My 172 Cup refresh/sprint car

[shiftspark]

Just a small update, fitted some new ball joints which were a pig to do and I managed to nick one of the cv gaiters so will all have to come off to fit a new gaiter :rage:
We @JohnnyE are off to Blink motorsport next sat to have the tracking done and see how straight the rear beam is.
Hopefully the Longton championship regs and dates will be up this weekend then I can post up my planned events but will be at Anglesey on 1st and 2nd of April.:stig:

 

[cs_dave]

Got a cup beam if u need it mate

 

[shiftspark]

Hopefully it will be ok , the Alignment should show up anything hopefully not !

 

[JohnnyE]

Speak this week to arrange time to meet mate

 

[shiftspark]

I gave the car a good clean today and it scrubs up really well, looks fantastic for 15 years old.
Also need to get a few things done/changed so in no particular order
Needs handbrake sorting as it's none existent
Rear brakes are rubbing but may be as it never moves off the drive !?
Needs new wiper blades
Needs the wiper arms changing as there's a lot of slack in the pivot points on the double arm @cs_dave
Engine plastic under shield has seen better days @cs_dave
Booked in with my mate to swap the decat and ktec exhaust back to standard.
Think I will get it in to Birchdown to have the belts and oil service done just to be on the safe side.

 

[cs_dave]

Mentioned me lol

 

[ADS_V6]

Looks great that mate.Wheels look nice
You need a pms exhaust though

 

[shiftspark]

Mentioned me lol

Yep ! Got any wiper mechs or engine under shields ?

 

[shiftspark]

Looks great that mate.Wheels look nice
You need a pms exhaust though

Really trying to stay in the standard class but always on puremotorsports site building my next seasons car, just frightened how much I will spend lol

 

[imprezaworks]

Bloody turinis. I feel the pull to get a set

 

[shiftspark]

Bloody turinis. I feel the pull to get a set

I think they look better than 2118's and are quite a bit lighter, just need to add painting the calipers back to silver lol

 

[ADS_V6]

Bloody turinis. I feel the pull to get a set

Been telling you for months,but your odd.They were my ones of the cup

 

[JohnnyE]

Looking nice Colin, what time shall we meet next Saturday at Blink? There's a maca d's right by it so bring some money

 

[imprezaworks]

I think they look better than 2118's and are quite a bit lighter, just need to add painting the calipers back to silver lol

I'm going to do my rear calipers first as I'm pretty sure the drivers side is sticking

 

[imprezaworks]

Been telling you for months,but your odd.They were my ones of the cup

Very odd.

 

[cs_dave]

Yep ! Got any wiper mechs or engine under shields ?

Got a wiper mech mate dont think i have the undertray mind

 

[cs_dave]

Very odd.

Turinis do look good tbf

 

[imprezaworks]

I know mate

 

[ADS_V6]

I know mate.But im very odd and currently looking at orange allots on ebay.Proper odd i know

 

[shiftspark]

Got a wiper mech mate dont think i have the undertray mind

Hi Dave I need the upper parts above where the wiper blade arms go on above the plastic if you get me ? how much ?

 

[shiftspark]

This bit.

 

[shiftspark]

Decided to have a look at the handbrake this afternoon , car jacked up on axel stands, crawl underneath to get the bloody screws out of the heat shields then it starts raining ☔️ Some 45 minutes later I am pissed wet through but all done :grin:
Think I am getting far too old for this car lark :tired::spanner:🔨:spanner:

 

[JohnnyE]

I agree lol

I'm booked in with Chris on the Sunday if you fancy coming down.

 

[shiftspark]

Brakes still binding and getting very hot after a 5 min drive so here's this evenings toil Update.
Checked the compensator and it was cable tied up, cut it off and freed up the lever which works with the spring and feels ok. I removed the off side pads and found the piston was quite difficult to turn back in but after a lot of freeing off got to move ok checked the arm for the handbrake and was ok. Tried the brakes a few times and it was a lot freer than before.
Onto the other side and the piston moved easily but the sliders were stiff when pulled out wards so spent some time freeing it off then tried the handbrake lever which didn't feel right so whipped the cover off and it looks like the wedge that presses the piston inwards to operate the handbrake has slipped so I stripped it down but could not get it back in so gave up :tired: looks like I will have to take them off and send them to Bigred for a rebuild ffs !!
This car is starting to cost a small fortune as it's booked in to Birchdown on the 23rd for cam belt and service so that's another £360 plus sorting the brakes out..
Anyone want to buy a Cup lol

 

[20vKarlos]

Oh the joys of a fun car!
I've not even driven mine yet and I'm contemplating whether I should go and buy another one :laughing:😂

 

[Chris_Beer]

That compensator looks a familiar site... ha

My guess is that the majority of everyday road Cup's will be going or have gone through the same mate. The rear calipers don't do a lot and for the price I'd replace them and get some fresh fluid etc in. Good time to have a look at the rest of the system and not need to worry about it again in the near future.

 

[shiftspark]

So the saga continues !
The replacement calipers arrived and look pretty good so set about fitting them, I did the near side 1st and after reading @Chris_Beer 's brake thread I also bought an 11mm flare spanner as I just new a sheared pipe would be waiting for me!
Took it very easy undoing the brake fluid pipe going clockwise anti-clockwise managed to remove it and fitted the new calipers , refitted the pads etc and could not get the handbrake cable back on as I adjusted it last week so I think it's a bit tight. I pressed the brake pedal a few times to get the piston out but it was still binding grrrr I freed off the mounting bolts so that it would move and they retightened them and all was well.
Now for the offside, same thing with the brake pipe so managed to undo it enough to remove the caliper but found that when fitting the new one it wasn't going to tighten without snapping the pipe so I whipped it off and used a blowtorch to heat it enough to free it off, yay !! Rebuilt the calipers and fitted the handbrake cable. Sucess.
I bled the system this afternoon which was fine except the wind blew the friggin brake fluid container over spilling it all over the bloody drive (Mrs Shiftspark is not very happy with me ) then the near side front was 'kintight quite how you can get a bleed nipple that tight is beyond me. Then onto the off side which was the same f in tight and yep it sheared clean off. This car is getting on my tits right now.
Any how the pedal seems ok so thought I'd nip out for a quick test drive and the battery is as flat as a witches tit ffs.

 

[Chris_Beer]

Ha !

Enjoyed reading that mate... serious flashbacks! Well done getting the brake pipes free, I wouldn't of needed to replace mine if I used heat on them like I did with the compensator 😧

Can't believe the bleed nipples didn't snap before if they did them up that tight ! Ridiculous, only mean't to be nipped up, they are tiny.

RE: Handbrake - I had to loosen mine off massively to get the cables over the levers, then you can adjust them accordingly to suit (not too tight remember!)

Get yourself a battery charger (don't bump it and stress the alternator out!) and also some brake cleaner cans for the fluid and keep Mrs Shiftspark happy :wink:

It will be worth it if thats your problems sorted pal :smile: Calipers look good!

 

[shiftspark]

Cars on charge now hopefully will set on fire lol
Need to get the heat shield off again but going into mates garage to change the exhaust so will get him to do it the. Saves me more time on my back on the drive, getting too old lol

 

[Chris_Beer]

Know what you mean mate, it's no fun lying on the floor in the dark or in a puddle of water struggling lol

What gets me is when the dog walker comedians stick there head under and ask when they can bring there's round for a service... "ha ha ha"....

 

[Supernova]

Clios coming along well.Im away to order track rod ends and ball joints.Are these ones you got cheaper than renault as the prices there seem quite pricey.

 

[shiftspark]

Yes the non genuine are cheaper but you can't get just ball joints on there own from Renault as far as I know as they come with the bottom arms.

 

[shiftspark]

Does anyone know if gsf accept front calipers with snapped nipples in exchange as the rears say normal wear and tear no damage ? As they have 50% off which means £100 exchange , bargain.

 

[JohnnyE]

Ask Carl if he has any

 

[cs_dave]

Does anyone know if gsf accept front calipers with snapped nipples in exchange as the rears say normal wear and tear no damage ? As they have 50% off which means £100 exchange , bargain.

I have a pair of fronts ill fire over cheap

 

[shiftspark]

I have a pair of fronts ill fire over cheap

PM me the details dave , do they need rebuilding ? cheers

 

[bloke]

i've sent callipers back with snapped nipples.

 

[shiftspark]

Another day toiling under the Clio ! Removed the old ktec exhaust and decat and fitted a cat and replacement exhaust that I have bought from the sales forum. Fitted new mid mount and cat to exhaust kit and the old one had bolts and bits missing from it. It was a pig of a job to do and if it wasn't for my 11 year old trainee mechanic who held the bolts in place whilst I fitted the springs and washers I would never have managed it. Still it cost me a £15 Xbox game all for 30 mins work :tongueout:
Not much left to do now just a cv boot and change the front calipers over to my gsf refurbed ones and were good to go. Oh and swap the matched inlets over.

 

[shiftspark]

Not much going on here at the moment, had the cv boot replaced along with front callipers by a local mechanic but need new pads fitting which I didn't have time to get before a few hours test at 3 sisters last week.
Car ran fine apart from a low brake pedal and blowing exhaust, have ordered new ones which should be here this week. Need to get a move on fitting them as my 1st event should be the 1st April at Anglesey just need to sort a few things and get it booked before the deadline.
Anyone want to donate a gripper diff lol

 

[shiftspark]

I have changed over the blowing centre box to a new one bought from eBay it fits ok and doesn't bang on anything. The only problem was the recess in the flange wasn't deep enough to take the rim on the cat so I had to use a couple of gaskets and loads of paste for now.
Also swapped the matched inlets back to standard and fitted a new air filter whilst I was in there, the car doesn't seem any worse off for loosing the inlets and decat.
My new M1144 pads arrived so I will fit them at weekend and bleed them again to get rid of the long pedal and drop the oil, the gearbox oil was done last week when the cv boot was done so that's it for now.
I have booked my 1st 3 events which is Anglesey on 1st April,Aintree on 22 April and 3 sisters on 21st may, l must say I am looking forward to sprinting again and giving some of the modified cars a race