[fizz]

Okay great i will relocate it to behind the front bumper if i need it then or preferably delete. i cant remember what i did on the other car.
And yeah 50mm spacers wideboy alright but it has left me with this next issue LOL
I have the same wheels and setup as before but with the lil bit extra poke now the tyre touches the pinch weld which was like an inch or more sticking out into the wheel well. Previous to spacers i battered the inner arch a lil bit and it rubbed occasionally but wasnt dangerous as no sharp edges.

It's too late to go back now so i ground the pinch back and cut out the area where it would rub,its as far as i can get it as its fluch with the pillar/doorjam area so i will weld the 3 panels that were pinched all the way down and smooth it then weld a formed curved plate across the remaining hole and i dont know what else i can do.

It touches when wheel is a couple millimeters short of full lock..i imagine i would only use full lock on parking etc but i want it to be 200% safe so i want more cut out? or can i adjust the rack to be 1/2 less before hits full lock if you know what i mean? see what you think any help would be great.

Before tummy tuck

After tummy tuck

My 300IQ at turning full lock whilst watching for touchy touchy tire when i'm by myself

When full lock it touches by a ballhair

What is left

 

[nova16sv]

It's too late to go back now so i ground the pinch back and cut out the area where it would rub,its as far as i can get it as its flush with the pillar/doorjam area so i will weld the 3 panels that were pinched all the way down and smooth it then weld a formed curved plate across the remaining hole and i dont know what else i can do.

fizz getting ruthless with it, haha.
thats close isnt it... and thats with the car sat still.

i dont think you can adjust the rack at all, probably not without opening it up, and fitting different mechanicals, not worth it.
you could probably customise some stop blocks on the front side of the hub, but not sure how to go about that.

speed bumps, potholes, hard cornering, and heavy braking, will be the times when it rubs. extra passengers will make it worse, and the weight of the v6 wont help either, haha. is the engine in it already ?

as long as its not structural, you can chop more out, and plate/weld, it back up. maybe a few taps with a hammer, here and there.

 

[mr drew]

If you need to limit the steering lock the easiest way is to fit a spacer over the rackbar behind the tierod.

 

[fizz]

good idea...are these homemade or can i actually buy these? save me a hunt

never mind i found these Steering rack lock stops for Kit car Locost Robin Hood Haynes Roadster | eBay so i will get something to fit...thanks for that,you saved me a huge headache!

 

[nova16sv]

^ clever. not seen those before.

looking at the ebay pic, took me a minute to figure out how they work. simple and effective tho.
good shout @mr drew

 

[fizz]

fizz getting ruthless with it, haha.
thats close isnt it... and thats with the car sat still.

i dont think you can adjust the rack at all, probably not without opening it up, and fitting different mechanicals, not worth it.
you could probably customise some stop blocks on the front side of the hub, but not sure how to go about that.

speed bumps, potholes, hard cornering, and heavy braking, will be the times when it rubs. extra passengers will make it worse, and the weight of the v6 wont help either, haha. is the engine in it already ?

as long as its not structural, you can chop more out, and plate/weld, it back up. maybe a few taps with a hammer, here and there.

I literally did not see your post above Drews one.
Yeah the car is still and still hasn't got v6 back in yet but i will adjust the coilovers to same position surely...when i was putting the arches on i said to myself "too old to be stance boy and gotta be practical" so i will have a nice tiny gap between wheels and arches so i can drive it hard and not worry about rub so i will make up rack stop things and be all good.
As for few taps with a hammer...boy you don't even know...just ask the neighbours lmao..i have lost hammers in the atoms of that wheel well i beat it so damn hard

 

[fizz]

Not much of an update but got the drivers side mostly done also then i noticed an awful lot of surface rust at the bottom...i then gave the hammer test and what do ya know...more oopsies!

This car is so much more rotten than i imagined,my old car was 100 times better..just another patch whilst im there anyway...one bit at a time...tomorrow i plan to cut and weld in patches weather permitted

 

[fizz]

Just a quick update kind o f car related...i cant go visit my car up the road therefor i am going to take the car to me...I have started to fence in my garden which will soon get a roof and become a proper wee garage so i can at last work on my car in all elements and not worry about our shitty weather holding me back for months on end! and a place to keep all of my tools organised and not just thrown in a mess in the back of two cars and shared garage the car cant even get into anymore.

first time i have built a fence and so far seems to be going well...the area is 4.4M x 6.5M so should have plenty room for the astra.

Hopefully next update will be car home and more work done to it

 

[nova16sv]

I have started to fence

fizz's excuse, to fortify for the apocalypse. everyone seems to be shitting there pants right now, buying stocks and shares in gas mask's, and rocket launchers.

should be good tho. will make things a hell of a lot easier for you, having the car at home

 

[fizz]

fizz's excuse, to fortify for the apocalypse. everyone seems to be shitting there pants right now, buying stocks and shares in gas mask's, and rocket launchers.

the end is nigh,i just want my car on the road before it does happen yes it will make easier,especially when i feel weird and stuff at least im home and don't have to drive when im all fucked up anymore. I have been cracking on and got the outside painted and started laying hefty slabs for the floor but did too much yesterday so taking a break today. all i gotta do is line the inside of fence with sheets of board so no prying eyes can see my stuff and a temporary roof until i can afford a real one and when the roofing supply place is open again.
Then car home and probably bodywork next for a change so at least it will look semi-presentable and then more welding

 

[fizz]

The Apocalypse fort is still only half complete as the rest of the wood doesnt get here til end of week so i put the temp tent up and took the car home anyway even though i only get half the room for now at least im dry.
It was only 2 miles down a country road but drove no bother (little bit of scrubbing on the back bumper as hadn't lopped arch area off yet)

And so i can continue

Gave the dog sticks so he would stay outta my way to find him in the fucking livingroom with the damn things, i will ignore this and continue to the car lel

I drilled 7mm holes every 2" and cleaned the burrs off both sides,someone correct me if its not enough please( I'm a lil late but i can redo if i gotta)

After a long day of dogshit welds and grinding, I coated in hammerite red oxide and left for now as im knackered.
I think it looks okay and i only had a couple pinholes in a few of the welds but i left them as i tried to fill one in and regretted it as you will see on last pic...i will go back and sort later before seamseal,paint etc

I will do the driver side next couple days and then wheels off and fill the end caps and the panels i made for the wheel at the front.
Feels good to actually have car home in my own space so when i feel weird i can just head inside and i am well sheltered here also

 

[nova16sv]

good effort on the apocalypse fort mate, new base of operations
nice dog, alsations are cool.

 

[fizz]

Just a quick update this week, been trying to work on this garage thing and make it work until i can get myself an actual roof but its gonna be £250 so i will use the tarp for now....im just hoping it doesnt get taken by the wind...i have tied it my best and have added a couple roof rafters and supports since these pics so hope it will work for a bit...you can see the room i have,it aint bad...I will be putting a long work bench right along the drivers side of the garage which is a good 20ft i think it was.

As for the car i have finished welding the plates behind the trim holes and filled them...just gotta touch up a bit more before repainting the car yet again

Now that i have a dry space i managed to empty out the car and forgot how roomy these cars actually are

I finished up the welding of the sills and end plates, redoxided everything and seam sealed...hopefully it will last long enough,a bit rough bit gave everything the mini sledgehammer test and all is well.

I started to remake the seat brackets for the rear buckets,i am using my old ones for mockup....i am using 2mm for the side brackets which are roughly cut and i had to get 2.5 from the metal place for the center bracket which i havent drilled yet but i had them bend it. i am gonna bolt the seats to the brackets then brackets to the car as oppose to welding brackets to car..makes things more accesable. these seem miles overkill at 2/2.5mm but safety first i suppose

Also i have a momo wheel and this here wheel,the momo is a bit rough and i always liked the shape and feel of this one so painted it up as hated the silver...i will be changing the silver bit to yellow and i have also desingned new dashclocks but need to make them yet

That is all i really have so far...between doing this fence and all this welding solo im knackered but soldiering on

 

[nova16sv]

looking good fiz
she wide !

what engines this got at the mo, was it 1.6 or 1.8 ?
i guess your gonna get all the mechanicals, and body, sorted first, before the v6 goes in.

incase you wanted to know - i deleted my carbon canister under the wing, and i can confirm, everythings alright, no fuel pissing out, or stink of petrol, or dodgy running.

i took the box out, and 1 side of the pipework, that goes to the throttle body.
i left the pipe under the wing, and just cut it shorter, so it wasnt flapping around, and wrapped the end of it with a piece of scotch brite, so it can still breathe easily, and has somewhat of a filter on the line, so no crap ends up in the lines or tank.
and i fitted a short piece of hose, with a bolt in it, to the throttle body, to blank off the engine side, otherwise youll get a big air leak through there. i left the little solenoid switch on the airbox plugged in, so the ecu doesnt complain.

 

[fizz]

thanks i feel like not much is getting done as these seat brackets are taking up all my time for as simple as they are its just an awkward area to work under the 4 corners of the seats,i just gotta get some more metal for the last 4 brackets and that will be it sorted. It still has a very tired 1.8 with a burst exhaust at the mo...i wanna re-service and check over the V6 before it goes in and yes try and get everything else buttoned up as i wanna paint and maybe shave parts of the engine bay whilst im back in there. Im thinking yellow engine bay,huge contrast to the matt black on the outside eh? Great i actually was looking to do that soon as the evap is stuffed in behind the inlet at the moment just so its away from my tires. Perfect all simple stuff i will give that a go thank you. Also my roof is struggling to not blow away and has a few holes in it already so im hoping i can scrape together money for corrugated or anything also the noise of that shit flapping around in the wind is ridiculous

 

[fizz]

Just a small update on the car front.

Been trying to get stuff and things done but more headscratching than anything else.
The vinyl i bought a year ago for the roof and boot was poooooor stuff so emailed the supplier awaiting a reply and hopefully more vinyl.
I started to work on the back bumpers where they meet the arches...they are such an awkward meeting but i shal make them look okay i hope,i cant make a "panel gap" type look as you can see all the curves of the bumper and arches make for an interesting shape.
When i had enough of this i tried tackling the sideskirts which have been annoying me since i got these arches but i think i sussed it out.
Originally i was gonna pull the skirts a little more than an Inch out to meet the arches/wheelface so its flat along the side of the car if you know what i mean but the skirt was super wide to step in/out over and didnt look right,also would take a lot of fibreglassing.
I ended up cutting the two ends off,setting the centre piece where it used to go against the car and pivoted the two ends at an angle so it hits the outer edge of the arch and the skirt in the middle..barely noticable but a lot less work to fill in the gaps.
The cardboard template is going to be a metal piece (probably carbon wrapped also) which will be fixed to the arch and the skirt will be fixed to it,therefor it will be secure. There will be one for each end of each skirt.
I fixed the huge holes and chips in the spoiler and made thick rubber mounts so the ends of the spoiler stop chipping the rear wing area when the boot is slammed.
Any other suggestions or opinions as i am torn on the skirts,i think it will look okay but unsure

 

[fizz]

lmao just noticed the do not stand logo on the cardboard template

 

[nova16sv]

i think i preferred it, without the skirts myself. it looked meaner.

its your car tho, you do what you want.
tell me to piss off, its fine, haha.

are those wide bumpers, all one piece, or does it have an extension bit, stuck on it ?

 

[fizz]

I know what you are saying as i considered it as another option but i feel it looked empty,also the bumpers come down a fair bit lower than the sill of the car so would looked off.
Lol never,everyone has their own views and suggestions,that's why a welcome them.
Yeah the bumpers have the wide arch part moulded already onto them so i cant even remove it...that is what was making it a lil bit awkward...i considered cutting it out and flattening but that is a whole world of pain,im tryna have less days worth of stinky fibreglass work for myself (wrong car i know i know )

Also on another note i realised over my days that in the car world,here on forums and especially youtube comment sections haha that there are more purists that hate anything similar to what i have done here. Marmite n all.
But i rarely ever see anything like i have built , a lot of cars and virtually every single car around my citys stop at exhaust and wheel combo.
Is this because alot of them are on finance or am i stuck in the 90's? I can not decide. I only bring it up becuase i see a lot of strange cars get bashed in comment fields but personally i always see the amount of work put into them,even if they are ugly.
Just something that has been on my mind as i passed a slightly modded matt black 240sx (with red door jams tut tut) the ohter day

 

[nova16sv]

i think its good to see something different, every now and then.
theres too many cars rolling round, that all look alike.

i was in london about 6 months ago, and i was waiting at a set of traffic lights, 3 lanes at the lights, and all 3 cars, waiting at the front of each lane, including a 4th car on my left, were all identical mk.7 black golfs, with the same wheels. i thought ffs. gets boring after a while.

something unique, makes a nice change, from the norm.