Well, that's the biggest milestone achieved - all the seam welding has been done!!!

Going to give it all a lick of paint tonight to stop it rusting up, put the struts and wheels back on, then it's roll-cage time

Today I finished cleaning the crud off the outside of the gearbox and I was ready to begin stripping it. After a brief stop for dinner, the disassembly began....

First out: flanges come off the diff - both taper rings were broken

Uh oh - that doesn't look good!

Yep, that bearing is shagged

Which bearing is that ? Was there a problem with your gearbox ? I've got a whining issue with mine.

It's the output shaft bearing that sits on the end of the output shaft, near to the diff (the pinion gear that drives the diff is right next to it)

The cage holding the bearings had disintegrated, the inner race (that part in the photo) was in several parts and the outer race (still in one piece at the moment, won't be by the end of tomorrow night!) is still in the clutch housing on the inside of the box. The car drove a little bit, but occasionally didn't engage gear correctly and made a grinding noise (very loud whining!) as if one shaft was turning, but the other was just bouncing off it, I think the output shaft was able to move sufficiently to disengage the gear it was in, or the pinion gear was jumping off the diff crown wheel

Tonights update: got paint on all the underside seams, tried to get a good thick coat on them so that it'll give some rust prevention (now that most of it's been burnt off )

Well, after having some issues with the roll cage fitment (ie, it doesn't) the car will be going to Custom Cages to have the cage modified so it does fit (I think the cage they sell is for a post 2002 Polo) and they're going to leave it tack welded in place for us to finish off (works just fine for us)

So I've mostly been cleaning up, finishing work on the seam welds, today I cleaned the interior out, washed all the bitumen residue off the inside (cellulose thinners ftw!) and gave it a lick of paint

Gearbox is almost back together, not really had much time on it, all I'm waiting for is an adjusting shim for one of the output shaft bearings (pinion gear side) and then it's done

Been another busy week - not much metalworking, but a lot of prep for some!

Got to get the car weatherproof for friday (shhhh, it's a secret!) and as the sunroof's been removed and will not be going back, I thought I'd best plug the hole..

first up, something that's the right shape....

Then we beat a panel of metal around it and offered it up

We finished welding it, stretched the metal with a bit of wood to match the contour of the roof and gave it a skim of filler

Tomorrow it'll get a light sand and a waterproof topcoat for the duration (the car will get a full respray when all the prepwork has been done)

it's been a while - had other cars to work on in the past couple of weeks as Olop's been down to get it's roll cage sorted out when we discovered the roll cage wasn't right for the car

So after discussing with Custom Cages, sending them many photos and telling them it's wrong, they offered to take the car and cage and make it all fit. Which they've done brilliantly!

And, a little bit of rally goodness for the mix....

A genuine knock off sparco rally steering wheel!

Going to put the engine back in and do some other jobs while I wait for the workshop to get a bit emptier, then it'll be getting the roll cage fully welded up as it's all just tacked in place at the moment

Edited 8 August, 200917 yr by majic79

loving the progress mate, cage looks hard... lol keep us posted :)

LEE

Thats awesome! Is the cage going to be all sprayed up white to match?

proper MSA and FIA certified cage, the only stuff on show is the bits it needs to have

It will be painted white when it's been fully welded in place (it's all just tacked in at the moment)

Oh yeah, more goodies have arrived!!

Niiiice.. I'm still tossed up between getting something to rally, or turn into a sprint car!

Good progress!!

Looking good!! More pics?

Next week - patience padawans! - roll cage weld session begins in earnest!

Providing I get my engine crane back this weekend (leant it to a mate) then the engine's going back in

Well, here's the latest update:

After bringing the car back from custom cages, we intended to get the engine into the car, and then into the workshop last monday - trouble with the tow car meant that it was being repaired first and El Pollo didn't move until today!

We started by welding the joins in the upper section of the cage to fix it in position. After they were done, we removed the tacks that held the other parts of the cage in place, removed the feet and cut some holes in the body under the cages feet, allowing us to drop it down and complete welding the upper sections of the joins which won't be accessible once the cage is raised back up. As the cage was down and this would be the only chance to paint the sections that will be directly under the roof/headlining, I got to work with a zinc based primer, getting an even coat all over before going over with gloss white (B&Q special - cheepy cheap!)

end result:

oh NICE:-D

looking good

ill be catching up soon to you:p

enjoy it!

what is going on where the roof diagonal meets the main hoop, doesn't look attached properly...

it's not - one of the diagonals for the crossbrace comes up just in that gap - it'll all be 360degrees welded when it's complete

i want to c a pic finish the pics rnt working on my comp ahh lol

More updates!!

So far we've raised the main part of the cage up and fitted the front and main hoop feet (ball ache of a job that was!) got them all welded in, offered up the rear braces and welded them to their feet. As everything has to be 360degree welded and getting to the joins involves squeezing a welding torch through a gap just large enough to get a gnats todger in, it's been interesting!

Managed to get all six feet in and fully fixed, the lower rear braces in properly, and the rear mounting points of the rear cage fully in. Now we just need to weld in the top section around the hoop while not setting fire to the headlining that's well and truly jammed in place

Hopefully get the rest of the rear cage welded in tomorrow and get the cross bracing for the main hoop in as well - should go a bit easier, the hard bits are hopefully done!

looking good!

This is inspiring stuff dude, keep it up!

looks good!:-D

Oh, and the sump guard is getting fabricated as well, I'll get some photos of that progress tonight hopefully!

Hey, heres abit of inspiration. I saw this last winter at wye dean rally

what type of rallying are you aiming to do with this?