• Please only use these forums for blogs, they are not a discussion forum

PollyMobiles Rebuild

finished connecting everything onto the gearbox.
a minor thing to note are the drive shaft slotted into the spare gearbox diff very snug with minimum play, unlike the old sloppy gearbox.

IMG_20220422_194035.jpg


filled up with 3.2L of 80w90 oil

IMG_20220422_202334.jpg


intake installed

IMG_20220422_214102.jpg


went for a drive and wow what a difference!

the clutch is definately a lot smoother & lighter after greasing the release bearing collar and doesn't rattle in neutral as badly.
this spare gearbox I brought from Stefan last yr was afaik reconditioned and wow it shifts gears very sharp & effortless (good synchros) and it's smooth & quiet with no clunking on/off throttle (good tolerances & backlash)
 
so during the long cruise back from japfest silverstone, her new coolant bottle developed a small leak at the bottom

IMG_20220410_192925.jpg


which I believe is caused by the solid metal pipe I used rattling around till it cracked through

IMG_20220108_194654.jpg


replaced it with a small bottle of good asda vinegar :p
the reduced size/weight will also puts less strain on the neck

IMG_20220423_180540.jpg


drilled a 10mm hole to pop the silicone hose straight through

IMG_20220423_181200.jpg


so now the flexible silicone hose goes from the radiator straight down into the bottle with less risk of breaking the bottle ?

IMG_20220423_181700.jpg
 
2022-04-24
removed 35kg of rear interior to fit the X-brace to prep her for mondays track night

IMG_20220424_134408.jpg


IMG_20220424_150736.jpg


IMG_20220424_171453.jpg


went for a test drive and ooh she's quite nippy from the reduced weight ?

 
Teesside Autodrome - Evening Trackday 25-04-2022

Arrived early at 4pm to secure a spot in the pit lane with my m8 Dave in his blue civic

IMG_20220425_160208.jpg


swapped over to the 595RSR semislick track wheels. wasn't sure where to start with these new BC BR coilovers, so I began at their hardest setting 30/30 clicks.

IMG_20220425_164256.jpg


Car setup / changes
My last trackday was in 2020 with Jamie (LetsTorqueCars). since then, kassandra has been fitted with:
  • BC BR coilovers with softer 4/3kg springs,
  • Cold air ducting,
  • Fresh GTIR oem front brakes
  • Rigid bucket seat frame
  • New seat belts
  • New PAS pump
  • Fresh CG13 gearbox, Open-diff
  • 2.5deg front camber
  • 0deg toe
#16.56 warm up lap
30/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.4/2.4bar start / 2.5/2.5bar end
60/40 brake bias
dry cool track
100% fuel
driver only



I noticed the track was quite bumpy with lots more patchy tarmac repairs. The tyres are also barely warmed up after those gentle 3 laps, also found my rear left tyre was almost flat so I pumped that back up :p

#17:16 run 1
30/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.5/2.5bar start / 2.95/2.6bar end
60/40 bias
dry cool track
100% fuel
only driver



@00.24 cold tyres oversteer
@02.56 180 bend oversteer
@03.29 corkscrew bend oversteer

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
60s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
60s (2nd, 3rd, 3rd)
59s (2nd, 4th, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 2nd)
59s (2nd, 3rd, 3rd)

The 8yr old rear tyres are really showing their hard age being really slippery when cold compared to the 6yr old fronts.
They take at least 3-4 laps to heat them up, clean the surface and reduce their oversteer.
With front & rear dampers at full hard & rear swaybar at full hard, the rear end is very light & sensitive to lift off oversteer.
Also noticed the 3yr old wideband sensor was showing E8 error during cooldown, heating element might be struggling with the intense temp difference & might need replacing someday?

#17:53 run 2
30/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.7/2.6bar start, 2.8/2.6bar end
60/40 brake bias
dry cool track
100% fuel
dave as passenger



@01.00 chicane oversteer
@02.20 lift off oversteer
@03.24 lift off oversteer
@05.27 oversteer

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
59s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
59s (3rd, 4th, 3rd)
60s (3rd, 4th, 3rd)
62s (2nd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
60s (3rd, 4th, 3rd) traffic


Brought Dave along for a ride to see if the passenger weight helps balance the car, but with all dampers at full hard it's still very sensitive to lift off oversteer. a slight amount of oversteer might've helped turn the car mid-corner so I could accelerate earlier down the straights but overall it still loses time.

#18.09 run 3
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.7/2.6bar start, 2.8/2.7 end
60/40 brake bias
dry cool
90% fuel
dave as passenger



@10.40 180 bend entry oversteer

Now that the tyre pressure & temp has stabilised and after softening the front end to 15 clicks & rear to 30 clicks, she's slightly more balanced through mid-corners. Rear end is more stable when driven smoothly. The fresh GTIR brakes bite really well when warmed up after 4 laps.

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
60s (2nd, 4th, 3rd)
59s (3rd, 4th, 3rd)
60s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
59s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
59s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
61s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
60s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) add more rear bias
60s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
59s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)

Next I went for a ride in Daves civic. It's alot comfier & quieter than mine although the standard seats don't offer much support as I roll around lol. it was a few nice laps till we went past the 1st bumpy hairpin and then it suddenly lost drive ?

hazards on, we got tow'd back to pits to assess the damage

IMG_20220425_184934.jpg


turned out the driveshaft had snapped off the CV joint where the spline is, seems to be a common honda issue I heard ?

IMG_20220425_190331.jpg


he awaits the recovery truck home

IMG_20220425_200310.jpg


#19.12 Run 4
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.7/2.6bar start, 2.75/2.65 end
57/43 brake bias
dry cool
90% fuel
only driver

Whilst dave awaits his recovery, I went for a last run with the dampers now set, slightly less fuel weight and no passengers.
Tyres are now stone cold so the out-lap will be tricky on these old tyres



@00.19 stone cold tyres oversteer
@01.20 lock front left
@01.25 corkscrew entry oversteer
@09.20 overtake black citreon
@09.30 180 bend entry slight oversteer

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
61s (2nd, 3rd, 3rd)
60s (3rd, 4th, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.36 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.32 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)

Once again the old rear tyres were very slippery when stone cold. The balance stabilises after a few laps & tyres heated back up.

Assessing & comparing my laps to the previous trackday, it felt quite good near the end.
My fastest lap of 57.32sec is approx 0.20s faster, mostly due to improved acceleration from the cold air intake ducting in the wing panel and can brake much later with the fresh front brakes.

279170312_151014274079300_4801238808293434379_n.jpg
 
Last edited:
changed the oil & filter after the trackday. fresh front brakes still look nice & smooth and no extreme blue'ing so I guess they're staying nice & cool on track.

IMG_20220428_181250.jpg


car was cleaned ready for the UNITY show at the NY500 cafe near the yorkshire moors

IMG_20220429_185540.jpg


it was a fabulous, hot sunny day to view lots of cool cars & be with gr8 friends

IMG_20220430_070546.jpg


IMG_20220430_091404.jpg
FB_IMG_1651698894605.jpg

IMG_20220430_094234.jpg

IMG_20220430_094856.jpg
Attach files
 
Last edited:
finally got round to fitting my 'Cos Nissan' xmas gift ?

IMG_20220501_141818.jpg


IMG_20220501_142340.jpg


looks cool at night how the brake light illuminates it gradiently

IMG_20220501_234006.jpg


IMG_20220501_234027.jpg
 
visited a friend to try diagnose their mk4 astra electrical issues

IMG_20220501_155324.jpg


before making a rushed convoy upto newcastle for a huge secret 'Summer Madness' car gathering. it was an intense, vibrant, loud, jam-packed car meet ?

IMG_20220501_193429.jpg


IMG_20220501_195355.jpg


IMG_20220501_222959.jpg
 
whilst using the lathe I normally turn the dial back to zer0 before turning it on/off (for a gentle stop/start),
but this time I briefly left the RPM knob at medium-rpm, pressed stop, measured part, pressed start which immediately spins the chuck with full torque to get up to the previous rpm and shattered the poor 6yr old plastic belt cog ?

IMG_20220503_192726.jpg


IMG_20220503_192738.jpg


modelled & printed a few test-fit pieces to match the belt teeth exactly, before making the final part

motor cog.jpg


IMG_20220503_222450.jpg


was a snug fit, it works ?

IMG_20220503_223437.jpg

IMG_20220503_223611.jpg


last a few hrs fixing all that but now I can carry on machining
 
recently realised I've lost my digital torque wrench and was pretty angry with how clumsy I was :mad:

the last time I remember using it was when swapping back over to my road wheels at the end of my recent trackday, packed everything into the car, must have forgotten I left the torque wrench on the floor and drove home ?‍♂️

so this week I ordered the same torque wrench on ebay for £130 (it used to be £100)
this is the newer STW306 v2 version

IMG_20220506_175228.jpg


they've tweaked the user interface.

on the old one I could easily quickly cycle through all the stored torque number pressing '+' and edit the value holding '+'
whereas on this v2 model, pressing '+' edits the value and holding '+' cycles through the 5 pre-sets, which I find very slow & annoying ?

IMG_20220506_175817.jpg


before swapping my GTIR brakes from my "trackday" set back to the old "road" set, I wirebrushed all the crusty rust off

IMG_20220506_201733.jpg


IMG_20220506_201816.jpg
 
over the weekend I went to melbourne raceway in York for Powerfest 2022.
the moment you walk into the venue you're surrounded by the deeeep lumpy rumble of v8's and all the classic muscle cars takes u back in time ?
in comparison to modernised Santapod, this place has a lot more casual, raw old-school vibe to it :cool:

IMG_20220507_105102.jpg
IMG_20220507_105557.jpg
IMG_20220507_105617.jpg
IMG_20220507_112903.jpg
IMG_20220507_121640.jpg
IMG_20220507_123717.jpg
IMG_20220507_125657.jpg
IMG_20220507_130024.jpg
 
after the recent trackday a few hundred miles, the new disc/pads are looking nice & smooth.
the normal pads are still intact after the intense use (unlike the old black diamonds which crumbled)

IMG_20220508_151931.jpg


swapped back to the older daily set

IMG_20220508_152830.jpg


there's been an annoying rattle near the left A-pillar at a certain rpm, which stops whenever I brake/accelerate/corner or press against the A-pillar/windscreen.

it turns out the bottom left of the tigersealed windscreen is once again slightly peeling off and rattling ?
nothing major I can do about it so I'll just ignore it ?

IMG_20220508_171153.jpg


replaced the studs on this spare rear bumper frame that I recently got off Jack

IMG_20220508_200818.jpg


primed & painted it

IMG_20220508_202333.jpg

IMG_20220508_224259.jpg
 
Last edited:
2022-05-14 Velocity North East Car Meet

began our convoy from northallarton with TeamWhiteCustoms

280951825_5008230079284973_5873702901247320701_n.jpg


IMG_20220514_163150.jpg


several groups gathered at Dalton Park seaham awaiting the final location details

IMG_20220514_175459.jpg


another mad scramble to sunderland for the velocity meet

IMG_20220514_190933.jpg


IMG_20220514_204321.jpg


IMG_20220514_204248.jpg


IMG_20220514_191147.jpg
 
the 2yr old needle bearings in this custom gear selector joint have worn loose after water got inside & corroded it, resulting in 23mm of side-side play

IMG_20220515_164222.jpg


can see all the rusty rollers inside

IMG_20220515_164650.jpg


pressed the bearings out

IMG_20220515_170549.jpg


ordered some new bearings with rubber seals on both ends rather than the one-side on the old ones, hopefully keeping the grease sealed inside

IMG_20220513_183603.jpg


pressed new bearings in

IMG_20220515_171429.jpg


new joint feeling much sharper reducing the side-side play to 11mm

IMG_20220515_172324.jpg
 
2022-05-15 Custom Spigot Rings

my wheels have been shaking the car above 60mph due to the missing old spigot rings and the tapered lug nut holes on the alloy wheels are not perfectly concentric to the wheel, making them wobble up/down by 1mm

since I need a spigot ring for both the GTIR discs, rear spacer & the alloy wheels, I brought this 70mm Alu billet to machine the custom rings.
finding some 55-70mm alloy tube was difficult or expensive.

IMG_20220512_185626.jpg


took me 2hrs just to chop through this hunk of alloy :oops:

IMG_20220514_094827.jpg


till the saw snapped ?

IMG_20220514_100929.jpg


replaced blade and finished the cut

IMG_20220514_103553.jpg


drilled a big hole through it

IMG_20220514_110638.jpg


bored it out to the 59mm micra hub center

IMG_20220515_002648.jpg


machined the outside down to 66.60mm for the alloy wheel center

IMG_20220515_004834.jpg


machined this edge to 61mm for the GTIR discs & spacers

IMG_20220515_135845.jpg


chopped in two

IMG_20220515_150012.jpg


ready to fit

IMG_20220515_151215.jpg


slipped onto the rear spacer to keep that centered on the micra hub

IMG_20220515_151816.jpg


and this bit keeps the alloy wheel centered

IMG_20220515_151829.jpg


and it's worked in reducing the wheel wobble vibrations :cool:
 
made the front pair of spigot rings and most of the shaking has gone but above 65mph it begins to shake, so the wheels will probably need rebalancing

IMG_20220519_195747.jpg
 
chris hoodreaper needed some custom brake cooling ducts made to fit the corner of a wheel lining so I modelled & printed it

corner duct 1c.jpg


corner duct 1d.jpg


2hrs to print each one

IMG_20220519_193534.jpg


IMG_20220519_223131.jpg


IMG_20220519_201707.jpg
 
the rear bumper has always sat with the mid section bent up towards the bootlid

IMG_20220521_194322.jpg


so I removed it

IMG_20220521_200103.jpg


and replaced the old rusty bent bumper beam with a new painted straight beam

IMG_20220521_200304.jpg


IMG_20220521_201019.jpg


ooh now it sits flat with a nice equal gap underneath the boot lid :cool:

IMG_20220521_201809.jpg


IMG_20220521_201754.jpg


the front end also had this rattle recently, which I thought was due to a cracked crossmember, so I removed the front end to assess

IMG_20220521_151929.jpg


turned out to simply be the power steering cooler not secured & rattling against the middle beam so no need to weld the crossmember yet.
whilst here, I undersealed the crossmember & wirebrushed the filthy clogged front of the radiator

IMG_20220521_155929.jpg
 
frustrated with the unreliable unconvenient power source of the old Drift X170 onboard action cameras.

each of the 4 cameras are powered by either x2 AA batteries (which only last 20min max, PITA to replace, costs lots of batteries, prone to vibration or water disturbing the power supply),
or a mini-usb plug (providing continuous power but it's still prone to vibration, loose connection or moisture disturbing the power supply)

so whenever the camera's power supply is disturbed during recording (even for a millisec) it shuts off and corrupts the whole recording ?

decided rather than relying on batteries or usb, I brought this voltage regulator on ebay which will be hard wired to the car battery to convert the 12-14v into a constant 3.3v & fed directly / reliably into all 4 cameras at all times, reducing video corruption.

IMG_20220517_012940.jpg


tested it using a multimeter & oscilliscope on the battery with IGN off, on, cranking etc and the regulator output was a stable 3.3v ?

IMG_20220521_143525.jpg


printed a casing for the regulator

reg case 1.jpg


IMG_20220521_185702.jpg
 
removed the AA battery holder inside the cameras, which conveniently provides the the 2 power wires

IMG_20220522_173922.jpg


most of the tiny screws holding the enclosure were rounded and pretty annoying so I simply cellotaped it back together which also helps make it more water resistant ?

IMG_20220522_175025.jpg


printed these removable caps to seal up the exposed end and fed the extended power wire through it

IMG_20220522_203553.jpg


final testing of the circuit.
x2 AA batteries create 3.2v so I reconfigured the regulator to that voltage, turned on all three cameras and they work perfectly (y)

IMG_20220522_204700.jpg


installed the regulator to the car battery

IMG_20220522_230952.jpg


installed the cameras, wired up and they're all working, ready for tomorrows trackday :cool:

IMG_20220522_230747.jpg
 
2022-05-22

time to hard wire the old external cameras into a constant power source so it won't lose footage.
opened up the casing and removed the AA battery holder, which provides a convenient wire to connect onto

IMG_20220522_173922.jpg


the tiny screws holding the case weren't meant for opening repeatedly and kept rounding off, so I decided to simply cellotape the whole thing together, which also helps create a waterproof cover

IMG_20220522_175025.jpg


one final test of wiring all 3 cameras to the 3v regulator and it works :)

IMG_20220522_204700.jpg


installed the regulator to the battery

IMG_20220522_230952.jpg


and wired it up to the 3 external cameras

IMG_20220522_230747.jpg


ready for the trackday
 
2022-05-23 Teesside Autodrome - Evening Trackday

Weather forcast was forcasting rain from approx 5pm ?
I arrived early at 4pm to unpack & prepare, and then it began to rain ?

Since my last trackday on 2022-04-23 I lost my precious electronic torque wrench and was obviously angry at myself and brought a new one ?
but whilst unpacking, a guy who works at the track said did I lose anything? "erm yeah, a torque wrench from last time?"
and behold! he gave me my lost torque wrench :love:
omg I was both soo delighted that he kept it safe for me but also silly & stubborn for not calling them first to ask if anyone's recovered it before I brought another one ? guess I have two wrenches now :p

My friend Karan soon arrived to ride along with me for the evening ?

IMG_20220523_161912.jpg


Car setup/changes

The only changes since my last trackday in april were some spigot rings to keep the wheels centered, replaced the gear selector bearings, and the same alignment of 2.5deg camber & 0deg toe.

With a wet track, I decided to start off on my road tyres to see if the deeper grooves would help reduce aquaplaning considering my rear semi-slicks are at minimum depth ?

The hard wired cameras can now be left on constantly and I simply have to press the remote for all of them to record ?

#16.55 Warm up lap
15/30 damper
Falken ZE310
2.3/2.7bar cold pressure
60/40 brake bias
damp cool track
70% fuel
with Karan as passenger



Rain had turned into light drizzle. the track is also a little roughly patched with lots of bumps

#17.10 Run 1
15/30 damper
Falken ZE310
2.3/2.7bar cold pressure
60/40 brake bias
damp cool track
70% fuel
with Karan as passenger

Immediately went out on track since it's cold damp and nothing to check for in the pits.



P.O.I.
0.48 180deg bend cold tyre oversteer
1.02 chicane oversteer
1.24 bumpy entry oversteer
3.12 180deg mid-corner oversteer

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
69s (3rd, 3rd, 2nd) let car pass
75s (3rd, 4th, 3rd) let car pass, sliding


Holy crap these 2yr old Falkens are soo slippery on a damp track! ?
maybe the 15/30 clicks front/rear
dampening are too stiff at the rear cos she keeps oversteering mid-corner and when changing direction

#17.40 Run 2
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.2/2.4bar cold start, 2.3/2.4bar end
60/40 bias
damp drizzle cool track
70% fuel
with Karan as passenger

immediately swapped back over to my semi-slicks ?



P.O.I.

1.30 locking RR under braking
2.35 locking RR under braking
2.43 oversteer whilst changing direction going over a bump
4.55 entry oversteer whilst overtaking audi going too wide
5.05 black mini broke-down with red flag

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
67s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
68s (2nd, 4th, 3rd) let car pass
73s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
67s (2nd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic & red flag


With semi-slicks it grips soo much better & consistantly even in the wet but it feels like the rear is too stiff making it oversteer mid-cornering when it hits a bump or changing direction.
Didn't have many clear runs before a black mini cooper broke down causing a red flag.

#18.00 Run 3
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.3/2.4bar start
60/40 brake bias
damp drizzle cool track
60% fuel
with Karan as passenger



P.O.I.
1.38 lift off oversteer
2.16 exhaust backbox rubber support melted, exhaust rattling to one-side
3.42 entry oversteer
4.10 blue yaris braking oddly
4.30 blue yaris spin
6.06 balancing lift off oversteer at corner exit
8.12 balancing lift off oversteer mid-corner

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
66s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
66s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
68s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
68s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) yaris spun
69s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass

64s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
67s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
65s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
65s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
66s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
64s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
66s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)

Overall balance with the semislicks felt good & stable but it's very sensitive to the slightest lift-off-oversteer, so I'll soften the rear damper to try reduce oversteer. There was also a buzzing/rattle in the rear end, which soon turned out to be the exhaust backbox rubber support bobbins had melted coming off and a slightly open boot lid.

spotted this nice purple R32 skyline going around too ?

IMG_20220523_190758.jpg
IMG_20220523_190815.jpg


#19.40 Run 4
15/20 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.3/2.4bar start
60/40 brake bias
wet raining cold track
55% fuel
with Karan as passenger



P.O.I.
1.55 red MX5 spun
3.10 red MX5 joins circuit
6.55 lift off oversteer on exit
8.25 mid-corner oversteer over a river
10.37 locking rear during entry to 180deg bend
11.50 mid-corner oversteer over a river

Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
79s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
70s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
72s (2nd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
69s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let skyline pass

67s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
67s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
70s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
68s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
71s (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass

felt nice & balanced with a slightly softer rear end
 
2022-05-24

whilst unloading the car I noticed hmm the exhaust is sitting lop-sided ?

IMG_20220524_205734.jpg


ooh my, so that's why she was rattling on track. one of the v-bands near the front pipe got loose which allowed the cat-back exhaust end to swing around along with the extra heat of the backbox cooking those poor rubber bobbins during the last two trackdays till they eventually split apart and fall to one side ?

IMG_20220524_210457.jpg


removing the exhaust for a closer look, yup they're cooked/delaminated

IMG_20220524_211709.jpg


IMG_20220524_211718.jpg


good thing I kept some spares

IMG_20220524_221923.jpg


changed the oil & filter afterwards

IMG_20220526_201903.jpg


collected another 10 cans of base coat for painting the car
(edit: ffs I think they made the wrong paint code, last yrs paint was B-5-00165-3 whereas here he's made B-7-00165-3 ?)
soon find out if the match is wrong ?

IMG_20220528_132423.jpg
 
Last edited:
2022-05-26

with the upcoming car shows being 3-7wks away, now it's time to strip the rear end, repair the rusty wheel arch and respray it

IMG_20220526_220214.jpg


disconnect the rear suspension

IMG_20220528_154103.jpg


suspension, exhaust & bumper removed

IMG_20220528_163848.jpg


fuel filler removed

IMG_20220528_184236.jpg


the rust around the fuel filler is worse than I thought. wirebrushed, & chopped the rot away

IMG_20220526_220840.jpg


IMG_20220528_201201.jpg


IMG_20220529_162924.jpg


IMG_20220529_163017.jpg


the rear left corner was also full of holes

IMG_20220526_220816.jpg


IMG_20220528_201052.jpg


IMG_20220528_201004.jpg


rear right corner has a few rotten holes

IMG_20220526_220616.jpg


IMG_20220528_200838.jpg


IMG_20220529_163342.jpg


front right arch has a few gaps

IMG_20220528_200900.jpg


IMG_20220528_200807.jpg


chopped all the rotten panels out

IMG_20220529_162845.jpg


IMG_20220529_163247.jpg


the spare rear 1/4 sections that Jack gave me still had some rust holes but not as severe

IMG_20220528_202449.jpg


separated the inner & outer sections apart

IMG_20220529_124605.jpg


IMG_20220529_124645.jpg


trimmed the rotten parts out and test fit the spare panel against the old bit. most of the rotten curved sections at the top are covered but a few areas will need plating over

IMG_20220529_141320.jpg


right side sits fine

IMG_20220529_141204.jpg


these spare panels will help give me a head start but there's still a huge amount of work & time required to rebuild her and I have doubts I can get it ready for the next 1-2 shows.
The huge Gravity show in July 10 is really the main deadline where I'm show&shine ?
 
ended up chopping the entire rusty outer section of the wheel well to rebuild from scratch ?

IMG_20220601_202841.jpg


IMG_20220603_123418.jpg


trimmed the rust off the drivers side too

IMG_20220601_203844.jpg


positioned the new arch lip into place using the rear bumper as reference

IMG_20220603_130454.jpg


marked the exact shape of the bodywork cut onto the spare piece

IMG_20220603_130520.jpg


IMG_20220603_130805.jpg


trimmed & fine tuned the fitment till it's a very close match for butt welding

IMG_20220603_155753.jpg


didn't have any nor able to buy any C-clamps during the jubilee holiday, so I had to improvise with the few clamps I had in the house to hold the pieces perfectly flush to tack in place and butt weld

IMG_20220603_210840.jpg


IMG_20220603_215047.jpg


IMG_20220603_215157.jpg


welding from the inside was very difficult so I ended up welding from the outside and will have grind it down a lot.
it also warped/rippled the join so all that careful "tack weld neatly from the inside" was pointless and I'll have to slap lots of bodyfiller all over it :rolleyes:

IMG_20220604_162551.jpg


IMG_20220604_162608.jpg


another issue is the spare inner arch panel no longer lines up to both the fuel filler hole & arch lip :poop:
either the 3dr wheel arch is different to the 5dr,
the spare wheel arch piece is bent out of shape,
or I've welded the arch lip in the wrong place ? (I eyeballed the lip to line up to the bumper ends)

whatever the cause, I'll have to cut apart the inner piece into separate sections and reconstruct all of the wheel well piece-by-piece ?

this is gonna take a long time to finish,
I've yet to fill/sand/respray the body,
polish & detail,
respray the rear axle,
get the wheels powdercoated

IMG_20220604_182630.jpg


cut open the sill ends to inspect the sills I rebuilt 2yrs ago, a bit of surface rust. needs coating in oil

IMG_20220604_191034.jpg
IMG_20220604_191122.jpg


also discovered my local paint guy had noted the paint code on the system correctely that I carefully spelled out over the phone but somehow 4 of them are labelled with B-7... while the remaining 6 are labelled with the correct B-5... ?

I really hope this is just a hand written typo and they all match colour ??

IMG_20220601_233724.jpg
 
chopped the inner arch apart.
the fuel filler panel ain't big enough for the new arch curve I'll be making, so I measured the required dimensions

IMG_20220605_105843.jpg


cut out a new section

IMG_20220605_110920.jpg


IMG_20220605_115905.jpg


shaped & clamped into place

IMG_20220605_171236.jpg


welded

IMG_20220605_182930.jpg


welded the drivers side too. the MIG was very inconsistant and frequently blowing holes in the thinner rusty portions, notice the pigeon poop welds lol. the large gaps didn't help either. overall it was a very frustrating & exhausting job ??

IMG_20220605_195000.jpg


the damn helmet was also annoyingly too bulky & tall to fit under the cramped wheel arch so I cut & taped the top side a little lower ?

IMG_20220605_183331.jpg


IMG_20220605_183344.jpg
 
patched the rusty top of the inner wheel arch

IMG_20220606_214403.jpg


IMG_20220606_215400.jpg


IMG_20220606_221621.jpg


designing the curved piece of the arch

IMG_20220606_203550.jpg


cut out of the 0.8mm spare rear 1/4 panel cos it's already painted, it's the same material and is flexible enough to bend easily

IMG_20220606_204350.jpg


fit's nice :cool:

IMG_20220606_222437.jpg
 
tacked

IMG_20220608_194851.jpg


welded half of it. the painted back side of the panels plus the old seam sealer kept catching fire, which has bubbled the paint of the rear door arch just above it, but at least I'll be repainting all of that 1/4 section ?

IMG_20220608_211411.jpg


got some butyl strips to reseal the rear lights that was removed

IMG_20220608_180816.jpg
 
welded the rest of the rear left arch

IMG_20220609_192549.jpg


IMG_20220609_192506.jpg


finished the back of the rear right arch

IMG_20220610_210254.jpg


IMG_20220610_213033.jpg


patched this rust hole

IMG_20220609_212102.jpg


rather than weld a complex angled cap on this corner,
I decided to chop the useless bulge (was originally part of the exit vent column) and weld a simple L-shaped panel to seal it

IMG_20220609_212018.jpg


IMG_20220609_212120.jpg
 
cornflake template of the panel needed

IMG_20220611_113527.jpg


cut & bent the new cover

IMG_20220611_121351.jpg


welded in

IMG_20220611_152439.jpg


to slow down the rust inside the dry rusty sills, I mixed some old oil with white spirit into the pressure sprayer

IMG_20220611_175020.jpg


sprayed all along the sills

IMG_20220611_180554.jpg


IMG_20220611_180628.jpg


welded the sills back up

IMG_20220611_221902.jpg
 
the old screw hole for mounting the rear bumper to the rear 1/4 was pretty exposed and simply rusted away.
so this time I welded these riv-nut enclosures at the end of the wheel arch to mount the bumper while keeping all the wheel spray away from the threads

IMG_20220612_151442.jpg


IMG_20220612_162552.jpg
IMG_20220612_164905.jpg


patched another rust hole on the sills

IMG_20220612_173233.jpg


IMG_20220612_175252.jpg


IMG_20220612_182151.jpg


painted all the new wheel arch panels with rust'ol treatment

IMG_20220612_213659.jpg


IMG_20220612_213608.jpg


IMG_20220612_213516.jpg


IMG_20220612_213536.jpg


soo much mess & dust everywhere ?

IMG_20220612_213456.jpg


next task is tigerseal all the welds & open gaps in the wheel well,
underseal everything,
grind all the 1/4 panel welds flat,
bodyfill & sand,
paint rear 1/4 & rear interior,
fit suspension,
fit lights,
wash car

all within 7 evenings till sundays yorkshire modified show ?
 
zinc primed

IMG_20220613_181811.jpg

IMG_20220613_181830.jpg


grinded the drivers side welds flush with a grinding disc.
the panel is heavily warped from the welding, gonna need quite a lot of bodyfiller ?

IMG_20220613_192209.jpg


tigersealed all the welds to keep water out

IMG_20220613_211554.jpg


IMG_20220613_211655.jpg


IMG_20220613_211517.jpg
 
rust treated & zinc primed the wheel arch welds

IMG_20220614_193650.jpg


bodyfiller on top

IMG_20220615_190918.jpg


neatened the fuel filler hole

IMG_20220614_193657.jpg


cleaned the butyl rubber off the rear light hole

IMG_20220615_224622.jpg


mixed some Jotun jotamastic 87, which is a thick tough epoxy mastic grey primer

IMG_20220615_193024.jpg


it felt like brushing dulux wall paint all over the new wheel arch ?

IMG_20220615_213436.jpg


IMG_20220615_213458.jpg


IMG_20220615_213355.jpg


few hrs after applying bodyfiller, disaster.
it didn't cure properly and stayed soft in places ?

IMG_20220615_230525.jpg


I could easily wirebrush the loose parts off and even peel the whole filler off the panel leaving a sticky residue behind ?

IMG_20220615_232203.jpg


looks like the rust'ol and zinc primer didn't fully cure and so the bodyfiller had nothing to cling onto securely ?
only noticed the bodyfiller instructions said put on bare metal ?

IMG_20220615_233714.jpg


so I had to wirebrush it all off with a huge mess, wasted a whole night of bodywork and having to start over ?

IMG_20220615_232215.jpg


only 4 days to go and this hiccup, it doesn't seem like I have enough time to get the car painted & all prepped for YMS show on sunday ?
 
next day I applied some Jotun hardtop flexi, which is a tough polyurethane top coat.
I also wirebrushed the wheel arch lip back to bare metal and mixed/applied the bodyfiller more thoroughly & in smaller manageable portions, which has cured hard this time ?

IMG_20220616_202348.jpg


IMG_20220616_202444.jpg


with time & stamina running out, it would be impossible for me to carefully sand, clean, paint the arches, reassemble & polish the whole car for YMS.
and even if I rush the job till exhaustion, it would look crap for the big shows later on.

I was about to skip YMS, but after much thought, if I simply ignore the rough bodyfiller for now (paint it black) and focus on reassembling the car then I might have a chance to attend the show.

afterwards I could then finish off properly sanding the wheel arch bodyfiller and carefully paint it all, ready for the big Cumbria autoshow & Gravity show :cool:

so cracking on with cleaning the suspension bolts

IMG_20220617_200800.jpg


reinstalled the suspension, exhaust & brakes

IMG_20220617_225349.jpg


IMG_20220617_225526.jpg


few more steps to go and she'll be ready for sunday :)
 
finished off installing the fuel filler, bumper & bleed the brakes

IMG_20220618_134853.jpg


IMG_20220618_134733.jpg


IMG_20220618_134722.jpg


she's finally back on her feet after almost a months work, covered in dust

IMG_20220618_140412.jpg


roughly sanded the bodyfiller smooth

IMG_20220618_161730.jpg


and some black paint to hide it

IMG_20220618_172207.jpg


cleaned the car and she's ready to make YMS show :cool:

IMG_20220618_180747.jpg
 
2022-06-19 Yorkshire Modified Show

Convoyed with Teamwhitecustoms to a meeting point just outside the Malton venue at 8.30

IMG_20220619_081351.jpg


after a long queue we eventually entered the venue & parked up

IMG_20220619_150052.jpg


IMG_20220619_125728.jpg


after a nice day with the group, we all took some photos by the nearby pond ?

IMG_20220619_165109.jpg


IMG_20220619_165709.jpg


and a group photo by this mansion

IMG_20220619_171518.jpg


IMG_20220619_173747.jpg


it's been a good show & very tiring ?
 
Before painting the interior black, I needed to remove the old insulation foam I glued to the panels.

The wirebrush wheel simply melted/smeared the glue around while scratching deep grooves into the paint ?
Only thing that worked was paint thinner which dissolved & removed the glue but was a very slow, very smelly & labour intensive process ?

Gonna leave this till the last stage. finishing the outside bodywork & engine bay is more important.

IMG_20220620_221334.jpg


sanding down the bodyfiller tonight, the welding has warped the surrounding panels slightly so there's lots of bumpy metal high spots in the wrong places and some low spots didn't have enough bodyfiller ?

IMG_20220621_192323.jpg


IMG_20220621_192340.jpg


sanding away the softer bodyfiller is easy whereas sanding the steel high spots is harder & bad.
so I gave the high spots the old Jeremy Clarkson hammer treatment ?

IMG_20220621_193145.jpg


and plonked another layer of bodyfiller to sand again tomorrow ?

IMG_20220621_200328.jpg


IMG_20220621_200337.jpg


this bodywork shaping process & painting is gonna take awhile
 
since the dull bodyfiller makes it difficult to shape the complex curves, I figured applying some shiny aluminium tape over the surface may help visualise any defects from looking along the reflections

IMG_20220622_182555.jpg


IMG_20220622_183354.jpg


IMG_20220622_184612.jpg


after more wet sanding, the arch is ready for painting.
it ain't perfect but it'll do and I'm running thin on patience & time tbh

IMG_20220623_212916.jpg


IMG_20220623_212943.jpg


if I'm painting the whole rear 1/4 I may as well paint the rest of the A-pillar, roof etc to blend.
guess I'll have to deal with the old wrapped roof too.

peeled the old vinyl wrap off, punched my own face at one point during the process whilst pulling up ?

IMG_20220623_221008.jpg


it's done a good job keeping the elements & rust away from the bare steel roof for the past few yrs, except for 2-3 little spots

IMG_20220623_221402.jpg


eek it's taken at least 2-3x tubs of p38 filler to fill over 1 roof slot ?
gonna need another 3-4x to fill the other roof line plus smooth over the sunroof delete panel

IMG_20220624_200231.jpg


sanding it flat made a ton of mess ?

IMG_20220624_204056.jpg
 
this morning sent off my white wheels to be refurbed at TES in middlesbrough for £180

IMG_20220625_104528.jpg


brought few more tubs of bodyfiller and covered the left groove & part of the sunroof panel

IMG_20220625_130143.jpg


a messy few hours of sanding

IMG_20220625_164938.jpg


IMG_20220625_164949.jpg


argh this bit is wet & peeling off :mad:

IMG_20220625_181452.jpg


ffs I still haven't learnt that applying rust'ol paint below p38 doesn't end well :rolleyes:
once again the rust treatment hasn't fully dried and prevents the filler from bonding to the metal, soooo I had to remove & wirebrush all the crap out of that area

IMG_20220625_182005.jpg


IMG_20220625_183643.jpg


fill & sand it flat again

IMG_20220625_185315.jpg


IMG_20220625_213545.jpg


was suppose to have it all primered tday but all these set backs have drained me ???

continue tomorrow with the tedious cleaning, masking & primer
 
It took a few hours to cover all the doors, boot, front end & interior. It's such a tedious job ?

I did think about removing the doors for better spraying access and mask off the door openings to protect the interior but I simply don't have the time/energy to waste and simply draped a cover over the interior ?

IMG_20220626_134326.jpg


IMG_20220626_134134.jpg


Wiped down with solvent & tack cloth.
It's a windy day and garage is full of crap & dust everywhere so keeping debris off the panels while spraying is gonna be difficult :rolleyes:

IMG_20220626_133640.jpg


Sprayed 3 layers of grey primer.

IMG_20220626_155442.jpg


The bodyfilled areas have soo much pin holes and trapped dust ?
At this tight schedule I can't do anything bout it so I'll be sanding it smooth tomorrow before the base coat
 
since sunday me & family all had this bad cough, I thought it was from sanding all that bodyfiller and spraying the primer.
on monday at work I felt very fatigued/drained ? barely able to drive. had to sleep in car for an hour after work before I could drive home.
monday night went straight to bed, I was very hot at 40c, lack of sweating, racing heartbeat, arm & leg muscles ache when too hot whereas the skin would ache when too cold, so it was agony trying to find anything comfortable and had little sleep.

tuesday called in sick. I have all the flu symptoms. later in the day I took a self test and oh crap I'm +ve ?

IMG_20220628_122323.jpg


messaged my sister & they tested +ve too ?
seems like covid is coming back quietly ? not very clear what I should do since restrictions are now lifted and treated like any other seasonal bugs. I'm gonna isolate till next week to be safe.

but this also means I've lost lots of precious time painting kassandra and looks like I won't be making the Cumbria autoshow this sunday and the major Gravity show on 10th july is questionable. really really want to make it but I'm soo far behind schedule ?
 
day #3 and I'm still going through flu/cough & tests +ve

now while i'm concious of the july 10 deadline and desperately wanna go finish sanding & paint the car so it'll have a week to fully cure before polishing,
the issue is I live with parents who are still clear,
so it's too risky to get em infected, as well as going back to work whilst still +ve and infecting the whole team,
also also imho I'm still weak/aching from this fever and in no state to work on kassandra anyway :p

totally agree MicraPaul, my mom always said health & family comes 1st. cars & shows are a luxury past time that comes & goes as a blip in life.

so I'm gonna keep isolating & rest till I'm in good state and weather is drier before finishing the car, may have to compromise in not having her 100% gleeming shine/shine ready but at least we'll make it and tbh she was never ever meant to be a show car lol
it's just a privelage to be part of a huge show, I shouldn't take it soo seriously, it's abit of fun.

her POI is really the amusing engine bay and not the bodywork ;)
 
day #3 and I'm still going through flu/cough & tests +ve

now while i'm concious of the july 10 deadline and desperately wanna go finish sanding & paint the car so it'll have a week to fully cure before polishing,
the issue is I live with parents who are still clear,
so it's too risky to get em infected, as well as going back to work whilst still +ve and infecting the whole team,
also also imho I'm still weak/aching from this fever and in no state to work on kassandra anyway :p

totally agree MicraPaul, my mom always said health & family comes 1st. cars & shows are a luxury past time that comes & goes as a blip in life.

so I'm gonna keep isolating & rest till I'm in good state and weather is drier before finishing the car, may have to compromise in not having her 100% gleeming shine/shine ready but at least we'll make it and tbh she was never ever meant to be a show car lol
it's just a privelage to be part of a huge show, I shouldn't take it soo seriously, it's abit of fun.

her POI is really the amusing engine bay and not the bodywork ;)



In holistic skills for life area mother always knows best in the long run.

As you originally suspected & I may add that excess exposure to DIY welding fumes, isopon filler dust & spray paint chemicals cannot be good for long term health in the distant future & may be a cumulative contributing factor to your present poor health reaction experience to covid infection right now?

Put your health first & get well soon. The car jobs can wait as mostly they only matter a little.

Good luck & enjoy a well earned rest as best you can in the present circumstances.
 
Last edited:
Loving this thread fantastic work , hope you feel better soon , on a side note just staring to do rust repairs on my sub 100k march manual swapped , this thread is great help thanks a million for the effort you out in ?
 
Back
Top