Get on the scales

I had some free time so I went about weighing everything we have removed from the car. I only have some bathroom scales so the measurements aren’t very accurate – I had to stand on it with the items held in my hand then subtract my own weight.

The following is how much each bit weighed (in kg):

• Dash 3
• 2 seat belts 3
• 2 seats 28
• Main carpet 4
• Spare wheel 8
• Tools in boot 2
• Fan unit 2
• Centre console 2
• Car Mats 3
• Speakers 3
• Rear carpets 4
• Door cards 3
• Stereo 1
• Bits and bobs 1
• Trim 1

Total: 68kg

37kg when seats and belts put back in.

At the moment we have to use the existing seats and seat belts, but the ideal solution will be to replace with some light weight bucket seats and install some 4 point harnesses. I recon the bucket seats would be about half the weight of the current ones and the harnesses, again half the weight of the existing seat belts.

Time to look around for some bucket seats!

Strip! Part 2

Where do these go again?

Strip!

Time to remove some of the interior. We want to reduce the weight and check if everything is ok underneath the carpets. The rear bolts on the seats were very tight, but some WD40 and the car jack soon sorted that out.

Everything bar the dash and main carpet had been removed. Working out what was needed to be un-screwed to get the carpet off wasn’t obvious. I thought the bottom half of the dash could be taken out on it’s own leaving the top half intact. Unfortunately the whole lot had to come out in one go, but that enabled the carpets to be taken out easily and some of the fan units.

The only bit we couldn’t get out was the central heating/cooling unit – the rear of it was attached to some copper pipes which go into the engine bay and connect with the engine cooling system. We’ve since found out we can remove this unit by sticking one end of the pipe in the engine back into the engine bypassing the whole heater unit.

With the interior pretty much stripped out we could see the condition of the floor. Overall it looked in good condition – there is a bit of surface rust in the foot well which I guess is down to wet feet and a few small spots here and there but nothing to worry about. A quick clean to get rid of any dirt and bits of soundproofing left behind and it’s starting to look more like a race car!

Bedford Autodrome Track Day

Our first track day in our track car. The car gets us all the way to Bedford without any issues although there is some small amount of vibration coming through the steering wheel at 30mph and 60mph (typical!) Most likely the wheels need balancing.

Joe is out first on the track – the car goes well, and Joe is driving well too! Come back into the pits to give the car a rest.

Whilst waiting in the pits it starts to rain… hard! I can’t wait to get out on the track so we put the hood up and get out on the track – everyone else has come in, so we’re the only ones on the track. The track is really slippy, that combined with our lazy shock absorber and old tyres, the back end is sliding out of every corner. I slowly start gaining more confidence in the wet, until I go around the last corner in full view of the pitlane and lose the back end. I counter steer but it’s gone too far already. 720 degrees later and we’re on the grass just off the tarmac! I come back into the pits shortly after.

Joe takes it out again, and now he has a chance to experience the wet. I’m in the passenger seat secretly waiting for him to spin it as well (I couldn’t face be the only one to spin it!) After a few laps he locks up braking for the first corner, comes off the brakes and applies again only to lock them up again – by this time we’ve gone past the turn in point so he has to put more steering lock to get round the corner. The back end slides out and before we know it we’re facing the wrong way. Yay… 1 all

After a few sessions, it’s my last run – I’m confident in the car now so it’s time to push and keep some more speed through the corners. Unfortunately I pushed too hard and end up spinning again, oh well! 2-1.

Overall a fantastic day, and lots learnt about the car… and on the way back there appears to be less vibration coming through the steering wheel so maybe those spins shaved just the right amount of weight off the tyres. ;-)

• Small coolant leak from the pipe at the top of the radiator
• Need some new tyres all round. Will probably go for Toyo Proxes – Any thoughts?
• Lazy shock absorber is probably not helping under heavy braking so that needs replacing.

Tighten those nuts

After searching around we find that M8 x 1.00mm nipples are not very common. In the end we have to order them from Mazda and end up spending £17 for them!!

Re-assembled the brake callipers (mmm… re-assembling takes longer than disassembling!) Put the callipers back on and bled the brakes.

We put the wheels back on, and take the car off the axle stands – time for a test drive. Brakes seem ok, one of the front calipers is sticking slightly on first press, after that it’s ok. Bit of a wobble on the steering wheel, which slowly develops to a clunk.

Jack the car back up and check the wheels. Note to self, tighten the bloody wheel nuts properly before going for a drive! Potential accident avoided, we go for another drive, everything seems good now.

Notice the front offside shock absorber is a bit lazy. Will have to get them replaced later.

The Bedford Autodrome track day is next weekend, so let’s get it booked!

You will not beat me!

Time for a re-think with these front callipers. Time to get serious!

I take off the whole calliper so I can work on it easier and file down the nut so there is a nice flat edge on each side of it. I give it some WD40 to try and penetrate it. Then placed it on the gas hob and heated up the calliper for a little while. Squirted cold water on the bleed nipple, then tried turning it with a nice new adjustable spanner…. It works!

I get the first bleed nipple off. We already had some replacement bleed nipples so I try them for size but to my horror find they don’t fit!

OK, we’ll have to order some new nipples and fit them next weekend. In the mean time I take off the other front calliper and repeat the same trick and get the other nipple out.

To do: Order 2 M8 x 1.00mm bleed nipples

Photo showing the old rusty nipple and the replacement that didn't fit.

One thing followed by another...

Received replacement handbrake cables, and fitted the one that was sticking badly. Got it swapped over then noticed we have another problem – sticking calliper! The arm which the handbrake cable pulls is not returning under the pressure from it’s spring.

I phone up the local motor factors and see what they have… excellent, they have a recon unit for the same price as it would be on the net! Drive down to the motor factors and pick up the new calliper unit.

We get the new calliper back on, and attach the hand brake again. Hurrah, hand brake is working properly now.

Just need to bleed all the brakes, but find the bleed nipples on the front callipers are rusted on… a few broken cheap spanners later and the bolt is gradually getting more and more mangled. The day is over, and Bedford autodrome is getting closer.