OT: Going Racing.. (2015-10-15) - Season Over - 7th :(
Turbo Mini Forums

Get your multimeter out and do a continuity check. Looks to be an aftermarket steering wheel, did the original wheel have the horn push on it?

I don't have a horn button at the moment, but I figured pushing the bit of wire in the wheel to the centre would do it?

I'll dig out a wiring diagram tomorrow and have a proper poke around.

Spent a bit more time on the car today. I removed the crappy gear stick, removed the nasty window button mount thing, and wanted to tidy up some wiring.

So far I've re-cable tied a lot of cables, moved some around so they're less tight, and stopped a few things rattling. I've P-clipped some cables in place, as they were just hanging loose in the driver's foot-well which I wasn't a fan of.

I've also added some door pulls so I can close the door without trapping my fat fingers in the frame, and made a new button mount with a new horn push, too.
I re-mounted the lap timer on a stereo blanking plate, rather than using the on-board 'computer' it used to be on (which I've moved elsewhere).

Oh, and I found out what was up with the horn - a broken wire and the horn itself was broken. I've ordered a new horn unit, and fixed the wiring (by adding a button elsewhere, as I don't have a steering wheel horn push anyway).

Still looks pikey, but I prefer it to how it was.

Waiting on a new gear knob to arrive, and I think some grip-tape stuff will tidy the floor up a bit?









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Edited by AlexB on 15th Nov, 2013.

Looks better mate. That window button thing before was gash.

I picked up a set of 15" BBS wheels yesterday, and the tires will hopefully get the car through the MOT.

Today I whipped the front wheels off and fitted the new ones.

I then fitted the new downpipe gasket. I found that two out of the four nuts were totally shot and that's probably why it wasn't sealing properly - I had to use a couple of spare nuts I had in the garage for now, and I'll order some proper copper ones when I get a moment. That said, the gasket was knackered too.

I then took the rear wheels off, removed the drums, checked everything over and gave it a wobble and clean, sanded the insides of the drumbs and then put it back together - no more binding rear brakes.

I also fitted the number plates.

I noticed that the steering rack has some play in it, so I'll look for a replacement. Also found that one of the wheel bolts is rounded.

Edited by AlexB on 17th Nov, 2013.

It looks a lot different with silver wheels and reg plates! Get those bloody stickers off though!

(Apologies in advance for the following post - it contains graphic photos of awful welding)

Spent today fixing the rusty crack in the boot.

I also replaced the temporary downpipe nuts for the proper ones that I bought online.

Nicky helped out with the car today and started removing the stickers. She got about half way, and there is still loads to remove, but we'll jump on that shortly.


So, the welding. I'm awful at this, but I think I've done a good enough job to get by.

Here is a link to the crack from inside the boot, and from the outside.


First, I cut out the rotten bit, and some of the surrounding area. There was actually a surprising amount of rust, and the crack/bent bits went quite far.





I then added some metal to the edge of the middle bit, as I had to remove a bit of rot from it.



I then made a template for the main hole



And (badly) welded some metal in place



I then popped the bit of metal from under the towing eye back on





Quick view from the inside - you can also see the bit I added to the vertical edge.



I then threw a can of hammerite at it. I couldn't be bothered to tidy it up that much after doing the welding, as it's probably only going to get punted again, and the whole car is rough. That's my excuse for laziness anyway.











Meanwhile as I mentioned, Nicky was removing stickers, and here's a quick snap of the car so far.





I've got a steering rack coming soon, and once I've ordered the tie rod arms, that's the next job.

Well done on the welding, BUT, 10 mins grinding those welds back would make all the difference to how it looks.

A small part of me worries I'll cut through the below-par welds

Looks great Alex. Well done. You need to get some grip at the back, move the battery NOW!!!

I'd also be looking at a wing at the back, cause the E30 rear suspension is not your friend. Normally

I agree on both accounts Vegard, but the regulations are pretty tight on those two areas - not allowed to do either!

I can add some weight though as the car is under the regulation weight, so I'll be doing that in the boot floor!

It's a proven car so I wouldn't change anything until you've got at least 12 hours driving it under your belt.

I have now removed most of the stickers. I have left two that I quite like in place - a PBMWC roundel and a small BARC one. I've also not touched the bonnet yet as I'm not sure what I'm doing with that.

After removing the remaining stickers, I set about removing the left over glue, and the dirty outlines. I started by rubbing the whole car with white spirit which seemed to do the job although it took ages - I tested it on a small area first as I didnt know how it'd affect the paint. It didn't do an awful lot really. It took about 2 hours to rub the glue off.

After that, I gave the car a once over with the polishing machine, and then gave it a wash.

The passenger side is totally fubar - and it looks even worse now it's not got stickers on. Is it possible to replace a whole rear quarter I wonder?

Also noticed an interesting clonk from the rear suspension which I need to check out.

Anyway, some pics of the car as it currently stands:

(it looks much better in photos than it does in real life)























-a

I wouldn't worry about wibbly wobbly quarter panel. It's likely it will pick up more scars out on the track.

I don't really disagree, but at the same time I dont want to turn up and be totally embarressed by the car I'm going to be driving.

In that case, get yourself a slide hammer and a hammer and dolly set. You don't want to go down big panel replacement when you are just starting out with body repairs and it's likely to get damaged again (That's not a dig at your driving BTW).

I'd leave the body for now. It is a race car after all and is going to pick up the odd battle scar or two

Andy and Rob are very diplomatic.

I'm not going to be.

Shut the fuck up about a few dents and get out there and race it. Change a fucking quarter panel my arse! It's a race car not a show piece. I'm willing to bet most mid field cars will be similar anyway.

Ha ha, love you too, Tom!

looks much better without the stickers!

Prefered it with some race stickers sorry:(

It'll have more stickers, don't worry. Those ones were all out of date. The sticker pack for 2014 hasn't been released yet.

still need a turbominis.co.uk sticker though!

Looking back, all the stickers did look a bit shit, but it now no longer looks like a race car.

From experience I'd put the screen banner back in some form. It really helps when driving into the sun.

Get a big fuck-off turbo minis sticker down the side, that'll distract from the dents!

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