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Thread: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

  1. #521
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Exmoor Targa Rally - Sat 7th October 2017

    A brief bit of history...
    I joined Tavern Motor Club in July 2008 but only got involved in November 2008 when Martin and George Clark organised a 12 car which started 2 miles from my house - I went along and marshalled and started going to the club nights. At the AGM in April 2009, Martin asked for a volunteer to help with the Exmoor Endurance Rally, specifically the night route, so I stuck my hand up. In 2010 I was invited onto the committee and took over as Chairman in 2013 and I'm still Chairman today.
    Endurance rallies had been invented in 2004 by Phillip Young as a low cost formula for standardish cars of up to 1400cc. I'd never taken much notice of them as I didn't have a suitable car, so it was something I was happy to help out on. Martin started the Exmoor in 2008 and Tavern ran it with help from Burnham on Sea and Minehead Motor Clubs.
    Martin and George organised the whole route with forest and tarmac tests during the day and a 60 mile road rally at night. My job was to sort out the marshals for the night route and go round in Fly to make sure they were all in place. I did this in 2009, 2010 and 2012, the 2011 event being cancelled due to lack of entries.
    After Martin suffered a stroke in September 2012, George continued to organise the event with help from various people, running it in 2012 and 2014, the 2013 event being cancelled due to tree disease!
    But the Endurance formula was dying out - it proved to be quite expensive to run a competitive car, the top crews using adjustable suspension and 6 new tyres per event, together with frequent rebuilds due to some rather rough events, the entry levels were dropping year by year and the Endurance Road Rally Championship finished at the end of 2014 with George winning the Navigator Championship.
    George stepped down from organising the Exmoor after a successful 2014 event so I took over in 2015 with everyone on the organising team agreeing to turn the event into a Targa Rally, thus allowing Road Rally cars to run alongside Endurance cars in an effort to boost entries.

    In 2015 and 2016 we had just over 40 entries but this year things improved with an entry of 60, although only 53 started.
    The organisation starts in April with a route being submitted to the MSA, followed by meetings with the Forestry Commission for the forest tests and Porlock Manor Estate for the tarmac tests, dealing with the Rights of Way dept at the council for any footpaths or bridleways on the Tests, and PR'ing any properties on the minor roads used on the link sections.
    This year we had 38 miles of tests with 100 miles of link sections for £175 which included a hot meal at the finish.

    The most enjoyable aspect of organising the event is driving Fly as Car 0 on the day "waking up the marshals"
    We use the MSA Radios as on Stage Rallies, so once the Chief Marshal and Set Up crews have been through, I get the all clear and drive round at a competitive speed. On reaching the Finish, I radio in and the Start marshals send in the first car. Everything ran like clockwork with no hold ups - all the tests started within 1 minute of the time schedule

    Overnight rain had made it very slippery on the early Tests but the sun came out later so it was a bit quicker in the afternoon.
    Here are some pics from Andy Manston

    Croydon Forest in the morning


    Kennisham Forest in the morning


    Catching up with the marshals at the start of Croydon after lunch


    Croydon again, enjoying the sunshine


    Exiting one of the many chicances used to slow the cars down to a 30mph average


    And the final Kennisham Test before returning to the Finish
    Last edited by GavinR; 02-11-2017 at 01:28.
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  2. #522
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    nice one, also nice to read about someone else putting something back in re organizing events, which is how i ended up a committee member of an msa club and scrutineer, as a competitor you just dont have any idea of the work behind the scenes which is mostly done by un paid volunteers

  3. #523
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I do a similar job on my motor clubs targa event the shaw trophy
    Unreal how many hours go into it nd how many things need to be sorted
    Even driving around as car 0 is stressful always worried I’m going to make a fool of myself
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  4. #524
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Another win I see Gavin

    Well done!!
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  5. #525
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by mexicotait View Post
    Another win I see Gavin

    Well done!!
    That was the Bonfire Targa at Wethersfield which I competed on with Antons Kuzenko navigating for me for the first time - Antons was also driving his 206 GTi with his regular navigator alongside

    There were 3 loops of 5 tests and 2nd after the first loop, 7s off the leader and 5s ahead of 3rd. Antons was doing well, calling the cones in the same way that I'm used to

    At the lunch break, I was leading by 10s - until they included the cone penalties which put me 10s behind. There were 2 cones near the end of one test, set at an angle and I thought we could squeeze through without lifting but managed to nudge both sides

    On the very next test, the leader Adrian White (BMW 318) got slightly lost and dropped 14s, so I knew I just had to keep it clean to get the win
    I managed to avoid all the cones and won by 8s from Andrew Bainbridge (Clio Williams) with Adrian another 9s behind



    This year hasn't started as well - in fact it hasn't started at all!
    George and I entered the Bagger Road Rally in January but pulled out the night before - I was suffering from flu and George was losing her voice...
    Then tomorrow we were supposed to be out on the Bath Festival Targa which has been postponed due to snow (as have 4 other rallies this weekend)
    GavinR

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  6. #526
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    nice one

  7. #527
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    cars looking fresh

  8. #528
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by freddy686868 View Post
    cars looking fresh
    i thought that

  9. #529
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I think Gavin must own most of the weller wheels in the country!
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by mexicotait View Post
    I think Gavin must own most of the weller wheels in the country!
    i managed to pry 4 off him a few years ago

  12. #531
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I've probably got 40-50 wellers, mainly 6" and 7", with a few 5 1/2". Never had a problem with them and if you get the right spoke style (there's about 3 different styles) the 6" ones fit over Monte Carlo calipers with a 1/4" spacer. They don't weigh much either
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  13. #532
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    The Festival Targa Rally - 31st March 2018

    Run by Bath Motor Club for the last 6 years as a Night Road Rally, increasing PR problems forced the organisers to turn it into a Targa Rally, using the same forests and tracks they had used on the Road Rally. It was scheduled for 3rd March, but was postponed to 31st due to snow. I'd entered with George but she couldn't make the revised date so Carrie agreed to sit in with me. And with the top seed unable to make the revised date, we were Car 1 out of 50.

    Having an extra 4 weeks to prep Fly, I added a few bonus features, such as headlight washers mounted on the bumper - I used Land Rover Defender washer jets which are quite tall, and fitted a second Mk2 Escort washer bottle on the inside of the inner wing, just above the chassis rail, fed off the windscreen washer circuit - usually if the windscreen is muddy, the lights will be as well. I also added some splash shields between the sumpguard and chassis rails to try and stop as much water getting in the engine bay - I used mudflap material screwed to the sumpguard cross member as I didn't want to drill holes in the sumpguard of chassis legs. This seemed to help as the engine bay is cleaner than usual and we didn't have any water problems despite hitting some large puddles at speed!

    Parked up at the start - a good selection of cars competing



    The first test was run twice just as it was getting dark - a short concrete road which starts with a square right, under a railway bridge with a bump on the exit



    Then into the proper forest tests - luckily the rain had stopped at lunchtime but it had rained for the previous 24 hours making everything wet, muddy and very slippery in places. The advice from the organisers was to keep it in the middle but even that was tricky at times!



    We arrived at petrol after 8 tests and found we were leading by 8s after 4 tests, but knew we were quicker than that as the top 5 had beaten the bogey on Test 3 by varying amounts. As we left it looked like we were 40s ahead which was very good, but having had a huge moment on Test 6 there was still plenty to do. And the front left wheel was knocking - play in the compression strut joint but all the bolts were tight, so try to ignore it!



    The forests used are owned by Longleat and also Stourhead Estate and were in pretty good condition. The worst one was Southleigh Woods - it was rough last year and even rougher this year. The second half had 6 tests, all repeats of ones we had done earlier and the tracks had dried out a bit allowing us to get more power down, but cut up in other places.
    The next 3 tests we improved our times by 13s, 9s and 21s so knew we were going well



    Last pic on the final corner of the last test - we'd stopped before this one to have another look at the front left as it was getting worse, but couldn't do anything with it so carried on.



    Back at the finish just after 1am for a nice chicken curry, we waited for the results. At petrol we had been leading by 1m 3s but we always get worried that we might have picked up a few penalties along the way... and when the final results came out at 3am, we needn't have worried!

    1st overall by 2m 34s - we were quickest on 11 out of the 14 tests
    2nd was Jason Stone & Dan Stone in a freshly built BMW 318 Compact - a good achievement as Jason hasn't driven competitively for at least 5 years
    3rd was Paul Freeth & Chris Head in a Rover 200, 15s behind Jason and Dan due to more Test Penalties

    Many thanks to Bath Motor Club, all the marshals and Carrie for pointing me in the right direction!
    GavinR

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  14. #533
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Brilliant Gavin well done

    Good to hear dan stone is still rallying too
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  15. #534
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    After the Festival, my next event was the Classic Tracks in May in West Wales. This time Carrie and I went over the night before and stayed at Jamie Jukes' farm, just up the road from the start. A beautiful place with his own gravel test track which we've been round on the Classic Tracks before, but it wasn't being used this year.
    We hadn't done the event for a few years, but it used some familiar Tests and some new ones. We had an enjoyable day, but weren't quite on it as much as usual, so were pleased to finish 10th overall.

    Next was the Kemble Targa, double driving with Antons Kuzenko. The tyre rules were quite restrictive and the only ones I had which complied were worn knobblies, which worked surprisingly well on the dry tarmac and concrete. After a close battle with Ben Griffin in his Peugeot 106 Rallye, I finished 2nd overall just 5s behind Ben.
    Navigating for Antons, he was also driving well and finished 4th in his Peugeot 205 GTi.
    GavinR

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  16. #535
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    The Bustard Targa Rally – 22nd July 2018

    Run by Salisbury and Shaftesbury Car Club for the first time this year as a Targa Rally, it last ran as an Endurance Rally in 2014. With over 30 miles of Tests including Worthy Farm and Slait Barns, the entry filled quickly and 50 crews lined up at the start in Shepton Mallet, including myself and George seeded Car 1.

    The event started with a very short gravel Test in a car park at Worthy Farm, which went well, before heading out onto the tracks around the farm and fields for two 5 mile Tests.
    I started quickly on Test 2, but didn’t realise how little grip there was on the loose gravel and we had 5 or 6 overshoots during the Test as George tried to keep up, having not navigated on a Road Rally for over a year. At the finish we knew our time was not good as Car 2, James Newbould / Lizzie Pope had beaten us by 30s!

    On the short link between test 2 & 3, we decided I needed to slow down a little bit to stop overshooting the cone manoeuvres. This worked very well and we were quickest on this Test by over 30s!



    After Worthy Farm, we headed towards Frome for a Test around Frome Showground followed by 2 Tests at Witham Hall Farm. Both of these are regularly used on the Bath Festival but driving them in daylight was a bit different. We were quickest by a couple of seconds on all 3.

    Next we headed south to Slait Barns, a 3 mile gravel test around a solar farm. Great fun with plenty of grip and it was good to see a lot of my Tavern Motor Club out marshalling on this test. We were quickest again, but only just from Ben Smith / Simon Harris who remembered it well from the Endurance events.

    Arriving at petrol, we were surprised to find we had been leading after Worthy Farm and when the results were updated we were 37s ahead of James & Lizzie, with Ben & Simon only 3s behind them. A lot of the FWD cars were having trouble with tyre wear in the very hot conditions, and when I checked my A021R's I found the rear tyres were not going to last the day, so George and I fitted the spares.

    After petrol, we headed back to Frome Showground for a slightly different test, then over to Slait Barns for the reverse of the morning Test. We extended our lead on these 2 tests before moving on to a short Test at Pylle along part of an old railway. This was run twice and was mucky and slippery under the trees so we had a sensible run through. Test 12 was across a couple of fields used for parking at Glastonbury Festival, then it was back to Worthy Farm for the final 2 long Tests.

    Knowing we had a chance of winning, I drove steadily through the first of these which doesn’t always help the concentration and we were 5th quickest – the final test we had a better run and were quickest again.
    We nervously awaited the results at the finish, hoping we had not picked up any cones penalties, and were pleased to see the results go final with us winning by 1m 8s from Ben & Simon.

    Many thanks to Salisbury & Shaftesbury Car Club, all the marshals and especially to George for navigating.
    After 7 years and 21 road rallies, this was the first time we have won a rally together. And, as George had won the last Great Bustard Endurance, it was fitting that she won the first Bustard Targa!
    GavinR

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  18. #536
    Racer Decade Plus User mexicotait's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    See you’ve got an entry in for the preston

    There’s two crews coming down from up here and we are going to marshal.

    Also helping out with scrutineering so hope to see you at some point
    Hexham and District Motorclub

  19. #537
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    In October I competed on the 1000 Lanes Road Rally run by Heads of the Valleys Auto Club in the lanes around Abergavenny
    George was navigating and Carrie, Peter and Emily were marshalling for us

    It was a very wet night with flooding in some places causing the organisers to do a few reroutes
    Our night didn't start well, getting a puncture at the end of the first section, then driving a few miles of the next section before stopping to change it, then had an overshoot in a field on the 3rd section and needed the spectators to get us back on the track!

    After that we got it together a bit, setting some sensible times, eventually finishing 41st (out of 75 starters). It was good to do a local event - I was home by 7am


    At the end of October, I was out organising the Exmoor Targa Rally - this year we had a great entry of 68 cars and access to more forestry.
    Everything ran well and on time, with no incidents to worry about
    As usual, I enjoyed going round in Fly as Course Car with Carrie




    The following weekend (4th November 2018) I was out on Chelmsford's Bonfire Targa Rally at Wethersfield Airfield, this time with Derek double driving for the first time in 2 years.
    We had a good day, a bit slow on the first loop left me chasing to make up time, but quickest times on 7 out of the next 10 tests got me back up to 2nd, only 6 seconds behind 1st.
    Derek enjoyed the day, but was a bit out of practice driving Fly so he finished 21st overall (out of the 75 starters).





    Then it was a few weeks of prep work for the 40th (and last) Preston Rally - the roughest, bumpiest, muddiest rally there is...
    GavinR

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Preston prep work...

    Apart from the usual checks which led to replacing the compression struts, track rod ends and one track rod, and repairing a tear in the chassis rail caused by a rock on the 1000 Lanes, I discovered the cause of some of the creaking behind me...



    One of the 23 year old square turrets had popped the top off, so I pulled it back down with some threaded rod, welded up the cracks and added some reinforcements. The other side was fine so I left it



    I also wanted to try and soften the suspension to handle the bumps better. After a bit of searching I bought a new pair of Capri H/D multi-leaf springs - these were rock hard but after removing 2 leafs and using the remaining 2 it worked out to be around 85-90 lb / in (measured by placing 2 x 56lb weights on the spring and measuring the compression).
    Next I cut off the front spring eye and narrowed it slightly to go into the PTFE slipper bush, and moved the axle location pin 3/4" backwards so more of the spring was in the bush.





    When fitted, these springs gave me 4" of suspension travel before hitting the axle bump stops
    Next I fitted some coilovers fitted with 50lb springs with the spring seats set so that the springs would start working with 1" of travel left

    At the front I went to 170lb springs with 1" preloaded on the spring seat to maintain a decent ride height. Even like this I could move the front down slightly - with the previous 200lb springs this was not possible

    Final jobs were to fit the spotlights and a set of 185/65R14 Maxsport RB1 Grass Tyres on 14" wellers which I'd acquired over the summer and I was ready for the Preston
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    that sure was a large crack in the turret must have been close to popping the top off all together good to see the old girl getting plenty of action that is what they should be doing not polished and taken to shows on trailers

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    The 40th Preston Road Rally - 1st/2nd December 2018

    Run by Chelmsford Motor Club, this event is well know for being very rough and has a route of 180 miles of whites, farm tracks, fields and byways
    The current organising team have been running it for 12 years and it takes a lot of work - dealing with landowners, clearing tracks, PR'ing, setting out the route and clearing up afterwards, so they have decided this year will be the last time that they organise the event

    This encouraged me to go back and have another go - I have competed on the Preston 9 times before and finished 2nd 3 times, Carrie has done it 4 times and finished 2nd twice (with me), but the last time we did it was in 2005 and we had a few problems!
    As it was going to be the last event, they increased the entry to 90 cars and we all lined up at Snetterton Race Circuit before heading out into the countryside

    We passed scrutineering without any trouble, but then the windscreen washers packed up, and one of the front tyres was hitting the wing on lock
    After a bit of work with a pin and needle, the washers were cleared and I trimmed a bit off the front wing


    We started off well, setting regular top 10 times although the rougher sections were really rough this year - I was having to back off a lot as the rear suspension was bottoming out regularly despite the new set up...
    Being a long event, there are 2 petrol halts and as we pulled into the start of the Mildenhall Forest section before first petrol, all headlights went out and there was a smell of hot electrics
    Wiggling the dip / main beam stalk showed that it was where the problem was and the only way I could get the headlights working was to hold the stalk in the flash position
    Not having time to do anything else, we started the section like this - the only problem was I had to let go of the stalk to change gear.
    I suggested Carrie could change gear while she was navigating but she didn't fancy that - instead she managed to reach the stalk and hold it on while I drove. This worked reasonably well although we dropped a couple of places here.

    At first petrol we were 9th and I had time to fit a spare stalk and tighten up the new steering wheel boss which had not been put together very well (at the factory, not by me), but the rear springs were starting to sag.
    Back out on the roads, we were going quickly on the smoother sections (3rd fastest in Kings Forest and 5th in Croxton Forest) but slowly on the rough sections (20th on Foxpin 2 but at least we didn't get stuck in the sandy mud on one straight!) and this kept us in 9th at 2nd petrol.

    A quick check over Fly and tightened the steering boss again, we had quite a few comments about the rear suspension from the other competitors



    The other side is even lower - a bit strange as Carrie is a lot lighter than me



    With 6 sections to go we just wanted to finish and try and stay in the top 10, so gentle on the rough stuff and quick and the smoother bits, but it was not to be
    On the Wretham section (around an Army camp and some fields), I slid wide on a muddy right hander and hit a solid tree with the left spotlight. We didn't hit it that hard but instantly the oil light came on and the pressure gauge went to zero so I knew that was it
    I managed to reverse out of the tree and drive slowly to a safe place before switching off and getting out to assess the damage

    Picture of the tree we hit, taken a few hours later by the driver of the next car who hit it a lot harder than we did!





    Unfortunately the oil cooler is directly behind the left spotlight, and the impact was enough for the spotlight bracket to hit a union and snap it off the cooler

    We texted the organisers to let them know we had retired and try to organise recovery, but realising we were only 100 yds from the public road we rang Richard Turnbull who had been out marshalling earlier to see where he was. He had just reached the finish at Snetterton and very kindly drove back to where we were and gave me a lift to collect the trailer so we could recover ourselves

    So an eventful night which has given me some work to do before my next event, the Bagger Road Rally in late January.

    PS
    If you are thinking of trying softer leaf springs, don't try what I did!

    This is in the workshop after the event with just the weight of the car resting on the jack - no spares in the boot and no fuel tank
    You can just about see where the spring clip has been hitting the chassis rail



    My next plan is for some Capri 2.8 single leafs which should be 116lb and will be a lot stronger
    This year I had been running some 146lb single leafs with 1" lowering blocks but they are too hard for even the smoother forest tracks
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by headbolt View Post
    that sure was a large crack in the turret must have been close to popping the top off all together good to see the old girl getting plenty of action that is what they should be doing not polished and taken to shows on trailers
    Just about held on with the cage reinforcement!
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    GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Brilliant write-up!!
    Gutted about the tree and the oil cooler. Sure you'd have had another good finish otherwise.....nice 1 👍👍

    Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Good write up Gavin shame about the tree incident

    One of our cars left a door mirror around there thanks to that tree!

    I’m glad I didn’t do it in the escort now but I was gutted not to be out

    Do you know what width the 2.8 Capri springs are?
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Those ones were 50mm wide so I just put 5mm washers either side on the shackle to make them the right width for a Mk2
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    great write up!

    what actually happened to the leaf springs Gavin if they were ok when you put them in, did they actually bend?
    looks nearly broken in that pic !

  29. #546
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by onecamohv View Post
    great write up!

    what actually happened to the leaf springs Gavin if they were ok when you put them in, did they actually bend?
    looks nearly broken in that pic !
    Yes they bent past the point of no return !
    There's a mark on the chassis rail where the leaf spring clip was hitting it
    Last edited by GavinR; 23-12-2018 at 22:06.
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I've been getting on with the repairs...

    How she looked after stripping some bits out of the way



    Started by winching the spotlight mount out, but this split the front panel...




    After removing the engine and box I managed to jack it out from the inside, and welded up the split so it shouldn't need much filler



    With the engine out, I've fitted new bearings just to be safe, removed the sandwich plate and put the engine back in
    I've also straightened or repaired everything else at the front (spotlight, mount, grill, bumper, etc), had the radiator recored and the ally tank repaired
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Gav,

    I have a load of 14" knobblies some brand new, most very good second hand. No longer have the car the fit them on! Maxsport, MRF, Pirelli and Dunlop, all have been dry stored in the dark. If your interested PM me and I will sort out some pictures when I back home next.

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by clarky205 View Post
    Gav,

    I have a load of 14" knobblies some brand new, most very good second hand. No longer have the car the fit them on! Maxsport, MRF, Pirelli and Dunlop, all have been dry stored in the dark. If your interested PM me and I will sort out some pictures when I back home next.
    Thanks - I've sent you a PM

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Bagger Road Rally - 26/27th Jan 2019

    So after doing as much straightening as I could myself, Fly went off to James (Oddy) for a freshen up and looked very tidy when I picked her up a couple of weeks later



    A few days work and everything was ready for the Bagger Road Rally - one of the toughest road rallies in the country!



    74 cars started and only 22 finished the 200 mile route using the lanes of Somerset and Devon, unfortunately we weren't one of them

    We got the whole route plotted at the start with 20 minutes to spare and were catching crews on the first few sections, but dropping time at most of the controls
    There was a short link section after TC7 to allow us to make up time and we were just outside the top 10 at this stage
    I was driving sensibly quickly (i.e. not flat out) as we knew just finishing would be an achievement

    Coming down a narrow yellow I hit an unexpected yump quite quickly and we took off and landed with a loud bang from the rear end and the car was all over the place. Hoping it was just a link bar bolt had snapped, we stopped to check but everything was still attached.
    It soon became clear that I'd snapped a shaft - the yump was so unexpected I didn't manage to lift off before we landed and I assume the shock of landing was enough to snap the shaft - they've been in there for over 15 years, but should be unbreakable with the power I've got.

    We carried on slowly for a bit with one wheel drive but it was clear we would have to retire so cut route across to a control to find a marshal. We lost all drive going up a hill but I discovered I could drive very slowly in reverse, so managed to turn round and reverse up to the control at a junction - we were off route so didn't get in the way of anyway else. There was no marshal at this control so we parked up and walked 1/2 mile to the next control and found Tom Jefferis and his son marshalling. Tom competes on the Exmoor and very kindly leant us his car so we could drive back to where the trailer was parked, collect it and return his car, before loading up Fly and heading home.

    Yesterday I gave Fly a good clean and removed the shafts in the workshop - the passenger shaft had snapped just where the splines meet the main shaft.
    At least it wasn't the diff or CWP, but I'll strip the axle and put new friction plates in the diff as I'm sure driving with only one shaft won't have done it any good!

    My next event is the Bath Festival Targa in March so a bit of time to sort everything out
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    snap! literally !
    hard luck Gavin, great report as usual - i got about 5 feet yesterday - start of test 1 i was home by 10am
    time for an upgrade


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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Oh dear - mine looks very similar to that
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Stripped the axle today so I could work out which parts I need to replace
    Before I removed the diff, I taped a very strong magnet to a spare shaft and removed a lot of broken pieces of shaft and metal swarf from the axle casing, but couldn't get the last piece of the shaft out
    Luckily the shaft had snapped almost flush with the end of the diff so it came out of the casing with a bit of leverage

    The side bearing was completely trashed - it takes a lot of force to split the inner race, so I think I will replace the diff end plate as well as the bearing to be safe



    Like most shafts which break, the splines had started to twist - whether this happened as part of the breakage or it had been going for a while doesn't really matter...



    I also checked the casing - I was worried that the tube which had come loose a few years ago had come loose again, but it's fine and was on the other side anyway
    It's going to be an expensive day tomorrow!
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    its like looking in the mirror! hard luck gavin. I ended up breaking the spider gears too, a very expensive experience!





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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Bath Festival Targa Rally - Sat 3rd March 2019

    I was out with George on this event, seeded car 1 out of 60 cars, with Owen Turner & Rachel Vestey (MG ZR) at 2, Jason Stone & Cath Woodman (BMW Compact) at 3
    We started from Westbury Country Park in the afternoon for 3 tests in the daylight, before the first petrol halt (to wait for it to get dark), then 6 more tests to the second petrol halt and another 7 tests before returning to the finish around 10pm

    We started well, quickest on the first test on a small part of Keevil arfield, but were only 5th quickest on the next forest test after an overshoot and stall at a hairpin just over a crest (we went about 20 yards past it backwards ). The 3rd test, Southleigh Woods, was smoother than last year, but greasy in places - we were 2nd quickest, 12s behind Owen.
    Although we didn't know at the time, we were leading by 4s at the first petrol halt from Owen, with Jason having gone off on Test 3 and retired.
    A quick half turn on the idle screws made sure I wouldn't stall it again on the later tests.

    The next 5 forest tests were good, but we lost time in one of the Longleat forests when we caught another Escort going round Shearwater lake, and then a 106 on the second Alfreds Tower test - he let us past but it still causes a slight delay. There was a short tarmac test before the second petrol halt and the top crews all set similar times.
    Still no results at the second petrol halt, but the Steward said we were lying second, about a minute behind Owen which sounded about right, and we were expecting a penalty for failing to stop at a Stop/Go (we didn't see the board, too busy watching another car!)

    Onto the last tests, some repeats of the ones we had done earlier and some run in the reverse direction. We were still going well, but a few seconds behind Owen on each Test, and we had a few problems on the penultimate Test when the codeboards were at ground level marking them very difficult to see!

    At the finish we were pleased to be 2nd overall, just over 2 minutes behind Owen & Rachel, and nearly a minute ahead of Paul Tod & Rich Aston (Proton Gti) in 3rd

    Some pics from M&H Photography - the first 3 at Keevil, and the last one at Frome Showground







    GavinR

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  40. #556
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    That second picture is just so
    Hexham and District Motorclub

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Somerset Seeker Targa - Sat 13th April 2019

    With the Somerset Stages not running this year due to various reasons, Nigel Winkworth decided to use Burnham on Sea MC forest allocation for a Targa Rally instead.

    Nigel has been part of the organising team for the Exmoor Targa for the last 5 years, and also helped Martin and George with the Exmoor Endurance for many years before that, so it was very good to see him take the main role in organising this new event.
    Based in Minehead there were 45 cars entered and 45 miles of good quality forest tracks split into 12 tests.

    George and I were car 1 (as we probably know the forests better than most), followed by Jason & Dan Stone at 2, and Brendan Wellman & Gavin Bull at 3.

    We started with Knowle forest, before heading to Whits Wood and a long 8 mile Croydon Test. Knowle was run in the reverse direction to the Exmoor, but worked well with us slightly catching Car 4, Paul Freeth & Lizzie Pope, on our second lap.
    We set the fastest time despite 20s penalties for nudging a couple of cones.

    Whits Wood was being run and marshalled by Tavern, and was very slippery but we were just quickest again.
    Then to the long Croydon test, an interesting route devised by Nigel using some sections we haven’t used for a few years. It went very well and we were fastest by over a minute despite a slight overshoot of one codeboard.





    A short test around Kennisham was followed by 2 identical tests in Chargot, a forest we are not able to use in October. These were great fun but there were not enough manoeuvres to slow everyone down so half the crews beat the bogey time.

    At the lunch halt we were leading by just under 2 minutes, helped by cars 2 and 3 having retired.

    The afternoon tests were similar to the morning ones, Knowle and Whits we were quickest, then the Croydon test had the middle loop in the opposite direction. Unfortunately this meant the faster sections were used twice and we beat the bogey time along with another 6 cars.
    Kennisham ran twice in the opposite direction, and Chargot once. We backed off slightly on these tests, but still came 1st Overall by over 3 minutes from Paul & Jamie Watts (MG ZR).

    A very enjoyable event and I hope it will run again next year if the Somerset Stages is not able to run.

    Many thanks to the organisers and marshals, and George for a great job navigating.

    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Fantastic write up gavin. Didn't realise this was you. We have just got into the road rally targa scene. Me an my son have seen you out in fly. I drive the silver bmw e30. Look forward to seeing you out in the future.
    [/SIGPIC]CHRIS
    WANTED MK1 2DOOR ESCORT COSSY OR XE MUST BE PERFECT AND FREEwell dont hurt to ask?

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Hi Chris,

    Didn't realise you were on here either!

    You've been going very well in your BMW
    I look forward to seeing you out on the Exmoor
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I thought it was about time I brought this thread up to date!

    After the Somerset Seeker, my next event in Fly was Bath Motor Clubs Targa at Kemble Airfield near Cirencester
    Carrie was navigating and we had a good day out, finishing 2nd Overall behind Ben Griffin in his 106 Rallye

    In June, I organised the Washingpool Farm Targa for the 5th year and did Course Car in Fly with Carrie and Wilma helping

    A bit of a break over the summer was followed by more organisational duties on the Exmoor in October, running Course Car again
    Despite heavy rain the week before and strong winds on the Friday, the event went ahead and the only problem was a bit of flooding on a road section which we had to reroute
    It did make for tricky conditions in the forests though!



    In November there was a single venue Targa run by North Devon MC at RMB Chivenor - a large airfield just outside Barnstaple
    Neither George nor Carrie were available, so my navigator was Nathan Perks. He was also driving his Dad's Micra with his Dad navigating, and I was navigating for his Dad (Tony) in the Micra too
    So a very busy day, especially with a small entry of 30 cars
    There were 6 long Tests with a total of 25 miles, all on very good tarmac except for 1/2 mile of rough track
    It was a nice day but had rained all the previous week and the organisers warned us about a large puddle on one section

    After the first round of tests everyone was commenting on the best way through the large puddle
    My answer was simple - flat in 3rd



    I wasn't quickest on the first test as Nathan and I were getting used to each other and the organisers diagrams which were slightly different to ones we'd used before, but we were quickest on the next 3 to give us a lead of over a minute at mid-afternoon
    But on Test 4 the brakes had gone spongy which gave me a bit of concern - the fluid level in the front system was down, but no obvious signs of a leak, so carry on regardless!
    We lost a small bit of time on the last 2 longer Tests, but still came 1st Overall by 53s

    Investigating the brakes later I found one of the unions in the front caliper had been bent on contact with the compression strut and leaked when pressure was applied
    So an easy fix, but I also twisted the compression strut slightly to provide a small amount of clearance when the suspension is on full droop


    Later in November it was the Bustard Targa, this time running as a single venue based at Worthy Farm, but still boasting 35 miles of tests
    I entered with George and we were seeded Car 1 (out of 55) having won the event the previous summer
    But Worthy Farm in November is very different to Worthy Farm in the summer...

    At the drivers briefing the organisers told us to keep away from the edges of the tracks, especially the fields as we would get stuck!
    Test 1 I managed to keep off the fields, but slid into a fence on a narrow section through some trees (by the Wicker Snake for those of you who have been to Glastonbury Festival !)
    By the time I had got Fly out of the fence, car 2 had nearly caught us, so I let them past and carried on a bit more sensibly
    Luckily there was not much damage, but I checked the tracking back in the paddock a bit later (it was fine)

    So 14th after Test 1 left us a lot of work to do! By lunch we were up to 7th and I thought 6th or even 5th might be possible, but we had a disastrous last loop
    Sometimes running Car 1 is fine, sometimes it's a nightmare and this was one of those days when it was a nightmare!

    On the penultimate Test we came into a PC only to find the marshal was still sat in his car - 10s lost by the time he got to us and signed the card, then the last Test we got confused on a tricky section and lost more time, which left us 8th overall






    The final event of 2019 was the Stanta Targa Rally held at the Stanta Training Ground in Norfolk which covers an area of 30,000 acres or 45 square miles and has over 100 miles of roads contained within it's boundaries
    The organisers had identified a few roads, gravel and mud tracks and even fields which were going to be used

    Carrie and I were both that side of the country for Christmas so it seemed a good way to end the year and we met up in Norfolk on a very cold and dry morning

    The first test went well despite a few delays but there was a longer delay after Test 3 and we found out that one crew had been caught out by the slippery conditions and hit a tree.
    The car (Peugeot 106) was a write off and both crew members went to hospital for checks (nothing serious).

    Following this, the organisers had a rethink and decided parts of their route and all of Test 4 was too dangerous to compete on, so we continued with a shortened route.
    Nothing else went wrong and we were pelased to be 3rd at the end
    It is a great area to have a rally, but the organisers need to be a bit more sensible at choosing route and where they need to slow the cars down!

    GavinR

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