After a lot of Frustrating Aluminium Welding I got something that resembled what I'd planned, I'll settle for that.!
A lot of grinding and a bit of filler and it was good enough (this is a Race Car after all).
I drilled holes for the Dash Buttons, Front/Rear Lights, Rain Light and their respective Indiucator Light.
The Large hole is for the USB Socket for the Dash where you Configure the Dash or Download the Data Logger.
The Small Red Button, thats for the Horn.
It's really frustrating sometimes trying to get people to move out the way in the Race Paddocks and it's hard to shout at them whilst wearing a Balaclava and Full Face Helmet, the noise of Engines running everywhere, Tannoy anouncements and Racing going on..
Beep Beep ! Get Out the F*****g Way !
To mount the Dash Binacle on the Steering Column I made a bracket in Steel and welded it to the Column.
The Bracket in turn is held to the Binacle with Rivnuts in the back of the binacle.
Brake Hoses finally arrived so I then preceeded to fit them along with the BIAS Valve which I mounted on the Gearbox Cover next to the Gear Lever.
Hoses clipped on and out to the calipers. Time will tell if this is a good modification taking the factory Proportioning Valve out..
The Original Centre Console was next for a re-work.
Originally it held my old Race Dash and the Switches for both the Driving & Rain Lights but have now been relocated to the Dash Binacle.
The only Original items left will be the Battery Master, Engine Run/Kill Switch & Indicator, Wideband Gauge and the Fire Extinuisher Pull Cord.
The dash was Welded, Ground down, Filled, Sanded and Painted Satin Black to match the rest of the car, plus Shiny Alluminium reflects the Sun really bad at the right/wrong angle.
I've now added 3 more switches (Single Pole Changeover) with 2 having Green Covers and 1 in Blue.
When closed they allow the ECU to control the Fuel Pumps(Green) and Cooling Fans(Blue), however when opended and operated these now Manually Run the 2 Pumps Independently and the Cooling Fans without needing the ECU powered.
Why ? We drain the Tanks after a race to see how much fuel we used, don't want to be carrying un-necessary weight when racing and the Cooling Fans allow me to help Cool the Engine after a hot session.
Side Panels were next. The originals had seen plenty of mileage plus were "Sticker Bombed" to death.
I bought a sheet of "Foamex" and carefully cut the 4 panels so size.
Most of us will at least cover the Front Half of the upper section of the Chassis if not all like I have.
It's amazing how many stones and other debris are fired at you when racing, especially if someone ends up in the "Kitty Litter" (Gravel Traps)..
Bottom Panels were fitted using Riv-Nuts to allow for easy access for maintanence and the upper panels are simply cable tied into place.
Next job was the Rear Panel. My original rear panel was the Early Twin Hump Exocet version as used on the road car (mine was an early MX150R after all) where as the later MX150R panel was more of a Stream-Lined Box shape.
First job was to trim the rear panel where it sits on the 4 large bolts that hold the Rear Sub-frame onto the chassis.
I'd purchased all new LED lights for the rear. The Side/Brake are LED RDX for a Landrover (with the Surface Mounting Plynth) and the Rain Light is an MSA Approved Rectangular version which is fully "Potted" to seal the LED's from the elements.
My original Rain Light was also an LED version but it kept getting water ingress and killing off 1 by 1 the LEDs. Let's see if this is a better investment..
Next was to drill some more holes into the nice New panel. These are for the Rear Wing.
Measure once, twice, three or four times then take the plunge. Lots of Masking Tape makes it easier to mark and layout.
I still have to drill the hole for Fuel Filler but I'm not ready yet for that, however I have now fitted the Tank back in as I will need to modify the wiring to allow the pumps to run independently and also I will need to make a change to the Fuel Level Sender wiring for the new Race Dash.
I've pulled in a Temp Draw Wire (white wire in pic below) ready to make life easier when i buy the new wiring parts).
Stainless Steel Over-braided Fuel Hoses have been run along the Passenger Side of the Tunnel but these will have to wait until the Engine is back in before I can finish and fit permanently as after cutting the Hose with and Angle Grinder the sections need blowing out before connecting and using.
The next big-ish job was to change the Con-Rods in the Engine for somne "MaxSpeedingRods" Forged Rods.
I've heard good things about them and I'm pushing my luck at 250BHP on stock ones let alone my long term plan of going to around 290BHP to get to the 340BHP/Ton limit imposed on our series.
I cleaned the workbench, drained the Oil from the Sump and started to take off only what was required to do the job. I'll be changing the Crank Rear Oil Seal (only just done the front last year), New Sump, Head, Cam Cover and Oil Dipstick Gaskets/Seals. Let's try and keep the Oil Inside this one.
As it was covered in oil now was a good time to De-Grease it and wash it down.
I left the Exhaust Manifold on the Head but took the Inlet off.
I needed access to the Oil Switch/Tee/Turbo Oil Supply line as I need to replace the Mazda Oil Sender with a Race Technologies Pressure Sensor for the Race Dash, plus the bottom of the Inlet Manifold is rather bulky..
Gives me a good excuse to clean and paint the Fuel Rail either way.
I removed 1 piston at a time and replaced the Stock Con-Rods with the new Forged Rods.
These were then re-fitted and the ARP bolts torqued to ARP's spec for the size used.
Typical, these were in Imperial and I spent ages looking around local motor factors/Halfords/Machine Mart etc. but with no joy for a 3/8" 12 Point Socket. eBay would be a couple of days away...
Then out of a crazy thought I checked in some old sockets I've had for ever and found what I needed. Should have looked there earlier..
Whilst the Sump was off I put it through the parts washer tank to just remove the oil from the surface. The inside was clean as this had only been fitted a few months before the end of the last race season.
In the middle of all this work Nankang had now received into Stock the 205/50/ZR15 version of the AR1 which previously we had run in 195/50/R15 so I placed and order for 4.
These arrived the next Day so I took my current Dry Wheels (Gloss Anthracite coloured Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's) along with the Cam Cover to get refurbished.
They will fit the New Tyres at the same cost as removing and fitting the originals so a No-Brainer for me.
Whilst there I asked if they could Re-Coat my Roll Cage and Wing Parts in the Gloss Traffic Red as the original Powdercoaters had done them in Satin.
They said "Yes" so I arranged to drop the Cage and Plates of when I come to get the Wheels and Cam Cover.
The rest of the Engine was then put back together, masked where appropriate and the Aluminium Engine Paint Touched up where required, not a lot was used in the end.
I popped down to pick up the Refurbished wheels and Cam Cover and dropped of the Cage & Plates.
Next fun job was to clean up and paint my Spare Gearbox. The only reason for doing this is the 3 Bolt Holes that hold the Gear Lever in place had stripped their threads and I had visions of it coming off in a race. I can always swap the turret if needed in the future.
It took a few hours to clean the Bell Housing of the bo then once that was done to Wire Brush the Fluffy Aluminium off the outside. Both Reverse & Neutral Switch have there wires snipped back and filled flush, not required on this build.
Once cleaned it was painted and once dry I fitted a new Rear Oil Seal for the Prop Shaft.
Now I have an Engine and Gearbox ready to re-fit it was time to lower the Chassis down to Axle Stands. Seems weird at that height after being high for so long.
Engine on Crane, Clucth fitted and New Gearbox bolted back on and slipped back where it belongs.
Next was to refit the Cleaned and Painted PPF & Propshaft, refit the Turbo to the Manifold and put the Down-pipe back in. Once the Down-pipe was in I could then put the Exhaust back on. Nice to get some big bits back on the car (and out of the workshop).
Gear Lever and new Gaiter could now be fitted. The Red Gear-lever brakes up the cockpit a bit..
The Cam Cover required the obligatory Black Lettering painting. Mk1 1.8 Cam Covers are a pain as the letters are raised...
Now the "Big Bits" are back in its time to start wiring.
I started with the Centre Console as this could be "Pre-Wired" to a certain level out of the car on the bench.
Next part to wire were the Injectors, IACV, TPS, Coolant and AIT Sender/Sensors which cable lay in the valley of the Inlet Manifold.
each Injector plug was replaced with a New Plug that I fitted as the original Mazda ones had gone brittle. I'll have to take the top of the Manifold back off later to wrap the wiring in Split Trunking.
Once these were routed I was able to cut the Fuel Hose to length, blow each hose out and connect to the Fuel Rail, Fuel Pressure Reg, Swirl Pot and Fuel Filter..
I've decided to upgrade the Stock Mazda Wasted Spark Coil Packs in favor of Toyota COPs (Coil On Plugs) wired in a Wasted COPS format.
This is done purely as the Stock Coils are struggling on the Boost at the moment and once I go higher I'll risk blowing them out more often.
I imported a Billet Aluminium COPS bracket from Garagestar in the U.S.A. that sits in the Valley of the Cam Cover. It's a lovely piece of work however the Customs & Excise made it rather expensive one they'd added their bit..
I bought 4 Toyota Coils from eBay but 2 had Damage to the Round Base so I sourced another 2 and will keep the others as spares..
The Coils were wired to Fire 1 & 4, 2 & 3 as with the Mazda Coil Packs.
I just have to adjust the Dwell on the MS2 to allow for the new Coils.
Now was the right time to fit the Shiny Cam Cover as the bolts in the middle of the Cam Cover hold the COPS bracket in place.
I took a "Long Lunch" from work and picked up the Shiny Red Roll-cage and Wing Parts, what a difference.
The cage was carefully put back in and I bolted it back in along with all the parts that mount to it.
Red Roll-Cage Foam was fitted on the Bars by the Drivers head and a small section down by the Throttle Pedal on the Roll Cage. This was then wrapped in Red Duct Tape and looked amazing.
I took the time to temporarily Test Fit the Red Wheels so I could see what they looked like..
Now the last bit of wiring (in the middle of the car in the wiring tray) is to link the sections above (plus the wiring to the rear panel for the lights).
I decided to buy a Modular 16 Way Fuse Box and a 4 Way Relay Box which should result in a Tidy Factory Style solution.
First job on the Fuse Box (after designing the wiring layout for it) was to create a "Bus-Bar" internally.
The way the car is wired there are 3 Power Circuits.
1. On with the Master Kill Switch. Lights, Dash, Transponder etc.
2. On with the Engine Run/Kill Switch. ECU, Wideband etc.
3. On when the Fuel Pump Relay turns on from the ECU
Once that was done as with most wiring its 1 wire at a time.
Seems never ending but slow and steady and get it'll get sorted..
Honest, it will !
After testing the ECU "Test Modes" in Tuner Studio I was able to attempt a Start.
Did it, yes it did..
Now I had a car that started I turned my attention to getting the Radiator re-fitted.
This had got damaged at Snetterton a couple of years ago but as the mounting hardware had also got bent it always just fitted.
As I was using New Hardware that was straight I took the time to straighten the Radiator, weld up the Torn Mounting Holes and Grind/File them flush allowing for new holes to be drilled and the radiator fitted.
Now the Radiator was back in I turned my attention to fitting the Rear Panel.
I had to Drill a Hole for the Fuel Filler which is on the Top of the Race Cars for Dump Can Filling whilst racing.
You could try and Guess, Measure, Open up a small hole until you were happy it was in the right location or do what I did and build a Jig.
Cut a couple of off-cuts of Foamex board.
Bolted each section into the Harness Bolts on the Roll-Cage.
Marked on each piece either side of the Faomex Strip where it intersected the middle of the Fuel Cap then lined the marks up.
Drilled a hole in the rough middle of the line on each piece of Foamex.
Overlapped the 2 Drilled Holes on both Foamex pieces aligning with the Middle of the Fuel Cap.
Bolted the 2 Pieces of Foamex Together forming a Cross (X).
Remove the Jig from the Roll-cage.
Refit Rear Panel.
Refit Jig.
Drill Pilot Hole through Hole in Jig.
Confirmed this hole was over the Middle of the fuel Cap.
Removed Jig.
Drilled with Holesaw.
Success !!
Next Job was Bonnet, Bonnet Pins & Nosecone.
With the Bonnet and Nosecone roughly lined up I worked on getting the Nosecone fitted to the Chassis.
This is held on with a couple of Riv-nuts in the Chassis Rails on each side.
The Nosecone required trimming around the Inter-cooler Pipes and to save a bit of time I took a template from the old Nosecone and then with a lot of "On-Mark-Off-File-Refit" then do all over again I got the new Nose to fit nicely..
Bonnet fitting was fairly simple in comparison to the Nosecone.
I put some masking tape under the bonnet where the Bonnet Pins were due to be fitted then marked through the Mounting Holes in the Chassis where they were due to be fitted.
Bonnet taken off, holes drilled and filled and the Sliding Pins screwed to the Bonnet.
The Bonnet Pins required cutting down to a more suitable size then fitted to the Chassis Mounts.
It really was about as simple as that. Once Fitted I was able to adjust the Pins until the bonnet was a tight as I liked then locked off.
I needed a new Aero Screen and I made Smaller Version compared to the original. Lucky enough I had a piece of Perspex still left over from last year so that saved a few pennies.. This was bolted to Bonnet with Repair Washers to try and spread the load as much as possible.
Only job left was to cut and fit the Mesh for the Nosecone & Bonnet.
Once cut this was bonded in with PU adhesive and a couple of Weights/Cable Ties to hold whilt the PU went off overnight.
The job I've been putting for for as long as possible now had to be done.
Wheel Arches... Arghhh !
The Wheel Arch Stays originally fitted were either in the Bin or Bent Beyond use so I bought a set from MEV along with the New Panels.
Once fitted these were rubbing on the wheels/tyres so a lot of Heating with Map Gas and careful bending made them fit and clear nicely.
As I have now gone from 195 to 205 Tyres the Mudguards would be too tight to use.
I "Ummed and Ahhed" for a while then came up with the idea of welding 2 sections of 25mm box section on top of each stay.
This gave me the ability to not only clear the 205's (which just fit nicely) but also somewhere for the Riv-nuts to fit so I can bolt the Mudguards on.
I Cable Tied the Box Sections on the Stays which allowed them to Rotate and match the profile of the Mudguards.
A small trim on the Back Edge of the Mudguards and once happy I Tack Welded the Box Sections in place.
With both Sections Tacked I removed the Wheel Arch Stays and welded them on the Bench.
Once Welded and Painted I fitted the Stays back on, put the Wheel Arch back on and when happy with alignment I removed the wheel and marked the Underside around the Box Section.
With careful measuring and Marking I drilled 4 Pilot Holes in the Mudguard, fitted back over the Stay and transferred the holes to the Box Section.
9.5mm Holes drilled into the Box Section for M6 Rivnuts to be fitted, 6.5mm Holes drilled into the Mudguards to allow for a little Wiggle Room.
The Mudguards were bolted to Stays with a M6 Repair Washer that has a Neoprene Foam stuck on the rear and painted Black.
Now the car was effectively done it was loaded on the Transporter and taken for 4 Wheel Alignment and Tracking (already 2 hours late today and the clock is ticking).
Once collected from the Wheel Alignment guy I hooked up the caravan, loaded with tools and food and headed to Brands Hatch as I was booked in for Testing the Next Day, First Race of the Season the following Day (Saturday) afterwards.
All this work and by the skin of my teeth I made the start of the Season.
I'm super happy with the results, Brake Bias works a charm, only thing I need to do is fit a Larger Oil Catch Can, get the Wheel Arch Stays Powder Coated (just didn't have the time to get them done so painted for now) and re-work the Dash Binacle so I can see the Shift Lights better.
My aim was to make the Car as good as I could before racing, Ironically I've already got a hole in the Nosecone as a car went off into a Gravel Trap in front of me during the first race but that's the nature of racing.
I had nothing but positive comments, the best coming from one of the former MX150R drivers who now races a BMW M3 who said it was "F*****g Immaculate", made me feel so good hearing that.
If anyone has any questions or want to know where I bought parts or got things done then let me know and I will let you know.
6 Months seem like and Eternity, it goes so fast when you have to meet a Date.
Regards Micky...
