My other red rallye resto......

[Ben_w]

I might try that.....already got a few people from the Facebook group interested.....

[RetroPug]

Great. Good luck!
It's certainly interesting seeing the rust repairs.

[Ben_w]

Fairly standard stuff really......if I could have found a new sill at all, I'd have replaced the lot. Would have been easier... As it is, all I could find new was a 5 door sill @ £125!! All because some Berk can't take 30s and figure out where to jacknit up properly....frustrating...

[RetroPug]

Fairly standard stuff really......if I could have found a new sill at all, I'd have replaced the lot. Would have been easier... As it is, all I could find new was a 5 door sill @ £125!! All because some Berk can't take 30s and figure out where to jacknit up properly....frustrating...

It is fairly standard but still good to see. Both of the bits behind the rear arches were gone on mine, one repaired now, one to go, plus a jacking point had been absolutely mullered by someone as well which has also been repaired.

I'll be taking the sill covers off of mine soon so seeing your repairs has definitely been good.

[Ben_w]

Feel free to come over and have a look if you want bud

[RetroPug]

Thanks, I may well do when I have the time.
I'd love to go over the underside of mine like your other rallye someday.

[Ben_w]

Box of parts arrived from Ryan yesterday....



New spare wheel hook and bolt, wheel brace as it was missing and lambda sensor plug and wiring. Picking up a beam from CG Cars this afternoon..... Won some bosch wiper blades on ebay for £9 delivered, hopefully they will be here today.....just a bit of welding then to finish.....Still on course for MOT very soon!

[Eddleston]

That welding looks to have been a fair old job! Good result now mind.

[Ben_w]

So the surgery got cancelled on Tuesday this week and its now happening Wednesday next week. Bit of a bummer as I've longer to wait and worry. On the flipside, it now means I can go the trackday we'd got booked at Mallory Park on Sunday.....assuming I can get it ready by then!!!!!

As of this morning, the two engine swaps we had going on in my mates garage are done. Rallye is back on the ramps and the welding will be finished today.

I'm there tomorrow and we are going straight through. All nighter if needed! Still to do is replace the front to rear brake pipes, swap over the beam and rear brake pipes, fit new rear brake calipers and handbrake cables, fill and bleed the system, rewire the lambda sensor plug, fit the cam belt, fit the wipers and then get it for MOT at 16:30 tomorrow afternoon!!!

To be fair, cambelt can wait until after the MOT but everything else needs doing!!!!!

Pretty sure we can get it done......I hope!

[Matt-Rallye]

Gods speed gentlemen, do us proud!

[Ben_w]

Ughhhhhhh......06:30 on your day off is far too early.....

[highwayman306]

Get to work on that resto!
Im off in a bit, oh, BTW nice welding its coming along nicely...make sure you put some/lashings of grease on the thread of your wheel carriage hanger

[Ben_w]

Spare wheel hook cut off, exhaust off, heatshield off, beam.off.....

[Ben_w]

All brake pipes transferred to new beam, new calipers arrived and fitted, front to rear brake lines finally disconnect and removed, back up in the air having the welding finished.

[Ben_w]

We have an MOT.......

[Ben_w]

So, now I'm home, clean and have had a cider or two, I'll explain today in a bit more detail…..

The guy who runs the tyre place I help out at had organised for us to go to a track day at Mallory Park on Sunday. All was fine and we were working steadily on the Rallye to get it done until i got my operation date, which was supposed to be Thursday 5th November. Thinking I wouldn't be going, progress on the Rallye slowed. Tuesday this week, I got a call to say it had been cancelled and I'd be having it next week, on the 11th November. Realisation dawned that I would be going track day racing!

Now the Rallye hadn't got an MOT before today. Having spoken with my mate on Thursday, it was clear it still needed a lot of work. Jobs included replacing the rear beam, replacing the main front to rear brake lines, finishing the welding, sorting the wiring for the lambda sensor, replacing the wiper blades, service it, replace the cambelt, replace some bulbs and a couple of other small jobs.

We decided that the service and cambelt could wait, but everything else needed doing. And doing today. By 16:30 as that was when it was booked in for MOT!

We got to the unit at 06:30. Cup of tea and got cracking. The unions attracting the main front to rear brake pipes to the rear beam and the abs sensor wiring had been undone previously. The beam was ready to remove. Up on the lift, off with the exhaust, spare wheel cage, heat shield and it was time to undo the 6 bolts holding the beam on. Dropped the car back down onto the stands used to do tracking, undid the bolts and lifted the car clear. Beam off and it's only 07:15.



Then set about transferring all the brake lines and as sock bits to the new beam. Discovered two brake pipes were shot so ended up remaking those. At approx 10:30, the rear calipers I'd bought turned up (I'd managed to knacker the ones which came with the beam by shearing the bleed nipples, despite being careful and using loads of heat). Fitted them and got them piped up. By this time, the rest of the welding was underway. We also got quite busy for tyres so got busy doing those. By about 1pm, the welding was done. Next job was replacing the front to rear brake lines. I used the old lines from my other rallye as replacements but had been unable to disconnect the lines on the case from the pipes from the abs pump where they met in a union on the front bulkhead. Ended up disconnecting the pipes from the and pump to give decent access to these unions, then separated the pipes and replaced the main front to rears. Took a lot longer than expected due to access issues and the old pipes came off in so many pieces as they were so corroded but got there in the end.

By this time it was approx 14:30, two hours to MOT and we were feeling the pressure. Went to fit the handbrake cables to discover Parker's had send us Phase 1 306 cables….no go there. Rang them, they said they'd have the right ones to us by 16:30….same time as I was due for MOT….bugger.

No time to waste so by this time, it's 3pm. Car has no rear beam, no brakes, lambda sensor wiring still not sorted and no battery box or ecu. Eeeek.

Lambda sensor took about ten mins to sort. Cut off the old plug, tinned the ends of the loom and new plug cables, joined and used electrical tape around each connection. I'll go back and use proper heatshrink soon. Refitted battery box and reconnected the ecu then moved onto the beam. Dropped the new beam, complete with wheels onto the tracking stands and lowered the car back down onto it. Fed the mount studs through the holes, bolted them up, reconnected the brake lines and then the abs sensors. By now it's 4pm. Shoot.

We begin to fill the brake system with fluid and fill it up. Just one slight weep from a union which was soon sorted and consider how much of the brake pipe system had been apart, I was pleased. Then began the process of bleeding…..painful but had to be done right. At 16:35, it was done. We refitted the exhaust, lowered the ramp, threw in a battery, and drove it off the ramp. Parker's turned up just at that moment so grabbed the cables, threw them and the new wiper blades in the boot and shot off to the MOT station….made it just in time…...fitted the handbrake cables and wipers and then got it onto the ramp…….and it passed.

An epic day of spannering, welding and other bits. Not worked that hard and fast for so long on a car ever. Over the moon though as she passed. Couldn't have done it without the help I had though.

So, where are we at? It still needs a cam belt and a service. We've a Gates Powergrip belt kit (OE belt manufacturers), a water pump, oil, oil filter and fuel filter to do tomorrow. Once that's done, we are at a track day Sunday, then I need to arrange for it to go off for some paint. Then it will be sold…..

[Mattcheese31]

Sold...... Presuming you don't bin her! lol, good work mate no doubt.

[Matt]

Good work mate! Epic timing on everything! Makes me want to crack on with restoring my rally more

[Matt-Rallye]

epic rallye saving all done in a day! fair play you boy's dont mess about! So you'll have a good track day in her then sell it on for a tidy profit. winner winner chicken dinner

[Ben_w]

New gates powergrip cambelt kit and water pump fitted this morning, oil, filter and fuel filter change done, handbrakes adjusted up....track day tomorrow and I think it's ready!!

Best start writing the for sale add.....

[Niall]

Good work!
One question though, have you used a generic lambda sensor? Concerned you were saying you have had to cut the plug and solder the new wires. The original lambda for these doesn't use the same voltage range as a generic one so it won't run right even though the sensor is healthy.
Can pick up the genuine Bosch sensor for about £60

[Ben_w]

Niall,

The problem with the lambda sensor was loom side, not the sensor its self. The plug that comes from the loom and plugs into the sensor had two wires hanging out of it. I cut this off and soldered a new loom side plug on which I'd managed to get.

Got it insured and taxed today. Not all rosey tonight. Left my mates unit to bring it home. After about 4 miles, its struggling to pull, pedal has gone very soft and it stinks. Pull over and there is smoke pouring from the drivers side wheel. Seems the binding caliper issue isnt fixed.

Luke bought a 205 rallye car project not long back which has nearly new GTi6/Rallye calipers on it. In at 06:30 tomorrow morning to change it out, bleed the brakes and get to Mallory!

[Ben_w]

I don't know where to start with this......

Woke up this morning full of hope and got down to my mates unit for 6am. He thought he had GTI6 calipers on a project 205 he'd bought. Unfortunately, they were something else. Ended up taking a caliper off the long term resto Rallye. Managed to swap them over without to much bother and get the system semi bled. Clearly a little air still left in there but we were running late so decided to finish the bleeding at the track.

Drive there was pretty uneventful with the Rallye driving nicely (now we'd sorted the tracking which was so far out it was untrue...) and behaving. Quick stop for fuel and we were there.....happy days.

Got a brew and hired a helemt and attended the safety briefing. Bled the brakes again and got a good solid pedal. Did the sighting laps and then got out for some real fun. And real fun it was. The Rallye was performing very, very well. As rapid as it should be, if not a bit more and I'm not sure itlf.it was the combo of lowered front and std rear but the handling was brilliant and it was showing some cars it really shouldn't have been a thing or two....

About an hour in, I'd just downshifted to third when there was a clattering from the engine, the engine mgt light came on and there was a massive loss of power. Feck. Hazards on, limped back to the pit area.

It's not good. Clattering big time. Turns over and starts although clearly not happy. Either the cambelt has slipped a tooth or two, the bottom pulley has given up or something else has quit. I'm sure its top end as the oil pressure light goes out straight away when it starts up.

Bitterly disappointed after all the hard work we put in to actually get it there. Still, its nothing that can't be fixed.....

[cully]

bad luck ben

as you say its not dumped its rods on the road so its very savable

this what happened to mine as i mentioned on FB sounds almost like whats happened to yours
http://306oc.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=31403

[Ben_w]

Does sound similar.....I'll try and get a video of mine tomorrow.

To be fair, its had a noisy lifter since I got it. Kinda hoped an oil change and a good run would sort it. Wondering if its grenaded......

If it were bottom end, would it necessarily keep oil pressure? Takes quite a bit more to get it started now and you need to keep revving it or it dies. Deffo seems top end but you never know.

No smoke, no nothing, other than the EML. Get the fault codes read I guess, that should say oine way or the other

[cully]

i hoped and oil chance would fix mine but no it didnt....

yes oil pressure could still be maintained with a bottom end gone I also have an engine in the garage with a bottom end gone that holds good oil pressure

my honest answer here would be not to keep running it as if it is a slipped timing it just needs Valves!
if you keep running it you may drop a valve and toast a savable head and pistons

once i had mine apart i could see all 8 inlets had kissed pistons i have yet to check if they are bent but i am assuming they are as im changing out all 8 when i get round to rebuilding the head

the EML is probably cam syncronisation at a wild guess

[Jonny81191]

I wonder if you've starved it of oil on gerrards? I've heard stories of people doing that, and I kept starving my hdi of fuel, ending up in limp mode on every lap :/

[Ben_w]

Can't see why I would have done, The 6/Rallye has a baffled sump doesn't it? Was never an oil light at any point....

[Niall]

Can't see why I would have done, The 6/Rallye has a baffled sump doesn't it? Was never an oil light at any point....

Yes but its pretty poor. The flap thats in there can quite happily stick if for what ever reason the sump has gummed up at some point. Plus, its only one baffle. A long hard right hand bend can happily see you starve the pump of oil.

[Ben_w]

Well, we will get it apart at some point.

Not sure when. Back in hospital Weds afternoon which will out me out for a week/10 days....