46 replies to this topic

[Frosty34]

cracking "write up" sounds very similar to my vx journey so far! but like wise, loving it! 

[Potatoes]

Well, a lot of time has passed since I last wrote a load of words in this thread, unfortunately not much of it has been spent enjoying the car.

 

I got out twice since my last write-up, not for the want of trying but I had some very important, basic jobs to do before it’s really road-worthy. My only trips out where to Jonnyboy’s and to charge the new battery.

 

Firstly, a visit to Jonnyboy’s gaff in Castleford…. after a short “diagnostic” spin around Castleford and Methley he made the following, important points:

“You’re going to need a new battery.”

“I can smell coolant.”

“That suspension won’t work with 16” front wheels!”

“Yep, that’s coolant.”

“Oof, that sound goes right through you." (referring to my knackered engine mount)

 

I immediately went home and ordered a credit card… one with 5% cashback! Credit card loaded, I’ve gone and got myself:

• Federal 595 RS-R’s to wrap around my TD 1.2’s currently sat in a pile on my garage floor
• 2x side engine mounts
• OEM expansion tank (+cover)
• OEM radiator… I’m probably going to get flamed for that…
• 063 battery
• Battery diagnostic and trickle charger
• Dot 5.1 brake fluid
• Tow eye
• 1kg fire extinguisher                 
• Car seat that fits so I can take the little chap out with me

 

I decided to tackle the battery on a cold Saturday… before I go any further I would advise you get the AA/RAC/experienced VX220 battery changer who’s mad enough to help you change your battery for you… it’s a pig of a job! I used this guide to help which was useful but it took me almost 3 hours, broke both the old and new battery handles, tore my hands on the various cable ties and, eventually installed my new battery… by pulling the old one out on its side with my belt. Proper amateur stuff.

 

So the next few months are going to be busy/expensive getting all this gear onto the car ready for the Spring. I’m going to install the engine mounts, new radiator, header tank, refresh the coolant, refresh the brake fluid, get the new wheels/rubber on and get the geometry sorted… Jonnyboys kindly agreed to provide his services with some of the jobs (bear in mind I’m a complete novice) so I’m hoping we’ll get the car into real good shape!.

 

After that… plans… not sure… probably supercharge at some point in the distant future but really, my main plan is to enjoy it! Get to as many meets as possible, get to know the car on the track and generally drive it as much as I can

 

Big thanks to you guys for advising me on some of the questions I’ve had and sharing your wisdom and expertise…you make VX220 ownership much easier for a novice like me! I’ve lost count of the folks I now owe a pint to… the summer’s getting to be very expensive!!

 

Good times ahead.

 

Until next time, happy motoring!

 

 

Edited by Potatoes, 04 February 2015 - 08:31 AM.

[CocoPops]

Was the OEM rad much cheaper than a full ali one? Seems an odd choice, but hey we're all free to make mistakes

[techieboy]

Seems an odd choice, but hey we're all free to make mistakes

I sense Jonnyboy (bad, in this case) advice in that decision. Definitely a wasted opportunity.

Edited by techieboy, 04 February 2015 - 09:53 AM.

[Acidpopstar]

Glad you're getting sorted mate. See you on track

[Acidpopstar]

Oh, and I'd take that 5.1 fluid back and swap for good high boiling point racing dot 4. My 5.1 boiled within 15 mins on track. Halfords racing dot 4 has been reliable

[rob999]

Yup that OE radiator may last many years but it's a bit of a risk. I hope you got it for peanuts compared to an EP/ES one....hell even the chinese one

[Potatoes]

Oh, and I'd take that 5.1 fluid back and swap for good high boiling point racing dot 4. My 5.1 boiled within 15 mins on track. Halfords racing dot 4 has been reliable

 

Doh!!

 

My error, I did actually get dot 4 (following our chat on PMP)... not sure why I put 5.1 in the post above?!

[chez]

Was the OEM rad much cheaper than a full ali one? Seems an odd choice, but hey we're all free to make mistakes

Doubt it, not when you can get one off eBay cheap enough, I would a gone Ali rad but its your car at end ut day

[Kieran McC]

Be interesting to see how long the rad will last , when you start to track day the car.

[jonnyboy]

It will be completely fine.

[CocoPops]

It will be completely fine.

Are you underwriting it?

[jonnyboy]

Yeah why not? Std vs alloy rads I think has been covered on another thread. Lets see all the 10 year old ali ones. They are all 2 year old warranty replacements

[Kieran McC]

Older Eliese rads blow out the plastic plugs ,Whats the weak point on the VX rad.?

[jonnyboy]

Standard ones go on the end caps, alloy one sprout leaks on the cores - earlier than the stock ones go on the ends. Personal observation and experience vs forum sheep following. Your choice. I'm not supplying the parts so it makes sod all difference to me. AlI can say is I have a standard one and loose mo sleep over it at all. 

[turbo boy]

Hi Potatoes, I think that your excitement for the VX is awesome. I enjoyed your write up. This forum is an amazing place and I hope you do a meet some time this year. There are some great people on here. (Some controversial ones too) 😜 Best of luck with the car. Summers nearly here and when you get your top off it gets even better ! 👍 Best wishes, Jon

[techieboy]

Standard ones go on the end caps, alloy one sprout leaks on the cores - earlier than the stock ones go on the ends. Personal observation and experience vs forum sheep following. Your choice. I'm not supplying the parts so it makes sod all difference to me. AlI can say is I have a standard one and loose mo sleep over it at all.

My personal observation is that I've yet to see any reports of any of the alloy rads failing in a spectacular way. But OEM rads...... My ProAlloy main rad has been in for 7 years and still isn't leaking (they did have to repair the welds on my pre-rad after a couple of years though). Service history shows 2 Vauxhall radiators were replaced prior to my ownership. Both costing more than the ProAlloy did even before the main dealer labour. Personal preference for sure, but I'd rather have a radiator that might spring a small leak than one that is more likely to go (and totally dumps it's contents - usually over the windscreen and passenger compartment - when it does) once it's put under the strain of a traffic jam or MOT test.

[Arno]

Standard ones go on the end caps, alloy one sprout leaks on the cores - earlier than the stock ones go on the ends. Personal observation and experience vs forum sheep following. Your choice. I'm not supplying the parts so it makes sod all difference to me. AlI can say is I have a standard one and loose mo sleep over it at all. 

 

Had a standard/original one develop pinhole leaks on the channels in the radiator core on my Elise. That one was replaced under warranty by Lotus.

 

Second standard/original one blew an endcap quite spectacularly a few years later (BTW.. Scalding hot coolant coming over the windscreen and into your face is not fun..). I then fitted a full ali eliseparts one about 9 to 10 years ago. Still fine today.. Did need to replace the fans twice in the meantime as they seized

 

I do expect it to develop a leak sometime in the future as radiators do age and fail, but 10 years is OK in my book.

 

At least on these cars it's not like front-engined cars where the bottom of the radiator tends to get mangled by stones or simply starts to rot from the water and dirt that collects in the bottom. On my other car the bottom rows of fins on the radiator and A/C condenser are pretty much rotted away.

 

Bye, Arno.

[Potatoes]

Turbo boy: Thanks Jon, and I agree, it’s a great forum with loads of awesome people, usually, vehicle/manufacturer specific forums are a little dodgy but I’m liking this place. Cannot wait to get the hard-top off, get to some meets and generally enjoy the sun from the driver seat of my car!

 

 

Jeepers, how much can change in a month?! Well, let me tell you; loads! Loads can change in a month!

 

On a personal level it’s been a rollercoaster ride, in a very good way but it’s involved lots of tough decisions resulting in me, my wife and little boy, all my stuff and my VX relocating to Luxembourg to take up a new role in a new company. We’re moving to Luxembourg in 3 weeks time and into our new home shortly afterward!! This all means trips to Spa, Le Mans, Zolder and even Zandvoort are made very easy and I plan on taking full advantage of that. I’ll also be gate-crashing the National… as a non-national I appreciate this may lead to some problems but I’m sure we’ll get over it through an excess of beer/whiskey/wine and speed.

 

Anyway, enough about me.

 

There were some urgent, and lots of preventative maintenance jobs that I wanted to do on the car over the course of the winter/spring, I wanted to tackle some of them myself however recent development have changed my priorities quite a bit. Therefore, I had to get the jobs done at pace and jonnyboy kindly agreed to take my car, all my parts and put them all together… and here’s what we did:

• Replace 12 yr old OEM with a new OEM radiator
• Replace radiator hose with a silicon radiator hose (due to a coolant leak)
• Replace header tank
• Replace engine mounts
• Upgrade the rear toe-links
• Wrap my TD’s in my RS-R rubber
• Replace my Sach’s suspension with Quantum singles
• Set-up the Quantum suspension and TD’s with the Elise S2 135r geometry (seloc wiki)

 

As a group we seem to love a good debate about radiators… let’s not go there again on this thread please, it’s been discussed to death. Should my radiator fail in the first 5 years I will be humble and take any “told you so” comments on the chin.

 

Bar the Sach’s suspension and radiator hose, all other work was preventative maintenance to get the car set up for a failure free few years (fingers crossed).The Sachs suspension was absolutely slammed to it's lowest setting, which looked a little weird and completely ruined the ride and handling... it also rubbed all the rubber from the the inside of my front tyres, ruining a good set of Bridgestone tyres, the new ride is awesome in comparison! The Sachs adjustable suspension is 4 years old and the driver-side rear requires a refurb, I would ideally have kept them and refurbished them but I now don’t have the time so got some Quantum singles, recommended by Sachs, and Jon kindly fitted them for me. I will be selling the Sachs but please hold off getting in touch with me until I've created a thread in the "Parts for Sale" section with pictures and a price so you've got more information... you should see this pop up in the next few days.

 

I took a short spin in it after picking it up last night but am looking forward to the weekend when I’ll be going for a spin around the peaks on Saturday. Oh, and I woke up last Sunday with a stinking hangover and an email in my inbox, delivered at around 2am confirming my booking at Blyton Park on the 15^th March… so I’ll be doing that on Sunday; good times!

 

Until next time, happy motoring!

 

[jonnyboy]

Glad you like it Kieran looks like we got it done just in time for the spring coming!