Arosa 1.4 16v Sport - My Trackday Project

[winter]

nice work mate looks like a good bit of work gone on there.

[driveforward]

read all this just ,its great to see the excitement throughout the thread ,have you thought about lowering the side bars so acess is easier

That must've been quite a read!

Sidebars are fine, but they couldn't got any higher that's for sure.. You get used to it after a while!!

[christian]

That must've been quite a read!

Sidebars are fine, but they couldn't got any higher that's for sure.. You get used to it after a while!!

it was mate lol i was reading it thinking it will be gutting if he takes it to the nurburgring and bins it ot to the llast pages and to my amazement youd shagged it up the grass verge lol felt the pain unbeleivable lol.im gona take it steady when i go in the summer dont fancy the ride home on the recovery

[driveforward]

it was mate lol i was reading it thinking it will be gutting if he takes it to the nurburgring and bins it ot to the llast pages and to my amazement youd shagged it up the grass verge lol felt the pain unbeleivable lol.im gona take it steady when i go in the summer dont fancy the ride home on the recovery

Lol.. Doh!

Take it easy, learn the track and you'll be fine

[driveforward]

More Preparation!

Today, with the cars impending trip into the outside world I gave the rust-treated sections of the underside an initial layer of protection.

The front and rear ARBs (and my face) were painted with black Hammerite, as was the now straight rear crash bar (paint had come off whilst bashing it back into shape). I also gave the sections of the underside that I had cleaned up an initial coat of underseal.

Next up, I fixed the rear crash bar back onto the car and rolled the little one out of the garage ready for collection tomorrow:

As you can see, it's still lacking one of its two doors, so a bit of tarp and trusty duck tape sorted a bit of protection out for the pending freezing cold overnight stay on the drive:

Now I just need to tidy up the garage for when it returns - I haven't got long so'd better get on with it!

[driveforward]

Returned from Bodyshop

Yesterday the little one returned from the the bodyshop looking much more like an Arosa.

The work took a little longer than expected as more work was required and the snow didn't help - the place filled up with damaged cars on Monday! The Arosa has once again been jigged, as the drivers side still needed some attention (it was a little on the short side!), and the substructure beneath the outer skin of the sill has been strengthened following its crumpling

She's now back in my garage, with a nicely finished sill/quarter/under section, with new seal all down the underside of the sill, all ready for painting around March time (yes - it will take that long from now!).

So, here's the handy-work - none of it mine!

Another update should follow tomorrow, but alas, I had to work today

[driveforward]

Seal 'n' Service

Today I got on with finishing the re-undersealing of the car, which took about 1.5 hours to complete: should be OK for a while now!

Next up, I changed the pollen filter (essential in all trackday hacks don't ya know!?) as the old one had a hole in it (and looked rather manky):

Given the belts were all renewed last year (some more recent than others.... ), I decided to take advantage of having the front end off and perform an oil and filter change. Two bloody hours later, and it was done... the reason for this was that the filter refused to budge, the socket on the end of it even tore off whilst trying! In the end I resorted to my trusty Dremel to cut the filter off, then used the old screwdriver and hammer technique to shift the gasket and threaded section I was so chuffed to get the new one on, I took a photo:

It's a good job I decided to do this now, rather than when the front end was put back on - I'd have had to take the front end back off! Anyway, 3 litres of undrinkable Pepsi replaced:

Finally, I removed the drivers door once again in readyness for the next stage of the rebuild: Tidying up and then re-painting the interior floorpan, but that'll be next time

[driveforward]

Hard Work with Hammerite

This weekend the progress has continued, focussing on the interior. Firstly I had a number of gaps and a few holes in the floor to fill and did a bit of touch-up spray painting on the cage. I also treated a number of places internally, mostly where the cage had been welded in, with rust eating compound.

Then I started the not to be underestimated task of repainting the entire floorpan, from the front footwells and centre tunnel through to the rear wheel well. The aim of this was to complete the rust and weather proofing task I had started with the re-undersealing. Last year, only select parts of the interior had been sprayed and throughout the year a large amount of filings had appeared and started to rust in crevasses etc. on top of rust developing around the areas where the cage was fixed, not to mention that with the tar removal it all looked a bit cack.

Here are the finished results:

Once this has dried it clears the way for me to start re-running cables, including adding cabling for guages and the battery relocation. It's hard to believe I've almost been working on the car for a month already, there's so much still to be done!

Until next week...!

[breamy]

looking good

you off to the ring this year?

[driveforward]

looking good

you off to the ring this year?

Most certainly am

[Tigz™]

I love this car.

Always make me think of our buddy

[driveforward]

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

[driveforward]

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....!

[Tigz™]

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.

[driveforward]

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!

[Lupo D]

The cage...!

D.

[simpo]

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.

[driveforward]

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'.

Edited January 27, 2009 by driveforward

[simpo]

http://www.civictype-r.co.uk/forum/viewtop...ow&start=60

[driveforward]

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!

[driveforward]

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

[LiamD]

Great progress and always a good read

[driveforward]

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

[driveforward]

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!

[Jowey]

love that !

Arosa's looking mean as ever .. on board camera for your next trip please ?