119 replies to this topic

[CocoPops]

I can confirm, there were no bulbs when he tried them I know Scots are known for being tight... But....

[Dunk]

I know Scots are known for being tight... But....

A shame that only applies to the men...

[nicollow]

I can confirm, there were no bulbs when he tried them

I know Scots are known for being tight... But....

Xenophobe...

[nicollow]

Ive not updated this in a while, but there have been a few things done for my wee VX. Towards the end of last year I bought a set of Toyo R1Rs. They are really nice rubber and much better than the T1Rs they replaced (insert a Techie “told you so” here). However, they came with a warning about running, or even storing at low temperatures. So I got a bit panicky and bought a set of OEM tubby wheels and tyres to run over the colder months. The thing slid around like a mo fo, and the cold weather never arrived, so when the winter came to an end I sold them on.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

[nicollow]

After contemplating selling in order to go halves on a 997 with the old man, a financial reality check made me realise that I'm not going to be getting rid of the VX any time soon. So with that in mind, I did a bit of future proofing. The car had a bit of a rough running issue after washing it about a month ago. After interrogating things via the OBD, there was possibility that the timing chain had skipped a tooth. Given its 12 odd years old, it was probably time to change the chains anyway. So I sourced a proper OEM timing and a balancer chain, as well as a new oil cover gasket. I jacked the bugger up and spent a day and a half doing the chains. It all went straight forward. A few exterior engine bolts that were a bit tricky, but so long as you're methodical it’s a simple enough job.

 

All the bits ready to go:

 

 

 

Engine cracked open:

 

 

 

Old bits stripped out, expensive pic & mix:

 

 

During the balancer chain refresh:

 

 

All the new bits in and ready to go:

 

 

Everything went back together grand and its started up fine. It was still running a bit rough though so the next step was to look at the injectors. The injector rail was removed and cylinder three was not operating correctly. I managed to source a new injector and cleaned all the plugs and other injectors up too which sorted out the rough running issue completely.

 

With the idea of keeping the car for the foreseeable, I splashed out on some bits I replaced the coil pack with a proper OEM one, changed the plugs, changed the oil out as part of the chain replacement, soldered in the EGR cheater, fitted some fancy oil and coolant caps, a new engine badge, changed the MAP sensor and fitted a pimped rocker cover. Looks like I’ll have to keep the wee bastard for a while!!

 

Before pimping:

 

 

 

After:

 

Edited by nicollow, 03 May 2014 - 06:24 PM.

[Claws]

Looks fantastic!

[G-Bob]

Got the minidisk player installed yet? #minidiskisthefuture

[RabnaKS]

I'm jealous, that looks the DB's! I have got to ask, what's the black bottle in the corner of the boot?

[nicollow]

Bob, you knowz its rockin a MD player! Keeping it period and all that

 

The bottle in the boot is an early version of the Pro Alloy CC header tank. It hold the coolant for the charger cooler system 

[RabnaKS]

The build went as per usual really. One of the things that causes a bit of confusion is the way in which to get the charge cooler hoses through the sill. The way in which I did it was to buy a 12mm dowel from B&Q, bore a 6mm concentrically in the end of it, thread it through the bottom grommet behind the front wheel and then jubilee clip a hole saw on it once it was through into the sill area. Using a mirror to make sure its located in the right place, you can then go round to the front of the car and turn the rod, in 2 seconds itll cut a neat hole in the sill and no need to dremel the clam at all http://www.vx220.org...O_DIR#/wink.png

I got a charge cooler header tank from Techie, the old Pro Alloy one that mounts in the boot. As such, I needed to drill the boot a couple of times to get the pipes through. Pretty happy with the result though.






Before and after laminova cleaning...


Inlet manifold after cleaning...


Manifold mounted


Getting closer...
Glad I've seen this pic, this will explain why my boot lid stands proud. Looks like it was off before I got it & the slammer? Has been fixed on top! Now I need to get it back to how it should be, could be BH Monday?

Sort of got bored of taking photos as I got close to the end. But its now complete, on the road and going grand. I'll get some more photos up at the weekend... Really happy how it turned out though http://www.vx220.org..._DIR#/smile.png

[nicollow]

Dunno what youre trying to ask mate?!?! Dunno why you quoted all my photos neither?!?  

[Dunk]

Dunno what youre trying to ask mate?!?! Quote misuse makes for a great new game of "Guess What They Meant." Dunno why you quoted all my photos neither?!?  

[nicollow]

Dunno what youre trying to ask mate?!?! Quote miscouldnt agree moreuse makes for a great new game of "Guess What They Meant." Dunno why you quoted all my photos neither?!?  

[fezzasus]

Nicol, how was the rocker cover 'pimped'? If it's been blasted and powdercoated then there's a risk of the grit from the blasting entering the engine.

[nicollow]

Nicol, how was the rocker cover 'pimped'? If it's been blasted and powdercoated then there's a risk of the grit from the blasting entering the engine.

 

It has been powder coated, yes. But it was rubbed down by hand. The guy who did it reminded me about the dangers of over eager sand blasting rocker covers before I could tell him, so he knows what hes doing. Ive given him my supercharger to paint in the same colour. Its gonna look supa dope in the MaccyDs car park with the boot open yo 

[Dunk]

It looks pretty dope in any location to be honest. The whole installation and car in general is as immaculate as only a truly dedicated OCD-level detailer could achieve.

[G-Bob]

Does your boy do different colours? Can he do mine in dayglo orange?

[nicollow]

The wee VX has had an interesting couple of months. I got bored of the CS map, and all its issues. The car had a flat spot when it was cold which almost made it stall, the car would hunt like a b!tch upon starting up and a new issue of idling at 1800rpm for no reason started a few months ago. So I started chatting to Peter about getting the Dutch software. Took the plunge and I'm chuffed. Cant speak highly enough about both the software and the backup you get from going the Dutch route.

 

So I sent off the ECU and whilst it was away, I did the usual tinkering.

 

 

 

 

I decided to sort out the heater issue, which ran it on hot constantly, given there was a plan to go to Spa in late July. Took the whole system out, cleaned everything, fitted the new controller, and put it back together again. Other than a couple minor glitches, seems to be working, and managed to stop constantly blowing hot air out.

 

 

 

 

Having spoken to Peter about various hardware options, I decided to change the injectors to the blue Bosch ones. Managed to source some from a guy on .org, though they took a freakin age to arrive. I also decided to reduce the size of the SC pulley and get a bit more boost in the process. Given that my SC belt has been a source of intermittent squealing since day 1, it was a good excuse to get a new pulley correctly spaced onto the compressor itself. Seeing as I'm a bit of a tart too, I got the SC painted as well

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite like the engine bay now [font="wingdings;"][/font]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I managed to get hold of a dual pass end plate, to get the intake temps down as much as possible. I forgot how much faff it is getting the intake manifold off and taking the laminovas out. What I thought would be an hour and a half, turned into 5. Still, happy with having a proper cast one and not a welded one.

 

 

 

 

The ECU arrived back and everything went together to make the car run sooo much sweeter than before. Did a fuel learn, modded the map that Peter sent and am super happy with the way it is now running. Did a bit of ass to ass action with Dunk under our little marquee to make sure everything was ready before Spa. This was the day (week) that we were sorting out the window rattles. As I say, took ages but the VX now feels like a proper wee sports car, rather than a cobbled together kit car.

 

So Dunk, Packs and I went to Spa for banter. It was fcuking ace fun. Had an absolute blast, the car ran perfectly (we’ll ignore the ECU light coming on, that was quickly reset with the OBD reader), we drank like proper Brits Abroad, and didn’t get arrested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to being super smitten with the VX again. Who needs a 996 twin turbo anyway?!?

Edited by nicollow, 31 August 2014 - 11:17 PM.

[G-Bob]

The engine bay looks lush Nicol. Have you thought about getting a stainless steel header tank or similar to complete the look?

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

Looks good, Did you remove the egr cheater ? Could be your intermittent eml light

Edited by CHILL Gone DUTCH, 01 September 2014 - 08:07 AM.