There's not been very much on this site recently, as I've not done much other than drive the car around. However, there's a number of things that I want to do to the car that I thought I'd record here, if only to make all the people out there who look at this site realise that we're still alive! So, the following list is all those things that I'm aware that I want, or should, do to the car. I probably won't get around to most of them of course! I'll update the to-do list itself, mainly to remind me that I said I would do these things.
For some time I've wondered about some bigger brakes. Other people, such as local Rusher
William, have fitted huge four-pot braking systems while I
have struggled along with the standard Sierra version.
Although my brakes are much better after I swapped around the master cylinders a while ago, I would still like things to stop a bit quicker. One half way house is to get some bigger discs and use and adaptor plate to move the caliper outwards, hence getting more leverage on the wheel centre.
Coincidentally another car building friend, Adrian, has some unwanted Cosworth size discs which I've got off him at the moment. What I'd like to do is to see if an adapter plate would allow me to use these and the existing calipers. Dax do such an adapter, but I'm not sure if it would work with these discs. I must phone up Peter at Dax and ask him about this. Failing that, it's possible that someone like HiSpec, who supplied these discs to Adrian, would be able to help.
Changing the master cylinders has made it nearly possible to heel-and-toe. However, it is still not possible, for me at least. I have to fix this as for me it's essential for fast driving, especially on a track. I'm often surprised at how many people can't heel-and-toe due to its importance. I guess I have an advantage in that I learnt to drive at a time when cars tended to have duff synchromesh (or none at all) and double-declutching was essential to be able to change gear in some circumstances. I learnt to do that, and combine it with heel-and-toe to allow braking at the same time and I've been doing it ever since. Well, not the double-declutching bit, although I do have a go sometimes for old time's sake.
For the Rush I either need to get the brake pedal a bit closer or the throttle a bit further away. Whichever I try it needs to be done.
Not surprising considering the recent issues, I need to spend a while looking
at the oil system. I've now mounted the mechanical pressure gauge in the car's dash and this has allowed me to
monitor things rather more carefully. The problem with this is that it doesn't have any illumination which isn't
much good at night!
After a fair bit of thought I think there's a collection of possibilities. Unfortunately, they all involve spending money:
|
Item |
Description |
|
Baffled sump |
A baffled sump has a collection of plates and trapdoors inside it in order to stop the oil sloshing about and keep it within range of the pickup. I really need to have one of these. Since I've had the mechanical pressure gauge I've found that even hard braking can cause the oil pressure to drop alarmingly. |
|
Oil cooler |
As I've been watching the instruments rather more carefully recently, I've realised that I also need to think about an oil cooler. According to Dave Ellis, with whom I was discussing baffled sumps, the temperature ought to be in the 90s. However, I'm getting up to 115 even just driving down the motorway. Westfield Seights have oil coolers as standard and I've realised that the same thing ought to apply to Dax Rushes. Most people probably don't realise as they don't fit an oil temperature gauge. To be honest I only fitted one after John Cellier said that his oil temperature was running high. Perhaps the biggest problem with an oil cooler is working out where to fit one that:
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The photo here is of the Mocal pump cover, available from Merlin Motorsport amongst others, which would do this job, although is not essential. |
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Oil-stat |
Once an oil cooler is fitted it might make sense for speedy warm-up to fit an oil-stat, which diverts the oil flow around the cooler before it gets warmed up. |
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New pipes and unions |
Whatever I decide to do about this there will be some additional pipes, and so on, required. |
One of the problems with the Rover V8 fitting is that there is no room available for an oil filter,
hence the remote filter that we fitted along with most other builders. However, the sandwidth plate that we used
for routing the oil to the remote filter apparently can cause pressure drops anyway. What's more, using a replacement
take-off plate instead allows the replacement of the pressure-relief valve. Although I used a new piston for this
the bore is part of the existing pump cover.Having had such a set of problems with the Greengauges instruments I'm in a bit of a quandary. I would like to get the dash looking right again, but to do that I have to at least buy another oil pressure sender and the one I've had so far is so poor, and so many other people have reported similar problems, that I'm reluctant to throw money down the drain like this. I may decide to get a couple more mechanical instruments to replace the important ones (water temperature, oil temperature) of the current set.
I really want to sort something about head restraints before taking the car on track again. I've ceom up with a couple of ideas about this. One is to make some sort of removeable bracket that mounts to the top seatbelt mounting. By being removeable the tonneau cover would still fit. The other approach is to get a stainless tube welded across the roll-bar and fix some pads to that. I'm not sure about which approach to take, but the first one has the benefit that I could do it all myself.
Rather minor, but the gear knob needs tightening up. Problem is, that means taking off
the gaiter and the trim ring which will take much longer than it sounds it should.
Ever since I've had the car there's been an oil leak from, I think, the rear of the gearbox. I need to ensure that this is what it really is. I don't think I can do anything about it, but it'd be nice to know that that's what it really is. In the process I should check that the oil level is OK. While I'm at it, some oil got in the inside of the car at the beginning. I tried to stop it but I should check that it really has been stopped...
Difficult to believe but after more than six months, Dax have still not managed to deliver
me the bootbox carpet they keep promising me. I have a suspicion that they think I'm just going to go away eventually
but they're sadly mistaken. I'm almost up to the point of threatening legal action.
I've never been too happy with the way the expansion tank fits. I'd like to find a tank that was a different shape and try that instead. The problem with the Ford tank I've got is that if it overflows, as it has done a couple of times, the driver ends up with boiling water all over their legs. Dax sell stainless tanks, but they're a bit ostentatious really and it's nice to be able to see the level without taking the cap off.
I want to do a couple of jobs to the suspension. First I really must go around the whole
car again and check the torque settings of all the bolts. Secondly, I want to Hammerite some of the front suspension
components. They aren't rusty yet but it's only a matter of time.
I'm very unsure about this, but I keep thinking that having a hood would make life a bit easier by making the weather a bit less important. Perhaps I just need to think a bit more about it. The only trip I've made in the rain it was absolutely pelting down and the biggest problem was vision. I ended up wearing a crash helmet and wiping the visor every few seconds.
This is more a "wouldn't it be nice" than a to-do item, but a quick[er] rack would be very nice. I'll talk to Dax about it...
For some time now I've had tin of liquid rubber stuff with which I want to line the insides of the wheel arches to guard against "star-cracks". (Star crazes in the gelcoat caused by stones hitting the inside.) I should really get around to actually using it.
in case you've got to this frame directly and can't get out, go here.