Fuglier than a Rasheen

**MrLuke** · 11-04-2011 21:03

Thought I would give this an update after finally dragging it to its first skid day at Norfolk over the weekend.

Bit disappointed really, ive only had a bit of play in the wet and it seemed fine but once on the track in the dry it showed that I have a lot of work to do on it to bring it up to spec.

When I got there (late due to cutting out on the way

) I just went straight out to give me a baseline to work from. First run out as I put the power down coming off of a corner the whole backend of the car was bouncing up and down, rapidly got flagged down by Malx who told me the rear was tramping so bad it looked like it was going to fall off

The bouncing backend was more than the cherry bomb could handle which fell off in the pits

A quick visit to mint tyres and I was sitting in the queue again this time with much skinnier tyres at 50psi. Much more successful out this time but still some tramping once the revs picked up. Car was running pretty badly all weekend and really struggled under load.

Upped the tyres to 55psi and went out for my 3rd run. Car was getting rapidly worse by this point but the backend was at least starting to move around. Found the rear left tyre wasnt holding air though so the tramping returned everytime I turned right

Figured it was as good as it was going to get so parked up waiting for the scored runs.

Went out for my first odc run which to be fair was probably my cleanest run all day and netted me 30/100 points as I didnt spin on the 4 laps but was hideously slow. Car cut out as I finished and was reluctant to start, got it back to the car park and left it there for the rest of the day.

See clip below for much awfulness no excuses lol but at least it wont be any worse next time and gives me something to compare to.

dont watch if you are easily depressed

Improvements are planned though...

**Sam H** · 11-04-2011 22:34

10/10 for commitment on your vid. Worry not. Once car is a bit more friendly, you'll find you are a pro after taming that beast :P

**Stavros** · 21-04-2011 16:33

Surely itd be easier to turbo the V6 thats in it than mount a Nissan engine that there is probably less than 5 of in the whole of the UK and zero chance of getting spares for without shopping in the USA?

**Harlen** · 21-04-2011 17:35

Good read this! Props for keeping with it though, anyone else would bin it and get an S-Body.

**MrLuke** · 23-04-2011 20:39

Originally Posted by Stavros

Surely itd be easier to turbo the V6 thats in it than mount a Nissan engine that there is probably less than 5 of in the whole of the UK and zero chance of getting spares for without shopping in the USA?

Firstly, the v6 that's in there needs a rebuild which I don't have the experience, tools or land to do atm and its supposed to be my daily.

Secondly I've already killed a type 9 heavy duty box and the replacement doesn't sound brilliant. Refurbished updated box is £500 for a v6. Alternative is to convert the xr4x4 box to rwd. More pennies.

The engine is used in the Nissan terrano/Ford maverick so plenty more than 5, lots of cheapies parts available in the UK.

I was going for a ca as its a popular swap in capris now as it goes straight in. But this came up for the right price and is the same size so...

Cheers for the positive comments

need to man up and cut my springs now as it looks like a 4x4.

**Binnerz** · 23-04-2011 23:31

My eyes hurt after looking at your car! But on a better note it looks awesome, get that thing slammed on the floor with some nice wwwwiiiiiiddddddeeeee 13's and you'll be laughing!

**SVK Customs** · 24-04-2011 07:54

Oh my. Fugly is the word

But it's great fun with odd cars on the drift track, you will definitly stand out

Before starting with the engine swap get you suspension sorted out.
And install stiffer anti-roll bars too.

Best of luck mate!

**MrLuke** · 24-04-2011 08:36

Engine swap is more for reliability than power

I just want something I can hammer every day and get some seat time in

Thanks for all the positives

13s are too small tho, will be dragging the chassis before I lose the arch gap

**MrLuke** · 15-06-2011 19:56

Bit of an update as it has been bloody ages.

Analysis of the V6 says it didnt have any piston rings left.

Anyway to cut a long story short I dropped the car off with a garage to complete the engine change for me, unfortunately it is taking a lot longer to complete than expected.

However have some update pictures of state of play so far.

As you can see at the moment it sits too high. Where it is at the moment lines the mounts up almost perfectly and puts the gear stick through the existing hole.

However really I think it needs to come forward an inch or 2 which will clear the sub frame better and lower the engine down but will mean some choppy choppy to fit the gearstick.

Hopefully one day it will be driving again

**4door32** · 15-06-2011 20:41

Somehow missed this till now! It is well fugly but cool and unussual think it could be wicked and look cool with some bigger wider wheels slammed and a front splitter. Put a hump in the bonnet and get it back out on the track!!

**MrLuke** · 24-07-2011 23:30

OMG an update :O

To cut a long story short I dropped the car and engine off with a well respected garage back in April/May time as they gave me a very reasonable quote for fitting.

For whatever reason over 2 months later very little progress had happened and it was agreed the car would be returned to me to fit myself.

The list of reasons I had for the engine not fitting were as follows.

-Inlet manifold fouls the brake master cylinder smaller cylinder required.
-Engine sits too high due to lack of sump clearance on front subframe
-Bonnet needs cutting due to height of engine
-Gearbox fouls high level chassis member
-Gearbox does not line up with prop
-If the above gearbox problems are overcome then the shifter wont fit
-Chassis wont take the power

I want to make clear this is not supposed to be a name and shame thread but I have never fitted an engine before and this was my progress in 1 day on a gravel drive with my newly purchased engine hoist

It fits !

Bit messy but its in, loads of space for new rad and intercooler.

Plenty of clearance here, note the shiny new non fitting bolts as the old ones were left in the engine bay when the car was transported...

Brake pipes are shite but fit as are and will be lots of room when re-routed

Even the shifter is spot on. (doesn't line up 100% as no engine / gbox mounts made yet)

Even the bonnet fits, couldnt have done it without my faithful assistant tho

Not pictured but theres even a chance that the Nissan KA prop shaft is going to bolt straight up to my ford diff and be the right length. Held it up under the car and the pcd on the diff flange appears to match up but it might be 10mm to short. We will see.

The only issue I have found so far is that the external waste gate wont fit as is, I might be able to squeeze it on by clocking the housing around a bit but we'll see. Other than that its all good.

Next jobs are to lift it back out again so I can grind off the old engine mounts which are welded to the chassis, make up some new mounts (which will lift the engine about 5-10mm as currently resting on the subframe and then its just wiring and plumbing. I might actually have this thing back on the road by Christmas.

Turbo is a T3/T04E .60 A/R Which is good for silly power but at the 8psi I think it is mapped for should make about 240bhp (pretty low turbo efficiency) and will make about 280 at 11psi (slightly better efficiency lol).

The KA24 is good for about 20psi on standard internals but shouldn't really go above 1 bar on an unopened block as its likely to fail.

Also I have found somebody with the same chassis as me running a tuned YB engine on the Hillclimbs so I should be okay chassis wise

Thanks to everybody who read that massive essay

**ash1987** · 25-07-2011 00:34

good to see your getting there mate, shame it wasnt completed by the garage though. that sucks big time.

you going to awesomefest?

**bildo** · 25-07-2011 07:00

My initial reaction was:

"It's not that b...."

*Scrolls down*

**MrLuke** · 25-07-2011 09:18

Yeah is a shame as I could have been driving it for a month now

Oh well no harm done and yes Ill be at Awesomefest in the super duper Polo of Doom.

**Drift/Spec** · 25-07-2011 11:16

With an engone bay that big you could probably cram a merc v12 in there :P

**Colbskee** · 26-07-2011 18:16

holy shit this thing is awesome. KA-t is a much better engine than an SR20 or a CA18. good choice

**Lauren** · 26-07-2011 19:06

It's still really ugly, but brilliant work, keep going!

**maxredskies** · 27-07-2011 02:44

haha this car is pure sex! so ugly but so nice at the same time

But way more cool than ugly though

**HippoSleek_J** · 27-07-2011 03:16

No matter what people say about the looks of this car, I bet it gets serious attention... a bit like a pissed fat girl with a skirt that is a bit too small lol.
Coming on though man, looking forward to seeing a vid once it's running again

**MrLuke** · 27-07-2011 19:05

Oo positive comments

Well the pissed fat girl has got some new high heels to complement her too short skirt

Needs to be far lower but its slowly coming together

Im trying to get something that has the same look and feel as this older Ginetta. This is the style per se.

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