small french hatchback

[davenport]

right.. despite not getting to bed until 5 this morning and ending up with a house full of drunk people after a wedding.. i was determind to do something.. so after a couple of hours of BTCC i went o get busy...





first job was to finish sorting all my poxy nuts and bolts out as having them all in a massive tub was causing a headache.. notice the "box-of-inspiration" already opened!!:

then i had to do something about the slam panel.. unfortunatly it would appear that during is design 1 bloke did the left hand side and someone else did the right hand side as they sure as hell werent the same!!!

so i found my old spare panel and jig`d it up so it didn`t collapse when i started cutting it:

once the centre was cut out i built both bits above the headlights up so they are level and matching:

for the middle piece i`m planning something like this:

and will continue the flared holes right across above the headlights... quite happy with it so far!!

 

[davenport]

big ramps and the "mini-me`s" all finished and done...

got the steel in place and tacked up for the slam panel ready to attack with the Miggy-Miggy:

the jig did the job perfectly and it bolted back in place with zero bother:

all back together again...:

so so so chuffed with this... which is rare for the stuff i make!!!



and to make the day complete the Northern superstar Phil made an appearance with jaffa cakes and lager.. the sun was shining... its what weekends are all about tbh...

 

[davenport]

now then he time has come to dispose of yet another peugeot part! ...

a clever bloke i know in cornwall (colin satchell) used to race 205`s and became a bit frustrated with the gear linkage costing him time and results.. so he made what has become known as "the satchshift"..

the setup does away with everything thats normally hung under the car and also the crap linkages that introduce wobbles into the lever...


until now he`s only ever fitted it to 1 106 racecar so after a few months of pestering he`s kindly agreed to help me out with some pics and some dimensions...

(unfortunatly being a true british engineer not every dimension was written down so i have a bit of trial and error to do..)

so... here we go...

the 106 "satchshift" with added stu touches!!!!


started off making the linkage wthin the car:

^^ machined nylon gearknob also... (and a brass bush for the bottom of the stick - not shown)

now with the dimensions unknown for the upper bar (fore-n-aft lever throw) i decided rather than spend ages tacking and retacking tabs i made up an adjustable piece to get things right then i`ll make 2 tabs and wled them fully on the stick..

still lots to do but were getting there...

 

[mjrally]

love that slam panel!! i may have to steel that idea!

 

[davenport]

haha feel free... 100% better than the "poo-go" effort imo.....

had a bit of a nightmare doing the gear linkage today as the brass bush in the bottom of the stick decided it didn`t want to go back into sleeve once i`d welded it.. so i ran the ream back thru it to clean it out where it had shrunk and then it slopped about like dick in a dustbin.. not good!

so i decided to finish off mounting the rad as with the new slam panel i couldn`t (and didn`t want to) reuse the pug spring clips...

so.. i made use of a couple of brackets on the rad and made a plate up on the drivers side:

and on the passenger side there was a big stub thing so i pushed a bit of rubber hose over that then made a small stainless bracket to hold it to the slam panel:

just got off the www.mcgillmotorsports.co.uk website and i`m now 80 quid lighter... on the upside i should have all the rose joints/lock nuts/bevelled washers to finish the linkage...

 

[davenport]

decided to change the bottom connection from a simple bolt in a tube to a proper brass bush to reduce any chance of play in the linkage...

just to show the tolerence...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq8VK4gx868 (listen for the `pop`)

the bush was re-reamed once it was welded....

 

[Cris B]

This is inspirational to the point that I'm going to follow suit

Any kit advice appreciated!

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=242472#post242472

 

[davenport]

well i mocked up a few things these past weeks and determined a few hole hole centres for the rocker unit so went ahead and made this:

the local bearing supplier came up trumps and the SKF units were only £2 each...

then with a few more brackets i had this!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLL9RsFba1k

the side to side levearge needs tweeking as its not short enough for my liking but its a hell of a lot closer to being done than it was 2 weeks ago..

 

[davenport]

right linkage rods all fully welded and mirror polished...

the adjustable bracket has gone and replaced with something a bit neater...

so tomorrow will see the linkage finished.. that leaves driveshafts to reassemble.. and i think quite possibly... with exception of the fuel rail... i may... possibly.. have... erm.... finished????????????? ****!!!.....


(ignore the mild steel bolt i`ve got stainless cap heads at the shop..)

 

[davenport]

well the shifter was refitted and works a treat:

then i remembered i didn`t have an exhaust so set about making 1...

gonna rework the pug sport back box so its centre exit:

little kink to clear the torsion bars:

 

[Cris B]

Satchshift looks mint. I'd have to have a go to be convinced of its merits though and think of the weight! LOL!

Good progress.

 

[davenport]

i would offer but my cars a LONG way off being mobile and your a b****y long way away in that there man-chest-ooooooar...

i should have weighed all the parts but i should think the difference is negligable the std bar under the car is weighy.. and if your running a TAS/GMC/compbrake quickshift they weight a bit....

colins gonna make a batch now i think so should be a few cars equiped with them for you to try now...

 

[oz.]

The shifter mod is well worth it.

Is it still on an MA gearbox? I'm going to do a BE conversion to mine.

 

[davenport]

yeah still MA box on mine... never had any issues with it so far and i don`t expect a lot of extra ponies to appear once this build is done so will carry on as it it is...

 

[oz.]

I know a man who races with an MA. 220bhp but that's touring car. I think it sudden loading that breaks them - going from grass verge to tarmac on a rally etc.

 

[davenport]

yeah i think a lot of it is driving style... or as you say sudden grip loadings that pops them....

i`ve seen some people go through them on near standard 16v`ers.. then some people run boost and 200+ and manage to keep them alive for years...


as for today!

the boxes are pretty haggered so this may be temporary and be used to make a new 1 eventually but it`ll get me going fo sho!

back box had its 2 wonky hangers cut off and refitted so there even and equal....

hacked the centre box out of my old pug sport and fitted it up into the new tube and fitted the flangey bit that connects to manifold...

cut the hanger off the centre section and got that fitted...

so all thats left is to make a couple of hangers to weld to the shell and buz them on when it goes back on the spit... woop woop

 

[Tupers]

I love the quality of the work you've put into this, I'd love to full bare shell rebuild o something modern once my estates done.

 

[davenport]

^^^

thank you...

 

[davenport]

anuvva day... anuvva bit!!

they look a bit like darleks but with a bit of shping to fit the boot floor should do a good job of hold the zorst up.. stainless bolt should also stop the rubber slipping off!!

 

[davenport]

got the hangers shaped and tacked into place..

and with the work underneath done for now i decided to drop the ol girl onto her feet for the first time in nearly 3 years and get some pics..