Project Car / Motorbike thread. Let's see 'em.

cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
Watching a repeat of an old ish Top Gear episode with Chris Harris talking about Colin McRae and his 1995 world championship. I was in WA the next year and two more after that and managed to meet Colin and some of his team (and others...) he was a true rally nut. Nothing else seemed to matter to him and he was as passionate as anyone could be. I know I have mentioned it before but when he passed me on a transport stage spraying my car with pea gravel all I could do is smile. What a legend. Very thoughtful and well put together tribute by Chris. Nice sideline about those bloody cheating Toyota bastards too...
...and even posted to page number 555 none the less.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Watching a repeat of an old ish Top Gear episode with Chris Harris talking about Colin McRae and his 1995 world championship. I was in WA the next year and two more after that and managed to meet Colin and some of his team (and others...) he was a true rally nut. Nothing else seemed to matter to him and he was as passionate as anyone could be. I know I have mentioned it before but when he passed me on a transport stage spraying my car with pea gravel all I could do is smile. What a legend. Very thoughtful and well put together tribute by Chris. Nice sideline about those bloody cheating Toyota bastards too...
Never met him, but saw him in action once in Perth. Did a flick as he launched a crest so it rotated in the air and landed sideways perfectly for the next corner. And he’d spun the boost back up in the air on the Focus already so it just launched as soon as the tyres hit the ground.

All smiling with one hand on the wheel waving at the crowd. Bloody legend.

And I got covered in pea gravel by Makkinen.
Great day out :)
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Never met him, but saw him in action once in Perth. Did a flick as he launched a crest so it rotated in the air and landed sideways perfectly for the next corner. And he’d spun the boost back up in the air on the Focus already so it just launched as soon as the tyres hit the ground.

All smiling with one hand on the wheel waving at the crowd. Bloody legend.

And I got covered in pea gravel by Makkinen.
Great day out :)
Tommi rolled his evo in the forests around Collie and smashed the roof in. Collie was a service stop. The team was given permission to pull the old smashed windscreen away from service and then push the car to service. In 30 minutes they popped the roof out enough to fit a new screen with sealant (and duct tape for security), replace the bonnet after bashing the front guards into submission, replace one complete front end, full intercooler, piping, radiator and hoses and did the the service at the same time, brakes, wheels and tyres.

The whole time Tommi is standing there having a coffee and talking to us and world media, cool as, occasionally mentioning something in Finnish to his lead mechanic. He is a fucking legend too.

Sainz was a different character entirely and that is probably why I didn't warm to him. He rarely joined in with the crowds and seemed very brusque with the media during the day. Very focussed I guess. Colin's accent was so thick at times he was as near impossible to understand as posm. Speaking of Possum he was brilliant too and a real man of the people but again Neal Bates was reserved and sometimes rude. Again just really focussed I guess. Possum was given Colin's rex after Collie (the last of the 3 doors from memory) and we asked how much different it was to his car. He shrugged and said not much. Maybe 10 or 15 hp but a bit less torque, suspension was exactly the same but he said it was the tyres I wanted. The car came with full Subaru Europe support so with that came the Pirelli (?) kevlar tyres that only the Euro works teams had access to. He said that the tyres are so much better that bolting those onto a standard STi would see that car keep up with a full blown WRC car running on mud and snows he bought from Bob Jane.

Those were an amazing few weeks. For the special stages we would finish work and drive the 2 hours up to Perth and sleep on the head office floor before going back to work in the morning. Don't tell anyone.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
This can be for trailers too...

Been wanting to change the TREG style coupling I made for my box trailer almost 30 years ago and the poly block is really sad with a bad crack in it from UV and too much care and attention. Anyways the camper had a DO35 hitch which I rate as the best I have used. It met with an unfortunate reversing incident and needed some love so why not get a new hitch for the camper which does lots of ks and is heavier and repurpose the old one to the trailer? Why not indeed. I built my trailer along the lines of the army box trailers back in the day with a single pipe drawbar. I do not think this is legal for a new build which is a bit sad since it is as strong as any ladder frame that people are flogging for box trailer use. The trailer was going to see a lot of beach work so I built the hitch into the drawbar and as it had bearings and a grease point I reckon it would survive ok. The block can be changed relatively easily. The new poly blocks are a bit different and would require some work to fit and the TREG is not as nice as the DO35...

This is how she looks



I managed to pick up 500mm of standard weight gal pipe the same as the drawbar and figured it would be easier to make a whole new pointy end and just cut and shut the trailer when that was finished, this way the trailer stays available until the last bit of the job.

First thing was to section the pipe to fit some 10mm flat to mount the DO35. Angle cut because why not. I was hoping to use the cordless bandsaw to split the pipe but it could only go about 1/3 the way so the rest was angle grinder and cutting disc. Not too bad, the pipe is only 4.5mm thick.



Then I discovered that the 100x10 flat I bought wasn't cut square so into the horizontal bandsaw and cut both ends to get the correct length. Then mark the holes and drill and tap these for M12x1.75. The centre set of holes isn't normally supplied on the hitch but I used them anyway, you know it is good for 3.5t with 4 M12 gr 10.9 bolts so 6 gr 10.9 bolts will be ok for 0.75t. Turns out the extra holes were not drilled symmetrically and I have ended up with one about 2mm out of line. I will just elongate the hole in the hitch. Bolts will thread in from under the plate and work like studs and a bit of flat will stop them rotating. I have to clean up the joint line and remove the gal ready for welding but some moron bought M10 bolts instead of M12 and I lost interest at this point. Will get some bolts tomorrow and at least get it tacked up ready for a full installation of high temp glue.

 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Got back onto sorting the Megane idling problem. Changed all the manifold gaskets, all new injector rings - absolutely no vacuum leaks.

Thought I heard the alternator squeaking, so swapped that thinking it might have a seizing bearing. nope.

Today I bit the bullet and swapped all the ECUs id kept from the old car. Engine, body module, key card reader and electric steering column lock as theyre all coded to each other. Big job... Lots of time with the laptop reconfiguring things because the ECUs came out of an automatic and this one is a manual - so a lot of time finding the menus and telling the body module it was in a manual and to start without in being in Park.

And it runs soooooo much better - so the fault all along was the ECU. It ran fine when I last turned it off, but i guess maybe i dropped it or something...

Anyway, but not all good news. It idles smoothly now, but high at 1000rpm, not the 750 it should. I "think" that will resolve with a few miles of driving around.

But the problem now is the cooling fan runs full tilt all the time... The engine ECU is authorising the AC and is running the fan, but the climate computer is not asking the engine ECU to do that - so thats a problem.

And the engine ecu is throwing a code because it cant see the auto ECU anymore.... I have no idea if the fan and the lack of the auto computer are related.

Every singe ecu on the car I can change the configurations - i can tell the body computer its in a manual now, i can tell the ABS computer what its in. Even the climate control module i can configure. But not the fucking engine one...

So I've learnt two things - i spent a shitlaod of time and money chasing every engine fault under the sun when it was the ecu all along. And I need to either get the original manual ECU repaired, or the auto engine ECU repaired, or buy another whole VIN matched set from a manual car...

So I guess its progress of a sort.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Fcuked if i know why the engine ECU thinks the AC is on - it should only get that info from the climate computer and its telling me its not asking for it. Yes, swapped that computer over as well...

I'll shoot some emails to ECU repair companies in the UK who are used to Renaults. Another option is try to find an ECU file - I have the ability to reprogram the engine ecu - maybe i can reflash it with a manual file.

Or hope the manual Megane at the pick a part in Kilsyth is still there when i get back to Melbourne and it has the key card in it....
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Fcuked if i know why the engine ECU thinks the AC is on - it should only get that info from the climate computer and its telling me its not asking for it. Yes, swapped that computer over as well...

I'll shoot some emails to ECU repair companies in the UK who are used to Renaults. Another option is try to find an ECU file - I have the ability to reprogram the engine ecu - maybe i can reflash it with a manual file.

Or hope the manual Megane at the pick a part in Kilsyth is still there when i get back to Melbourne and it has the key card in it....
Is the ac compressor clutch locked in? With the codes flashing and fans on it sounds like the ecu is in limp mode.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Is the ac compressor clutch locked in? With the codes flashing and fans on it sounds like the ecu is in limp mode.
There is no gas in the AC, and the clutch is not on. I even tested that with the laptop, you can actuate it to test its function.

No limp mode I think, and its not putting up a CEL for the code for not fining the auto ECU. So I think I could probably use it fine with that code permanently there.

But I dont understand why the fan is on. The engine ECU should only turn on the AC (and hence the high speed fan) when its told to do so by the climate computer.

I think my first solution is to find an ECU file to reflash it....
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
There is no gas in the AC, and the clutch is not on. I even tested that with the laptop, you can actuate it to test its function.

No limp mode I think, and its not putting up a CEL for the code for not fining the auto ECU. So I think I could probably use it fine with that code permanently there.

But I dont understand why the fan is on. The engine ECU should only turn on the AC (and hence the high speed fan) when its told to do so by the climate computer.

I think my first solution is to find an ECU file to reflash it....
If the ecu reads references from the auto trans like (oil temp) and that's missing, it might run the fans as a safety. Can you see that fan is in the 'on position' with the computer program you have? If not you can work backwards from the ac fan relay and make sure it's not jammed on or a short in the wiring somewhere keeping it on.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
If the ecu reads references from the auto trans like (oil temp) and that's missing, it might run the fans as a safety. Can you see that fan is in the 'on position' with the computer program you have? If not you can work backwards from the ac fan relay and make sure it's not jammed on or a short in the wiring somewhere keeping it on.
The engine ECU is authorising the AC to be on. I think the clutch would also be on if there was any gas in it (its smart enough to not engage the clutch is the gas pressure is low/zero). And yes, its also telling me the fan is on high. I think the fan being on is a consequence of the AC being told to be on, not just the fan on its own.

You might be onto something with the transmission fluid temp - ill check tomorrow if thats a parameter in the engine ecu list.
 
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