Pretty sure it came with new nuts (like 99% sure)
reused top mount, but otherwise it was all new
reused top mount, but otherwise it was all new
- Status
Guages, Battery & Pop-Outs
Today my work on the guages continued by cutting out necessary holes in a DIN blanking plate for the three dials. To do this I also had to cut away some of the innards of the dash so that the rear of the guages had clearance. Below is a quick pic of the finished article which has now been removed until I can complete the wiring (when I have power: i.e. when I complete the wiring!)
Talking of power, I've continued the march towards having the car back being able to self propel itself by fitting my new lightweight battery behind the passenger seat - being careful not to drill/pierce the fuel tank which is about 4-5mm behind the panel I have fitted the mounting bracket to!
The battery is now ready for connecting up once I order the necessary terminals etc this week.
Next up I decided to free up a bit of workbench space (soon to be needed) by trial fitting my rear pop-out windows. The first stage, removal of existing glass, took a while - they used alot of sealant, and I broke a few knives!:
Once I'd cleaned the remaining sealant up, I fitted the window seal:
Before trial fixing the new window in place with the 4 bolts:
These should make circuit driving a bit more bearable on a hot day!
Then I repeated the whole lot again for the other side:
Good progress has been made this weekend, however I need to keep the pace up as the jobs to do list is as long as your arm!
Today my work on the guages continued by cutting out necessary holes in a DIN blanking plate for the three dials. To do this I also had to cut away some of the innards of the dash so that the rear of the guages had clearance. Below is a quick pic of the finished article which has now been removed until I can complete the wiring (when I have power: i.e. when I complete the wiring!)
Talking of power, I've continued the march towards having the car back being able to self propel itself by fitting my new lightweight battery behind the passenger seat - being careful not to drill/pierce the fuel tank which is about 4-5mm behind the panel I have fitted the mounting bracket to!
The battery is now ready for connecting up once I order the necessary terminals etc this week.
Next up I decided to free up a bit of workbench space (soon to be needed) by trial fitting my rear pop-out windows. The first stage, removal of existing glass, took a while - they used alot of sealant, and I broke a few knives!:
Once I'd cleaned the remaining sealant up, I fitted the window seal:
Before trial fixing the new window in place with the 4 bolts:
These should make circuit driving a bit more bearable on a hot day!
Then I repeated the whole lot again for the other side:
Good progress has been made this weekend, however I need to keep the pace up as the jobs to do list is as long as your arm!
I haven't mate, but tbh the side windows weigh nothing.. I was thinking of plastic windows but when my pop-outs turned up I was amazed how light they are - the difference between glass and plastic must be a few grams. The main weight is in the doors, I can barely lift a door on my own, and to move it around I have to drag it unless I have an extra pair of hands - they weigh A TON.
Does a lupo gti have ally doors like the bonnet?
Cant beat pop out rears on a 3 door, nice bit of ventilation.
Cant beat pop out rears on a 3 door, nice bit of ventilation.
Good skills!
I would be tempted to throw some paint stripper at them and have a little polish......bare metal doors
I would be tempted to throw some paint stripper at them and have a little polish......bare metal doors
More Wiring - We have power!
This week I finally managed to accumulate most of the parts I need to complete the wiring activities, so, my components for the day are:
Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to fully complete the wiring as my battery isolation switch hasn't turned up yet.. given the long periods that the car stands still, this will be essential to help maintain my new battery.
First up I needed to replace my sump plug with the new one that contains a threaded hole for the oil temperature sensor:
Next I spent a fair bit of time sorting out all of the positive terminals and battery feed in the engine bay - where the battery used to reside. I had to modify the original distribution and fuse unit that previously sat on top of the battery, and also re-ground the engine as the feed used to go straight to the old battery. My handiwork:
Then I set about grounding the battery and connecting up the positive terminal inside the car.
Rather nice if I do say so myself!
Having done this, and hence got the electrics working within the car, I was able to locate both a ignition switch live and also a dash illumination feed for the guages - which are now ready to be fully wired up but are awaiting the arrival of some missing parts thanks to Demon Tweeks
This week has also seen me acquire a much needed set of components to contribute to the weight reduction of the lil Arosa:
Yes, they are Lupo GTI aluminium doors - and boy are they lighter than the standard doors on my car - I can pick these up and carry them about - something I really can't do with the standard doors, they really are THAT heavy! Obviously, there remains a bit of painting to be done...
Tomorrow, I continue, thanks for reading!
This week I finally managed to accumulate most of the parts I need to complete the wiring activities, so, my components for the day are:
Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to fully complete the wiring as my battery isolation switch hasn't turned up yet.. given the long periods that the car stands still, this will be essential to help maintain my new battery.
First up I needed to replace my sump plug with the new one that contains a threaded hole for the oil temperature sensor:
Next I spent a fair bit of time sorting out all of the positive terminals and battery feed in the engine bay - where the battery used to reside. I had to modify the original distribution and fuse unit that previously sat on top of the battery, and also re-ground the engine as the feed used to go straight to the old battery. My handiwork:
Then I set about grounding the battery and connecting up the positive terminal inside the car.
Rather nice if I do say so myself!
Having done this, and hence got the electrics working within the car, I was able to locate both a ignition switch live and also a dash illumination feed for the guages - which are now ready to be fully wired up but are awaiting the arrival of some missing parts thanks to Demon Tweeks
This week has also seen me acquire a much needed set of components to contribute to the weight reduction of the lil Arosa:
Yes, they are Lupo GTI aluminium doors - and boy are they lighter than the standard doors on my car - I can pick these up and carry them about - something I really can't do with the standard doors, they really are THAT heavy! Obviously, there remains a bit of painting to be done...
Tomorrow, I continue, thanks for reading!
bet them doors were cheap......great find 
there was a german lupo - the 3L - that would do 100km on 3L of fuel
"Use of light-weight aluminum and magnesium alloys for doors, bonnet, rear-hatch, seat frames, engine block, wheels, suspension system etc. to achieve a weight of only 830 kg (1830 lb)" (wikipedia)
May be some more parts that would help your project......
just dont park in the supermarket - then doors will be toast
there was a german lupo - the 3L - that would do 100km on 3L of fuel
"Use of light-weight aluminum and magnesium alloys for doors, bonnet, rear-hatch, seat frames, engine block, wheels, suspension system etc. to achieve a weight of only 830 kg (1830 lb)" (wikipedia)
May be some more parts that would help your project......
just dont park in the supermarket - then doors will be toast
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i read this thread all the way through about a week ago have been waiting for an update since 
thats a lovely little car it looked good before but now looks alot more fun with all the extras complete,i hope you dont hurt it again when it is fully complete.
thats a lovely little car it looked good before but now looks alot more fun with all the extras complete,i hope you dont hurt it again when it is fully complete.
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will deffo have to saunter over to your neck of the woods at some stage to see the progress on the beastie , seems to have changed a hellova lot since I saw it...
bet them doors were cheap......great find
there was a german lupo - the 3L - that would do 100km on 3L of fuel
"Use of light-weight aluminum and magnesium alloys for doors, bonnet, rear-hatch, seat frames, engine block, wheels, suspension system etc. to achieve a weight of only 830 kg (1830 lb)" (wikipedia)
May be some more parts that would help your project......
just dont park in the supermarket - then doors will be toast
From a VW dealers they're £310+VAT each, I got the two for £350 with the windows and mechanism - quite handy considering the mess I've made of the passenger door glass thanks to my angle grinding..
They're rare as <insert chosen phrase here> though.As mines an Arosa, the bonnet and wings from a loop GTI/3L are obviously a no-no.. I could change the tailgate but tbh, that's removing weight from the wrong end of the car - the rear's light enough! I was lucky to stumble across these doors, I was even considering scouring EU breakers for 3L's or GTI's but time, as always is the issue!
Last year, my car weighed in at 910KG (956KG standard) - most of the weight I removed was put back on with the cage! It would be nice this year if I could get near 850.. pipe dream? We'll have to see - the doors will certainly help a lot.
As for the aluminium doors being dent magnets, my all aluminium A2 is dent free - *touches wood - and I have to say, I've found the panels to be more forgiving than you'd expect. Lucky, this is a track car and thanks to the recovery from Germany last year, I already have too many dents to be overly fussy!
That's a big read - 20+ pages!i read this thread all the way through about a week ago have been waiting for an update since
It did look nice before the incident, I think once I've finished this year it'll be looking even better if I'm honest - there's still a lot in the pipeline
Given that, I'd agree, I'll be doing my uppermost to keep the lil one intact as last years incident didn't come cheap and is still costing me now No probs at all mate, any time. If you wait until she's finished I'll take you out in the lil one
![[B)]](/forums/styles/seatcupra/oldforumsmileys/shades.gif "Cool [B)]")
60Kg is a lot in an already quite light car but 850 is not out of the question at all for a car of this size - Xr2 fiestas in race trim have been known to be 500-600kg and I know loads of race 205's that are in the 700kg bracket
Its possible to get an ibiza into the 800's so this should be doable - it all depends on how much sacrifice you want to make on luxuries that make fun days more bearable
I still have an electric window, electric mirrors and a heater in my ibiza and when the weather turns bad or its very very hot, I'm glad.......fully stripped out cars steaming up and vision is a bit of an essential for a quick time if you ask me
the electric mirrors are still there as believe it or not, they are no heavier than manual ones
I had some fibreglass doors a couple yrs ago but decided against fitting them on safety grounds and also because a chap I know with a fiesta had a lot of problems with his bending outwards at the top at speed - not good when I do 130mph on some events
Its possible to get an ibiza into the 800's so this should be doable - it all depends on how much sacrifice you want to make on luxuries that make fun days more bearable
I still have an electric window, electric mirrors and a heater in my ibiza and when the weather turns bad or its very very hot, I'm glad.......fully stripped out cars steaming up and vision is a bit of an essential for a quick time if you ask me
the electric mirrors are still there as believe it or not, they are no heavier than manual ones
I had some fibreglass doors a couple yrs ago but decided against fitting them on safety grounds and also because a chap I know with a fiesta had a lot of problems with his bending outwards at the top at speed - not good when I do 130mph on some events
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Finally Rebuilding!
It's taken a while, but today I actually started putting parts back on the car, starting with the front end. This time around I took some time to make sure it all lined up correctly, and once I'd done that it was time to get the lil one ready to fire up for the first time in about 6 weeks.
The CDA was cleaned and refitted, radiator hooked up and coolant supplied, and the ignition turned. The engine came straight to life, also reassuring that all the wiring is OK after I've hacked it about.
My nice and empty engine bay after reassembly:
Just to prove the lil one was able to move on its own:
Well, almost, frst I had to find a suitable toolbox to sit on, once I'd done that, I backed the car out of the garage so as to reposition the car - providing a good opportunity to take a pick of the front end:
Yes, in not too short a time, my car will be red, blue, black and silver!
All of the pipes stuck in the air on the left are the EGR system, which I soon sorted out:
Finally, it was time to clear some more space on the workbench, and as the wiring is now almost complete I refitted the lower dashboard and centre console:
The loop of cable in the passenger footwell is slack to allow me to fit the battery isolation switch, when it eventually turns up.........
I should have some deliveries arriving during the next week, and I've also got a fair bit of prep work to do with doors/bumpers and panels; not to mention finishing up touching up the paintwork on the cage around the door bars.
Until next week
It's taken a while, but today I actually started putting parts back on the car, starting with the front end. This time around I took some time to make sure it all lined up correctly, and once I'd done that it was time to get the lil one ready to fire up for the first time in about 6 weeks.
The CDA was cleaned and refitted, radiator hooked up and coolant supplied, and the ignition turned. The engine came straight to life, also reassuring that all the wiring is OK after I've hacked it about.
My nice and empty engine bay after reassembly:
Just to prove the lil one was able to move on its own:
Well, almost, frst I had to find a suitable toolbox to sit on, once I'd done that, I backed the car out of the garage so as to reposition the car - providing a good opportunity to take a pick of the front end:
Yes, in not too short a time, my car will be red, blue, black and silver!
All of the pipes stuck in the air on the left are the EGR system, which I soon sorted out:
Finally, it was time to clear some more space on the workbench, and as the wiring is now almost complete I refitted the lower dashboard and centre console:
The loop of cable in the passenger footwell is slack to allow me to fit the battery isolation switch, when it eventually turns up.........
I should have some deliveries arriving during the next week, and I've also got a fair bit of prep work to do with doors/bumpers and panels; not to mention finishing up touching up the paintwork on the cage around the door bars.
Until next week
60Kg is a lot in an already quite light car but 850 is not out of the question at all for a car of this size - Xr2 fiestas in race trim have been known to be 500-600kg and I know loads of race 205's that are in the 700kg bracket
Its possible to get an ibiza into the 800's so this should be doable - it all depends on how much sacrifice you want to make on luxuries that make fun days more bearable
I still have an electric window, electric mirrors and a heater in my ibiza and when the weather turns bad or its very very hot, I'm glad.......fully stripped out cars steaming up and vision is a bit of an essential for a quick time if you ask me
the electric mirrors are still there as believe it or not, they are no heavier than manual ones
I had some fibreglass doors a couple yrs ago but decided against fitting them on safety grounds and also because a chap I know with a fiesta had a lot of problems with his bending outwards at the top at speed - not good when I do 130mph on some events
I'll be keeping electric windows and mirrors too, along with the heaters and stereo with iPod adaptor.. I still need the car to be comfortable to drive.. Germany is a long way!
where did you get your 0AWG cable?? if thats audio grade stuff will it not melt being used to run the cars full electrics ? surely some welding cable would be better?
It did look nice before the incident, I think once I've finished this year it'll be looking even better if I'm honest - there's still a lot in the pipeline
Given the amount of work your ploughing into the little beastie its going to look great. I quite like the idea of it being multi coloured - although I do like the harlequin Polo
I know I havent commented much on this thread. Im reading and digesting the information and learning lots as it progresses, so thanks for updating it so regularly - Status
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