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Thread: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

  1. #481
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    West Cork Rally - 18/19th March 2017

    This year there were 141 cars entered with myself and George at 113. David and Richard were servicing - Carrie couldn't make it this year, having recently moved house and in between jobs. Due to ongoing insurance issues, the entry fee had gone up again and there were less overseas crews making the journey.

    George and I completed the recce in plenty of time and after bleeding the brakes on DVY, we headed off to scrutineering.
    This went smoothly, the only comment from the scrutineer was that they prefer the buckles on the shoulder straps (which hold the straps round the cage / harness bar) to be as close as possible to the bar to prevent any slack in an accident. We sorted this out after signing on and parked up in Parc Ferme for the night.

    Saturday was dry but overcast and was a late start to allow it to get dark for the night stage. We went out on the slicks for the first loop, Ring followed by Dunworley.
    Apart from the windscreen starting to steam up at the end of the stages, everything went well and we were up to speed quickly. A quick check in service and out for the second loop on the same stages - 26s quicker on Ring and 15s on Dunworley, setting times just outside the top 50 National crews.

    Back to service for a late lunch, everything checked, even the tyres were lasting well! The afternoon stages were Ardfield and Hayes Cross, both run twice. There was a big delay at Ardfield but the stage was still running so we waited patiently and completed it and the following one. Another service and a few cars were putting spotlights on, even though the night stage was later. I thought we'd get through these 2 again without it getting too dark, but there was another delay on Ardfield and by the end of Hayes Cross it was pretty dim - I was having trouble seeing the end of the straights and George was looking hard at the notes. We were slower on both these, and so were a lot of crews around us, the front of the field obviously having a better run in daylight.

    At the final service of the day, it was time to fit the spotlights and head off into the dark for Sams Cross, a good 10 mile stage. We left service a bit early (as we were allowed to) but parked up near the start of the stage to allow a few cars past so we were in the right order. As we queued up getting closer to the start, the temperature was creeping up, but with only a few cars to go I knew it would come down as soon as we left the start line. We were given a start time and realised they had switched to minute starts so it was 5 more minutes, the temperature now off the scale. I should have switched off, let the engine cool down and gone a bit later, but neither George nor I thought of doing that (years of starting problems always make me reluctant to turn off in the queue!)

    Anyway, we pulled up to the line, lights on, heated screen on, pace note light working, 3-2-1-Go - and we expired in a cloud of steam
    The marshals pushed us away from the line and over to the side. She started up again so I asked if we could head into the stage, but the scrutineer (who was there to check everyone was ready for the night stage) said he thought a hose had gone and suggested I had a look. He had a decent torch so we looked under the bonnet and found the radiator overflow pipe (which is pressurised and blocked with a bolt) had split near the radiator. This was good as it was the only hose I had a chance of repairing and I had my Swiss Army knife in my pocket A few minutes later, I had shortened the hose and refitted it. The scrutineer got me some water from the Rescue people and we were ready to go.

    Cars were still leaving the line just beside us and the marshals weren't sure about allowing us to go into the stage from where we were parked. As we had left the line, I think we could have gone anyway, but a better plan was to ask them to give us a new start time and do it properly. The stage commander and start marshals had a chat and decided they might as well let us restart, so we got organised, manoeuvred back over the line and started the night stage 15 minutes after we'd first attempted it!

    So we got going, but I couldn't see much - there was so much steam inside the car, and water on the floor being turned into more steam by the exhaust, the heated screen couldn't keep up. I drove as fast as I dared but didn't want to throw it off after having got away with the problem, and George did a great job reading the notes slower than she had been all day. We got caught near the end by 2 cars, but it was a great relief to make it out in one piece, although we dropped over 2 minutes on this stage. David and Richard collected us from Parc Ferme and we just made it to the Italian to pick up a takeaway before they shut at 10pm.

    After a good nights rest, we headed back to Parc Ferme on Sunday morning. DVY started up fine and I added some water and dried the floors as well as I could. We had a short service before heading out on the stages and took the opportunity to fit the X22 wets as it had rained overnight and was still damp in the air.

    There were 3 stages run twice, Clogagh, Ballinascarthy and Rossmore, all familiar stages but run slightly differently this year. We started well, despite cocking up the first hairpin and nearly ending up in the bank! It was slippery but not too bad, although we passed quite a few cars who had gone off, and set times in the top 50.

    Back in service, Richard did a final spanner check and I checked the water again, before David and Richard went off to watch the final stage, and we went to the start of the loop. Clogagh had dried out quite a lot so we were 30s quicker here, and I got the hairpin right! Ballinascarthy and Rossmore were still damp so we weren’t much faster, being sensible we got to the end in one piece to collect our finishers mugs.

    When the results came out we were 36th in the National section and got a special award for 1st English crew

    This picture is from the very first stage, when DVY looked clean!



    Not sure when I’ll be out next – I need to sort out a decent demisting system first...
    GavinR

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  2. #482
    Racer Decade Plus User rallyrob's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthre...ghlight=heater


    The heater motor in post number 260 might be helpful for your demisting issues. Though Im a little surprised the heated screen cant keep it clear. I used to have a heated screen in an mk6 escort van and it was nothing short of bloody excellent...

  3. #483
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    It's more that the heated screen has a 12" section directly in front of me that doesn't work - the screen's only a few years old but they don't seem to last very well.
    So I want to go back to a traditional demister / blower, but cannot fit a std Escort heater as the bulkhead's been cut.
    Thanks for the link - I've been looking at something from T7Design as well
    GavinR

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    Racer Decade Plus User rallyrob's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Oh ok, funny you say that as although I said the screen in my van worked brilliantly I also had a 2.0ltr sierra sapphire that had a heated screen, an that seemed to be dead on the passenger side, I never worked out what was wrong with it although I suspected it had a wiring issue on that side as they had a power feed to each side of the screen if remember correctly. The heated element was in 2 separate sections within the screen if I correctly...

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Gav. I have a heater box from a caterham 7 that's spare if you're interested. Came out of my mk2 but I don't need it

  6. #486
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Quote Originally Posted by rallyrob View Post
    Oh ok, funny you say that as although I said the screen in my van worked brilliantly I also had a 2.0ltr sierra sapphire that had a heated screen, an that seemed to be dead on the passenger side, I never worked out what was wrong with it although I suspected it had a wiring issue on that side as they had a power feed to each side of the screen if remember correctly. The heated element was in 2 separate sections within the screen if I correctly...
    Bit's of it work, probably about half of it on my side and most of it on the passenger side, so it's the individual element wires which have failed

    Quote Originally Posted by clarky205 View Post
    Gav. I have a heater box from a caterham 7 that's spare if you're interested. Came out of my mk2 but I don't need it
    Thanks for the offer, I'll get back to you when I've looked at a few options
    GavinR

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    Racer Decade Plus User rallyrob's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    They were also wired to a timer relay so they weren't on permanently, about 10 minutes I think the van one ran for before it switched itself off.

  8. #488
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Did some investigation over the weekend as I was curious how something had been done...

    When I first owned DVY and had removed the heater, we never had any problems with the screen misting up, even on very wet events. No heated screen and no blowers either. I always assumed there was enough airflow into the car to keep everything clear.

    The chap who I sold her to and did some forest events and Barbados, initially ran a Vauxhall engine and recessed the centre of the bulkhead / heater bubble a couple of inches. This was done very neatly so I didn't bother putting it back to original.
    After the problems in Ireland this year, it got me thinking about where any water going into the grill below the windscreen went. Looking inside the car, there is a flat sheet welded over the blower motor recess, and in the engine bay there is a vertical flat sheet slicing through the heater bubble.
    So I got a watering can and poured it into the grill, looked underneath and there was no water coming out, or inside the car.
    So I got another watering can and poured more water into the grill and managed to fill it up

    The two plates join creating a V shape and without any drain holes, the water cannot drain out!

    Eventually the water dribbled out of some bolt holes and I poked a drill through at the bottom of where the 2 plates join and let some more out. As much dribbled into the car as outside so I think this is a large part of the problem - whenever it rains there will be water in the heater bubble, which can easily get into the car and turn into steam from the hot floor.

    Next step is to cut a slot / drill a large drain hole at the back of the engine bay to allow it to drain out.
    I still plan to fit a blower to help the screen
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    What heater are you going to use? I have a large tunnel in mine and I don't know whether to cut the mk2 heater, use a mini one or something else.

  10. #490
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    I'm still trying to figure that out!

    When I first bought the car, it had a std Mk2 heater unit with the bottom vents cut down slightly to make it fit with the big tunnel
    But with the bulkhead mods it's not possible to fit one back in - the previous owner was using a Mini unit
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Will be interested to see what you come up with.

  12. #492
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    As I'm rebuilding Fly this summer, I decided to get out in Dvy again, so I entered the Mewla this weekend.

    So I've spent the last 2 weeks sorting out the minor issues that happened in Ireland, including fitting some new bushes in the alternator mount. This simple job turned into a few evenings work as the new bushes moved the alternator forwards by 6mm so the pulleys didn't line up I resolved this by making a new mounting plate - the alternator is spaced forwards anyway due to the dry sump system. I also fitted a slightly longer Poly-V belt as the old one was so tight it made it very hard to fit.

    Back to the heater / blower - after taking measurements from Fly and looking at an old Mk2 plastic heater box, I decided if I cut 40 mm off the front I could make it fit...
    I drilled a hole in the engine bay and cut a slot to let any water out - this is now covered with an ally plate to keep the scrutineers happy, but before I covered it I fished out various washers, old rivets and rust!
    Inside, I drilled into the middle of where I thought the original blower motor circle would be, and snipped round the circle to recreate the hole with a flat on one side.
    When I'd found the heater box, I also found a Mk1 (or early Mk2) metal heater and fan - the fan being mounted in a sort of alloy casting with 3 legs. This fitted into the hole I had created, but not all the way. After a few hours cutting the heater box, I ended up with this
    The fan is recessed to allow for the smaller heater bowl, and the top 2 legs fit on the flat side of the circle I had cut out





    The tie-wraps are temporary so I could offer it up in the car and make sure it fitted. It did fit, so I cut an ally plate and glued it over the hole with some sealant. I also sealed the freah air vents and cut away some of the floor vents so it sat better on the tunnel, locking the lower flap in position so the air always goes to the screen. A bit of foam round the top and I screwed it into place using to of the original mounting points. The other 2 had been removed when the bulkhead was cut, so I added some ally brackets to the tunnel to stop it moving around. A fuse, switch and a bit of wiring later and I have a working demister.





    I'm hoping after all this that it will be a lovely sunny day on Sunday!
    All loaded up and ready for scrutineering tomorrow

    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Good luck Gavin
    Mind the sheep
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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    A good day on Epynt, but the 3 stages at Builth Wells showground were not so good - the 50% tarmac was fine, but the 50% gravel was very dusty so I had to slow down to see where I was going, most people were complaining about these stages.

    Final Result was 19th Overall and 6th in Class, so pleased with that, although it was a smaller entry than usual, with around 60 cars
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Good result Gavin well done
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Southdowns Stages - Goodwood - Saturday 10th February 2018

    This year I'm not going to West Cork for various reasons, mainly financial (after spending too much on Fly last year!)

    So I'll be doing a few in this country and started with the Southdowns Stages at Goodwood a few weeks ago with Carrie codriving
    Richard came over from Essex with another friend Stuart who usually marshals

    I'd given DVY a good check over - fitted the tarmac springs, new rear coilovers, lowered all round and a new centre box as the noise regs are quite tight at Goodwood

    There were 9 stages, most were 2 laps of the circuit with a couple only one lap. We were seeded car 9 out of a full entry of 55 cars - I thought we were a bit high but was hoping for a top ten at the end of the day.

    We started very slowly on the first stage, trying to remember to use the whole circuit and brake late enough into the chicanes. The second stage was not any better as it started drizzling and we were still on the slicks. We fitted the wets for the 3rd stage, but nearly slid into a chicane and had to reverse a few yards to get through. By the 4th stage we were up to speed - the circuit was now properly wet and my wet tyres were working better. The 5th stage was a short one and at the lunch break we were down in 19th...

    So 4 more stages after lunch and these were the correct way round - the corners seem to flow better this way.
    Stages 6 and 7 went well and we moved up to 15th.
    Stage 8 was at dusk and here we benefited from a good seeding. My friend Chris (DrDub) was at 29 in his new Escort and being 20 minutes behind it was dark by the time he went round.
    We only gained one place but were a lot closer to those in front.
    The final stage in the dark went well, until I out braked myself into a chicane, managing to avoid all the cones we made up our own route (to keep the marshals happy) and our time was 10s slower, but this was enough to move us up to 12th overall and 6th in class.

    We had an enjoyable day, DVY was running well and we managed not to hit anything! Thanks to Carrie for co-driving and Richard and Stuart for looking after the car.

    A few pics from Andy Manston







    And some in car (when I'd remembered how to work the camera!)

    SS5
    https://youtu.be/kOxTHMlazHM

    SS8
    https://youtu.be/TzhPgmNJv68

    Next event should be the Corbeau Seats Rally Tendring & Clacton in April - the first Closed Road event in mainland England...
    GavinR

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  18. #497
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    So how did clacton go then Gavin?
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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Clacton was great fun, well organised and everything ran on time

    Very enjoyable until the engine went on SS9

    This was us on SS7
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Any updates Gavin?

    What went wrong with the engine?
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Hi

    Exhaust cam snapped in 2 places - between 3 & 4 and just behind the cam pulley
    Not sure why, maybe a valve got stuck down then the piston hit it hard and the shock was enough to break the cam - always difficult to tell when 12 out of the 16 valves are bent!

    Anyway, everything in the head has been replaced, new bearings in the bottom end, head skimmed a few thou and pistons skimmed to match and she's up and running again

    Rolling Road booked for Thursday morning, then Wethersfield Stages on Sunday with Carrie
    I'm hoping for a good run without any problems
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Wethersfield Stages - Sunday 9th September 2018

    The rolling road session went well, we just added some fuel at part throttle to improve the pick up and lowered the rev limit to 8k - power was 220bhp but still climbing at the this limit

    Carrie was codriving - we'd competed here twice before, in 1997 and 1999, and helped Chelmsford MC set up their other stage rallies there. More recently I've done Targa events so I was looking forward to the tricky bomb dump section - apart from this, the rest of the stages were very open without a chicane anywhere
    There were 6 stages each over 10 miles long (it's a large airfield) and we were seeded car 11 out of the 50 entries.

    It was a nice dry day but not that warm so I started with soft Hankooks all round and there was plenty of grip on the concrete and tarmac. Chelmsford had also laid a couple of sections of concrete in the bomb dump where the surface had deteriorated over the years. We made a sensible start, 15th quickest, but got going on stage 2, 30s quicker - it's amazing how much speed you can carry round a 90 degree corner on the perimeter track when it's 30-40ft wide

    Stages 3 and 4 were in the opposite direction - the tyres were working well so we left them on. Going into the bomb dump on the second lap we were catching an Escort WRC and were on his bumper by the time we exited, but had to wait a couple of corners before going past as he hadn't seen us... Another couple of good times brought us up to 9th

    Onto the last 2 stages, really going well now, hitting the limiter in 5th in a couple of places (108mph on the slicks), 7th quickest on the last stage

    We finished 10th overall and picked up a pot for 3rd in class - it was a very enjoyable day, DVY was running well, we finished on the same 4 tyres we started on and just added fuel during the day!
    There's a couple of things to do over the winter such as fit a bigger electric fan, reseal the rocker cover and rebuild the gearbox which was whining a bit, but she can go away in the garage for a few months while I concentrate on other events in Fly
    GavinR

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Clacton Stages - Sunday 28th April 2019

    Back in March I got round to having a look at improving the cooling on DVY, as recommended by John at JPR Tuning when I went to his rolling road last summer
    When I had bought the alloy radiator a few years ago, it came with a fan and I assumed it would be the right size, but maybe it was the one they could fit with the pipe orientation I had requested
    Anyway, when sat idling the temperature would steadily increase and overheat, which is not ideal on a rally car!

    After removing the rad and fan I took a few measurements and decided I could fit a 14" high power Davies Craig fan, which actually measures 13.8" and is rating at double the CFM of the old one





    To make it fit, I had to mount it in front of the rad (which was where DVY's original fan was) and cut some of the front panel away, and move the oil cooler to the outside a bit more
    I used 2 lengths of 25mm ally angle to mount the fan, bolted across the radiator supports and everything fitted nicely



    Apart from buying some new WRC style slicks, I had to get a new battery as the old one had died
    I thought it was a starter motor issue so spent a while swapping starters and other bits around (as the battery showed it was fully charged) but finally tried a different battery and everything was fine


    Onto the rally which had a similar format to last year but the first 2 stages of each loop had been joined together making a decent 6.5 mile stage to start. The other 3 stages had also been modified or extended slightly, giving over 50 stage miles. Still nothing compared to an Irish event, but a welcome improvement on last year's route.
    The weather was also colder with a possibility of a few showers on the day.
    Scrutineering was passed without any troubles and we did the recce before meeting up with various friends.



    There was a full entry of 125 cars and we were seeded quite high at 36 but with the short stages I didn;t think we'd be caught by the historic spec BMW M3 behind us
    The first loop of 4 stages went very well, we were up to speed quickly on the first stage and going well on the others, although the 1/2 mile of farm road which might have been tarmac 20 years ago was interesting with a lot of loose gravel on top, and the farmyard section had been extended to go round a few barns so was very slippery



    Before first service we had a regroup and when we went to leave I had to push the starter button a few times before it would engage, so we decided to fit the spare in service as we had plenty of time. All done and ready to go, pushed the button and there was a clonk and nothing happened
    A bit odd as I had bench tested the starter before the event. So there followed a bit of panic to round up some helpers and bump start the car for the next loop!

    Stages 5 & 6 went well but when we arrived at the start of Stage 7 there was a slight delay. The marshal said we should turn off but obviously we couldn't so we sat there for 20 minutes through a rather heavy shower, but at least the engine was keeping cool
    The rain stopped just before we started the stage but the roads were soaking wet and this stage had the farm road and farmyard sections so I made sure I was careful. We were 30s slower on this one, but everyone around us had similar issues, and a couple of the top crews had gone off on the next stage when they were caught out in the rain.



    Back to regroup via a petrol station (with the engine still running) and into the last service. Richard (who was servicing) had tested the original starter and said it was fine so we refitted it and it worked after a couple of attempts.
    Due to the rain, a lot of crews were changing to slicks, but George and I thought it looked like it was brightening up and we knew how the slicks worked in the wet so we left them on!
    This proved to be a good decision as the last loop was the driest of the day



    At the finish we were pleased to be 25th and 7th in class
    Thanks to George, Richard and all the organisers and marshals - it was a very enjoyable weekend


    A footnote to the starter issues - I tried it in the workshop and nothing was happening - the solenoid engaged but the starter did not spin
    I also tested the spare one on the bench and it worked fine, so I left everything for a while

    The other week I had a bright idea - when I had been playing with the starter before the event, I had fitted new solenoids to both
    Maybe these were a slightly different spec / length to the original solenoids - I use the Bosch geared starters which are made up of different components from various starters so it is not always easy to work out which spares are needed
    So I decided to try spacing the starter away from the bellhousing - this would then give a slight longer solenoid more throw before the one way clutch behind the drive gear hits the ring gear, and maybe this would be enough for the plunger to hit the main contacts. So I tried it with part of an old xflow sandwich plate as a spacer and now it works perfectly


    All being well, my next event in DVY will be the new Three Shires stages in September - a Closed Road event based at Eastnor Deer Park near Ledbury, and using stages in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, hence the name
    GavinR

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    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Car looks great Gavin.

    As for closed road rallying
    Do you reckon you would get up to the borders for the Jim Clark?
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    No, I'll stick to doing the one in September then make plans for next year
    GavinR

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Time to bring this thread up to date, nearly a year since I wrote anything

    In September 2019 I competed on the first running of the Three Shires Closed Road Rally, based near Ledbury in Herefordshire
    Carrie was codriving as George was away
    There were 110 cars with us seeded rather badly at 69, although there was a lot of strange seeding, it's one of the problems trying to correlate a top 10 result on an airfield or circuit with a top 30 result on a Closed Road event

    There were 6 stages run 3 times each, 4 of these were quite short (1-2 miles) with one 3.5 miles and one just over 5

    We started well and got into the groove quickly on the first 2 short stages, then on the next narrow and twisty 5 mile stage caught the car in front just after 2 miles but could not get past
    Anyway we made sure we were ahead for the next stages and didn't have any problems
    Back at service at Eastnor Deer Park, everything was checked over and the results showed we were 38th Overall

    Onto the next loop, all going well until some puffs of steam on the long stage and the temperature gauge started climbing, so we pulled over at a suitable spot by some marshals and had a look
    The hose to the expansion tank had moved (it's normally tied in place) and was touching the alternator fan which had split it open
    I managed to bodge a repair using a 13mm socket as a hose joiner which I'd seen someone else do before and the marshals managed to find enough water to replace what we'd lost, and they helped us back onto the stage between passing rally cars

    Cruising to the end of the stage everything seemed ok so we did the road section and lined up for the next stage
    I wasn't sure if we were OTL but with regroups on the way into service I thought we would be ok, but halfway through Stage 10 I saw clouds of steam out the back as the head gasket failed
    We completed the stage slowly then headed back to service on the road and went home



    Over the following weeks / months I took the head off and had it skimmed, then put everything back together with a thicker Cometic MLS head gasket to ensure the compression ratio was the same (and removed the Wills rings as these do not work with a MLS gasket)

    In Jan and Feb 2020 I did about 75 miles on the road, testing as much as is sensible (driving up steep hills, etc) and everything was good
    GavinR

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  28. #506
    Racer Decade Plus User rallyrob's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Another great write up Gavin.

    Shame about the bloody head gasket, good idea with the socket in the hose as a temporary repair though. When you say you removed the wills rings did you just leave the grooves in the block comepletely empty or did you put a normal wire ring in them to fill up some of the gap before seating the new MLS gasket on it?

  29. #507
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Quote Originally Posted by rallyrob View Post
    Another great write up Gavin.

    Shame about the bloody head gasket, good idea with the socket in the hose as a temporary repair though. When you say you removed the wills rings did you just leave the grooves in the block comepletely empty or did you put a normal wire ring in them to fill up some of the gap before seating the new MLS gasket on it?
    I just removed them and left the groove - I would have needed some 0.25mm wire to fill the groove, and the grooves are 2-3 mm outside the bore so it didn't seem necessary
    GavinR

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    In March 2020, I headed over to Ireland for the West Cork Rally, together with George and this year's service crew, Tony Hewitt and his son Jack who had come over from Ipswich
    As I'm sure everyone knows, the rally was cancelled on the Thursday evening due to the lock down in Ireland, so we came back on the ferry Friday evening - DVY never got off the trailer!
    Many thanks to George, Tony and Jack for coming - hopefully next year everything will be back to normal


    Once lockdown started to be eased, I wanted to have a proper test of DVY so booked a track day at Castle Combe last Monday (20th July)
    Carrie came for a day out and was slightly bored not having a map or pacenotes to read!

    It seemed quieter than previous track days I had been to so we went out when we wanted and did 8-10 laps each time
    DVY was working well with the temperature steady at 85 degrees, the only thing slowing us down was hitting the rev limiter in 5th too often (which is 107mph), once going past the pit exit down to Avon Rise, and again before Tower after getting my line right at Old Paddock Bend so I could take it flat.
    The old medium slicks were perfect for a nice sunny day, and she hangs on very well around the corners

    By lunch we had done 70 miles and pretty much run out of petrol so headed home







    This was the last session, the camera now more solidly mounted on the roll cage



    Now I have satisfied myself the Cossie is working perfectly it is up for sale but will be replaced by a Duratec which I bought last month
    GavinR

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  32. #509
    Racer Decade Plus User rallyrob's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Quote Originally Posted by GavinR View Post
    I just removed them and left the groove - I would have needed some 0.25mm wire to fill the groove, and the grooves are 2-3 mm outside the bore so it didn't seem necessary
    I used same gas welding rod when I took the wills rings out of my block many years ago and just filed the ends a bit like doing piston rings. I put a tiny bit of sealer on them too, only tiny bit though. But then I didn't use an MLS headgasket which I know is really good quality.

  33. #510
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Duratec install

    After selling the Cossie last summer, I bought a Duratec which had been built for an MX5 Rally Car, used once then sat in barn for a few years
    It's supposed to have 230 hp but we'll see when I get it on a rolling road...

    It wasn't quite as described, but has all the bits inside that it should have such as Steel Rods, Forged Pistons and Raceline 250 hp cams, Jenvey single taper throttle bodies (with injectors in the head) and an older MBE Ecu with most of the wiring required

    As with most engine swaps, the installation parts soon add up even though the inlet and exhaust are on the same sides as the Cossie
    I bought an OPI Dry Sump set up, a bellhousing and hydraulic clutch, a Retroford alternator set up and Ashley exhaust, but decided to make my own engine mounts and a few other bits
    The alternator set up put one of the idler pulleys a bit too close to the Dry Sump pump, as well as the alternator being very close to the exhaust, and the Ashley exhaust was a bit small and would have needed a lot of work to make it fit with my engine position, so they were both sold on with the exhaust being replaced with a very nice Stainless Steel Retroford one

    I also got a Ranger/Transit water elbow from Trig and bought a matching Ranger water rail

    First trial fit with engine position being determined by the gearbox mount and getting the engine as low as possible above the steering rack / cross member



    Engine mount plates were made from a scrap piece of 8mm plate



    I started with an old set of WCXM engine mounts that had previously been modified
    Drivers side looked simple, the passenger side needed about 1" cut off the end



    I also wanted to try and use the standard Fiesta ST oil filter plate, rather than the "oil in" plate which came with the dry sump and would have needed a remote oil filter
    The plan of making my own mounts was so I could work around these bits - passenger side completed
    The long bolt cannot be removed without removing the dry sump pump, but I'm not planning on taking the engine out regularly!



    The crankshaft was sent to Dunnell Race Engines so they could machine a keyway for the timing chain sprocket and a smaller Retroford crank pulley, and they also balanced the crank
    This was refitted with new bearings as it seemed sensible at this stage

    Alternator set up from the kit with the Ranger water rail fitted



    I didn't like the height of the water rail compared to the radiator, so I removed the bend and straightened it out which also removed the 5/8" outlet near the back

    New alternator set up, after looking at various pics of how other people had done it
    Looking through the scrap box I found a std xflow alternator bracket and some 10mm ally plate so put the alternator where I wanted it to go, low down on the drivers side under the exhaust



    A few brackets to work out where the second idler pulley needed to go, and an old alternator mocked up with a transit diesel adjustment bracket which had the right offset



    Then started maching a large lump of aluminium to make a proper mount



    More to come in a few days
    GavinR

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  34. #511
    Racer Decade Plus User wildo105e's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Nice work Gavin, Interestingly I spent on the engine mounts (hindsight says i should have gone chassis mount but it's in now) and skimped on the alternator mount making that myself but i don't have a dry sump pump to fight with. I am awaiting my exhasut and manifold from ashley now but my engine is in the standard position on the engine mounts now so hopefully it will fit.

    Out of curiosity how much was the crank keyway work (thinking ahead for more power).

  35. #512
    World Champion Decade Plus User alladdin's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    keep it coming gavin , nice to have a home build to read lately

  36. #513
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Quote Originally Posted by wildo105e View Post
    Nice work Gavin, Interestingly I spent on the engine mounts (hindsight says i should have gone chassis mount but it's in now) and skimped on the alternator mount making that myself but i don't have a dry sump pump to fight with. I am awaiting my exhasut and manifold from ashley now but my engine is in the standard position on the engine mounts now so hopefully it will fit.

    Out of curiosity how much was the crank keyway work (thinking ahead for more power).
    I think I've ended up with the engine lower than most as the Ashley manifold outlet was below the chassis rails and also hit the compression strut mount
    The Retroford manifold is also a little bit lower than it needs to be but should be ok once the sump guard is fitted. It was also touching the steering column and the chassis gusset, so I moved the engine 5mm to the drivers side and added a scallop to the gusset so it should fit ok now

    The work done by Dunnell was keyway in the crank (£40), 5 mm key (£8), enlarge keyway in the Retroford pulley as it only had a 3mm keyway, (£29.50) and they also supplied a new crank sprocket (£87.50) as mine was worn, all plus VAT and delivery
    I could have got a machine shop to do the work, but decided it was better to go to someone who builds engines for a living!
    GavinR

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  38. #514
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Nice work gavin. Always good to see. Might end up with a nice duratec in my Mk1 someday soon.
    [/SIGPIC]CHRIS
    WANTED MK1 2DOOR ESCORT COSSY OR XE MUST BE PERFECT AND FREEwell dont hurt to ask?

  39. #515
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Some more pics

    The ST oil filter plate would normally have an oil / water cooler on top so has a port down into the filter
    A union was welded on and the other port welded up. The 60 degree union just fits underneath the starter motor and points nicely to the 120 degree union from the dry sump pump, and the -10 pipe is above the engine mount



    Rear water elbow and bypass pipe



    I think this will work for the alternator after removing a web below the FWD engine mount. If there's too long a length, I can add another idler near the alternator pulley as I've seen other people do



    Idler pulley threaded into the ally block



    Clutch reservoir and gusset scallop. Clutch pipe is coming out the side of the bulkhead which should miss the water elbow and meet up with the bellhousing without too many problems



    Cosworth radiator was modified by Chris DrDub

    GavinR

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  40. #516
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    As well as selling the engine, I also sold the Quaife Pro to Oddy as I wanted to fit a Tracsport box with the Duratec

    I'd picked up a suitable donor box last September for £183 - I think no one wanted it as it was a Diesel box so had a long input shaft and also an electronic speedo tailhousing, but ideal for fitting a gear kit
    It had also been "reconditioned" according to the seller and the insides looked good when I finally got it apart. I'm not sure who had rebuilt it though as there were no gaskets used, tons of grease everywhere and the 5th gear nut was done up to about 200lb ft instead of 100lb ft !

    Complete box



    A few hours later



    I'd gone for Tracsport's semi-helical kit with heavy duty main shaft, 2.29 first gear and 0.82 5th gear
    Excellent service from SP Components - I phoned them on a Tuesday, agreed what I wanted and it arrived on the Friday



    New gears built up on the new main shaft



    Their kits also come with a proper bearing at the front of the laygear cluster
    This can be used either with a sleeve on the layshaft, or you can fit a laygear stub shaft to the front of the casing
    I thought it was worth doing this while everything is apart, and the Duratec bellhousing is designed for the extra plate
    A 1" hole was carefully drilled in the front of the casing (enlarged from the 3/4" layshaft hole about 1/32" at a time)



    Stub shaft fitted



    And input shaft sleeve cut off (for the hydraulic clutch) and the bottom trimmed



    The box is back together now but still on the bench
    I decided it would be easier to fit the engine on it's own as it's a bit tight !



    Still plenty to do before it's running but no rush as I don't think much will be happening before the summer
    GavinR

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  42. #517
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Hi Gavin, nice progress. Any particular reason you went the Duratec route?

  43. #518
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Quote Originally Posted by Sidways93 View Post
    Hi Gavin, nice progress. Any particular reason you went the Duratec route?
    Only because the Cosworth is very expensive when it breaks as everything is modified, where a Duratec uses more standard components to get similar power
    GavinR

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  44. #519
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    I thought that might be the case. Are cosworth bits, blocks heads etc getting harder to find?

    How about the weight of the duratec is it much lighter?
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  45. #520
    Racer Decade Plus User wildo105e's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

    Quote Originally Posted by mexicotait View Post
    How about the weight of the duratec is it much lighter?
    very much lighter.

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