52 replies to this topic

[Nelpo]

I found the seal sort of naturally wants to sit in one position when you're sticking it down. 

 

I wiggled it around a bit without removing the backing from the adhesive so I could feel where it wanted to sit. I took a few pictures before taking the old seal off and this also helped me figure out where the new one was supposed to stick on. 

 

Yes I was quite pleased with how the dash plates turned out. Getting a good finish is purely down to patience... The paint is very textured once it has dried, all of this texture has to be sanded away and then polished back up. If you put enough layers of lacquer on then it's just a case of sitting down and spending a couple of hours getting the finish right!

[Nelpo]

After a serious brown trousers moment at Snetterton - I have fitted an ABS cutoff switch.

 

I got a rocker switch from Halfords and spliced it into the ABS connector. I got some fabric loom wrap to neaten it all up afterwards. Really happy with how this turned out.

 

 

 

Might CAD up the plate the switch is mounted on and get it lasered out of aluminium as then I could have it etched with a diagram of which way is on/off for the switch. But for now it's more than adequate. 

 

For anyone thinking of tracking their VX I would strongly advise completing this mod beforehand. I was very luckily to not have a serious accident. I got a hard pedal on the Snetterton infield, luckily the guy who had been holding me up for 2 laps let me past just before this happened. I used engine braking to slow down as much as possible and luckily there is loads of run-off at Snett! No damage done, I cut the yellow ABS wire and carried on for the rest of the evening. 

Edited by Nelpo, 16 June 2019 - 05:02 PM.

[Nelpo]

I have fixed the oil leak thanks to Mike's (Madmitch) gaskets. My advice would be to buy extras as I chewed a few of mine up. One of those extendable mirror things is also handy to check to see if the gasket is sitting right and to spot any leaks. 

 

You'll probably need the C shaped tool too, as the 1/2 inch square in the top of my housing was out of shape already.

 

Despite it being of reasonably meaty construction, it still struggles with the torque involved in tightening up the housing. I didn't get anywhere near the recommended torque before it started to bend, but it was enough to seal the housing without any leaks. 

 

 

This was a a couple of weeks ago (when it pissed it down for a week straight), yesterday I took the undertray off and there is no longer a load of oil sitting on it so I cleaned all the grime off and reattached.

 

I also have news in regards to the front clamshell, it has been a massive ordeal but finally I have a date of 8th August to get a new clam and two new headlight lenses. Everything forward of the doors will be repainted. If I can get one in time, the bodyshop will also fit a new radiator for me while the clam is off. 

 

[aquilaproejct]

Did you use the lid to tighten up the base?

[Nelpo]

Yes the lid and base were very much stuck together. I should have the tool coming soon to be able to split the two parts for next time I need to change the filter!

[Ragged Roy]

Why does everyone mount the ABS override switch under the hood and not in the cockpit?

[Nelpo]

Because under the bonnet you're much less likely to knock the switch whilst the ignition is on which would require a trip to the garage to reset I believe. 

[Nelpo]

So, it's been a busy couple of months with the VX.

 

I did my second track evening, this time at Donington. Took me a while to get used to the elevation change (the only track I had driven previously was Snetterton), but after a time felt happy pushing on a bit. Once again, the tyres and brakes showed themselves to be the limiting factor. 

 

 

The brakes would start off great, gradually lose their bite after four or five laps, then the pedal would start to get long and soft. Unfortunately, after the track evening I only had one day before I was due to drive to Spa where I was working on my company's GT4 race team, so no time to remedy any of the faults. From Spa I had a week holiday planned starting in Berlin. This was about six weeks ago when the temperature in Europe got up to 36°+. I did Norwich to Spa, Spa to Kerlberg, then Kelberg to Berlin where I collected my Girlfriend. On the unlimited sections of the Autobahn towards Berlin I got the car up to 136.4 mph on the GPS with the roof down. Not bad for a car with 144 bhp!

 

Then, after five days in Berlin we drove to Stuttgart via the Nurburgring!

 

 

 

 

I'd definitely recommend giving the 'Green Hell' a go. The elevation change is ridiculous; I thought I knew the track from playing it on the Xbox but it's a different beast in person. I did it relatively slowly, treating it as a fast B road. Fortunately we were there at 7:00 pm on a Friday so the track was almost empty. Only cars we saw were track missile BMWs that flew past me like I was in reverse. 

 

On the way home the VX really struggled with the heat. Whenever we got stuck in traffic I had to shut it off. Got most of the way through the Dartford tunnel with the engine off. I presume either the fans don't work or the thermostat has a fault. 

 

All in all we covered around 1500 miles in a week, apart from overheating, the car performed perfectly. I just wish it had aircon!

Edited by Nelpo, 01 September 2019 - 08:44 AM.

[Nelpo]

 

No, that isn't a bottle of delicious coke... It is in fact the brake fluid that my friend and I drained from the car after I returned from Germany. Needless to say, this isn't ideal and has been replaced with Castrol Race Performance fluid. The pedal feels much better and hopefully this should alleviate the soft pedal issues I have had on track. 

 

 

And, finally, the car is in the bodyshop having the damage from earlier this year repaired. I went over a couple of weeks ago to see how things were getting on.

 

 

But I didn't just head over to look at the car, I have also got a new Coolex full aluminium radiator and new twin fans to be fitted whilst the clam is off. Normally I do all of the mechanical work myself, but as the bodyshop has the front clam off already, they said they'd fit the new radiator whilst access is easy. 

 

 

This should sort the overheating issues (hopefully) and is the last of the big jobs to be completed. The list of things the VX still requires is getting ever shorter, and off the top of my head reads as such:

 

• Fit uprated hub carrier bolts
• Sort rattling windows
• Sort loose door cards
• Fit new secondary lambda sensor (should fix EML)
• Do something about gearbox breather

 

I should get the car back tomorrow which is great. I probably won't track it again this year, and will be putting it into storage in November time and switching back to my MR2.

[dstarz7]

Sounds like a good adventure! Looking forward to seeing it with the repaired front clam! Did you keep the damaged one in the end Patrick? 

[aquilaproejct]

The fan only kick in around 106 degrees. Quite disconcerting watching it sky rocket up the first time!

[Nelpo]

I haven't bothered following up with the old clam - I just wanted the whole ordeal over with and am happy to have the car back looking her best.

 

 

Ah... maybe I didn't have any problems with my fans then as I never let it get up to 106. Seems like waiting that long to kick the fans in is asking for trouble!

[smiley]

Yes, if it hardly gets to 106, at some point the rust may kick in.

You can build in an overisde switch to force them to go off once in a while.

(Don't have the guide for you. It's a ground wire under the shifting console you can use. Maybe someone will link the manual)