I've had the car for just over a month now so I suppose an update on progress is due.
With it's first track day now just a week away, the key focus has been getting it all together mechanically and making sure everything is safe and working. One of the first missions was to get my set of four point harnesses in which wasn't too hard, I just needed to get a couple of longer eye bolts for the rear as two of the mounting points turned out to be slightly recessed. An unexpected change however was swapping the bucket seats it came with for my Cobra buckets from my old MG. Main reason for the change was the woman prefers the Cobras and if it means she'll have a go at driving it on track, then fine. To be fair, the Cobras are the better seats so she was right. Don't tell her that though. It was a quick job though as the mounting points of the two seats were different and upon closer inspection, I wasn't overly happy with how the existing seats had been mounted so it turned int a full day of re-fabricating and welding good solid mounting points. As it won't just be me driving the car, I needed to keep the seats mounted on sliders so they can still be adjusted.
A lot of work but worth it as I'm now happy that the seats are properly mounted and won't cause me any issues.
With new cars comes many shopping opportunities so I've been on a bit of a buying spree recently.
Lots of service items, and a few upgrades such as Badger 5 oversize TIP, big front mounted intercooler, stainless exhaust system, baffled sump, bits of pipe for a catch can, stage 2 ECU, Haldex service kit and one of those Haldex inserts that Softscoop suggested, phenolic gasket for the inlet manifold, billet injector cups, RamAir induction kit and probably more little bits that I can't remember now.
It's been a steady process of most evenings and weekends being spent on working through everything to get it all serviced and get the upgraded parts on.
One of the first things I did was bling up the engine up the engine bay a bit by painting my cam cover, inlet manifold and charge pipe. Those who know me on facebook will be aware that I have a habit of painting such items to make a few pennies so it was only right I did a set for myself. Surface prep is key so a go in the dishwasher for a final degreasing is a must.
All came out looking pretty nice though as the VHT matt red paint I use is very user friendly.
I put the inlet back on along with a phenolic gasket to help reduce the amount of heat transferred from the head and I also fitted a new set of billet injector cups.
A crucial job was the cam belt and water pump
I've done a cam belt on a 1.8t before so this time didn't take too long. Hardest part is getting the engine mounting bracket out from the space that doesn't really exist
It's also had all fluids changed, new oil pick up pipe and I've fitted a baffled sump as I've got experience of taking a 1.8T on track without one and it didn't end well. Forge want £260 for a ready made item, which whilst it is a good quality item, I managed to find just as good an option at a much more reasonable £50. CB Auto do a baffle kit and as my brother works for an engineering company, he was able to tig weld it into a sump pan for me.
Well worth the piece of mind that the engine isn't going to be starved of oil during those long sweeping bends on race circuits.
The car came with a 3 inch decat downpipe already installed but it still had the standard cat back system which has quite a restrictive looking flattened part where it goes under the rear axle. I kept my eye out for a stainless system at a decent price and luckily found one on Ebay for £100 and as a bonus it was located about 15 minutes from where I was working at the time. Most exhausts available were all centre or back box deletes which didn't really interest me as I didn't want anything loud that would potentially cause me issues with noise tests at circuits. The one I found is ideal as it really isn't a lot louder than standard but is much more free flowing. It was also a direct fit so bolted straight on with no hassle.
The front mounted intercooler was also another Ebay find and a really easy fit as, along with the pipework, it's designed specifically for the car so mounted straight on and the bumper fits back over without needing to hack anything off it.
With the bumper back on, I figured a little more airflow couldn't hurt so I got the hole saw out and made some holes across the front where the number plate used to live.
Next important job, which I didn't get any pictures of, was serviceing the rear Haldex system. A fiddly job as access is tight and the special spanner I purchased to change the filter was an absolute must. The oil is easy enough to change, just a case of suirting it in through the hole and put the plug back in quickly. I fitted the insert I mentioned earlier and now it's in, it's staying in as it's tricky to get to.
It's very very small so I really hope it was worth the £76 it cost
One of the jobs that needed doing, so that it can get an MOT in a couple of weeks time, was to replace the front cv boots as they were both split. What should have been an easy job, I've done plenty in the past on various vehicle, ultimately turned into a massive pain in the winkle as the cv joints just would not come off for love nor money. Had to resort to the angle grinder.
It didn't really help though as the new cv joints I had then wouldn't fit the shafts. Upon closer inspection, the shafts were infact some non genuine replacements. Disappointing but easily resolved by sourcing a pair of genuine, good condition used shafts.
Getting close to being ready to use now so today I just did a quick little task of relocating the front number plate. Obviously I can't use a normal one now as it'll block off the holes I made for the intercooler, so I've gone for a square plate tucked off to the left hand side. I don't want any issues with the law so I've had one made with the legal font and size.
Tomorrow's job is fit my uprated fuel pump and I've got a boost gauge to mount somewhere aswell. Then, it'll be a case of put it on the trailer next weekend and hope it all holds together when I drive it for the first time at Donnington Park.
As long as it doesn't blow up, I can then get it MOT'd whilst I have a week off work and then maybe start looking at tidying up the cosmetic issues.