February 2008
Wednesday 27th February 2008
The airbox arrived today. It fouls the two brake fluid reservoirs, so I've drained all the brake fluid tonight using the vacuum pump, and removed both the reservoirs. I'll move them over to where the windscreen wiper motor used to sit, over the next couple of days. The Lifeline extinguisher was refilled today, so that is now sat back in the car, with an expiry date of 2010. I've also replaced the battery (PP3) in the control unit, as that was also flat. Thats the trouble with having a layoff for a year. Everything needs renewing.
The UK was hit by a huge earthquake this morning, at 00:55am. It woke me and the missus up, and for around 30seconds, the whole house wobbled from side to side, at around 1 to 2Hz, with the most amazing boom-boom-boom coming up from the ground. It was quite scary, but I'm pleased to say that there was no damage to the house/garage.
Tuesday 26th February 2008
Well, whilst going over everything I need to have ready for Croft, I remembered that the extinguisher was probably out of date, and sure enough, it expired in 2006. So I'll pop over to Lifeline in Coventry to get the AFFF renewed. That would have been a bit embarrasing at scrutineering wouldn't it?
Bought a Pipercross 600 air box, from Demon Tweeks today. It is the Left Hand version, in 75mm, and comes with ducting hose and air filter. I hope the modified inlet manifold angles the Jenvey's up far enough to give me clearance to fit the box, as the car is crying out for some fresh cold air. Now, do I fit the filter inplace of the Near Side headlamp? That'd be the best place for it, and as I'm running fake headlamps anyway, it should be a straight forward modification.
I removed the cam cover from engine #2, to see what condition the cams were in, and everything is spotless, so nothing to worry about there. Next job is to remove the cylinder head, so I can send it off for CNC machining. I've sold the fuel rail, regulator, and injectors that came with the engine, so thats £25 clawed back already.
Monday 25th February 2008
My entry for the Croft Sprint on Easter Monday has been accepted. And the 2.0 Zetec engine arrived this morning, on a pallet. Two hours later I'd removed all the components, which meant it was then light enough for me to manouvre. It was advertised as a bare engine, but it was complete. So if you need any of the following, let me know.
2.0 Throttle body
Driveshaft and carrier
Starter motor
Alternator
Aircon pump
Power steering pump
Inlet manifold
Exhaust manifold
Lambda sensor
Saturday 23rd February 2008
I went over to Altiss on Friday, and Nigel is going to cut the manifold back by an inch, and weld the DCOE flange back on again, which should angle the throttle bodies up far enough to let me run an air box. I've to wait 2 weeks, but in the mean time I can get some other work done on the car. The 2.0 Zetec I bought off Ebay arrives on Monday, so I can also start work stripping it down in preparation for the rebuild.
I've posted cheques off for four events so far. I'd like to do the Croft sprint on Easter Monday, but may have left it too late, as they are giving preference to British Sprint Championship contenders and the event is only 4 weeks away. I've also entered Harewood Spring National (April 13th), an event at MIRA (May 24th), and the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb (July 5th). In June I'm planning on entering the Epynt Hillclimb.
Before the Croft Sprint, I just need to refit the throttle bodies, fit the heated windscreen, and check the suspension for wear and tear. I'll be using the Michelin tyres for another season as they're still very soft, and should survive another years abuse.
Check out the Zetec engine below: Q) Have you spotted whats wrong with the picture?
And finally, I can now supply CNC machined alternator brackets, the same as the one I'm using. Drop me a line for a price. These are made from 10mm thick aluminium and allow you to fit an alternator to the front of the engine, below the water pump, and must be used in conjunction with the Fiesta Zetec engine mount bracket.
Wednesday 20th February 2008
Took the wheels off the car tonight, and it is now sat on axle stands. This allows me to check out the suspension for signs of wear and tear. I've also taken off the fuel rail, and both Jenvey throttle bodies, so I can guage what to do with the inlet manifold. I wanted to angle the Jenveys up to at least match the angle of the runners which feed in to the cylinder head. Currently the Jenveys are horizontal to the head, and the runners point down at around 30 degrees. So I can either cut the inlet manifold, to remove some metal, and have the DCOE flanges welded back on again, or I could really go to town and have a downdraught setup, with a hole in the bonnet and an air scoop. Now that would look cool. The aim is to move the throttle bodies back far enough from the bulkead to allow enough space for an air box, and some longer trumpets. I'll go over to Altiss Engineering on Friday afternoon for a chat as they're only just up the road from where I live, and they have a good track record for custom fabrications.
My Scanguage II arrived from the States today. I've already fitted it to the Mondeo for a road test tomorrow. Its a device which allows you to see all the ECU data via the ODBII connector. You can monitor things like manifold pressure, air temperature, engine rpm, water temps, all kinds of things.
Tuesday 19th February 2008
I went to Church Stretton on Sunday to collect the MCR bodykit, which was in great condition. I took the same route I'd normally use to get to Loton Park, which reminds me that its about time I took the Fiesta there for another crack at the hill. I'll have to pencil it in to this years calendar. Also this year, theres the second running of the hillclimb at Epynt, which will be running in June. Its a 1.6km hill, which may also be worth a visit. Unfortunately, the Harewood BBQ hillclimb this year has been cancelled, which is a real shame as thats another unmissable event.
I've been toying with the idea of dry sumping the new Zetec engine, but there's simply no way of mounting nor driving a pump, so I'll have to go for billet gears in the oil pump, and maybe add an accusump device to protect against oil surge.
Saturday 16th February 2008
I've bought a Series II 2.0 Zetec off of Ebay this week, delivery is next week some time. Its done 71K miles, and will be the basis of the new engine. The parts I ordered from the States are now on their way to the UK. And I've also bought a complete MCR Rally Arch kit, including front spoiler and side skirts, from ebay also. I'll be picking those up tomorrow. They'll be the spares in case I prang the Fiesta, as MCR are no longer in business, so its nigh on impossible to buy the kit anymore.
I've also taken the Fiesta off the trailer this morning, and the trailer is now parked on my driveway, firmly clamped. I can now start work on preparing the XR2 for the new season.
Sunday 10th February 2008
I replaced one of the wing mirrors on the Audi A6 today. Neither mirror has ever heated up on cold mornings, and I bought a new mirror on ebay, and swapped it over on Saturday lunch time. This was far easier to do than I anticipated. There's a plastic cover on the underside of the door mirror, which you simply remove two self tapping screws from and the cover pulls off. The mirror is then released by unclipping it from its mounting. Access to the clips which hold the mirror in place, are through the panel you removed. Once the mirror is free, remove the two wires which provide the current to the heater element in the mirror glass. Refitting is simply the reverse of the above. Whilst the engine is running, the heater is permanently on, the current is supplied by the power fed to the electric motor within the door mirror. I'll replace the passenger side next.
I also used WD40 on the Window seals on the Audi. The windows get little use since the air-con was fixed last year, and WD40 is ideal for this purpose. Simply spray it in to the window strips, and the windows now glide up and down far more easily.
Tuesday 5th February 2008
No sign of my engine bits from the States yet. Rang the suppliers, but they hadn't received the rods and pistons to dispatch. Should be this week. In the mean time, I need to find a Series II Silver Top 2.0 Zetec. If you have one, and want to part with it, please get in touch, so I can start the engine build for this season. I've registered with the Midland Speed Championship for 2008, and fully intend to get out one some of my favourite events. I'll have to start with the existing 2.0 engine, and transplant the 2.1 when its built up and run in.
I'm going to make some copies of the Brise alternator bracket which I'm using to hold my Brise 49A alternator in place. Brise stopped making this particular bracket a few years ago, and so I've had a CAD drawing produced, so I can get some machined from 10mm aluminium. If you need one for your Zetec conversion, please get in touch, and I'll get you a price.
