Dedicated Track Car Progress Thread

[trublustu]

One thing I have noticed on trackdays is how little of their brakes some people use..
let me explain...

I am running old crusty ST200 discs with bog standard brembo pads.
There were cars at Mallory weighing nothing with ENORMOUS 6-pot setups
most were braking so early into bends, that I was driving into them!
And I was far from stamping on the brakes.
(really must get new discs, found they`re buckled too)

Why bother with all that unsprung weight when its not used.
I`ll be sticking with my 278mm set up as its got plenty for the car..

for now I have the problem of whether or not to keep these wheels..

17s oncar

• trublustu
• May 25, 2015

 

[grayfox]

They 17's mate? If so perhaps not best of track use (if that's your thinking) what do they weigh? Great vid above btw.

 

[trublustu]

They weigh way too much..
18kg with tyre.
My F1`s are 15kg
I`d want them more for show, they are funky. But with a 7j wheel at ET40 my handling will be affected.
so they are on ebay - should pay for a trip to Pembrey

 

[trublustu]

Well the 17`s went. for exactly the price of my next trackday. Which was handy..
Some of the other goodies off the poor red breaker, bought myself a rear disc setup from a Focus.
I opted for the modest 253mm version off the standard mk1 rather than the larger ST170 units.

Fitting was not a bolt on by any measure.
I have a spare beam on which I mocked up the fitment . At first it wouldn`t even bolt on.
The handbrake cable bracket clashes with the beam and has to be ground back a few mm.
The Pumas brake lines are the correct threads to bolt in, but are too short to reach with the calipers at the rear of the disc.
So, in order to get up and running I have fitted them at the front of the discs (wrong sides) and the pipe is fine.
I`ll be ordering custom lines, so I can mount the calipers as Ford designed!
As for the handbrake. thats just gonna have to wait!
But for now, they work fine.

Focus 253mm rear disc upgrade

• trublustu
• Jun 6, 2015

Also on the shopping list are new discs for the rear and rebuild kits, just to make sure everything is as it should be.

While it was in the air I stuck new discs and pads on the front

ST200 278mm disc upgrade

• trublustu
• Jun 6, 2015

This is a ST200 278mm upgrade. I prefer it to the ST150, 280mm as you need to place 3mm spacers behind the discs opening the track up ever so slightly at the front.
Bigger upgrades are not worth it in my opinion. These stop the car from immense speed for a full track session. They also fit under 15" rims making tyre choice easy (and cheap)

On the subject of track.
My car had 10mm spacers behind the drums. I measures the `depth` of the standard drum brakes and focus discs. they are about 15mm `deeper`
This is the standard car (with oe wheels)

rear track std

• trublustu
• Jun 6, 2015

This is my car now (sorry if it hard to judge of my armco remodelled rear arch)

rear track 10mm spacer and focus discs

• trublustu
• Jun 6, 2015

I`ve also dug out my spats and started work on a ply splitter/undertray and diffuser..
Pembery in 2 weeks :thumbs:

 

[siju]

Nice upgrades. I would also like a rear disc conversion. Unfortunately the pics don't show up.

 

[trublustu]

The car got another outing to Pembrey in south wales last weekend.
It performed really well and held it`s own as usual.

There were a few new mods which I haven`t had chance to post.

Most significant is the plywood splitter I have knocked up (Mk1 version)
It`s made with packing case wood and wont last 5 minutes
but I wanted to test the design before shelling out on more exotic `rot proof` materials

This is the car on track

Pembrey portrait

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

The splitter is much deeper than any I have seen. More like a letter D than a letter C

splitter/undertray mk1 2

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

splitter/undertray mk1 3

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

My idea here was to create an partial undertray to manage the airflow under the car.
I fitted two straps to stop any flexing.

splitter/undertray mk1 4

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

They do look a little agricultural, but remember that this is the Mk1 and is a work in progress
The pic below with is at high speed with the splitter under load,
if you look carefully you can see that the straps are tight and the splitter is indeed flexing downwards towards the ends, telling me that the splitter works and the straps are nessesary (just needs a tidier job)

splitter/undertray mk1 5

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

I manages to break another gearbox selector (this one is now jammed in 4th) so I have another gearbox swap to do.
The donor car i picked up is a very early model and still has its original wishbones which are the doble skinned version.
They look tons stronger than the later single skin ones and will be being saved and fitted with my FRP rear bushes, some Powerflex Black fronts and new balljoints.

double skin wishbones 1

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

double skin wishbones 3

• trublustu
• Jun 28, 2015

I`ll also be fitting some bucket seats soon as I now have some suitable subframes off the early seats which are a good 40mm lower than the later ones and position my seats perfectly

That and fitting a gearbox and all that entails...

 

[ArtfulHussy]

That splitter/try looks fantastic. One of the many things I think about doing but never bother with. Would like one day to try fabbing shields for all the way along, like you get on newer high end cars.

 

[trublustu]

I need to get the bumper back on and see just how much further back I can go with this design
The little cutout is for the sump

 

[TGPlayer1]

Just be wary of it setting on fire, as I recall an episode of top gear where a wooden splitter got a little too comfy with the exhaust. What with the exhaust being at the back of the engine there's plenty of room available, but things can still get hot.

 

[trublustu]

Hi Tom.
I dont think that will be an issue with the Puma.
The splitter is almost the same height as the sump, so wouldnt be going past the engine.
I`ll most likely extend this design (with more packing case wood) to wrap around the sides of the engine, up to the gearbox/ aux belt.
the little cutout wasn`t really nessesary, the splitter was just touching the front of the engine.
I decided to leave a little space between the two for vibration and also to let a (little) hot air out.
I`ll use the same principle at the sides.

 

[trublustu]

Not a lot of actual work has gone on with the car since Pembrey a couple of weeks back,
I`ve been concentrating on a very early breaker I wanted for the seat rails..
I am going to use them to mount my bucket seats.
I did have some from a later car but found I actually ended up sat higher up than in my standard seat.

These are the rails bolted in, I will be bolting/welding two 60x5mm steel bar to bolt my seats to.

seat rail 1

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

this is the height difference between the early (top hat) and later seat

seat rail 2

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

Here are a seat thrown in

seat rail 3

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

seat rail 4

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

What I have been doing is some serious spending

really serious...

I have picked up some Powerflex Black wishbone bushes to go with the FRP rear wishbone bushes I already have.
I`ve also just had new ball joints and track rod ends to finish the job of refurbing the double skin wishbones off the (R-reg) breaker.

Ah yes and the minor purchase of some (ex race) Dunlop Direzzas

Dunlop Direzza

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

And these babies..

gold..

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

Gaz (break the bank) Golds..

All will be on for Fordfair,
Still need to find a gearbox though..

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Stu
Do the earlier seats sit lower in the car than later seats and are the sliders swappable because I could do with some of that.
Barry

 

[trublustu]

I`m afraid not Barry.

Here are the early and late seats side by side

s1 vs later seats 1

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

s1 vs later seats 2

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

They are about the same height
although the earlier seat is miles more comfortable and supportive
it`s significantly heavier than the later one.

But, most importantly is the view from underneath
(early-left, later-right)

s1 vs later seats 3

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

The earlier seat is not the `anti submarine` design found in newer cars.

So if I was to want to keep standard seats it would be the newer ones for safetys sake (and weight)
plus there is no wiring for the height adjuster :-(

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Stu
Thanks for replying. I didn't want to swap the seats just the sliders if that was possible (and possibly the pre-tensioners if needed).
Barry

 

[trublustu]

Again this is a no.
the older runners are about 50mm narrower
you can tell by the bolt holes here

seat rail 2

• trublustu
• Jul 12, 2015

 

[tuonokid]

Cheers Stu.

 

[trublustu]

With Fordfair but a week off,
I`ve been rather busy over the weekend..

My first job was to fit a new gearbox and pop a new clutch in.
I picked up a engine/gearbox support which sits on the wings.
What a buy! It really made the box removal/refit process easy. no jacks etc under the car

I get full points for stupidity though,
Sure enough I had fitted my clutch plate back to front following my engine swap recently.
No wonder I was a pig to get through the gears!
plus it may explain how I bent another selector..

Still, new clutch fitted and replacement box back on. (The easy bit)
Although I`m not 100% confident I have just fitted a 1.7 Puma box
It`s very slightly different to any Puma box I`ve seen.
The ratios could be anything,
I`ll be finding out on track!

I removed the entire hub/driveshaft assembly so as to not disturb the wheel bearings
Also, I had plans to fit early, double skinned, wishbones fitted with FRP/Black bushes.

As I compared the two side by side I decided to simply remove the crappy flo-flex bushes (one was loose!) and fit the upgrades to my own wishbones.
I also fitted new ball joints and track rod ends just for good measure.

Also fitted were the coilovers,
Not quite the bolt on upgrade I had hoped.
They were a REALLY tight fit in the hubs and my drop links are now too long.

In a week I`ve gone from `what it came with`
to a `wishlist` suspension package,

So the car now sits better and is ready to drive...
Except that I threw the seats in the back of a scrap car Saturday!!

I got just a few evenings to get my buckets and harnesses fitted.

No pressure at all..

 

[grayfox]

Will you be on track at Fordfair then Stu? Loving the Dunlop and Golds!

 

[trublustu]

I have three track sessions booked in the afternoon,
3:20, 4:20 and 5:00
The car will be on the stand till then

 

[mrbushrat]

Stu,

My new setup uses the standard puma length ones. If I remember correctly I had to get fiesta/mazda 121 to get the length correct. I will have a look if I go back over to the car this week.

Graeme