[project] 405 Mi16 Drift/track Car

[welshpug 1,622]

a non sunroof 405 isnt actually that rare, most phase 2 estates had aircon and no sunroof, not really much use to you though

 

just out of curiosity, you dont happen to have a picture looking through a front wheelarch with the subframe in situ?

[calvinhorse 870]

my glx is a none sunny.. its very low spec

 

loving the rollcage, i was looking at where my seats sit and how far back the main hoop of the cage needs to sit but yours is very similar! looks great!

 

it'll be much better 4wd but does that effect your drifting?

 

calvin

 

[AlexN 7]

a non sunroof 405 isnt actually that rare, most phase 2 estates had aircon and no sunroof, not really much use to you though

 

just out of curiosity, you dont happen to have a picture looking through a front wheelarch with the subframe in situ?

Yeah I have a 405 estate with no sunroof! I don't have a picture but I can take one tomorrow when I go and see the car, it has the subframe on at the moment.

 

my glx is a none sunny.. its very low spec

 

loving the rollcage, i was looking at where my seats sit and how far back the main hoop of the cage needs to sit but yours is very similar! looks great!

 

it'll be much better 4wd but does that effect your drifting?

 

calvin

 

Another slight change over the original idea, drifting is no longer top of my priorities, eventually I want to get the car running is a series like the LMA Euro Saloons championship. That will be a while off yet though!

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

In hot countries a sunroof is useless, it's no substitute for air conditioning. And sunroofs often end up leaking and jamming up and there's less headroom in 405s with a sunroof. Everyone says it's not needed in the UK but as always I beg to differ. Hence I've got it.

From the early 90's onwards manufacturers started to make more cars with aircon and no sunroof, like they did with our 405 Le Mans.

[cammmy 1]

Interesting. Would it not be a lot cheaper to just have some fiber put in there and smoothed over? After you have a cage fully setup would that little extra bit of metal be worth the cost of a new roof+labour? You pretty much have a space-frame now with a car around it.

 

Edit: Ignore this, I see you are fitting a peice of metal now instead of replacing the roof.

Edited January 21, 2010 by cammmy

[welshpug 1,622]

cheers Alex, that picture will give me an idea of how easy a V6 conversion would be

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

I am aiming for around 350hp to start with. I have a T16 gearbox remember, not an Mi16x4 one. If I avoid lots of standing start launches I hope it will last! I am going to put a temperature probe into the gearbox, tb and rear diff and if they look to be getting very hot I will get some active cooling for each of them.

 

Yes I was thinking you was using a T16 gearbox, but even they are not very strong afaik.

 

But 350bhpp might be fine though

 

I'm hoping to get 450bhp in mine later on, but first I will just use the standard T16 turbo to get the thing running if I ever can get the shell finished.

 

[AlexN 7]

I went round earlier today to see the latest progress on the car, and to drop off some more bit (exhaust manifold, turbo and tb to check gear linkage clearance).

 

The car is looking amazing. The seats are in, steering column made and pedal box fitted. The driving position is spot on, I can start to imagine what it will be like when it is completed! The new engine mounts are finished, in the pictures it is a spare block of Colin's but my head and exhaust manifold.

 

The rear bulkhead is finished and looking really good, the fuel tank is securely mounted in the boot, and you can see the almost finished turrets for the modified rear suspension.

 

It is a matter of days away from being finished and ready to paint! It will look soooo nice with a fresh coat of paint. I can't wait!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last picture for WELSHPUG, I hope this helps! If you need/want more photos I will probably be popping over to the car tomorrow as well, so just ask!

 

[welshpug 1,622]

that looks rather epic! love the way the seat is shifted back.

 

is the engine still in its original position? thanks for the picture, if possible another taken lower down would help, looking along the line of the driveshaft where it passes through the bearing carrier to the diff.

 

that's the main area that clearance is an issue when using the V6 engine, anywhere else isn't a problem as it happens

[AlexN 7]

that looks rather epic! love the way the seat is shifted back.

 

is the engine still in its original position? thanks for the picture, if possible another taken lower down would help, looking along the line of the driveshaft where it passes through the bearing carrier to the diff.

 

that's the main area that clearance is an issue when using the V6 engine, anywhere else isn't a problem as it happens

The seat had to be pushed back as far as possible to make room for the pedal box (I really wanted a proper floor mounted box in the car!). I sat in it this morning and it feels amazing. The driving position is spot on.

 

Funnily enough someone else who looked at these photos asked the same thing about the engine position. It isn't finalised yet. Colin now has a transfer box, so he will mount this up and check that it is in the right place, it might need raising or lowering a bit depending on this.

 

I will get you another photo tomorrow, I don't think you will have any issues with clearance though, there is quite a lot of space around the subframe.

[AlexN 7]

I discovered my 405 has had a new roof skin fitted as it was a hail damaged car from Queensland, Aust. when I stripped it out. Roof skin still has part no. sticker on it-8301-45. Looks like with both screens out it wouldn't have been too hard to do.

 

Alex, your cage looks fantastic. What material are you using & have you any idea of the approx weight? I'm off to see about a cage today, though it's unlikely I could afford anything as shmick as yours!

It's hard to estimate the weight, but today the car was up on it's side so the underside could start being prepared for undersealing/painting. Apparently between two people it could be just about tipped over, so it's not too heavy.

 

WELSHPUG, unfortunately when I went over this morning, as I said above, the car was on it's side with the engine and subframe off, so I couldn't get you that shot you wanted.

[Borntobewild 1]

This thing is gona bee so cool, love to see driving video's when its done

[AlexN 7]

Another update from Colin, the shell is now fully painted and it looks bloomin' amazing!

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully there will be some interesting news soon about some very special parts that I am in the process of procuring for the car! Won't say too much yet as it is not a done deal!

[welshpug 1,622]

I spy some rear turrets

 

 

[AlexN 7]

Yep your right

 

I didn't fancy relying on the standard Mi16x4 rear suspension set up for serious track work so I went for a tried and tested approach of putting in rear turrets! I am going to use the standard suspension arms, but nothing else from the original rear suspension.

[cybernck 400 1 Cars]

Whoah, amazing indeed!

 

This is always my favourite part of builds.

 

Keep us posted!

[AlexN 7]

I got some more photos from Colin of the finished paint job. It looks amazing! The doors have been polished and have come up looking really good as well, so the shell is now offically finished!

 

 

 

 

 

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

I think I've just jizzed in my pants!

[Borntobewild 1]

Thats so sweet :wub: :wub:

[AlexN 7]

Thanks for the compliments guys, I know that looking at these photos the time, cost and effort will be worth it once it is finished! I've spent the last day or so finishing stripping the engine down. It all looks in very good condition so once I get it all cleaned up I can rebuild it and have it ready to drop in once the rest is finished. I'll post some pics up once I download them from my camera.

[AlexN 7]

Bit of an update, the engine is fully stripped down and I have cleaned up and painted the block. The crank journals look in perfect condition and all I am waiting for is a set of big end shells to come from France then I have everything to start rebuilding it. All standard internals for now as I am only looking at 300-350 bhp first time round. The only difference will be a set of Mi16x4 cams, with the inlet having had the Peter Taylor treatment!

 

 

 

I have also started modifying the oil pump to put one of Peter's extension plates on, that should be finished this week. Also I received a MLS head gasket from Rich Walker off the 306 Gti-6 forums which looks the business!

 

 

Hopefully there will be some interesting news soon about some very special parts that I am in the process of procuring for the car! Won't say too much yet as it is not a done deal!

 

Hopefully I am not jumping the gun here (I don't actually have these in my possesion yet, but they are enroute), I have managed to procure as collection of genuine factory 405 Super Touring parts! I have a complete front bumper/splitter set up with a brand new, never used splitter extension. I also have the carbon fibre rear wing and the factory rolled front arches so I can run 9" wide slicks under them (my 7" wide wheels will look a bit lame...). There are a few battle scars on one of the wings, but it can be patched up and will be resprayed as well.

 

 

 

 

Can't wait to get this lot fitted to the car!

[JeffR 51]

Nice score-It'll look an absolute hoot with the new bodykit fitted.

 

I'd recommend getting moulds made of everything in case anything gets damaged beyond repair. You'd be able to offset the cost by selling off a few kits. Hopefully a bigger demand than for f/glass bonnets!

[JeffR 51]

I just noticed that the coolant holes in the MLS gasket appear to be smaller than standard one. Is there a reason for this???

[AlexN 7]

I just noticed that the coolant holes in the MLS gasket appear to be smaller than standard one. Is there a reason for this???

This is the reply I got from Rich Walker when I asked that exact question:

 

We've actually done lots of testing on the coolant flow and circulaton on the Peugeot XU blocks / heads for the big 500+ BHP engines i've built. If the holes are too big [which they are in the gasket pictured] it's actually a bad thing. This is becuase water always takes the easiest route, and those holes aren't small enough to create some back-pressure which encourages the water to travel along all available paths and be distributed evenly.

 

These gaskets are used by a lot of the Gti-6 boys to good effect, I think Rich currently has one running around 440hp so clearly they work pretty well! Also cheaper than a Cometic one. It should do me just fine, I am going to use standard head bolts for the first build. Next time round I might use and ARP stud kit.

[JeffR 51]

Ahh, well that's answered it perfectly!

 

If it's the kit with studs & nuts, the only downside is you can't get the head off in situ (unless the engine its vertically mounted like the Touring Cars).