Just emailed ultra racing about their useless brackets, so let’s see what they say…..

So another good day of stuff done today

So fitted the the anti roll bar with the shims (I’ll post a video in the google drive link)

Fitted the brake lines and flexi hoses to and from the brake bias valve assembly

Repacked the rear wheel bearings with some fresh molybdenum grease

Started painting the rear calipers , and will try and finish them at night during the week

Question for the forum, can someone confirm the correct torque setting for the rear wheel bearing?

Thanks Jamie

Got the rear axle assembly all bolted back in along with the fuel tank

Then decided to change the front anti roll bar bushes for some strongflex jobbies

The actual point of changing the original bushes is easy, but you have to drop the whole subframe in order to get at it

Also I fitted new drop links as the rubber bushes were cracking, and that's as you have to release them anyway to get at the bushes it's pretty straightforward

Finally put together the front shock absorber and spring along with the new top mount and bearing assembly

Will try and take a few photos tomorrow, as I wanted to simply get stuff done today

Cheers Jamie

Been a bit busy over the last 2 weekends with non coupe stuff

However got a few hours in today

So fitted the drivers side suspension strut assembly, and wheel arch liner
Tarted the front cross member paintwork up,
Refitted the repainted strut brace
Painted the rear calipers
Done the decal and lacquered the front drivers side brembo caliper
A few bits of touch up here and there

I will get photos uploaded tomorrow, and try and do the seal kits for the calipers so I can refit them

Cheers Jamie

Just uploaded a few pics and a few videos with some commentary

I’ll do another post later to show work done and jobs left to do

Cheers Jamie

Finished off doing both near side wheel arches today, so removed the liners, checked for rust, of which it was only surface. Then upol everything after rust treatment

Also fitted the first brembo caliper and flexi pipe to the drivers side of the car, then whipped off the old suspension on the passenger side and put the shiny new stuff in. Unsurprisingly the shock absorber on the passenger side was totally knackered in that there was no pressure keeping the piston at maximum, so I hope weekend after next I can start to drive it again.

Fitted the 2nd set of dust covers for the rear axle, I must have thrown the others away, anyway it makes for a tidy job

Fitted new seal kits to the rear calipers as the last job, word of warning to anyone planning this job,there is a technique to getting the dust seal back in. Basically smoother the seal and piston in silicone grease and fit the seal over the piston and extend it so it’s proud of the end of the piston. Then you can after some fiddling get the other end of the seal into the groove

I will say the seals were ready, as now the movement has far lest resistance, so a good but fiddly job done

Plan for tomorrow is fit the 4 remaining pieces of brake lines for the abs unit to the the front end

Get the exhaust assembly back together, and try and get the cooling fans and bits around that area bolted back in

Not so many new photos from today, so click the google drive to view

Cheers Jamie

Radio silence from Ultra Racing……

So got the brake lines done, albeit cut 2 lines wrong so will have to replace those next weekend

Got the exhaust all back on

Refitted the remaining wheel arch liners

Refitted the rear plastic undertray with new self tapping fixings as the old ones were totally crusty

Routed the fuel pump wiring mod live supply from front to back

And then fired her up, no smoke from the new turbo, so happy with progress apart from cutting the wrong pipes

Cheers Jamie

quick update folks

It appears the fuel pump has packed up as it now won't start

So I've ordered a KEMSO pump which seems to have good reviews and at £48 seems pretty cheap

Cheers Jamie

Took a day off work to get some more stuff done….


So fitted the aux belt guard after taking some advice from Joe

Also fitted a new aux belt, just to be doubly sure of no surprises

Fitted the pu right hand engine mount and put the trims back in place

Fitted the KEMSO fuel pump (I’ll change the fuel filter tomorrow), which requires the same mods as per the uprated Walbro pumps. The fiddliest task is reseating the rubber gasket when putting the assembly back into the tank.

Fitted the turbo heat shield, but will fit the fans tomorrow

Started to remove the brake calipers all round and strut brace as I’m just not happy with the finish, so they’ll get a professional job done on them over the next few days.

As I’ve taken the battery tray out to do the brake lines, I’ve cleaned and painted that as well

Only a couple of photos today, as I’m nearly finished

Cheers Jamie

So bolted in a set of brake pipes that I’d cut by mistake, that’s not a fun job with the engine getting in the way

Unbolted the rear calipers to be painted by someone who knows what they are doing

Got another screen wash pump and then inadvertently sat on it and bust that one (fml), so I’ll have get another ……

Topped the coolant up having lost some fitting the turbo heat shield

Fitted the cooling fans

Went over the floorpan to upol treatment just to get any bits that I’d missed in the previous coats.

Started to refit the front bumper and side light assembly, weather permitting I’ll finish this tomorrow

Started her up, and did the usual checks for leaks/noises etc, but everything was good

Cheers Jamie

Should be wheels on the ground and tootle around the block next weekend, assuming I don’t have any dramas bleeding the entire brake system

I’ll still have a few nice to do type jobs, but it should be stuff I can ticker with as the nights start to draw out

Cheers Jamie

Only spent a couple of hours today underneath the car

Basically went round all nuts and bolts and made sure they were tight

Finished off fitting the bumper

And dropped the calipers to get painted properly


Cheers Jamie

Been a bit quiet for the last couple of weeks, as I needed to wait for the calipers to be repainted

Anyway I’ve now got them back along with the strut brace, and they look brill

Weather forecast is dry for tomorrow so I should get them reassembled and bolted back on, then bleed the brakes and then a quick test around the block

Google drive has a brief video showing the pained goodies

Cheers Jamie

So close, yet so far

So put the calipers etc back on

Set the brake bleeder up,decided to do the clutch first,and then tried at the rears....

After 10 minutes of nothing, I decided to try the fronts,which worked a treat

So decided to crack the pipes near the brake bias valve to make sure fluid was at least getting to that point. Confirmed that fluid was there, so it appears the valve is seized up.

I've been faffing around for an hour, but no success, so I'll try and whip it off tomorrow after work, and see if I can free it up

I did test the brake and clutch pedal, and pedal feels great

Fingers crossed I can get it sorted in the week and then Road test it

Cheers Jamie

New brake compensator valve fitted, and brakes have been bled, albeit I will do them again as the pedal feels a bit soft

so I've rebled the brakes, and pedal feels good now

I've put the repainted battery tray and re-secured the battery itself along with the various looms clipped back into place.

I've refitted the side lights, and put the piece of heat shield near the muffler back into its fittings

Finally put the rear wheels on the ground!!

Plan for after work tonight is to fit the undertray and put the front wheels down

Cheers Jamie

She lives

Brakes need a rebleed as there's still too much pedal travel, maybe because the pistons weren't fully seated? Anyway it's easy enough to push more fluid through

Albeit only a short drive, but no knocks and bangs and the ride is brilliant

Will post a bit more over the weekend

Cheers Jamie

Had a brief drive in the car

Pulls like train,handling is pretty neutral, albeit it needs the tracking doing

Brakes are still a bit soft, so I’ll bleed them again

The only thing I’ve got to investigate is a knocking at the rear end. It’s coming from both sides, so my immediate suspicion is something to do with the anti roll bar and the brackets I had to pack out, which I know means a few things off to get at it

I’m on holiday early next week, so I won’t get chance until next weekend

Quick walk round video in the google drive for those interested

Cheers Jamie

Just having a cuppa, and then I’ll have a look at the clonking on the rear of the car and hopefully bleed the brakes for the final time

Then put some fuel in and go for a bit of a drive

Fingers crossed

Cheers Jamie

Brakes pedal feels good now, I took Joe’s advice and bled them with the engine running. Must have been some air around the abs pump

Onto the knocking…….

I checked the bolts holding the anti roll bar, one side had a bit of movement so I nipped it up, I then proceeded to the other side and the bolt head snapped

Anyway I’ll try loosen the fittings so I can pivot the whole anti roll bar and see if I can mole grip out the bit of threaded stud showing

I’ll put a comment in the discussion about bolts needed

Cheers Jamie

After a surprise breakdown (fuse for the fuel pump blew), which I’m presuming is linked to the higher flow fuel pump I’ve fitted

I’ve had a good hours drive, and honestly nothing to note of any significance

Tracking definitely needs doing as at higher speeds the understeer is still there, but at low speeds the turn in is great

Likewise for those interested, the pfc brake pads are a good upgrade over the standard brembo pads. The initial press is a bit lacking, but after a couple of presses and they have a decent amount of bite

Tomorrow will be a trip to the body shop to see when I can get it touched up

Cheers Jamie

Well another surprise breakdown tonight

Tonight’s drive was short lived, so after buzzing around the country lanes near me, the car suddenly died, just as I was coming onto boost. It cut out quite abruptly, so my immediate thought was something electrical

As I’d faffed around with fuses from earlier in the week, I’d got a few spare ones with me, so I get out of the car , cocksure the fuse had gone and I’d just pop another one in

Anyway it wasn’t the fuse

I popped the bonnet and the negative connection on the battery felt a bit warm, so I thought some kind of short

Then I tried to start it, but it turned over without firing.

The injector light stayed on, so I knew it would not start

When I tried again the ignition just clicked, like when your battery is flat , and I could hear something crackling/buzzing in the drivers footwell, so I turned it off and got the car towed back home

Anyway got the car home, had a nosey around, with nothing obvious

After an hour the car had cooled down and would turn over but not fire

So the code and injector light comes on and goes off, so for me this is correct. I hear the fuel pump prime for a second or two, again I’m sure this is normal

But it won’t fire up

I’ve tried the inertia switch several times

I’m not sure about the 2 relays in the passenger footwell, and the fuel gauge is showing about a 3rd of a tank.

I will to be sure check there’s actually fuel in it tomorrow, and given I put about 50 quids worth of fuel and haven’t done more than a 70 miles I hope it’s not just fuel now for why it won’t start

However I still wonder what was going off with the electrics

Any pearls of wisdom that anyone can think of ?

Ps big thank you to joe for taking messages tonight

Took the opportunity to freshen up the window wiper arms and the mesh on the scuttle panel

Again I've just used the hammerite satin black to paint them

Decided to buy the 2 pu bushes that connect the engine mount to the drivers side suspension turret

They take a fair hammering to get the old ones out, but fitting the new pu bushes is a doddle

Considering this should be the last time I touch any of these bolts, I’ve threadlocked them all up including the strut brace bolts

Also the new track rod ends from alternative autos have turned up, weather permitting I’ll fit those at the weekend

Finally the new rear brembo brake pads also turned up today, but as I have another track day at curborough in a few weeks I’ll use what’s in for now and them change them before I make my way to the ring

Cheers jamie

Just finished the track rod ends, had to basically cut them off/open to get them off the threaded rods

Although I bought them from alternative autos they were shorter than the original ones I cut off, so as always tracking definitely needs doing now

A quick drive confirmed no knocking, so just do the fuel pump wiring tomorrow, then over to my mates garage for tyre fitting and tracking

Cheers Jamie

Fuel pump wiring mod now done

Just thinking about what jobs I’ve got left to do this year

Fit the zestino Gredge 07rs tyres and have the car retracked

Before Nurburgring, fit another set of Brembo rear pads as I’ve about done the set that Graham had fitted

Fit some aftermarket led footwell lights

Fit some better front door speakers

Detail the car inside and out


Contemplate the jobs list for next year

Cheers Jamie

Tyres and tracking all done tonight

I can only say these Zestino tyres are night and day difference (in a good way) compared to the standard offering

Also set the negative camber at -1.5 degrees

The challenge right now is adjusting my own threshold for the Trackday at curborough , as already the speed difference in corners is sizeable with zero tyre squeal

NB: Joe hope you and your lad can make it to curborough

Cheers Jamie