Santa Pod visit

Had a great time at the Pod, if a bit hot - both in and out of the car!

Cheers for the pics Gary Dickens.

Found I still had an oil leak on getting home from the pod as my back bumper had managed to pick up most of it! 

Internal swirl firewall

Since buying and fitting the swirl pot and external 044 pumps I've been really concerned if I ever suffered a fuel leak... as its right behind the driver!

After a few cardboard mock ups I purchased some 5mm lexan sheet and aluminium angle to make arear firewall. I chose lexan since I wanted as much visibility as possible. I just need to get some rubber edging for it to fully seal.

Ignition rewire

One of the problems with the original loom is that the ignition circuit travels a very long path before it gets to the coils which results in a voltage drop and a weak spark. 

Esprit GT wing

Next up is the rear wing, with my custom mounts mounted on the outer edge along with the Esprit 1850mm carbon wing.

Running!

Engine all back in, started first time too!!

Aero modifications

Whilst the engine was out I decided to work on the cars aero a little bit. After a bit of deliberation I decided to cut the front fender away behind the front wheels to release pressure build up that would normally occur.

I also openend up the rear quarters as well to match the fronts.

I've also got some new carbon goodies too, I'll get some pics up when I've mounted them!

Rebuild 2012

Well after getting my car back together after the winter I found it wasn't starting from cold very well, and when it did it would only start on one rotor! I was hoping it would just be a plug lead that was not seated but after cranking with the plugs out I found coolant. I did a quick champagne test and I also got many bubbles which concluded my water seals had gone or I had a warped plate. It would hold pressure when cold but as soon as it got warm I would get coolant in the front housing.

I spoke with Jay who agreed the engine would need to come out for a rebuild so I was left with an empty bay for a couple of weeks whilst it was rebuilt. You can see my new front subframe in gold and the new coil relocation bracket I made whilst I could get in there!

I got the engine back a couple of weeks ago, it turns out the front housing was warped! So I got a new one for piece of mind and had it ported out to match the other housing, plus a bit extra on both for good measure!

So I'm almost there putting it all back together, will just need a tweak on the map since I've gone with a parallel fuel setup.

99 cluster and glove box heater controls

I spent the nice weather over the weekend finishing the install of my 99 spec gauge cluster and making up a panel for the glove box to house the heater and fan controls, which I'm pretty pleased with.

With the sun out I decided it was time for a clean and polish since the car hasn't had one since last year and I've been busy doing all the other mods!

Hidden brake lines

Something thats always bothered me about the engine bay has been the unsightly brake and clutch lines that sit across the firewall. The routing meant the pipes get hot and the extra joints mean more failure points. So I set out to remove them and replace them with braided lines.

Removal went well with no fluid on the paintwork and I was able route and make up the new lines without too much trouble. Took a bit of time to bleed out the air in the new lines but the pedal feels nice and firm.

New GT wing

Another year and a new GT wing!

After having a Sard wing for sometime I thought I'd try something different, so I decided to go with a huge 1850mm Esprit wing as it had more depth than the Sard. I'm currently deciding whether to mount it centre (like the Revolution Time Attack car) or at the boot lid edges.

I'll post some better pics when its not raining!