Update? All good on the track last weekend?

Where did you get your door cards and wing mirrors from dude? :)

Time to bring this up to date! 

 

Got an MOT last June:

 

 

And used it as my wedding car as intended: 

 

 

Then a trackday at Blyton:

 

So, Blyton Park with Club Polo was last weekend, I was using this as a shakedown for the Polo. Having not driven it on track for a few years, and spending the last 18months grafting an 02J onto the little 1.3, I had high hopes, and wasn't disappointed! 

The 02J box I'm currently using has an open diff, so I knew the tighter 2nd gear corners would be difficult, but this didn't stop me having fun  ;D

So, loaded the car up on Friday night- got to Blyton early doors on Saturday and unloaded. The trackday was with MOT, who are always a friendly bunch, good briefing, and out for the sighting laps. Format would be OPL all day, with the outer circuit run in the morning, and the eastern circuit run in the afternoon. Tidy. 

First (and only) problem of the day was the rubber seal on the fuel filler cap had perished slightly. The drain for this helpfully deposits any excess fuel onto your offside rear tyre, cheers. I'm no driving god, but a dab of oppo was followed by a black flag to tell me what I already knew... back in the pits some modification with a pair of pliars, a small bit of blue roll, and job's a good'un! It would be the only fix I had to do all day - well chuffed. 

So, some general pics from the day:

And an old colleague, and friend was there in his AX, with a 1.6 16v PSA engine with Saxo Cup Car Suspension (Leda from memory). A well prepared car, and well driven. This is always my benchmark and target, to be quicker. Often my driving style when we're both on track, goes from 'not very smooth' to 'f'in hell, have you got parkinsons...?' but we have fun! 

Unfortunately we didn't get on track at the same time on the outer circuit, but did on the Eastern, I struggled with the first section, all 2nd gear for the polo, and all wheelspin. The AX ran rings around me here, and I'd spend the rest of the lap (straights!) catching up. 

A few things I got feedback on: 

- Marc (AX) is a hero on the brakes, I am not.... push pedal harder, and believe in the slicks 
- Polo bounces/unsettles mid-corner 
- Polo leans like a good un. 

The leaning can be seen here:

So, my suspension setup is currently G40 Cup Car, a Sachs, fixed damper and standard 2.25" coilovers spring. A rate of 275lb front and 165lb rear. Unlike the Cup Car, I don’t run a front ARB- I also have a wider track, larger slicks, and the front is probably heavier. So I’ve increased the front and rear rates fairly significantly, hoping that I can continue to use the current dampers I have. Failing that I’ll look into modifying a Mk1 Golf coilover kit. 

That aside, I’ve got a list of things to do before the next event, and look forward to being able to develop the car further, now I’ve hopefully solved the driveline reliability issues that plagued me with an 085 box. 
 

Tinkering is continuing on the Polo, a few rust issues to sort on the floor pan, and I'd like to tidy up the interior too. Have some plans with the fuel tank/exhaust, and as usual the quest to save weight continues  :)

First up was a smaller fuel tank:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

It's approximately 15 litres - should help fuel starvation on long right-hand corners, and frees up some room so I can move the exhaust forward of the rear axle. 

The main reason for the strip was to repair the battery tray, and stop the pedal box flexing in that area. Leaking bulkhead plays havoc with old stitch welding

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

With a fair amount of work being done on the floor, I decided to make a spit - a friend was making one for his rally car too, so a material order was placed and duly delivered. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

After some tea, grinding, welding, and a few laser cut pieces, it was ready:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Which made stripping underseal far easier! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Subframe left in at the front, to assist keeping it rigid on the spit:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Inside I've begun stripping the underseal on the existing stitch welding, and I'll prepare some other seams for welding, I've also started removing brackets that aren't required, and generally tidy things up a little. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Spanish steel isn't too forgiving when using a spot weld drill... hence a few 'b****cks' moments where there are some holes! Nothing a welder can't solve. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Weapons of choice for the next few months! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I'm planning on an engine update too, and making the most of the 02J - so looking into some bigger tyres, and some supporting mods to go with them. 

Many hours spent to get the remaining sealant/rust/paint off the floor, can start welding next week I think. 

Pushed outside for a good blow down:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then back in the garage to have the remaining paint removed:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Some of the nastier pieces:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Left me with this:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Be nice to start adding bits back after 3 weeks of removing them! 
 

Completed a good portion of the stitch welding now, utter pain with the cavity wax, despite a hot air gun and blow torch for hours, it still comes flowing when you start to weld...! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Penetration shots:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Ground down some of the less beautiful welds, and dressed all others so they're smooth. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then started on the interior, not much to do here, only a few seams (previously did all the others when cage was fitted):

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Got to flip it back over to do the other side, then make some repair panels for the crusty chassis leg, and sills. I've also got a load of laser cut plates coming to weld in over redundant holes, saves me cutting individual shapes out. 

My plan is to etch prime the underside, I'm not done with the fabrication, but I can weld through the etch, and should offer some rust protection whilst it's bare metal. 

Last week or so has been spent cutting out rust, welding in new steel, and plugging holes. Not very exciting, I'll be glad when it's finished. 

Started with some laser cut bits:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

These were to cover various different holes, some factory, others done by myself over the years of bolting many different things to the floor! 

Welded both inside and out so there's no path for water to enter, etch primed before welding, which isn't as clean as welding to fresh steel, but hopefully provides some corrosion protection:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

After that a good wire brush down, panel wipe, and spray with etch prime: 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

The panel on the right of the picture above, is the OSR floorpan. I twatted a barrier at Oulton Park a good few years back, the 'bodyshop' who repaired it at the time, decided the bent floor was best left and undersealed over... chassis leg had subsequently rusted as had the floorpan. The rear towing eye mounts here, so I've replaced both the floor and chassis leg with Zintec, and will buy a bolt on towing eye. 

Additional work, but I want the chassis to be as rust free and solid as possible. Fuel Pump wiring hole plated over too as the pumps will be mounted on the tank. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And finally the spare wheel well, several rust scabs that i'll be cutting out and welding fresh steel in, I need to decide if I use a steel panel or a carbon fibre one. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Fairly boring update, next one might have shiney bits in it... maybe. 
 

So, been a while since I updated this, boot floor is now almost done, just needs a plate putting in place, but the hole is useful for access currently. 

Chopped the rust out and welded fresh steel in (the laser cut plates):

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then once I'd done that half a dozen times, it was looking a little better:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

The towing eye to chassis leg was all replaced, rather than re-make the steel U-clamp I opted for a JDM/racecar strap, so made a mount:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then a lick of etch prime, and welded the remainder of the rear panel back on:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

After that I needed to set the rotisserie bob on level:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Decided a while back I wanted to put some pukka sill stands in, makes working on the underside much easier. Something like this:

So, some CDS ordered for the female recievers mounted in the sills, I can also make the stands out of this, will order some bar at some point to make the pins from. 

Decided to use the roll cage feet. Not FIA/MSA approved I know, but this is by far the strongest/neatest solution. It's a pain to drill straight, but taking time (about 3 hours) and lots of measurements gave a good result:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Outside (small hole is from the side skirt):

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Poking through:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I've left them a little long, as I'm going to make a side skirt incorporating the arches/floor. I'll take 0.5' as a result! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Have to make some 3mm plates, plate the tube, then weld it all up. Oh and do it another 3 times... 
 

Finished the off-side sill mounts now, there's 3' difference total between them, and a 1.5mm height difference. Only noticeable on a perfectly flat surface (assuming I can make the sill stands exactly the same height!) 

Anyway, first job was to panel wipe the parts and etch prime inside the sill:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I made a blank for the end of the female part, so no crud can get in:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Slot her in the hole:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then weld it up:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And etch prime:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

The interior section will be welded when I flip the car over:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And some measuring to check my handy work:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Height difference from sill face to underside of receiver is 1.5mm front to rear

Then check the car is level front to rear:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And with a piece of L-section sitting on the top of both sill receivers:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

That'll do pig! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I've left them long currently, as I've not made the side skirts yet, I expect to chop 40mm or so off them.

Just got to do the other side now, and make sure the heights are consistent. 
 

So, sill receivers are all complete, taken a fair old while, but should make working on the car easier, I'll build the stands in due course. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Tubes capped off internally, and then etchprimed: 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then etch prime the inner sill, plate, and everything else:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then time for welding:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Whilst working on the rear of the car, the grinder caught the arch... which I duly found out was actually filler. Long story short, I'd tacked the arches together before sending it to the bodyshop (post Oulton) and asked them to finish tubbing them off an tidy it up. That got interpreted to stick filler in all the gaps and paint it. 

No pictures of that as it looked utter gash, suffice to say its a long old job, but if it's worth doing, DIY! 

Offside rear:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Nearside rear before etch prime:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I finished off last night by removing some crusty sections of the sill, and straightening it out. As its going to have a false floor, I’ll have to extend the jacking points through this so I don’t have to take the floor off for jacks/ramps. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Also picked up a few bits for the update, EPAS column and some new rear brakes, nowt too exciting yet! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr
 

Underside now in primer :)

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

So, the last few weeks I've not spent much time on the car, but have now finished removing the old harness mounting points, and fitting new ones. 

Why? Well the old harness pickup points, weren't in line with the new manufacturers instructions (Schroth), and I wanted to lower the passenger seat rails and generally tidy things up. 

So, better to do it on it's side when access is easy! 

First up some measuring, and drawing out what I could achieve with my current driving position:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I'm slightly out of Schroth's guidelines on the lap and crotch (by 2' and 3' respectively), but this is the best I can do with the space (short of cutting the tunnel up). My measurement error is probably that much anyway!

Ordered some ready made FIA spec plates 7/16th for the lap, ended up making my own for the crotch, as the floor is to thin, I made this plate larger than the sum of two individuals (6-point harness so 2 crotch points), also boxed the inner lap belt mounts in. 

Usual process, bit of cardboard, cut the steel, tack together, etch prime the rear, weld it up, then paint:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And you can see all 8 points here:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

That's about it for now, I've been tinkering with a few other bits, like getting some 2008 Seat Ibiza rear brakes to fit a 1991 Polo:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And the new fuel tank:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

More on those, next time! 
 

Cut a hole for the ATL Cell, I'll add some steel angle to mount the aluminium box to, and then figure out the in-tank pump setup at a later date. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Onto the exhaust, handbrake cables, and under-body next  ;D
 

Fuel cell now installed- looks like 4 bits of angle iron (cause it is...) but there's a fair amount of work behind it! 

As you can see from the first photo, the panel under the rear seat isn't flat:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Which means I'd have to break out the year 9 maths book, and get jiggy with some trigonometry. 

First though, this arrived: 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Double bevel model, so compound mitres are possible (used for this job) and I can swap the blade for a stainless one for my exhaust system :)

So, I started with the two easy angles, the front and rear- decided to pop rivet the aluminium case to the steel as I couldn't access the rear for bolts. 

Onwards with the marking, centre punching and drilling!

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Fairly typical workbench shot...

With that done I moved onto the side which require a compound mitre cut:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And that ends up looking something like this:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

A quick trim of the sharp edges and a zip round with the welder:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I then dropped it in and got my weld on:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And made a plate for the front gap:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

A lick of etch prime:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And then a test fit:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Job jobbed:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I'll work out the fuel filler, internal pumps and fuel lines at a later date, plan is to move onto the handbrake, exhaust, and heatshield. 

Not had much time on this recently as I've been busy at weekends with weddings, holidays and Le Mans- finally got back on it this weekend, managed to get the exhaust mounts done, cut and tack the exhaust system, put a big hole in the side for it to stick out, and bend the handbrake cables and make the mounts for them. 

So, exhaust mounts from a T3 Transporter, brackets start as 5 pieces of flat sheet, welded together with captive nuts:

https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7380/27452431924_9944371ed8_c.jpg][/url]Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr[/img]

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Handbrake cables from the Seat were annealed and then bent into shape, they're slightly too long for the Polo, so I couldn't sit them tight against the body, but they clear everything, and no one will ever see them! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Next up was the exhaust, I wanted 3" pipe and a side exit, to allow some rear axle mods, and a flat floor, 3" is fairly big for a modest Polo tunnel, but with some chopping of various brackets, and lack of gearlinkage, it goes! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Silencer is Simons- seems fairly good quality, a crimped housing rather than welded, but had steel wadding, instead of fibreglass (which always degrades after a few years), hoping it will still pass noise limits, being a turbo it's fairy muted at no load anyway- I just about have space to put and additional one in the middle of the tunnel, if required. 

Next up is bending the hangers, then onto the TIG to weld 'er up! 

good god! this is quite a build, loving it :)

Hangers all complete and tacked into place:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

To remove the exhaust or change a hanger, remove the two M8 bolts, and take a split pin out, no wrestling with rubbers! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Left it all looking something like this:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for the tailpipe, I've got a straight exit and a slash cut, slash cut is winning currently, looks very similar to this... given the origins of the tube that's not too surprising:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Because racecar etc.

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Next up is plating the inner panels together (all 3 of them) which requires a few paper templates and some zintec steel, proper pain in the arse to do, but vital! 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

All for now, currently scratching my head regarding rear axle, and mulling over pedal boxes and steering columns. 

Cheers

Pete

Been following this on Club G40 also. Love it!

 

Dare I ask if this is making an appearance at the track day or are you taking something else?

Absolutely flipping fantastic work. Looking forward to seeing the future progress!

1 hour ago, kwijibo_coupe said:

Been following this on Club G40 also. Love it!

 

Dare I ask if this is making an appearance at the track day or are you taking something else?

 

Those photos were taken last week! So unfortunately it won't be there, I'll be in a Volvo 

Looking good Yoof 

fabrication looks amazing, love these updates......

Absolutely awesome mate, love the attention to detail, doing what I hope to eventually do to mine in terms of grinding the floor back to bare metal and fixing stuff!

As usual detail is amazing , love the side exit and jack points :)

So next on the list of things to do was look at the rear axle- I plan on stepping up a slick size again, and had slight concerns about how floppy a standard Polo rear axle was. 

Que some inspiration from works VW Golfs: 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

So, fire up the kettle and solidworks, a few days later some laser cut pieces arrived (I have spares if anyone wants) :

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I also ordered some ERW tube and a few inserts from McGill Motorsport - good service and well priced rose joints:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

So, onwards with welding things up, first up the base plate for everything to sit on:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then tack up the 4 side plates (hole will become obvious later)

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Mock-up of the centre mount:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I then tacked the insert and tube together:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then a quick tack to the base plate, and mount the stub axle to make sure everything clears:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

I then etch primed the inside of the turret, and welded them both on:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Same for the centre mount:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Then it was time to strip it back, clean, etch prime and assemble: 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

Holes obviously for the handbrake cables to pass through:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

And finished with some rubbers over the rose joints and plastic finishers over the nuts:

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

So, that's some VAG parts bin raiding; Seat 2007 Stub Axles, Discs & Calipers, Lupo GTi Stub Axle spacers, Polo GT/G40 Axle, and Mk3 Golf Kit Car style toe bars. 

Untitled by Peter Strange, on Flickr

All for now!

Cheers

Pete