After the highs of my first ever outright race win in 2012 the rest of the season turned into a nightmare for me as my car constantly missfired above 20psi boost despite trying almost everthying to cure it, it also was using 3/4 of a header tank of water every race so the assumpton is a water loss issue, into the cylinder causing the missfire.

I'm sitting out most of the 2013 season to rebuild the engine and fit some new upgrades to the car 3.9 diff/drop gears, compression struts and a 6" rear beam to name a few.
The engine is going to martins at reyland to be sorted

I didn't take the engine out straight after the last race as we had a 2 post ramp to install in the unit, unfortunately that took a little longer to do and we were soon in february!

Finally today I went down there and put the car on the ramp for the first time to get started, today was just getting the bolt off bits undone, I will drop the engine /box out tommorrow
I have to say the ramp is superb i've need had one before and couldn't do without it now!

Quite inpressed with the condition of it underneath considering it started life with me as a 100 quid banger!















will update tommorow

steve

 

Looking forward to updates!

 

Got the engine out today really easily with the help of my dad, lowered it onto some tyres with some wood to support it, then lifted the car up out of the way to get the engine hoist in.
It all went fairly quickly allowing us time to strip the engine down to its bare block and head ready to go to martins next week.








fitted my new compresson struts to save having to put the antiroll bar back on






rather bare engine bay now! just needs a clean



all stripped ready to be delivered to Reyland



steve

 

How do you find them solid mounts mate?

Seen a few pairs of them for sale in the past but no idea where they originally stemmed from?

Whats happening with the engine or is it just a refresh?

Good luck this season

 

The mounts are great as a race car a small amount of vibration is not a problem, the biggest increase in vibration came from fitting the vibratechnics gearbox mount.
I bought the mounts off here a few years ago in as new condition, I have seen a few for sale over the last few years but don't know where they came from originally.
I fitted the mounts after a std one let go on track and cost me a driveshaft and a pair of pants!
these mounts stop any chance of the engine lifting or dropping if the mount fails

The engine is using water and has an unfixable misfire when up to temp so it has to be water getting int a cylinder somehow hence the rebuild

thanks m8 will hope to be out later in the year once it's all back together

steve

 

Cool Steve.What brakes have you got fitted to the front.

Cant beat working on a 2 post ramp.

 

Hi Glenn they are AP 5200 4 pot calipers with 330 mm disks and DS3000 pads.
yes the ramp made the job a pleasure!

steve

 

Wow, you sure dont hang about. Do you have your abs connected or have you removed the fuse for no abs?

 

Looking forward to the updates Steve.

 

I disconnected one sensor that turns the ABS off, plan is to remove it all completely, when I understand what I have to do with wiring around the pump and the plumbing

cheers paul

steve

 

steve I know a chap that could knock you a abs loom up

 

cheers m8 sounds good do you know whats involved in removing the abs completely

steve

 

Mine has been removed Whizzasat 114 dave
Done quite a few now il point him in ur
Direction

 

cheers m8

steve

 

Hi steve you can un pick the abs loom as they usually run along side the car loom .
Been a while since i took one out but im sure its quite a straight forward job.
David

 

hello steve looking good mate just junk complete wiring loom and make new one you will only rec a small 10 fuse fuse box and min wiring make new brake pipes, get all that under seal off as well all the little brakets you will loose 20kilos easy thats another secound alap easy keep up the good work
ash

 

Hi ash how your doing? never thought about the underseal but it's the first time have had the car on the ramp to see it underneath without being laid on me back! will get it off with a heat gun
some of the wiring would be complicated as I have a heated screen etc
wil lhave a look I made one for my 100E years ago so could do it again.
hows your race car doing? out again this year?

steve

 

im ok thanx you will also need a few relays but its easy enough mate you will manage it you can also get rid of steering colume and switch gear and just have buttons you will have three for ign, fuel pump and start and then the rest for lights,wipers,cooling fan heated screen etc etc. my cars doing well just making longer inlet trumpets and new air box so looking for more bhp and torque not doing full year as going on hols cant do both but will do second half of season with the number one plate,your having a year out then, seen the go kart looks the nuts, hows the lad doing in his

 

Number 1 ??? Did you win the C/ship??
didn't know m8, well bloody done!!!

Dan is doing ok, he isn't a hard faced racer but neither was I at his age, but he throughly enjoys his race days
We had both karts out together last weekend and he loved been on track with his dad! my kart is nuts and you really have to ring it's neck to go quick was pulling over 15k rpm on saturday!

steve

 

i keep seeing bits on facebook about your karting glad your lads enjoying it my lad starts in november when he is 8 he came karting with me last week just on a local indore track and hes looking forward to it yer won the championship last year just a shame i couldet defend it we are at croft later in the year never been there looking forward to that ill give you a shout when we are coming maybe pop along

 

Yea deffo gis a shout if your up this way, great news on the championship well bloody done!
You taking a year out aswell ?
Steve

 

Got a few days at the unit so removed the rear diff or tried to the top bolt was siezed solid so had to drop the beam and cut through the bolt with a hacksaw!
easy with the ramp tho!

once removed the new 3.9 rear diff was fitted and the beam refitted





dropped the engine off at reyland for the rebuild and whilst down there also went to bara motorsport for an uprated centre viscous coupling

Also took delivery of my new T38 turbo that will be fitted once the engine is rebuilt
I took the transfer case off to fit my 3.9 drop gears and centre VC




Had to modify the front prop shaft bearing housings to fit the 3.9 drop gears, easy done with a grinder and dremmel then put the parts in my parts washer to get rid off all the grinding dust






Got the gearbox back together and will store it till it can go back in the car
A week or so off working on the car as the school holidays get in the way

steve

 

Good work

I didn't realise the box needed modding for drop gears! How much we're they and the vc if you don't mind saying?

Thanks
Marc

 

I didn't m8 till bara told me, because the gear is smaller the chain will touch the housing so 2/3 mm needs grinding off both sides
I bought the drop gears and chain secondhand bara sell them for under Ł400 the VC cost me Ł250

Steve

 

good work Steve.

what power are you going for,over 400 i would guess.

 

Cheers Dave and yes I want to be the other side of 400, with the other mods I've done I'm hoping for another big leap forward,
Not sure the car will be out this year tho as this lot is costing me my racing fund!

Steve

 

not going to make Nat day in it.

 

really not sure dave,when I get the engine back it will be ready to fit the ancilleries and then refit, then it will need a new chip and setting up to suit the new spec, but im not sure my injectors will be ok, think they may need changing i'm on 55's at the mo
It all really depends on the cost of the rebuild as to if I get out this year on not

steve

 

Not done a lot for a while so I though I would update to where we are now
The engine is at Reyland getting a rebuild the good news is that we found the source of the misfire it was the cylinder head as suspected it had corroded around the water galleries on 2 cylinder's I soon had a new head which is going to Karl Norris to be ported to suit the T38

I removed all of the ABS stuff and fitted a new loom that a guy (whizzsat) off here made for me to operate the servo and pressure switches



I then removed all the brake pipes and ABS block which is bloody heavy! then made up some new brake pipes got no pics of them tho
I also blocked up the centre outlet on the servo as instructed using a plug from a local hydraulic place



I checked over my new 3.9 rear diff and found no problems even has 3.9 written on it so I deffo know its correct lol



After giving up on the shonky rallye design bladed anti roll bar that wouldn't allow me full lock I purchased a proper one from Mk motorsport a great piece of kit that I fitted this week
Mark also made up and welded on some adapters onto my new TCA's to mount the drop links to a great job cheers m8







Also found some proper bargains aswell recently 4 more wheels that I run on the car they are 17x8 Raceline RL5 with group a inserts,I use these to clear the front ap brakes, these will be refurbed and mean I now have 9 of them, you can never have enough!



That's it for now until the engine arrives back then its refit time

steve

 

Looking good mate!

Where did you get the turbo from?

 

I bought the turbo off a lad on escortrscosworth.com it's a Harvey Gibbs spec one by cr turbos

Steve

 

Top work Steve.Do you know when the engine is coming back.Who is gonna map it for you.

 

Looking good mate, ive been wanting to do exactly the same with the front suspension, ill have to give mkmotorsport a ring next week

 

Not sure when it will be back no major rush yet also regards the mapping going to speak to Martin first

Cheers m8 the roll bar is a lovely piece of kit!

Steve

 

Looking good mate!!

What's the advantage of a bladed anti roll bar over a standard one?

 

Cheers m8

The compression struts take the place of the original arb and is solidly mounted so that under braking /accelerating there is no forward /backward movement of the hub/wheel
also depending on the track/track conditions I can adjust the roll bar to suit, so if its wet I can turn the blades and soften the front end to improve grip/turn in

steve

 

Ah ok, cheers mate!

Looks like something else to spend me dough on now then!! Lol!!

 

Also forgot to add the pic of the new headlight blanks I've made, the originals were made of flat steel and were really just a temp measure that lasted 3 years! lol
the various holes in them were from the 2 different engine configurations that the car has run V6 and then YB.



Then I made the new ones out of fibreglass by laying it over the headlight glass after removing the glass from the holders, I then filled, sanded and painted them, there still not perfect but will do, I'm not planning on putting holes in for a feed to the air filter like previously as i'm going to run a cold air feed or 2 from the grill and bumper area.



steve

 

cars looking good mate why not come out in blue oval saloons you have seen the calender and as iv said your car will fit in perfect

 

This would be great in blue oval saloons!

I am tempted to join in next year in a track mk5 escort we've got sat up yard doing nothing.