April 2002
Saturday 27th April 2002
The photoshoot with Performance Ford magazine went very well, despite the weather. Keith and Gazza took dozens of pictures, and after a couple of hours, I was allowed to finally stretch the legs of the car along the 2 mile straight. Even though the engine hasn't been tuned yet, the map in the ECU can't be that far off as I was able to accelerate quite easily through 1st to 4th gear. She's pulls really well. The steering is very light. Brakes need bedding in, but I'm very pleased with the way that she drives. Very pleased indeed. However... When I came to change to 5th, I found that the gearbox wouldn't let me. I managed to change down and turn the car round, but was then stuck in 3rd gear. Couldn't shift the gear lever at all. I cruised back to the paddock and killed the engine, suspecting the gear linkage, but, a small puddle of oil was now forming under the car. Watch this space for news on what was wrong, and what I've got to do to fix it....
Despite the technical problem, I'm very happy. She drives exceptionally well. Nothing fell off the car, she's responsive, the driving position is good, the overall package really works well. Looks like all the hard work is finally paying off!
The Fiesta will be appearing in the July magazine, which is out early June 2002. In the mean time, you can catch up with how Keith Wood progresses in his Formula Ford Zetec race car, by visiting his new website, www.1seat.co.uk I've now got some work to do to ready her again for the rolling road session on May 8th, and FITP on May 19th. And she needs a clean!
Here's some of the photo's I took. There were a couple of rubber grommets missing from holes for the bumpers etc, so I had to tape over a few holes to prevent water from getting in, but she still looks brilliant, and after all the years of hard work, I'm sure the magazine article will do her justice. We're going back to Bruntingthorpe in a few weeks for some more shakedown testing, once I've cured the problem with the gear change. So look out for some more pictures and video clips of her in action. I can't wait!
Friday 26th April 2002
Finished all the jobs on the car. She's now all ready for the photoshoot this morning. As ever, British weather as reliable as it is, we've had a really pleasant, sunny, warm, dry week, and this morning, its raining. Nope, correction, it's now pouring with rain.
Plugged the trailer in to the car on Tuesday, and discovered a short in the brake light circuit. Woodford Trailers gave me the wiring diagram, and I traced and fixed the fault. They want the trailer back for a free re-wire, but at the moment, I'm happy with the repair that I made.
Bought some straps for the trailer. Only £46 for four 3M straps, and four 30cm straps with ratchets. Bargain. The straps will tie the car down to the trailer, so it's safe to transport.
So I'll take my camera today so I can get some more photo's. The ones below were taken on Tuesday afternoon. I'm so looking forward to driving her after all this time, even if the engine isn't tuned. I can still limp round the airfield. The two mile long runway will take me ages to travel down! I'll take my diary, something to do!
Here is a link to a map of Bruntingthorpe, courtesey of www.multimap.com
Tuesday 23rd April 2002
Returned from a short stay in Brussels last night. Went through the Channel Tunnel, which is so cool. 20 minutes to travel under the English Channel. And the Eurostar train goes so fast once its on French soil. Faster than any train I've ever been on before. Brussels is a fantastic city. So much to see and do (and eat and drink!)
Now I'm back I've some midnight oil to burn before the photoshoot with Performance Ford at Bruntingthorpe this coming Friday. And I'll have a go at towing the Fiesta today, on her new trailer.
The green injectors have arrived. I'll get those fitted too
Thursday 18th April 2002
Ordered a set of IW031 injectors from Webcon today. They have a much higher flow rate than the IW030's that I've got at the moment, good for approx 240 BHP.
Tuesday 16th April 2002
Fitted the drivers side Mk2 mirror. Looking good.
Monday 15th April 2002
I shall be exhibiting the Fiesta at the Fiesta In The Park (FITP) show, at Kettering, on Sunday, May the 19th. I'll be on the FordSport stand. Come and say hello if you're passing by. I'll be selling merchandise on the stand too.
Sunday 14th April 2002
Fitted the extinguisher. Bolted the mounting bracket to the floor, alongside the ECU. Wired in the two switches to the Lifeline control box. I've placed the cockpit switch on a bracket, which sits between the gear lever and the handbrake. Just need to fit the aluminium tubing to the bottle, to deliver the foam in to the engine bay and the cockpit.
Found the bolt. It was sitting on the sump, under the crank pulley. Good job I checked.
I can start to fit the Mk2 XR2 mirrors next. Then I can tackle changing the cams. I still haven't heard from Piper regarding the vernier pulleys I enquired about last week. I'll make some phone calls on Monday.
Saturday 13th April 2002
Fitted the switch for the extinguisher, next to the battery isolator pull handle. Over this weekend I'll fit the cylinder and wire in the other switch and the control box etc.
Changed the oil pressure sender unit for a 100 PSI version. Greengauges had supplied the 140 PSI sender, a software error when I placed the order, and now the pressure gauge should show the correct reading.
Dropped a bolt in the engine bay yesterday afternoon, and despite searching for 45 minutes, I just cannot find it. It didn't reach the floor, and isn't on the trailer. I need to find it, as its one of the three bolts that holds the wiper motor in place, and I want to make sure that its not perched ready to jump in to the timing belt when I'm running the engine.
Sprayed the two firewall plates red, few more coats and I can fit them back in the car.
Bought a really substantial wheel clamp for the trailer. It certainly won't be going anywhere with that fitted.
Sunday 7th April 2002
The next opportunity to get the car rolling road tuned is May the 8th, with a company in Oxfordshire, who specialise in Jenvey throttle bodies and the DTA engine management system. I'll just have to wait till then to get the car tuned. I'm only missing two events in April, one today, Three Sisters, and one on the 21st, which is at Curbororough. I'm disappointed in missing Curborough, as its only a short drive away (relatively), and it'd be great to compare my old time for the circuit when she was cross-flow powered, to the time I could set with a 2.0 under the bonnet. I reckon I'll be in the low 38's for Curborough to start with, if not faster than that. We'll see, soon enough.
The Lifeline AFFF extinguisher arrived on Thursday. They sent me the polished alloy bottle instead of the painted one, and they didn't charge me any extra for it! I now have to mount a weatherproof switch next to the battery pull switch, below the windscreen. I also need to mount another switch in the car, and then position the bottle, and pipes to dispense the foam on to the engine, and in to the cockpit. Shame I have to get sprayed if the fire is in the engine bay! Rules are rules though.
Refitted the ATL fuel cell again. I've now finished fixing it securely to the floor, and I've been working on the firewall. I've made a bracket which runs along the width of the rear seats. The fuel hoses now pass through the bracket, and I've drilled more holes and fitted nut inserts so the panels bolt directly on to it too. I'm in two minds what to do with the aluminium panels. Polish them or spray them red? Hmm...
The photoshoot doesn't look like its going ahead next week. Bother! While I've got this 1 month breather before the tune up, I'm going to tackle changing the cams. I'm still running std Zetec 2.0 Cams at the moment, and if I'm going to the expense of having the engine tuned, I may as well fit them and get the map optimised for the Piper's I'd have fitted later on in the year anyway. I'll order some vernier alloy pulleys next week, probably from Raceline if Chris does me a good deal on the price... Theres some real horror stories about changing cams on the Zetec as theres no woodruff key in the cams, so once the pulleys are loosened, there no makrs for the timing. I'll borrow a dial gauge from work, so I can time them in accurately. I'll take lots of photos and produce another one of my step-by-step guides, as I've yet to find one on the Internet.
New dot com stickers are now in stock. I've already sent out a pair of reflective ones, so get your order in now if you want any in red, white, black or reflective. Check out the merchandise page for details.
Tuesday 2nd April 2002
I'm pissed off this evening. Really quite angry actually. I was called at 4:30 this afternoon to be told that the rolling road session on Friday isn't going to happen, because of a "double booking". I'd booked this Friday off work, made alternative arrangements for towing the car to Northampton, told everyone I was going to get the car tuned at last, and I've now got to re-arrange everything! And I have to give one weeks notice before taking time off work. So next week looks in doubt now. I'm really a laid back kind of person, nothing much winds me up, but I'm really very annoyed and extremely dissappointed that it can't be tuned on Friday. I'm sure that **** could really fit me in on Friday. They just need to make a few cancellations...
In the mean time, do you have a map for a 2.0 Zetec running DTA E48-EXP ECU on Jenvey Throttle Bodies? If you do, please let me know, as I'd love to have a copy so I can at least start to drive the car...
I did manage to order the fire extinguisher system today. A Lifeline 2.25L system, electrically operated. Delivery should be this Thursday.
I removed the fuel cell this evening, and made some brackets to hold it securely in place. I need some M6 nuts and bolts to hold everything together.