Alanapone's Red VTS. Caged, stripped, track toy. - Page 43 - Saxperience

Alanapone^p · 21st April 2013, 16:51

Well, the bay is pretty much stripped and ready to start sanding back and welding up.

Heres the main bits I need to chop out and replace.

Only problem i can foresee is that the lower hole is where the bracket that the horn and wing attach to and thats pretty bad too so, a bit of fabrication work will be required too.

Hopefully, I can get the odd evening to do the little bits here and there.

Alanapone^p · 22nd April 2013, 12:00

Just updated the title of this thread.

The plan is as follows:

As I have ended up earning a bit less money the past few months, this year's track time was looking less and less likely! The hunt for a new, higher paid job is ongoing but for the meantime it has meant that I had no money to tax the car. Subsequently it is now SORN and in the state shown. While I have a bit of time but little money, it seems a good idea to sort the last little bits of welding and tidy up the few bits that have been annoying me.

I know from the trackdays I have done that the car is way faster than my ability so I thought about ways I could improve myself as a driver... what better way than going against others in timed events. I'm a bit nervous about just entering a track racing series such as the tintops so the other option is hillclimb and sprint events. After watching DaveP's YouTube channel I decided I fancied having a go. The entry fees etc don't seem too bad either so that makes it all a bit easier to get into. I also need to get some tuition on a few trackdays and learn the cars limits a bit rather than worrying about my own limitations. Once I know the car can do something, I will feel confident I can replicate that safe in the knowledge its able to cope.

So that is the basic plan at the moment... Build the car to the hillclimbing spec and enter it for a couple of races next season. Hopefully I can turn the car round in a few months and get it back on the road ready to do a few late track sessions this year to play with the car a bit.

Any help or advice is always welcome. I need to go and relearn some welding skills now... Thanks to my mate Jon for lending me his mig setup. :thumbup:

Beaniemoo · 22nd April 2013, 12:24

Sounds like an awesome plan! I look forward to seeing the progress on this build!
Best of luck with it

Alanapone^p · 22nd April 2013, 12:45

Ahh, Beanie, Without giving away too many trade secrets is the relocation of the fuse boxes to inside an easy enough job? Looking at it I'm thinking it will be a wise move. I'm a spark by trade so not too shy of a multimeter and soldering iron.

Beaniemoo · 22nd April 2013, 13:25

I'll dro you a message tonight on Facebook and we'll have a chat about it if you like?

Alanapone^p · 22nd April 2013, 20:13

Sounds good dude.

saxokid100 · 6th May 2013, 01:11

Coming along well Alan....

Alanapone^p · 8th May 2013, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxokid100

Coming along well Alan....

Cheers neil. Progress is slow at the minute, i wanted to enjoy the sun rather than sweat my balls off this weekend. Hopefully the coming weekend should see the stitch welding done, the rust treated and maybe even the big holes patched up! If i can get it all sorted and in primer ready to paint i'll be well chuffed!

Fingers crossed!

Alanapone^p · 10th May 2013, 14:11

Got a little bit more done last weekend. Only got the fuel lines, Washer bottle and pedal box to drop out of the way now. Should only take 5 minutes.

Got a little bit of the loose surface rust of the drivers side chassis leg too. Hoping to be able to get a few hours on it over this weekend. I really need to keep motivated and momentum up on this.

Oh, I do need to remover the rear brake hoses and fit them to Nic's car. One seems to have developed a small leak. :-/

jpsaxo · 10th May 2013, 14:41

Keep at it mate, you'll be surprised how quickly it all comes together :-)

Alanapone^p · 10th May 2013, 14:50

Yeah, hopefully having a small arsenal of rust removal tools and a pot of kurust will make short work of the surface stuff. I'd be chuffed to bits if I can get it all treated and in primer by the end of next weekend. I think I'll just have to watch the weather this weekend and do what I can.

Looking forward to having a nice cleaned up bay... then the engine needs a going over!! lol.

Gandi699 · 11th May 2013, 11:47

Keep up the good work mate it'll come right in the end. Wish I'd pulled the sound deadening out when I had the engine out on mine, guess it'll be a right pain to remove with the engine still in if not impossible

Alanapone^p · 11th May 2013, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandi699

Keep up the good work mate it'll come right in the end. Wish I'd pulled the sound deadening out when I had the engine out on mine, guess it'll be a right pain to remove with the engine still in if not impossible

It's not impossible but it is hard work trying to get all the little bits out. You can get 90% of it out just by ripping it with your hands. The bits behind the brake servo and steering rack are awkward but you could probably get most of it out.

It's absolutely lashing down here so it does not look like i will get anything done today. I have a gig in Oldham tonight as well which will mean a late night but hopefully I can get up and see if the weather is any better tomorrow.

Gandi699 · 11th May 2013, 12:05

Might have a go at it later then if I cut it with a Stanley knife might be easier. That said I've gotta do the brakes on the missus' vectra

Alanapone^p · 11th May 2013, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandi699

Might have a go at it later then if I cut it with a Stanley knife might be easier. That said I've gotta do the brakes on the missus' vectra

Just jack up a front corner, get under it and just pull at the stuff you can reach out, then just see what you can reach from the top. It should only take you a few minutes to get most of it out. You don't need a stanley to do it either, It's not the thick rubber like inside the car, it rips relatively easily.

camble · 11th May 2013, 13:42

Looking good mate.
Mine's in a garage but I cba doing anything with the weather as it is today haha.

Alanapone^p · 11th June 2013, 15:12

Been doing a bit over the past couple of weekends. I'll get a little writeup and some pictures up as soon as I can.

Kind of forming a plan of having the car back on the road and how I want it for TRAX. The missus and I enjoyed it last year as did the baby so were pretty set on going again this year.

Fingers crossed all goes to plan and some money starts to flow my way! Hahaha.

Alanapone^p · 11th June 2013, 22:59

Well, The engine bay has gone from this:

To this:

With a lot of help from this:

And most importantly, these:

After giving the engine bay a coat of hammerite rust repair and primer stuff I remembered that I need to make a new bracket to hold the wing and bumper on as the original one had seen better days. So I came up with this so far:

It needs cutting down, shaping a bit more and strengthening then I can weld the bugger on. No doubt I'll have to repaint the wing again but hey ho, that's what I get for being forgetful! lol.

Hopefully that should be sorted this weekend then I need to get a start on the engine. It's just getting a major service and the valve stem seals replaced. If I get time I might get time to do a bit of light headwork.

Once the engine is done, some of the interior wants a quick looking at. The feet for the cage need some tidying up and the rear arches want stripping back and checking for rust. Any that I find will feel the wrath of the MIG!! hahaha.

Then hopefully, it will all get bolted back together along with a couple of bits I've got lined up to make it an even better car.

The plan now is to get it back together ready for TRAX. If I can get it done it gives me plenty of time to get the balance and setup right and get used to it ready for having a go at some hillclimbs next year.

The updates should get a bit more frequent now as well as the weather is a bit nicer so I can actually get stuff sorted.

Bedford126 · 11th June 2013, 23:07

Looks good that mate hell of a difference. Wouldn't have been my choice for primer like.

Also whilst you still got it all stripped are you going to fit the strut top plates for the price and the effort it takes i personally would.

Alanapone^p · 12th June 2013, 14:34

I was considering getting some of them plates yes. I don't have much money at the minute so cost is the main factor. I was thinking about getting a mate to make some for me though, I need to get someone to trace theirs out so I can get them to him or find the plans from somewhere... I'm sure I've seen them somewhere.

I do find myself wanting to make some stuff now with my new found welding skills! I'm going to make a bracket for the willwood bias valve and one for the catch tank.

Main thing is just getting the shell properly solid.