1st April 2014

So now the other half has a new car I have a KA sat on the drive with no brakes and no purpose.
With Llandow race track being so close to me, and the KA's engine being utterly indestructible I thought I'd build a little track day car.

This is probably the newest picture I have of it which was taken about 18 months ago...


We've had the interior out about the same time and the floor was totally solid...


So a week last Monday the master cylinder failed leaving the car with little braking unless the pedal was constantly pumped.
Unfortunately when trying to remove the master cylinder one of the pipes was rather seized in place and had to be cut off.


I now have in my possession a new master cylinder, brake pipe, a litre of brake fluid and a bleeding kit.
Hopefully the car will be drivable by the end of the weekend.

The car has a fair amount of worn out bits. Lots have been replaced recently but it has buckled wheels (don't ask!) and they seem to have rattled everything to death.
The biggest issue at the moment is the rear mounting bushes, they're knocking around and there's a fair bit of movement on the back axle.
There's two track days coming up, April 18th and May 2nd. I'm going to attempt to make one of them and see how she does.
Prior to going I need to see to the rear bushes. I was planning on trying to fill them with some polyurethane sealant for the time being to try and stiffen them up a bit, depending on how she does on track will be the decider of whether she gets scrapped or saved.

If she does me proud then the plan in my head is as follows...
1) Get a set of 15" steel wheels to replace the knackered alloys. (£100-150 with tyres minus the scrap value of the alloys)
2) Drop the rear axle, replace the bushes & bearings, tidy up the brakes and underseal the rear end. (Sub £60)
3)Get rid of the A/C and PAS. Replace steering column (has a pay in the U/J) and steering rack from a car with non PAS. (£60 minus what I can sell from the A/C and PAS system)
4) Replace front top mounts and drop links. I replaced these last year and they've failed already. (£30)
5) Find a cheap set of lowering springs and fit. (£100)
Then give it a few track days and see how she does.

I'm hoping as I have the time to search for second hand parts, sell whats currently on the car and install everything myself this should be a cheap build and a bit of entertainment for myself.

Bailes.

 

So i done some work on this Friday.
Installed the new master cylinder.


Installed the new brake line.




And proceeded to snap a bleed nipple.



The nipple looks like an M6 thread which I cannot find in a motorfactors anywhere. Going to have to order one online.


It's a start!

The car is booked in for it's first track day on the 18th April. We'll have to see how she does!

 

With your first track day you'll realise how horrendously slow the KA engine is.

 

I don't doubt that one bit!
Once I have it handling and stopping correctly I'll chuck something else in it.
It'll highly likely be a SportKA lump though with the possibility of some aftermarket cams later on. A 1.6 Sigma would be ideal but I don't have the fabrication skills.

 

Get some axle spacers bought for the rear end. Also get the ST170 Front brake set up too.

 

Dont waste your time and money with that, clean it up, sell as a decent road car; gotta be worth £600-£700 and buy a clio 172

 

I think you may be right.
Had a chat with the Missus today and she's not happy with the way her new C3 handles.
It's looking like I'm going to tidy this up to sell and use the money to get a new set of wheels, some uprates shocks and lowering springs for the Citreon.
I made a bit of a cock up with the master cylinder.
There is a rubber O ring that sits between the servo and the master cylinder that I forgot to refit and had a massive vacuum leak.
Had to syphon out the brake fluid. Remove the master cylinder and reinstall with the new O ring.





And back together and running sweet again!


Unfortunately there is still the matter of the snapped bleed nipple.
Removed the wheel cylinder to try and extract the broken bleed nipple but it was too tight.


So plan is to get a new wheel cylinder and finish the brakes off.
I have new drop links and a HCV to fit, I'm going to tidy up the paintwork around the filler and the boot lid and sell it on.

Once I get my pay rise in September I'll try look for something more apt.

 

Don't suppose you could sell the KA and the C3, so you got more to spend on a track toy and persuade the mrs to drive that? Or, buy a pushbike?!

 

This track car idea didnt last long. You can beat fords for handling. You should of bought her a new fiesta zetec s.

 

1 day on this thread.....

 

This is still on although I'm looking at more of a fast road car which I can use for trackdays rather than something specifically for the track.

Brakes turned up this morning.
260mm Puma 1.7 Calipers and carriers for £15.50 posted.


Unsure if I should just give them a clean and a lick of paint or whether I should strip them down and rebuild them with new seals, pistons and bleed nipples?


Bailes.

 

100% worth rebuilding while off the car like that. IMHO I would get the car 12 months MOT then buy a Puma with the 1.6 or 1.7 fitted. Strip it out, service it, rear axle spacers, maybe add an exhaust for a bit of theatre and job done. Cheap track car you can use every day.