a quick refurb..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-19.jpg

but havent got that far yet!

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Another update,, Not spent as much time as wanted over Xmas and New Year but done a bit more.

Painted rear backplates and rebuilt with new shoes, wheel bearings and new discs with fancy studs and nuts..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-20.jpg
http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-21.jpg

Ste came over to play for a few hours so welded the front pivot mount in place then tacked in the pivot brace..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-22.jpg

Then fully welded once happy with the positioning

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-23.jpg

and given some etch to protect..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-24.jpg

Removed the old carb tank (with only an outlet - no return) and cleaned up the injection tank to be fitted. Its nearly brand new anyways.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-25.jpg

and fitted it. Luckily the current carb feed line goes to the injection return line so I only have to make up a new feed from the tank to fuel pumps (in the spare wheel well) to engine bay.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-26.jpg

Also swapped the steering arm bushes for purple polybushes and fitted new trackrod ends

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-27.jpg

Fitted new bottom balljoints to the bottom arms

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-28.jpg

Bolted the bottom arm kit to the car

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-29.jpg

and then fitted the strut too

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-30.jpg

Also cleaned and painted the rear beam, tank guards and fitted the rear beam

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-31.jpg

Should be rolling again this weekend

Paul.

[Iain]

Your wheel nuts and studs arouse me. They look the part but are so easy to use.

[RallyMarshal]

Your wheel nuts and studs arouse me. They look the part but are so easy to use.

Like a good hooker... Smooth action but bloody expensive :-)

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Not a huge photo update, but a few more bits done..

Hubs fitted, then wheels and car taken off stands to be put into short term storage while I work on the other cars..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-32.jpg

Then started fixing the black roadrally car. Was originally going to be leaving this until later in the year but my roadrally navigator persuaded me to get it ready for the next event and came over to help at the weekend..

So car in garage and up on stands and checked front suspension, engine mounts, wishbones etc after our previous "off"

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/f609-cet-2016-bruce-prep-1.jpg

All looked OK so decided to fit the ZF LSD to the box..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/f609-cet-2016-bruce-prep-2.jpg

But that was a pain as it needs the box casing modifying to allow it. A while later with a die grinder and we get this modification to allow clearance..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/f609-cet-2016-bruce-prep-3.jpg

Then fitted the diff, refitted the sumpguard, fitted a new heater as the old one was kaput and made a new front spotlight mount to fit between the bumper holes rather than having to modify the bumper

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/f609-cet-2016-bruce-prep-4.jpg

Still got to paint front bumper, refit spots, check rear end of the car and take for a testdrive..

Paul..

[mk1nova_rich]

I also love the wheel nuts lol...bottom arms look good, although a bit strange on an Astra cos of where the wishbone mounting points are.

[RallyMarshal]

Quick update time again..

Wheels quickly prepped and rattle canned ready for gravel tyres to be fitted

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/f609-cet-2016-bruce-prep-5.jpg

Front spotlamp bracket fitted, bumper quickly prepped and rattled canned and fitted to car. Spotlights fitted but need setting up..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/f609-cet-2016-bruce-prep-6.jpg

Also swapped the heater / blower unit for one that works, tidied up some wiring and fitted roadwheels.. Just got to spanner check the rear end and go and set it up.

Paul..

[Iain]

Rattle canning wheels, this is turning into a pikey affair. Be driving ovals rather than circuits soon lol

[RallyMarshal]

Rattle canning wheels, this is turning into a pikey affair. Be driving ovals rather than circuits soon lol

Indeed... But its a tatty badly painted black car, full of dents scratches doing a night event from midnight to 6am in the dark so I really dont care :-)

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Been a while since the last update and lots happened...

Firstly, went out on the Bruce Robinson in the black car.. Couple of issues with alternator charging, topmount coming loose and picked up a penalty but managed to finish...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Bruce-Robinson-2016-1.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/Bruce-Robinson-2016-2.jpg


Then focus shifted back to the tarmac car.. Had gearlinkage to sort first..

Started by stripping the internal side of things from the car. This bracket holds the gearlever and the hydraulic handbrake.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-GearLinkage-1.jpg

Then measured and cut (and again and again) to fit 2 new "bulkheads" for the end of the gear cable outers. I also had to cut the existing plastic ends off the gearlever housing and convert the pins on the cross gate unit to take an m6 cup end.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-GearLinkage-2.jpg

Then refitted in the car. Its very snug!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-GearLinkage-3.jpg

Then we cracked on with making the other end (again)... This was due to the cable position changing due to my revised bracketry,..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-GearLinkage-4.jpg

Then it all got adjusted up properly and whilst it was tight, it is also very precise and so we refitted everything back in the car

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-GearLinkage-5.jpg

Then we moved onto the brakes. We blew a seal in the Hispec calipers so decided to move up a spec and ended up with some CP5040 AP ones.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-Brakes-1.jpg

However I wanted them to work with the current discs I use on the other car which are 285mm modified Sierra Cosworth ones so had some brackets machined up

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-Brakes-2.jpg

Got the brackets 3 days before the rally, fitted them and found that we had a bad thread in the upright caliper mounts so off came the struts and we took them to a machine shop.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-Brakes-3.jpg

2 nights before the rally, we got the struts rethreaded and refitted everything and bled everything up.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-Brakes-4.jpg

Then took it out to check everything was working.. Gear linkage was fine and brakes were fine although not fully bedded in but it was as good as we could do..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-Brakes-5.jpg

So onto the rally... Seeded 40th of 80.

Started extremely well, slippery as hell but we were 16th overall and 3rd in class (of 23 starters in our class) after the 1st stage.

Then had 2 not so good stages as we struggled to get used to the car and get grip.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-donington-1.jpg

But kept getting quicker. Small indescretion with a bale cracked the front number plate and bumper and we had a very close call going off into the gravel trap at redgate but managed to get it back on without damage.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-donington-2.jpg

Eventually finished (our main goal for the day) 18th overall, 7th in our class and 2nd FWD car so excellent result. Small things to fix this time round, want to improve the brake bias with more rear bias and maybe swap back to Mintex pads as the DS3000s were literally smoking after each stage and pedal feel started to go but awesome feeling to finish and finish well.

Now onto the next roadrally which is this coming weekend.. so cleaned the black car, modified the rear arches for clearance, spring swap and thats all that was needed..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/2016-ryemoor-prep.jpg

Videos from Donington will be on Youtube at some point...

Paul..

[Iain]

Nice pics and good finish, would have popped over if it wasn't for mothers day stuff. Glad the cable shift is finally working for you too.

These updates always make me want to build a rally car lol

[RallyMarshal]

Nice pics and good finish, would have popped over if it wasn't for mothers day stuff. Glad the cable shift is finally working for you too.

These updates always make me want to build a rally car lol

Assuming your cage is legal, it wouldnt take that much to do it if you wanted to do this kind of event...

Why dont you look at the Javelin Trackdays Sprint Series as a taster of some kind of competiton?

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Stage 1 video online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIMCLE06kx4 - very slippery and tricky

Stage 6 video online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cz2MVXNCbQ - Off we go at Redgate due to the car merging and my compromised line. We are fine wasnt the right words....

Stage 8 video online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSY93RsLn_E - Enjoying the infield but the tyres are going off badly as we finish the event. Mind you 5th gear through the start/finish chicanes was quick!

[Iain]

I like how you can hear the co driver voice on your video. Always wondered what the commands were

[TallDave]

Then we moved onto the brakes. We blew a seal in the Hispec calipers so decided to move up a spec and ended up with some CP5040 AP ones.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/f20gte-astra-rally/f20-gte-2016-Brakes-1.jpg

You've either got a very deep parts box (in which case can I have a dip) or you've been shopping on the bay? :thumb:

Congratulations on getting the finish, and a decent result to boot, looks like your diff and gear shift problems are behind you at last, YIPPEEEEE!

Two out of two in two different cars, oh to have the choice, sigh.

[RallyMarshal]

You've either got a very deep parts box (in which case can I have a dip) or you've been shopping on the bay? :thumb:

Congratulations on getting the finish, and a decent result to boot, looks like your diff and gear shift problems are behind you at last, YIPPEEEEE!

Two out of two in two different cars, oh to have the choice, sigh.

Facebook actually, but same outcome. The Hispecs were road versions and I basically melted the outer seals and the inner seals were weeping. Theyre going to be rebuilt to go on the roadrally car at some point.

Also finished the Ryemoor this past weekend so finished last 3 events in a row now.

Still some small bits to do the tarmac car, but now focus is shifting to the "gravel" car again - 1400 to become a 1600 16v on TBs plus Ive got another project up my sleeve after that!

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Another new month, another update...

Finished the Ryemoor rally last month in the black Astra. Good finishing position but had been bad fog and we lost time due to my lack of confidence..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/2016-ryemoor.jpg

Then spent some time cracking on with the "gravel car".

Back in the workshop, and on stands

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-33.jpg

Updated the To-Do list for the car on the board..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-34.jpg

I already had one fuel line for the carb system installed so decided to use that as the return line and bought a stack of fuel line bits / pumps to properly fit the feed line.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-35.jpg

The new feed system will run from the tank outlet (at the rear of the tank) in AN8 size, through a fuel filter and into the twin pump setup in the spare wheel well. It then feeds back into a single AN6 fuel line, around the outside of the tank (so its protected by the tank guard) and up the passenger side of the tunnel next to the return line. Cracked on with making up the lines..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-36.jpg

and fitted the fuel pumps in their spare wheel well location. Now waiting on the Vauxhall specific angled fuel tank outlet pipe to make up the rest.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-37.jpg

Also temp fitted my new seats into this car,. They mount wider than the older ones so will need a bit of tweaking. I had to get this done before starting to make the gearlever bracketry..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-38.jpg

and then used an old mount (from the other car) as the basis for the cable shift lever mount. This puts the lever much higher in the car. Going to copy the system used in the tarmac car for this as it was excellent at Donington.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-39.jpg

I was also offered a new project a few months back....

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/RoadRallyBuild/2016-Project-Shell-1.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/RoadRallyBuild/2016-Project-Shell-2.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/RoadRallyBuild/2016-Project-Shell-3.jpg

Its a nice straight, rot free 3 door shell thats been partially converted for trackdays.. However, the cage isnt to MSA spec and theres a few oddities added on it. Ive decided to build a decent spec road-rally legal and fast road car with it.

It needs to have standard inlet on the car to comply with roadrally rules but will have a slightly tweaked engine, hybrid gearbox with low final drive and long 5th gear, decent LSD, MSA legal cage and seam welded / strengthened shell and decent spec suspension. To that end Ive sold the black car (hopefully picked up this weekend) and this will be the next project in line after the gravel car is done and the tarmac car has had a few little niggles sorted.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Cant believe its been a month since my last update!

Firstly, I decided to say goodbye to the black car.. Priced it keenly and it sold fairly quickly. Had some fun in it but the new project car needed the garage space.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F609CET-astra-rally/2016-f609cet-sold.jpg

Then kept on with the gravel car.. Cut off the old seat mount brackets as they were in the wrong place for the newer seats Ive got and Ste welded some new ones on..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-40.jpg

Quick rattle can etch and glacier white later..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-41.jpg

New 1600 16v flat flywheel arrived..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-42.jpg

and I refitted the brakes

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-43.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-44.jpg

Then Dave cracked on with the engine build..

1400cc block bored to fit the Omega 1600cc pistons

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-45.jpg

Dave handporting the head

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-46.jpg

Much bigger and better now..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-47.jpg

Then valve seats redone

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-48.jpg

Pistons and steel rods

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-49.jpg

Crank fitment

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-50.jpg

Final cleaning of parts before head reassembly..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-51.jpg

I guess 2nd hand cams can look good but arent always...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-52.jpg

So a new set of Piper BP300M cams ordered to be fitted..

[RallyMarshal]

Meanwhile, back in my garage, I got a new toy - a rivnut gun. So I swapped a load of previously awkward bolts and nuts to use rivnuts instead so its a one person operation to tighten and undo.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-55.jpg

Then after the mounts were rivnutted, the tankguards were fitted

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-54.jpg

and both seat mounts were properly done, the gear lever mount was mounted properly after modification and it was all refitted inside.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-53.jpg

The car was booked into Tony Law Exhausts this week so after our engine setback, Harvey and myself spent some time at the weekend. We started with this spare 1400 16v engine.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-56.jpg

Bolted on a spare F16 box and using the engine crane

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-57.jpg

we had an engine fitted in the right position

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-58.jpg

We then fitted the sumpguard brace, sumpguard, radiator and off it went to Tony Law Exausts for the week to have a proper Manifold and System made for it

Paul..

[Iain]

Glorious work. Rivnuts are the future for making life easier down the line.

[Benn]

Yes^

[CorsaTR2p]

what pleuel use for piston 1.6 in 1.4 engine? Curious adaptation, I care enough to improve my c14se.

Great work in your cars. Regards.

[RallyMarshal]

Hi,

Do you mean the connecting rods? Theyre the same on 1400 and 1600 engines.

I started with a 1400cc block and had it bored to 79mm to suit the pistons as we then get an unworn bore to use rather than starting with a 1400 and having to use oversized pistons. We use a 1600 crank to give the correct stroke.

Paul..

[Iain]

Get on here and update this Paul.

Word is you finished a days rallying and did quite well too.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160627/aa1c0e27efe230bd631ed20cecda5cda.jpg

[RallyMarshal]

So another month and another update!

Been super busy plus on holidays for a few weeks and then a rally so havent had time to update.

Back in May, the car had its temporary engine fitted so we could take it to Tony Law Exhausts to make it a proper manifold and repackable system..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-59.jpg

Was there a week and they did a lovely job..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-60.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-61.jpg

Meanwhile, the engine build carried on..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-62.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-63.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-64.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-65.jpg

and the gearbox from F20GTE - the 2000cc car was removed and the gearbox rebuilt with a new 4.8 SCCR gearkit

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-66.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-67.jpg


Whilst I was away on holidays, some good friends took it upon themselves to continue the car and fitted the engine for me

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-68.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-69.jpg

and we brought it home and continued with the big long list of finishing jobs..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-70.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-71.jpg

Fuel pumps boxed into the spare wheel well

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-72.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-73.jpg

[RallyMarshal]

Car taken for tracking setup of the new arms

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-74.jpg

and then taken for mapping (sorry - no photos) where we discovered that the oil pressure was low.. This was 2 days before the cars first event so no time to investigate and so F2GTE - the 1600cc car was pushed into the storage garage..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-75.jpg

and we took the decision to convert F20GTE - the 2000cc car - from tarmac to gravel spec. More of an issue than you would think as it had no fuel pumps fitted, no gearbox fitted and needed guards making for the fuel system as well as suspension changing from hard to soft settings.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-FlyingFortress-1.jpg

After a long slog on Friday night and all day Saturday we eventually had the car ready, brakes bedded in and car loaded to go.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-FlyingFortress-2.jpg

Started OK but a rear flexi pipe caught on the new fuel pump guard and split so we did a few miles of the first stage without any rear brakes and also had a couple of other braking issues throughout the day but battled on, resolved the issues and managed to set some good times to finish 8th overall - by far our best overall finish.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-FlyingFortress-3.jpg

So all in all, it was worth the huge efforts expended to get there.

Next step is to find out what the issue with the 1600cc engine is - oil pump, bearing clearances or something else and hope that nothing got damaged...

​​​​​​​Paul..

[Benn]

Sounds like no brakes where good for you..lol 8th is good going.

[RallyMarshal]

Another photo from the Flying Fortress...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-FlyingFortress-4.jpg

Managed to spend some time on the 1600 car.. Firstly up on ramp in mates workshop..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-76.jpg

Sump removed, pickup cleaned and checked and all looks fine, retested and still an issue.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-77.jpg

Then oil pump removed and checked - all looks fine. Swapped for an old spare GM one and small difference but not enough.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-78.jpg

Oil pressure relief valve washered to up the pressure and still an issue so decision made to remove the engine for stripdown..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-79.jpg

Also managed to get the working 2000cc car checked over properly and cleaned up..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-Billing-1.jpg

Now ready to be displayed on the Astra Mk2 Owners Club stand at Billing. Come over and take a looksee and say hi :-)

Paul..

[Iain]

See you at billing Paul. You started sorting the rear brake line?

[Slippy]

Giz your Proflex :)

Enjoyed that mate a good read and fair play to you and the chaps you don't seem deterred when things go wrong :thumb:

We are just finishing off a Nova build and your thread is an inspiration to get finished and get out


https://www.facebook.com/Swan-AVO-192928674123607/photos/?tab=album&album_id=299179113498562


Cheers

[RallyMarshal]

Giz your Proflex :)

Enjoyed that mate a good read and fair play to you and the chaps you don't seem deterred when things go wrong :thumb:

We are just finishing off a Nova build and your thread is an inspiration to get finished and get out

Cheers

My view is that shit happens... Hopefully over the worst of them now.

Ive been following your build for a while too - love the spare wheel well :-)

Set a deadline, its the only way to get it done in my experience.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Update time...

1600cc engine into the stand and stripped..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-80.jpg

Crank removed, bearings all look fine as do the mains and big ends but the clearances are just too big.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-81.jpg

So the crank is off to be reground and the engine will be rebuilt with .25 oversize ones to get the oil pressure correct.

Paul..

[8valve-craig]

Sorry to hear that Paul. Did you build the engine yourself?

[RallyMarshal]

Sorry to hear that Paul. Did you build the engine yourself?

No I didnt and its not a PN build either if thats what your thinking. Just a small mistake with no lasting issues apart from time and a set of bearings and one that will be put right shortly. If it was a road engine then would probably have lived with it, but the tolerances just arent tight enough for a competition engine revving to 8500.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Seems like I missed the August monthly update so will try to do this in a couple of installments....

Firstly had a great time at Billing.. The rallycar was next to Micks Astra 4S which was an honour..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-Billing-2.jpg

and a little bit of rum was consumed too..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20-GTE-2016-Billing-3.jpg

then I won an Ebay auction and fetched this. Its a Mk3 Cesaro 3 door

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-1.jpg

fitted with a C16SE (Nova Gsi) motor from the factory. Was an impulse Ebay purchase as a standin roadrally car at some point.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-2.jpg

but then we got on with the serious business of getting the 1600 done in time for its next rally. So crank refitted.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-82.jpg

All re-assembled..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-83.jpg

and refitted in the car. So much easier with a ramp at a mates!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-84.jpg

Then once we were happy that we had oil pressure nicely working we went off to Andrew at AP Racing Engines

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-85.jpg

He built a map from scratch for the car and really optimised the midrange giving 179bhp, 120lb/ft torque but a flat torque curve/line from 4000 all the way up.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-86.jpg

I also fitted these bad-boys to the car for stopping power

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-87.jpg

and got the car ready for its event at Fulbeck airfield a few weeks ago..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2-GTE-2015-Rebuild-88.jpg

Paul..

[8valve-craig]

If plans change and you decide to move that Cesaro on please do get in touch.

[RallyMarshal]

If plans change and you decide to move that Cesaro on please do get in touch.

Your not the first person to say that..

Interested in the engine or shell?

Paul..

[8valve-craig]

Engine. Could probably do some kind of deal on a c20xe package. Just something to maybe consider I'm in no rush.

[RallyMarshal]

So much for the multiple updates! This is gonna be a big one to catch up.

Started OK at Fulbeck in August with the new 1600cc.. However we had the "wrong" rear springs fitted as they were far too stiff and I struggled to get used to the car. However we got quicker through the day until the brake master cylinder failed and locked the front brakes on meaning we retired. Managed to fix it by borrowing the hydraulic handbrake cylinder and and do a couple of stages after for fun / testing.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Fulbeck-1.jpg

Gave the car a once over after the event and discovered the new suspension brackets had pulled out a bossed mount, bent the bracket and snapped a captive bolt..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-1.jpg

Then I managed to snap an "easy out" in the snapped bolt!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-2.jpg

So out came the holesaw and the whole lot got removed..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-3.jpg

Ste came over and welded in some new bosses for me and I fitted some spare brackets

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-4.jpg

Then we did a charity day to give rally rides to disabled kids and their carers..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Charity-1.jpg

and then the bottom hose decided to give up the ghost! Luckily it happened with the car switched off waiting to go out!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-5.jpg

So both cars were then treated to some Roose hoses..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-6.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-7.jpg

and we finished prepping the car to do the rally at Melbourne in early September..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Melbourne.jpg

We were having a really good run until we had some fuelling issues which meant we retired from the event. Pity as car and driver going very well! Managed to temp fix things to get going again but had dropped out by then.

The week after Melbourne was the Astra Mk2 track day at Blyton Park.I was supposed to be doing it as a shakedown for the next event at Donington so prepped the 2000cc car. New hoses...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Trackday-1.jpg

then got suspension changed over to harder, shorter springs and tweaked things a little.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Trackday-2.jpg

Got it MOTd..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Trackday-3.jpg

and ready to do the trackday on the Sunday morning, alongside Harvey, Iain, Laurie and others.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Trackday-4.jpg

[RallyMarshal]

As with the rest of the year, didnt quote go to plan as a nasty tap tap noise started coming from the engine on the sighting laps. After spending 4 hours stripping the top and bottom ends in-situ, we took the car to the workshop and removed the lump..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Trackday-5.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Trackday-6.jpg

We later found that one of the valve guides had broken up and caused this..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Engine-1.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2016-Engine-2.jpg

So with a broken 1600cc car (with fuelling issues) and a broken 2000cc car (with engine issues) I saw this come up for sale and decided it would make a good roadrally project at some point so roadtrip to Scotland.. It has Proflex suspension fitted which will be migrating to the 1600cc car over the Winter plus some other bits to make it a good roadrally basis.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/RoadRallyBuild/2016-Mk3-Rolling-Shell-1.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/RoadRallyBuild/2016-Mk3-Rolling-Shell-2.jpg

Then thoughts turned to our final event of 2016 - the Dukeries Rally at Donington Park. The 2000cc engine needs money spending and the 1600cc needs less money spending so I opted for th2 1600cc. With a holiday booked until 3 days to go before the event, I got everything ready early, bought 2 new Bosch 044 fuel pumps

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-8.jpg

All fitted, car starts nicely..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-9.jpg

Reprepped suspension and swapped springs etc,,.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-10.jpg

Then off on holidays. Only thing left to do was roadtest it all.. Morning after we landed from holidays I took the rallycar to work to roadtest it. Fuelling issues not resolved and RAC tow home!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-11.jpg

Thursday and Friday nights were spent tracing the issues and replacing pipework between pumps and fuel rail etc. Still not resolved so Saturday morning we removed the whole tank, pickup etc

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-12.jpg

Then worked through it logically again and found a cone filter in the pump feed that looked fine but didnt flow properly so we think it has gummed up somehow. Removed that entirely, roadtested it and got to scrutineering as last car

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-13.jpg

Donington started OK, got worse as I managed to put a wheel on the grass and nudge the barrier then got a lot better as I woke up and drove properly.. Ended up 25th overall (from 80 starters) and 2nd in class so we got a trophy.. which kinda made all the work worthwhile..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2016-Issues-14.jpg

So thats August to end of October updated.. Lots of issues in a short period. Each one is being properly fixed so shouldnt reoccur..

Next installment will have some upgrades to the 1600cc car for 2017 season - Proflex and a turretted rear end for 60mm springs plus Ive also got plans to add a dog box all being well. Plus the 2000cc car engine is going to be rebuilt with bronze valve guides and maybe some porting....

Paul..

[Iain]

An emotional tale to say the least.

XE valve guides must be a problem now they're getting older if it's happened to both of us.

[RallyMarshal]

With hindsight its easy to say that we should have changed them when building the engine originally but no matter. Will be redone now.

One small update - the Mk2 project shell and donor car I had accumulated over the past few years for a roadrally project has now been sold and picked up so Ive got a little more space. Just one more car to finish stripping and scrapping then Im down to what Im keeping for a while (until something else comes along of course)...

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

So November involved the following...

Stripping and removing useful parts from the last of the "spare" cars that wasnt a keeper. Not much left!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/garage/2016-Gold-Shell.jpg

Then started on the road rally project car. Moved it into the garage and unwrapped it to give it chance to dry out

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-3.jpg

These are the reason I bought the rolling shell really.. 3 way adjustable Proflex front and rear.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-4.jpg

Stripped bumpers, trim, sumpguard, front subframe and suspension off to inspect it all

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-5.jpg

plus swapped rear beam to an old one so I can recondition this one properly.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-6.jpg

Also made a start on the 2017 upgrades for the 1600cc stage rally car. Up on stands.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-1.jpg

Rear suspension off to be checked and beam strengthened ready for coilovers..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-2.jpg

Proflex stripped down ready to be sent off for checking and a few bits changed.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-3.jpg

More to come in December!

Paul..

[mk1nova_rich]

Always an interesting read your thread, keep up the good work :thumb:

[RallyMarshal]

January Update time... Part 1...

As we had a couple of decent events in 2016, we managed to get a nice Trophy for being the top club members on the 3 x Dukeries MC organised events in 2016

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/2016-Dukeries-Event-Champion.jpg

Lots happened since the last update but all time consuming things to get right..

The main fabrication job was to turret the rear of the Astra. We stripped the fuel system and tank, beam etc off the rear end of the car. Then bought these..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-4.jpg

Made a "jig" to ensure the turrets would be located properly in the shell.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-5.jpg

Then started cutting..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-6.jpg

Then trimmed the turrets themselves

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-7.jpg

Fitted in the car with a fair bit of slicing

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-8.jpg

Then welded in fully on top and underneath

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-9.jpg

Then started on the other side

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-10.jpg

Used the jig to get the heights correct then checked with a level

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-11.jpg

Then some etch primer and after this went paint..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-12.jpg

The underside was etch primed then Gravitex stone chipped then painted to protect it

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-13.jpg

[RallyMarshal]

Part 2...

We also wanted to strengthen the rear beam mounts. This hadnt been triangulated when the shell was built in 2011 and the holes were starting to get small radial cracks too.. Cleaned up first

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-14.jpg

Made some triangulation pieces - really awkward shape to do

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-15.jpg

Had some strengthening pieces made..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-16.jpg

Then they were welded onto the holes and the triangulation added and etch primed then painted afterwards. Not going anywhere now.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-17.jpg

We had an issue with the bottom arm brackets last year and bent some so over-engineered them this time. On the left is a Hockly supplied one and on the right is our new one from 6mm plate with a bend..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-18.jpg

Also made a spare wheel mount for the top of the fuel pumps for events where we need to run one (like on race circuits etc)

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-19.jpg

Then once everything was painted, we started the reassmbly.. Fuel tank, pipes and pumps first

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-20.jpg

Proflex arrived back from full rebuild with new damper rods and some other new parts..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-21.jpg

Then started on the rear beam conversion. Off with the old damper brackets and cleaned up

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-22.jpg

Then made some new ones from 5mm steel and tacked together - mocked up on the beam..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-23.jpg

Lots more still to do. First event is hopefully a trackday in early Feb then a rally the week after if all is well..

Paul..

[Iain]

Turrets are good. I like this.

[RallyMarshal]

Bit more progress..

Rear beam mounts fully welded and painted

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-24.jpg

Front coilover bodies spruced up

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-25.jpg

Exhaust refitted and rear hubs, brake lines and handbrake cables

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-26.jpg

Rear coilovers assembled and fitted- ride height to be sorted when car is on the ground

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-27.jpg

Front hubs fitted with new wheel bearings and drive flanges pressed in

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-28.jpg

Coilovers assembled with springs

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-29.jpg

and then fitted to the car, brakes refitted etc

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-30.jpg

Next step is to get spare gearbox casing stripped and fitted with the gear kit and to get the brake bias box stripped back and new AP master cylinders fitted and set up along with a new balance bar,

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Some further progress at the weekend....

Brake bias box completely stripped, new balance bar, short AP master cylinders and remote reservoirs and pipework fitted.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-31.jpg

Rear opening thermoformed polycarb windows fitted and seals bonded in

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-32.jpg

Gearbox and clutch removed...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-33.jpg

ready for this to be fitted later in the week once the diff/CWP etc is swapped over

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-34.jpg

Paul..

[prs]

looks good:thumb:

assembling the dogbox, is that an straight forward job?

[8valve-craig]

Very nice. I keep putting it off but need to buy one of those myself.

[RallyMarshal]

looks good:thumb:

assembling the dogbox, is that an straight forward job?

To be fair, Ive bought a good used cluster and we have inspected it but not fully stripped it. I think the gear kit assembly is similar to any other one but I have a mate who does it for me as I know its right then.


Very nice. I keep putting it off but need to buy one of those myself.

Which bit - the dogbox? Im only upgrading as Im very hard on the synchros of the SCCR box Ive got at the moment, especially down into 1st so going to try it out. Id love a Sadev but just cant justify it without selling one of the cars.

This one has a 5.1 CWP so low top-end speed but will see how it goes.

Paul..

[8valve-craig]

A couple of Quaife sequentials have come up recently, old models though and I can't use one anyway.

Same here with the SCCR, it takes its time to change sometimes, when there is no time.

[RallyMarshal]

Upshifts are really quick with the cable shift system Ive got now although I am beating the synchros a bit, downshifts are fine 5th>4th, 4th>3rd but under heavy braking (into chicanes etc) then 3rd > 2nd can be a little snatchy and 2nd>1st is a waiting game to snick it in as Im often going too quick for the syncros to be able to equalise the speeds and Im sometimes treating it like a dogbox...

I dont know what your allowed to do, but this setup is really good now Ive ironed out the weak spots.

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

The next step was to prep the box for the car.. Diff stripped and checked

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-35.jpg

Then crownwheel swapped and diff fitted to F18 casing

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-36.jpg

and cluster fitted with a diff pan spacer as the 5.18 crownwheel is huge and hits the diff pan otherwise..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-37.jpg

Then we took the car to a trackday at Blyton so I could get used to a dog-box and dial the car in. Use the settings from the other car as a starting point albeit different springs and was pretty good. Tried to get the brakes right but the pedal feel isnt as good so needs more work. Also found a few niggles..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-38.jpg

One niggle was the spring droop on these Proflex meaning the trackrod arms hitting the inner chassis leg and the driveshaft hitting the exhaust manifold so I ended up making some drop-stops to limit droop.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-39.jpg

Then took the car to be remapped. We had an issue with the fuelling last year and once we resolved that the fuel pressure was higher meaning the car was running richer, Got it all sorted now.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-40.jpg

and got some good numbers / fantastic power curve and nice flat torque line for a 1600 16v..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Rebuild-41.jpg

Then we did the Jack Neal stages at Blyton last weekend. Was very very wet with lots of standing water so couldnt really get power down. Made the guys work hard when I got it stuck in 2nd gear on 2 different stages losing us 40 odd seconds..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Blyton1.jpg

But after going from 4th in class to 3rd in class to 1st in class in the 1st 3 stages then back to 4th in class after stuck gear, I then managed to claw back time and finish 1st in class and 13th overall. Very happy with the result on a difficult day driving wise..


http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Blyton2.jpg

Now we focus on the 2000cc engine build and install for our next event in March.

Paul..

[Iain]

Great result especially with the 2nd gear issues. Any light as to what caused it?

[RallyMarshal]

Great result especially with the 2nd gear issues. Any light as to what caused it?

We are the first people using the cable shift selector with a dog box AFAIK.. I suspect the "head" of the selector unit isnt quite as big as the proper quaife bronze finger one so it is jamming in the selectors sometimes when Im trying to force a shift under heavy braking etc.. I have the Quaife gear stick and rods which might be the answer but if I can get the cables right then Id prefer to stick to those..

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Some incar from last weekend... Sorry for the quality. Usual Gopro blew its power supply on the Friday before the event so old backup camera in play and misted up / scratched lens..

SS1 - Not the quickest on this stage as feeling out the grip levels but big slide at 3:05!


https://youtu.be/oFpF5fm7J3A

SS3 - Quickest in class on this one.. Caught up with and passed the Corsa also in our class.


https://youtu.be/-ikLy0aJx_4

SS8 - Changed direction. Fairly quick run round.


https://youtu.be/mCZZ7sr695g

SS10 - Last stage so wasnt pushing as hard as wanted a finish. Track starting to dry out a little but a few slides as I caught the Fabia..


https://youtu.be/QQZsMdyd2ew

Paul..

[TallDave]

Nice update Paul, a great result at Blyton considering the gearbox problem. I think the conditions on the day ensured only the bravest/most skilful drivers could come away with a decent result.
I was at a freezing Goodwood that weekend, we endured sleet and snow during the morning, though it didn't really affect the track too much as it was slick enough already!!! The most impressive crew for me were the Newton brothers (they have a thread on here) who were laying in second overall (in a 1400 Nova remember) before, errr guess what, the gearbox gave up the unequal struggle. Darn these drive train gremlins....

Looking forward to the next update :thumb:

[RallyMarshal]

Nice update Paul, a great result at Blyton considering the gearbox problem. I think the conditions on the day ensured only the bravest/most skilful drivers could come away with a decent result.
I was at a freezing Goodwood that weekend, we endured sleet and snow during the morning, though it didn't really affect the track too much as it was slick enough already!!! The most impressive crew for me were the Newton brothers (they have a thread on here) who were laying in second overall (in a 1400 Nova remember) before, errr guess what, the gearbox gave up the unequal struggle. Darn these drive train gremlins....

Looking forward to the next update :thumb:

The Newtons are extremely quick.. doing some fantastic giant killing.

Next update will be on the 2000cc car as Im out in that on 5th March but the engine isnt rebuilt yet..

Paul..

[Novarally140016v]

Nice update Paul, a great result at Blyton considering the gearbox problem. I think the conditions on the day ensured only the bravest/most skilful drivers could come away with a decent result.
I was at a freezing Goodwood that weekend, we endured sleet and snow during the morning, though it didn't really affect the track too much as it was slick enough already!!! The most impressive crew for me were the Newton brothers (they have a thread on here) who were laying in second overall (in a 1400 Nova remember) before, errr guess what, the gearbox gave up the unequal struggle. Darn these drive train gremlins....

Looking forward to the next update :thumb:

Thanks for both for your kind comments. We snapped a tooth from second gear.

All the chicanes were second gear, as we couldn't find the tooth, we decided to put it on the trailer rather than risk the SCCR gear kit.

We will be back.

YouTube videos here:-

SS2:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4-rzQcaHlY

SS6:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUe5gqZOOPs

Christopher Newton
Vauxhall Nova 1400 16v

[RallyMarshal]

March Update..

After Blyton I got sent this shot of our stage 1 sideways moment..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Blyton3.jpg

The week after I got the car up on stands and spent a while jetwashing it...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Blyton4.jpg

Our next event was supposed to be Donington Park on March 5th in the 2000cc car as a shakedown for Rally Barbados in May. However, we had discovered an issue with the crank and sent it off for machining which took longer than expected so at that point, the bottom end looked like this so we decided to do it in the 1600cc car instead..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-2.jpg

So the 1600cc car was oil changed, reprepped and we scrutineered fine in bright sunny weather.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Donington-1.jpg

On Sunday morning, the heavens opened and we rallied in pouring rain, then drizzle later on.. Hadnt managed to spend any time looking at the issue with the gear selector so got stuck in gear on stage 2 and stage 4 dropping us time and to 3rd in class at halfway. Then gained some time back in the afternoon and went into the last stage 17 seconds behind 2nd in class.. A combination of variable grip levels, me trying very hard and a heavy right foot resulted in this snapped shaft...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Donington-3.jpg

As we ran a tight diff, we drove out of the stage slowly and still finished 3rd in class.. so car went on trailer dirty again.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Donington-2.jpg

Then gave her a good clean again this weekend...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Donington-4.jpg

and swapped out the driveshaft... Proper failure...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Donington-5.jpg

Meanwhile, we have been cracking on with the 2000cc engine. The head had new bronze valve guides fitted..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-1.jpg

The crank came back and was fitted..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-3.jpg

Valves lapped back in, head fitted and shimmed the cam

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-4.jpg

Then refitted bodies and ancilliaries and wrapped up ready to be refitted in the car

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-5.jpg

That should be done one night this week I hope..

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Long overdue update..

End of March we refitted the engine into F20GTE..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-6.jpg

and fitted new trumpets too

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Engine-7.jpg

Then set the car up for its trip to Barbados with softer springs and ride height and a little more castor from the new bottom arm brackets we fabricated and ended up with nice even numbers..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Prep-1.jpg

Then went and did a few laps around Cadwell as a test session.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Prep-2.jpg

Video on Youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBlJzQ000UU

Then switched attention back to the 1600cc car - F2 GTE.

Fitted a quaife direct linkage to try to alleviate the stuck in gear issues we have had

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-1.jpg

Went to do a rally at Melbourne near York and diff exploded on startline meaning car on trailer..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-2.jpg

and lots of damaged bits..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-3.jpg

More to come in the next installment

Paul..

[Dave M]

Really good read

[TallDave]

OUCH!!!!
Looking on the bright side, at least you didn't have any problems with the gearbox sticking in gear.... :d

Maybe the previous events "variable grip levels" had more of an impact than just a brocken drive shaft?

Cheers
Sherlock....

[RallyMarshal]

So at the beginning of April after our successful 2000cc car test and the event where the 1600cc car broke, we needed to get the 2000cc car finally ready for its trip to Barbados.

Usual spanner check was done, aircon reinstated for the trip to the Caribbean and then we built a "luggage rack" to hold all the kit and wheels.

Started with lots of box section and had a little "Dad" help with the welding.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-1.jpg

The sides slot into the sill stand holes then the top bolts to that and the rear tyre rack bolts on too.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-2.jpg

Got it all powdercoated and fitted to the car prior to the trip to Portsmouth

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-4.jpg

then loaded up at the port

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-5.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-6.jpg

and then loaded it on the boat..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-7.jpg

Arrived in Barbados 10 days later.

Then switched back attention to the 1600cc car. Cluster removed and inspected...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-4.jpg

Seems that the bits of the diff got between the crownwheel and pinion. So full stripdown on that. Then bought a rebuilt diff to use.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-5.jpg

and was offered a 2nd hand but usable dog box CWP so that was fitted and the box built back up

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-6.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-7.jpg

However, had an issue with the bearing race as the new bearing was slightly bigger than the old bearing so out came the casing too

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-8.jpg

Was all then built back up into a full box, then late Friday night we got the box fitted to the car and it was ready for testing..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-9.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Gearbox-10.jpg

Went to Blyton for a Javelin trackday. Car is set up for its next airfield event and is running lots of ride height due to the spring lengths but gearbox was good, gear shift is mega now, car felt good (albeit very very soft) so we were all happy..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Blyton-May-1.jpg

until I got home, and realised one of the Proflex canister pipes had split so off came the rear suspension and sent to Proflex to be sorted..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-Suspension-1.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Been a busy few months so a couple of updates over the next week or so to bring us up to date... May and the start of June was our holiday and Rally Barbados..

First weekend of hillclimb went OK - safe but not quick enough against the quick boys in our class.

Then a week of pacenoting, spanner checking, enjoying the island and mainly drinking rum we got to the main event.

Friday started steadily until we had a big spin under braking a few miles in which shook me up and killed my confidence in the car on the night stage..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-8.jpg

Think we were 8th in our class and 59th overall going into Saturday. We did a swap of tyres from inters on the front and cut wets on the back to softs on the front and wets on the back.

Saturday was a mixture of technical stages with some fast bits thrown in. Had a bad start in the morning with brakes boiling badly so had to bleed and refill them on the road section from stage 3 to stage 4 and from stage 4 to stage 5 but got that sorted and started to work our way up. However the car didnt feel "right" all day with a loose back end meaning it was difficult to commit to the faster bumpy bits. Had an 80mph spin in the road with only a tiny bump into a bank at the end which was extremely lucky! However, finished the day 5th in class and 39th overall.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-9.jpg

Then onto Sunday. Thought it was going to rain, so tyre swapped to inters front and softs rear for the first loop which was the wrong choice as it didnt rain and the inters were too soft leading to major understeer. So we changed to some mediums on the front and kept the softs on the rear after the first loop. The car immediately felt "good" again allowing me to push much harder and was around 2-3 seconds a mile quicker and certainly the best it had been all rally. Throughout the day, we did our own thing and pushed where we could but backed off when it got lairy. In the meantime, others were throwing themselves off the road.. So we worked up to 4th in class then up to 3rd in class and ended the rally 32nd overall and 3rd in class.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-10.jpg

On the basis that the 2 cars ahead of us in our class were Citroen DS3 R3 Max cars which are going for around 70K Euro at the moment with sequential boxes, works type suspension etc, then I dont think the Astra did too badly all in all. It was also a learning curve on the tyres so will be better in 2019!

Had 4 days after the rally to chill out, drink some more and enjoy the island and friends out there. Luckily we have a great partner in the Coconut Court Beach Hotel who help us whenever we are at the rally - http://www.coconut-court.com is highly recommended if anyone is looking for a great hotel in Barbados

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F20GTE-Astra-Rally/F20GTE-2017-Barbados-11.jpg

Next post will be about the Flying Fortress rally in June in the other car!

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Back from holidays middle of June and the following weekend was the Flying Fortress Stages. Its a WW2 airfield with fast and slow sections and bits between the trees on concrete. Love the event stages so wanted to push on and get a good result.

Was a hot sunny day so felt a lot like Barbados again in a race suit.. Had a corner plot so set up with our friends Mk1 Escort.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FlyingFortress-1.jpg

First stage started well, small off but no damage..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FlyingFortress-2.jpg

The stage 2 I pushed on and we were lying 10th overall and 1st in class - the tyres showed how hard we were going..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FlyingFortress-3.jpg

Then it all went Pete Tong... Stage 3 had a driveshaft inner CV pull out of the new diff so did 5 miles on one shaft dropping us down the order.

Then went back out for stage 4 in maximum attack mode.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FlyingFortress-4.jpg

and just as we came towards the finish, noticed a trail of smoke from the car. Finished the stage (quickest in class!!) and stopped at the finish line, powder fire extinguishers used just in case and made a right mess. Realised that it was complete coolant loss rather than smoke once we had the bonnet up but better to be safe than sorry.

Took the car back to service and worked on it for the next hour and a bit, changing the coolant pipes and resealing everything. Restarted the engine and started to see steam again as the coolant rapidly disappeared from the header tank. Headgasket gone. Time to put the car on the trailer and go home...

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

So in the first few weekends in July, managed to get a bit done to fix the damage..

As we had used powder extinguishers on it, everything was a mess...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-1.jpg

First job was to remove the engine

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-2.jpg

Had to remove the clutch to fit the flywheel to the engine stand.. All year we have suffered with a vibration but not understood what. Realised what it was when we took the clutch off - the straps holding the centre central had snapped meaning it was offcentre

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-3.jpg

Then took head off.. Its definately headgasket on #3 then...

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-4.jpg

Not a good sight..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-5.jpg

Lots of detonation marks.. Its got to the point where its eaten into the head and breached the fire ring but only allowed the water / cylinder to mix

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-6.jpg

So then cracked on with stripping and cleaning the engine bay.. Thats better :-)

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-7.jpg

Paul..

[total_vauxhall]

That looks like it was alot of fun .
Well done pal

[RallyMarshal]

Video from stage 2 of the Flying Fortress at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aouHWjlLztU

[totalnova]

Always enjoy reading your updates, shame about the engine but I'm sure you'll have it back up and running soon.

[RallyMarshal]

At the end of July, I took a few days holiday which allowed me to sort a few more bits.

Started with a Nexia radiator and a Mk3 lower crossmember.. The Nexia rad is the same width as a 2.0 8v GTE but the same height as a 2.0 16v so more capacity for cooling.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-8.jpg

Got jiggy with the angle grinder and cut off the standard 8v type lower crossmember then mocked up the radiator, Mk3 crossmember, towing eye etc

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-9.jpg

Tied the box section into the chassis leg and lower rail but also tied another piece into the substantial front sumpguard mount too. Nice and strong.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-10.jpg

and painted it up in glacier white

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-11.jpg

Also cleared the garage out and moved stuff to fit some vinyl floortiles. The concrete was breaking up, getting very dusty and needed redoing properly. These were a better option I think. Theyre 495mm x 14mm thick coin top interlocking floor tiles from the likes of bigdug and the photo was taken 3/4 way through.. Its now finished and 10x nicer to work on under the car.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-12.jpg

Also continued with engine stuff. Block stripped to check bearings - all fine but replacing anyway whilst its stripped.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-13.jpg

Piston #3 shows severe detonation though so new one was ordered..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-14.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

and into August we go..

Gearbox stripped, cluster out for inspection.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-15.jpg

Diff out and stripped, cleaned and reassembled. We discovered that the GKN inner CVs we use are bottoming out on the outer edge of the Tranx casing, meaning the snap-rings arent locking the shafts into place properly. So we have modified the outer casing by a few mm to allow it to hopefully lock in properly now.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-16.jpg

Head was skimmed..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-17.jpg

Lots of expensive new parts arrived - head stud kit, new pisto, 4 x new ring sets and a cometic 1.7mm

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-18.jpg

Started work on the fuel system changes to add a better filter system and a swirl pot. Started with this..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-19.jpg

and a pile of existing bits..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-20.jpg

Added some new bits..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-21.jpg

and ended up with this!! Still waiting on a couple of adapters to finish off but hard work is done.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-22.jpg

Ive also ordered a new Helix clutch but been told its on backorder so picked up a spare LUK cover to use if we need to. If not then its in the spares box anyway.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-23.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

I had hoped to show more progress but machine shop holding up things at the moment so will be a big rush for the next 10 days to get the car ready for the 3rd September..

Front suspension all checked and balljoints / trackrod ends changed, brakes cleaned and refitted too.

Essentially, once the engine is built and fitted, the car will be going to be re-setup suspension wise and the gearbox linkage tweaked and then we are good to go..

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

So its been a while again.. Will try to be better this year..

Due to various issues, decided to knock last season on the head and save the money whilst finishing the car properly ready for 2018 season.

Found a small crack in the gearbox casing so that got repaired..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-24.jpg

and the cluster inspected and box reassembled.

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-25.jpg

New paddle clutch arrived..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-26.jpg

and new pressure regulator..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-27.jpg

Head came back from machineshop after skimming 20 thou to remove marks and was rebuilt / reshimmed for the solid lifters..a very timeconsuming job without a shim grinder!

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-28.jpg

Clutch fitted nicely..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-29.jpg

Box refitted after a massive effort to line her up

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-30.jpg

and all refitted in the car. Swapped to c20let yellow injectors as we think we were at the flow limit of the c20xe creams used previously

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-31.jpg

More updates tomorrow!!

[RallyMarshal]

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-32.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-33.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-34.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-35.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-36.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2017-FFRebuild-37.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-7.jpg

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

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

Passenger A pillar rot cut out..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-8.jpg

New donor panel trimmed to match

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-9.jpg

and trial fitted into place

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-10.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-11.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-12.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-13.jpg

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

Paul..

[TallDave]

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

Keep the updates coming.
Cheers Dave

[RallyMarshal]

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-1.jpg

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-2.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-3.jpg

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

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

Then Sunday morning was spent cleaning the car properly..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-4.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-5.jpg

Ive put together a compilation of the "action" from the event at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFQu8B1rNf8


Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

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


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpYmFqsdJU8

[RallyMarshal]

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

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-6.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-7.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/F2GTE-Astra-Rally/F2GTE-2018-Season-8.jpg

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

Paul..

[Iain]

Oil change every event using Millers? Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus.

[RallyMarshal]

Oil change every event using Millers? Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus.

£30 or so in oil change each event is around £300 a season. Compared to the money and hassle of potentially more frequent rebuilds or issues then Id say its money well spent as preventative maintenance..

Paul..

[RallyMarshal]

Been an odd month for us...

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

Meanwhile, the Mk3 has moved forward a bit..

Rot cut out

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-14.jpg

Repair panel made

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-15.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-16.jpg

Passenger side rot..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-17.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-18.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-19.jpg

which was removed..

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-20.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-21.jpg

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-22.jpg

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

Spotwelds drilled out

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-23.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-24.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-26.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-27.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-28.jpg

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

http://www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk/gallery/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally/Astra-Mk3-Roadrally-29.jpg

Paul..

[Benn]

Nice work, most aftermarket sill replacements are spotted on due to warping from heat.

[RallyMarshal]

Nice work, most aftermarket sill replacements are spotted on due to warping from heat.

This is spotted along the top and bottom and joggled / plug welded along the rear quarter then its been seam welded on the other joins as per the MOT guidelines.. The old one wasnt even properly welded on at the bottom I dont think - just seemed to be tacked in one or 2 places and tapped over the existing edge.

Paul..

[TallDave]

Nice work as ever Paul, the Mk3 sure didn't look that bad in some of the pictures, in the flesh though.... Might be a bit overkill for road rallies with that cage in it, however the shell should be mighty stiff. Is it likely/possible you might take it to the stages in future?

Looking forward to seeing your next batch of in-car videos, the ones from Blyton looked lively, certainly seemed to add to the definition of the word twitchy, gulp!