VX Rearended - Maybe written off

[Muncher]

Right, a little update

Some new pics at http://www.muncher.org.uk/vxrebuild

The car is back and I'm setting about getting it all together, which is going to take some while!

Here's a list of the improvements that I'm making while doing this, off the top of my head

List of VX Improvements

Brakes:
Pagid RS14 Pads
Mintex C-Tech Vented Discs
BF Goodridge Braided Hoses
Dot 5 racing fluid

Ride and Handling
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 Lightweight alloys
Toyo R888 Semi slick tyres
8x New balljoints
2x new track rod ends
2x new Spitfire Engineering rear tie rod links
2x new Anti-roll bar drop links
2x New ARB bushes
20x new suspension bushes
3mm machined from hub carriers
Custom camber shims
Eliseparts steering rack riser plates

Body
2x New headlights
Complete respray
New stone protection film
Replaced Rivnuts
New side intakes
New hardtop
Anti rattle door pins
Boot lighting fitted
New Rear Grille
New number plates
Heated front windscreen with black surround

Engine
EGR Valve Deletion and EGR cheater fitted
New fuel filter
Improved timing chain and tensioner kit fitted
Piper 266 degree cams fitted
2.4L inlet manifold
Ported and Polished Throttle body
2Bular 4-1 Manifold
2Bular full exhaust system inc race cat
Coolant header tank UV cover

Interior
Leather centre console
Leather sill pockets
Carpet Set
Alcantara trimmed doorcards
Alcantara trimmed dash plates
Alcantara trimmed Dash
Alcantara trimmed Stack System
Smaller rear view mirror
ABS cutoff key-switch

 

[Muncher]

nice list of improvements going on. I'm sure you're interested to see how different it feels when it's all back together, that's if you remember what it was like before

eta on how long until it's back on the road?

It'll feel a lot better that's for sure!

Back on the road in a month I hope, substantially complete, maybe sooner but I'll be waiting on the exhaust and both manifolds I think.

The alcantara is going in as it reduces glare from the dash showing on the windscreen, which allows you to go faster . The weight increase from a bit of cloth is marginal.

The door pins because I've had a batch made up and they'll pay for themselves and the centre console I picked up for a silly price from a scrap yard Granted the carpets are a bit gay though

 

[Muncher]

Oh, and there's quite a good chance that it won't have any CAT C/D registered against it

 

[Muncher]

Flock it tbh.

I don't really like the look of that, would cost about 5 times as much too.

 

[Muncher]

How so?

Just from chatting to a mate who has put several cars back on the road, he seems to think it's likely it may not have any category added as the third party insurers have never owned my car, they've never had the V5 and it could well be regarded as cash in lieu of repair. He also says it's possible to get the category amended as well.

 

[Muncher]

Some more updated photos at www.muncher.org.uk/vxrebuild

Cams out to be replaced with Piper cams
First internal engine work I have done!

 

[Muncher]

Dangerously close to being driven home now!

Recently done (that I can remember!) includes:

• ABS cutoff switch on dash
• Handbrake cable fitted
• New battery fitted
• Door pins fitted
• Every suspension joint torqued
• Brake bolts threadlocked
• ARB fitted
• Exhaust and heatshield fitted
• Piper Cams fitted
• New timing chain kit fitted with new tensioners, guide rails, improved oiljet, gaskets, seals, sprockets etc
• Throttle body ported and pollished
• Alternator swapped for a smaller 100 amp one to allow a 2.4 litre intake manifold to be fitted
• New alternator belt
• EGR valve removed and EGR cheater fitted
• Gazeebo patched up with two broom handles!

Probably loads more stuff but I'm losing track now. Just the new tie rod kit to fit which should arrive tomorrow, front and rear clams half fixed on and some lights then I can drive it home to finish it all off. (I say finish it off but there's still a LOT to do)

 

[Muncher]

Great work! What's left to do?

Do you not need to get this inspected before driving it on the road again?

Inspection will depend whether it's been flagged with the DVLA.

In brief:

Windscreen changed (waiting on screen)
Carpets fitted
Interior trimmed in alcantara
Rear exhaust mesh fitted
Tie rods fitting
Battery needs a spacer made up
Geo setup done
Rear exhaust mesh bonded in
LED lights (white!) in boot installed
Front and rear clam fitted
Hardtop lined and fitted
2.4 inlet manifold fitted from the states when it arrives
The list goes on, in short quite a bit!

Going to be in time for the RR Muncher? Can you make it?

Glad you can now see the end of your project!

When's the RR? Hopefully

Are those K&N microfilter, drilled and ported biscuits on the rear wheel?

McVities Hobnobs

Is it me or does the toe angle on that most visible rear wheel look about 1,000,000,000 degrees out?

I'm waiting for the rear tie rods to arrive, it's a new kit on the market which should be extremely strong, should be today in that photo there are no rear tie rods so nothing to control the rear toe in/out, the wheel just goes where it wants to

Muncher - How did the bodyshop get on with lining up the rear clam to the existing doors?

Ta for the heads up, they didn't re-align them, I will be doing that.

 

[Muncher]

Where do you learn to do stuff like that. That's quite some undertaking Excellent job so far.

The same as most things, just picked them up as I went along. Most things are quite obvious and there's the service CDs which are available online. It would be a whole lot trickier without the internet but if you can use a spanner you're not far off.

 

[Muncher]

It's back home

Lots of work to be done still but at least it's in a state where I can drive it in/out of the garage now Drove home with a dodgy alternator connection, no speedo, temporary legal plates, only a few bolts in the clams, and improvised geo setup, broken windscreen and a paper clip as a starter button

 

[Muncher]

Doesn't ring a bell, I have one vid of a VXR spinning at Spa, and a few vids of a quick VXT at Hockenheim passing Porsches. Does it have music overlayed?

 

[Muncher]

Nearing completion....

New windscreen in, interior almost done, just waiting on the new inlet manifold so the rear clam can go back on.

Door cards trimmed in alcantara, dash trimmed in alcantara and floor and sides carpetted. It is actually darker but the flash made it look lighter.

 

[Muncher]

Some more pics, getting there slowly. The whole car is like the jigsaw puzzle.

For example... rear clam is ready to go back on but it was easier to replace the intake manifold with the clam off. Which means the lights, boot lid and trim can't go back on yet...and as the clam bolts inside the passenger compartment the speaker panel can't go back in yet, neither can the speakers or harness bar. Without the panel and the harness bar back in both seats can't go in. Which means the gear lever and handbrake shrowd can't go in, ditto the hndbrake and gear levers. Of course that means roll bar cover can't go back on, so the headrrest trim which fixes onto it can't go on, the rear roof seal can't be fitted then and the front seal can't be stuck down in parts in case it needs to be moved to match the front one.

But slowly getting there now!

Major things left to do now are:

Fit tie rod kit and subframe brace bar
Do geo setup
Bleed brakes
MOT it
Take to Courtenay Sport for remap (and leave it there)
Take to bodyshop for some bits to be tidied up.
Remove dash again and tidy up the alcantara on the underside.

Some points to note for anyone considering doing the same....

1. You need a decent workspace, lots of space, warm and well lit. This is something i've really struggled with.

2. Waiting for parts to arrive will take longer than you could possibly expect. It's not always possible to plan in advance exactly which bits you need.

3. Your parents' new conservatory makes an excellent parts storage area, I have absolutely filled it For a few months now!

4. You need to be a contortionist to do some things.

5. Don't expect any skin to be left on your knuckles at the end!

6. It's not as simple as it looks in photos

7. Don't ever take on a project like this in late summer as you don't want to be doing it in the winter! At the minute the project is my main activity but at this time of the year if you start at 10am, take out a bit for lunch it's easy to only have a few hours actual work on the car as it gets cold and dark really early.

 

[Muncher]

lovin it looking good, is there no aftermarket switches to get rid of the plastic look of the heater switches?

The round ones in the middle? Nope, not something that could be done easily.

 

[Muncher]

bummer i dont understand why companies do that the interior looks awesome then they just add some cheap switches through the middle.

They're aluminium nobs which operate the heater via steal wires, I'm not sure what else they could have done with them really.

 

[Muncher]

Not the best of pics but the light was fading.

 

[Muncher]

A better shot.

 

[Muncher]

definate improvement

is she all finished now then ? or any little jobs left ?

Lots of little jobs left to do. MOT on friday, off for remapping next week, then to the bodyshop for some minor bits to be redone, then the little jobs can be finished off.

 

[Muncher]

Whats the deal with the legal plates

Only stuck on lightly with double sided tape for the MOT on friday, back to normal after then.

 

[Muncher]

Must admit Muncher, after reading this and researching Vx220 for the last couple of weeks, I think I am in love! I aspire to own something like this in a few years.

Few questions:

Is this a Turbo? or a 2.2N/A?

Are you keep it de-badged on the front and leaving the silver V off aswell?

Is the back de-badged?

How much does it cost to remap these and what gain is there?

Do VX220's come with Halogen or HID front lights?

That's all for now...

I love the colour of the car, especially with more black on it now. will it stay this way?

It's a 2.2 but pretty extensively modified, should produce the same power as the standard turbo but weigh a fair chunk less.

The silver V and the badge are moudled into the same part so if you leave one off, you have to leave the other off really. It's off for a number for reasons, I've a non-standard front mesh which I'm not sure would allow me to put the existing V back on and I prefer the look with it off.

The rear is de-badged at the moment simply because I haven't put the badges back on. The bodyshop didn't do a fantastic job where the old large vauxhall badge came off on the second hand rear clam I have, probably assuming I was putting a new badge back on. In fact before the accident I didn't have a badge on there. Whether I will put another back on depends on how accomodating they are about redoing that bit as it will require the whole rear clam repainting to sort it.

Err, I think it's about £249 for the remap but hopefully mine will be used as a development car if you know what I mean. As for the gains, who knows. It has been remapped already but since them I've added piper cams, ported throttle body and 2.4 inlet manifold. The new manifold apparently gives a lot more at the top end but dents low end torque until the map is adjusted accordingly.

Halogens as standard but I've fitted dual HIDs which are a big improvement.

It will look pretty much like that, except my front splitter will be going back on. Oh and hardtop on too.