Latest Developments

Hmm. Moved the cut off switch to the boot, now cable operated on the dash. Rewired a few bits, you see I rewired the car a while back and hadn't finalised it. The main fuses, relays, EWP controller are housed in a box behind the passenger seat. Neat job.

Added an adjustable clevis to the brake master cylinder, so I could adjust the brake pedal up to get a decent heel and toe position...adjusted the layout of the pedals with a lump hammer.

Next job is new rear shocks I hate spax - get the pooped prop sorted out, UJ's have spun in the caps..new flange time.

Retuned the DHLA for this standard engine:

48idle
7850.1 holder
7 tube
110main
170 corrector
28chokes (needs 26 really its that shite, 30 baggy, 28 still a bit flat)
33pumps
1 vent

Engine has no merits over the old one, twas better at every rpm....odd having 2K revs less to play with! doesnt like my gearing either.....

Added a new indicator flasher....added an electric motor to run the washers and replumbed the system with boy racer blue vacuum hose.

Got some rod ends coming to make my adjustable top wishbones..

The AVO have yet to hit the bump stops, amazing how awful the Gaz were. They have 1inch of travel before the stop, ample...rides nicely, but needs more camber, went from 1 deg or so to virtually positive camber after raising the nose 15mm...! Hense the modified wishbones...As I would need 1inch of packers on the bottom wishbone brackets to find 2.5degrees! Also this would make the front track wider than the rear again...

Few more pics.

Best ignore the engine, its a spare I ripped from a rusting Dolomite last week. The rest is the same as it was before, I found this water system robust and reliable without tendancy to blow out water or do anything untoward at any time. It can be made out by the blue pipes!

I had the header tank welded up, basically theres the Davis Pump thing and water going out the head to the rad, to the pump and round again, no heater or anything other water things. The header tank pipes run from the top of the rad and just before the Pump. So the pump pipe is under suction and scavages from the header tank, which in term sucks water from the top of the rad into the tank....so its a self feeding system quite like the heater system. As any air bubbles end up in the rad at the top, this system self bleeds air into the header tank, where it stays....I tried a few systems and this has been faultless the 1.9 GTi Pug rad isnt the biggest in the world but with my tiny grill hole gives super cooling.

Kept breaking alternator brackets etc....Solution was to drill out the heavy steel alternator mount to 1/2inch, then instead of using a few bolts and lots of complex stuff to hang the alternator like standard, you can simply hang it on one bolt and pack the alternator on with a few washers...anyway much better, also my car is built to come apart easy, this saves pissing about. Also the adjusting arm is rod'end'ed.

The interior, basic, the dash was removed as it served no purpose. A small alloy plate was made and added behind the wheel this gives perfect vision to the dials at all time, rev counter thanks to Bowler sits on the wheel. Need to get a decent seat.

The only seat that fits from measurements is the skinny version of FIA spec Corbeau Sprint Pro, all the rest are hopelessly wide, and those classic bucket things mean you are sitting in the car with your head pressed against the roof. I like the my bottom to be on the floorpan, the bucket gives facility for the lowest position possible, so thats all good. When I got the car the seat was jacked up on homemade mounts, it was way to high, the whole car felt horrid, like I was sat ontop of it!

The current seat is standard but I added some extensions to the front seat frame mount points, so raising the front by 1.5inches and cut off the rear of the frames a bit, so the seat falls lower, this gives a pretty effective bucket seat, with half the wadding removed from the seat base...Also I use a passenger side seat as the drivers seat, the rear is bent in such a way it is more supportive than the drivers?!?!

Well, its been a while.

Here are a few photos of the car, I was told there are none on my blog! doh!

You can see bigger image here http://home.clara.net/ppowell/sptty.jpg

Recent mods...Well, engine out for a +60 rebuild. Running a 70HP (at best) 1300 Dolomite motor atm...still goes ok!

Fitted the 1500 kipping (billet?) stronger shafts but have yet to dial in the suspension, hopefully UPS are bringing me some front AVO shocks today. Will test the 330lb springs at a slightly higher ride height with them being height adjustable...also get the corners weighted.

Its got great exit traction using 20psi in the rears but there is too much roll during turn in and the front is too low at static and drops too much. My Gaz shocks are both too long and constantly on the bump stops and also non adjustable without spacer things...

This roll means the rear goes light on fast entry and there is profound lack of rear grip during initial turn in, to slow tight bends mainly, as the whole chassis's aspect is wrong, it drops forwards or dives hense it needs raising/stiffening at the nose, as the front dropping really takes all the weight off the back inside which causes wheelspin and oversteer during initial exit, apex, power on, and also it doesn't make effective use of the loaded outside rear tyre so it kind of squirrels in on a wave of changing camber.... although grip is still better than any spit I have had before.

I will ditch the 330 springs and use 480 next, as I don't think even when raised up the dive will be cured. Also the new rear spring is very stiff and I will make another set of drilled uprights with the holes yet further down...(which means flat banjo style brake line fittings on the rear brake cylinders or the spring fouls them! be warned, I had to remove half the spring eye thing off a swing spring to clear the lines with a hole 1inch further down) hopefully another 1/2 inch here in the uprights and raising the nose 1/2 should give the car a very slightly raised nose in respect to the rear, aiming for 15mm higher. So should pull flat when you brake hard with harder springs and make use of the first part of the suspension as suspension, not wallow. I would think then that bar geometry and camber - tracking there will be little more I can do on the solid shafts, and the car should work well...At this time is corners well once settled is supple, a bit too supple, has great exit grip from slow corners but its a bit fussy on the way in.

You can tie the car up by making the dampers very stiff, which makes it plainly obvious your spring rates are too low.

Got rod'end'ed radius arms also I need to weld up!

It was ok before I lightened the rearend up and fitted a new spring! The bonnet weight saving of 30kilos certainly helped regain some balance.

Oh and a side mission, exhaust is currently straight through a micron motorbike race can, its VERY loud...so I will visit Jetex.co.uk who sell loads of 2" pipe sections and boxes.

I worked out if you use 2x 245mm 2" 30degree bend sections you can extend the main 2" pipe which passes under the prop, so dumping the classis Triumph Twin pipe system and Y piece, you add the 2x 30 bends in opposite ways so thus kinking around the diff and ending on the left of right of centre..about 100mm short of the bootfloor section, use 100mm 2" section to extend and meet a bigger silencer than sits under the boot floor and pokes out the back a bit, rather like my current setup but with a much bigger backbox, I was going to use a BIG51 silencer which is the biggest and should shut the car up and also sticks down the same dist as the smaller versions as they are all 100mm tall...you can select and add on a tailpipe which sticks out 25cm, all very boy racer! Hopefully a boy racer extension to my manhood will stop the back of my car getting black from soot.

Wish it was easier to load pictures 8-) as i'd load more, must actually look at it.

Current DHLA jetting on shorter progression setup is.

50idle
7850.1 holder
112main
7 tube
150 corrector
35 pump
150 valve
fuel pressure 2.5psi

been like it for a while so must be ok....

about to rebuild the bottom end of it...

Hit 6750 in 4th on my new 3.63 diff....thats 122mph (123.8 without tyre wear), not bad! there was definate 7000 potential even on this shagged engine it was pulling still...car felt 100% stable would be ok at 150 i recon....I did notice at this higher speed the damping would need stiffening, or the springs rates, as planned, also the front with the new airdam felt great but the rear was a little light on a corner...Thats where the new spoiler/wing which is tasteful and small and sits on the end of the bootlid will come into its own....

Blowing up the road to 70 mph @ 7K in 2nd is good fun, now forced into taking roundabout type hairpins in 1st if going all the way round wanting a fast exit, 2nd is too long, but first gives awesome pickup as a useable gear.

If you want some lightweight doors

email me @ davidpowell@clara.co.uk subject Doors.

I see a guy Brian was interested but there is no way to contact me!! Sorry.