sidecarphil - Edition One

[jv]

[sidecarphil]

hi there and welcome to my project car

it was bought as i needed a car for winter in holland as i only had my ZXR750L1

but i changed my mind as i liked it so much

so here we go , this is the day i picked it up

it was seen on marktplaats (dutch ebay) , listed as good general condition but oil light coming on

these are the pictures i took the day we looked at it

[sidecarphil]

then i got it home and gave it a dam good clean up and service





The oil light was coming on when the engine was hot , and more when i was cornering

so i changed the oil and filter with a genuine filter and good quality 10w40 oil

and i also saw this 





so i removed the sump and with a few tap's with a LARGE hammer and we were sorted

[sidecarphil]

then the clutch went 

so i changed it with an LUK item , changed the oil again as it was really bad

BUT THEN

disaster hit ,

the earth wire to the gearbox had snapped inside the shrouding 

this then fried the ECU , but it took me about a week to find this

thanks to every one on here who helped me with this problem .

a new one was sourced from the USA as my car has a lambda probe

fitted and we were off again 

i also fitted some new front tyres as they were getting low

but i have had a wheel wobble ever since i have owned the car , but i've not been able to trace it as of yet 

[sidecarphil]

well i've sort of got out of sync with all the work i've done so here is what i've got up too

changed the rear light's to red/clear with supercharged Range Rover indicator bulbs (blue but flash orange)

fitted the black/red ones to the Mrs' 1.3



then i changed all the front lights to crystal ones and matching indicators ,and made an uprated wiring loom with 2relay's( this will be transfered to the Mrs' little 1.3 when i upgrade to HID)



the indicators were fitted with  supercharged Range Rover indicator bulbs (i love these , better than silvertec poop)

[sidecarphil]

happy motoring for a couple of months

then disaster again

when the car got warm it was stuttering coughing and was soo rich

i was down to 200 km per tank of fuel 

so changed the blue cooling sensor , airflow meter , coil , lead's, dissy cap , rotor arm , ign amplifier

but still nothing sorted

so i started proper diagnosis with a multimeter and all 

i stupidly left the ECU to the last as it was new !!!!!

but it turned out the plastic cover above it had a nice little crack in it letting water drip onto the connector !!

green wires , so i stripped the connector cleaned every pin , and refitted with a fixed cover

but the problem was still there i little bit

i had a 4 branch manifold to fit with a new (quieter) exhaust as the one on the car was a single box LOUD one !!

as i was fitting the 4 branch i noticed the lambda probe was rattling 

problem found , new lambda fitted and oooooh yeah we off again





but i have now got problems with the backbox rattling on the rear beam 

it appears the back box is for a 16v modded to fit the rest of the system (not well)

so i think i will upgrade to a stainless system from a 16v as i love the look of the 2 square tailpipes

[sidecarphil]

well we went to the nurburgring over the weekend as i was visiting a friend in a german hospital after a serious sidecar racing crash which lead to the death of my good friend Steve Norbury R.I.P mate

but this uncovered a few problems with the brakes ................... they are poop

[sidecarphil]

just a couple of nice pictures i have taken in the winter

[sidecarphil]

well after the trip to the nurburgring i decided to upgrade the brakes and after a little bit of digging and reading on here i decided that i would buy some 280mm G60 front brakes

old poop little 239mm ones (will be fitted to the Mrs' 1.3)


shiney new G60 280mm front set up with painted calipers


old V new


i had a problem fitting these as the left drive shaft was stuck in the hub 

so i removed it and pressed it out , as i was at work and had all i needed


this also lead me to find the problem with the wheel wobble

the inner joint's grease was like tar and it didn't move nicely if at all so i stripped it claened it and added some new grease , wobble gone PHEW

painted the rear calipers too


i checked before i fitted it all that the wheels would clear the calipers but i didn't realise how close it was till i saw this


but they look cool behind the wheels


i just need a 22mm master cylinder as the peddle seems to move a long way now

brakes are fantastic though

[sidecarphil]

well i bought a MK3 VR6 ready for the conversion

the car looked like it had been run over by a herd of elephants 

but the engine ran and sounded good , so i thought yep i'll have it for 650 euros

the clutch was seized , and the brakes were siezed too

so off back to work with it on the trailer and all was removed carfully and lebeled every wire LOL

but i took the sump off for a look in and i was going to change the chain as i have seen a lot of problems with this when it is fitted to the car AND i saw lots of little pieces of metel in the strainer of the oil pump ,

so i am going to rebuild it and add a ported and polished head , and a performance cam (any ideas ) ??

i also was going to use the interior loom modded for the MK2 dash and MK3 stalks BUT the interior loom has been cut about so mush for alarms , stereo , ECT that i decieded not too

i sourced a late dash loom , fuse box and elec window winders

i also bought a set of electric mrrors from a corrado , was going to use the dash but it was so cold i gave up taking it out  :embarassed:

but till the engine is re built i have repaired the engine bay wiring loom and am driving it as a 1.8 still