[henryiett]

Congrats, to hear that engine start must have been amazing

[James3990]

Small update;

Few more jobs ticked off the list.


Installing new vacuum pipes and a manual boost controller. At a later stage I would like to run an electronic controller, but I’m starting with something simple for now.



Next was the fuel filter, I doubt the car has done many miles since 2012 but replacing this part pretty much completes the servicing of the engine.




Notice the difference in the metal supply pipe for the race cars, this is a test point so a sample of fuel can be taken during scrutineering.





Then it was time to install some more Roversport stuff.



One thing I didn’t realise was the difference in the bumper air ducts. Race version (left) road car version (right).




Assembled together so you can see how they work.





And then fitted to the bumper along with the Dunlop plinth:











Thanks for looking

[StubbornPatriot]

This thread is absolutely fascinating. Thanks for the regular updates, detail and photos. Looking forward to the next instalment. Do you have a target for its track debut? Would be good to have a club day out to come and support you.

[Mr Teddy Bear]

There is an idea! and outside too.......

[James3990]

This thread is absolutely fascinating. Thanks for the regular updates, detail and photos. Looking forward to the next instalment. Do you have a target for its track debut? Would be good to have a club day out to come and support you.

It's great to be able to share such detail of these cars with other members, there is a growing interest and it would be great to see even more of these Roversport cars out in action over the next few years with other members. Including JOHNDQ in his 216GTI

Unfortunately there is no target debut set as my wallet is only so deep I've still got some important items to buy (Race tyres, discs & pads, fire exstingisher system, seats & harness etc). I also have a fundamental issue in getting the car to a race track, its not road legal, so I need to find the space to buy/store a trailer for it also.

I'm hopeful that by this time next year, all of the above will be sorted, the car will be dialled in, all mechanical issues ironed out and a few miles of racing under my belt.

[James3990]

Small update:

Lots of little jobs being completed at the moment:

- Wiper arms sourced and fitted
- Bonnet support bar sourced and fitted along with new rubber grommet & new plastic clip on the front panel.






Next job was to fabricate and paint some mounting brackets to secure the roof panels down in place as per the Roversport manual. Im not 100% a fan of the GRP roof panels, I might look at sourcing some OE Race (metal) panels at a later date.






A while back I had noticed a split rubber gaiter on the steering rack (you can see the damage in the picture below), so I ordered and fitted some new B&B gaiters.






And then finally, I managed to source some headlight trims (hockey sticks) to complete the task of bringing this car back to its original appearance. Unfortunately the clips did need to be cut off in order to fit underneath the GRP headlight blanks, and thankfully one was already broken as you can see, so I didn't feel too guilty in the end as these parts are becoming kinda rare now.

I must say, I’m pretty happy with the alignment of the front end now its complete












So now we have some green colour added to the shell along with the red, black, silver & white : I might call this the rainbow racer until it sees a bodyshop.


So that’s possibly going to be the last update for 2021 on this car from me guys :

I’m having some building work done to my house which starts in November, and it's going to last 16 weeks which means the builders need my driveway and garage as storage for materials and tools. Both cars are going into temporary dry storage and the racer needs to be put on the back burner for a few months.

Thanks for looking and bring on 2022!

[Plodder]

Good luck with the building work and thanks for sharing such a fantastic series on this car.
Enjoy the break from writing your excellent updates

[James3990]

It's been just over 2 months since I stopped working on the Racer due to our house renovations taking shape, but the itch for working on the car has never gone away and was gradually getting worse so I needed to relieve some of that

This is the current state of my man cave, taking longer than anticipated




In order to scratch that itch, I've managed to find the remaining parts to complete the Roversport brake setup - Discs, bells, pads, nuts and bolts etc.

New fitting kit from AP


The discs are second hand and only worthy for decorative display (they are full of nasty heat cracks), however this will still allow me to finish, add fluid and test the system.


Original stamped bells, I'll get these re-anodised when I replace the discs.


My tools are all over the place at the moment, so I wanted to do a mock up assembly first at home using a spare hub before they are fitted to the car. They look good against the new calipers .


Brake pads are Mintex MDB1292M1166 which will see me through a couple of amateur track days whilst I get used to the car before upgrading to a better brand/compound.

And then finally fitted to the car which was no problem at all.



Thanks for looking.

[GTiJohn]

Those brakes....

[henryiett]

Those brakes looks amazing