GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Another enjoyable weekend at Wiscombe Park

I'd never been there before so I'd entered Saturday's event for a bit of extra practice as the OFSC championship round was on the Sunday

Wiscombe is 1000yds long and one of the more interesting hills I've been to this year, first section is a long drag up hill across a field on a narrow stretch of tarmac, slight left over a crest at Bunny's Leap, a short straight and then 11 or 12 continuous corners with another crest through some trees into a hairpin right at Sawbench then a 4th gear straight up to the final hairpin left at Martini and a short blast over the finish

Perfect weather all weekend, and I was pleased to start with 50.21s and then 48.15s for the 2 morning practice runs, trying to remember where the corners through the trees went

Then Sat afternoon for the 1st Timed Run, with a slow 48.16s after too much drift out of Sawbench hairpin so I tried to keep it tidier on the 2nd Timed Run to improve slightly to 47.86s, which left me 6th in class out of 10

Feeling that I should have improved more over my practice runs, I arrived bright and early on the Sunday morning and spent 30mins walking up and down the section through the trees, making notes , and then had a good look at Bunny's Leap, trying to convince myself it could be taken flat

Then I changed the rear tyres, my medium compound Matador's showing some metal in places after 80 miles on the Fat Albert Stages a few weeks ago

Practice went well, with 48.11s and 47.47s, getting the hang of the twiddly bit through the trees, but still lifting over Bunny's Leap

1st Timed Run I came off the start a bit sideways, so decided to try it flat, had a bit of a moment drifting in mid air but managed to sort it out just before getting into the trees and was very pleased with a 46.81sover a second quicker than Saturday

2nd and last Timed Run, got a bit more grip off the line, flat over Bunny's, nicely through the trees and then made a real mess of it at Sawbench coming out far too sideways, clipping the rear quarter on the bank, but was still a fraction quicker on 46.79s, which was good enough for 5th in class

So a good weekend, just a bit of panel beating to do before the next one at Curborough in 2 weeks and even the rebuilt starter was working perfectly

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

A couple of short videos from the Sunday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cmxnJERP3QYouTube - Wiscombe Hillclimb 02/09/07.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jeft1UIzGUYouTube - Wiscombe Hillclimb 02/09/07.

Couple of pics of the quarter panel damage

[Barn]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Always the NS rear quarter Uncle Gav!

What was the food like at the Hillclimb? :food: Was it up to the usual standard i require?

[windy]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Ah making good use of that sacrificial panel on an escort. Nicely peeled bumper. You should have put a plate on your rear lamp to stop the lense getting damaged.

Escorts always sound good through the trees

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

I was surprised how neatly the lens had been removed - not even a scratch in front of it - and the bumper is a very odd shape now

Anyway I will try and gently push the panel back into shape this weekend, fit a chrome bumper as it's the only straight one I've got (hopefully paint it first though ) and fit one of my spare light lens

Then its 3 laps of Curborough next weekend (assuming I've got an Entry)

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Quite a small entry at Curborough this time as it was 3 laps so everything takes a bit longer

I'd tidied up the quarter panel and fitted the chrome bumper (sprayed with 4 coats of black hammerite first), so Fly was looking straight again

Rain was forecast for the afternoon but luckily it didn't arrive until after everyone had finished

There were 2 other competitors in my class, a lovely red Mk2 that had been at Curborough in April and was now fitted with arches and a fibreglass bonnet, and a black Alfa Romeo Sprint who I'd seen at a few events this year - so all I had to do was a good consistent run to win the class

Had a bit of a play in practice, seeing how sideways I could go round the top hairpin but settled down for the first timed run and was leading the class by 5 seconds after this run

2nd timed run had another play to see what difference it made and was almost 1s slower but still won the class easily

1st Timed Run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huaGNEi9GVoYouTube - Curborough 3-lap Sprint 23/09/07.

2nd Timed Run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmn4zRTU5hgYouTube - Curborough 3-lap Sprint 23/09/07.

[Barn]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Well done on the class win uncle Gav

No damage & no rain

Plus the chicken in gravy with stuffing rolls were superb :food:

[Retromotorsport]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Well done on the win

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

I was out at Loton Park Hillclimb last weekend, the last round of the Midland Speed Championship / OFSC for this year

A good entry of 10 in my class with a few people I recognised from competing here in May, including a very nice Pinto powered Mk1 Escort, which the owner has been improving all year, including lightweight panels / windows and sticky Avon slicks

I had a quick walk up the hill first thing just to remind myself where it went, being keen to improve on my times from May

1st Practice went well with 64.30s, only 0.1s behind May's fastest run, but the course was still cold and not giving much grip

2nd Practice I'd nicely warmed up the rear tyres and then had to sit on the line for a few minutes when a Renault 5 Turbo span off. As it was practice, I didn't bother reversing back to warm them again, so had a bit of trouble getting off the line, but once I was moving I went a lot better, stopping the clocks at 63.52s

After practice I was 3rd quickest in class which was promising but one 205 that had beaten me in May with a 61.5 had yet to put a decent run together, and the Mk1 driver told me he'd done a low 62s the day before and only managed a 64 in practice

1st Timed Run and everything had warmed up nicely, off the line in 2.64s, through the split at 24.87s (0.6s quicker than practice), then thought I'd try 3rd instead of 2nd for a 45 left up the hill but I wasn't on cam so lost a bit of time here and finished on 63.05s

2nd Timed Run and the weather was turning cold but I really wanted to get into the 62's, so 2.69s off the line, through the split again at 24.87s, better gear choice up the hill and finished with 62.97s

I was very happy with this, until the 205 and the Mk1 both went quicker leaving me 5th in Class

Anyway I'll buy myself some sticky slicks for Christmas and see what I can do next year

Couple of videos as usual
1st Timed Run, the split time is taken just before the square right at Triangle, and just as I go out of shot I'm in the wrong gear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=027HkG61M2EYouTube - Loton Park Hillclimb 30/09/07.

2nd Timed Run, near the top of the hill, the finish being just over the last crest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QR_xR_sRX0YouTube - Loton Park Hillclimb 30/09/07.

No more events this year, but I'm doing a Trackday at Castle Combe next week, hopefully doing some high speed testing
My axle is back with Meirion of WWMF who built it in March to fit the 4.6, so we'll see how Fly handles at 125mph with no spoilers

[tom burgess]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Nice onewell doneyou were going a bit quick to see how youre bumper looked though

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

I competed on a Track Day for the first time the other week at Castle Combe where I met up with my brother Derek and his Clio 172 Cup

I wasn't too sure what to expect but Derek's been doing them for a few years now and said I'd enjoy it



We'd only been to Castle Combe once before to do a Sprint in '92 or '93 (before they built the chicanes ) but after a very sensible drivers briefing (if you drive like a muppet you'll be sent home & be careful on the first few laps as that's when most people go off) we were ready to go

There were 4 sessions in each hour, 2 fast and 2 slow, so we arranged that Derek would go in the 1st slow session and I'd be in the 2nd slow one so we could be passengers for each other

So I sat in with Derek, but the first session was short lived when a Westfield buried itself in the tyre wall at Quarry after a couple of laps so I let Derek carry on by himself whilst I warmed up Fly

My session was interesting, after a lap the tyres were warm and I began to catch people, first one was a '98 M3 who promptly went straight on at one of the chicanes next time round it was a Toyota Supra who did the same thing they should stop looking in their mirrors

Derek's next session was quicker, having now fitted his Toyo R888 sticky tyres and was overtaking the same M3, an Impreza and a Saab 93 Turbo

I was getting quicker as well, this time getting past a couple of Impreza's and an Evo 9 who were a bit surprised when I cruised past down the long straight to Avon Rise and Quarry. I did show them under the bonnet afterwards though

Didn't make the 3rd session as the starter packed up (again!) so pushed it back to the paddock and Derek tow started me for the next one when I couldn't fix it. He took an instructor out who was pleased with his lines and just got him to brake later and harder for everything

I got back out again but this time, after 10 minutes Fly started misfiring so I came in. Couldn't figure out what was wrong initially so I was just about to put her back on the trailer when all the electrics packed up and we finally figured out that the starter had shorted the battery
Luckily I had another battery in the van so that was fitted for the last 2 sessions and the starter disconnected.

Meanwhile Derek took me out again and demonstrated how much quicker he was going by braking later but when we came back in his front brakes were completely shot - currently his Clio is completely standard except for the Toyo's but some uprated discs, pads and stiffer suspension will be fitted shortly

I went out for the final 2 sessions, pleased that everything was working perfectly now, and found that Fly was perfectly stable braking from 125mph into Avon Rise, so I won't bother fitting any spoilers over the winter

So I enjoyed the day and I'm sure I'll do another one next year

Little pic approaching Camp Corner onto the main straight

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Now all my events for the year are finished, its time for a good look over Fly to see what needs doing this winter popcorn:

The engine's back at HT for a freshen up and the gearbox is with Quaife so they can sort out why it jumps out of Reverse

Back in March I rebuilt the front end and after the last rally in August the boot floor had started to crack (again ) this time worse than ever, mainly because it can't take the strain of the panhard rod mount


Also there are multiple 8mm holes where Fly's had many different silencers over the years, so this bits getting weak as well


Although it doesn't look too bad, the tank well is very thin and has rusted through in places so I need to repair this


Actually the only part that is good, is the spare wheel well that was replaced with new metal last year to fit the dry sump tank

And the diff tunnel is cracked from the diff hitting it too often - you can even see where the prop flange has creased it


Anyway, a few months ago I found a very good boot floor


It even came with a whole car attached


Its twisted at the front and sits crooked - one of the inner wings is bent - and has a lot of sealant holding it together and parking dents all over it
It looks like it was painted with a roller full of Dulux, but underneath it is very solid

So today I've started stripping the 4 door, I'll cut the boot floor out and possibly some chassis sections, depending on how bad Fly is

Its an Auto as well, so the tunnel will come out to go in my new shell, whenever I get round to that

[Barn]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

FLY needs a rest and needs to spend the rest of its life grazing and eating double deckers!

Do a re-shell Uncle Gav, you know it makes sense.

If not

[Dave]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

For some unknown reason I don't keep up with this thread very well. No idea why, but it is very much my loss.
Your posts are always detailed and very interesting, and the clips are excellent. Top marks for the thread, the clips and the car Gavin.
For some reason it is one of the less read threads, yet has got to be one of the highest quality ones.
Keep it up

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

Do a re-shell Uncle Gav, you know it makes sense.

Never
If shells were as cheap as they used to be I might be more likely to, but they're not
Fly is still a strong straight shell, she's still got a good 5-10 years left before retirement

For some unknown reason I don't keep up with this thread very well. No idea why, but it is very much my loss.
Your posts are always detailed and very interesting, and the clips are excellent. Top marks for the thread, the clips and the car Gavin.
For some reason it is one of the less read threads, yet has got to be one of the highest quality ones.
Keep it up

Thanks Dave