Preview of the new engine for my Felicia Rally Car

[fruitbat]

That's definitely the one I've got then - it's the full width of the aperture.

[TeflonTom]

i've got a diesel rad in my 1.8T car, that was mainly a space thing more than a cooling thing tbh, the diesel rad sits hard up to the front panel with no gap and doesnt sit on those little rubber feet like the 1.3 and 1.6 ones do so you get another couple of inches of space in front of the engine.

 

the other option if you do in fact have the 1.6 raditor is to fit the fan motor assembly from an aircon model, it's far less restrictive than the steel one on the 1.6 normal type

[fruitbat]

Yup, mines a 1.6 then, not a diesel!

 

Just ordered a diesel rad from my local motor factors.  Should be here tomorrow.

 

You're going to tell me that the fan and cowl are different too, aren't you? ;-)

[TeflonTom]

yes the diesel fan unit sits flat against the radiator core..

 

the fan switch is not the same either but you can interchange them because they have the same threaded fitting

[fordfan]

Have you considered using waterless coolant, it should run cooler without any pressure build up and no need to worry about corrosion.  Though in a rally car it would be expensive to lose it should the radiator get damaged.

[ClarkE_123]

How did the 16v perform at the weekend James?

I didn't get to Hamsterley, but i saw plenty of mk2 escorts running around bishop auckland

[dohnjoe]

Have you considered using waterless coolant, it should run cooler without any pressure build up and no need to worry about corrosion.  Though in a rally car it would be expensive to lose it should the radiator get damaged.

waterless coolant??

are you talking about the antifreeze we're using normally but without mixing it 40:60 with distilled water?

because if it is so, it is a mistake using 100% antifreeze.

cooling is worse.

[TeflonTom]

No there us stuff you can buy that you don't mix with water, it us used straight out of the bottle and doesn't need diluting.

[RainbowFire]

http://www.waterlessenginecoolant.com/pages/about-evans-coolant

[dohnjoe]

hmmm... that could come handy.

I'll do the math though because it is 8 times more expensive.

[fruitbat]

Well, we finished!

 

After a fairly hectic week beforehand to get things ready, we had a good day out on the Tour of Hamsterley to get to the finish.  Stages were very slippery, and I was pretty rusty after 18 months without driving in a rally.  We finished 20th out of the 23 finishers but sadly fourth (Ahem, last) in the up to 1400 class.

 

I changed the thermostat for the lower temperature one and this resulted in her running a lot cooler - probably if anything too cool - compared to before.

 

Inevitably what the event has revealed is that I really need to spend some money on a decent close ratio box.  First is now too low, and there's a big chasm when I shift up into second.  Probably would be OK on tarmac as I would have gathered some momentum, but on gravel it just spins its wheels in first and then bogs down when I shift up.  Once going though it flies.

 

Next event will probably be the RSAC Scottish rally on 287th/28th June in Dumfries.

 

cheers

 

James

[TeflonTom]

well done jimbo