I'm waiting on stuff to arrive at the moment

got a set of racing beat springs on order - 4 weeks
A set of 15x7 panasport style wheels (UK made of course ) - Monday I hope

Got the rear Tokico adjustable shocks installed but can't install the fronts till the springs arrive

to top it off I've got a club meeting a brooklands race circuit to go to in 2 weeks and I'm not sure how the car will handle with stock shocks on the front and uprated on the rears 400 mile round trip too


how come no matter how long you have to do a project it always comes down to the last minute ( probably why I'm a member of 'last minute' rallying then www.lastminuterallying.co.uk )

Mike

 

Well, I knew I needed to go the car inspections on March 15, and arrived March 25th. So that ain't last minute anymore!

 

I can DEFINITELY relate to that. My first-ever race was a night rally (think I already told you all how THAT went), and my co-driver and I were working on the car all afternoon and into the evening, right up until an hour before we had to show for tech. SUCKAGE! Man, we were SO tired the next day...

Ren

 

I think our worst to date , was blowing a diff out of the metro (totally out the casing!) 3 days before a night event and then swapping all the bits over to a new casing (bare in mind this is an Aseries so the gearbox is in the sump) only to find a tooth of the old diff had wedged the shift linkage and we only had reverse (DOH!) we then stripped it all apart and rebuilt it the day of the rally. oh yes and I had to change the headgasket on our team mates car at the same time !

hence why we got the name 'Last Minute' Rallying

On another tangent (Hijack ! ) I've just come back from a Production car trial What a blast !

 

Current project (under time pressure!):
I removed the whole interior of the Mariah yesterday... The carpets were torn, the dash had glue marks, wiring looked awfull... So: everything out!
Problem is: work is carried out outside, on my parents driveway. It's been pissing down the last few days, making the job really unpleasant. It's also freakin' cold now the temperature went from 20° to 9-10° in just two days...
We have reached this so far:
Cleaned the replacement carpets, fixed the usual "storage bin" rust (well, under the rear seat that is), and managed a lot of wiring by now. Today I spent most of the day soldering the wires for the stereo (just a simple installation, I do not like driving disco's), cleaned up the wire-mess from the previous owner, wired the mirrors and windows correctly etc...
Tomorrow I'd like to complete the wiring, and get a dash together (have two, so I will use the best parts of both), and maybe, just maybe, get the carpets back in.
Otherwise, that'll be for saturday. I need to get the car running and clean before thursday, as I want to drive the Mariah to Essen (German roads ) then, and visit Tecno-Classica, one of Europe's best and biggest annual exhibitions on Oldtimers and Classics, on Friday.
Thursday I won't be able to work on the car as I will be in Germany too, visiting Intermodellbau, in Dortmund. This is a major thing for model-builders like me!
So busy!!!! And the car must of course be perfect to go to Sweden.

 

I got the first parts of my major suspension upgrade today,

unfortunately I'd of rather had the springs and bits first as they take the longest to fit !

nevermind here you go - project "green monster" updated (it'll hopefully earn the monster bit by the time i've finished!!)

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forum...=&threadid=702

Mike

 

I just finished installing the PUR (polyurethane) bushings like an hour ago.
I will ask everyone of you to do the same, man they really make a big difference----Faster turn-in, overall better handling, bumpier ride and it feels like i dont have to turn the wheel so much when in-turn to get the same steering as before.
DO IT, DO IT NOW, YOU WILL THANK ME FOR MAKEING YOU WANT TO DO IT

 

I would if I had an FC...
Personally, my projects are finally getting somewhere.
Car's almost complete, all that's missing is the rear seat (or to be correct: the replacement storage bins) and the speakers for the radio.
Doorpanels and other panels are now covered in red/black artificial leather, like the seats. The car really looks different now, with a tidy, clean interior. I drove it to Essen, Germany, to the largest classic car/oldtimer show in the world. Car got many looks when we were cruising the Autobahn! I'm so happy we finally managed to get the car really roadworthy again... Next steps will be cleaning up the engine bay (stainless oil and fuel lines etc) and then the wheels, that need some extra attention too. I'll take pics of the cars interior later on, and try to post them.
Oh, before I forget: there still is one other project to do: replace door rubbers etc. They are so worn... And it's way to loud in the car. And I also need a new steering wheel... And...

 

got my car 100% back together yesterday

but found more problems

1. the stone chip proof paint on the sills has reacted where the new paint has been blended in a has turned bright green ... got to ring the bodyshop monday

2. I've got a rattle from the rear end when it hits a bump. I don't know if its me being over sensitive as I've just put it back together ... do the links on the rear axle make any noise on your car Bart ? I was meant to go to Brooklands today (400mile round trip) and had to put it off because of this rattle/knock

on the up side I had a laugh driving it through town , but I'm not sure I like the amount of attention it gets ... especially from the local police

Mike

 

1) that sucks, hope they can deal with it!
2) I'm not really sure. The car is really noisy right now, and I'm not sure where it is coming from. There's a ratlling sound that appears when the car goes about 95-100km/h, and then goes away again. I have no idea what it is, but it drives me crazy. Of course the sollution is: drive 110km/h, but that is not the point.
Sounds are always very difficult to locate, as the hollow parts of the body will transmit the sounds as a speaker case. It is not unlikely to find a noise at the left coming from a problem at the right and vice versa...
Since the inspectors didn't mention any play in the suspension or worn shocks, I'm not sure if the car makes sounds from that area. Also, the RB exhaust is a bit noisy (pleasantly that is) when flooring the pedal, so that also might cover up problems...
I will first work on the interior a bit, see if everything is tight and so on, and if the sounds keep being there I might have to look further. Don't fancy suspension troubles, though... And, when the car hits a bump all that rattles are our theeth, the car is so damn stiff!

 

I was helping Oliver put SS brakelines in his FD, and then he helped me do the same. I really cant feel the difference in everyday driving but i havent tested them yet. I will do that a remote place without trucks and busses

 

Well, you'll probable need to have the brakes under serious stress to really feel the difference. It's not like SS lines are going to make you stop twice as fast or anything. But every little help is welcome. You did bleed them properly, yes?
And even if they don't make much difference, they'll still look so much better

 

Hard at work ....getting ready for Sweden

 

I only bought a half liter of brake fluid so, I ran out.....will get the car back on the road tomarrow and try a old G-tech device and see what kind of HP my car can get....just for fun

Tried to post some more photo's but the forum keeps saying I've already post it before

 

What a beautiful ***

*EDIT* Whats with all the white surroundings???

 

I read this while the image was still downloading, and thought "yes yes yes", but then I see it's just a Seven...

Yeah, what is it with all that white? Trying to draw attention are we?

 

no, its just Kim's - anti computer thingy..

 

 

NOO It was like that, I just copied it and pasted. And the *** in the left lower corner is pretty nice too, you can hardly see it but im there.

 

Sorry, I'm not
So rather see some
then your

Now was that "being creative with smillies" or not?

 

You will be after you spend the night LOL
I have to warn you, there is alot of pretty ladies in Randers

 

Just one of the many projects I'm working on...
Tamiya 787B, 1/24th scale. Fully carbon fibre decaled chassis and cockpit (3 different patterns), photo-etched details (Scale Motorsport), electronic boxes in cockpit are scratchbuilt, wires are selfmade. Driver figure is still under construction (helmet needs decals etc).
What do you think?

 

more recent pic of cockpit:

 

one more, you'll need to know the original kit to see what happened here. It's the rear wing, with metal endplates (way thinner then the oversized plastic ones) and p/e metal "lip" at the rear. I created tiny "bolts" out of brass wire (0.3mm) to give the impression of the fasteners used to attach the aluminium "lip" to the carbon main wing. All still needs paint etc, but now it's easier to see the detail.
The other thing is one of the brake assemblies. Discs are uprated with p/e faces, and holes were drilled to duplicate the vents. For Le Mans the 787B did not use cross drilled or slotted discs, but sollid ones, only vented.
It isn't easy to see on the pic, but the bolts retaining the rotor (disc) are duplicated too, aswell as the wheel studs. Took many hours to do 4 of these brake assamblies!

 

My doorpanels, before they were installed, and without all the extra stuff. I'll post new pics of my car soon, now the interior is cleaned up, and almost ready!