[rally_prep] Road Rally 205 Gti

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Good news! So what road rally is it this weekend? I went to the 1000 lanes and the Cilwendig last year....awesome! 1000 lanes was bloody foggy!

 

Rali Mike Darowen is this weekend which starts in a little place called Tywyn which is near Aberdovey so its a bit of a treck. I've never done Cilwendeg or 1000 Lanes but since the 1000 Lanes is a round of the championship we will do it this year. Looking forward to a nice change from the single venue stages that I have done for the last few years.

[TAG 25 1 Cars]

Best of luck tonight, let us know how you get on!

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Didnt have a great night on Saturday. Very tricky technical route and lots of snow and ice around. We got cuaght out on a down hill section that was just sheet ice. Someone had gone off ahead of us and was in the road. I managed to bring the car to a stop but clipped the grass bank as we stopped. Unkowing to me at the time the impact dislodged the battery earth on the body so we had no electrics. At the time I couldnt find it and only came accross it when going through the car yesterday afternoon in the daylight. So a few issues to sort out before the next one in 2 weeks time.

On a positive note, the new engine was spot on and we were setting a top 10 pace so hopefully it will all come together on the next one

[dcc 855]

one of these days you'll finish!

 

Unlucky though! Guessing you've seen what happened to Ben Godney at pembrey?

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

I did see what happened to Ben in Pembrey, very unlucky for him.

 

We have sorted the electrical issue now, was all caused by a poor main earth to the body so an easy fix but frustrating at the same time. Gone through the.car this weekend now and found a split water pipe which has now been changed so put some more miles on it this week now and we ll be ready for the weekends Bro Caron.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Bro Caron didn't go so well on the weekend.

 

We set a tidy pace all night in tricky icy conditions whilst trying to get passed cars due to us being seeded poorly.

 

Ended up hurtin a bank which put us on our roof and that was game over. Need to check the full extent of the damage but it's not looking good so far.

 

 

[Anthony 1,003]

Bugger...

[dcc 855]

cage has done it's job there!

[TAG 25 1 Cars]

I looked at the results Sunday morning and saw you were listed as 'rolled' in the retirements. Crew OK?

Look on the bright side, certainly doesn't look as bad as Bens, and that's getting rebuilt!

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

We were both fine which is the main thing.

 

The problem I have seen so far is that every panel apart from the passenger wing and door is damaged plus the shell itself has had a hard 5 years of rallying with me so I'm weighing up all the options. I do have a good solid shell here so we shall have a good look over the weekend and see what's what.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I guess it comes down to how much fabrication work away from standard the shell has had. If its not too far away from standard then on balance its probably less work to bolt all the bits into another car.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

There isn't anything really that can't be unbolted from it. Strengthened top mount plates are the only thing really but the other shell has them fitted already so every thing we can unbolt and bolt on. We ll know more at the weekend though.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

It's been a while since posting an update here. Basically i started stripping everything to give the car a proper going over. The roof at folded in places and looked like the whole roof itself had twisted. The floor had cracked under the pedals and had also split around the exhaust tunnel. Rear sills were in a terrible state aswell so after nearly 5 years of rallying and a few brushes with the scenery I decided that it'll be quicker to use the new shell I have.

 

Work has began and hopefully this weekend will see the new shell come into the garage for some bits to be swapped over. The aim is to get it all done for Mini Epynt at the end of May.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Small update, Been really busy lately so the car has taken a bit of a back step. Shell is in the garage and bits have started being put on. We did find some areas that needed attention and they have been addressed. New target is Ystwyth Road Rally which is held in Sweet Lamb on 5th of July so we have a busy month or so ahead of us to get it all up and running again.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Just a little update. Had a an hour or so free saturday evening after finishing getting the Proton ready for classic tracks so we finished the engine bay off and fitted the engine and gearbox. Entry has gone in for Nicky Grist stages on the 11th of July so we have a target to work towards.

[TAG 25 1 Cars]

Any photos Arwel?

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Any photos Arwel?

Not at the moment. I'll have another day on it Saturday so I'll get some progress ones then.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Few hours on puggers today. It's slowly starting to look like a car again now ????

 

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Afternoon people. Engine is now running after a small wiring issue. The whole wiring loom has now been re wired though so shouldn't have any electrical problems in the future. Rad has now been re mounted so next step is to swap the rear beam over and we can get on with tidying up all the wiring and then get the interior back in.

It's all coming together slowly but we have withdrawn from the Nicky Grist as I figured it would be too much of a rush to get ready with other commitments we have. We are hoping to get it back out on the road as soon as possible with the first rally being planned as the Mewla on Epynt which hasn't been kind to me in the past but maybe a chance to break the curse.

[TAG 25 1 Cars]

Im planning on going up Epynt for the Mewla, will be the first time this year for me! I've either had other plans or its been wet. No fun being up there in the wet.....let alone competing! It sounds like Pugsly 2.0 is coming along nicely!

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Excellent stuff. It has its own bloody climate up there so trying to figure out if it'll be dry or not is always fun.

 

Its getting there. Not much big jobs left just a lot of fiddly ones that are quite time consuming. At some point in July Im aiming to get it out of the garage and off for an MOT.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Slowly making progress now. Just the rear beam to swap over then it's just lots of niggly little jobs left and he'll be out of the garage ready for MoT time.

 

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Its taken longer than expected but on Tuesday it left the garage for its MOT. It went through that no problem. Getting it there was the problem. We've had a long list of issues in getting it running right. We had an issue with some pipework on the fuel pump which didn't allow enough pressure in the system when putting it under load which resulted in it cutting out. We had a really annoying electrical issue aswel where it wouldnt provide a spark which we now believe we have cured.

 

A few small jobs to do and some cosmetic stuff and then we are all set for the Mewla Rally this weekend on Epynt. We're close to the back at car 92 but given all the troubles we have had and my first time back in this car since rolling it in February I will be more than happy to just get around and finish without any problems. Its also Helen' first time on pace notes so the plan is a nice steady run all day and gradually increase the pace as we settle back into it all.

[opticaltrigger 52]

Excellent arwel,

Great mate,those first trips out on the track affter a while are allways nerve wracking but I reckon you'll have a great time of it.

Love the project mate and I hope it all goes well for you.Do an update for us when you get back.

 

All the best

O.T.

[TAG 25 1 Cars]

Me and DCC will be at the mewla, best of luck lad!