Discussion
Thought I should post up on here the ownership of my VX220. I bought it in December 2010 from a Vauxhall mechanic locally after testing 2 other cars out. This one felt the most together still of them all and although wasn’t my first choice of colour, I was happy with the price and the condition. Original purchase price was £6,495 off the top of my head.
As the car was, when I bought it. 2001 (Y) VX220 2.2 litre NA with ITG carbon fibre induction kit, VSE (Vauxhall Sports Exhaust) and a red roof.
I picked it up when it was snowy having got a lift from a friend in his 350Z. Perfect cars to be using on a snowy day!
One of the first ‘modifications’ I did was to cover the tatty door cards that are this kind of rubberised silver paint with some black alcantara I bought on ebay. It made things look a bit better.
A short while later, I had what was to be the first of only two breakdowns in my ownership so far, the second being that I ran out of fuel. The plastic ended radiator (a known weak spot on all elise/exige/vx based cars) cracked and sprayed coolant everywhere near Leamington. Cue getting recovered.
I started down the car cleaning path, trying to follow the detailers way with wax’s and the like. Remember this was all around 2011. I also applied a cf cover to the gear stick shaft (fnaar) as the bare metal looked a bit crusty.
My girlfriend at the time and I then went on a drive down to Salcombe/Thurlestone where my data is from. Took a tent in the car and camped, this was a tester for euro trips at a later date to see how we got on.
Also went to RAF Cosford for a Breakfast Club meeting or two.
I decided that the suspension may be getting a bit leggy and managed to buy some low mileage replacement Bilsteins. The collars are known to slowly crumble with age and the new one’s looked in great condition compared to my old ones.
The carbon fibre really started at this point. First, the door triangles. These were made by ‘Ultimate Carbon’ and are proper CF, not skinned originals. He no longer makes parts for the VX as he is too busy with F1 commitments.I went on to get the door cards, window winders and speedo binnacle as well.
Then met up with some car friends and went on a drive.
And then a bigger drive.
Had my first taste of track action at Bruntingthorpe.
Followed by Castle Combe.
At some point I’ve fitted an MMG diffuser which is still on the car now. I almost fitted the wing off a MY2010 Exige but chickened out. Got it sprayed in the correct colour, bought new gaskets for where it touches the clam. Then sold it.
Then someone vandalised my car. My wife went to work and called to say there was a boat on my car. Wasn’t sure what to make of it but when I went out, this was what greeted me.
Nice big deep scratch across the front and numerous small ones in other places. Most of them machine polished out but to this day it still wears the one across the front of the car. One day I’ll get it sprayed up.
Next I went for some stainless brake lines. The car also went off to MMG for some new toe links and a geo. Things escalated and it ended up being rebushed throughout along with a service (oil/brake fluid).
I then had a big prep of the car, packed for 2 people for 2 weeks and off my girlfriend and I went to France. Plan was to go to the Alps, on to Monaco along the coast up around the Gorges of Verdon, then to Milau, on to Rheims and then home. Little did she know getting engaged was also on the cards.
This was at a campsite we knew of in Agay.
We next went to Prescott hill climb where I was a member, doing a member’s day driving up the hill. It wasn’t timed but was great fun all the same. I think she put me at sub 1 minute on her phone timer which I thought was pretty good. We then moved house, I sold the maisonette that I owned and we moved to a flat in Shottery. This had a garage!
I vinyl wrapped my windscreen surround which is still on the car now.
And put a smaller number plate on the front of the car.
Also got a new splitter.
Polished my knob (fnaar) and handbrake.
And bought some different wheels. Team Dynamics TD1.2 in the 16/17 size of the Elise. Not imaginative I know but they are cheap, strong, light and fit.
This means you can do away with the weird 175/55/17 standard fronts and opens up a world of better tyres that don’t cost the earth. On the left, original front and right, the new ones.
Next was to change the manifold. These cars have a really short exhaust run and coupled with a precat directly after the manifold end up with cracks in between the middle two branches. I sourced a pretty mint original manifold as aftermarket ones were very expensive to me at the time. This was a rear clam off job. Again, I timed this to be in the snow.
I also drilled out the precat at this point to try and prevent it happening again.
I decided I wanted a black roof so the red one went and this black one arrived.
Then my father-in-law to be came over with his new toy. I prettly much lay all interest in cars at his feet. He’s had all sorts but when I first met him he owned a Caterham, an Elise and Elan. He took me out for a drive in each one and at that point I decided I wanted an Elise based car. His new toy was an Aston Martin.
I was pretty happy with how the car looked at this stage.
We then moved house again. This time to somewhere in the country with a bit of land.
Had my uncle round to visit in his manual 928.
Bought some cufflinks that were of a VX220.
Also bought a lightweight header tank bracket (no pics), replaced the brake servo hose and found a mouse nest under the bonnet. Luckily no wires had been harmed.
I also splashed out on these. Aluminium oil and header tank caps. From memory they were quite expensive. More than I care to admit. But they were essential.
I also painted the V black at some stage.
Did another track day with 2 friends (S1 and S2) and Uncle that had the 928. He was in his 924 sprinting car.
Decided I needed a harness.
And a gearbox breather.
That winter I went all in with a suspension refresh. Polybushed and powdercoated everything. New antiroll bar and bearing packs.
Old and rusty;
New and clean. Treated myself to some Nitrons as well.
Went for the thicker front antiroll bar from Elise Parts.
Got married. Sister and Mum wedding bombed the car while it was parked at the Stratford motoring festival.
FiL got a new car.
Went to Anglesey. Wow, love that place.
Went to Combe again. It was boaty.
Decided that the selectors in my gearbox were on the way out. It was hard to select 3rd gear without double clutching. Got a replacement gearbox from another VX220 that was lower mileage. While I was there, went for a stage 2 clutch from Courteny Sport. While doing this, it would be rude not to go for a lightweight flywheel. Also changed the slave cylinder.
Then followed a summer of more tracks, festival/car shows and general car related things.
That winter (think it was 2016) the inevitable happened.
I went to what’s known as stage 2 SC. 250bhp on stock engine with overnight parts from ‘Murica. The z22se engine accepts the intake manifold and supercharger off of a Cobalt Saturn over there. In fact it’s a factory fit. Coupled this with a charge cooler in the front and the car made a healthy 250bhp. Mapping is taken care of using what’s referred to as going Dutch (http://www.obdtuner.com/) retaining all of the original safety parameters of the ECU but also being completely mappable/customisable like an aftermarket ECU. No piggy backing or anything. At this point I changed my daily as well from a Golf to a BMW 335i. Had to SC the VX before the BMW arrived as didn’t want the daily being faster than the toy 😉
I also changed to some thicker harnesses as the Luke one cut into me a bit. Now I have Nicky Grist harnesses designed for a Lotus chassis car in 3 inch. Following winter I splashed out on a new manifold from Chris Tullet as I had noticed a crack on the normal one when supercharging. Also sprayed a spare cam cover in crackle black paint and went for a supercharged engine badge.
New header tank for the coolant was fitted as these tend to crack in the UV light. A short shift kit fitted.
And I split the rear subframe from the car to fit new shims. The cars corrode where the steel subframe meets the aluminium tub. These shims from spitfire solve this issue.
This was my list of jobs for the 2018-19 winter.
Of which all ended up being completed. The brake lines were replaced from front to back with braided steel ones as the originals started to corrode. I also replaced the clutch line at the same time, all done with Hel lines. They didn’t have the sizes for the clutch line and made one up based on what I told them for free so was very happy with that.
Here you can see some of the corrosion on the subframe face. Once cleaned up they are good but it’s one of those things that really needs sorting on all elise chassis cars.
Fitted a new u-bend on the exhaust as well, just because it came up cheap on ebay and was newer than the current one on the car.
Went to a cars and coffee event in Redditch at Great Escape Cars.
Then this winter I fitted a set of spitfire tie rods and their new brace bar.
The stuff from Spitfire is second to none, the quality is excellent and Gaz who runs Spitfire is great to deal with. http://www.spitfireengineering.com/
I have some new fuel lines to fit to the car and one of the Spitfire uprated fuel pumps to go in at some point.
I took the car to Dan at HPE for a geo and after fitting the toe links and he weighed the car. With a full tank of fuel less the 15 miles or so to get to his, the car weighed;
892.5kgs. Wasn’t bad.
I then set about fitting a new steering wheel. This was a) scary as it meant removing an airbag and b) scary as I needed to fit the airbag cheater to prevent the error light illuminating and I didn’t have the correct diagnostic to disable it.
For now I have replaced it with this OMP one from one of the FiL’s cars.
That pretty much brings it up to date. There are probably more photos on my Instagram that I share with my brother. https://www.instagram.com/peachbros/ where we tend to upload stuff about any car related things we get up to. He has a mk1 MX5 RS (with the seats) that he is currently turbocharging. Spend quite a bit of time up at Caffeine and Machine since it opened. I also have a Subaru Justy that is going to be the next project. It needs some welding work (mostly arches) and new brake lines as the existing ones have corroded through. Want to lift it, add some driving lamps and make it more utilitarian. It's a bit of an underdog as everyone around us is in full 4x4 mode but the Trusty Justy starts everytime even with year old fuel and no love for a year at a time. She deserves some TLC. Also done an engine swap on a VW camper for a friend that miraculously started first turn of the key afterwards.
Will add bits as and when I do them to the car on here from now on.
As the car was, when I bought it. 2001 (Y) VX220 2.2 litre NA with ITG carbon fibre induction kit, VSE (Vauxhall Sports Exhaust) and a red roof.
I picked it up when it was snowy having got a lift from a friend in his 350Z. Perfect cars to be using on a snowy day!
One of the first ‘modifications’ I did was to cover the tatty door cards that are this kind of rubberised silver paint with some black alcantara I bought on ebay. It made things look a bit better.
A short while later, I had what was to be the first of only two breakdowns in my ownership so far, the second being that I ran out of fuel. The plastic ended radiator (a known weak spot on all elise/exige/vx based cars) cracked and sprayed coolant everywhere near Leamington. Cue getting recovered.
I started down the car cleaning path, trying to follow the detailers way with wax’s and the like. Remember this was all around 2011. I also applied a cf cover to the gear stick shaft (fnaar) as the bare metal looked a bit crusty.
My girlfriend at the time and I then went on a drive down to Salcombe/Thurlestone where my data is from. Took a tent in the car and camped, this was a tester for euro trips at a later date to see how we got on.
Also went to RAF Cosford for a Breakfast Club meeting or two.
I decided that the suspension may be getting a bit leggy and managed to buy some low mileage replacement Bilsteins. The collars are known to slowly crumble with age and the new one’s looked in great condition compared to my old ones.
The carbon fibre really started at this point. First, the door triangles. These were made by ‘Ultimate Carbon’ and are proper CF, not skinned originals. He no longer makes parts for the VX as he is too busy with F1 commitments.I went on to get the door cards, window winders and speedo binnacle as well.
Then met up with some car friends and went on a drive.
And then a bigger drive.
Had my first taste of track action at Bruntingthorpe.
Followed by Castle Combe.
At some point I’ve fitted an MMG diffuser which is still on the car now. I almost fitted the wing off a MY2010 Exige but chickened out. Got it sprayed in the correct colour, bought new gaskets for where it touches the clam. Then sold it.
Then someone vandalised my car. My wife went to work and called to say there was a boat on my car. Wasn’t sure what to make of it but when I went out, this was what greeted me.
Nice big deep scratch across the front and numerous small ones in other places. Most of them machine polished out but to this day it still wears the one across the front of the car. One day I’ll get it sprayed up.
Next I went for some stainless brake lines. The car also went off to MMG for some new toe links and a geo. Things escalated and it ended up being rebushed throughout along with a service (oil/brake fluid).
I then had a big prep of the car, packed for 2 people for 2 weeks and off my girlfriend and I went to France. Plan was to go to the Alps, on to Monaco along the coast up around the Gorges of Verdon, then to Milau, on to Rheims and then home. Little did she know getting engaged was also on the cards.
This was at a campsite we knew of in Agay.
We next went to Prescott hill climb where I was a member, doing a member’s day driving up the hill. It wasn’t timed but was great fun all the same. I think she put me at sub 1 minute on her phone timer which I thought was pretty good. We then moved house, I sold the maisonette that I owned and we moved to a flat in Shottery. This had a garage!
I vinyl wrapped my windscreen surround which is still on the car now.
And put a smaller number plate on the front of the car.
Also got a new splitter.
Polished my knob (fnaar) and handbrake.
And bought some different wheels. Team Dynamics TD1.2 in the 16/17 size of the Elise. Not imaginative I know but they are cheap, strong, light and fit.
This means you can do away with the weird 175/55/17 standard fronts and opens up a world of better tyres that don’t cost the earth. On the left, original front and right, the new ones.
Next was to change the manifold. These cars have a really short exhaust run and coupled with a precat directly after the manifold end up with cracks in between the middle two branches. I sourced a pretty mint original manifold as aftermarket ones were very expensive to me at the time. This was a rear clam off job. Again, I timed this to be in the snow.
I also drilled out the precat at this point to try and prevent it happening again.
I decided I wanted a black roof so the red one went and this black one arrived.
Then my father-in-law to be came over with his new toy. I prettly much lay all interest in cars at his feet. He’s had all sorts but when I first met him he owned a Caterham, an Elise and Elan. He took me out for a drive in each one and at that point I decided I wanted an Elise based car. His new toy was an Aston Martin.
I was pretty happy with how the car looked at this stage.
We then moved house again. This time to somewhere in the country with a bit of land.
Had my uncle round to visit in his manual 928.
Bought some cufflinks that were of a VX220.
Also bought a lightweight header tank bracket (no pics), replaced the brake servo hose and found a mouse nest under the bonnet. Luckily no wires had been harmed.
I also splashed out on these. Aluminium oil and header tank caps. From memory they were quite expensive. More than I care to admit. But they were essential.
I also painted the V black at some stage.
Did another track day with 2 friends (S1 and S2) and Uncle that had the 928. He was in his 924 sprinting car.
Decided I needed a harness.
And a gearbox breather.
That winter I went all in with a suspension refresh. Polybushed and powdercoated everything. New antiroll bar and bearing packs.
Old and rusty;
New and clean. Treated myself to some Nitrons as well.
Went for the thicker front antiroll bar from Elise Parts.
Got married. Sister and Mum wedding bombed the car while it was parked at the Stratford motoring festival.
FiL got a new car.
Went to Anglesey. Wow, love that place.
Went to Combe again. It was boaty.
Decided that the selectors in my gearbox were on the way out. It was hard to select 3rd gear without double clutching. Got a replacement gearbox from another VX220 that was lower mileage. While I was there, went for a stage 2 clutch from Courteny Sport. While doing this, it would be rude not to go for a lightweight flywheel. Also changed the slave cylinder.
Then followed a summer of more tracks, festival/car shows and general car related things.
That winter (think it was 2016) the inevitable happened.
I went to what’s known as stage 2 SC. 250bhp on stock engine with overnight parts from ‘Murica. The z22se engine accepts the intake manifold and supercharger off of a Cobalt Saturn over there. In fact it’s a factory fit. Coupled this with a charge cooler in the front and the car made a healthy 250bhp. Mapping is taken care of using what’s referred to as going Dutch (http://www.obdtuner.com/) retaining all of the original safety parameters of the ECU but also being completely mappable/customisable like an aftermarket ECU. No piggy backing or anything. At this point I changed my daily as well from a Golf to a BMW 335i. Had to SC the VX before the BMW arrived as didn’t want the daily being faster than the toy 😉
I also changed to some thicker harnesses as the Luke one cut into me a bit. Now I have Nicky Grist harnesses designed for a Lotus chassis car in 3 inch. Following winter I splashed out on a new manifold from Chris Tullet as I had noticed a crack on the normal one when supercharging. Also sprayed a spare cam cover in crackle black paint and went for a supercharged engine badge.
New header tank for the coolant was fitted as these tend to crack in the UV light. A short shift kit fitted.
And I split the rear subframe from the car to fit new shims. The cars corrode where the steel subframe meets the aluminium tub. These shims from spitfire solve this issue.
This was my list of jobs for the 2018-19 winter.
Of which all ended up being completed. The brake lines were replaced from front to back with braided steel ones as the originals started to corrode. I also replaced the clutch line at the same time, all done with Hel lines. They didn’t have the sizes for the clutch line and made one up based on what I told them for free so was very happy with that.
Here you can see some of the corrosion on the subframe face. Once cleaned up they are good but it’s one of those things that really needs sorting on all elise chassis cars.
Fitted a new u-bend on the exhaust as well, just because it came up cheap on ebay and was newer than the current one on the car.
Went to a cars and coffee event in Redditch at Great Escape Cars.
Then this winter I fitted a set of spitfire tie rods and their new brace bar.
The stuff from Spitfire is second to none, the quality is excellent and Gaz who runs Spitfire is great to deal with. http://www.spitfireengineering.com/
I have some new fuel lines to fit to the car and one of the Spitfire uprated fuel pumps to go in at some point.
I took the car to Dan at HPE for a geo and after fitting the toe links and he weighed the car. With a full tank of fuel less the 15 miles or so to get to his, the car weighed;
892.5kgs. Wasn’t bad.
I then set about fitting a new steering wheel. This was a) scary as it meant removing an airbag and b) scary as I needed to fit the airbag cheater to prevent the error light illuminating and I didn’t have the correct diagnostic to disable it.
For now I have replaced it with this OMP one from one of the FiL’s cars.
That pretty much brings it up to date. There are probably more photos on my Instagram that I share with my brother. https://www.instagram.com/peachbros/ where we tend to upload stuff about any car related things we get up to. He has a mk1 MX5 RS (with the seats) that he is currently turbocharging. Spend quite a bit of time up at Caffeine and Machine since it opened. I also have a Subaru Justy that is going to be the next project. It needs some welding work (mostly arches) and new brake lines as the existing ones have corroded through. Want to lift it, add some driving lamps and make it more utilitarian. It's a bit of an underdog as everyone around us is in full 4x4 mode but the Trusty Justy starts everytime even with year old fuel and no love for a year at a time. She deserves some TLC. Also done an engine swap on a VW camper for a friend that miraculously started first turn of the key afterwards.
Will add bits as and when I do them to the car on here from now on.
Wow what a first post opener!!!! Looks like an incredible journey, make sure you keep documenting what you do and updating this thread.
They are amazing cars and very infectious, I took mine out last night for a run having not driven it for a week or so and I was grinning from ear to ear when I got back!!!!
Si
They are amazing cars and very infectious, I took mine out last night for a run having not driven it for a week or so and I was grinning from ear to ear when I got back!!!!
Si
SiT said:
Wow what a first post opener!!!! Looks like an incredible journey, make sure you keep documenting what you do and updating this thread.
They are amazing cars and very infectious, I took mine out last night for a run having not driven it for a week or so and I was grinning from ear to ear when I got back!!!!
Si
Took mine out last night to the local vx meet as well. Forgot how great they are and the power delivery/acceleration just leaves you wanting to do it again and again. They are amazing cars and very infectious, I took mine out last night for a run having not driven it for a week or so and I was grinning from ear to ear when I got back!!!!
Si
I've driven a few modern automatics and personally I can't understand why anyone that enjoys driving would go for one!
MattMacc123 said:
Hi there!
Absolutely Love it
How are you finding the Nitron Suspension? and how low is your VX?
Really fancy Nitron's for mine as im on the Standard Billies just now.
Beautiful purchase there
Nitrons are great. It was a toss up between them and quantums but the Nitrons seemed more proven. They are a little harder and I run then quite soft but have the uprated ARB. To be honest, the suspension and ride is more compliant than the BMW. Absolutely Love it
How are you finding the Nitron Suspension? and how low is your VX? Really fancy Nitron's for mine as im on the Standard Billies just now.
Beautiful purchase there
Sford said:
Nitrons are great. It was a toss up between them and quantums but the Nitrons seemed more proven. They are a little harder and I run then quite soft but have the uprated ARB. To be honest, the suspension and ride is more compliant than the BMW.
Aw nice! do you feel the handling has drastically improved over the standard suspension? Thats pretty much what I have limited down to as well. I like the idea of GAZ 2's as i am on a slight budget. MattMacc123 said:
Aw nice! do you feel the handling has drastically improved over the standard suspension? Thats pretty much what I have limited down to as well. I like the idea of GAZ 2's as i am on a slight budget.
I changed so much at one time I don't think it's fair to say the handling improved. A geo will make a world of difference to these cars. The combined changes made a hell of a difference, everything was new so it all felt new. I think the Nitron or the Quantums are a much better package over the Gaz Golds. Don't confuse the Gold's with the Monos though. I haven't used them but the Monos receive great praise and are nothing like the Golds. If you can push to the Nitrons or the Quantums over the Golds it is definitely worth it. p4cks said:
Great cars, I owned one (actually I had 7) between 2005 and 2015 and I went to a few meets so it's likely that we've probably met.
If ever the Moonland VXR comes up for sale I'll be back in a VX
I know of you from the forum but don't think we've met. Agree on the moonland. Or the Dave Hardwicks blue one! If ever the Moonland VXR comes up for sale I'll be back in a VX
I love these things.
I remember when they first came out. I was a humble apprentice at the time and popped to the local vauxhall dealer with a work colleague. There on display was a bright red VX220. Love at first sight. While sat in I told the salesman that one day I will own one.
I have test driven numerous ones over the years but never actually committed to purchasing one.
Looking at the prices now they just seem to be creeping up and up. A great investment for £6500 that you paid.
I remember when they first came out. I was a humble apprentice at the time and popped to the local vauxhall dealer with a work colleague. There on display was a bright red VX220. Love at first sight. While sat in I told the salesman that one day I will own one.
I have test driven numerous ones over the years but never actually committed to purchasing one.
Looking at the prices now they just seem to be creeping up and up. A great investment for £6500 that you paid.
They get under your skin. There isn't another car I'd swap it for that gives the same power-weight, driving fun and running cost. Elise/Exige is too similar and not going to give you much more for the extra money. Noble M12 or a Lotus 2-eleven are the only things that would sway me. Possibly a Tuscan or Sagaris but again, they're a lot more money.
Brilliant car, and love the work you've put into it.
There used to be a video of me trying to get in/out of one of these. I did, just, but it was the least gracious movement I could ever do. Good space inside though once I was actually in it!
Video pre-dates YouTube though and Google Video doesn't seem to have it anymore!
There used to be a video of me trying to get in/out of one of these. I did, just, but it was the least gracious movement I could ever do. Good space inside though once I was actually in it!
Video pre-dates YouTube though and Google Video doesn't seem to have it anymore!
from me!One of the things getting a bit old on these cars now is the fuel pump. Add to that the increased supply it was haing to make and it was time for a change. I opted to do this by expanding the inspection hole as if I was dropping the tank, a nice shiney pro-alloy one would be going back in and that would cost a lot more! First I stripped out most of the interior. I was able to pick up the pump secod hand from a well known member who had briefly fitted it to his high powered vx, used it very lightly and then changed to something bigger, a decent saving over a new one.
I disconnected the battery as I wanted to remove the seat belt and didn't want to trigger the air bag light. I drew out what I thought would roughly be the hole, taking the existing hole and expanding it to the left. I ensured I didn't come close than around an inch to the front fold in the tub so as to prevent any damage to the strength it adds. I then disconnected everything to find that the hole wasn't quite big enough annoyingly to get the pump through. I didn't want to use any tools at this stage as the fuel tank was now open to atmosphere fire is not a look I wanted to go for. Using some snips, I enlarged the hole to get the old pump out and the new one in and then tidied it up later. The new spitfire pump uses a slightly different seal system and given all the horror stories on here thought it was going to be a pig to get the split ring back on. Turns out with the correct lube and a little force I was able to get it in and sealed without too much fuss.
Wiring was next and I replaced the old connector with the new one that comes with the pump. After some back/forwards with Gaz at Spitfire he sent me over the fitting instructions and I set about stripping the old connector. This is clearly labeled as ABCD and these correspond to.
A = Sender Live
B = PUMP LIVE
C= PUMP EARTH
D = Sender Earth
The colours may differ from car to car so I have omitted those but it should be fairly obvious when doing it what letters apply.
The new plug, looking at it from the side where the wires enter it go ABDC, with orange/black in the pic below being A and the black one being C.
Untitled by Tom Peach, on Flickr
Once all connected up, I reconnected the battery, primed the line pump which all sounded good and realised I hadn't reconnected the seat belt. Frantic rush to turn it all off as I didn't want to have to reset the airbag light and luckily that wasn't enough to leave it triggered. I refitted that, then primed the system. I went round to the bleed nipple on the fuel line on the engine and to my delight, fuel came out!
The car started first time without any problems.
I was going to make a cover for the hole with some sheet steel I had but then my wife turned around and said, why don't you make it from carbon fibre. Ordered up a sheet and before you know it,
Untitled by Tom Peach, on Flickr
Added some edging trim to seal it down and voila. I even had the aluminium rivnuts in stock for attaching.
Untitled by Tom Peach, on Flickr
Took the car to C&M for the monthly meet. It felt faster and happier to rev although I imagine that was just a placebo.
The car has developed a funny sound now, like a metallic spring/twang at slow speed. It increases with speed but not revs and stops when brakes are applied. Seems to be coming from the drivers front area. In preparation for a track day on 3rd September, I have replaced the hub carrier bolts and the drop links. While the suspension was off I checked the wishbones and they move freely up and down. The ARB was not creaking either so not sure what is causing it. I'll go round the block to see if the problem is cured sometime soon.
I disconnected the battery as I wanted to remove the seat belt and didn't want to trigger the air bag light. I drew out what I thought would roughly be the hole, taking the existing hole and expanding it to the left. I ensured I didn't come close than around an inch to the front fold in the tub so as to prevent any damage to the strength it adds. I then disconnected everything to find that the hole wasn't quite big enough annoyingly to get the pump through. I didn't want to use any tools at this stage as the fuel tank was now open to atmosphere fire is not a look I wanted to go for. Using some snips, I enlarged the hole to get the old pump out and the new one in and then tidied it up later. The new spitfire pump uses a slightly different seal system and given all the horror stories on here thought it was going to be a pig to get the split ring back on. Turns out with the correct lube and a little force I was able to get it in and sealed without too much fuss.
Wiring was next and I replaced the old connector with the new one that comes with the pump. After some back/forwards with Gaz at Spitfire he sent me over the fitting instructions and I set about stripping the old connector. This is clearly labeled as ABCD and these correspond to.
A = Sender Live
B = PUMP LIVE
C= PUMP EARTH
D = Sender Earth
The colours may differ from car to car so I have omitted those but it should be fairly obvious when doing it what letters apply.
The new plug, looking at it from the side where the wires enter it go ABDC, with orange/black in the pic below being A and the black one being C.
Untitled by Tom Peach, on FlickrOnce all connected up, I reconnected the battery, primed the line pump which all sounded good and realised I hadn't reconnected the seat belt. Frantic rush to turn it all off as I didn't want to have to reset the airbag light and luckily that wasn't enough to leave it triggered. I refitted that, then primed the system. I went round to the bleed nipple on the fuel line on the engine and to my delight, fuel came out!
The car started first time without any problems.
I was going to make a cover for the hole with some sheet steel I had but then my wife turned around and said, why don't you make it from carbon fibre. Ordered up a sheet and before you know it,
Untitled by Tom Peach, on FlickrAdded some edging trim to seal it down and voila. I even had the aluminium rivnuts in stock for attaching.
Untitled by Tom Peach, on FlickrTook the car to C&M for the monthly meet. It felt faster and happier to rev although I imagine that was just a placebo.
The car has developed a funny sound now, like a metallic spring/twang at slow speed. It increases with speed but not revs and stops when brakes are applied. Seems to be coming from the drivers front area. In preparation for a track day on 3rd September, I have replaced the hub carrier bolts and the drop links. While the suspension was off I checked the wishbones and they move freely up and down. The ARB was not creaking either so not sure what is causing it. I'll go round the block to see if the problem is cured sometime soon.
Chasing the sound I replaced my ARB drop links, took all the shocks off to clean/check them and replaced my hub carrier bolts while I was there. I checked all of the wishbones to see if they were still ok and all would lift and fall with very little input. All the joints seemed to be lubricated still so I re-assembled everything and the sound was gone. No idea what it was but all that tinkering seems to have fixed it. I checked all the hub carrier bolts I removed and they were all ok, no signs of any bending or deforming but they were replaced anyway as they were a few years old now and had done multiple track days.
This was all in preparation for a track day at Castle Combe yesterday. Having not driven the car on track for a while my first couple of sessions I was getting used to the car again. Soon settled back in and was carrying what I thought was a good pace and became noticeably quicker closing in on a lot of stuff through the corners far faster than I had been before. Was good to get the confidence back in the car having not really used it much recently. The brakes just didn't fade which was a bonus. I'm running the standard calipers, plain discs and Pagid RS14 pads all round. I've got fog light ducts cooling the fronts and the fluid was new-ish (last 12 months).
I was there with a couple of friends, one has a Clio 182 that is on it's way to be prepped for use in a race series. The other was a 991.1 gt3rs. The car is exclusively used for track days and he had a firend along with him who was a driving instructor https://www.chrisdymond.co.uk/. I was lucky enough to be taken for a few laps by Chris in the gt3 and f8%k me it was fast. Like blisteringly fast.
All in a great day and good to know the VX is still quick and able to do a track day without any hiccups or problems!
This was all in preparation for a track day at Castle Combe yesterday. Having not driven the car on track for a while my first couple of sessions I was getting used to the car again. Soon settled back in and was carrying what I thought was a good pace and became noticeably quicker closing in on a lot of stuff through the corners far faster than I had been before. Was good to get the confidence back in the car having not really used it much recently. The brakes just didn't fade which was a bonus. I'm running the standard calipers, plain discs and Pagid RS14 pads all round. I've got fog light ducts cooling the fronts and the fluid was new-ish (last 12 months).
I was there with a couple of friends, one has a Clio 182 that is on it's way to be prepped for use in a race series. The other was a 991.1 gt3rs. The car is exclusively used for track days and he had a firend along with him who was a driving instructor https://www.chrisdymond.co.uk/. I was lucky enough to be taken for a few laps by Chris in the gt3 and f8%k me it was fast. Like blisteringly fast.
All in a great day and good to know the VX is still quick and able to do a track day without any hiccups or problems!
Previous posts grabbed from the VX forum as I'd forgotten to post here.
This weekend wife and son went away for a break so I made a start fitting some of the bits I'd amassed over the winter. First up was some lovely aluminium gt hubs made by someone from the forum. Great quality and nice clear instructions came with them. Took around an hour a side to fit as all the bits were relative clean still. Bit of rust build up on the ball joint tops but for once an easy job on the old car! These new hubs move the axle centre 30mm higher, enabling the car to run at a decent ride height but maintaining the wishbone angles at their original operating spec. They're made from 7075-T651 and hard anodised black. They also allow a bit more camber than the originals.
B818EF8A-3214-4065-8599-C5CB408409E7 by Tom Peach, on Flickr
664CDE0A-C6B2-40B8-AD1C-FF8E038F5886 by Tom Peach, on Flickr
Then I got set on fitting these. Not as straight forward.
272EC7CB-5C13-44CE-A331-00683AF420C2 by Tom Peach, on Flickr
There is some ambiguity on Corbeaus side as to which subframes they fit and they changed design at some stage. Also, Lotus have about 5 different subframes for RHD cars over the various years and as the VX is a bit of a parts bin it can be difficult. Luckily they came with the subframes which fitted the seats. Drivers is in ok and doesn't foul the harness bar. Passenger one less so. Can fit the seat to the frame but then can't fit that to the car. The seat has a little too much recline to it. I'm looking to see what other mounts are available that will either move the seat forward an inch or rotate it forward by a couple of degrees.
Also, I plan on actually using the car. Hoping to have everything done ready for the April MOT. Will also start thinking about a Sunday morning midlands meet at C&M.
This weekend wife and son went away for a break so I made a start fitting some of the bits I'd amassed over the winter. First up was some lovely aluminium gt hubs made by someone from the forum. Great quality and nice clear instructions came with them. Took around an hour a side to fit as all the bits were relative clean still. Bit of rust build up on the ball joint tops but for once an easy job on the old car! These new hubs move the axle centre 30mm higher, enabling the car to run at a decent ride height but maintaining the wishbone angles at their original operating spec. They're made from 7075-T651 and hard anodised black. They also allow a bit more camber than the originals.
B818EF8A-3214-4065-8599-C5CB408409E7 by Tom Peach, on Flickr664CDE0A-C6B2-40B8-AD1C-FF8E038F5886 by Tom Peach, on FlickrThen I got set on fitting these. Not as straight forward.
272EC7CB-5C13-44CE-A331-00683AF420C2 by Tom Peach, on FlickrThere is some ambiguity on Corbeaus side as to which subframes they fit and they changed design at some stage. Also, Lotus have about 5 different subframes for RHD cars over the various years and as the VX is a bit of a parts bin it can be difficult. Luckily they came with the subframes which fitted the seats. Drivers is in ok and doesn't foul the harness bar. Passenger one less so. Can fit the seat to the frame but then can't fit that to the car. The seat has a little too much recline to it. I'm looking to see what other mounts are available that will either move the seat forward an inch or rotate it forward by a couple of degrees.
Also, I plan on actually using the car. Hoping to have everything done ready for the April MOT. Will also start thinking about a Sunday morning midlands meet at C&M.
Oh those hub uprights are gorgeous. Good update!
I recently went through the "square peg round hole" fuel pump challenge on my Exige - mine had already been trimmed by a previous owner just enough to retain the original cover plate which was nice - still bloody tight to get it in and out though!
I recently went through the "square peg round hole" fuel pump challenge on my Exige - mine had already been trimmed by a previous owner just enough to retain the original cover plate which was nice - still bloody tight to get it in and out though!
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