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Thread: my road rally mk2

  1. #121
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    So back home I stripped the rear axle hoping we hadn't done too much damage.

    The shaft came out easily enough but part of it was still in the diff.


    I tried to pull the remaining part out with a large magnet but it wasnt strong enough instead i managed to push it in to let the diff come out.


    unfortunately it had also damaged the internal plates in the LSD. Nowhere could get me any plates in time so i had to pull my entry for the Hall trophy Road rally which i had been looking forward too for a long time

    In the mean time i pulled this out of storage so hopefully it wont happen again. Im going to build a group 1 baby atlas which should be more than strong enough for my power and use.




    I cut all the brackets off ready for narrowing.

    I still had an entry in for one of my clubs 12 cars so I rebuilt the English axle ready to go back in and bolted the spotlights to the front. Unfortunately Im now having to isolate as one of my students at work has tested positive for Covid. Hes ok and even though i have tested negative three time since there's no escaping the rules so another event missed!!


    Hexham and District Motorclub

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  3. #122
    World Champion Decade Plus User alladdin's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    great write up

  4. #123
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Quote Originally Posted by alladdin View Post
    great write up
    I'll second that.

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    shame about the DNF, but great read

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    great write up glad you back out competing again shame about the axle but onwards and upwards am sure the atlas will be well on top of the job for you

  7. #126
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Finally after ten days isolation i was free!!

    so celebrated by taking the old mk2 for a run out to a club members coffee shop where they had planned a small Cars and coffee style meet.



    The weekend after i had to start getting ready for a demonstration run at Brunton Airfield on the North East Coast. This was similar to a stage rally but with no timing and the emphasis on fun rather than competition. For lots of people this would be their first event since Covid so there was emphasis on the social side and camping. We had a good group of 5 escorts and lots of happy campers.





    The onto the 'stages'. The event featured the same stage ran 3 times one way then 3 times reversed. It was a mixture of old airfield concrete and gravel. Its normally used as a silo for the local farmer so quite mucky in places.

    i had dug out some rock hard tarmac tyres for the rears and softs on the front so we could just see how sideways we could go.





    i was getting really confident in the car managing to brake later and later into the chicanes


    and still managing to slide around most things with only one spin



    And a few small cuts



    on the last run we were going really sideways everywhere even on the straights! i thought the tyres might be overheating but they were actually down to the canvas and as we pulled back into the service area one of the rears burst

    The obligatory sweaty pose at the end of the day



    this was followed by a BBQ and more camping to finish off a brilliant stress free weekend.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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  9. #127
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Then after that it was time to bolt the gravel tyres back on.

    Our club has ran a Production car autotest for the past couple of years at and old cement works.

    I was asked to be safety officer and as part of the gig got to be one of the course openers.




    The car was faultless apart from chucking oil everywhere. It has been leaking oil from the rocker cover since the rebuild. When i took the cover off i found it was badly warped so i skimmed it on my milling machine and made a splash guard for the breather pipe.

    I think i also need to modify the sump so it has a better baffle and windage tray in it as its fine on the road or fast stages but in autotests its struggling being chucked about so violently.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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  11. #128
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    The weekend after was a Targa ran over Catterick Army ranges. Most entrants were trying to work out what tyres were allowed (no forest tyres even though they test tanks up there ). I used some cheap winter tyres on the rear and some Turbospeeds on the front which work on most surfaces. It was forecast to be a wet day but the sun shone all day meaning it was dirt dusty and sweaty in the car and tyres were wearing very quickly.

    At the start enjoying the sunshine



    The first test started well with some lovely sweeping corners on gravel but then entered the cone maze. The cones and tests bore little resemblance to the test diagrams. We were going quick where we could and careful to get the route right. The organisers had never ran a targa before and i think the kindest thing to say would be they have a lot of room for improvement.

    The venue it great but too many tight cones which needed shunting round didn't make for an enjoyable day. what was more annoying was to find a competitor had been allowed to run on forest tyres! We had used two pairs of tyres on the rear and had to do the last two tests on slicks.

    we had good result on the day finishing 6th overall and 2nd historic. Annoyingly someone ahead of us had been given false time that was two minutes quicker and despite us querying it it stood.





    Then after Catterick i had a few weeks spare so decided to try and tidy the drivers door up. I had rushed the filler and paintwork last time but made a much tidier job of this time.




    Then after that i had a nice run up to the scottish borders to set my lights up ready for the Harry and Ivy Road rally in Cumbria.



    This was the first night event since rebuilding the car i was a bit nervous but with regular navigator Josh Davison alongside i was happy we could be on for a good result and if nothing else an enjoyable night.



    Parked up at the start ready to plot.



    We had a small run out to the first TC. It had been raining heavily the whole day so the lanes were very slippery. We set off from the first TC on a small yellow, slot left on to a small very twisty lane. The car was handling perfectly despite the slippery conditions. We cleaned the first section the only slight worry was an occasional wheel wobble. . We had a quick look on the transport section but everything felt tight and correct so just chose to ignore it. into the next couple of sections we were on good pace and cleaning all the sections. Only worry was a NAM layby where a camper had decided to park but the code board could just be read from the outside.

    We were really happy loving being out in the lanes again and comfortably on the pace. Unfortunately on the last section before petrol it was all to go wrong. We had caught the mini in front of us on the last competitive section. When we got to the nest transport we pulled over to plot before the control (we were a few minutes early). The mini went off on his minute followed by us, within a mile and a half we had started to catch him again. He was braking for a crest into a 90 right when a sheep walked into the road. He slowed further and sheep ran away unfortunately at the last miunte the sheep darted back into the road in front of us. I managed to swerve to avoid the sheep but this unsettled the car over the crest, i locked up the brakes but managed to chuck the car into the 90 right.

    i thought we had gotten away with it but we just ran out of room on the outside and were pulled into the bank. The results are shown below.



    We were wedged into the bank and despite all our efforts we couldn't free it. We stood on the crest with the ok board to warn people. The closing car pulled us out and we headed to petrol. Unfortunately it was obvious the tracking was a mile out and i could barely keep the car in a straight line.

    We handed our paper work in and drove slowly back to the trailer before loading up and heading home.



    After a few hours sleep i got up on sunday and started stripping the car. The wing and front panel beyond repair. I wanted to replace both anyway over the winter but removing them using an earth bank isn't recommended.

    The worst of the damage is the kink at the crush hole pulling the anti roll bar back.



    using a porta power i've got this back straight now. It hasn't damaged anything further back so i think i've been lucky.

    I'm not sure what to do next. i think this part of the chassis is now weak and needs to be replaced but i'm unsure if i should strengthen it or not.

    Anyway it could have been a lot worse. I'm glad i took the time to build a good strong shell.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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  13. #129
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    I heard a few similar stories about the event at Catterick, you had a good result though.

    When I had a similar encounter with a bank on a snowy event in Wales in Fly, the chassis leg folded over itself at the crush hole. I couldn't pull it straight enough and was also worried about it being weak, so I converted to compression struts and got rid of the anti-roll bar.
    GavinR

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  15. #130
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Hi folks

    After much faffing ive finally been making some progress.





    managed to get all the front end cut off and stripped.

    Apart from a small bit of rot behind the front panel its now straight and solid.

    I made a repair section of chassis and cut out the damaged outer skin.



    Then got on with repairing the front section of the inner wing which is now fully welded.



    I just need to finish bottom of the inner wing and im ready to fit the new wing and front panel.


    Then as the car wasnt ready i decided to do our club 12 car in my fiancees mini cooper.

    went well in the lanes even though we had to be very careful on the bumpy lanes. Even so we managed to finish 4th overall.




    more soon folks
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  16. #131
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Hi folks


    I've been struggling for time and motivation at the minute but finally getting some time on the car.

    Managed to get the front panel clamped in place.



    Before getting the wing on



    The first wing i tried was a bad fit so i bought a new Magnum panel which was slightly better but still needed some work to fit.



    The worst was non existent door gap and the wing sitting too high at the front. The drip rails weren't in the best state so i cut it of and replaced it.




    I've made the wing bolt on and managed to trim the back of the wing to fit the door as well as round the scuttle.
    Next event is in three weeks so i need to get a move on.



    More soon
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  17. #132
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    After a bit of fiddling and faffing i finally got the wing somewhere close
    Its not perfect by a long shot but now its bolt on i can easily play with it when i have more time.
    I then got it in primer which looked very odd as it was drying!



    But turned out ok and three coats of top coat it looked presentable.

    I still need to give it a polish and try and get more of a shine but it looks good enough for now.



    Then the fun stuff of bolting bits back on.



    And a much needed tidy up in the garage.





    Then after a few miles on the road i redid all the suspension setup. This was reassuring after the chassis damage that it lined back up quite close. All that needed changing was a bent steering arm.

    Then it was back out into the lanes for one of our clubs 12 cars. The night was wet and slippy but the car was superb and we cleaned the whole route to finish 2nd. We were only beaten on the regularity where we dropped a few seconds being held up by a slower competitor.


    It was great being back in the lanes again and having the mk2 fighting fit. The only problems i had was a slight wheel wobble now traced to the rack mounts and a exhaust manifold cracking near the join.



    mucky after the event and then clean again.



    Not much planned for the end of the year so going to try and get it prepped ready and hopefully on the rolling road to see if we can get some more pace from the old crossflow.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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  19. #133
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Hi folks

    Had a bit of trouble with the old mk2 recently. Had been busy with work so didn't manage to do much apart from clean the car after the last event. However a couple of days before the next 12 car, i changed the coolant and thermostat as the crossflow hadn't been getting up to temperature.

    I then took it for a run out which is was fine holding steady temp and even the heater was working nicely, but on the way back home it developed a misfire at idle. I got it home and cleaned the carb out to find it full light brown bits. These turned out to be the filter element in the filter king i managed to change this for a spare and clean out the whole fuel system.

    A couple of nights later i turned up at the start of the next 12 car. A young novice Nav Dylan has sat with me for the last three and he is doing very well. Unfortunately on this on i managed to completely cock up the first regularity section which put us back and then once again the car started playing silly buggers.
    It would be find on throttle but wouldn't idle and if it cut out would take an age to start again. We managed to only drop a minute because of this and on the next section we kept up the pace (i would have to dip the clutch, knock it into neutral then brake with my left foot whilst keeping the revs up with my right) and got to the next control a few minutes early. I jumped out and managed to pull the idle jets out which once again had blocked up. We managed the rest of the night trouble free to end up 4th. Without me messing up the maths for the regularity there's a chance we could have finished 2nd or even 1st but as i always say if my auntie had bollocks she'd be my uncle!



    Anyway after that i cleaned the fuel system out again and gave the carb a full rebuild.

    I then booked in into motorscope rolling road for it to be setup.




    It was given a clean bill of health but was far too rich at the top end and needed to go up a size in the pump jets. I was just glad it didn't blow up



    I wont say what power it made but im significantly underpowered compared to most cars i compete against but its very good for a xflow on a single 40. The operator said it would gain everywhere with a single 45 or better still a set of splits. ill have to see what i can find!


    more soon.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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  21. #134
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Nice update Luke.

    Modern fuels play absolute havoc with filter elements and hoses etc.

    I had the exact same issue recently, car was sitting for a few months, then day before a targa i took it for a test drive and had a massive misfire on full throttle over 5k revs.
    after checking the fuel was gone dark yellow, and the filter element was eaten to bits, and it was only recently changed.

  22. #135
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    This is an excellent read

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  24. #136
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    So into the new year and due to work being flat out i have really struggled with time on the car.

    I entered a 12 car in january as a first event and also to test the car before a proper road rally. I was entered with Josh on the maps and despite having the fuel pump wiring fail before the start we had a good clean run. It was a warm dry night and the car was handling well. We nailed the regularity only dropping 6 seconds and cleaned everything else so we thought we had won. Only to beaten to first spot by Jonathan Webb and his wife who got a zero on the reg. So 2nd place was a good start to the championship. The Championship works well as you have to drop two scores but if you marshal you get 12 points (the same as a win) and as these events are normally over subscribed it lets more people have a chance.

    I am currently 2nd and have to miss the next round (reason will become clear) so plan to marshal on the next to keep me up the sharp end.



    Apart from a good clean the car was ready so i concentrated on setting up my Xmas present to myself. I've wanted a tyre machine for a while and finally got one cheap off a friend. It needed a bit of a service but now works well and is one less job i have to farm out.




    Then onto the road rally which was the John Robson ran by my Motorclub Hexham. For the past three events i have helped organise it but fancied stepping back from it and having a go at competing. Leading up to the event we had some serious storms but on the saturday it was bright and sunny but the weather forecast was threatening heavy rain and winds.

    Seeded at 19 we awaited our minute before getting the route plotted and then a small 20 minute runout to the first competitive section. The rain was coming down hard now and the wind was beginning to pick up. Off into the first section it was tricky but we were quickly on the pace and managed to clean it by a few minutes. Helped mostly by being my local lanes and also going past my dads house .

    Then a short transport section and into the next comp section which was a loop around Allendale some roads i knew but others i didn't. We caught a few cars in this section including a yellow mg that had a small brush with the scenery but we were quickly past them all.

    Then onto the 3rd section we got caught out by a a 45 right on the map that tightened and narrowed. We ran wide and hit a large rock which knocked the tracking out and also caught a protruding stone from the dry stone wall which made a mess of both doors on the passenger side. We hardly dropped any time.

    We finished the section with no real drama and managed to keep on the pace. On the next transport section i got out and checked underneath and found a bent steering arm. i managed to reset the tracking close to where we started and the mk2 was back handling like it should have.

    We made it to petrol where we were comfortably leading our class and lying joint 7th overall. Not bad for a kent powered mk2!

    I had another quick check at petrol but everything looked fine and the car was going great. Although i was surprised by the amount of damage done


    After petrol there was a small run to the start of the next competitive section. This first part would be plot and Bash. Josh was superb as always here and we were catching cars quickly until i started to notice the exhaust starting to get louder. I guessed the manifold had cracked but kept pushing on but it got worse and worse and eventually broke completely. Although the car still drove it was lacking in power and i could barely hear josh. we pulled off the route and waited until the closing car had passed before slowly driving back to the trailer. To say we were gutted was an understatement.

    we have both wanted to just have a clear run on this event and at the minute we just cant get any luck.

    we loaded up, had breakfast and then headed home.

    here you can see the damage done



    Im meant to be competing again at the end of march but all i have had the motivation to do is take the manifold off and take pictures to send to the supplier. It hasn't been hit or had an impact and is properly supported so i'm a pissed off its broken. it's been on less than a month!

    The supplier have agreed to replace it but i think i will strengthen it myself before it goes back on



    so not a great weekend and im still down in the doldrums about

    i hate cars
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  25. #137
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    shame that, part of the issue of the exhaust it really needs bracing against the bellhousing to avoid having manifold having to handle twisting forces placed on it by engine/exhaust system movment

  26. #138
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    That’s a good idea I’ll try and add one

    I’ve added a further mount on the floor and changed to spring mounting the exhaust so it can twist now

    Hopefully it stops it happening again
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Quote Originally Posted by mexicotait View Post






    my dyno mule manifold just broke like that for the second time! and its not got a whole exhaust hanging off it just a 4 foot length of tube. im going to have to make a brace for it

  28. #140
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Hi folks

    After sorting the manifold I started to get on with the body work.

    I managed to buy two doors locally which were a lot straighter than mine but needed the bottoms repairing.





    And some filler



    and primer



    and finally in paint



    i'm glad i made the wing bolt on this made it much easier to knock the small dent out.



    I stripped the gearbox out and found the blockers for 5th gear had come out and the circlip had broken.

    I also noticed a crack starting to form in one of the selectors.



    After all this work it was a short test drive before loading up ready for the Shaw trophy Targa Rally
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  29. #141
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Shaw Trophy Targa rally.

    After the bad luck i've been having on the past few events i was hoping for a clean run on this local event. Dylan was once again in the navigators seat. He was a bit worried about it only being his 2nd targa event but i wasnt worried.

    In the past few years i have help organise this event but since the change of venue i fancied having a go at competing again. The event was based around Stewartshield Plantation on otterburn ranges.
    This place is a maze of Gravel tracks that they had been allowed usage of so it looked like it would be a good event. It would be the same 2 tests repeated 3 times before reversing them in the afternoon.


    Scrutineering was passed. The scrutineer was very nice and said how impressed he was to see that i had fixed the damage so quickly which was nice to hear.(he was the same scrut from the last event)



    Then onto the first test. This went ok apart from Dylan struggling with the maps as the Letters were very small. He was learning my way of calling things and despite not having the last part of the 1st test he was fine.



    Onto the second test where he labeled the cones with bigger letters so he could see what he was supposed to be shouting at me much better. this test was quite a bit longer and we were getting into the groove. I started off quite slow but i was just wanting to get to the finish.


    The next set was a repeat of 1&2 and a few people reported the tests were cutting up and getting a bit rougher. My mk2 is fine in the rough so we pushed on a bit harder taking 46 seconds out of our first run round.

    Onto the 3rd set of tests we were going even quicker catching a car a short way into the 5th test and then another on the finish of the 6th.


    Unfortunately as we pulled up to the line the car filled with smoke.

    we pulled forward and jumped out and firstly checked we weren't on fire (we weren't thank god!!)

    The speedo bung had come out of the gearbox and chucked oil over the hot exhaust. Luckily it only smoked and alerted us to the problem. Im not sure how it came out as it was lockwired in.

    this was a lucky escape if it had happened mid test or on the road it could have caused me a box.

    I managed to get the plug back in before slowly driving about 1/2 a mile to the trailer where we loaded up and called it a day.


    We enjoyed what we did and the car felt great. Hopefully it will run again next year.

    SInce then i have taken the engine and gearbox out.

    The engine was fine but i thought as i had a bit of time between events i would give it a refresh.

    As for the box i have machined and ali plug that now bolts into the casing and i have made a much better breather for the box so hopefully it doesn't happen again.


    more soon
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  30. #142
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Well done especially after all your hard work!

  31. #143
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Shame you had to retire, sounds like it was a good event

    I've got plenty of spare selector forks if you want one (and haven't changed the cracked one yet)
    GavinR

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  32. #144
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Quote Originally Posted by GavinR View Post
    Shame you had to retire, sounds like it was a good event

    I've got plenty of spare selector forks if you want one (and haven't changed the cracked one yet)
    Thanks Gavin

    That would be helpful I had to rob one out of my spare box

    If I had been more organised I would have brought my 4 speed to the event and the other mount and I could have swapped to that. We had more than enough time.

    The 4 speed is in now as my next two events are historics The Berwick classic and the white rose classic

    Not fancy a run in the scimitar?
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  33. #145
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: my road rally mk2

    I'll dig one out
    I hope to be out on the St Wilfrids in August in the Scimitar
    GavinR

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    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    I haven't updated this for a while but quite a bit has happened.

    Firstly the engine was due a rebuild. It was noted on the Rolling road that it was breathing quite heavy so now i had a gap between events i took it out to give it a refresh.

    After stripping it i found it had broken a piston ring but somehow hadn't damaged the bores. It also must have been starved of oil at some point as the crank was looking a little sorry.

    The crank was sent away for a grind and the block was honed ready for new bits. it had all new bearings and new pistons. it went back together without problem and i ran it in. It was giving good power and not using any oil or breathing heavy.

    After this there was very little to do before the Berwick classic regularity rally.

    This is a popular event with regularities on the road and tests on private land all based in the wonderful borders countryside.


    I borrowed a friends Camper van to tow the car and sleep in as the event was over two days.

    Dylan was once again in with me and after some practice during the week (whilst running the engine in) we felt ready for the challenge ahead.

    The first road section was a slow cruise up the A1 before turning off into a large farm for the first test on the saturday afternoon.



    This went well a little slow and struggling for grip but i just wanted to have a trouble free event and not put it off on the first corner. A time in the top 20 was good enough to start with so we were happy and headed to the next test. I cant remember this but it must have been ok then we headed into the first regularity.

    Our system was working well up until about 5 miles in where we wrong slotted but managed to get back on track. we were pushing hard trying to make up time but ended up stuck behind another car (A very nice Marina coupe which sounded great) we realised we weren't too far off our desired time so stuck behind them which worked well and enabled us to see a NAM triangle (not as map, meaning you have to go the long way round a junction or into a layby normally) that they and a lot of other missed which got them a penalty.

    The regularity then took us off road round a maze of farm lanes which was very tricky but good fun and we managed to not drop anytime. This meant we were lying 16th overall come the overnight halt which was far better than we expected.

    We then went for a beer and some tea before a good nights sleep ready for the next day.


    Then a small drive to the finish in wooler the following morning to drop the van and trailer off before a cruise up to Berwick Quayside for the restart.

    More of the same today with a lot more tests which all seem to blur into one. One i remember was a really good test through a woodland sliding in between the trees



    A few more regularities now and we were getting into a nice relaxed groove. i was getting quicker on the tests too which meant we had moved up to the leader board to 13th.

    Then onto the last test where we were going well and showing off for the photographer a small jump over a wooden bridge and into a nice flowing gravel track.





    There was a yump at the end of this that we took a bit quick and landed heavily in a hole on my side. This winded me as we landed on the sump Guard but we managed to continue to end of the test albeit slowly and got caught by the car which behind. At the end of the test i got out to catch my breath and realised i had hurt my back quite badly and done some small damage to the car. we drove the 200yrds back to the finish vewnue and put the car on the trailer and i got checked out by another competitor who happens to be an A&E nurse. all looked ok just a bit of a jolt.

    bit of a shame to end the event like that but we still had a good result and kept our 13th place.

    I was a bit sore for the next week but no real damage. Unfortunately this was to be the last event for a while as i pulled my entry for the White rose classic due to my back.

    more to come
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    After the event i was spannered for a few weeks and really not in the mood to do anything to the car.

    I eventually got round to looking at it and decided that i wasn't going to mess around trying to repair the existing damage.

    After the trouble i had fitting the wing and front panel a few months ago i was convinced something wasn't right with the chassis and after some measuring i realised that the chassis rails had a bit of a twist in them.

    The inner wings and inner front panel were also quite shabby with numerous patches so i decided to go the whole hog and replace the lot.


    after a few hours cutting i got to this point below.



    Here you can see the twist, its always been there but after various bumps and events it's gotten worse, add to that more and more rust which i have patched and replaced there wasn't really any other options

    I folded up a repair section for the chassis to extend the part that fits into the front chassis rails.

    hopefully this will add to the strength





    And this is the point im at now. I made a jig to hold it all in place and its tacked in now ready to start the other side




    you can see there is a small gap between the inner wing and the bulkhead this needs to be pulled forward to meet the wing and bring the bonnet hinge down to the correct place.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    So after lots of faffing and messing around i managed to get the
    passenger side chassis rail and inner wing sitting properly and tacked in before moving onto the drivers side.

    this was much simpler as the bulkhead was straight and the inner wing and chassis rail needed little work to get them to fit.





    this meant that i could fit the inner front panel and ensured everything could be lined up properly ready for final welding which i'm on with now.







    More soon
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Good work
    GavinR

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Its been a while since i last posted and i have been busy.

    After the last little indiscretion i had a deadline of august to get the car complete. There was no way i was missing this event.



    after quite a bit more fiddling i managed to get to this stage where the whole front was tacked in and lining up correctly.




    i trial fitted the wings to make sure they lined up the drivers wing still needs a bit of work but it was close enough for now



    Then i welded the front panel on fully and the slam panel



    after that it was just a matter of chucking some primer at it




    and then finally some paint



    i think chucking is the best way to describe my painting skills!!

    but after all this i could finally refit the engine box and suspension and give the old yoke a face again!!



    Now all of this was for a very important event and i was seriously worried i wouldnt make it. infact my Dad and i were still putting stickers on the car a 10pm the night before!!!

    However it made it to my wedding and drove there without a hitch which was a result as i didnt even have chance to test drive it!








    ANd here it is in all its glory with me and my best man (and Toby the dog)

    And better still it even managed to get us back again!!
    Last edited by mexicotait; 20-09-2022 at 14:30.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Its been a while since I updated this (again) and quite a bit has happened.

    Firstly after the wedding the mk2 went in to storage at a friends barn as id promised him id rebuild his MK1 Toyota MR2 that he’d been gifted. It needed quite a bit of work so in September I took the mk2 to his and brought the MR2 back to my workshop.










    It was mostly complete but they like to rust and he wanted it fully rebuilt and resprayed all rust sorting and a few upgrades to make it suitable for historic road rallying. This included fitting spotlights and wiring, sumpguard and a tripmeter.

    After about 5 months of work in my spare time the car was running and mostly back together. Then I had to get back on with spraying it.

    I had never painted a full car before so I told my friend he could pay for the paint and I wouldn’t charge him for the labour to paint it. It was a good experience learning how to paint a full car and it came out quite well. Not perfect but with a good amount of cutting and polishing it is presentable.





    After that was done I also got distracted by buying a van to convert into a camper. Not only would this be nice for me the wife and dog to go away it would also mean travelling to events would be a bit nicer and I would hopefully not have to pay for accommodation.








    I have also been busy helping run another friends mk2 in the British historic rally championship all year and also another Vauxhall powered mk2 in the northern tarmac championship.







    So all that with normal life and a full time job on top of it meant the poor mk2 hasn’t been touched all year. Until august……
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    So after spending August travelling around Malaysia I was then on a tight deadline to get the mk2 finished before the Kielder Targa in September ran by my local club. This was to use some very famous kielder stages including Shepherdshield and Pundershaw so I was very keen to make it.

    For the wedding I had only chucked the car together and I hadn’t even painted the engine bay or underneath so I stripped it ready to paint and stonechip. I also put a new world cup crossmember and engine mounts on.











    Then once it was back together a quick road test ready for the event.

    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: my road rally mk2

    Kielder Targa rally september 23


    After a bit more testing and swapping tyres over i was confident the car and I were both ready for a good day in Kielder.






    The day started off bright and sunny and travelled up in the morning to the quarry just outside of Wark where the event was based. Unloaded the trailer and chatted with a few people before cooking breakfast in the van and getting ready to start.

    Away from the start venue a small road section took us into Kielder forest to the first test. It had been raining quite heavily in the run up to the event but the day itself was dry meaning the tracks were very slick and muddy.



    Into the first test I was struggling to remember how to drive and judging the grip but we got through cleanly with a average time. The second test wasn’t much better as it was very tight. The car felt ok but the brakes weren’t working well so on the next road section I checked the bias to find it wound all the way to the back. After adjusting this it was much better and the car was behaving like it used to.



    The third test was very good, fast and flowing and I was finally getting back into the groove.
    Unfortunately at the end of this test my friend Liam was parked up having snapped the Track rod on his mazda leaving him with no steering. He managed to bodge this back up to get back to service but that was him out for the day.



    We made it back to service and gave the car a brief check over and found nothing to do but quite a few cars were having mechanical problems. We set off once again to repeat the first loop. The first test was much better this time I was being more aggressive and the car was responding well nearly 40 seconds quicker here. The 2nd test they had opened up some of the cones to make it more flowing. This was much better but on the 2nd to last corner we were a bit too sideways and caught a rock with the rear wheel. The Impact of this broke something in the axle we managed to limp to the end of the test but it realized we only had one wheel drive.

    Not wanting to drive it any further than necessary I rang liam who found the keys to my van and came with the trailer to pick us up. A short lived but enjoyable day. The car was working well but I really need to build a stronger axle. Even with uprated shafts the English axle isn’t reliable enough.
    back home I stripped it to find the inevitable broken shaft.



    Now the rules have changed for historic road rally cars which allow more modifications I can build a group 1 atlas which should hopefully be more reliable.
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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