E5TUS - 2023: Some turbo tinkering & Hillclimbing
Turbo Mini Forums

First event tomorrow, thought she deserved some decent oil.... Sump plug came out along with most of the the thread! Not the end of the world but an annoyance, tap and larger plug later and all sorted.

Driving home down a country road, just opened her up and BANG! Darkness ensues, the bastard bonnet has flung up.

Now in hindsight I was lucky, I managed to stop safely and although the bonnet is damaged, there is no damage to the screen or roof. That said, I'm thoroughly pissed off. Managed to bend the bonnet back to a reasonable shape and change the shite internal release to an external release.

So annoying that after all the efforts, the first event will have a fucked up front end. Still, if I am to look on the bright side, I'll be moving to a composite solution sooner than planned...

If there is to be a lesson learned it is this: for gods sake have a secondary restraint for your bonnet. I have learnt the hard way.

Stu

Thats a bugger, but as you say minimal damage done.

See you tomorrow. My marathon stint to get the car ready paid off.

Good luck tomo!!! your very lucky it didnt damage the roof and gutter so dont dwell on it too much! Just get that secondary restraint on before driven in anger again...

Good luck mate. :)

I had an awesome day yesterday, the local clubs, circuit and competitors made me feel very welcome at my first event. I was never going to be breaking class records but I didn't care and I'm happy to have gained six seconds on my runs during the day. Nine seconds off the pace of the others in the club, but I have lots to learn!

So the diff and tyres are obviously my weakest point (besides not having a clue) but I like to think that I provided the spectators with some noisy entertainment.

So event number two is all booked for next month. I am going to stick to the plan of setting a base time at each event with my current setup then look to beat them next year... That straight cut box in the shed might be dug out soon to get rebuilt ahead of the usual christmas/new year rush!

Looks good fun buddy.

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

Was a great day yesterday, good fun and very slippery. You should get an award for being the only one not to spin! Get that uprated box on and the boost raised.

Looks great!

So, had a sprint at Llandow last weekend. Great venue and a good crowd too. Didn't post very good times but as the first in my class to compete at this event I set the bogey time for next year and get full points for the event. Yay!

Unfortunately, it would appear that my map isn't quite there yet. I'm currently struggling to release the engine's potential. I should have had a greater advantage on this track over the more violently geared hillclimb cars, but I didn't. Got to get it setup by someone who knows what they're doing...

That said, I'm getting used to the way it handles, particularly the lift off oversteer that had been giving me the fear.

Since my bonnet got bent up I have got a fibreglass one on order, boot too as it seemed rude not to, won't fit them until the winter overhaul. Hopefully picking up a quaife LSD next weekend too. All fine and dandy for the next stage, but really need to get the ignition and fuel sorted ASAP, first hillclimb next month. But I'm in Japan this week so bugger all I can do, other than read about what everyone else is doing!

Stu

Damn work has been getting in the way of doing anything on the car but got picked up a carb rebuild kit from Burlen today and the dismantled carb is currently bathing in cleaner overnight. It was bloody disgusting, this rebuild was well overdue!

Keep it up

I run a supercharger and I don't care the TB is on the wrong side.
VEMS + 12 PSI + Liquid Intercooler = Small Bore FUN!

Carb is like new. Thanks to Mr Fenton for his rebuild guide.

It's a wonder it has lasted this long without attention, the needle I had in there was not what I thought, half the O-rings were ruined and the whole assembly was glazed and full of shit. Anywho it's lovely now and once paired with a longer throttle cable should solve the stiff pedal.

Amongst some other toys, I have finally ordered an AFR wideband and gauge, seems pointless to have done all this work then kill the engine with piss poor DIY tuning.

So much for a budget season, I'm already well into next years budget!

Racing does that.

Great work so far - good read :)

Thanks, I've noticed every little change is making a difference and I'm still learning the car both driving and maintenance wise even after 13 years of ownership.

Replaced the front wheel bearings last weekend and shimmed the swivel's, got rid of the excess play I had but it's much more twitchy now. Think that an expert eye looking over the suspension for some fine tuning is probably in order.

Didn't get round to removing the downpipe to weld the lambda boss on so still no AFR to aid setup. Did roughly set the mixture at idle off the emissions O2. The new needle and rebuild have made an incredible difference, and I no longer need to stamp on the pedal to make it move!

I got me mitts on this too over the weekend



So dug the straight cut box out, asides from a rather beaten about oil pickup it seems OK (to me).



What would you guys look to change out of course anyway?

Hello. So first hillclimb tomorrow, wouldn't be tradition if I didn't have a quick fettle on the day before would it??

Thought I'd remove the downpipe and weld in the lambda bung. Whist the exhaust was off, I also took the (short) time to make some permanent solutions to the temporary mounts and clamps that have been on there for years.

That all done, I was happily crawling down the bypass on the way home (in the rain) when the bastard just stops. Wouldn't start again. NO SPARK, so I checked all I could at the side of the road, could see nothing amiss and without my multimeter to hand I couldn't check the Megajolt bits.

So got towed home and left her in the garage whilst I got some food and a much needed pint. When I got back out into the garage she started fine, checked all the wiring, no loose connections (I think I replaced all the crap ones initially done with eBay special crimps).

Any ideas? I'm guessing something didn't like the wet and crapped out? If the problem had been with the Megajolt then the EDIS would have run in 'limp mode'. I'm guessing it was a feed to the coil.. but not sure.

Hopefully the weather clears up and I don't suffer any issues for the weekend. Managed to fit the harness I bought from Andy, so much better not having a plastic adjuster digging in my hip! Cheers Andy (some professional packaging too!)

Also, reference the gearbox, I'm going to get a bearing set for it, whilst it's out I might as well. I'll swap the not-so-beaten oil pickup from my current box too. Unless anyone has any suggestions for additional critical things to do, that should set me up nicely for next season..

Stu

Saturday didn't go quite as planned, suffered from massive ignition issues on first practice run. Clark of the Course refused to let me complete until we rectified the issue as the backfiring was far beyond the noise limits. I couldn't care less about the noise if I'm honest, my priority was sorting out the problem.

There are worse places to have to work on a car though...


Intermittent spark, checked connections and Ford gubbins, assumed coil. Managed to get a spare coil delivered out to the field where we were camping (Great lads and lasses at Dorset Auto Spares). That appeared to have worked, so took it down the road to test, it wasn't a problem with the coil and I had to run a couple of km back to get the car and trailer to recover myself! Long story short, I went through the whole loom bit by painful bit and the problem was with one of the pins on the crank sensor. Although the plug was connected fine and looked ok, a pin has worked its way loose within the connector and was vibrating (particularly at high revs) on and off. I'm going to replace and pot the connectors to stop this happening again.

In the meantime, event wise, a couple of crashes had occurred near the finish on a wet section of the hill (caused by an overflowing water tank on the adjacent farm). This was an area that many competitors had raised concerns about and resulted in the course being shortened and additional practice runs required. I managed to sneak a practice run in at the start of the afternoon session and was allowed to run in the timed sessions. Car felt good and I improved my times to within 2 seconds of the class winner by during the afternoon.

Sunday was a bit sparse on entries and we got through all the session without major incident. The top of the course had dried out and we were back to the full length hill. I grew some bollocks during the day and improved my times to within 1.15 seconds of my old man (Class 8 - Modified Series Production Road Traffic Act Compliant Classic Mini fitted with an ‘A’ Series Based Engine with 8 valves up to 1400cc.) and 1.31 seconds of a quick 1.8 16v Corsa.

All in all, despite the rocky start, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and proved that the car (and to some respect driver) are capable of placing times that aren’t 10 seconds adrift of the pack. With the planned winter upgrades I should be causing some issues for the faster boys next year, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. Got five weeks until my next event – two days at Wiscombe. Need to finish the AFR install and only changes will be the map based on what AFR readings I get once installed.

Sounds like a good result, I'd better watch out at this rate of progress

A new junior timer plug on the crank sensor and my ignition gremlins have not returned. Got the AFR wired up and I'm booked in at Slarks next Thursday for mapping/tuning.

Been pondering what route to take with the colour scheme as next season's bonnet and boot need painting and the arches have bubbled and could do with some attention. Initially considered black, but thought it might look odd with the roof left in silver. Considered wrapping the bonnet, boot, arches and roof in dark silver/graphite/grey (decided that black wrap may look like that fake CF shite and couldn't bear the thought!) But now I'm erring on the side of sticking with painting it all Pulsar Silver again, as it's a lovely colour and original too.. Got a couple of months to make a decision!

The recent heat made me realise how badly I needed to reinstate the air vents (formally replaced with speakers as a teenager ) luckily eBay came up trumps and I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival.

Next event is at Wiscombe in a few weeks, the same weekend as the British Hillclimb Championship round. Really looking forward to that.

I shall report back next week after the visit to Slark HQ

Stu

Hello,

Lots to update so here goes...

Prior to my visit to Slark Race Engineering I installed my bleed valve and bled the boost to 12psi, shits and giggles and all that. Was happy (read scared) with the result and looked forward to the mapping/tuning on the rollers.



Neil began working his magic, fuelling was pretty bang on (BCA needle) just needed a touch tickled off toward the base to richen it up. Dashpot oil got too thin when hot so replaced that with some engine oil. Whilst on the subject of heat, my mini does get hot... Too hot, too quick.

Due to my intercooler pipework, I had ousted the mechanical fan and employed an electric fan on the inner wing. It works well in traffic or queuing at the start of a hillclimb, but naff at full chat. Obviously this is because it's a fixed speed and only providing efficient airflow when the engine is at idle. We removed the bonnet and raised the fan to try and provide some more effective cooling but even this didn't get it as cool as Neil would have liked.



He mentioned that a few of the racers had attempted to go to electric side mount fans but had always gone back to mechanical, or used both. OK, first thing on the to-do list was re-route the intercooler pipework and reinstate the mechanical fan.

With a few break's to allow the engine to cool, the ignition was adjusted but the clutch slipped at high boost. Hadn't had this problem previously, so dialed the bleed valve back and increased it until slipping occurred. 7psi was all we could run without the clutch slipping, which is perfectly acceptable for it's current (standard) transmission spec. MED ultralight setup is now on the list to go with box/drops/diff over the winter, then we'll turn it up and let her rip.

So, here's the results for a standard 1275 Metro turbo lump with a worked head, megajolt and 7psi boost...



Shame about the clutch slip but as the engine is coming out and apart over the winter it's not a big deal. Good amount of torque though! I'll have fun for the rest of this season then have a completely different beast to work with next year. I'll definitely be back to see Neil again, a really nice guy who knows his stuff. Can't recommend him highly enough.

Got home and thought about the intercooler pipework. I'm sure there was a reason I couldn't route over the top rad hose...



Didn't listen to my niggling doubt and modded it...



Job done. Time to fit the bonnet... Ah, right. Now I remember the issue. Bugger...

If only I had a nice lightweight bonnet that didn't have the metal cross bracing...

Oh wait I do... All I needed was an excuse!



Just need the fat spacer for between the pulley and fan to clear the breather and that should be that. Even have Wiscombe to test the cooling in a couple of weeks.

Stu

Nice result and looking good

Finished the face lift, happy with the look, minus the lack of colour...



But the old girl seems to have found an appetite for cosmetic surgery and got some booty liposuction...





So much for waiting till the winter for the mods to begin... I blame you lot. I've even bought a set of hole saws...

Like it! But how does your bonnet fit on? And how bad does the boot leak?

Bonnet is from Arc Angels (bad communication but good products) with the "ready to fit" mounting points to use the standard hinges and spring catch.

I've used these quick release hinges (www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?pid=36939) so the whole lot can be taken off but doesn't have external fixings or bonnet pins.

Personally not a fan of pins, funny coming from the guy with the intercooler spilling out the front right?

Boot is a good fit but a fair amount of movement without a seal. I've ordered one of the later boot seals (www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Body/Boot/Fittings_seals/CKE10018.aspx) which I'm hoping will stop some of the movement, but I doubt it'll stop the rain! I think some strategic drain holes may be required!

Stu

Edited by e5tus on 14th Jul, 2015.

A normal boot seal was useless on my arc angels boot it flexed the boot lid to much.

I now use a door seal cut down instead!

Edited by jonny f on 16th Jul, 2015.