Project Ugly Duckling. SR86. 'Haters gunna hate, Tyres gunna bake'

[drift kid]

Yes the clutch plates make a mess in the oil lol

[maxhag]

Yeah thats right, how could I forget. That was one of the best fun drifting events with good friends. Awesome weekend!!!
How many years ago was that?

[ae8zn6]

November 2011, so 2.5 years ago. That was also the event that I decided that I wanted more power too, your gold car may well have been responsible for that too

So I was pretty much set to follow this path by the end of that 'fateful' weekend

I still don't know how I managed to drive at all on Sunday after the night with the feint motion team

[ae8zn6]

OK, big weekend planed.

Needed some cheap steerers that would fit over my brakes as unfortunately my XR4s are 14" and my meshies don't have enough 'X-factor' (apparently that is the correct term for the spokes moving back out from the point of connection with the hub).

Tom had some wheels that I could test fit to ensure they had the correct clearances and in the end I bought a pair of these:


in 15x8 zero offset (They are Grid classics)

BTW apparently small sized performance tyres are even harder to come by west of the bight (first place I called told me it would be an 8 week wait!!!!)

But in the end I managed to track down a pair of RE002's that were the only two that Bridgestone had in stock in WA (in a 195/50/15 anyway)...

PS, you can fit 2 wheels with tyres in the boot of a ZN6 (and there is still a spare under the floor ) (also can't see it in the photo but the boot closed with the rear seat in the normal position)





I also stopped by and picked up a harness today for the driver's seat because, all things going well this thing will be able to move under its own power by the end of the weekend



Hence why I wasn't willing to wait for 8 weeks for tyres

But yeah, unless something serious crops up this thing should be more or less complete for the most part by Monday. Having said that the exhaust will only go as far as the dump and it will still require a tune before its actually done.

Exhaust and tuning actually present a bit of a problem for me though as most places in WA/Perth refuse to open outside of business hours or on weekends

So that means I will have to call in some serious favours at work (which to be honest I haven't really earned) or line up some deals with shops...

What I would LOVE is to have the car ready for a motokhana on Star Wars day, but I think that my chances of organising exhaust and tuning by then are slim to none. And even that would be assuming there are no teething issues for a complete ground up rebuild performed over 16 months in three garages separated by nearly 4000km

Anyway, it had been ages since my last update so I figured I had better put something on here Hopefully by Monday I will have another update with news of how it all went.

[drift kid]

I like hearing this! Good luck

[ae8zn6]

This video was taken on Monday....




So yes, at long last this car moves under its own power (yew!)

Over the (long) weekend I:
Fitted the new rear brake caliper adapters and then actual brakes
connected the drive shaft
filled diff and gearbox with oil
finished wiring for the remote warning light
removed and reinstalled the dash to fix problem with the CEL (fun)
finished wiring for thermofans
installed override switch for the thermos
fitted harness bar
fitted harness
installed short shift kit and shifter
Hooked up reverse lights
made up restricted gasket for the dump pipe (metal with a couple of small holes, didn't want to ruin my brand new gasket for the dump)
reinstalled some of the trim around dash etc
adjusted handbrake
fabricated mounts for the overflow bottle and catch can and fitted them both
Went around the car and tightened a whole bunch of stuff to make sure nothing had been left hand-tight over the past 18 months and forgotten about
fitted wheels
Test run through gears while car was up on stands
Lowered car and test drove
realised the alignment was terrible and made it a little better
More wiring
Fitted bonnet
Fitted strut brace
and to be honest heaps of other stuff that I won't bother giving blow-by-blow on

All up a pretty successful weekend.

I have tentatively booked the car in to get the exhaust fitted on Tuesday (next week) and am seeing if I can organise a tune by the end of that week. If so, I will try and sort an alignment and wear in the diff as well. If all that comes to fruition then there is a chance I will be able to enter a motokhana on Star wars day...

We'll see, but I would be surprised if everything goes that smoothly...

Either way, no more pushing the damn thing



P.S. This much dust means your project is taking too f$^&ing long...

[nelpd96|]

It must have been the weekend for it Robbo, I managed the drive the KE up and down the road on the weekend as well. Still some teething problems with the suspension that Chris is helping me work through and a water pump that decided to drop it's guts but other than that I should be good to go soon. Managed to find some RE001 for the 14" rims that came with the car for daily duties so just got some DZ03 fitted to the 15" rims for that day that I finally get back out on the track. All in all I am looking forward to getting the thing back on the road and driving it.

Can't wait to see some footage of yours in action.

[ae8zn6]

Good to hear you had yours going for a little while before the water pump packed it in

Getting the Exhaust fitted tomorrow and if I have time I will do the Alignment and diff wear in procedure too.

Either way I should manage to get it all done before the tune which is booked in for Friday evening

So, it is currently still looking possible to make the Motorkhana on Sunday (So you might not have to wait too long Paul)

Having said that I still expect that I will run into my own teething issues before the car gets out for its first event, there has just been too many things done to the car over such a long period to get away with no issues

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

In the mean time, it looks like a semi-normal car again:




Good old crappy quality low-light phone pictures

Looking forward to actually driving it

[drift kid]

Looking good and sounding promising!

[gaspal]

Where is this motorkhana you speak of? wouldnt mind dropping by for a gander