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Well this is what we're starting with...a P reg corsa 1.2 from a salvage yard in blackburn. 54'000 miles (Not that it really matters!) and cost me £140. I was contemplating using a Ford for the project at one point, which would be cheaper but are at least 10bhp down on a vauxhall 1.3 as standard,plus the rules on the ford are a little vague at the moment and I really wanted to make a start! The corsa is readily available,but unfortunately the 1300 engine isnt which is its downside. Standard BHP is around 70 .... the 1200 is a measley 45 !!!! Anyway I was lucky enough to find one locally,so heres hoping its a good one!
With money and time being tight,It'll probably be a slow process but Im telling myself theres no rush anyway :) The fabrication work and expertise will come from Wayne Helliwell at Wayne Helliwell Racing - A good friend of mine,and has been building ministox and F2's for many years, so whilst being a little different Im sure he's more than up to it....because Im certainly not!!
The car is being delivered tuesday or wednesday,at which point Ill see if I can get it running and decide if theres anything I could try and sell on ebay...every little counts! Then It'll be stripped down asap, and once the steel is paid for it can go to waynes for us to start the fabrication.
08 / 12 / 2008
JAN 3rd 2009
Well as you can see from the pictures, Wayne has been busy in the last few days getting started on the steelwork. The car is a little further on now than in these pictures,with more steelwork at the front,and the chassis legs & front crossmember have now been cut off.
During the christmas / new year gap, I finished stripping the car down and getting rid of the rubbish, and chopped a lot of the steel out from the floor etc that we wouldnt need....we went over to see Phil Lowes car at Chris Emerys first to see what had been done....which was an eye opener!! (And well worth the trip!)
The car went up to Wayne's then, just before the new year where he has been planning out and measuring up for where he wants the steel to be. The bulk of the steel is on order and hasnt arrived yet,but Wayne had a little bit in stock so started on the front end,and put some of the crossbars in place on the floor and the bulkhead :) after chopping appropriate size holes for the steel to go through!
Also spent a day or two over in Brighouse at Redline,helping to sort my engine out....shot blasting valves,stripping & cleaning bits off etc. Fingers and toes crossed that it will be ready to collect in the next week or two. I have a spare engine if all else fails for fitting up etc.
Got 3 different gearboxes sorted now - a 3.7, 3.9, and 4.1 diff, and 1.96 and 2.21 second gears so should have enough options to get started with.
Next job for the car is fabricating some engine mounts (I think!?) before moving further down the car with the steelwork. I help when I can but probably slow progress more than anything!
11th Jan
Pictures speak for themselves really.....wayne's still busy adding more steel :)
I went up to help on saturday, but as suspected I held him up more than anything !!! He got more done after I left, so will steer clear this next week!!
Waynes at the NEC today, and will be getting me a steering wheel boss and some harness eyes, and last week I got a new air filter & a secondhand kirkey seat. Fuel tap, engine mount bushes, pipe clips etc are on their way from fleabay sellers! Hopefully will get a radiator or two this week too,so we can see what will fit, and make the mountings.
6th FEBRUARY
Well a lot of progress has been made since my last update, but it's so long ago I'm struggling to remember what and when!!
As you can see from the pics, Wayne has as good as finished the chassis now, with just the steering column and seat left now to fit up before paint....but also the weather has held us up a bit (see pic!! lol)
A radiator was 'scrounged' from Marc Hampson, and Gav Smith found me a set of Mk1 Golf GTi alloys which fit a treat :) . Hoping to get over to Rob Speaks soon too, as he has me some wheels, and other bits and bobs for spares.
Sorted the camber out on the front wheel - Not as much as some Ive seen, but should be enough. I got a few spare bottom wishbones for alteration when doing the camber, only to find there's 2 different types depending on year....and yes I got the wrong ones!!
I took the old 1200 engine out last week,and stripped the box down to find its a close ratio 3.74 with a 2.14 second gear....so yet another option!!
The engine is making slow but steady progress. Its all there, and just needs paint & reasembling really.
Few other bits have been bought along the way...rev counter,more fuel line,discs & pads,gasket sets etc etc. Next job for me will be spraying it up before the re-fit, but with a shortage of time and money the first practice day is looking slim for us, but we'll keep going and hope its ready soon!
