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The categories below describe the 'challenges' that I was faced with, before she was legal for competition use, and more importantly, safe to use. These Milestones are shown below. For pictures on most of the work, please look in the picture gallery.
What the MSA 'Bluebook' says...
Rules and Regulations for sprinting/hill climbing
Sprints and Hill climbs in the UK are run to tight technical regulations, all of which must be first met
before a car is allowed to compete in an event. The MSA 'BlueBook' is issued at the start of every year, and
it is up to competitors to ensure that their cars meet all the stringent rules that apply to each class of
racing. Below is a small extract of some of the rules that I've had to pay particular attention to.
Class: (L14.1.D) Special Saloons, under the Sports Libre class.
There's quite a few different classes that cars compete in. I cant compete in the (A) Modified Production Cars class, as I've changed the engine. Therefore I'm in with the Special Saloons, which is no great loss, as the important bit is getting out there and just having a go.
MSA Technical Regulations apply as follows:
- L10 Hill climb Vehicles
- L14 Sprint Vehicles
- Q1.5.1 Roll cage design
- J20 (Not applicable, as I'm not competing in Races as such)
- E12 Technical (applies to vehicles in all forms of competition)
Note: I can not reproduce the wording of the rules, as they are the copyright of the RAC-MSA.
Fitting the Mondeo/Contour 2.0L 16V engine
Start Date: February 1998
End Date: August 1999
The engine initially took six months to install, and at the beginning of this year ('99) I re-evaluated the position of the engine, and I've moved it again. I decided it wasn't leaning far enough backwards. The standard XR2 engine cradle is used, with some slight modifications. The cradle sits about an inch further to the left. This is because the engine is slightly longer than the X-flow, so you have to offset things a little.
This meant drilling new holes in the front and rear cross members, so the cradle can be bolted to the car. Relocating the engine was worth all the effort, as the engine leans backwards now, which helps with the weight distribution.
The engine is longer than the original X-flow, and the crank pulley runs in space occupied by the chassis. I've had to cut away part of the chassis, and add strengthening with 2mm steel plate. The chassis is box sectioned at this point, and cutting out the steel was quite a job. I do now have clearance for the crank and water pump pulleys though.
I've fitted a lightened steel flywheel (Weighs approx 6Kg) and an Escort Zetec 1800 sump and pickup pipe.
I've got loads of plans for the engine, like Piper race cams, reworked head, Hepolite pistons etc, which is when the project really starts to get interesting. I'll be showing benchmarks for all the work that I'm going to do to the engine.
Jan 2000: Remanufactured the front engine mounting, from 5mm steel. Also it is now powder coated.
Feb 2000: I'm using the BRISE 93mm Denso alternator. It mounts via a dural bracket, and is driven via a 4 tooth multi-V belt.
Fitting the glass fibre bodykit
Start Date: October 1999
End Date: July 2000
An MC Rallying rally arch kit has been fitted, including a front spoiler. The steel arches have been modified to allow larger wheels to run without fowling on the bodywork, and the GRP arches cover the extra wide wheels. The GRP arches were bonded on with silicon sealant, and bolted in place with stainless steel bolts, washers and nylock nuts. The front spoiler was bonded on with body sealant and held on with stainless steel self tapping screws. New steel front wings were also fitted. These have been bonded to the shell with body sealant, and fastened with stainless steel pop rivets and stainless steel bolts, washers and nylock nuts. The inside of the new front wings were treated with stoneguard spray before fitting, and when bonded to the shell, the insides of both front wheel arches were spray painted with three coats of stone guard paint.
Fitting the five speed gearbox
Start Date: April 1998
End Date: August 1999
A five-speed fitting kit was purchased from the Fiesta Center, and I've got a Quaife 5-Speed gearbox, based on an RS1800i box, with Quaife ATB LSD. The clutch is an AP-Racing 220mm uprated clutch and diaphragm.
Fitting the 5-speed box is quite straight forwards, but there is a lot of work involved in cutting out the chassis leg, to make room for the gearbox. (The five speed box is longer than the four speed box and hits the chassis.) I welded 1.5mm steel plate over the chassis, before cutting the hole out. This strengthens the chassis, and means you don't waste hours trying to cut out a piece of steel the right size, to weld over the hole you've just made.
August 1999: I've since increased the size of the hole in the chassis leg, for the gearbox, to improve clearance.
December 1999: Purchased a Quaife five speed box with ATB LSD. Filled with Silkolene 75W90 Synthetic oil
Fitting the fully adjustable coil-over front suspension
Start Date: October 1998
End Date: March 1999
AVO 2.25" coil-over shock absorbers have been fitted, with TAS Spherical Bearing top mounts, giving adjustable camber, caster, and ride height. The car has 4" ground clearance, with 13" rims and 300 lb springs at the front. Fitting the top
mounts involved cutting off the original strut tops, and replacing them with metal barrels; these are welded in place
and the aluminium top mounts bolt inside the new strut tops. AVO 2.25" shocks then allow coil over springs to be used. These are readily available from AVO, or any other motorsport outfit. You can buy different lengths, and poundages. Giving plenty of scope for adjustment.
My advice is to get Bilstein shockers if you can afford them. They're the dogs undercarriage, but very very expensive.
Modifying the off side front tie bar to clear the alternator
Start Date: July 1999
End Date: September 22nd 1999
The alloy Escort sump that I've used, hits the tie bar on the offside (drivers side) front suspension. I've made a bit of extra clearance, by removing the corner from the sump (filed away a redundant piece of alloy), but the sump still rests against the tie bar. As the suspension moves up and down, the tie bar rubs on the side of the sump, which is not acceptable. The standard five speed fitting kit from the Fiesta Center, modifies the near side tie bar pickup point, and replaces the tie bar with a stronger bar and mounting bracket, also making use of the Fiesta Mk2 poly bushes. So, what I've done is bought the parts from the Fiesta Center, to allow me to make an exact mirror of the nearside tie bar assembly. They supplied a tie bar, steel plate, and the mounting bracket, and I've had to do some welding, and filing. I've fabricated the tie bar and bracket, and fitted them to the car. Now there's loads of space for the alternator, and I've also got Powerflex poly bushes on both tiebar's which should help reduce torque and bump steer.
Choosing the wheels
Start Date: 15th July 2000
End Date: 29th August 2000
I've bought a set of white Compomotive MO's in 7" x 15". These are Ford fitment, and give the same inset, but an extra 1" of offset. Tyres are Yokohama A032R 205/50/15.
Installing the seat
Start Date: March 1998
End Date: July 2001
A black Cobra Imola-2 bucket seat was fitted to the car, with 5mm Cobra anodised aluminium seat mountings, on 3mm steel plates, which are MIG welded to the car floor. The seat was a bit narrow, so I've now installed a Motordrive Pro 2 Tall Highside seat, made from a composite material. Its sooo comfortable...
Strengthening the car
Start Date: March 1998
End Date: June 1999
The car has been extensively strengthened by gusseting, seam welding, replacing the sills etc. I've
removed all the rusty bits, and welded 1.5 mm steel plate all over the place. Especially around the front inner wings.
All the rubber sound deadening has also been removed, together with most of the black underseal.
I've finished reinforcing the car with additional X shaped door bars, and a lateral bar that runs across the width of the car, behind the drivers seat, which joins the two down-bars of the roll cage together.
I've finished seam welding the engine compartment, and I've made an engine brace running from the gear box to the front bulkhead.
Jan 2000: I've reinforced the front firewall/bulkhead where the servo and engine stabiliser bars are mounted.
Designing the dashboard
Start Date: June 2001
End Date: August 2001
A dashboard has been built, in aluminium, using Greengauges 52mm instruments, and a 100mm Stack rev counter. The dials include water temp, oil pressure, battery voltage.
Rewiring the car
Start Date: December 2000
End Date: August 2001
Using parts purchased from Vehicle Wiring Products, I've re-wired the shell, since the original loom was quite tatty, and carried a lot of unwanted wires for things like interior lights etc. See the Electrics pages for more details.
Designing the gear change mechanism
Start Date: April 1999
End Date: May 1999
I've fitted a Fiesta Mk3 remote gear change selector, and the car now effortlessly selects all gears. The linkage fits straight on to the car. You just need to drill four holes for the mounting bolts to hold the linkage in place. Simple!
Re-spraying the whole of the car
Start Date: January 2000
End Date: 25th August 2000
The car has been completely re sprayed in original Ford sunburst red, including the engine compartment, and the inside of the shell, and roll cage. I used cellulose primer, and Zinc primer for areas where there is bare metal. The car was etch primed, and then sprayed in two pack and baked in the oven at 80 degrees(F) for approx 20 minutes. 7.5 litres of paint were used. Once painted, the car was polished to lift the colour even further. See the Stop Press page for photos of the finished car.
Plumbing in the fuel system
Start Date: December 2000
End Date: June 2001
I've bought the Jenvey Throttle Bodies, TBP45i, and now I'm using the DTAFast 3D ECU. I've bought an ATL fuel cell. See the Fuel Injection and page for more details on the injection system..
Fabricating the Exhaust System
Start Date: 7th June 1999
End Date: 11th June 1999
Ashley Performance Exhausts in Birmingham have made me a 4-2-1 manifold and a full system, comprising of 2.25" tubing, with a 3" upswept DTM style tail pipe. For competition in the UK, the volume of the exhaust must be below a specific db reading, and I aim to make the car as quiet as possible, which is why it has a 2.0 16V Golf GTI back box. I've no idea how many db's the exhaust produces, until I get the engine running. I'm going to get the manifold ceramic coated before it goes rusty. This'll keep it looking new.
Plumbing in the brake pipes and bias adjuster
Start Date: October 2001
End Date: December 2001
HiSpec 4 pot alloy calipers are fitted on the fronts, with 285mm grooved and vented disks, and Hawke Hillclimb spec pads. At the rear there are disks too. I've used the Fiesta-Centre disk brake conversion kit, with some subtle modifications. The calipers are for a Sierra XR4x4/Granada MK3, and the disks are from a Mk3 Fiesta and I'm using EBC Greenstuff pads. Handbrake cable is from a Sierra XR4x4. At the front, the servo is replaced by a Trans Auto Sport adjustable bias pedal box, designed for a Vauxhall Corsa (TAS 1177). The box features two master cylinders, with the 0.7" cylinder feeding the rears and 0.625" feeding the fronts. Remote adjustment of the bias is possible using a TAS adjuster kit. Two reservoirs feed the cylinders via 7/16" unions and 1/4" cupronickel pipe work. The rest of the system incorporates 10mm fittings on the calipers, with 3/16" cupronickel pipe work, and finished off with DOT5 silicon fluid, which does not harm paint work in the case of a fluid spill. The front calipers are connected by Earls stainless flexible hoses, featureing banjo connectors where they mount to the calipers. The rears are connected using the stainless hoses originally supplied with the front calipers, which turned out to be too long for my application, but ideal for the rears.
Plumbing in the fire extinguisher pipes and release mechanism
Start Date: April 2002
End Date: April 2002
A Lifeline AFFF 2.25L system, electrically operated is fitted to the car. The trigger switch is located next to the battery isolator pull switch, below the windscreen. The cylinder is mounted on the floor in the car, and the nozzles point in to the engine bay and at my feet! (regulations)
Replacing the windows with Perspex
Start Date: August 2001
End Date: August 2001
Acrylic windows sourced from Airedale Race Components. £100 for the set. Very simple to fit, a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.
What to do with the sunroof
Start Date: September 2001
End Date: November 2001
Located a steel sunroof in the USA. It has been resprayed in Ford Sunburst Red and is now fitted to the car, remaining tiltable for ventilation. The 1300 Fiesta had a steel sunroof, and they're extremely rare. I got mine for free, a donation from a fellow Fiesta nut in America, so the sunroof is well travelled.
Getting a Logbook
Start Date: July 10th 2002
End Date: July 10th 2002
Because I've changed the engine to a higher capacity than that fitted to the original vehicle, the vehicle had to be inspected by an qualified and approved scrutineer before it can be used in competition. The scrutineer examines all the work, and if he's happy with the quality of the workmanship and the safety aspects of the car, and that the car complies with the many rules and regulations that apply to this discipline of motorsport, then a logbook is issued. A logbook contains a photo and description of the car, and must be presented every time the car is entered at an event. No logbook = No fun!
The car was inspected by Bob Tudor, local scrutineer, and he passed her with flying colours!
Testing and setting up
Start Date: April 26th 2002
End Date: July 10th 2002
Had a quick shakedown at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome on April 26th, and the gearbox broke! Whoops.
Shortly after repairing the gearbox, the engine was rolling road dyno tuned on May 8th. We managed to squeeze 178 BHP out of the engine.
On July 10th, the car was taken to Mallory Park in Leicestershire for a test session, and after 35-40 laps (I lost count I was enjoying myself so much) I can confirm that the car will withstand the abuse I was throwing at her, and she is now officially 'tested' and is ready for her first event.
The first event
Date: August 4th, 2002
We entered the CCC/MSC Sprint at Silverstone Stowe circuit on August the 4th. It was awesome. A lot to learn regarding the car setup and handling, but basically we escaped unscathed, and the car was flawless.
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