September 2009
Tuesday 29th September 2009
I've found myself a pair of Focus Mk1/Mk2 stub axles, hubs, disks, and calipers, and these are going to be the basis of the replacement rear-end setup on the XR2. Rutland Performance Vehicles are doing the work for me. My spare 'new' axle will be adapted to take the Focus stub axles, and my existing modified rear axle with Fiesta Centre rear disk setup will be put up for sale to offset the costs.
This evening I removed the battery box and battery isolator from inside the car, and I can now start laying out the wiring and planning where I'm going to place everything. Something a bit more professional looking this time. Not sure what to do yet, but I'm in no hurry.
Mike Quaife has confirmed that they've layed down a batch of 25 sequential boxes, and one is reserved for me, so I expect to take delivery in January/February next year.
And finally, here is a PDF document showing the pinouts of the bulkhead connector
Sunday 27th September 2009
I fitted the panhard rod from Kustom Engineering on Tuesday, saving another 1.2Kg in the process. I dropped the rear hubs off with Altiss Engineering on Tuesday for them to machine the stud holes out to allow the fitment of the Rally Design wheel bolts. As the hubs are basically Fiesta rear brake drums, that are turned down to form hubs, Altiss found that both of the hubs cracked when the wheel bolts were pushed in to place. That was despite machining the holes out to 12.7mm, and countersinking them. The fault lies with the material used in the hubs, which are just cast iron afterall. So I now face a dilemma. Do I try to get genuine Ford brake drums, and have those machined. And suffer the risk that they may also brake. Or do I go for the Focus rear-stub axle conversion, which comprises of having the ends of the rear Fiesta axle removed, and the Focus stub axles bolted on in their place? The Focus hubs are machined from steel, not cast iron, so at least that would afford me greater reliability. Rutland Performance Vehicles make the axles, so I may give Chris a call to see what is involved. I have a spare axle, unmodified, which I could use. Or I could use the existing axle, already modified to give adjustable camber, although, using bolt on stub axles, I could simply shim the axles to achieve the same effect. Which is the lightest option, thats my greatest concern? And can I use my Granada/Cosworth rear calipers, as I dont want to have to replace those too.
Monday 21st September 2009
Fitted the Kustom Engineering (US) rear suspension arms tonight. Dead easy as I'd already removed the rear hubs so I can fit the studs to them. The weight of the two TAS rear arms is 2.37Kg, and the replacements with collets comes to 628g so thats a saving of 1.75Kg (approx 3.8lbs). I've just the panhard rod left to fit. See the Suspension page for more details.
Sunday 20th September 2009
I've finished the engine bay loom off this evening. Inserted all the pins in to the Neptune body, and heatshrank all the sleeves etc, then slid the connector body down the cables, and fastened the strain relief in place. I now need to turn my attention to the cockpit bay. I've worked away from home for three days last week, hence the lack of updates. Counting computer assets on one of my customers largest sites. I bought myself a KoamTac KDC100 barcode scanner, to ease the process, and it worked flawlessly. I scanned in around 1240 devices in total, and this week I need to analyse the data collected by the KDC100, and indeed return to the site, to complete the audit, as there were a couple of areas I didn't gain access to. It was very intense work, very tiring, but the outcome should be good for my client.
Tuesday 8th September 2009
Mallory park was a tad dissapointing, particularly given the £12 admission, and the fact that I couldn't get a free ticket. The turnout was very low, with around 30 or so competitors. Still, we met Steve Miles with the Van Diemen, Gary Thomas (triple Midland Speed champion) in his Lotus Elise (he broke the Force at Aintree the day before), and we watched in awe as Nick Algar pedalled his Gould GR55 round, with sparks flying from the Titanium blocks.
I've crimped all 45 crimps tonight. I had to get a pair of new wire strippers, as my old ones were worn out. These made the job very easy, stripping the 20AWG wires, and the 1.0 and 1.3mm wires for the injectors and COPs. I just need to push all the crimps in to the ITT Neptune connector now, once I've documented where everything goes.
Saturday 5th September 2009
Off to Mallory Park for the British Sprint round tomorrow. Its £12 on the gate, and the Timed Competitive runs in the afternoon start at 13:15hrs, and again at 15:22hrs following Kart race #3. Its a Superkart meeting too, so the ontrack action should be very fast and furious.