Mongrel Street Racer

[Darren65]

Im generally allergic to originality, but I'm with you Darren - them cross head screws were proper B&Q - I couldn't have lived with them

Cheers Mark, they did look like wood screws!

A nonsense post on my part really.....apologies, bored with too much time on my hands at the moment!

And I'm not OCD..........just particular!

[Darren65]

Took the car into the workshop this morning and helped fit the new fuel tank, a pretty straightforward job.....



....now as good as new, cheers Marek ......



...after I thought it would be wise to fill the tank and then empty it again........the old fashioned way! .....



A beautiful, albeit bloody cold, day for a good drive......the last time with megaphones for a while with exhaust fitting and rolling road session booked for next week.

A quiet life?.......not quite!

Cheers,

[hot66]

Your car is going to mature nicely with use .. Looking good

Make the most of the roads, salt down up here

[MarkIII]

Hey Darren

Interested to know how your getting on without any heat in the cabin, having headers and only a heated front screen, with the amount your using the car would be interested to know how your getting on especially since the weather has turned

Cheers
Mark

[Darren65]

Your car is going to mature nicely with use .. Looking good

Make the most of the roads, salt down up here

Thanks James,
Gritters were out for the first here last night, sensed they were coming .....the car will still get driven although I'll be a little more selective about when and make sure it gets washed/protected properly.

Hey Darren

Interested to know how your getting on without any heat in the cabin, having headers and only a heated front screen, with the amount your using the car would be interested to know how your getting on especially since the weather has turned

Cheers
Mark

I can't say having no heat has really bothered me at the moment Mark; the car is so much fun and so driveable the assault on your senses is such that the last thing on my mind is how cold I am!

When I was piling on some running-in miles I did notice how cold it started getting at about 11:00PM and for sure it will be freezing on a bad day........but then my love affair with my E certainly hasn't ended and that car is just as much fun to drive. Plus it has both heat and a set of winter tyres so I'll alway be able to get my fix when the snow and big freeze comes!

Cheers,

[Darren65]

Being selective went out the window and took it for another good blast today, couldn't help myself! ......didn't get cold.

Stopped to pick up a present in Cirencester on the way back and a Tesla pulled up behind me, the driver didn't look too impressed with the Mongrel. Talk about extremes!

Set the alarm off on the Volvo parked next to me as I left......happy days! ......

[KS]

Set the alarm off on the Volvo parked next to me as I left......happy days! ......
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I'd forgotten about the joys of that (my last Beetle did it on a regular basis) until the other day when I drove past a line of parked cars in El Chucho to the same effect. Simple things....

[Bigfoot]

Yeah I noticed them ages ago and thought how they ruined the look of the car and disappointed in Darren by all the effort he had put into the project so far and then rushed that all important decision of screw heads......NOT!!! crikey Darren, think I'm going to stop all posts on mine if that's the detailed eye that will be looking over what I do

[Darren65]

Yeah I noticed them ages ago and thought how they ruined the look of the car and disappointed.......

Sorry Adam, nonsense post and doubt if anyone noticed, but then I did!......although still pondering if the heads should be vertical rather than horizontal!

think I'm going to stop all posts on mine if that's the detailed eye that will be looking over what I do

.....never do that....DDK keeps you honest!

Seeing your shell tomorrow, looking forward to that

[Darren65]

Took the car to Redtek this week to have a muzzle, sorry muffler, fitted along with a planned rolling road session....

....plus a couple of minor details....



....I went to collect on Friday to see the exhaust being finished....



....I know there's some real masters at this but Nick does a pretty tidy job too....



...I think the megaphones look awesome although the new exhaust looks pretty tidy too....





....exhaust fitted, the plan was to head off to see what HP the car was making and some final tuning of the MFI pump but on start up Nick shouted to turn the car off!

The car then went up and down on the ramp to check everything over, was started and stopped a few times as Nick investigated a 'noise!' .....I couldn't hear a thing and all sounded normal to me, obviously previously you couldn't hear anything other than the megaphones but Nick determined that the timing chains were making a noise leaving everyone else around looking puzzled. Some ear Mr Fulljames has!.......heart in mouth time next as the exhaust, shroud and timing chain case covers were stripped to reveal that the chains had indeed become loose, something the guys had never experienced before, although minor and an easy fix.....once adjusted and back together it was late in the day and unfortunately we ran out of time to make the rolling road so that will come another time.

Mad late dash home with the car on the trailer Friday evening however I managed to get a 70-odd mile drive in the rain on Saturday (amazed at how sure footed and driveable the car feels in the wet). The Mongrel has now lost its ferocious bark but certainly none of its bite; I'm told the car will probably be running rich until the pump has been notched back a little and will be about 10HP down (about 240HP) with the exhaust fitted although with an increase in torque. I can't say I noticed this too much and if anything pushed the car a little harder with the car being quieter. The exhaust certainly looks better with a bit of heat colour....





I must admit to having mixed emotions with the megaphones going; no doubt the car will be far easier to live with and certainly less embarrassing rolling down the village high street, it still sounds great and is in no way 'quiet' however the drive is now far less dramatic and kinda normal! ......plus these were starting to look great....



I'll now practice fitting up the megaphones so I can do this quickly for special events when I want to make an entrance but at least for now I can use the car to my hearts content without the wife bitching at me to shut the f**k up!

Cheers,

[rvzz]

Nice Darren , mines off to Nicks on Tuesday to have the headers fitted and a final setup . Interested to see if the noise levels go up much . Was yours too loud for comfort for you or was it just that you felt it was too unsociable ?

[Darren65]

......Was yours too loud for comfort for you or was it just that you felt it was too unsociable ?

Cheers Russ,

A bit of both really, the car was incredibly rude and drew just as many scowls as it did smiles. The noise was mental and although I found it a lot of fun I think it would have become draining over time.......a little extra noise now though would be good!

Ulimately I wanted this car to be a bit of a sleeper and it'll certainly surprise a few people now!

Best of luck with your final set-up, hope all goes well.

[Darren65]

I'm currently in the process of finishing a few things off and making some minor changes.....

....Garry Hall at Classic FX kindly donated a set of suitably used sun visor brackets so I can now fit my refurbished visors, not sure if I'll fit both or just the drivers?.......Stretch also helped with a small piece of lightweight felt I needed which I'll use to line the inside of the doors giving the opening a little more definition and contrast........it looks like I've now managed to source a correct magnesium 226mm fan housing; the one I currently have looks great however I think the freshly chromated mag housing along with a Tectyl finish to the fan will give the engine a far more authentic 2.5 race spec look......

.....another look that I wanted to change is that of the rear slam panel and thought it worth documenting it here; one of those things that you'd never notice.........until you know it's there! .....

I've had many a converstaion with Barry Carter about how he's constantly striving to improve the detail of his metal work, how he carefully examines any original metal to determin how it was fabricated, improving structual integrity where he can although ultimately ensuring that his work looks exactly as per original. The backdating of sill drain holes are a prime example of the detail he puts in as well as the many pressings and modifications......

....well, one of the things Barry highlighted to me a little while ago is how he now backdates the rear slam panel. I read long ago about the small tab pressing to the left of the panel which require removal but never knew the upper curve differed.

Initially I figured I'd just leave mine as it was, afterall nobody has ever mentioned it and I've now seen plenty of early cars with the same profile; but as I said earlier......once you know it's there!.....

The good new is that Barry now offers a perfectly formed repair panel and just in time for Christmas these arrived ........



....and here you can see how noticeable the difference is.....a later panel.....



....as opposed to an original.....



.....not just the curve, the pressing to the left is also different on the later panels, the pressing to the right is the same and doesn't need changing....



....and when you stand back the difference is very evident......





....so a little welding and paint job for the New Year!.....but then, not like I've got anything else to do!

Thanks to Barry I'll now have nothing to distract me when peering into my engine bay!......HTH

Cheers,

[210bhp]

Thanks for sharing Darren. Fantastic detail.
Is the end recess for the sticker on the rhs the same or different too?

Regards
Mike

[Darren65]

Is the end recess for the sticker on the rhs the same or different too?

The recess on right is the same as the original Mike, just the curve requires backdating this side.

Cheers,