[rally_prep] 205 Mi16 Road Rally Car

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

its been ages since iv seen my car now,but just had the call of my mate its running yay!

iv got to go down and see it tommorow, he said theres a few things he needs to show me hopefully it wont be too bad,but i gave it too him incomplete so im expecting a few probs,but i dont care im just glad to be having it back,its so boring having nothing to tinker with!

 

got a few new goodies to stick on when it gets home suspension wise,not looking forward to mot work but i doubt it would fail on rust (hopefully).

 

is there a way of mounting the drivers bucket seat so it slides forward and back,with out my head banging on the roof? was going to mount both seats nice and low on welded in rails,but as my bird is going to have to drive it occasionaly, it would be good to have it adjustable as theres over a foot difference in hight ( im the taller one before any one asks,i dont dig big chicks!) theres always the paint tins on the peddles trick for her,but i dont fancy doing that. sugestions welcome.

 

need an exhaust for it now and a few little bits to get it on the road,but the plan is to have it road worthy by 11th may as the vxr run around is going of to Forge motor sport to be used as a developement car,any one got any experience with forge? i emailed them a few weeks ago seeing if they needed a vxr for developement work,turns out they'r gonna be sorting me out with loads of freebees,intercooler,pipes,inlet,dump valve all for free dead chuffed!

must be my lucky month

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

still not had the car back but i been busy preparnig things ready to bolt on as soon as it gets back. i did see it the other day and its all running,it was the immobiliser that was playing up,so he's removed all the un neccasary wiring now.should keep it more reliable too with less wiring to go wrong! only downside is,the car was delocked by the previous owner,making the car keyless entry all controlled by the alarm fob.now i wont be ableto lock the car,but as its a rally car i wont ever be far from it or using it for long journeys,locking it shouldnt be an issue,and if it does become an issue il sort it at a later date!

 

 

 

trimmed back the fan as far as i could,cut holes in it for more airflow,made some brackets to lower and tilt the rad slightly.as the car is not with me the brackets are still to be adjusted if needed when it comes to fitting to the car,is i could only guess the positioning.

 

 

de rusted the old parts and gace a coat of black hammerite to the parts you could see,fitted the new bearings with group n rubbers and tarmac springs.should be pretty tasty!

 

 

 

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

made a sub frame for the drivers seat,was way easier than i thought to have it sliding. all i did was separate the tilt from the subframe,take measurements of the spare gti seat for where to drill as without the car to compare to,i wanted it as spot on as possible. i think it'l be too high but its only temporary.

 

il be using 1600 wheels on events,i have one already in white so i started sanding down rthe center and lip and will polish it up to see how it looks,if its not too time consuming il do the lot to match, as i have 7 and could do with a freshen up.

 

 

hopefully should have the car back soon, its really boring without it!

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

had my car back now and spent all day sunday trying to get it ready to drive! only thing left stoping me now is the gears not selecting,seats not in and a slight water leak.

i got a straight through group n system which does sound really nice,a good raspy sound and doesnt seem to loud either.bargain for £40 i think id recomend it,but we'l see how it gos on the road.

i have'nt run it for long as i havent filled it up with water due to the leak,but it sounds tappety from the top end, but hopefully a good oil change and some use, it should go, i hope so any way!

had loads of fiddly jobs to do like tidying away stuff, the ecu now lives where the radio used to be and iv got to wire up the twin fan. the seat subframe i put together is a no go now as its far to high,all id be able to see is the roll cage. definately need seat rails mounted low as possible.my bird can foget about driving it then! dont know what i can do for seats in the mean time tho, a crate most likely pics tommorow

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

a few pics

sitting pretty, on axle stands until i sort the water leak. will come up mint with a polish, not washed it for 2 years and its still not faded!

 

the engne bay all complete, no bonnet catch any more,just need to fit the bonnet pins.

 

fly off handbrake,unscrewed at the moment.

 

where the ecu now lives, held in with 2 self tapers for easy access.

 

eyelet on exhaust tunnel,sandwich plates top and bottom for extra strength.

 

the photos really dont do it justice,its way shineyer in real life,plus the camera lense being dirty does'nt help! did'nt realise till it was too late.

managed to fit drivers seat and harness' today,its not ideal at that height but its about the same as a standard seat at the moment,will need more rolll cage padding to stop me knocking myself out on a bumpy road. hoping to be able to take it for a spin by the weekend

Edited April 21, 2009 by bensonmi

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

i finally managed to sort out the gears, it was so easy in the end! i had foolishly refitted the lift up reverse cable into the box which was stopping me from selecting all the gears removed that and with a bit of adjustment all the gears are selecting really nicely, and the quick shift cuts the travel by at least half ,well pleased with it now!

 

changed the front struts over, but while doing so the o/s drive shaft decided to split but luckily i had a spare, plus it gave me more access to sort out the water leaking from the water distribution block (think thats what its called any way). bit of instant gasket and job done!

 

all i need to do today is fill up the box with oil, fill the coolant system again to check it doesnt leak, adjust the exhaust slightly then it should be ready to drive with any luck just need it to stop bloody raining!

 

as for the seats, i may try drilling holes lower on the side mounts, to get the seat as low as possible. i nust hope i dont end up ruining a good set of mounts in the process tho, but i got to have a go i need to be able to see where im driving with no roll cage blocking my vision.

[taylorspug 7]

Id weld some plates into the floor for the harness mounts, what you have used wont be strong enough on their own and will almost certainly pull through the floor in a big impact. Also that area you have mounted them to is known to be weak due to the stress put on it by the handbrake and seat mounts. Even in standard road cars it tends to stress fracture and break.

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

Id weld some plates into the floor for the harness mounts, what you have used wont be strong enough on their own and will almost certainly pull through the floor in a big impact. Also that area you have mounted them to is known to be weak due to the stress put on it by the handbrake and seat mounts. Even in standard road cars it tends to stress fracture and break.

 

 

i did consider about the strenggth as iv heard of handbrakes ripping the tunnel when pulled hard and often enough! where by would you recomend fitting them? just further back on the floor is it? cheers

[Craigb 2]

i did consider about the strenggth as iv heard of handbrakes ripping the tunnel when pulled hard and often enough! where by would you recomend fitting them? just further back on the floor is it? cheers

 

Just add a plate to spread the load .

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

Just add a plate to spread the load .

 

iv got a plate top and bottom

[taylorspug 7]

Id personally put them further back on either the tunnel or the floor, and id weld a larger plate, say 2 or 3 inch square onto the area, then drill a hole for the eyebolt to go through, and put the threaded nut/plate on the outside. Will spread the load alot better.

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

Id personally put them further back on either the tunnel or the floor, and id weld a larger plate, say 2 or 3 inch square onto the area, then drill a hole for the eyebolt to go through, and put the threaded nut/plate on the outside. Will spread the load alot better.

 

think il be doing that as theres no harm in making it safer! but il have to get some one else to weld it as i dont have the equiptment

but iv had a little problem with it on the weekend. got the car all complete and ready to go,full of coolant, new gear oil in,selecting all gears beautifully,exhaust all on,suspension all on and back on its wheels. got in ready to drive it and the bloody clutch is not working! so pulled the gear box off after work today which didnt take long as all the bolts came out easily. from what i can see, one of lugs on the thrust bearing has nearly snapped off with a split along it,and its marked the springs on the pressure plate so i think thats the problem. even if the clutch is still fine i might aswell replace it while the box is out to save any future head aches.

normally id be pissed off with the thing,but it really doesnt bother me as the car is so close to completion,its nice to have something else to do!

on a plus note,its now sitting much higher on the tarmac springs, around standard height but it/l probrably settle down a bit after its been driven.and with new top mounts the annoying creak of the old ones has dissapeared so result!

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

got a clutch sorted now thanks to baz, should be here in the next day or so.

 

had an early finish today so running out of things to do, i decided to over haul the brakes,stripped them down cleaned them up, got rid of all the rust and greased them up so they move freely. should work good hopefully! got rid of all the old red paint from the calipers and freshened them up with a good coat of black hammerite, while i had the paint out i gave the gearbox a coat also which looks mint now! i degreased the engine bay further with the easy access of having the box of its now looking really tidy under there so looking forward to seeing what it looks like when its all back in place.

removed the old clutch ready for the new one and glad i did now as it was stuck solid to the pressure plate took some effort to separate the 2!

 

now im running out of things to do to it im getting a bit bored so been looking at minis, really tempted to sell the pug when its done to get one! if any ones got a mini to sell let me know

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

a few pics

 

group n exhaust, nice and subtle till you hear it!

 

 

degreased a bit more, looks much better now.

 

 

the painted gear box,calipers and rebuilt brakes.

 

 

 

bonnet pins fitted, grill will be fitted again though. thinking of spraying it red unless any one fancys a swap? red for black.

 

still no clutch though, should be here by tommorow and hopefully fitted if i finish work early enough.

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

got my clutch and fitted it friday, and im pleased to say it now drives!! finally after nearly 2 years of being off the road, i think its well worth the wait! took it for a little drive up a private road today and its excactly how i expected it to be, similar to a 8v at low revs then when you boot it,it revs so well the front lifts up and it just flies! little wheel spin between gears but overall very good traction,not been past third gear in it yet as i wanted to take it a bit easy and not go far incase any thing went wrong.

it starts and idles so well,no need to rev it to start and it idles smoothly at around 1000 rpm. the exhaust is blowing like hell but it does'nt bang on the bulkhead like i was worried it would,but plan on fitting the re angling plate at some time in the future.plus it sounds so loud inside as there is no interior at all in it only the drivers seat, but once the cage mounts are in i can put the carpet etc back in and stop my ears from bleeding!

few little jobs still to do like wire up the second fan,not sure which way to do it though, should i wire it in with the original one or have it of a separate switch? advice please

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

time for an update, iys been a while because iv moved house and no longer have internet access

alots happened since i was last on here, iv changed the cam belt and water pump as it was leaking, fitted the exhaust angling plate giving me plenty of clearence.mot'd it in a day as it only failed on side lights (bad connection) and washers (they werent fitted!). insured it and taxed it and now the bloody head gasket has gone!! typical! but its no worries,just something else to do to it. need to find a good ehxaust manifold now as mine is split, so if any one has one spare let me know

may even have to sell the seats and cage now as my girlfriends baby bump is getting to big she can hardly get in to it, so may have to use my standard interior, as i dont really want to get a more practical car, so il just keep this and make it more baby friendly, the joys of growing up!