[Project] The Rattlebox

[davenport 51]

Right... apparently the bandwidth issue will reset in a month and to increase it I need to pay....

 

 

obviously ive done the sensible thing and started another account...

 

so...

 

 

bumpsteer guage:

 

 

 

DTI arrived this morning (mega quick delivery!):

 

 

 

and after a false start "liberating" some ally plate from work, I put out a call to a mate I used to work with...

 

came home this afternoon to find this leant against the front door (cheers jase):

 

 

 

to make playing around with the steering arm height on the strut easier I "found" a bag of nylon spacers that'll do for mocking up, I can then record sizes and make some up in ally:

 

 

 

 

Finally with the steering arms sorted (not needing a bend) I can put some flats on it to make adjusting easier.. to do this I drilled out a unplated M20 nut to 1" and will stitch them on:

 

 

...

[davenport 51]

Didnt get time today to record and adjust things but dropped a caliper off and drilled/holesaw'd the plate...

 

it seems to work!!!!

 

 

 

The hub plate needs trimming down but its always easier to do that than make it bigger folks!!!

Edited July 14, 2013 by davenport

[davenport 51]

didn't get much done at the weekend as Friday/Saturday I was walking the tightrope of trying not to s*it myself (another bug from the boy, cheers son!)

 

sunday was a mates babys christening.. but in between church and the party I got 30 minutes in the garage...

 

 

so, I used to have 1 of these: (not mine in the pic but an old cased EC1 branded with TDF)

 

 

that fitted into this:

 

 

and that bolted onto these:

 

 

now after the little fiasco that was "my looms" I spoke to SpecialistComponents that actually make the ECU and asked about recasing it for me, not only did they agree, they updated the software and made me a coffee while I waited and had a tour...

 

so, now I have this:

 

 

and needed to make this:

 

 

to bolt up here:

 

 

 

via the magic box of Peugeot pick-n-mix parts a suitable set of shafts were found (307 outers/MA box inners)

 

 

these just need chopping and shortening and wil be given a refurb...

 

 

finally some pics of the suspension:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pip470 61]

Love it all. Keep making it good.

[davenport 51]

Cheers.... very slow progress but progress none the less

[Willem_Jacobs 6 1 Cars]

Was just wondering....

 

Yes, this is a trackday prep topic, but hasn't it long past the stage of trackday prepping and gone straight into 'epic / grand scale / mother of all project topics' -section material?

Still love reading up everytime, keep the updates and pictures coming please!

[Willem_Jacobs 6 1 Cars]

 

And some more curiosity,

 

What the #$% is that thing in the back, on the wooden table??

[davenport 51]

Willem- many thanks, thats very kind of you...

 

ironically, the car has never been intended as a track car, and im certainly not talented enough to race!! But as to where this blog resides, thats up to the moderators....

 

all I will say is the car is primarily a "fun road car" ..

 

 

as for the engine... its a project my father and his friends are doing... 2- honda blackbird engines joined, 2- MASSIVE rotrex superchargers, an elite sequential transaxle....

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2013 by davenport

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Come on then mr port, what's that going in?

[davenport 51]

Ahhhhh now that I cant say..... lol......

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Big tease you! Obviously some homosexual opened wheeled chariot

[davenport 51]

Haha

 

you couldnt be more wrong if you tried....

 

 

 

http://moto-rdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/first-photos-of-dan-tec-8-23-sc.html?m=1

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Haha

 

you couldnt be more wrong if you tried....

 

 

 

http://moto-rdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/first-photos-of-dan-tec-8-23-sc.html?m=1

Ace! Is Dan your old chap then?

[davenport 51]

Nah hes a mate of my dads...

 

Dans a sound guy... very clever!!.

[base-1 17]

Holy balls Awesome!

[Caddyshack 3]

Lovely thread...read every page! Nice car and brill skills. It is odd that if you did all this to a mk2 escort it would be worth a fortune...odd. I have a 4x4 t16 cossied 205 and have to realize that it will never be worth what goes in to it but as I keep telling the good lady wife and friends, it is all about the enjoyment of the build a s not the outcome. Cannot wait to see this painted and ready to roll. Should be brilliant on track.

 

I had a track prepared 911 and they do pass a point where they are not that nice to drive on the road though due to noise, vibrations, stiff and low suspension on aggressive geometry but then they come alive at 8/10ths or on a smooth track....

 

Keep up the good work!

 

T

[davenport 51]

Well... work is still busy and im still on 7 days a week 7till5.. cant complain really the money is handy...

 

Havent been down the workshop for a few weeks but last time I was I started playing with the bumpsteer, I was using a small scissor jack as it gave nice controlled movement, but being so low I needed a block of wood to stand it in...

 

thats not very "motorsport" is it?? A chunk of wood with soaked in engine oil!!!!

 

there was only 1 thing to do, I waited till the storeman popped out for his mid-morning s*ite and moved fast...

 

I scampered out with a couple of laser cut plates 8countersunk bolts and some threaded spacers which just happened to be the height of the chunk of wood I was using.....

 

 

 

a bit of countersinking on the plates and bingo..

 

 

 

MASSIVELY ott and unnecessary but hey, it looks the part!

 

 

Ebay bargain... 20mm hubcentric spacers for £6.50 these may be a bit too big but for that price I'll gladly machine them down..

 

 

 

 

finally the TRI wheel studs arrived, 12.9 rated. rolled, silky smooth, threads and a nice domed end..

 

cheaper than anywhere in the UK for equivalent spec

 

 

 

 

thats about where im up to unfortunatly.. I reckon theres about another month of grabbing mental overtime then the job will be done, so I wont get my hands on anything till then....

[davenport 51]

sigh... no real progress

 

 

working 7 days a week since early/mid July has taken its toll on decent updates I`m afraid

 

 

managed to do a bit yesterday as I`m now on holiday for 2 weeks so grabbed a few hours before we go to the isle of wight...

 

 

the passenger side 307 shaft was chopped in half and the 2 bits put in there respective slots:

 

 

 

levered the CV to full compression at full droop and marked the shaft, chopped it down and machined a slug to go inside to keep things inline while I tacked it up (the Satchell crew will put in a suitable amount of preload on the CV when the do the final joining:

 

tacked up in place:

 

 

whipped ooot and on the bench:

 

 

 

things at this point were going well..... too well.....

 

 

anyone whos built a car will know the feeling that accompanies the next few pics, I do mean built by the way, not just throwing s*it on from a catalogue, actually making stuff..

 

 

sooo drivers side...

 

the hollow section was cut and the intermediate shaft threaded into the box...

 

instant issue!:

 

 

 

the bearing just below the CV joint should be in the ally housing about 80mm below it...

 

out it came and a tape measure thrown over it:

 

 

I haven't got any 106 shafts for reference so called on the powers of FaceBook, luckily Mike Nash was oline and helpful, a massive thanks must go out to him:

 

 

my immediate reaction was "mike needs a funky tablecloth like mine" followed by "hmmm his shaft is shorter than mine.."

 

luckily my local pug breaker is only a mile away so popped to see him and explained the situation (by now he knows nothing with me is easy but is always mega helpful) a selection of shafts were layed out and it became clear that all 206 and 307 shafts on a MA boxed/TU engine car were longer than a 106 setup...

 

"you got any carriers lying around"

 

a stumble around the engines found 1 that had fallen over suitably and the carrier was took orf:

 

 

this should get the intermediate shaft in place but leaves the drivers side shaft (between the CVs) short, very short.....

 

it was at this point I had that, ooooooh bugger feeling and remembered that the Satchell boys shifted Deans engine over 20mm......

 

 

which would help the mega short shaft issue.. but also means I need to move the friggin engine, and REDO the shaft I`d just shortened..

 

 

AAARRRGGGGHHHHHhhhhhhhh cockin poxy bloody stupid modified cars!!!!!

 

 

so, speed dial #1, a quick chat with Dave @ satchells and hey presto! 1 of these will be waiting for me when I get home..

 

 

which will fit up like so and shift the engine into the better position ..

 

 

 

I'll just have to modify the gearbox mount but that should be easy enough....

[calvinhorse 870]

And the bottom mount and exhaust and alter gear linkage? Bloody hell, what a pain!

 

Is moving the engine just to get round the driveshaft issue?

[welshpug 1,657]

it evens up the lengths quite a bit, especially with the BE box, the location of the bearing carrier on the larger vehicles using the MA box is new to me, never noticed that before!

 

 

might as well stick a BE box in the bugger

 

the lower mount and gearbox end is simple enough to fabricate, doing that myself at the mo but might need to get an arm for the RHS as above, how much are they Stu? I know the full kit with 4 mountings is $400 for the BE box.

[calvinhorse 870]

Is that because torque steer is a problem on 106s?

 

Will it be as much as 20mm?

[welshpug 1,657]

It is if you stick uneven shaft lengths in.

[davenport 51]

Yeah 20mm iirc...

 

yup lots of other stuff to alter too, exhaust should be ok with the flexi taking up the movement.. gear linkage is just a case of winding out some rod ends..

 

I think the engine movement is partly to even up driveshaft length and also help corner weighting a bit as your shifting the engine to a slightly more central location...

 

all part of the fun of building a car hey!!

 

 

Welshy- iirc the mount is about 100 quid s1 fitment is easier than s2 so may be different depending on application..

 

no point of be4 imo.. its only an 8v ive never had an issue in using the ma hard on a daily basis for 5 years in its previous incarnation...

[welshpug 1,657]

cheers Stu, might go for that, its a Saxo so S2 :/

 

funny that, group N 16v engine in the rally car I service for had 5 or 6 varying failures! BE has taken 3 years of abuse from a 170 bhp engine since converting going 200+ in a few weeks though

 

 

that said, its torque that kills them, and it's not going to be massively higher.

Edited September 3, 2013 by welshpug

[davenport 51]

The pressures a rally/race gearbox go thru are also way more than an idiot on a B road will cause.. Im a pretty mechanically sympathetic driver though thats a big part of it I think. ..