Noobs go Rallying. James I stage Rally PUG 205

[James I]

After a few years running the Golf VR6T and enjoying every minute of every track day attended with the Brisky guys I have decided enough is enough, spending more and more money on the Golf to make it faster, lighter and more powerful I realised that on a track day I would never really benchmark myself competitively against another driver in a similar car, I have also taken a  lot of stick from mates of mine who stage rally Escort Mk1's and MK2's, they would say that track racing is like ploughing, just going around and around, I did not agree with this statement at all, I enjoy the track!

 

 I had my Golf advertised for a few months and no interest, I re-advertised on Car & Classic, within three days I had interest in the car and a lad from Dartford came to look at it, he bought it and has plans for more power and a roll cage, I then had a few grand in my hand, the wife was looking at holidays and I was looking at log booked rally cars with in date seats and belts, I won and today collected the car I bought last weekend.

 

 I have a 1986 Peugeot 205 GTi, it is not the tidiest car I have ever owned but it has good mechanicals, all brakes are new, suspension is Bilstein all round, nearly new, engine was rebuilt by a PUG specialist and has done two rallies since rebuild, it has a big cam that sounds great when ticking over, like it is hunting but with the taps open it pulls well, in addition to the engine bits it has a diff, close ration box and all new brake pipes etc. In short it is ready to go, just needs me to enter it into something.

 

 First picture here on the trailer when I collected it today, I have my BARS test booked with Phil Price rally school to get things moving and hope to get a few single venue events in this year before entering a full two day forest rally maybe next year.

 

 

 

[TERKIN]

ah man that looks awesome

[TriggerFish]

This > Golf! (by far, IMO)

 

I'm sure you'll have an absolute riot in this thing! I've only ever done one 'rally' stage (in an old RWD Ford, and it was the most fun I've ever had in a car)

[James I]

This > Golf! (by far, IMO)

 

I'm sure you'll have an absolute riot in this thing! I've only ever done one 'rally' stage (in an old RWD Ford, and it was the most fun I've ever had in a car)

 

 I have to agree the thought of stage rallying is more exciting than a track day (I enjoyed trackways but did not like the scrutiny if you had a spin or went wide on a corner) but the whole thing is still a bit daunting.  There is a lot to do with respect licences and stuff and the car need to be looked over too, it is still on the trailer as I have been garage building all weekend and the weather is not good today to finish off my roof!

 

 

 

 

 

[AshVrs]

That massive wooden bungalow looks epic, I would love that!

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[James I]

That massive wooden bungalow looks epic, I would love that!

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 A lot of hard work has gone into that bungalow  :p , it is made from mostly salvaged/recycled materials, only the slab was paid for!   Got my doors to make, 20 ton of aggregate around the outside to cover the mud up  and put a ridge on the roof then it is done  :clap:

 

Story in pictures so far.

 

PICTURES

[BossFox]

Car looks good James, wish you the best with it.

[James I]

Car looks good James, wish you the best with it.

Thanks Richard, I have my BARS test booked and then I can get a licence, once I have that a single venue event needs to be found so I can give it a go!  

 

 Rally Crossing last year at Castle Coombe in the Yeti was all the inspiration I needed  

 

 Good luck with the tin tops   

[ilmor]

Thanks Richard, I have my BARS test booked and then I can get a licence, once I have that a single venue event needs to be found so I can give it a go!

Rally Crossing last year at Castle Coombe in the Yeti was all the inspiration I needed

Good luck with the tin tops

You still had better come to a few track days James. Wont be the same without you and Liam!

Sounds like Rallying will be amazing though!

Andy

[James I]

You still had better come to a few track days James. Wont be the same without you and Liam!

Sounds like Rallying will be amazing though!

Andy

ilmor I am hoping to come to How Fast with the PUG, just over 100bhp so should win the slowest car on the day.  I had a ticket for castle coombe but so much on at the minute just couldn't get away.

 

 I will keep an eye on the track day forum and see where I can get to.

[BossFox]

ilmor I am hoping to come to How Fast with the PUG, just over 100bhp so should win the slowest car on the day.  I had a ticket for castle coombe but so much on at the minute just couldn't get away.

 

 I will keep an eye on the track day forum and see where I can get to.

 

How Fast might not go ahead.

They are very limited on dates this year and demand is high.

[James I]

How Fast might not go ahead.

They are very limited on dates this year and demand is high.

This is not good!  Will the national meet include track time?  Would a Peugeot be allowed in?   

 

 I am sure we will meet up somewhere.

[ilmor]

How Fast might not go ahead.

They are very limited on dates this year and demand is high.

I hope it does also as i want to see how fast my golf is compared to the fabia!

This car does look epic though James! However not as epic as Richards new motor! You have just purchased one of my dream cars!

Hope to see both of you soon, wasnt the same at Combe without you!

[James I]

I hope it does also as i want to see how fast my golf is compared to the fabia!

This car does look epic though James! However not as epic as Richards new motor! You have just purchased one of my dream cars!

Hope to see both of you soon, wasnt the same at Combe without you!

I am sure you are referring to Richard about Castle Combe 

[James I]

So far this thread has been a lot of waffle about stuff and not the car! I shall put this right.

 

 1986 Peugeot 1.6 205 gti, full MSA log book spec ready to go rallying, it has had a hard life and needs a few jobs doing on it before I can get competitive, these will be taken care of over the coming weeks and range from tidying brake pipes up, door hinge pins, screen wash bottle and pump, service the engine, alternator belt squeal, hydraulic handbrake and most importantly sorting out the Bosch fuel injection as tick over is diabolical and hard acceleration is hesitant at best.

 The Bosh Jetronic is renowned for being temperamental so I have decided to bin it and replace with twin Weber 40's, more power, better sound and more reliable.

 

 

 

The car is in the garage and off the trailer now, it has also been up the lane to see how it goes, not bad but steering is heavy, may need a power steering conversion.

 

[James I]

Sorted out a screaming aux belt today, worked out how to get the seat where I need it and fitted a screen wash bottle as it didn't have one!  I need to strip off all the stickers and get something to put back on it, might go for a wrap although if I hit anything I have to wrap it again, white paint and stickers may be the way forward.

 

Other than that, I was building the garage, ridge tins, door catches, a window and some more wood nailed to it to fill in the holes.

 

 

[James I]

Twin Weber 40's collected today.......

[James I]

Spent all day on the Pug on Sunday assessing how to fit the Weber's, it was decided to get them refurbed, jetted correctly for the engine set up and fit them at a later date.

 

 So instead we took the Bosch L Jetronic to pieces to work out why the car was running so bad, on close inspection we found two air leaks, one of which was a missing pipe between throttle body and advance retard on the distributor, once these were plugged we reset the idle speed so the engine does not stall and then we looked into why the throttle response was very poor.

 

 We found that the electronic throttle mechanism was full of water, all the shiny bits were swimming! No wonder things were running badly,this was promptly dried out and cleaned then resealed and refitted, hit the starter button to instant engine start that sounds crisp when the throttle is blipped, very happy with the results.

 

 I also fitted a new fuel level sender, made a bracket to hold the brake bias control, fabricated a mesh guard to cover the oil cooler as it is hanging way out front in the firing line, removed old stickers and decals, sorted out the dropped drivers door, put a clip on the bonnet stay, found the wiring to attach the screen wash pump to and fitted a new off side rear wheel arch trim, not bad for a days work.

 

 Still loads to do, I hope to enter my first rally on May 15th, this might be wishful thinking but then again I may well be there.

[Toxicvrs]

Nice to see progress, best of luck with the build

[James I]

Things are progressing well, I have passed my BARS test and application for my MSA licence has been sent, BARS test was very informal with discussion about timing, safety and equipment needed in the car, I did this at the Phil Price Rally School near Knighton, I combined with a rally tuition day and it was one of the best things I have done.

 We started the day with tea, in fact there was a lot of tea all day!  A brief discussion about rallying, how to and how not too, hints and tips and then it was straight into the cars, Subaru Impreza's that had been converted to rear wheel drive and had the diffs welded up, in addition to this bald tyres were fitted to the rear.

 

 Track was marked out with cones and it was a series of flowing bends, no straights at all, our challenge was to drift the car around with only steering and throttle control, as you can imagine it was quite tricky to get the car to glide from right to left, by lunch time we were on it, most people had a good feel for it and had massive smiles on their faces.

 A bit of lunch and the BARS exam then back out after lunch where we had to do the same course but in the opposite direction, this too proved tricky at first but everybody got the hang of it.

 In between all this drifting we were taken one at a time to drive a group N Subaru on the main stage with Phil calling out the notes, he encouraged you to get on it and give it your best shot, which of course I did, the Subaru has dual controls including a second steering wheel so Phil can save his life and yours if you get it wrong, Phil also took each of us out as a passenger in his competition car for a flying lap of the stage, this was incredible!

 

 Back at the drift circuit we were now all challenged to set a time for three laps clockwise in car number 5 and three laps anti clockwise in car number 7, combined times from each run, lowest time was the winner, also had penalties for hitting tyres.

 Outcome was that me and a lad from South Wales set the same time so we had a shoot out, car 7 in a clockwise direction, the pressure was intense, Josh went first and set his time, then I went and give it everything, I don't think the revs dropped below 6,000 for the full run!  We were then stood together for the times, Josh 81.02 seconds, me 80.08 and deemed the winner making a great end to the day.

 

 I would recommend going to the Phil Price Rally school for a day out, you don't need to take your BARS just have a day on the rally experience you will not be disappointed.

 

 

 Moving onto Saturday, I made a trip to Demon Tweeks, the Golf was full of rims ready for tyres and I needed to update my wardrobe, wheels were shod with Yokohama AO35 soft compound gravel tyres and I got some overalls, crash helmet with intercom, Hans device, balaclava and some patch heads so my intercom will link to the helmet, I arrived at 08:30 and left at 09:30 with a lot of goodies in bags and boxes, the seats folded down and six wheels piled high in the back and about £1800 lighter than when I started!!!

 

 

 

 Today, I will be fitting the polycarbonate windows I have for the car, spanner checking it ready for next weekend where I hope to get a rally done as I am on the reserve list, I couldn't enter before my BARS and by the time I had passed it the entry had filled up, so heres hoping that a few people have the misfortune to drop out before the event so I get a run.  Here's hoping!

 

 Picture to follow.

 

 

 Here is a bit of classic MK2 car control by a few of the greats we all remember (if you're over a certain age anyway)

 

https://youtu.be/Rzi1cpL2XDg

[Toxicvrs]

Glad you had a good day up at Phils. Always a good time and 3 miles off where I live Ford are testing up there today I Believe having seen the trucks just head up that way.

[James I]

First Rally booked for the 12th June, it is a tarmac event at Weeton Camp near Blackpool, car has been checked, just have tyres to buy and we're off, can't wait.

[Dark_Hero]

Excellent. Wish you all the best for it Jamie

[James I]

Just home after an eventful day rallying, managed 15th overall and 5th in class in very challenging conditions, lost the brakes at one point when we threw a pad from the rear calliper, managed to borrow a pad and a clip from some other entrants with a Peugeot so this kept us in the rally.

 

 I now have a few jobs to do on the car before the next outing and I will need more tyres as we used 6 in total for 54 stage miles

 

 Pictures to follow should  find any online.

[James I]

 Well, photographs did follow and so did a DVD, I chose not to buy the images as the DVD was better.

 

 Since my first rally I have entered another but before I can go rallying I have to repair all the bits that broke on my last event!!  Over the last week or two I have been gathering my bits and pieces, until today when I fitted them, the car is off the floor with all four wheels off, front wishbone bushes have been replaced with Powerflex Black bushes, the brake pads have also been replaced with Mintex 1144's up front and 1155's at the rear, jobs still to do, fit the plastic windows, move the battery from the passenger foot well into the boot and fix the electric fan back onto the radiator as it fell off!

 

Here are the worn parts. You can see how the Ferodo pads have fallen apart just like the set of DS2500's I had in the Golf.