driveforward
-
Posts
313 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Calendar
Posts posted by driveforward
-
-
yeah I think it looks pretty aggressive too!
Nice work.
Best Mk2 front I have seen!!
Thanking you
Good job on the vinyl there. Thinking I may as well just give it a go myself when I get the Caterham. How much is a roll of black vinyl? I guess it's just a case of a heat gun, a sharp knife and some kind of roller right? A Caterham has got to be an awful lot simpler than a modern car!I ordered 2x 5m rolls which came in just under £150. It's not a roller, more of a smoothing tool with a soft felt edge
woaaah this has really changed!Looks ace...I think I may have to collect some more tyres off you just to take a trip down to the Hill!
More change is yet to come (give me more time!!!)
Looking good, looking very good... I want this car
Lol, tough as so do I!! More to the point: I want this car finished!
-
Voluptuous Vinyl
..Ooooh errr...
With the weeks flying by and the car still a long way from being ready (sound familiar - check back about 10 pages
), this weekend I decided to concentrate on finishing the front bumper.Saturday was spent filling and sanding, then filling and sanding, with a bit more filling and sanding. Needless to say, the garage was a bloomin' mess by the end of the day; however, the front bumper was ready for vinyl. Here it is this morning ready for pimping:
Next, with much assistance from my dad, the new roll of spangly silver vinyl was cracked open. So, with the heatgun, a sharp knife and the special application tool to hand we wrapped the left and right sides of the bumper, using the same sheet from top to bottom. Then, reverting to the black roll of vinyl used on the bonnet, it was time to cover the centre section. Once done, it was time to just check all was going along the right lines:
Lookin' good [
]Next up, as you can see, there was some work still to be done at the bottom of the centre section, and for the eagle-eyed, around the centre S-badge area
So, after another hour or so on the job, my I present the 2009 look for the little Arosa beastie:
Personally, it's turned out just how I had imagined, and makes the car look very aggressive - especially with the chunky R888's and the wider stance of the new wheels. Problem is, it simply signals the start of many more jobs, wheel arch rolling will be a must at the front, new ducting for brake cooling, and the obvious trip to the body shop. I haven't even mentioned the finishing touches needed for the bumper, and there's plenty more - but that will do for now, I'm off for a beer!
-
Ye a little. very slowly about 10-15 mph just a new bumper and grill needed. spent most the time going sideways after hitting a big curb
I know someone else who did that there - the kerbs are BIG
-
Looking good mate. had an off in my gti at cadwell today so it needs a new bumper. may repair the old one with a bit of a twist
Ouch, sorry about that mate, contact with a barrier?
-
Glowing comments, thanks chaps! Let's hope I don't disappoint..!
Plenty more to come as ever.. time is gonna be tight (as ever!)
-
Bonnet & Bodywork Time (again)
My main aim for today was to finish the installation of the bonnet catches on the bonnet, but to do that I needed to get a few other things done!
First up, ever since I got the car, there has been a crater of a stone 'chip' near the front edge of the bonnet, so I mixed up some filler and got that sorted:
Whilst I had the filler out, I put some over the remaining damaged area of the wing, and also where there were two small but deep chips on the drivers door:
To prevent the garage getting full of dust, I left all but the bonnet sanding until later:
Earlier this week, I collected some new vinyl from SignsExpress (not cheap, but cheaper and quicker to use than paint!), so got to work with my 'design idea for 2009' on the bonnet - which conveniently allows me to forgo getting the bonnet sprayed and makes the Aerocatches less 'conspicuous' (even if the general effect is to make the car look more conspicuous!). Here's the Vinyl applied:
I used the bonnet lines as a guide, and followed them along both edges of the black vinyl thus giving the effect of continuing the black lines along the bonnet from the bumper grille and headlights. Here's a close-up and the bonnet catch 'hole':
A view from above:
Once the vinyl was in place, I was able to fully fit the latches into the bonnet, bolting them up tightly:
..and here's the finished article, it's part of a wider theme for the front end which will take shape over coming weeks:
Now I was done vinyling for the day, I could get on with some sanding and smoothing of the filler on the front wing, drivers door and also the rear quarter following the earlier damage repair:
Since the day had turned out to be one of filler and subsequent dust, I decided to make a start on smoothing out my 'new' front bumper in the same fashion as I had done last year with the original (which, although could be saved given I repaired it after the accident, tbh, I'd rather start afresh):
I managed to get the bulk of the major filling done on the upper parts of the bumper, so just need to do some finer filling and sanding at a later date. Finishing this bumper will take some time yet!
Until next time
-
Adium for messaging - does all networks (MSN/ICQ/AIM/Facebook etc etc etc) really well
Entourage for email (part of Office 2008)
Toast Titanium 9 for all CD/DVD burning stuff
Firefox
VLC plays most video formats
Flip4Mac WMV codec thingy
EyeTV for TV and PVR functionality
VMware fusion for running Windows (for the odd app where you need an M$ os)
TomatoTorrent for bittorrent stuff
Enjoy
-
love that !
Arosa's looking mean as ever .. on board camera for your next trip please ?
It'd be great to do it, prob is, I'd loose my €1070 Jahreskarte if I was caught
-
Wheely Productive Weekend...!
Ok, I'll get my coat...
This week, my wheels turned up.. a set of brand new Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 15x7 ET35 'Matt Neal limited edition' - well, there had to be a downside :banned:
Here's a quick trial fit in progress:
Once I confirmed all was OK, I went to my local tyre fitters to get the new rubber mated up with the new alloys before returning home to test fit the new wheel and tyre combination.
First up, here's how the original wheels with GSD3's looked:
..and in comparison, on the other side we have the new wheel and tyre combination:
Once more, heres the standard 15x6 ET43 setup with 195/45/15 tyres:
..and with the new R888 195/50/15's:
Side to side, harlequin stylee:
Finally, here's the finished article:
With a nice bit of girth.. grippy
The wheels will soon be back off again, and I'll probably need to get at least the front arches rolled. I then set about stripping the door cards, locks and electric mirrors from my original doors, ready to fit to the new aluminium ones. With that job done, I moved onto fitting another item that's been sitting on the workbench for a while now... bonnet pins. I've invested in a pair of Aerocatch lockable bonnet catches, which involved a fair bit of butchery and fabrication to get them to fit on such a short and steeply curved bonnet.
First up, marking out after deliberating for quite some time as to where they will go:
Next, butchery.. out came the Dremel and jigsaw:
Trial fit of latch:
Then I went through the same routine for the other side, before moving onto fabricating suitable mounting brackets for the pins themselves. This was necessary as the bonnet curves quite intensely at the front, making latch fitting difficult.. therefore the catches have been set back a bit to reside on a flatter section of the bonnet:
Then, once everything was lined up and working correctly, I removed the latches to Hammerite the edges of the cut out and drilled portions of the bonnet - to protect against rust:
You'll have to wait until a future instalment to see the finished article
Finally, I thought I'd grab a pic of the front of the car, given it is now starting to look normal again (for now), if only I could find the centre 'S-badge'
Until next time folks, thanks for reading!
-
Electrics Finished, Arosa Harlequin Here!
Finally, this weekend I managed to get the electrics finished. First up, there was the missing oil pressure guage to fit and test:
Next I had finally received my battery isolation switch from Demon Tweeks, so after a quick trip to Maplin for a box to house it in, I got that fitted in the passenger footwell (it's at an angle due to the shape of the panel it is fitted to and not sloppy workmanship!):
That marked the end of the electrical work that I needed to get done this year.
This week had seen the delivery of both my new tyres (Toyo R888's: 195/50/15's), and also the alloys to put them on.. however, upon opening the alloy boxes, it was immediately evident that the wrong ones had been shipped
Maybe next week I'll be able to show them off.. but for now, here's the tyres!:
Next up, I salvaged the lower front valance from the old bumper, reuniting it with the red upper bumper that it was originally part of. Here it is simply 'hanging' in place:
Then, it was time to remove the original passenger door (heavy!) and attach the hinges for both sides to the new Lupo GTI Aluminium doors.. and then temporarily trial fit them to help keep the forthcoming dust out of the car:
Remind you of a certain Polo?!
Finally, I resprayed the door bars on the cage, leaving the interior pretty much ready for reassembly.. Next up, the exterior..........!
Thanks for reading, until next time
-
Tigz, you disappoint me.
"It won't be a pile of carp that you'll have to replace after 2 years, but you'll need to spend more money"
-
Someone please delete my previous posts about you nerds with iMac's
Just ordered a stunning 24" mac
I'm so excited!
..and skint LOL
You'll never look back towards the murky Vista you're leaving behind....
-
Finally Rebuilding!
It's taken a while, but today I actually started putting parts back on the car, starting with the front end. This time around I took some time to make sure it all lined up correctly, and once I'd done that it was time to get the little one ready to fire up for the first time in about 6 weeks.
The CDA was cleaned and refitted, radiator hooked up and coolant supplied, and the ignition turned. The engine came straight to life, also reassuring that all the wiring is OK after I've hacked it about.
My nice and empty engine bay after reassembly:
Just to prove the little one was able to move on its own:
Well, almost, frst I had to find a suitable toolbox to sit on, once I'd done that, I backed the car out of the garage so as to reposition the car - providing a good opportunity to take a pick of the front end:
Yes, in not too short a time, my car will be red, blue, black and silver! :funk:
All of the pipes stuck in the air on the left are the EGR system, which I soon sorted out:
Finally, it was time to clear some more space on the workbench, and as the wiring is now almost complete I refitted the lower dashboard and centre console:
The loop of cable in the passenger footwell is slack to allow me to fit the battery isolation switch, when it eventually turns up.........
I should have some deliveries arriving during the next week, and I've also got a fair bit of prep work to do with doors/bumpers and panels; not to mention finishing up touching up the paintwork on the cage around the door bars.
Until next week
-
what wheels you got in mind?
I'm thinking:
Will look great with the silver/black design of the little Arosa
-
More Wiring - We have power!
This week I finally managed to accumulate most of the parts I need to complete the wiring activities, so, my components for the day are:
Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to fully complete the wiring as my battery isolation switch hasn't turned up yet.. given the long periods that the car stands still, this will be essential to help maintain my new battery.
First up I needed to replace my sump plug with the new one that contains a threaded hole for the oil temperature sensor:
Next I spent a fair bit of time sorting out all of the positive terminals and battery feed in the engine bay - where the battery used to reside. I had to modify the original distribution and fuse unit that previously sat on top of the battery, and also re-ground the engine as the feed used to go straight to the old battery. My handiwork:
Then I set about grounding the battery and connecting up the positive terminal inside the car.
Rather nice if I do say so myself!
Having done this, and hence got the electrics working within the car, I was able to locate both a ignition switch live and also a dash illumination feed for the guages - which are now ready to be fully wired up but are awaiting the arrival of some missing parts thanks to Demon Tweeks
This week has also seen me acquire a much needed set of components to contribute to the weight reduction of the little Arosa:
Yes, they are Lupo GTI aluminium doors - and boy are they lighter than the standard doors on my car - I can pick these up and carry them about - something I really can't do with the standard doors, they really are THAT heavy! Obviously, there remains a bit of painting to be done...
Tomorrow, I continue, thanks for reading!
-
let me know how you get on. i need my archs rolling soon for the delivery of the 888s. if only you where closer could have let you try on my wheels with 195/50/15 paradas on
Will do mate, keep an eye on my thread.. tyres should turn up next week, just got to order the wheels to put 'em on
-
have you looked at the yokohama A048's? think they do a 205/50/15, not sure about a 45 though.
John
I haven't mate, but if I'm honest I'm only really interested in the R888's as they're a proven 'ring formula - the chaps over on Northloop swear by them, and after experiencing many a passenger ride in cars running them last year I experienced one of those I GOTTA GET ME SOME OF THESE moments!
i dont think a different et would help tbh. its just the extra rolling radius that does it. i dont get any scrubbing on the back. could be different on yours as the archs are differentIndeed.. you have the benefit of some wider arches.. hmmm, time for some measuring tomorrow. By my reckoning my proposed setup will be 8mm closer on the inside and 18mm further out on the outside.. and the tyres will be 'taller', but have less vertical sidewalls (marginally)
-
You'll definitely need the arches rolling.Im running 195/50/15s on my mo's which are 15 x 7 et35. my cars been raised quite a bit since you saw it in germany and it probably sitting around the same height as yours. i do get some scrubbing on the front so hopefully going to get the archs rolled. the other problem is that on full'ish lock the 50 profile tyres will catch on the arch liner.
OK, so sounds like arch rolling will be essential.. would a different offset help at all if the issue is mainly the outside edge, or given rubbing occurs on full lock it's a case of moving the problem from one side to another...?
-
As many will know, this year I'm replacing the wheels on my trackday project Arosa Sport for lightweight ones and at the same time upgrading the rubber to Toyo R888 semi-slicks.
The R888's are only available in limited sizes so I'm having to plump for 195/50/15's (standard tyres are 195/45/15's) as it's the closest match.
Thing is, the wheels I'm looking at are 15x7 with an ET of 38, as increasing the track a bit will further help with grip. Standard wheels are 15x6 ET43 sport alloys.
With the car lowered on collies, I'm happy to get arches rolled if needed, but am I going to run into other probs too?
Cheers
-
How about data logging?
SimonH (the guy with the genuine Lupo Cup car that won his class in the Dunlop Maxi Cup) sells a fantastic bit of kit.
Good work on the wiring, looks tidy.
That's the type of job I enjoy.
I hate doing mechanical things with a passion!
Do you have a suction mount for a camcorder?
It'd be great for a track day video.
I think the twin pad one I have cost about £130 but even now, it is my favourate gadget even now.
Well. Almost, after my iPhone of course.
We should organize a Lupo meet in the midlands again, would be cool to see your car.
I've not done any data logging tbh, maybe worth a look!
No camera mount either, not allowed on the 'ring and that's where the little one lives
A Midlands meet would be good, once finished I'd pop along
Taken off the type-r forum."When I was at the Nurburgring last year there was a guy with a track prepped Seat Arosa and I barely out-accelerated him on the opening straight to get past him and then the first corner we came to he was all over me and I just let him pass again. Clearly he knew the ring and I was a complete novice to track driving, but even given a decent driver in my civic I doubt there would have been much in it."
Reckon there must be a good chance it was you, keep up the good work.
Haha.. linky please
Yup, that would've been me there weren't any other track prepped Arosas knocking around last year. The guys right, I do know the ring pretty well, and apart from power on long uphill sections, the little one can mix it with all 'hot hatches'.
-
Guages, Battery & Pop-Outs
Today my work on the guages continued by cutting out necessary holes in a DIN blanking plate for the three dials. To do this I also had to cut away some of the innards of the dash so that the rear of the guages had clearance. Below is a quick pic of the finished article which has now been removed until I can complete the wiring (when I have power: i.e. when I complete the wiring!)
Talking of power, I've continued the march towards having the car back being able to self propel itself by fitting my new lightweight battery behind the passenger seat - being careful not to drill/pierce the fuel tank which is about 4-5mm behind the panel I have fitted the mounting bracket to!
The battery is now ready for connecting up once I order the necessary terminals etc this week.
Next up I decided to free up a bit of workbench space (soon to be needed) by trial fitting my rear pop-out windows. The first stage, removal of existing glass, took a while - they used alot of sealant, and I broke a few knives!:
Once I'd cleaned the remaining sealant up, I fitted the window seal:
Before trial fixing the new window in place with the 4 bolts:
These should make circuit driving a bit more bearable on a hot day!
Then I repeated the whole lot again for the other side:
Good progress has been made this weekend, however I need to keep the pace up as the jobs to do list is as long as your arm!
-
Wiring: Lots of it
This weekend I'm focussing on sorting 80% of the wiring out, mainly the battery relocation and guages, with some other random bits of tidying also.
I started out by fitting the oil pressure sensor and T-piece, and also ran the sensor wire for the oil temp guage (I need a new sump plug before I can fit that):
Next up I found a nice, big and well protected rubber gromit in use by an existing loom to run the sensor wires for the oil pressure and temp guages through along with the positive feed from the soon to be relocated battery:
Then it was time to remove the stereo and cupholders, before making the wiring loom for the guages:
Here you can see the two wires from the engine bay sender units:
Finally my attention turned to routing the cables along my newly repainted floorpan and getting them all secured:
Here are the guages connected up temporarily (not tested yet - got no power!):
Tomorrow I will be working on more wiring, guage fitment and if I have time, something else
It will take me another week or so to complete the wiring (need to order various bits).Until next time....!
-
I love this car.
Always make me think of our buddy
Tell me about it - there are a number of things he helped out with, and yet he never actually had a ride in it once I finished it
-
Terrible to hear about yet another car that won't be back on the roads.. Vulture mode on though - if you can strip some parts, I'll give you cash for the doors as I need some ASAP
roof and wing mirrors...
in Styling
Posted
I'd imagine so.. the stuff isn't cheap by the metre!