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JeffR

[trackday_prep] 405 Mi16 Track Car

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JeffR

My car arrived back from having a cage fitted so I thought it was about time I got a few pics up.

 

Firstly, it's been a long-term project/hobbie to have a separate track car not compromised by being a daily driver as well.

 

Mechanically, it is 1927cc, big valve head rebuilt by PeterT, t/bodies, forged high CR pistons, close ratio box, Quaife & aftermarket management making 165hp at the wheels.

 

Sitting in the shed & soon to be fitted are GAZ coilovers, 400lb springs, 23mm rear t/bars, 24mm rear arb, Brembos, bigger cams & 8V rods/ARP bolts.

 

The cage was made by a company in Melb. called Fabriacations who make cages for many of the Targa cars, open wheelers, etc & are highly regarded in motorsport circles. Well pleased with the result 'tho it looks like I'll need a smaller steering wheel as it's a tight fit getting in & out.

 

I want to do away with the huge heater box & blower, so does anyone know of a compact type or another way of demisting the screen? The touring car heated screens are no longer available unfortunately.

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Baz

:wub:

 

Wondered what the spec of your car was, always loved the idea of a 405 track car. Must go pretty well too! :)

 

Pretty comprehensive cage!

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AlexN
Well pleased with the result 'tho it looks like I'll need a smaller steering wheel as it's a tight fit getting in & out.

 

I want to do away with the huge heater box & blower, so does anyone know of a compact type or another way of demisting the screen? The touring car heated screens are no longer available unfortunately.

Looking good, nice to see another caged 405 :)

 

I could see the problems of keeping the original wheel/steering column, that is why I had a new column fitted and a smaller wheel. I also had the driving postion pushed back as far as possible.

 

I am still thinking what to do about demisting the screen. I will probably just use rainX and some electric fans and see how that gets on.

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James504

Love the cage. Can I ask how much?

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JeffR

Didn't get much change from $5K James with some extras added like picking up the strut towers, roof diagonal, side intrusion, etc., including getting them to fit the dash around the 'A' pillar.

Edited by JeffR

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James504

I guesstimated around 4 so not too far off. Its a pretty epic cage, with the correct construction in all the right places. Very nice! Time to go buy a hydraulic pipe bender I think $$$$.

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JeffR

Inspired by the arrival of my Arrow titanium solid lifters, ARP rod bolts & 8V rods & 2 weeks holidays, I got stuck into the car again this week. It's almost fully stripped now in readiness for an engine bay, interior re-spray.

 

Started on the engine bay only to discover bloody tin worm around the m/cylinder area & bulkhead. It's a really crappy design the way the m/cyl & booster mounts with only a tiny space to drain through & it looks like someone didn't clean up a brake fluid spill, or keep the plenum clean & regularly flushed. Luckily I have a wrecked shell so out with the angle grinder & Dremel & cut out a bit chunk of bulkhead & plenum for the replacement.

 

Since it's a complex shape, there's be no way a novice welder like me could get it in one piece, so I'll drill out all the spot welds & re-assemble piece-by-piece.

 

I still have to decide on cams. Once that's done I can get the piston crowns machined for the extra lift at TDC & trial fit the cams to work out what shims I'll need for the solid lifters. I'll be swapping the rods for the 8V ones, get them peened & treated & have the whole bottom end rebalanced. I've been using copper/lead big end bearings (Alfa 2.0 litre) on the 16V rods, but they have the locating tang on the other end, so the 8V rods will need machining to suit.

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JeffR

A bit more progress made on the rusty bulkhead. All the separate parts are cut to size & ready to weld in.

 

Also my cut down fuel tank arrived back from Sydney just before Christmas. I've had 4 baffles welded internally to prevent surge & the reduced capacity should be about 45 litres.

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petert1345402284

Nice work on the rust Jeff. I've got exactly the same problems (and more) in the Mi16x4. I think I'll just cut the entire firewall out. Just waiting to finish the 205's then I'll get started on it.

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chris adams

wow my 4bie must be in quite decent condition theres on three small pieces that need doing, innerwing d/s a plate needs replacing as the cag cracked letting in all that road shxt, underside chassis rail d/s 5inch back from subframe mounting and a soft patch at the rear where the spare tyre use to go. other than that the shell is almost perfect part from the dings of a 20 year old car

Edited by mi8 turbo

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chris adams
wow my 4bie must be in quite decent condition theres on three small pieces that need doing, innerwing d/s a plate needs replacing as the cag cracked letting in all that road shxt, underside chassis rail d/s 5inch back from subframe mounting and a soft patch at the rear where the spare tyre use to go. other than that the shell is almost perfect part from the dings of a 20 year old car

 

excelent work by the way

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JeffR

Not much happening with the car atm. I hired a Mig welder a few weeks ago to weld in the new pieces into the firewall & bulkhead. The steel is only 0.030" (22 gauge) & found it bloody hard to get a good weld with sufficient penetration without blowing a hole through the metal. I've since ordered some nifty panel clamps from the U.S. which both clamp & keep a 1mm gap for heat expansion (http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-panel-clamps-set-of-4.html) & a guy from our car club who's business of car restorations & is only 2 streets away is now going to do the welding rather than me stuffing it up!

 

I've changed my mind on the cabin/engine bay colour & it will now be white & have been doodling in Photoshop trying to come up with a good colour if I go ahead & paint the exterior. My 3 preferred choices are white, red & blue. If I go with red or blue they will be solid colour, not metallic. BTW, did Mi's ever come in Miami Blue?

 

What do you guys think?

Edited by JeffR

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chris adams
Not much happening with the car atm. I hired a Mig welder a few weeks ago to weld in the new pieces into the firewall & bulkhead. The steel is only 0.030" (22 gauge) & found it bloody hard to get a good weld with sufficient penetration without blowing a hole through the metal. I've since ordered some nifty panel clamps from the U.S. which both clamp & keep a 1mm gap for heat expansion (http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-panel-clamps-set-of-4.html) & a guy from our car club who's business of car restorations & is only 2 streets away is now going to do the welding rather than me stuffing it up!

 

I've changed my mind on the cabin/engine bay colour & it will now be white & have been doodling in Photoshop trying to come up with a good colour if I go ahead & paint the exterior. My 3 preferred choices are white, red & blue. If I go with red or blue they will be solid colour, not metallic. BTW, did Mi's ever come in Miami Blue?

 

What do you guys think?

 

im really liking the blue :wub:B)

Edited by mi8 turbo

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JeffR

Yeah, the blue does look good.

 

I doodled with the blue version some more & came up with.....

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Guest gti_al

Is that a new shed Jeff?

 

I like the white, but think you should save yourself some trouble and just give me the engine. I'll look after it

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JeffR

I got sick of trying to work in the confines of the old shed, so built a 6m X 8m Colorbond one.

 

I agree that the white looks good & would be a lot easier to paint than either red or white. But I'll wait & see how my painting skills are before making a decision on the final colour.

 

How's yours going with the new head?

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Guest gti_al
I got sick of trying to work in the confines of the old shed, so built a 6m X 8m Colorbond one.

 

I agree that the white looks good & would be a lot easier to paint than either red or white. But I'll wait & see how my painting skills are before making a decision on the final colour.

 

How's yours going with the new head?

 

I think you deserve it given the hours you spend out there. I can't believe how this car has evolved since early 2005 when i first saw it.

 

My car has had the head off it again to fix some bent valves. Think the head should be back again today - something went wrong timing it back up i think. Not sure of the details.

 

White is very forgiving and suits cars that will live a hard life. Chris painted his 205 white and it looks great, despite being a basic job.

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James504

Yeah white is a sinch to paint and get to look right. Hell you could even paint it in a white primer and clear that. I did a blaze yellow photoshop of my mi16 a few years ago. It looked pretty good.

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cammmy

Something that was recommended to me. Instead of painting the car why not get a full body vinyl in the color you want? I've seen it done and it looks very good, doesn't cost a great deal and takes a massive amount of punishment compared to paint.

 

It may not look as good as painting it initially but it will still look okay after you've had a few hundred stones slam into it while racing. Paint won't ;)

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JeffR

Al, as you know, every bloke has to have a shed but I reckon if I was married, I'd be divorced by now!

 

Did a search on vinyl wraps. Maybe something like this? :lol:

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Guest gti_al
Al, as you know, every bloke has to have a shed but I reckon if I was married, I'd be divorced by now!

 

Did a search on vinyl wraps. Maybe something like this? :lol:

 

I've got a friend that does these - it is an interesting idea. Maybe not that one, but basic colours and designs are easy and fairly cheap.

 

James, do you still have the red 405? I saw that car before you bought it and it was lovely - i hope it is still around.

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JeffR

Some of the cars I saw looked pretty good in vinyl but how do you get the stuff to fit the curves & compound shapes of say a front bumper without cutting? Maybe they use heat.

 

I'm still unconvinced though & would prefer painting it.

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cammmy

You could potentially vinyl all the easy stuff and just paint the hard bits?

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DRTDVL1345402287

This car is actually silver and had red and black vinyl applied to it:

 

WS1005I01C5793.jpg

 

WS1005I71N4516.jpg

 

WS1005I12N4536.jpg

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