ooh progress, and i missed it, i didnt know you were planning to do this, its gunna be awesome that.
ill keep a closer eye next few weeks!

looks like its coming on well mate

3 stud rear yo!
 

So after a month of having the vts brakes, dampers and springs fitted along with brand new avon zv3's fitted to the two vtr wheels up front I love the feel of my car now. One thing I have noticed is that the car has lost acceleration a bit (excess weight ftl) also the car has alot more grip in comparison to the caster wheels previously fitted but the wheels do rub on full lock (a little arch work was carried out today hammertime ftw!)

It does look a bit strange with the 3 stud rear axle and wheels but it's not being sorted till the new year so I have to lump it really. My exhaust was playing up and rattling like a donkey! But alls well now I tightened it up and it seems to have gone... either that or something has fallen off. :fcuk: ;)

Ignore the dirty-ness of the 1.1 beasty it has done around 400 motorways miles since it's last clean and is looking pretty sorry for itself.

Anybody with a mk2 1.1 I severly advise upgrading to vts brakes :y:










:A:

Great progress so far :)

1.1i ftw :p

just need a rear beam now then

Sam snapped it off you then? :p Dads getting my dampers for xmas up front and I'm buying some rear ones in the new year. Then Sorting out a decent service in february :y:

Cheers john, it's taken long enough to get to this point but it's getting there.

not yet as i have to drop it over and atm i cant coza my leg

just read your whole thread, well done loads of hard work gone into this :y:

Service started, and new dampers (to be fitted)
 

Cheers Richard (richo?) it means alot. Much more work should be happening this year ;)

lately the cars been worrying me majorly with mayo being apparent on the oil filler cap and in the engine, so a oil change and oil filter change was in order. I also had leak from the rocker cover so that needed to be sorted (although it wasn't major).



So a new oil filter and rocker cover gasket was in order.

Removing the rocker cover left me with this...



Yummy... :err:



The water had been coming from the Breather hose, found connected to the right of the rocker cover. As it was disconnected a trickle of water came from it... condensation ftl!

Anywho the goodies I got for christmas:



Oh and the filter :p

Axle is being sorted in february now, so all is (sort of) on schedule. :y:

Service yet to be completed before i venture to scotland:
New spark plugs,
coolant drain,
timing belt adjusted,
new HT leads,
New air filter (uprated- if insurance doesn't increase the excess too much)

sounds good me old matey. mine needs a service too!

alos.... thats so good it needs a new post, hahah :P

VTR/S brakes are a good option mate, and cheap as VTR/S brakes if anyhting get upgraded and discarded cheaply.

keep up the good work,

Too true Nij, I got the entire front suspension setup (Disks and stuts, plus calipers) for £50.... oh and free wheel bolts, avomexico was pretty damn good with that transaction tbh. The brakes are 100 times better than standard 1.1 brakes :fcuk:

Haha yeah changed my sig a while back sneaky car kept doing my head in with rattles and the mayo-ness, the summer is where it's at for the sax :p

Need a new airfilter next as this one is gone/on the way out... should have changed it 3k ago I think :ponder:

Think I've decided on an exhaust system dependent on funds, i was originally going to go for supersprint for the rasp. Then I heard my mates ashley cat back system and sounded pretty damn nice and for the price you can't really knock it, so I'm settled there.

Rear sorted, then air filter, then exhaust. :y:

great plans :y:

just read your thread and i really do like what you have done

1.1 FTW !

I might even change to VTS brakes now =-) keep up the good work

Front lowered and new rear dampers
 

After visiting sam over the valentines weekend and dropping the car off I picked the sax up and drove the mrs. home to northants from leicester.

Sam and his dad have done a great job couldn't reccomend them more!
The car feels ten times better to drive, it handles like nothing I've experienced and is even more comfortable!

Before:



After:







Pics don't do it justice, plus he needs a clean :homme:

We're giving it 2-3 weeks before fitting the rear beam as the front should have settled by then and then the rear will be going down 40-45mm :A:

There is a slight rattle/rub from the passenger side wheel arch, I believe it's the wheel arch liner so may modify that/remove it.

Also I've just received delivery of a pair of spax rear dampers :y:

For a 1.1i it certainly is nippy in the bends now, thinking of selling the leathers and stripping it (then visiting a few tracks in the summer), but I love the leathers and the mrs couldn't stand the rattles, however sometimes just driving listening to the engine and exhaust is better than listening to the stereo ;)

Looking good, need some Smoked Jewels :P

yay. its lowered :D

now get a VT front bumper ;)

looking good mate.

Cheers man, I've been contemplating the idea but I'm waiting for the rear dampers and axle being wacked on, then upgrading the engine mounts, changing wishbone and cv joint, then getting the timing belt changed, new air filter and exhaust.. deciding on whether to decat or leave the standard system and just backbox plus 4-2-1 as the current exhaust makes a little pop :fcuk: (fudged cat me thinks)

All barely affordable on my wages, tbh you'd think I didn't know anything about the credit crunch ;)

Follow in the footsteps of Viper and snewham? The idea is to keep it as subtle and standard as possible for whenever I can afford the vt* lump. Doesn't mean it wouldn't look spot on though :A: Damn you popping ideas in my head.

Hows the sale of the derv going? ford traitor

Cheers bud :y:

Timing belt, water pump and fuel filter.
 

Not much of an update, cars knocking noise is still there but it's not causing any noticeable issues just yet and I've done 700 miles-ish on it. Will need to pull my finger out and buy a wishbone see if that solves it then continue replacing bits till its sorted.

Had a lot of expenditure this week, bought train tickets to edinburgh for me and the mrs and a hotel for a few days so my wallet was shaking going to CMC today to get my timing belt changed.

Left the car at CMC headed into town walked back in the pouring rain and saw the sax waiting, £126 out of pocket and the car feels more torquey... if thats even possible :panic: everything just felt more precise. Going to let the belt bed in for the next 500miles (save myself on fuel too) Then it's off to evo triangle during easter with a few mates for a roadtrip ;)

A bit left to get sorted before Scotland and FCS but should be sorted by the summer :)

Knocking and washing.
 

The knocking was begining to drive me crazy so the other week I bought a brand new wishbone to solve the problem.



£40 out of pocket i was sure this would solve it.

Fixing the wishbone was easy enough but the noise was still there! :panic:

I went away to Edinburgh and as soon as I was back I went for a drive, the noise bugged me so I went back to Citroen to purchase a set of arb mounts just incase this was it.
Fitting them I managed to snap a bolt on tightening them up :wall: so it was off to my local garage for them to take out the screwthread... needless to say the noise is still there!

The noise isnt causing issues just bloody annoying. Anywho as halfrauds have their yearly 3 for 2 offer on I went to replenish my cleaning goodies. I got a bunch of autoglym bits and bobs and the car looks much better:















The rear axle should be sorted over easter weekend so it won't be on the 3 stud rear anymore :D I think it'll look ten times better then too ;)

I'm going to refit the smiley grille with red chevrons as this older grille is covered in stone chips (Alot like the rest of the car... bonnet is worse for wear atm) and I'll give it a good respray and maybe de-chevron the mk1 older grille.

Comments appreciated ladies.

where does your knocking noise come from? iv got one coming from drivers side arch, and its bugging the crap out of me too!

woohoo on the complete 4 stud :P

good lad on the 4stud rear

that beam will do a nice job n your car

Looks nice and clean mate. Will look much better with the new beam on :y:

looks clean and tidy mate. :y:

haha cheers man, my noise is coming from the near side front aka the passenger footwell. I may have summed it up to the shaft which makes absolutely no sense! (I replaced it last year and only covered around 15k on it :n:) it doesnt click going round in circles on full lock, but the cv joint has the tiniest hole that piggy123 saw when working on the front and it has gradually lost grease and the noise doesnt seem to be apparent in 1st gear/under 20mph anymore :panic:

I can't wait will be money well spent, cant see it handling much better with the arse down it will have uprated dampers at rear, but at least grip will be better :y:

Cheers saxy1, appreciate it. Craving a bit more power atm. One thing thats putting me off shoving a bigger lump inside the bay (in 2 years time) is that the shell has several bits of rust forming and needs treating and I have no skills in welding either so shall be an interesting time for this shell.

Complete four stud!
 

well it's been a long time planning/coming but the rear axle has been fitted and the rear lowered.

What started in October 08 (after one dodgy axle to Alex's axle finding it's way to Piggy) has been finished, really chuffed with the work Piggy123 and his dad have done an awesome job and have been really helpful throughout, they're such a friendly pair too and if I have any queeries or need any help I'm sure to go to them :y:

Some pics:







(in need of a clean after a good drive testing the ultra grippy avon's and the new stance)

As the axle Alex had gave to sam had the piddly 1.0 torsions (18mm?), the torsion bar have been upgraded to the 19mm bars (19mm 110lb/inch-around the same rating as the springs) I have to give him big kudos for that :y:

Also the engines rad needed bleeding randomly one evening for no reason that i could pin point (trickling noise behind dash, and i hadn't even been near the engine for a whole 2 days) anywho on driving over to CMC they stated the water pump had let in some air and they sorted it for free :y:



whats currently going on:
green panel filter orderred soon.
Powerflex lower engine mount.
Upgrading to VTR wishbones and a vts/gti arb+droplinks :cool:
(and new pads before any tracks are glanced at)
And to sort that knock! :wall:

Good update mate, looks good with the VTR rims and lowered.

very nice man

oooh, very snazzy indeed. is it a disc beam on the back now then?

Cheers lads sits so much nicer now, collected the money yet Alex? ;)

Nope tis a mk2 1.0 (I believe) rear beam with silver painted drums in vgc :y: the torsion bars are from a vt though ;) I'd rather keep the drums tbh and upgrade the front to four pots when the vtr engine is sorted as long as the drums keep the rear in check consistently I'm happy :A:

i went to see sma yea
its a 1.1 beam btw
and its on standard torsion bars but has a 22.mm vtr anti rollbar :D
worked very well on my car hope it does the same for you man

Sam wacked in a set of 19mm torsions in for me for a small fee (I was complaining about the ride was going to be too soft at the rear so he surprised me with a phone call on friday stating about the torsions), unless he said otherwise :zainy: his dad was complaining about you leaving the slammed "piddly" 1.1/1.0 torsions in ;) how low was this beam on your car dude?

Either way it is a huge difference and I can certainly notice it. Cheers for giving it to him to sell to me bud. :y:

hmm i think this project will finish with 16 valves ? ;)

16 valves would be perfect ;) (that or a cammed R engine :D ) During my uni placement I will be earning *touch wood* so a new (bigger) lump will be in the bay then and the exterior will stay as OEM as possible :y: As at current insurance is killer for the engine conversion and I'd rather get the engine fitted professionally so I'm saving for that too :A:

I'm currently spraying the badges on the smiley grille and then going for a respray on the older grille but with the badges removed ;)

Good work getting the 4 stud conversion done :)

Alot more options wheels and brake wise :)

Great work buddy :y: Ace colour, Simular to mine 1.1 east coast red :op

But colour coding bumpers would look ace :P + spoiler :op

Great progress with this car ! Lots of decent work and time put in....

panel filter time.
 

Cheers for all the comments above, always nice when people appreciate the time I've put into the car :y:

Got a delivery today:



new panel green filter from kam, yet to experience it properly as I went for a quiet drive earlier, not expecting anything tbh, but the engine does seem to run slightly smoother and pick up slightly better

At the weekend I travelled up to bolton abbey with the west mids lot, was a good day out and a big thanks to lee and craig for sorting things :y:

Few pics floating about but here's one from the day:



Sam's XSI, my 1.1 and craig's S.

car didn't let me down the entire journey and barely consumed any petrol, still can't fault the car :y: