Almost ready to drive once more!

We have a pair of details to take care of, but overall the car is ready to drive again. We changes the location of the rear suspension travel limiting straps and they are looking much better than last year - front and rear look nicely even. This weekend its out to the track to test the car in its new configuration!

Adrian

Engine start!

Finally! We are back in business. Many small details have been delaying this, but we are now ready!
Adrian

Engine in!

Adrian

Brake lines in place!

The final detail on the brake booster removal (brake pump relocation) is done! Brake lines coming from the master cylinder have been changed and re-routed to the new location. Pretty happy with how it came together.

Adrian

Airbox in place and final details on engine

New airbox for the DCOE Weber 45mm is now in place as well as new return springs for each carburetor. Both things should help with some minor details we found last year - difficulty to have both carburetors come back to fully closed position consistently and inadequate air filter system for the engine.

Adrian

Pedal box installed

Finished installing the pedal box in the BMW 2002. Took much longer than expected due to a few details - adding the return spring, positive return stop and final alignment of the brake pump to the modified pedal assembly.

Also found out that the new brake pump was slightly different and did not fit in the same location as the original one. This resulted in some additional work retro fitting the old pump with new bits and pieces.

Overall the pedal box looks good, and now we only need to verify the feel and actuation force is correct.

Adrian

Engine ready for install

Progress was somewhat slower than expected, but we achieved some important things:

- Cleaned combustion chambers and cc'd each cylinder
- Installed engine head along with timing chain, cover and the carburetors
- Installed / modified return springs for each carburetor
- Prepared the induction airbox for instalation

Engine is looking great and is now ready to go back into the car. One important change is that we've decided to leave the cold air induction for a bit later in the build given the potential complications.

Adrian

Diff ready to go back in

Back on the rear subframe and ready to go back in. It will be interesting to drive the car with a limited slip diferential this year - we expect some improvements! More power to the ground!

Adrian

Rear subframe ready to receive the new differential

All set to get the new LSD differential into the car next week. Just need to put longer shock bolts in and we are all set. Car is now ready to start the whole rebuild process!
Adrian

Engine bay ready for re-installation

All is clear again and ready to receive the engine! New subframe in place and all is looking good.
Adrian

Hydraulic jacks and other things part I

Just one image of one of a series of tugs, shoves and other unspeakables to get subframe in.
Adrian

Engine on stand and struts are Ok

Getting the 2002 engin on the engine stand with the flywheel and clutch on always takes longer than expected, but we are ready to clean the engine tomorrow and get the engine head back on, all of which is great progress.

Also disassembled the struts as the RH one had a worrisome movement at the strut cartridge. Manufactures the tool to open it up and is Ok, seems it will need a small spacer at the bottom of the strut insert to ensure we can tighten it correctly and the issue will go away.

Adrian

Engine and gearbox out

Engine and gearbox are out. And subframe to follow. All on track to rebuild the front suspension this weekend and be ready to receive the new trans and diff next week.
Adrian

Front suspension is off

Front suspension is now off, and we are ready to remove the engine, trans and front subframe tomorrow. Hopefully so we can re install it this weekend with the new parts.

Adrian

2011 Car #288 - finally working on it again!

We are finally really moving on upgrading the 2011 car. This year we are number car #288 because they changed the numbering conventions for the different categories. We have honed in on the changes for the year and have already sourced all the parts we need and are basically in a process of taking stuff apart, cleaning and putting back together.

Major upgrades for 2011 include:
- Close ratio 5spd gearbox. This was available as an option in the US back in the day - but was fairly rare. Based on last years experience, having a better spaced gears in the 2nd to 3rd range is critical for fast corner exits.
- Limited slip differential. Also an option in the 60s and 70s, but not one that our car had. We kept the same FDR at 3.64 given the new gearbox.
- Booster removal. We found last year that with the changes in altitude and lack of vacuum from the engine the booster and brakes were unpredictable. We also found that the car is drivable without booster, so we have removed it and relocated the brake pump right infront of the brake pedal. This should make for pretty good pedal feel, if a bit stiff.
- Induction air box. Without the brake booster, we now have space to get a decent air box for the Webers in place - we'll be using the BMW 2002 Alpina as inspiration - and provide the engine with a true cold air intake.
- Exhaust system. We have secured a series of different headers and plan on testing them for best performance - we are looking for a good solid power band from the 4500rpm range, but that keeps going until 7200rpm...  a lot to ask, but we'll pick the best we can find.
- Improved front camber setting. Shock towers need some minor grinding to get the right camber.


Other than these things, the car stays as last year. No modifications to the engine, cooling system, or suspensions. Inside our cabin worked well, although we are getting headsets for the transit stages and a better way of holding our helmets.

Progress on the car to be posted from now through the race on a regular basis again!

Cheers!

LCP 2010 comes to an end for car 265

We had a great first year in LCP these past 2 weeks, and can only say are more eager than ever to participate in the 2011 event.

We are already working on the upgrades for next year and in brining the car to an even better appearance than in 2010. The minor scratches we took on the last day should be gone in a few weeks, and a few tweaks here and there should make this car an even more serious contender than in 2010.

Thanks to all for following, and I'll keep posting progress and other races as the season goes on.

Leaving for home

So! We finished 'La Carrera Panamericana' on our first try, we have top 3 times for 4 of the 7 days of competition and gained a ton of experience for 2011!

On our way back and ready to get the car ready for 2011. We'll talk about the upgrades soon! - but, the list is not very long, overall a great car, and more importantly a great team.
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Finished!

Ok - so we finished!
Not wothout a minor off road experience, but all in all thos was great.
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Ready for 2nd half of day 7

Just went through service - excellent as usual! - where we changed spark plugs. Car really liked the spark plug change and is running nicely.

I believe we have 5 or 6 more stages today and that's it!....
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Stage 2, day 7

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