MX-5 Lanes car

[cauld1]

Essentially it isn't a stage rally guys! They are special tests. In theory competitors shouldn't be beating the bogey times, from memory set at a 30mph average, sounds slow but when you're sitting going sideways in a ***** caked farm yard with machinery everywhere it's really not.

0.7 miles for a test would be a decent enough length to be honest, but the 3 mile ones would be great craic!

 

[FM155]

Yep, that's it. Hard to explain but even the short tests don't seem so short when you are trying to get the balance of speed and not being too lairy and going wide and firing yourself into the ditches. There are some very fast sections where you can be well into third gear on gravel or muck but the average will be brought down by either a chicane / cone to go around or in the case of the welsh event, they had passage controls mid test which drops the average away to very little. Add in some tight manoeuvres in mucky farmyards and it's really good fun but it is not stage rallying as Conor said above. Doesn't cost anywhere near as much either of course.

 

[svensktoppen]

Ah, so more like an auto-test almost on those short stages, but to a target time instead of as quick as you can?

 

[FM155]

Depends on where you go really, Tyrone tens to be more auto-test like although there is no reversing in Targas. The target times should be set to get a time below the average 30mph and if the tests are laid out correctly, they should not be able to be beaten. Some can be, but then if you go below the target time, there is no advantage.

 

[FM155]

So, heading back to Wales to do the 116 Targa at the weekend and after getting the arse scraped out of it last year and nearly getting beached in a few places, I wanted a bit more altitude...

Thanks to @Daviddunlop83 I got some 40mm spacers made up and got them fitted.
Got the guards straightened and strengthened and a set of proper gravel tyres fitted too. Still got a few jobs to do on it before the weekend but wanted to get it down the road and check it's still driveable lol. No probs, checked the alignment and it's dead on so happy with that. Only going to carry 1 spare and been removing anything that isnt needed to keep the weight down. Hoping we get a clean run round and don't embarrass ourselves lol.

 

[big_pete]

Awesome trying to find another one for lanes ATM myself. Looked at one at the weekend 1.6 with an LSD but couldn't strike a deal and the car just wasn't worth what he wanted for it.

 

[FM155]

Aye they are great wee cars for the abuse they take, just need a bit of fettling like any other car for the use it's going to see. Saw Brendan Mooney had a 1.8vvt Mk2.5 advertised there a couple of days back.
Dunno if this will work or not.

 

[big_pete]

Enquired about it, needs chassis legs welding and no MOT. It's in the consideration pile ATM.

 

[FM155]

If it could be got for reasonable money, the likes of Davy Cousins could sort the chassis legs for you easy enough...

 

[FM155]

Some more pics from the paddock at Glan-Y-Gors Kart track. There were 24 miles of tests with only 4 tests repeated and some of those were done in reverse or changed in some way.

And off the trailer for a good clean today after getting home at 2:30am.

Saw Neil at the port tunnel toll with a considerably cleaner car than mine.

 

[big_pete]

First class! Can't wait to get stuck into a few myself. Aside from a hydro and guards, any must do mods in your experience?

 

[FM155]

Depends on what model you end up with, a lower final drive ratio is a good idea. Mine is a 1.8 5 speed with a torsten lsd with a 4.1 ratio as standard. I got a 4.66 cwp from a mk1 Kia sportage front diff fitted which made a huge difference to acceleration off the line and control around cones and pylons that are common in targa and lanes tests.

Edit: If you end up with a 6 speed car, a 4.1 diff is apparently the one to have. All the turbo boys say the 6 speed box is way more capable of taking abuse but I've had no bother with mine in 3 years and 40 odd events.

 

[FM155]

Using my time at home to finish off removing the ABS fully as it is unplugged during events and I had to nurse it through the mot last year with an ABS light that would come on at anything above 5mph.
I've spent a bit of time trying to make it look tidy as I've seen a few that look like the abs pump was ripped out with a jcb and new lines laid in like silly string.

Tee mounted where a distribution block was at the master cylinder.

ABS pump and bracket removed (Useful 6kg saved) and Mk1 washer bottle used to replace the mk2 bottle which is left sitting out in the middle of the engine bay once the abs pump is removed.

Caught up to today with the passenger side done and clipped up nicely.
Next up is the rear line which will be going inside the car.

 

[svensktoppen]

That's a great job there

 

[FM155]

Continuing on today and got a little distracted.

I was looking at where I could drill the bulkhead for the two brake lines that need to go through (one for the rear brakes and one for the hydro reservoir). I realised that there is a thick moulded insulation mat for heat and sound so I cant see clearly where to drill. It also looks heavy... . So I decided to strip out the carpets and dash to allow me to mount the lines and re-site the hydro for the new regs.
So, started stripping stuff out and was putting bits into the boot when something that really gets on my nerves every time I open the boot just annoyed me again.

When I modified the boot to take two full size spares, I had taken out the boot lock, latch, the lifting springs and all the supporting metalwork to make space for the wheels so this was the simple solution to keep the boot up. However living with it for the last few years, it's not really much use and gets in the way when it's not being used. It has slipped and I've had a smack on the head a few times with the boot lid too. Sooooooo.....

I had a piece of 6mm bar with a 90 degree bend in it so I threaded the short end and used a hole that was already in the left hinge.
Then I made an anchor bracket out of a piece of 1" box with an end plate welded on it to locate on one of the hinge studs.

A bit of trimming and a washer rack welded onto the rod and hey presto.

Got them off and cleaned up for a lick of paint. Just need a clip to stow it on the boot lid and I'll be a bit happier.

Yeah, gotta get back to those brakes..

 

[FM155]

So this hasn't been used in anger since 2019, started on a rebuild which went a bit sideways in 2020 and never really got very far with it. Totally pissed of with not being able to compete but not wanting to forego the rebuild which wasn't happening, so in a bit of a rut with it. Got a message last week that the MGCC were going to try and run an autotest as a they haven't really run many/any events since 2020. My initial response was that my car is laid up but I'll come and marshal, but then thought feck it, it still runs and I'm sure that I could get it sorted in a week.....
So, did my usual thing of renewing my competition license and entering the event to put a monkey on my back to get it done. Feck.

Without going into a lot of detail, I've spent any spare time over the last week sorting out lots of stuff on brakes, suspension, bodywork, seats, intake to get it to a stage that it would pass scrutineering. Got a borrowed trailer and went last night, first test had one manouvre that I struggled with and failed a couple of times out of 4 runs but got reasonable times on the other two. Second test was a bit more flowing and I did ok other than a pylon fault with the times getting better with each run. Overall happy to be out again and not have wrecked the car, totally knackered from late nights getting the car sorted and doing the event but feels good to have done it. Now to plan how to rebuild it without putting it out of action again...

 

[svensktoppen]

Glad it worked out. There's nothing like a hard deadline to get things done

 

[FM155]

Yeah, knew I needed something to aim for to get it sorted, now got to get it MOT'd & insured so I can do more events in the short term and then continue with the engine / diff / subframe builds and have the bits ready to drop on for the winter lay off. There's more than that to do but I'll get onto it.

 

[carmad.]

Yeah, knew I needed something to aim for to get it sorted, now got to get it MOT'd & insured so I can do more events in the short term and then continue with the engine / diff / subframe builds and have the bits ready to drop on for the winter lay off. There's more than that to do but I'll get onto it.

you sure my wee lads enthusiasm didn’t rub off on ya last week ?

fair play getting it out for a run

 

[ace275]

Yeah, knew I needed something to aim for to get it sorted, now got to get it MOT'd & insured so I can do more events in the short term and then continue with the engine / diff / subframe builds and have the bits ready to drop on for the winter lay off. There's more than that to do but I'll get onto it.

Glad to see it back out in action

Do some events require the car to be MOT'd? I'm thinking of picking one up for either Lanes Rallys or the MODI-5 cup

 

[FM155]

you sure my wee lads enthusiasm didn’t rub off on ya last week ?

fair play getting it out for a run

Always good to visit sheds with people doing similar things to give a boost to the mojo mate, look forward to seeing the van out and about soon!

 

[cauld1]

Glad to see it back out in action

Do some events require the car to be MOT'd? I'm thinking of picking one up for either Lanes Rallys or the MODI-5 cup

Yep, for lanes anyway as there are road section so normal rules of the road apply.

Same for multivenue autotests in some circumstances where roads used.

Unsure on MODI-5 but would guess a MOT is not required.

@FM155 good to see it's back out. Mine has finally moved under cover but looking like it'll be a strip to shell and sort job. But tbh, got more into modified shows and found I was having more fun at them so it's kinda in that not too sure what direction to go with it territory!

 

[FM155]

Glad to see it back out in action

Do some events require the car to be MOT'd? I'm thinking of picking one up for either Lanes Rallys or the MODI-5 cup

Lanes rallies and multi venue autotests need MOT, tax & insurance to run on the roads between test venues. Single venue autotests like last nights can be done without as long as you can trailer it there. In my book, a years insurance & tax is cheaper than a trailer but you only have to buy the trailer once, not every year, and it'll still be worth something once you've finished with it, unlike insurance or tax lol.

Racing means making the car completely non roadworthy which is fine as long as you never plan to use it on road again as it would be a bit difficult. Racing can get very expensive very quickly, whereas autotests are really cheap and targas are only mildly expensive....

 

[svensktoppen]

Tax and insurance also means the car can come out for weekend drives and whatnot as well. Just makes it more usable than lying up between events.

 

[FM155]

More spam..

Just as a reference point to where I started around a week ago, I had removed the bootlid and hinges to try and fit a fibreglass replacement. Had to reverse the changes as the fibreglass lid still needed work and paint.

Was sitting on my 'gravel' suspension setup which was modified top mounts with spacers, those were replaced with a standard set of bilsteins that I had sitting. Every bolt tight/partially seized despite it only doing 3 events (all rough ones) on that setup.

Was going to attempt to finish fitting the lightweight hardtop fully but decided not to rush it and just hoped for a dry night, which it thankfully was lol.

No rear brakes as I'd snipped the rear line behind the engine so I couldn't get my normal pipe swage tool in there so had to buy a compact one and get UNF fittings for an adjustable bias valve and fit it. Total pain in the hole but the quickest way of getting it together.

Had to rig up an inlet pipe from parts I'd bought for a short inlet after removing the airbox.

Fit new seats with fixed rails.

Not a huge list but hard enough to fit into the 3 days I had around work lol. Mental deadline but very satisfying to have made it.