December 2018

Suspension on #2

The off side rear suspension is now refitted. Again the last remaining NAS bolts are on the car, and I've put the dampers and the pushrods back on, so its ready to sit on all four wheels again. Or at least I thought it was until I looked in the Mygale User manual and spotted that the pickup points I've used will give the incorrect rear squat. So I'll move the pickup points tomorrow.

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Suspension on

I've refitted the near side rear suspension, replacing four of the remaining socket head bolts in the process. I've just two NAS bolts left to fit, to the off side rear, and then the whole car will be running on NAS spec fasteners, which should make the suspension much tighter. When I lift the near side rear hub, there is no play in the joints anymore, which will make for a more stable car. I removed the oil filter, and cut it open to inspect it, and there was no specs of metal inside, it was very clean indeed. I'll replace it with another of the same type. The oil lines that I wanted to replace, I'm having second thoughts, as the dry sump takeoff joints under the engine are very difficult to get to, and it looks like the floor might need removing to access them.

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Box update

The gearbox is back refitted, and bolted on securely. I gave it another clean with the degreaser, and the next job is to check that the clutch works, and I also need to replace both the dry sump oil lines as the braided hoses are showing their age.

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Clutch update

With the thinner 6mm spacer and slave fitted, I plumbed the hydraulics back in to the slave, and fitted the bellhousing back, and then bled the slave. After removing the bellhousing again, I found a leak on the slave, the return banjo fitting needed nipping up, and after a few more tests, was happy it had stopped leaking. So I bolted the housing back on, and then tried to re-fit the gearbox, but it didnt quite mate, so I left it to try again over the weekend.


Here are 96 launches from 2018, there are a few starts missing where I didnt switch the GoPro on. I've compiled the clips to see if the car really had a tendency to turn left. But it looks like the accident at Anglesey was caused by the surface change coming out the pits more than anything else.

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It's Christmas

A very Happy Christmas to everyone, and a Happy New Year from Graham, Dawn and family.

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ECU powered up

I made a power connector for the ECU, and I can now communicate using the laptop with the ECU away from the car. I've started to look at the config to see whats new, and there are several extra explorer folders available for launch, traction and VVT. There are also some warning and information flags alongside these folders and items, so I need to understand what they mean before I can go any further. According to Chris at **** they are just aide-memoires, so I can clear them if I wish. If I right click any of the CAL folders, I can clear or set any of the flags. Clever.

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ECU returns

I've collected the ECU from ****, and its been both repaired and unlocked. I'll have to plug it in and see what new features I've got access to. I might rig up the spare Bosch connector to provide power and ethernet, so I can learn the ECU's features from the comfort of my home, rather than sitting in the cold garage. Speaking of which, the clutch spacer has been machined, and is ready to go back on the bellhousing. If I get time over the weekend, I'll reassemble the clutch slave and check the clearance to the clutch fingers.

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Clutch slave fitted

I swapped the release bearing and piston over tonight, so the SBD release bearing is now sat on the slave, and with the bellhousing fitted, there is about 2mm space between the bearing and the clutch fingers. So I need to seat the bearing further away from the clutch plates, which means the 11mm Mygale spacer that sits below the slave, will need 5mm machining off of it, so I'll drop it in to Altiss to see if Nigel can turn it around before the weekend. The ECU is finished, and will be back with **** tomorrow. I'll see if I can collect it before the weekend to check config what is now available.

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Flywheel fitted

The SBD flywheel is fitted to the engine, and this allows me to trial fit the clutch components. I've removed the release bearing from the clutch slave. The replacement just pushes straight in, and of course disturbing the release bearing means the clutch needs bleeding again.

The ECU is repaired, and is now waiting for Sam to unlock it, but as he's out the office again this week, that may mean I dont get it back until after Christmas :(

Clutch and flywheel

The parts have arrived from SBD, I'm just waiting until I've cured myself of #manflu before I can go in to the garage and trial fit everything.

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100 Days remain

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More updates!

Yep, more bolts arrived from race.parts, this time the outstanding NAS bolts for the rear suspension, which are now all fitted, and I've replaced the 3/8 UNF bolt that secures the bottom front wish bone to the front hub, as it turns out it was not straight after the accident, so its now replaced, and that means all the fasterners on that front corner are new! I bought some 3/8 bolts from ebay, but the shank lengths were incorrect, so I made a trip over to Charnwood Fasteners, and they had exactly what I needed. I've renewed my competition license, with another Speed National A for 2019, and Motorsport UK no longer supply the Blue Book. However, if you send them a polite email, they will pop one in the post free of charge, so I did that, and I now have a BB for sharing at events next year. Lets hope there's no reason to look at it. I might be looking for work in 2019, the contract with my current client comes to an end in December, and there appears to be scant opportunity to continue with them due to massive job cuts and cost savings across the company. So January will be interesting, as I scour the internet for suitable work. I guess I'll have plenty of time on my hands to get the car prepared for Castle Combe in March.

My Life ECU is repaired and is just waiting to be unlocked. Hopefully it'll be done this week, so I can get it fitted back in the car and run the engine again over Christmas once the flywheel/clutch modifications are complete.

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Clutch update

I've supplied all manner of measurements to SBD, and they have confirmed that the flywheel and clutch will fit in the short Mygale bellhousing, so I'm now waiting for parts to arrive. Meanwhile I've removed the brake lines from inside the rear wishbones, and they're in a sorry looking state. The heat from the Turbo exhaust, blowing over the bottom wishbone, and water inside the wishbone, which looks to have caused some corrosion, means the brake lines 100% needed replacing.

There is still no news on my Life ECU. I tried calling Life twice this week, but they were unable to give me any updates. They've had it for two months, and I was told it could take a while to repair and unlock. 2 Months though!

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