RS Motorsport :: Classic Speed Restored

My plans were slightly stuffed last night when I discovered the Mk2 steering column switch gear I planned to use interfers with the steering column mount welded to the rollcage dash bar. So I now plan to use the Mk1 indicator stalk and run the rest of the switch wires down the tunnel to a panel I'm mounting between the seats.

I have 3 Mk1 wiper assemblies and all 3 have different colour wiring. At this stage i'm going to not worry about the auto-park and run the low/high speed circuits via switched grounds as detailed in a post a few years back started by Mk1_Oz.

If you do decide to use the auto park I can nip out to the shed and provide a diagram of what I have done. Only fours wires from the wiper motor so only a small amount of mucking around to work out which is the +ve, low speed ground, high speed ground, park and ground. And yes I also found every wiper I got hold of had different colours!

I just went through the whole figuring out wiring of motor saga. My advice, figure out the park now while your doing it all and it's fresh in your head, you'll wish you did if you don't do it now. I didn't bother with it at first and it's a pain in the arse to turn them off without being in the field of view they just don't stop the instant you flick the switch. not what you want while driving agressively.

Make sure you write down the wiring for future reference..... then loose it like i did. Then spend two hours trying to figure it out again.

llewellyn

lol

I decided to clean my wires half way through as they were dirty with oil and grease....I managed to rub off some of the trace colours! derr

I'm working on multiple fronts at the moment but am trying to ensure each trip to the shed results in a step forward.

I have started on the front brakes, Peugoet rotors and rx-7 calipers:


Dash is mocked up. I've had this Stack unit stashed away since 1997 so it's about time I put it to good use:


and I have the wipers working via a on-off-on switch now.

Got out for a play today in round 3 of the MC Motorsport state sprint series.

It's been raining like crazy over here in WA so the track was very green. This morning it was still damp with a few light showers. The car was under-steering badly but i'm not sure if that was the driver (me), 2yr old tyres, or the conditions.





Here's run 3 with a nice half spin just for pure entertainment value:
http://youtu.be/L3y7Y_D4OqU

Subsequently found some blistered paint indicating a have a leak on the rear brake lines through the bulkhead and need to adjust my throttle peddle so I have more travel and can be more progressive - today I had really trouble trying to feed the power in gradually.

So after stuffing the Nissan in round 2 of the WA Rally Championship, I'm please to announce that i'll be out in an escort again for round 3

Nissan 0:


Escort 1:


We passed Scrutineering tonight, so hopefully i'll have some pictures to share on Monday after the event this weekend.

Car looks nice. Look forward to hearing about the event.

1st in class, 2nd 2WD and 9th outright









In car from our fastest stage - spent half of it in 5th:
http://youtu.be/QyxAx5kdFtE

Congratulations...there's life in the old girl still!
What was the competition driving?
JP

Great result Paul, nice pics too. I'll watch the video when I get home.

How do you not get tyre to guard contact with those fat tyres on the front? I have to run the narrow Dunlop "steer" tyres on mine so they don't hit. Does it just have Billies in the front and back?

Billies all round - fronts are 185/60/14s - front guards have a few battle wounds but are mainly intact.

1st 2WD was a Silvia, with a SR20DET running full anti-lag and a 6 speed sequential gearbox. So we were pleased to beat him on two stages

Nice!

That stage on the video was more like a drag strip than a rally stage. Your wheelman clearly knows what he's doing.

So after 3 weeks of rebuilding the orange car after our successful Boddington Rally we has a disastrous day yesterday at the Experts Cup Rally:

Before:


A good start:


Almost at the end of SS1:

Clipped a tree on the right rear which pitched us off into the shrubbery - just a flesh wound really, the sweeper managed to yank us out and we drove back to service and rejoined for SS3.

Then at the end of SS4:


That's about 5m before the Flying Finish board, it's 10m off the road and 5m down a bank. The note was a R4 Narrow into a L4 opens - Geoff reckons he associated the "opens" with the R4 which resulted in us dropping the car off the outside of the corner and a light roll (on my side of course).

Sorry to see that Paul. I assume you're both ok though which is the main thing?

Ditto..... never like to see a nice car bent

Just glad you are both OK. Hopefully it isn't as bad as it looks and the repair can be quick and easy.

The Cage, seats and harnesses did their job and we both walked away. I had a few cuts on my hand from the door glass otherwise was unscathed.

The front left took the initial hit with the TCA rose joint breaking, the sway bar end has snapped off and the brand new steering rack end is bent like a banana. I've replaced all with some second hand bits and then drove the car into the shed so drive line wise it seems good.

Panel wise the Left A-pillar is squashed against the cage and will need chopping out, the left side of the roof is a mess and the right rear quarter is mashed from the first off and the passenger side wheel well is all pushed back into the cockpit. But overall the shell looks square and should be fixable.

Here’s a bit of footage from the first off – this was not the rollover but the camera did move during the impact giving that effect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCD3SmWZL9U&sns=em

The orange Mk2 is in the shed getting some porta-power love. Currently missing it's roof and LH A-pillar with a nice donor roof sitting there ready for attachment.

In the meantime I partnered up with Paul Bartlett in his Mk1 for Targa West:




We ended up winning Classic Challenge and I got another finishers medallion for completing every stage:

I'm way overdue for an update - work and life have got in the way of my escorts recently.


During a recent UK trip I called in to see Simon Major who's Mk2 has been magazine featured a few times - it's a pretty decent bit of kit:






I'm still competing in the local rally sprints - yet again 2nd in class but this time to a Honda Civic


I should have won the last round but the brakes were giving me gyp. After the event I found one of the rear pads had bent:



Finally finished the new engine built around the YB steel crank - i'm still waiting on a clutch:



The dry sump oil lines and remote filter are sorted for the new Mk1:


and so are the fuel pump and filters:


Then over Xmas I finally got it painted too:

I’m entering my nemesis event this weekend - Targa South West.

I ran my car in 2012 and had terminal engine drama's on SS2
I co-drove in 2013 and we crashed at end of SS1
So here's hoping we get to SS3 this year.

The car passed scrutiny on Monday night. The car spec has been pretty consistent for the past year now. I have fitted a new Bosch alternator after the old one shook the internals apart, and I’ve fitted the new “DS-Uno” pads for this event which seems to have it pulling it up nicely.