Tim's Rocket Rebuild

[Tim Kerr]

I have been busy over the last few months making a few mods to my Rocket. Now that the modifications have been completed I thought I would do a write up for the forum. Perhaps it will help some of you out, or give you some ideas of your own.

I guess I must have been missing the build stages of the car as I really went to town on rebuilding it over the winter!

I must state at this stage that my Rocket has now been primarily built for track days so I have lost some of the “comforts” I originally had. My aim was to get the most out of my existing engine package, reduce weight and improve handling, whilst also making some cosmetic changes. I do however intend on using it for some road trips and hope to be able to make the 2nd Moggers Meet this year and perhaps a CKC Omex event. It could be an interesting trip from Northern Ireland!

The following is a few pictures of the car before it was stripped down.

[Tim Kerr]

Re-wiring of Car



When I switched to the M-Tech ECU and push button starter system last year I ended up with a lot of wiring on the car that was surplus to requirement. At the time, I just chopped off what was not needed rather than stripping the car back to remove all the wiring.

As the car was now going to be going through a major rebuild I decided to remove all the wiring and start from scratch, only fitting what I needed. I also decided to make everything into several “looms” and purchased a load of waterproof connectors for the purpose. As you can see from the pictures I now have nice plugs connecting everything up. No nasty bullet connectors!!!!






It actually amazed me the amount of wires I managed to get rid off from the MEV loom and the engine loom and everything is much neater and tidier as a result.

[Tim Kerr]

Cosmetic Changes and Practical Changes

On some of my road trips I found it impossible to reach the light switches and digidash switches on the dash of the car when strapped into the seat. I always had to rely on the passenger controlling these switches as I was just too far away to reach.



I therefore decided to relocate all the switches to the centre tunnel. I had already modified my ignition system to a switch and push button system on the centre tunnel so adding in a few more switches was going to be difficult to find the right location, whilst also being able to reach them! I decided on the small amount of space between the handbrake and the gearlever.



I was also not able to reach the balance bar adjuster when fully strapped in. I therefore decided to adopt Matts MEV’s solution and make a bracket up for the adjuster. I am now able to reach this and adjust as necessary on track.



The Centre Tunnel, being alloy, was badly stained due to the weather. I therefore decided to cover the centre tunnel with carbon effect vinyl. I think it really enhances the car and there was enough left over so the dash got a strip (covers the filler left over from the switch holes in the dash!), as did the column shroud, rear bulk head and front side panels. May have went a bit over the top with the Carbon!



I also decided to move my Digidash from its central position on the dash to just behind the steering wheel. This means I can also reach the buttons!!! I fabricated a bracket and some spacers and have mounted this on the chassis cross member. As you can see the dash sits neatly behind the steering wheel. I also decided to give the dash a coat of orange paint to fit in with the rest of the car!



Thats enough for today! More posts will follow with the rest of my updates.

Tim

[flynn]

Looking good.

Im dreading doing the wiring. Is it as hard as it looks?

Also, have you lost a few horses there? (looking at your sig;))

[mattsmev]

Thats looking really good. funny thing is my arms aren't long enough to reach my balance bar when i am strapped in. I have also just covered my tunnel with carbon effect.

Looking great

Cheers

Mattsmev

[Tim Kerr]

That was an early dyno reading when the engine was brand new and also before I fitted my decat pipe. A lot more engine mods being done so watch this space. Looking for 220-230bhp.

[flynn]

Sounds good. Was Mods have you done to get to 195?

What's in the pipeline for 220? Supercharger??

[Tim Kerr]

No not supercharged, just Throttle bodies. Engine mods will all be revealed soon!

Wiring was fairly straight forward once you get into it. My advice is do all the lights etc first as this gets a lot of the wires out of the way.

Going down the aftermarket ECU route however makes things even easier.

[mabbs]

Looking very nice Tim, Keep the pics coming - looks very interesting