310 replies to this topic

[racerlike]

Turned out into one epic mini. So clean and uncluttered with everything being white. Very very nice!

[Alan Carruthers]

Guys, many thanks, much appreciated, very happy with it. 

 

Cal just emailed to say that he's driven it round the yard today so another good result, hopefully I'll be able to have a shot on Sat.

 

I can't take credit for the wiper motor I must say, that was RP's idea, looks good though.  I've actually got hold of a couple of standard plastic covers for it and had them hyrdo-dipped, (if you haven't heard of this tech google it, it's amazing) you can just see the outcome in the video but I'll post some pics up of that in due course.  Got one in carbon and one that's not!  'Tiki' hydrographics in Bristol did them, excellent service and value.

 

Matt Tupman did the door releases, again all his idea but I'm a big fan.  Don't know of the arc-angels version I'm afraid.  I'm pretty sure the locking still works.  Drop me an email if you need to know more and I can take one of the liners off and send you some pics.

 

Not sure if you've seen the instagram pic but have some carbon blanks and a timing blade for the front, Ben has literally just sent me a scoop for one of the headlights so hoping to connect that to the airbox in a way that is easily interchangeable for track use.

 

Al

[duds100]

How is progress going Alan? Do you think you might be able to get it to Combe in 4 weeks?

[Squares]

Just read all 19 pages over 2 hours, well done sir.

Good luck on finally getting it finished - keep going.

[Alan Carruthers]

Thanks guys, much appreciated, Combe has sadly come and gone... again!

 

So, good news first, it's done!  Picked it up a couple of Saturdays ago, had a drive (completely bonkers) and got it back in the garage at the folks place.  Must say I've known what it was going to look like for while but adding in the noise and the way it goes really has made it exceed all expectations.  Big fan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 11 years of course we picked it up on a rainy day!

 

Few pics below after getting the wax out, Bilt Hambers Auto Balm, and last Friday I had it booked in for the rolling road in readiness for Combe.  However, I knew it was all a bit of an 11th hour ask with no testing having been done and, unfortunately, it all unraveled a bit during the day on Friday so didn't make it.  In fact, only just made it home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting off the drive was fun, had to jack the front up a fair bit.

 

 

 

 

[Alan Carruthers]

On first dyno run the chain snapped at the joining link, apparently this was a spring type connection, as per the pro-mo instructions, but shouldn't be, should be riveted according to PDQ - I think this is to do with how difficult it is to get at it though and don't think the way the tensioner was set up helped.  So, one new chain later (chain type is a whole other story), fixed properly,  they had it back up and running again.

 

Next issues were the fuel tank breather and the lack of expansion tank on the rad, need to get these sorted, think tank breather is creating too much pressure and needs to vent to the outside.  The boys also said that the rad had spat out and sucked in a litre of fluid.  Cured this for the dyno with a Ribena bottle but this disintegrated in the heat somewhere on the way home which probably didn't help the running.

 

 

 

Oh, and the chain coming off ripped a few other bits off in the bay!  And the diff's leaking!  And there are a load of fault codes on the clocks which they can't get off because of the way the kill switch is wired!

 

Most worryingly though it's 100dB at tickover and needed to be 105dB at 3/4 max revs for Combe so I wouldn't have been going far.  Problem is that the silencers they sell at Combe also wouldn't have worked, I don't think, because of the way the exhaust exits, not good, answers on a postcard please.

 

Things got worse on the way home on Friday night.  Started running really badly and cut out a few times which was pretty scary, fortunately had managed to find a place to stop each time before it gave up but not much fun in the dark and especially not much fun given how difficult it is to get away!   Need to get that sorted as well, pedal position doesn't help, throttle connection doesn't help and bite point on the clutch needs looked at.  Gave up eventually and the old man had to tow me the last mile back.  All in all, bad times but I'm sure can be sorted.  It's usually absolutely fine just ticking over with no throttle but when it was losing power it wouldn't start again without giving it some revs.  Next day I went out and it started fine and sat idling fine though.

 

It made good power at least:

 

 

Gutted to miss Combe as it's mini based and a great event but there's always next year.

 

Development next!

 

Al

 

 

[jonny f]

Never easy with a completely new build. The amount of things that have changed on mine since i finished it is ridiculous!

Its looking very well, although i think i would want to play around with the arches a little.

If you need an expansion tank i bought this one, http://www.carbuilde.../expansion-tank

Congratulations on getting it done!

[duds100]

I feel you pain mate! What a day huh? Good power though  +2hp more than mine but -2lbft less, probably due to our different exhausts. Yours looks like it flows slightly better top end. 

 

I think Combe was 100db at 3/4 revs because that's what mine was and they said I was right on the limit. Very tricky so see where you`re going to be able to drop some noise.....maybe put a turbo on it? 

 

Bit odd about the loss of power on the way home. I have a fault code showing too because I deleted the EXUP, as you have, but it does not seem to hurt performance. Was it over heating at all on the way home? I run an aux coolant rad on the front of mine, so the water flows through this before the side mount as it used to over heat with just the side mount. Also, a high pressure rad cap made a good difference on mine too - 21-25psi I think it what I use. With that rad cap, an additional front mount rad (33% extra core size on top of the side mount) I sit at a peaks of around 103 deg C flat out on a track day. 

Edited by duds100, 29 September 2015 - 10:13 AM.

[Alan Carruthers]

Thanks boys, yeah it's still a bit high and the rear trailing arms haven't been made the same side to side so offside wheels fill the arches a lot better.  Yet another job on the to do list!  Very annoying!

 

Thanks for the link, assume as long as it sits higher than the engine and same level as rad the expansion tank will work?  Can it be right next to the rad?  Not sure where it's going to go!

 

I like the turbo idea!  Maybe next year!

 

I'll check if the exup is anything to do with the fault codes but I've actually got the motor hidden in the sub-frame where the cone was so that should be there working away.

 

Yeah we thought about the over heating and this was something I'd asked PDQ to check, ie when the fan was cutting in as Cal at Retropower hadn't been able to get it hot enough to get the fan to come on.  No warning lights came on so assume OK but certainly something to look into.  I don't have a temp gauge but perhaps should add this? 

 

Rad cap looks like this, worth changing?

 

 

Cheers,

 

Al

[duds100]

on your R1 clocks there is a digital temp gauge for the coolant. That rad cap is a standard mini one so no good. Get a stant racing radiator cap with lever release, 21-25psi. That will really help. I`ll txt you a pic of my aux rad so you have an idea

[racerlike]

Split link on the chain is the poor mans solution. It should have been riveted but maybe it would have made it harder to fit?

I have a small expansion tank in top left corner. Combined with pressurised cap on rad seems to do the job although I have a switch for the fan and so once it's warm I have that running continuously. On a warm day it sits between 88 and 92 degrees if I stick under 60 mph. Too loud to go any faster for any length of time.

A new build will never be without problems but as we've all said the car does look amazing. Once the running in issues are sorted I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

P.S welcome to the 'leaky diff' club.

[Rocket.]

Awesome build not sure why I've not seen this before

[jonny f]

You can have an expansion tank anywhere you like (above/below its not height affected really), it works as follows, the water warms up in the system when the engines running and the excess is realised by the cap the tank fills up. When you switch it off and it cools down, the water is sucked back into the system. At the moment in yours the excess is realised and then air is sucked back in again.

The tank will also remove all air from the system slowly to as its taken from the highest point, air will escape the system when it's warm but only water will get sucked in when it cools.

[Alan Carruthers]

Thanks guys much appreciated and on the case with the cooling/rad.

Carbon Ben made a good point about the possibility of changing to the Evans stuff and not having a 'water' system, a mate uses this is all his classics to avoid corrosion I think, any thoughts welcomed?

Another query, what do people do about jacking, it's too low to get my trolley under it! Can use normal jack but pretty slow.

Al

[benpopham]

Hey Al,

I have a Draper Expert low entry jack, was about £120 and its brilliant. It gets under my MX5 and that has around 65mm ground clearance.