R1 Fuelled XE GSi project...

[Chrex]

Wednesday 16th July

Well i've done a couple of little jobs last night and this morn!

Firstly i put the South African rears on yesterday...and such a big improvement! They really do change the look of the car!





Then this morning, i took the rocker cover off and poured some 10W/40 over the engine end to end, just to make sure the entire area of the engine was oiled, not just the left hand side.

After i'd done that i turned it all over by hand using the cam pulley. Appeared to be fine with no apparent problems with timing and it seemed to turn smoothly...all ready for its 1st start!

I've also ordered my inlet from bogg brothers, should be ready for when i get paid.

Happy Days! :rolleyes:

[Chrex]

Monday 18th July

Well, with a huge list of purchases lined up for when i get paid...i await my money with baited breath, however...i havent got it yet!

So i decided to keep busy with little things!

So...Saturday, with my dad nagging and me being really fed up of the GSi looking sorry for itself on crap wheels...i decided to put the Pro Race 1.2's on it!







Bit peeved at how small the brakes look. They look great behind cesarios, but these wheels will have room for V6 pieces, so the 2.0 setup looks a bit mini...ah well.

Next update will be pictures of money thats been spent!

[fightstar]

what colour is this colour paint? looks same as mine cant find it around here though

[Chrex]

what colour is this colour paint? looks same as mine cant find it around here though

it Carabic Blue pal. i think the paint code is 33L

[Chrex]

Thursday 31st July

Well, the payday has arrived and as suspected i have spent LOTS of money in a day.

I have:

- Ordered M-Tech 2.0 conversion short shift from LMF.
- Bought a second inner CV joint and two ball joints from the motorfactors.
- Paid a gent for a vacuum advance distributor off a 18e.
- Bought a Janspeed 4-2-1 Manifold from someone i knew. Reputed as one of the best manifolds for this engine...i have saved quite a bit of money!
- My inlet will be finished tomorrow and ready for payment and delivery on Monday.

It is most definitely all coming together. Pictures are to follow as i didnt get the opportunity tonight.

Weekend is gonna be spent sorting everything out and hopefully putting some polybushes on the rear beam. :rolleyes:

Until then...thanks for looking!

[Chrex]

Saturday 2nd August

Well, having spent a load of money in the last 2 days...i was ready to get a few jobs done to prepare for the final big month.

I set out on the day to get the poly bushes into the rear beam. Wasnt sure on this job...how long it would take etc, so i just blasted straight in.

These were what the job was all about. Poly bushes i bought from mark lawton a couple of months ago.



So, up on axle stands she went...



And here is a picture of the original bush...well and truly set in its place!



So, off came the bolt, and the damper support bolts. Had to have the jack underneath so the beam wasnt hangin off the brake lines, and then i just jacked up the opposite side and the near bush dropped down.



I was now stomping through the job...but knew this was the easy part, and i soon hit a snag. Getting the actual bush out...oh my, what a bugger!
I was chopping, sawing, twisting and pushing the bugger and there was nothing.

So, in the end Adam told me to set fire to it...which i duly did!



...and it seems this is the way to get these out! After holding a blow torch to it for a few mins, the metal centre came out nicely with some mole grips. It's then just a case of getting a screwdriver in there to pull the rubber out.

Quick comparison pic



Next, i just had to get the bush seat cleaned and ready for the poly. So i filed it out and copper greased it right through...



Then it was just a case of push the poly in, and then the metal rod through the middle...before using the jack to push it back up into place and bolting it back through with the new bolts.



And all bolted up and waxoyled over (sorry about the crap photo).

Whilst i had my head up in there, i noticed how much crap was in the arches, so out came the wire brush and waxoyl. Gave it a thorough scrubbing and then a good coat of the sealant. Yummy!



So, with that job done...the only other one on my list for the day was the ball joints and drive shafts. This was an extremely messy job so no 'in progress' photos im afraid.

Basicly entailed me getting CV grease everywhere and popping the whole set-up into the car. :look: We managed to get there in the end!





So that was it done for the day...and with everything sorted, i got a quick photo of how it now sits. In my opinion...50mm - just right.





So...for now, thanks for reading!

[Chrex]

Sunday 3rd August

Well, with the success of yesterday, i went into today with a positive attitude and ready to hit the jobs hard...

What needed doing was something that has always made me cringe...getting a sheared bolt out the block. It was an exhaust stud, but it had snapped in the block and needed extracting. So once i had the required drill bits i cracked on.

Drilling a neat hole in the stud ready for the extractor. Except it wasnt deep enough and this left the tip of the extractor in the hole...great!!

So, having found some better drill bits, we drilled the extractor out, and got another extractor set to have a go with. However, there was still no luck, and after drilling out almost the entire size of the stud, in went the tap.

It was an attempt to put a thread onto the little bit of stud left within the block, and hope it collapsed on itself. However, with only a tiny bit left to go, the bloody tap snapped deep inside the thread hole.





Profuse swearing followed and it was given up on.

I have no idea what to do now as that is hardened steel and i cant get it out. If anyone has any idea what i should do, then please...help would be appreciated. Dont wanna have to take it somewhere really. And i think i need it to seal the manifold properly.

I have no idea what to do...

Other than that all i did was put some waxoyl underneath in various bits, but only as a wind-down exercise...

Gear linkage and Vernier should be arriving tomorrow, so that will be a bit more positive progress.

I also have a vacuum advance dizzy that arrived yesterday so that can be secured on.

Until next time...

[Chrex]

Tuesday 5th August

Well, a big day today...i finally had the package that i've been waiting to get since i got my engine. The inlet manifold for the R1 carbs. Looks great and am real pleased with it.





And then once i got home i put the carbs on it to see how it all looked...:look:







Gear linkage is also now built up and sat on the car...but am waiting on the bushes before i put it all together proper.

Happy days! ... although i now have no money!

[Chrex]

Saturday 9th August

Quick update...parts really.

Had a replacement diff cover plate for the gearbox arrive, and also the 2 LMF nylon bushes have arrived. So now i can sort out all the gears and put oil into the box. Have got exhaust and inlet manifold gaskets too.

Sold the scorpion today also, and have bought myself an Ashley 2 box competition system (black tailpipe). A completely no-frills exhaust that just makes lots of raw noise and will really follow the 'purposeful' theme of the car.

I have also ordered a fuel pressure regulator off ebay and some 3mm wheel spacers to put behind the rear wheels, just to give it some track and a more agressive stance!

I think thats all for now...will get photos of exhaust up once i've got it...

[Chrex]

Tuesday 12th August

Well, today the engine bay recieved what i think is the centre piece...the R1 carbs and inlet!

Looks class. I thought webbers looked good, but i have to say i think this looks better :look:

Not much room to play with in terms of the air filters i have to find...but im sure there's some out there...





These pictures give you an idea of how much room i have to play with between the carbs and the bulkhead...





So...just the fuelling and then various vacuums to sort out now. Oh and the throttle and choke cables.

Then its sorting all the engine ignition system and it should be running.

Once i know it runs, its off to tweeks for the custom decat and the rolling road for setup. I reckon next month!

Until next time!

[johnsam]

sweeeet!!

[Chrex]

thanks pal

[Chrex]

Thursday 21st August

Well, just a quick update to post up some pictures of the exhaust that arrived today.

Sold the scorpion recently and managed to buy this 2 box Ashley competition system...sorry the pictures are crap, phone was having a bad photo day.



I offered it up to the car just to get a rough idea of how it looks and i am loving the completely subtle look. Small but effective





Am pff for 4 days from Saturday, so i am gonna get as much done as possible without spending any money...

for now...

[Chrex]

Friday 22nd August

Another quick update before major work starts tomorrow.

My vernier arrived today, am mega pleased. So that can go on tomorrow, get some blue sealant on the water pump and properly tighten the timing belt up





Happy days!

[Chrex]

Saturday 23rd August

Well today was the first of 4 days off. I knew i had a list of things i had to do, so i managed to get goin on them early...

First was to bolt and torque up the exhaust manifold. Having been told by various reliable sources that it would not blow, i torqued the 2 surrounding bolts up just that little bit more to get that extra purchase and i wont now know until that 1st start.



Also needed some angle grinding to cut the mount off the flange end. Apparently used for when its mounted into its original Astra GTE purpose.



Next was the newly aquired vernier pulley. I took this opportunity to take the water pump off and apply some universal blue sealant. just to aid in the sealant to the block. There was suprisingly no hitches thoughout and its all good to go



And then the last job on the list was to take the headlights out and treat any rust. There was a small speck around the headlight clip...but not much at all. Easily tidied up with etch primer and some stonechip



That was it really. I also pulled the carbs back off as i have to drill out the jets to 1.8mm on the pillar drill at home. Oh and i struggled with the CV boot clip (that's still loose). I think that CV's the bane of this project!...I bloody hate them now.

Cant really do much more until i get some money...but i will put any updates on if any work gets done.

Happy days!