[trackday_prep] 405 Mi16 Track Car

[JeffR 51]

My car arrived back from having a cage fitted so I thought it was about time I got a few pics up.

 

Firstly, it's been a long-term project/hobbie to have a separate track car not compromised by being a daily driver as well.

 

Mechanically, it is 1927cc, big valve head rebuilt by PeterT, t/bodies, forged high CR pistons, close ratio box, Quaife & aftermarket management making 165hp at the wheels.

 

Sitting in the shed & soon to be fitted are GAZ coilovers, 400lb springs, 23mm rear t/bars, 24mm rear arb, Brembos, bigger cams & 8V rods/ARP bolts.

 

The cage was made by a company in Melb. called Fabriacations who make cages for many of the Targa cars, open wheelers, etc & are highly regarded in motorsport circles. Well pleased with the result 'tho it looks like I'll need a smaller steering wheel as it's a tight fit getting in & out.

 

I want to do away with the huge heater box & blower, so does anyone know of a compact type or another way of demisting the screen? The touring car heated screens are no longer available unfortunately.

[Baz 421]

 

Wondered what the spec of your car was, always loved the idea of a 405 track car. Must go pretty well too!

 

Pretty comprehensive cage!

[AlexN 7]

Well pleased with the result 'tho it looks like I'll need a smaller steering wheel as it's a tight fit getting in & out.

 

I want to do away with the huge heater box & blower, so does anyone know of a compact type or another way of demisting the screen? The touring car heated screens are no longer available unfortunately.

Looking good, nice to see another caged 405

 

I could see the problems of keeping the original wheel/steering column, that is why I had a new column fitted and a smaller wheel. I also had the driving postion pushed back as far as possible.

 

I am still thinking what to do about demisting the screen. I will probably just use rainX and some electric fans and see how that gets on.

[James504 12]

Love the cage. Can I ask how much?

[JeffR 51]

Didn't get much change from $5K James with some extras added like picking up the strut towers, roof diagonal, side intrusion, etc., including getting them to fit the dash around the 'A' pillar.

Edited November 14, 2010 by JeffR

[James504 12]

I guesstimated around 4 so not too far off. Its a pretty epic cage, with the correct construction in all the right places. Very nice! Time to go buy a hydraulic pipe bender I think $$$$.

[Mr Teflon 1 1 Cars]

Sweet!

[JeffR 51]

Inspired by the arrival of my Arrow titanium solid lifters, ARP rod bolts & 8V rods & 2 weeks holidays, I got stuck into the car again this week. It's almost fully stripped now in readiness for an engine bay, interior re-spray.

 

Started on the engine bay only to discover bloody tin worm around the m/cylinder area & bulkhead. It's a really crappy design the way the m/cyl & booster mounts with only a tiny space to drain through & it looks like someone didn't clean up a brake fluid spill, or keep the plenum clean & regularly flushed. Luckily I have a wrecked shell so out with the angle grinder & Dremel & cut out a bit chunk of bulkhead & plenum for the replacement.

 

Since it's a complex shape, there's be no way a novice welder like me could get it in one piece, so I'll drill out all the spot welds & re-assemble piece-by-piece.

 

I still have to decide on cams. Once that's done I can get the piston crowns machined for the extra lift at TDC & trial fit the cams to work out what shims I'll need for the solid lifters. I'll be swapping the rods for the 8V ones, get them peened & treated & have the whole bottom end rebalanced. I've been using copper/lead big end bearings (Alfa 2.0 litre) on the 16V rods, but they have the locating tang on the other end, so the 8V rods will need machining to suit.

[JeffR 51]

A bit more progress made on the rusty bulkhead. All the separate parts are cut to size & ready to weld in.

 

Also my cut down fuel tank arrived back from Sydney just before Christmas. I've had 4 baffles welded internally to prevent surge & the reduced capacity should be about 45 litres.

[petert1345402284 0]

Nice work on the rust Jeff. I've got exactly the same problems (and more) in the Mi16x4. I think I'll just cut the entire firewall out. Just waiting to finish the 205's then I'll get started on it.

[chris adams 0]

wow my 4bie must be in quite decent condition theres on three small pieces that need doing, innerwing d/s a plate needs replacing as the cag cracked letting in all that road shxt, underside chassis rail d/s 5inch back from subframe mounting and a soft patch at the rear where the spare tyre use to go. other than that the shell is almost perfect part from the dings of a 20 year old car

Edited December 30, 2010 by mi8 turbo

[chris adams 0]

wow my 4bie must be in quite decent condition theres on three small pieces that need doing, innerwing d/s a plate needs replacing as the cag cracked letting in all that road shxt, underside chassis rail d/s 5inch back from subframe mounting and a soft patch at the rear where the spare tyre use to go. other than that the shell is almost perfect part from the dings of a 20 year old car

 

excelent work by the way

[JeffR 51]

Not much happening with the car atm. I hired a Mig welder a few weeks ago to weld in the new pieces into the firewall & bulkhead. The steel is only 0.030" (22 gauge) & found it bloody hard to get a good weld with sufficient penetration without blowing a hole through the metal. I've since ordered some nifty panel clamps from the U.S. which both clamp & keep a 1mm gap for heat expansion (http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-panel-clamps-set-of-4.html) & a guy from our car club who's business of car restorations & is only 2 streets away is now going to do the welding rather than me stuffing it up!

 

I've changed my mind on the cabin/engine bay colour & it will now be white & have been doodling in Photoshop trying to come up with a good colour if I go ahead & paint the exterior. My 3 preferred choices are white, red & blue. If I go with red or blue they will be solid colour, not metallic. BTW, did Mi's ever come in Miami Blue?

 

What do you guys think?

Edited January 23, 2011 by JeffR

[chris adams 0]

Not much happening with the car atm. I hired a Mig welder a few weeks ago to weld in the new pieces into the firewall & bulkhead. The steel is only 0.030" (22 gauge) & found it bloody hard to get a good weld with sufficient penetration without blowing a hole through the metal. I've since ordered some nifty panel clamps from the U.S. which both clamp & keep a 1mm gap for heat expansion (http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-panel-clamps-set-of-4.html) & a guy from our car club who's business of car restorations & is only 2 streets away is now going to do the welding rather than me stuffing it up!

 

I've changed my mind on the cabin/engine bay colour & it will now be white & have been doodling in Photoshop trying to come up with a good colour if I go ahead & paint the exterior. My 3 preferred choices are white, red & blue. If I go with red or blue they will be solid colour, not metallic. BTW, did Mi's ever come in Miami Blue?

 

What do you guys think?

 

im really liking the blue

Edited January 24, 2011 by mi8 turbo

[JeffR 51]

Yeah, the blue does look good.

 

I doodled with the blue version some more & came up with.....

[Guest gti_al]

Is that a new shed Jeff?

 

I like the white, but think you should save yourself some trouble and just give me the engine. I'll look after it

[JeffR 51]

I got sick of trying to work in the confines of the old shed, so built a 6m X 8m Colorbond one.

 

I agree that the white looks good & would be a lot easier to paint than either red or white. But I'll wait & see how my painting skills are before making a decision on the final colour.

 

How's yours going with the new head?

[Guest gti_al]

I got sick of trying to work in the confines of the old shed, so built a 6m X 8m Colorbond one.

 

I agree that the white looks good & would be a lot easier to paint than either red or white. But I'll wait & see how my painting skills are before making a decision on the final colour.

 

How's yours going with the new head?

 

I think you deserve it given the hours you spend out there. I can't believe how this car has evolved since early 2005 when i first saw it.

 

My car has had the head off it again to fix some bent valves. Think the head should be back again today - something went wrong timing it back up i think. Not sure of the details.

 

White is very forgiving and suits cars that will live a hard life. Chris painted his 205 white and it looks great, despite being a basic job.

[James504 12]

Yeah white is a sinch to paint and get to look right. Hell you could even paint it in a white primer and clear that. I did a blaze yellow photoshop of my mi16 a few years ago. It looked pretty good.

[cammmy 1]

Something that was recommended to me. Instead of painting the car why not get a full body vinyl in the color you want? I've seen it done and it looks very good, doesn't cost a great deal and takes a massive amount of punishment compared to paint.

 

It may not look as good as painting it initially but it will still look okay after you've had a few hundred stones slam into it while racing. Paint won't

[JeffR 51]

Al, as you know, every bloke has to have a shed but I reckon if I was married, I'd be divorced by now!

 

Did a search on vinyl wraps. Maybe something like this?

[Guest gti_al]

Al, as you know, every bloke has to have a shed but I reckon if I was married, I'd be divorced by now!

 

Did a search on vinyl wraps. Maybe something like this?

 

I've got a friend that does these - it is an interesting idea. Maybe not that one, but basic colours and designs are easy and fairly cheap.

 

James, do you still have the red 405? I saw that car before you bought it and it was lovely - i hope it is still around.

[JeffR 51]

Some of the cars I saw looked pretty good in vinyl but how do you get the stuff to fit the curves & compound shapes of say a front bumper without cutting? Maybe they use heat.

 

I'm still unconvinced though & would prefer painting it.

[cammmy 1]

You could potentially vinyl all the easy stuff and just paint the hard bits?

[DRTDVL1345402287 0]

This car is actually silver and had red and black vinyl applied to it: