298 replies to this topic

[gingerjon]

Well this has been a long time coming....
It's not quite the performance levels of Joes, Jimmys or Cliffies but i've been meaning to start this thread for a good few months.

I bought my car in October 2007, a standard N/a with around 20k on the clock. I had an Alfa Romeo Spider before hand and thought i was used to 2 seater sports car life! I was looking for a car which was as different as my Alfa and somehting that you wouldn't see everywhere you looked. I found that in the VX.



It got a few little mods mainly appearene wise as i loved how it drove and the power it had as standard. A few poeple saw it like this at a couple of meets in the 1st year i had it.....



Eventually after a good few metres of vinyl in various different colours, it ended its 1st life in my ownership like this :



After 5 years of being a daily driver, i'll be the 1st to admit, the old girl was looking tired. I was moving jobs and at one point went abroad for a few months and after a couple of failed attempts to sell the car, i kept hold of it and hats the best decision i've made.

The car has been off the road for a little while now with the early bits i've done to it. Like most poeple i'm sure can relate to, i have plenty of idea's of what i want it to be...and a wallet that argues strongly along the way. I won't say what it will be when its finished.....when is a car ever "finished!" (135 pages of Joes 2nd adventure are a testament to that...and and inspiration Joe!!)

I'll tidy her up, fix her faults, uprate what i can, make it handle, make it stop and if the money is left over, eventually i'll make her whine.....

So here goes, i'm joining the project world and look forward to people watching my (Slow and steady) progress as i learn how to be a mechanic whilst tearing my car apart and hopefully building it back better than ever!!

Jon

[VXT Tim]

I actually like the black and orange (not the wing mirrors though)

[gingerjon]

So 1st of all, the car was brought to a unit me and my friend have rented as he is building a Locost 7.



I started with all the easily unboltable things...that i had done before!



The pile of parts being removed grew....and grew....and grew!



The Battery, bracket and heater were the 1st bits to be pulled from under the bodywork



Rear Clam and roll bar were the 1st things i attempted which i had not done before : This forum as throughout this build has been, invaluable with everyones help!





Oh how i enjoyed every single bloody bolt on the car being seized, rusted, corroded and usually....all 3!!

[gingerjon]

Front Clam was next and was just as much of a PITA!!



Everything was very....how can i put it.....well aged!



I thought about some new Go-Kart bodywork.....



The plan was to remove the bits i could from the engine, give it a good clean, change the chains etc.....1st problem discovered, and it had probably been like that for a while....oops



With the Rocker cover off....i had literally no idea what i was looking at.....but i felt like a man.



So it went back on.....to be left for a day where i felt braver. to the front of the car we went.....radiator had seen better days....



Only 1 bracket holding the fan on was left.....



The state of the underneath of the car was becoming a little embarressing!!

[gingerjon]

Out it came and was hidden away from eyesight.

Steering rack was next.....so usual position was adopted!!



The ends were "Slightly" loose (Hung by themselves!!!!)



No the real fun started. My 1st plan had always been to refresh (Completly replce the suspesion system!)





Hours of swearing, bloody knuckles, rounded tools and "That's is, i'm just scrapping the whole thing" the front was done.

[gingerjon]

With the front removed....and the knowledge if i stopped now i would never start the rear.....i started the rear.

It was even more annoying.....so much so i couldnt bring myself to take pictures!!! Just one of the end product.



I do not want to see another Track Rod end which has correded into the bush sleeve.....ever.


I had bought a full set of Spax suspension from SteveM on here and gave them a little clean up. (Note my precision tool.....)



Finally all the rusted and crappy parts went off to be shot blasted, Zinc coated and powdercoated.....I would eventually have something on the car that looked newer!!

Heater dismantling was next in the list....safe to say, i'll just be buying a new one off Fezzasus.

[vocky]

changing the chains will be so much easier with the clam and suspension removed, get the chain kits and you will get all the help you need to replace them on here

cheapest place for genuine kits is
http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2ebd48d162

and

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item519ed4bdfe

[JG]

Great project Jon . Can we lose the rim tape though for the finished article?

[gingerjon]

With the powdercoaters calling to say everything would be done in a week....i jumped into action and across a coupld of days bought everythig i would need for the refresh....my back pocket is still recovering....its amazing how much you can spend on things you'll never bloody see!!!

Superpro Bushes
Ball Joints
ARB Bushes
Stainless Bolts
Brake Lines
New Hubs and bearings all round

Work were suprised to say the least when all the packages arrived for me!

A quick scrub of a few area's whilst the access was still there revealed ACTUAL silve runder all the grime and a VIN!



Th Bracket for the ABS pump was as aged as the rest of the car....so i removed it for a quick clean up and spray.


When the brakes had come off i sanded them back and removed the many layers of Hammerite on them...seems the previous owner couldnt decide between red / black so kept changing! A quick spray with Matt black and they looked much better.

[Baron Von Scubadaddy]

Top work fella I wish I had the balls to take mine apart and rebuild it it's gonna so worth it once you finish know you have a spot on motor

[robin]

great job is worth all the work makes the car feel a lot better, on a note the holes where the bolts hold the suspension arms in place if you have any
black hard to remove grime on the ali then remove this as you can get corrosion underneath it. i used a brass wire brush to get any stubborn muck
off my ali tub worth the little extra imo
a link to a thread about this i put up about the corrosion worth a read for all.
http://www.vx220.org...-on-lotus-cars/

[gingerjon]

The bits were REALLY piling up now.....



I had gone back tot he engine to remove the parts i wanted to to eventually get the block out, The exhaust came off, a well used VSE!! The downpipe had been off before to be De-Catted so finally some bolts which just came undone.





Then The Manifold.....all bolts came out fine...especially the last one. Closer inspection showed why.....







It had snapped. It now left em with an engine with over 100k, a new timing chain needed and a broken stud to be drilled out.....Cliffie to the rescue. I drove to his apicked up an engine with half the miles, no broken bolts and new chain. Which will now be swapped accordingly!!

With the bits about to arrive back from the powdercoaters, these were the last pictures i took "Before"....



Obligatory "Floating VX" Picture....

[Rickwoo118]

Brilliant. You are a brave person. Hope it all goes well for you.

[gingerjon]

Hoorah!! New parts!!

I won't bore you with the "Fitting Pictures, But here are all the bits powdercoated. All in Gloss Black except for the Satin Rocker Cover and the OEM Blue anti roll bar.



New Hubs into the carriers and new Carrier bolts courtesy of JG installed.



ARB Reinstalled wiht new Superpro Bushes



I assumed it would be a simple case of slotting everything back in.....how wrong was i!! With all the new bushes installed they were a really tight fit into all the gaps! But eventually they were all in.





I bought a much newer steering rack from a VXR also, thats in place for fitting but not bolted in just yet.

[gingerjon]

Then Everything was tightend up and the new Spax fitted. I havent done anythign with settings as BOT will have the car before its finished to set the whole thing up properly for me.

I have a problem with the drivers front suspension though, when on the car to coller and top of the spring hit the mounting bracket? Anyone had this before? Any idea's?









The rear went back together more easily. Eveything now on and tightend. Awaiting some uprated Toe Rod ends whcih i'm talking to with a couple of people currently.





And then finally, after about 3 months, she was back on her wheels!! Almost as much joy as the first day i got her!! And i'd done ALL the work!!

[gingerjon]

With the car back down on its wheels it was time to take a brave pill, and return to the engine.

My simple plan was to remove anything connected to the block....and go from there.

Need to upload photos from this weekend with ECU removed and pipes undone. 1 more to show 1st, i would like ot nominate myself for having the dirtiest Throttle body ever....very embaressing. It seems cleaning the top of the butterfly was making ME feel i was doing a good job.....but ultimately by the look of the underneath i was failing miserably!!

And the winner is..............









From the Scraping of Carbon layers, i think its safe to say, 100k miles does have an effect!!



I'll update more later, thats enough to bore you all for 1 night!!

Jon

[Duncan_F]

You're a much braver man than I doing all this yourself. Good luck and I look forward to more updates.

[hairy]

Great post, well done GJ

[techieboy]

Filthy bloody EGR systems. Bin it entirely for the rebuild.

[gingerjon]

VXT Tim : Haha, i loved my wing mirrors....but if your not welsh, probably not the done thing!!
Vocky : Thanks for the links, CLiffies engine has already had the chains changed so won't need doing for a while, expect some mesages though when it comes to removing the engine!!
JG : No Rim tape in sight, i started a trend, seen too many with it now. it'll all be resrpayed anyway and rim tape won't fit with the colour plan! PS, I'll need that full bolt set in a couple of weeks!!
Baron : It's more stupidity than balls!! It was reading things on here and thinking, how hard can it be!! My Catering qualifications and work in Telecoms have helped massiv....what am i saying......absolutely no idea what i'm im doing, literally making it up as i go along!
Robin : Thanks for the tips, i'll check it out as i don't want to be doing this again in the near future!
Rick : It's definatly not bravery! It seemed such a good idea at the time!
Duncan : Thanks, i've got the mechanical prowess of a badger.......the proof will be when i have to try and start it again!!
Hairy : Thanks!! Thought it about time i gave something back to the forum!
Techie : I know, revolting isn't it!! EGR plate and cheater already purchased for the new engine, hopefully it will look better after some scrubbing!!