Project 172 - Monaco Track Car

[E5CDW]

Hi All,
Thought id start a project thread so i can keep a track of the working thats going into my Monaco 172 track car. I purchased the car last year for a bargain price of £700! in full running order. The only issues where the drivers side passenger window and the interior fan not working.

Heres how it looked the day i collected it.

All in all a tidy motor for the money i paid, upon closer inspection its been fitted with a new bonnet with bonnet pins, Not a problem in its self until i realised its the wrong colour. It can stay for now but it will be changed when i get around to it.
First job was to give it a quick clean and get it in the workshop for a once over and to draw up a list of what needs to be done.

After a good look over the only things that needed doing mechanically are the rear brakes and a bit of play in the drivers track rod end. The interior faults where cured by fitting the a new regulator - which had kindly been supplied with the car and a new fuse for the climate control.

Once i knew the car was in good working order i jumped online and started shopping, I ordered up a Orcea 6 point roll cage as i knew this would be the biggest job. As soon as that was ordered i knew it was time to strip the rest of the interior and get ready for the cage. After a few delays (4 weeks!) the cage finally arrived and we set about getting it inside the car and welded in.

Turns out the cage is a VERY tight fit but looked good once it went in the car.

There are still a few of the mounting plates to get welded up but there all measured up and fabricated ready to go in the car, I still haven't decided on a colour yet for the cage, I'm thinking either white or yellow.

Up next it cutting down the dash so i can mount the clocks.

 

[E5CDW]

Now the cage is in it was time to start looking at the mass of wires that are now hanging around and to refit the cut down dashboard to enable me to fit the clocks again.

Due to the bars of the roll cage the dash support had to be cut back down, this is now bolted back in and the earths from the wiring loom attached so the engine can now be started again without the dash clocks going mad!

Heres one of the base plates welded in, You'll see where we've put a right angle in the base plate to take it up into the inner sill, we decided on this thanks to the help of others on there. This is where the main bulk of the strength comes from for the feet. Quickly primed to stop any rust forming whist the rest of the cage is welded and i decide on a colour! Thanks to my old man for helping out and doing the welding.

Next job was to cut down the remove any excess weight from the dash board, I wanted to retain most of the original dash for the drivers side so i can still mount the clocks and other switchs that are needed.

Oil temp, Voltage and Oil pressure gauges are going to mounted in the existing CD player slot. These have been purchased but not yet installed.

Dash clocks back in and after sorting out an earth fault the engine sprung into life! Few dash warning lights due to the airbags and ESP being removed. Also the steering wheel boss has now been mounted ready for the OMP 300mm steering wheel.

Well thats it up to now, Ill update this thread as i go along. Next up is paint the cage and finish of the dash.

Things to consider are which coil overs to go for and what brake setup to run.

Thanks for reading and any comments / suggestions welcome.

Thanks

Chris

 

[dann2707]

Looking forward to seeing how this ends up mate. Good work so far!

 

[E5CDW]

Time for a bit of an update.

After many more hours work the roll cage is finally finished and painted, I decided on the Oreca six point cage. Although very labour intensive to fit its a perfect fit and id recommend it. Hopefully it will never have to do its job!

Still lots more to do, Quick pick of the Clio after finishing today! Bucket seats and subframes to be mounted tomorrow followed by a new OMP harness.

Quick tidy up of the wiring and P clipped into place. Next winter the interior of the car will be painted, Not to fussed about the inside cosmetics at present.

Roll bar padding and battery cut of switch ordered.

Chris