My 1.4 Road rally/Enduro car project

[slayllian]

That don't sound good! :shock: must have had a problem all along?

 

[yippeekiay]

No doubt why it was getting sold on. I'm guessing someone had a go at the cambelt on the cheap and screwed up.

That would be my first port of call I think. Hope you get it sorted k:

EDIT: May have got my wires crossed....this a 1.4 isn't it and not a 1.7 which I was basing my screwed up cambelt answer?......mmmmmm.........more thought needed....lol

 

[crutts]

Yes it is a 1.4.

It seems it may be the timing pin? :?:

 

[ScubaSteve]

who gave this diagnosis? theres a million other much more straight forward things that would give the same symptoms.

Im not saying the diag is wrong but it seems odd to come to that slightly drastic conclusion without looking at the more obvious things first

 

[RS200]

'Road Rally' cars need to be almost showroom cars now with no fancy paint or stickers at all ! Seats/belts/cage is ok , but no 'noticable' stripping out. Only one pair of aux lights ,suspension / guards up to you ,but be carefull on the size of wheels/tyres there are restrictions ( see blue book)( MSA motorsport bible).Make sure the car passes the noise test !!! Go have fun !!

 

[PumaNoob]

His road rally thing sounds intriguing, so basically it's the car, as it was meant to be from the manufacturer! It sounds good, because you can do all sorts to a car if your pockets are deep enough, but this limits you. So where do you stand with suspension, can you put coilovers on, or can you only use something offered by ford as an optional extra, & cold you get away with ford racing springs off a fiesta??

 

[fatdonger]

Well, went to pick the puma up last night. It WAS an awesome car to drive until it broke down!

Seems the timing may have slipped and it's detonating at wrong time or there is a problem with fuel getting from the rail to the cylinders.

oh not good!!! Check the obvious stuff first ,coil , leads , spark , fuel filter .... Slipping timing belt was that due to fluids?

 

[dtq]

His road rally thing sounds intriguing, so basically it's the car, as it was meant to be from the manufacturer! It sounds good, because you can do all sorts to a car if your pockets are deep enough, but this limits you. So where do you stand with suspension, can you put coilovers on, or can you only use something offered by ford as an optional extra, & cold you get away with ford racing springs off a fiesta??

Road Rallying is NOT necesarily a car in near original spec, only a car which visually appears to be in original spec! Its a big difference, its also mainly a PR issue as the events take place on the public roads and we dont need to draw unnecesary attention to them...

For cars upto 1400cc in very close to original spec theres Enduro Rallying. Which is kind of a halfway house between road rallying and stage rallying, but in cars with stock engines and FAR more limited mods. Enduro Rallying is going to be very close to original specs, no LSD's, no real engine mods, there you could still get away with plain coilovers, but nothing like pro flex...

Road Rallying you could within the rules have proflex suspension, a fully worked head, big valves, cams,(although youd have to breath through the original throttle body!) huge brakes etc etc.

That said most club level road rally cars are not hugelly modified, Road rallying these days is not the sport of choice for those with deep pockets. Ive road rallied plenty in cars which are completely stock, Ive also road rallied Stage rally cars with their stickers removed, its pretty free and easy, at current my road rally puma is stock apart from eibach springs, Ive got a boat load of parts waiting to go on, but Im doing well enough as it is, I just like to play, but within the rules Im quite ok to widen the track, change the suspension go for bigger brakes etc etc...

Road Rallying is very much a grass roots sport. You will find a large variety of cars, but huge power isnt really necesary to win. Ive seen an escort WRC (without decals) turn up for one of our 12 car road rallies, it was being driven by a mechanic for a major team, he was beaten by every crew out there including 1.0 mk1 fiesta's (dont see them out much these days). Last time I looked I believe our local club 12 car championship was being led by a guy with a virtually stock 1200 corsa!

 

[RS200]

His road rally thing sounds intriguing, so basically it's the car, as it was meant to be from the manufacturer! It sounds good, because you can do all sorts to a car if your pockets are deep enough, but this limits you. So where do you stand with suspension, can you put coilovers on, or can you only use something offered by ford as an optional extra, & cold you get away with ford racing springs off a fiesta??

Read what I said ,suspension /brakes etc is 'free' body must be 'standard' (no extra arches unless on standard car,no multi colours or stickers,no turbo 4x4,s(not even Land Rover type ones (a trooper was used to great effect at one time) engine tune is up to you with restriction on number of chokes/throttle bodies MSA want it to 'look' like a 'normal' car not a race car to keep the public happy !

Road Rallying is NOT necesarily a car in near original spec, only a car which visually appears to be in original spec! Its a big difference, its also mainly a PR issue as the events take place on the public roads and we dont need to draw unnecesary attention to them...

For cars upto 1400cc in very close to original spec theres Enduro Rallying. Which is kind of a halfway house between road rallying and stage rallying, but in cars with stock engines and FAR more limited mods. Enduro Rallying is going to be very close to original specs, no LSD's, no real engine mods, there you could still get away with plain coilovers, but nothing like pro flex...Bet that made Gordon sad !!!

Road Rallying you could within the rules have proflex suspension, a fully worked head, big valves, cams,(although youd have to breath through the original throttle body!) huge brakes etc etc.

That said most club level road rally cars are not hugelly modified, Road rallying these days is not the sport of choice for those with deep pockets. Ive road rallied plenty in cars which are completely stock, Ive also road rallied Stage rally cars with their stickers removed, its pretty free and easy, at current my road rally puma is stock apart from eibach springs, Ive got a boat load of parts waiting to go on, but Im doing well enough as it is, I just like to play, but within the rules Im quite ok to widen the track, change the suspension go for bigger brakes etc etc...

Road Rallying is very much a grass roots sport. You will find a large variety of cars, but huge power isnt really necesary to win. Ive seen an escort WRC (without decals) turn up for one of our 12 car road rallies, it was being driven by a mechanic for a major team, he was beaten by every crew out there including 1.0 mk1 fiesta's (dont see them out much these days). Last time I looked I believe our local club 12 car championship was being led by a guy with a virtually stock 1200 corsa!

Bet the driver and nav are not stock though !!! this is a great place to learn the basics.

 

[crutts]

Got the car back, the thrust bearing had play in it which was allowing the fly wheel to move and smash the crank sensor :-(

Drives well, will need a new clutch soon though (not hard I believe).

 

[PumaNoob]

Did you get new mains fitted then?? If so, where did you get them, i looked for a while and couldnt find them. Clutch is fairly easy depending on skill level, just quite time consuming. What clutch are you going for?

 

[crutts]

No just spaced the crank sensor out for now, will sort bearing when I do clutch.

 

[yippeekiay]

Can I butt in and ask what clutch you have on yours Errol? (It is Errol isn't it?)

I was sat on a slight hill yesterday on and off the biting point for a while and the clutch started to heat up so the biting point was getting higher and higher until it felt like it was going to go completely. Once going it was fine so was obviously heating up too quickly for some unknown reason so I think the increase in torque with my nitrous has glazed it or is simply too much for it too handle now it's getting on a bit - 30k+ with some very hard use. Funny thing is I boosted the settings (stupid I know if it can't handle the current ones) and it coped with no problems whatsoever on the way home which was 100 miles and many WOT moments.

Gonna keep an eye on it so any recommendation would be appreciated on one that can handle 200bhp/250lb-ft without problems.

Cheers.

 

[PumaNoob]

Dont wish to clutter the thread, so apologies in advance!! My current clutch in the turbo is a cerametalic paddle from the clutch specialists in leeds the website can be found here http://www.clutch-specialists.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but too many standing starts on it wont last too long!! Mine at 230bhp and i think it was around 200ft/lbs copes fine, but cant launch from still, so id say thats the limit for it, but for your power i think a Helix group N clutch is the only IB5 single plate clutch that can handle the power. Its been tested in a fiesta ST turbo to 500bhp, so fine for the power we are looking for. Jamsport in Northampton will sell you one, but its more then double the price of the clutch from the clutch specialists, coming in at £430! I think its the clutch in this link, but with an uprated pressure plate http://www.jam-sport.co.uk/home/fiesta-st-150/transmission/st-150-2piece-helix-paddle-clutch-kit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; As you probably know, the cerametalic material withstands far greater temps then the standard or organic clutches. There may be other cheaper sources for the helix clutch, jamsport is the only place i know of to buy it!

 

[dtq]

]Bet the driver and nav are not stock though !!! this is a great place to learn the basics.

12 cars and road rallies are a fantastic place to start the sport, low budget relatively safe etc etc.

The driver in question is "well experienced" must have been doing it 30-40 years a lot of that time as a navigator as well as a driver, and the clubs main 12 car stamping grounds are round all around the lanes where he's lived all his life. The guy does all the plotting himself and memorises the route ( I guess thats easier when its a case of down to cousin bobs, turn right up to nephew joe's etc etc, the "navigator" is a young lad whos mainly there for the ride.

I took his navigator out for one event when his regular driver couldnt make it, Lets put it this way he was telling me to go right out of the start venue, when everyone else was going left, he eventually corrected that mistake, then he got us lost after one junction! Thereafter I would take the maps figure out where we were point out to him on the map where we were going next so he could navigate us from that point and he still managed to lose us again, after about the 5th or 6th time of taking the maps myself to figure out where it all went wrong we were about due at the finish line so I memorised my own route there and got to the finish line, having only made one control all night. Having experienced the navigator first hand I had FAR more respect for the driver :lol:

I knew one guy about 14 years ago who had his teddy bear strapped in the passenger seat. Managed to get an MSA license for Mr T Bear as well :lol: He used to drive and nav entirely by himself AND win And that was in a little Fiat Uno. The motor club I belong to is rural based, and the farmers all know the local lanes very very well... They all live out in the lanes, they are literally going past their own front doors etc. We actually get spectators out for our 12 cars because we pass that many members houses in the lanes...

 

[PumaNoob]

I knew one guy about 14 years ago who had his teddy bear strapped in the passenger seat. Managed to get an MSA license for Mr T Bear as well :lol: He used to drive and nav entirely by himself AND win

LMFAO!!!! :lol: Reminds me of Mr. Bean in his mini with his teddy strapped in!!!

 

[yippeekiay]

Thanks Errol, the competition clutch is just on the limit for what I have now before/if I go any further so will have to have a scout around.

 

[PumaNoob]

Yeah, let me know what you come up with, im still looking at options, there are some twin plate clutches capable of up to 800ft/lbs, but im not sure what sort of price they go for!

 

[yippeekiay]

Been looking at a few Helix Organic clutches but no specs on the capability of a lot of them so I think a few calls are needed if I go ahead.

Looking at the Helix site they do a huge selection of plates and paddle clutches, again, no specs easily at hand or prices for that matter.

 

[crutts]

Managed to buy 2 bucket seats for the puma, and 2 sets of harnesses for £100, seats are below.

Also got the clutch done for £150 all in, which was brilliant!!

This weekend I am planning to strip the car out and start to lighten it as much as I can!