GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

[Retromotorsport]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Ok... won't ask how much it cost ...

How much DID you pay for it ...

[david_white]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Hmmmm, that makes me do a little sex wee

How much was it?

[Barn]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Sex wee??? Classic

Not as much as mine

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Not as much as mine

That's cos you've got an extra cog

I bought the original one (that Jon's got) in 1999 for £2k + 2 secondhand Quaife Pro's

The alloy casing's are about £500 extra and apparently there's something called inflation as well

Luckily the eBay sale of my Fordson tractor and mini baler / wrapper have paid for the box and gear display with about £1 to spare

[alladdin]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

so we need dave roberts to work the price out

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Just been out testing the new gearbox
Now I can hardly change gear fast enough - you're on the throttle more as each change is quicker even using the clutch

Everything working perfectly, should be a laugh at Shelsley Walsh on Sat, heavy rain forecast like last time though popcorn:

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Excellent day out at Shelsley yesterday, despite the heavy showers and spending 30mins pushing the van out of a soggy field

Having competed there in May in similar conditions I knew what to expect and I could remember the hill very well, I was looking forward to seeing if I was getting quicker through the year

The day started well with 1st Practice only .14s slower than my quickest time in May, I never thought about the gearbox, it was just like being back in DVY
Had a bit of trouble getting off the line, excessive wheelspin despite a serious bit of tyre warming got a time of 3.49s for the first 64ft, went sensibly up to the Esses (a square left --> square right complex) nicely sideways round both and flat to the finish for a time of 40.63s and 79mph (the same speed as I'd done all 4 times in May)

2nd Practice was wetter so tried just driving off the line this time, giving 3.19s for 64ft which was a bit more like it, kept in on the first corner as a 'stream' runs down the outside when it rains, braked a bit later for the Esses and finished on 39.53s and 79mph, very happy

Had a little walk half way up the hill at lunch to see how much water was on it and then got ready for the proper Timed Runs

1st Timed Run, looked slightly drier on the start so drove off the line and planted it a bit earlier, only to find excessive wheelspin again resulting in 3.22s, part way up to the Esses there's a slight left which is flat in 3rd, the back end stepped out a bit too much but I kept on the power, changed up to 4th and was a second quicker into the Esses, drifted round those and finished on 38.29s (but still on 79mph across the finish it seems the quicker I try to take the Esses, the more sideways I am, so I get on the power later ending up with the same terminal speed )

2nd Timed Run, slightly drier by now, managed 2.96s off the line, fraction quicker into the Esses again after being tidier up the first few corners, nicely through the Esses, finishing on 37.89s (and 79mph for the 8th time!)

Thanks to Barney, Sarah and Matt for the accommodation, helping out on the day, and pushing the van out of the field

Summary of times:
Run......64ft.........Ess Approach.....Finish
P1.......3.49s........27.13s..............40.63s/79mph
P2.......3.19s........25.89s/74mph....39.53s/79mph
T1.......3.22s........24.87s/77mph....38.29s/79mph
T2.......2.96s........24.56s/78mph....37.89s/79mph

Got a weekend off next weekend, then a 2 lap Sprint at Curborough, can't wait!

[Retromotorsport]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Well done Gavin..
cant wait for the " i did a 80" post... next time .. next time pray:

[Barn]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

It couldn't have been a weight thing not hitting the magic "80" cos young Gav refused a roast pork and apple sarnie at lunchtime!

I however was quite distressed that there wasn't any caramelised veal served on a bed of Bolivian wild rice!!

And there was me thinking that this sprinting & hillclimbing lark was civillised!!!

I had to resort to being a rally peasant and resort to a burger for my sustenance!

Anyway, well done Gav, your getting quicker everytime buddy.

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Getting a bit behind on my thread so I thought it was time for an update

15th July - I went back to Curborough again, this time for a 2 lap Sprint, helped by Barney and friends as usual

Once again, the day started off rather wet and this continued through lunch and into the 1st Timed Runs, after which I was 8 seconds off the pace, behind 2 Peugeot 205's

Then the rain stopped and slowly the track began to dry, so I gambled on fitting the slicks for the final run, as I didn't have anything to lose pray:

I had a bit of a go and knocked 10 seconds off my time which was very pleasing. While I drove back to the paddock, Barney watched the 2 Peugeot's do their final run, and then ran over to tell me that I'd won the class

Both Peugeot's had been trying too hard in the still damp conditions, and had overshot the hairpin right to go back round for a second lap, one of them stalling in the process, so had set slower times than me

So my first pot of the year

And a couple of videos on youtube, taken by Barney

http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=120825

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

The week after I went down to Llandow (21st July) for another sprint, 1.75 laps of the circuit

1st Practice was damp but it dried nicely for 2nd Practice although I was still 3rd in class behind the usual 205 that I can't get anywhere near (he's got the class records at most venues) and another 205 driven by a local welshman

Typically it rained during the lunchbreak so it was a quick change to wets for the first timed run and then a game of spot the big puddles before you start aquaplaning

2nd timed run it had dried quite well so I tried the slicks again, setting my fastest time of the day, but still finished 3rd in class, about 1s behind the welsh 205 but a good score for the OFSC

Still I've now done 8 events in the championship (you count 8 scores) and have 3 left in September to look forward to.

I'm currently 2nd in the Mod Prod Class but just ahead of Windy in the OFSC handicap class

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

After Llandow I had a week off work to do some jobs round the house and a bit of work on Fly

I'd entered for the Fat Albert at Keevil in early August and decided an oil cooler would be a sensible addition

I'd bought one before Millbrook but didn't bother fitting it as the weather was so cold and wet, but Fat Albert has some long straights and 8 mile stages so everything has to work a bit harder

Anyway, I moved the electric fan so it's now offset to the other side of the rad, and mounted the oil cooler vertically between the grill and the rad, cutting one of the return pipes to route the oil through it, and also moved the washer bottle to under the front wing before it melted on a hot oil pipe

As it turned out, the weather was scorching at Fat Albert with Fly finishing the stages with the oil at 110 deg C and the water at 105 deg C, this with the electric fan on permanently

Seeded a bit high at Car 8, we weren't expecting to finish that high up having been at least 5 years since I did an airfield event, but Fly was going very well, despite some of the straights being a bit long for my gearing...

We could get flat out (about 110mph) on the start finish straight about 100yds before the chicane, and then they removed the chicane as too many cars were mowing it down making it too dangerous for the marshals to rebuild it, so we were then doing about 600yds flat out. Then in the afternoon, going in the reverse direction, there was another long straight past the control tower, and one round a very wide left hander that we were taking flat at 110

After the first stage we were 11th overall and it got better as the day went on, we finished 6th overall and 3rd in class

Only one minor indiscretion all day, when trying to outbrake car 21 (who gas14 was servicing for) into a chicane, I outbraked myself, slid through a plastic barrier and put a tiny dent in the front wing

The Matador slicks were working very well, letting us brake very late for everything and hanging on nicely round the corners, still plenty of life left in them
The gearbox was pissing oil out all day, even worse than normal, probably because it was so hot, and then the 3rd to 2nd gearchange was getting a bit unreliable by the end causing some more interesting moments under braking
Oh and the starter packed up after 2 stages - The solenoid had come loose just before the final run at Llandow so I'd tightened it up and it seemed ok during the week but on the event wouldn't engage properly and even when it did it wouldn't turn the engine well enough to fire up so Steve's currently making me a new one

Many thanks to Guy, Misha, Matt and Olly for bump starting us before each stage and looking after Fly, and Carrie for keeping me pointing in the right direction, and Fly for standing up to the punishment

Couple of pics - slight drift out of a chicane


Same chicane going backwards - don't know why people say Fly is set up too low


And another one from the morning


Thanks to my old friend Vanroy for these pics - there's some more on his site http://www.muddylanes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/4b.html

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Just finished getting Fly ready for Wiscombe Park Hillclimb this weekend

It's a round of the OFSC on the Sunday, but I've entered the Saturday as well to get in some extra practice as I've never been there before

I think I've sorted Fly's starter problems by fitting a new solenoid, started up fine just now and I'm trying some different oil in the gearbox in the hope it will stay inside this time

Full report on Monday

[Barn]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Good luck uncle Gav, let me know how you get on with your "wetting" problem

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Well I've cleaned all the old oil from the outside of the box and from inside the car, and removed the rag from the gearstick hole which was soaking it up so I'll have a look after the first run