18/02/07
I wasn't able to get stuck in to the wiring this weekend as I'd hoped. Instead, I refitted the O/S/F driveshaft, suspension and wheel. I also went to Allcars and bought the correct alternator, as I didn't fancy chopping the engine loom about. After fitting that, the radiator was slotted in and a new support bracket for the N/S was made out of a piece of chrome-plated 15mm copper tube.
The coolant outlet on the VVC cylinder head is a different length and angle to the one on the Metro engine. As a result, the top hose is rather cramped and kinked behind the cooling fan. I think a top hose from a 216 will fit better, along with a custom-made aluminium top coolant pipe. I'll then be able to get rid of that awful old Metro cross-pipe.
The next job was to refit the camshaft cover with new stainless cap-head screws. I'd stripped all the paint off the cover in preparation for painting, but that will have to wait for now, as I've still got plenty of work to do to get the car running again. Finally, I fitted the new oil filter and added the engine oil.
25/02/07
I've made some more progress on the wiring today. The ECU has been mounted under the electrics panel, then I made a bracket for the relay module and fitted that. Next, I relocated the power distribution box and added a a couple of extra fuse holders, including a 40A strip fuse for the relay module.
04/03/07
I've bought a Powervamp Racing 25 battery (a re-badged Odyssey PC680) and bracket. It's considerably lighter than the old battery, which was getting a bit tired, and much smaller. Despite the tiny size, Ed at Powervamp assured me that it was suitable for a 1.8 K-series engine. Apparently, he sells lots of these batteries for use in Caterhams with the same engine.
As it's so small, I've mounted it at the front of the passenger foot well. To secure it, I fitted 6mm rivnuts into the bulkhead panel. The MEMS ECU is now with the very helpful and knowledgeable Dudley and Gareth at Talon Sportscars for alignment to one of their MEMS Immobiliser Interfaces.
08/03/07
The ECU and the interface box (arrowed) have been returned, so I fitted them this evening. The interface is a piece of cake to install, using just three wires. The Red one goes to an ignition-switched 12V supply (I used the feed that used to power the ignition coil on the 1.4), Black goes to earth and the Blue wire sends the signal to the ECU via the Blue/Slate wire in the bulkhead connector.
10/03/07
The new passenger foot rest bolted in place. I bought this from the Car Builder Solutions stand at totalkitcar LIVE back in October, but never got round to fitting it until now.
The metal scuttle panel is now back on, along with clutch and throttle cables, fuel and servo pipes. I then made a couple of brackets to support various hoses and wiring in the engine bay. With that done, I started the engine and ran it for a minute or so. The engine doesn't have any coolant in it yet, so I couldn't run it for any longer or take it above idle speed. The engine sounds very nice - much deeper and throatier than the old 1.4, although the fact the car's still in the garage may account for some of the perceived difference. After checking for fuel and oil leaks, I refitted the scuttle. Next weekend, I need to finish the cooling system and then decide on an air filter layout.
24/03/07
None of the hoses I tried at the scrap yard were really suitable, but Millards came up trumps with this one. It's the centre section of a new top hose for a 1976 Triumph 2000 (can't imagine they sell many of these hoses now) It fits perfectly and only cost £2. With the hose in place, I could work out the dimensions for the custom cross-pipe. On Monday I'll fax a diagram of it to both Resurgem (who can make one in stainless steel) and Spec-R (for an aluminium version) for quotes.
My trip to the scrappy wasn't entirely wasted, as I bought this air box from a 1999 Rover 218. I now need to get some 70mm trunking from Merlin Motorsport to connect it to the throttle body. The intake for the box is on the front lower section. Another bit of trunking or pipe extending just past the radiator should line up with the hole on the nose (arrowed), ensuring a good source of cool air.
With the new lightweight battery in the passenger foot well, I removed the old battery, tray, supports and cables. The fuel tank was then taken out and the Snake Pit altered slightly to allow easier access to the fuel filter, which was due for renewal. Both the tool clips holding the old filter were cracked, so I riveted on a couple of cable tie bases and used two large cable ties to secure the replacement filter.
Over the past few weekends, I've accumulated a pile of wheels and tyres. These are the slicks I'll be using for dry track days. They're 16/53-13 Michelins and were used on the front of Formula Renault single-seaters. I've also got two sets of 7-spoke alloy wheels - one set of four bare rims and one set of five fitted with budget Camac road tyres. The plan is to fit four of these slicks to the four bare rims. My current cross-spoke alloys will have the Yokohamas removed and the Camacs fitted in their place. I'll then try and sell the cross-spokes/Camacs on eBay or MetroPower. Finally, the Yokohamas will be fitted to the 7-spoke wheels that came with the Camacs on. Simple eh?
The next problem I have is where to put all these wheels and tyres - I'm running out of space. My trailer is coming back in a fortnight's time, so I need to act soon. Daniel Taylor has taken away my old 1.4 engine, as he intends to use some or all of it in his Firefox. With that gone, the engine crane is now folded up and tucked away in a corner, but I still won't have enough floor space for the trailer and a stack of tyres.
29/03/07
With the car almost ready, I thought I'd better get all the paperwork for it sorted out - it's still registered, taxed and insured as a 1400. To start with, I rang Footman James. All I had to do was tell them the new CC of the engine and pay them an extra £37.35 (£15 of that is the "administration fee") by debit card. The new insurance will be valid from noon today. From my previous experience of FJ, I expect the new certificate will arrive in the post tomorrow morning.
That was easy, now for the road tax and registration. According to the DVLA web site, I need to apply for an "Exchange of Vehicle Licence". This can only be done in person at a DVLA Local Office - it cannot be be done in person at a Post office nor by post to DVLA Swansea. So, I downloaded form V70 from the Directgov web site and filled it out. I then took the V70, the old tax disc, the V5C and my existing Certificate of Insurance to my Local Office. Amazingly, the whole process took less than six minutes, which must be a record for the Bristol office - where were the usual queues? I had to pay an extra £40.33 additional duty. The additional duty is the difference between the old (£110) and new (£180) rates, divided by the period of the current licence (12 months in my case) multiplied by the number of months the exchange licence is to run. I left with a new tax disc and the Bristol office will send the V5C to Swansea to be updated with the new capacity and engine number details, which I had written in the appropriate spaces.
I'm now fully legal again, but the car's still not going anywhere just yet. I've ordered the stainless cross-pipe from Resurgem and I'll collect the air trunking from Merlin on Saturday. The car should be ready for the long Easter weekend, which will allow me to get some test miles on the new engine. The serious stuff begins on the 14th of April - I've booked a track day at Colerne airfield with Motorsport Events.
Regarding the lack of storage space, I have an idea...
06/04/07
Storage problem solved - I now have two overhead shelves. The one in the foreground is a lengthened and strengthened version of an existing shelf, the other is all new. They are made from 25x25x3mm and 40x40x3mm angle, 8mm studding and 18mm blockboard. Between them, they can hold 8 wheels and/or tyres, a tool box, two parts boxes, two drain trays, a jerry can and even the grass box for my lawnmower, which was always getting in the way. The four tyres under the skylight will have to be kept in bin liners, to keep the sun off them.
09/04/07
I still haven't got the new cross-pipe, so I've chopped down the old Metro one for now. The new one should be here in time for Colerne on the 14th.
Instead of a long length of flexible ducting, I used an aluminium hose joiner and a short silicon hose to extend the original one that came with the air box.
I then took the car out for a test drive. Filled up with fuel first, then did about 20 gentle miles, came back and checked it over. All OK, so went out again and gave it some welly. It's bloody quick! I'm very impressed with this new engine - it pulls like a train throughout the rev range. As expected, traction is a problem in the lower gears so it needs a careful right foot at low speed. It pulls the higher gears so well I kept searching for 6th and 7th gears.
Car washed and vacuumed, one set of slicks fitted to the bare wheels and then test fitted on the car. They fit perfectly and I really like the look of these 7-spoke wheels.
The trailer is now back home. I just need to clean/check/adjust/oil/grease a few things on it during the week, ready for Colerne.
14/04/07
Had another very enjoyable track day with Motorsport Events, this time at Colerne airfield in Wiltshire. A varied and challenging course, clean smooth tarmac and perfect weather made it the best airfield day yet. As I've not been to Colerne before, coupled with a more powerful engine and my first experience of slick tyres, I treated the whole day as a long testing/learning session.
This VVC engine really is a gem! It probably doesn't rev quite as freely as the 1.4 engine, but it doesn't need to. The 1.8 pulls so strongly throughout the rev range, I just selected a higher gear and used the extra torque to haul me around the track. I only needed third and fourth gears on this circuit. I did try second gear a couple of times for the hairpin, but wheel spin was a problem on the exit, unless I was ultra gentle on the throttle.
The engine never missed a beat all day, always started on the first flick of the key and it didn't use a drop of oil. I did 107 miles on track and used about a gallon more petrol than I did with the 1.4. I've now got a jerry can to carry extra fuel, so I don't have to leave the circuit to refuel. It also means that I can run the car with less fuel in the tank (I kept it between quarter and half full), to save a bit of weight.
Just as impressive as the engine are the slick tyres. They don't squeal everywhere like the road tyres and the grip is amazing. I don't think I got anywhere the limits of the tyres - I certainly couldn't get the car sliding around like it did on the Yokohamas. The slicks didn't wear quite as fast as I'd feared and I reckon I'll get another two track days out of the set currently on the car and hopefully four events out of the second set, which have even more rubber on them.
I was fortunate to have Dave Cooper from Track Developments in the passenger seat for a couple of sessions in the afternoon. This had kindly been arranged by my friend "Kalamity" Ken, who was also at the event in his very rapid Marlin 5exi. I always seem to need someone in the car to push me a bit harder when I'm on an unfamiliar circuit and Dave did just that - pointing out the best lines and urging me to brake later and accelerate earlier and harder. He also mentioned that old weakness of mine, not using ALL the width of the track. Just a few extra inches can make a big difference on certain corners, so I really need to concentrate on correcting this flaw in future. There are some pictures from Keevil on the Gallery page, including three of Ken's Marlin and three of Richard Grove, who was throwing his Firefox around in his usual style.
I've now got plenty of power and more than enough grip - in the dry at least. I just need more practice and a bit more bravery to really push the car nearer the limit. But I still consider myself a novice at track driving and at this stage I'd rather be slow than upside down. The next track day I've booked is at Keevil on May 14th, but I'll definitely be returning to Colerne later in the year.
One more mod that needs doing sooner rather than later is to buy or build another driver's seat with more side support. I've mentioned this before and it's even more necessary now with the slick tyres. When cornering at speed, I feel like I'm just hanging onto the steering wheel, rather than sitting securely and steering the car with it.
I'm off to the Stoneleigh show in a few weeks, so I'll have a look around there to see what seats are available to suit my needs. Between now and Stoneleigh I'm going on holiday to France and I desperately need to catch up with some work in the garden, so I probably won't be able to do much to the car until after the Keevil event.
07/05/07
Since the last update, I've had a very enjoyable (and hot) week in France, done lots of gardening and been to Stoneleigh. I drove the Firefox to the show on the Sunday. It was cloudy, but dry and warm and the show was very busy. The journey up (exactly 90 miles door to door) was very easy with hardly anything on the roads. There was more traffic on the way home, but the VVC engine makes light work of overtaking slower vehicles. I used four gallons of fuel to get there and back, so I'm getting about 45mpg on a run - just a couple less than with the 1.4 engine.
Having looked at and sat in the various seats on offer, I didn't really find anything I liked - the ones I tried were either too wide, too short, too flexible, too heavy or far too expensive. So, I'm going to make a mark two version of my existing seat. It will be made from stiffer 2 or 3mm aluminium and will be slightly narrower but much deeper. My existing cushions won't fit the new seat, so I'll probably use some neoprene rubber pads instead. I'll ring Paul at Resurgem tomorrow and order the basic channel section.
12/05/07
The new stainless cross-pipe finally in place. I received it just before the Colerne event, but didn't have time to fit it then.
In preparation for Keevil, I've adjusted the rear brakes, greased the suspension nipples and checked all fluid levels. I then crawled under the car (if I raise the front of the trailer slightly and support it on axle stands, there's just enough room) with a torch and a handful of spanners, to make sure nothing was loose or leaking. All's well, except for a very slight oil weep around the N/S driveshaft, where it enters the gearbox. It's not too serious at the moment, but I'll have to keep an eye on it.
Previously on this page, I mentioned the fast and efficient "Exchange of Vehicle Licence" process. I spoke too soon - I still haven't had the V5C back. DVLA Swansea have not received notification of the new engine, so my V5C has disappeared between the Bristol and Swansea offices. I now have to visit my local branch again, to sort the whole mess out. Marvellous.