S- 2000 pieces

[svensktoppen]

Yep, that's just a whole different level for a track slag.

It will be brilliant though

 

[civicglacier]

I hate to say this, but you cannot track this after you have it finished...

It will simply be too nice to even contemplate trashing it!

Excellent work

I’ll not lie,.I’ve thought the same many times this last while to be fair, but what else do you do with it…

I wanted to build it from scratch to show myself that an absolute amateur can do it with patience and research and to be able to track it and adjust / diagnose things by driving to get it right where I want it handling wise.

The way it is now, it’ll be built with all the new parts and get it running. All exterior panels haven’t been painted so it’s just the rear quarters that are done as they’re part of the actual chassis if you like.

My plan is to put all the original doors/wings/Bonnet/bumpers on it that aren’t painted, and when it’s tracked you don’t care if they take a bit of abuse and rash. Open to suggestions on this also.

I genuinely don’t mean to sound flippant but If I track it and bin it, I bin it, (which could well happen lol) but if it survives a bit of time I’d paint all the exterior properly and probably source new external parts to have it as a nice road car in the end.

My only naive concern is how much abuse the nice underside will take (subframes and wishbones that currently look really well).

When it’s built I’m going to rent a track for a day myself and put it through its paces to make sure everything is working as it should and then take it from there.

That’s where my head is at the minute anyway, which changes like the wind I might add.

On a secondary note, I am currently looking at another project, which is much more track focussed, if that happens then maybe it does become a nice OEM ish car to be kept for life but for the minute,.. to the track we go

Appreciate the input
Ruairi

 

[svensktoppen]

Wherever your heart takes you, yours to do with as and how you wish

 

[civicglacier]

Got the diff done over the last day or so.

I masked the main bolts up to try and get a bit of contrast so it wasn’t a mess of black and it came out ok.

Also got some more of the powdercoated bits back.

Main shield on the underside as well as the shield on the rear left chassis leg.

Re did all of the pulleys for the front of the block so need to press out the old and out get all the new bearings into them.

These are all the “wee bits / brackets” for radiatior hoses, battery, fuel lines to the rail, radiator mounts and other bits and bobs.

Gearbox mounts and cross support done too.

I’m awaiting the coil over springs and brake carriers which are gold so they’ll be ready tomorrow.

Started to clean the coil overs in the meantime which are coming up surprisingly well.

My mate Nick has a turbo s2k and he had a full set of brake and full lines uncut,. So I stole those. These are what I’m using to mimic. All going to be done in Cunife , 2x8s and a 6 diameter so that’s the next “big job”.

Once they’re in we should be able to start properly building it.

I’m going to press all the bearings/bushings in next week to the arms and hubs and then we can assemble the rear cradle and hopefully move towards getting it onto wheels.

 

[civicglacier]

So I had a look at my mate nicks fuel lines and they were in good condition.

I wanted to make new ones but when I looked at the ends they are chamfered about 2mm less than the line width and that’s difficult to do. I thought about just doing new ones with a coupler at the end but decided against it and spent the evening sanding and cleaning down and painting. Pretty happy with the result.

I’m still going to make the brake lines out of kunifer so the silver fuel vs the gold kunifer will be a nice contrast too against the new black guards hopefully.

Heading to Ibiza for a much needed break this coming week and when we come back I’m going to take a week off work and get seriously stuck in to getting the fuel and brake lines in,.tank in, and then build the subframes and get them in too.

 

[civicglacier]

Just back from holidays and got out tonight messing around getting things sorted for next week.

Sorting all the hubs/bearings/ wishbones for bushes this week so hope to get them all done.

Also salvaging some parts from underneath that I didn’t see the point in buying new.

I’m going to all it the “brake bias valve”, which is probably wrong, but took it off and cleaned it up. Not sure whether to paint it but I probably will.

Now have to decide which abs unit to use.

From what I read and am told it’s best not to take these apart as they have “tiny eyes” that don’t like to be messed with so have to think of how I can jazz it up a bit without doing that maybe.

On a non s2000 note, I bought a new car just before I left.

When I changed from the 535 I got an S4 which was pretty fresh and only had about 8,000 miles on it. Ultimately, after only 4-5 ish months I just didn’t like it. It did so many things well, it was quick, sounded nice and had decent luxury in the spec but for me it just wasn’t a comfortable daily driver so I sold it back to Audi and hadn’t really done much since.

At the same time my wife had just got one of the new Skoda Karoq sport lines and had it 2 weeks when she was put off the road for medical reasons, so I’ve been driving it since, but she’s due back on the road in august so I had to go get something.

Drum roll,………..lol,…..anti-climax of the year,

2002, Volvo S80 D5, just shy of 90,000 miles, FSH, towbar and a built in corded phone lol. It’s an absolute boat but when I looked at anything that I wanted it was crazy overpriced and I said to hell with that, I’ll get a workhorse. Bought it off my mechanic who helps me a lot with the s2000 and it came with a year and a half’s mot, 4 new tyres and a full service. All for a grand too.

It sounds stupid but I actually really like it and it will do a job for what I need it to do. Trying to start towards building a house next year and it just made more sense than ploughing money into what is a very overpriced car market. Let’s see does it last .

 

[svensktoppen]

That's a great float, you'll enjoy it and it will do all the daily stuff perfectly. Basically a Swedish XJ that won't go wrong.

The phone is brilliant, worth it just for that

 

[Boydie]

Are they door mat floor mats?

 

[Father Stack]

That Volvo is the best car you've bought yet tbh

 

[ossy2004]

Volvo FTW

 

[civicglacier]

Are they door mat floor mats?

Haha they are,
Weapon!
I just saw there is actually mats underneath though lol.

Think it was an old man who was put off the road for old age

That Volvo is the best car you've bought yet tbh

Lol. I will not deny that.

 

[civicglacier]

Work mad busy and couldn’t get near the car but got 2 days and made some progress.

All bushings done, hubs done all round on the bearing front with the pulsers into the front as the half shafts have those built in for the rears.

Diff mounts ready and got 4 new hanger bolts to mount the diffwith. All ball joints done apart from the front lower offsets, which just bolt in when it’s all together and the rear wishbone back bushes have to be polybushed, as you can’t get hardened rubber for those, so they’ll just push in.

ABS sensors ready to go in, rack needs the ribbed sleeves changed as well as the tie rods and ends but that shouldn’t take long.

Going to take Friday night and get the full rear subframe built up,. I’ll test the fuel tank with about 20 litres to make sure we’ve no leaks and get it installed and the fuel lines connected.

Next week is brake lines and then focus on wiring the engine and get it in too.

Feel like were finally getting there.

 

[Mr.Mint]

I really want to see this in the flesh when you're finished.

It's just stunning.

 

[civicglacier]

Half decent nights work,

Toe/camber/alignment all over the place as expected but good to get it assembled.
All bolts greased and threads tapped, all needs torqued still and anti roll bars put on.

Callipers and handbrake cables next but good to see it coming together.

 

[Rigger]

Looks like a decent graft you've put into that. Looks great!

 

[EF Ian]

Looks great.

Too clean to actually use now though. Unfortunately even if its never driven in the wet the dirt still builds up fast, which I find most annoying.

 

[civicglacier]

Looks great.

Too clean to actually use now though. Unfortunately even if its never driven in the wet the dirt still builds up fast, which I find most annoying.

I’m hoping after driving it, when done I can get it up on the lift and spray the parts and wipe down to stay on top of it.

Need to find a decent product for spray on / wipe off to take the grime off each time I’d say, to at least try and leave it looking fresh.

 

[svensktoppen]

Just use it and give it a good clean every now and then. After all that work it should all be well sealed up anyway. Absolutely no point to then worry about a drop of rain or a bit of dirt.

Make sure it's bone dry going into storage. Wash it when it comes out rather than going in - the last thing you want to do is store a car that isn't fully dried. Better to store it dirty but dry.

Don't use covers for the same reason. A bit of dust does no harm at all, but trapped moisture or a dirty cover both do.

For cleaning underneath, either of these should be perfect:

Lazer - Heavy Duty Industrial Degreaser

Heavy Duty Industrial Degreaser Lazer is truly a wonder product. It is one of the most versatile yet diverse products in our arsenal. Its powerful cleaning action removes even the heaviest ingrained industrial soiling. It cuts through grease, grime and oils making it ideal for engineering and...

anachem-automotive.com

Cleanse - Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner

Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner Cleanse is our most cost effective wheel cleaner. Ideal as an everyday wheel cleaner, when more expensive products like Purge - our pH balanced iron fallout remover which has been designed to safely dissolve iron contaminants and brake dust from all surfaces - is overkill...

anachem-automotive.com

Just spray on and hose off. A blow dier would be great to get water out of nooks and crannies if in there anyway or just let it air dry. You can finish after with detailer of choice if you want. Just depends how far you want to go. It's the underside of a car, it won't stay pristine for long.

 

[civicglacier]

Hadn’t got back near the car in a while as was waiting on some parts arriving. Namely a feeder hose from the fuel tank which I broke the wee “o” ring seal out of when removing the old fuel lines.

While waiting on this I cavity waxed the entire shell, which I should have done a while ago, but all still looked very good in all the nooks and crannies.

With the new parts got I was able to put the pump and tank in tonight. Also got the fuel lines set and clipped in along beside the chassis leg.

With them in place made a start on the brake lines too.

They are kunifer which won’t degrade like the original ones. I used P clips to attach them in front of the tank and round each arch. They aren’t done yet and the P clips have to be tightened down to pivot more against and make the lines a nice straight/curved fit around the chassis if that makes sense.

I left them long at each side as now that they’re in I can tidy them up, get the rear subframe bolted in, and then cut as I need to to bring them down to meet their mounting bracket on the subframe.

Then it’s to the front which is a bit more tricky. A friend has braided from the abs unit to the valve on the chassis leg and I might go that route as I like the aluminium connectors and they’d be easier to work with than bending the 3 lines exactly beside one another. Just have to see how we get on.

Also got a bit of time to rebuild the coil overs and test them and seem to be working and rebounding very well. Came up good after a good clean and the powdercoated springs.

 

[svensktoppen]

All that effort and keeping old bc coilovers? Easy to swap out later though if you want/need to, will do fine for now.

 

[civicglacier]

All that effort and keeping old bc coilovers? Easy to swap out later though if you want/need to, will do fine for now.

Haha,

You are right in your critique.

It’s more to get it running as quick as possible before the next addition to the family comes. Same with new wheels, I’ll not be buying new until it’s running.
(Well,…, that and being a tight heure lol)

At least they’re clean now too so they will sell later hopefully.

 

[civicglacier]

Subframe in

 

[EF Ian]

Looking fantastic

 

[Boydie]

Looks almost too clean to track

 

[civicglacier]

Looks almost too clean to track

Yea it could end up that way if I’m honest. Just not sure yet.

Have been looking at something else
for the track over this last while and if that happens I’ll be more than happy to not track it. Just haven’t found what I’m after just yet.

Looking fantastic

Thanks bud.

Still a bit to go but certainly feels like progress when it starts to resemble a car.