Seat Track Beater Project

[Jarred]

The Race Chair.

Watch this space...

Figured I may as well update this with some more details.

For a while now, I've been pegging to get out onto the track to do some racing. I didn't want to use my daily for fear of increased wear, stacking it etc etc. Having a dedicated track beater means that I can be a bit more extreme with mods (weight saving etc) than I would my daily. It also means that it can be permamentally setup in track ready mode.

This leads onto looking for a suitable base car. I'd love to do a mk 1, but most of them are rusty, and would require too much work and money to get onto the track. Which leaves mk 2's and mk 3's. I really wanted something that was completely factory. The way I figure it, the more standard parts on the car, the more reliable it will be. Of course it would be nice to have something that's got a bit of poke, and will make a decent track beater.

So I was looking out for a cheap VR, cheap cheap mk 3 CL/GL, or a seat Ibiza, cupra etc.
Enter Stage left: Seat Toledo 16V. Factory 2.0L 16V abf, wide track suspension, 280mm brakes. Bit on the porky side, but had plenty of good parts on it standard. This particular tolly came from Gavin in SA, and before that Matt in NSW. (Finally though it's in the best state)

The plan: Since I'm not made of money, a rudimentary budget was set at $5,000. The car was 2.5K, which leaves another 2.5K for the rest of the mods.
The car will be fully registered, which is a bit of a waste of money, but trailer hire/tow costs would soon add up, and having it fully registered gives me the vesatility to use it whenever I want to, as a spare car, or weekend drive etc.
Overall, the plan is to keep the project simple (and cheap). This car is all about going out, and having some fun.

Planned mods:
Don't really need to much to get out on the track, but a few basic mods should make it pretty effective once it's out there.
In no particular order:

-Semi slicks (on 15" VR6 wheels)
-Lowered springs (Adj shocks would be nice too, if the budget allows)
-EBC redstuff pads.
-Braided brake hoses.
-Upgraded sway Bars
-Stress bars
-Bucket seat/harness
-Lighter rear hatch
-Stripped interior
-Remove AC and other dead weight.
-Some DIY aero stuff maybe down the line.

There will also need to be a bit of money set aside for maintenance items: Wheel bearings, Hoses, Gaskets, plugs etc. This will all be done first, to make sure it's in a good condition, ready for some track time.

There's a couple things I'll need to actually get it on the track:
-Fire extinguisher
-Catch can
-Secondary bonnet restraint. (??)

[Jarred]

Delivery of awesome has arrived...

I'll get some better photos tomorrow when the sun's out

[Peter Jones]

I've got some parts for that, including a straight front guard.

First priority would be a perspex hatch window, that hatch weighs a ton.

Hope to see it on a track soon.

[Jarred]

Yep, Read it like a book Pete.

Would love to get a spare hatch, remove the skin fibreglass the lot and put a perspex screen in. It's up there on the 'to do' list, but not high priority yet.

[Peter Jones]

Also got a spare set of stock alloys if you need 'em. 15 x 6

Happy to help out with the track prep, we'll need to sort out your harness mounts.

Got all the bits here to make bonnet restraints.

Stress bars are easily fabricated.

[Peter Jones]

Oh, and you won't need a catch can if you keep the factory crank case breather setup.

[Jarred]

Ah right. Good to know Pete.

I'll be sure to knock on your door, many times I'm sure.

This will be a pretty slow starting project. Have to finish the mk 2 VR6, and then that'll be up for sale. Can't keep 'am all I'm afraid. After that, this will be getting all the lovin'.

My aim is to be doing track days in this start of next year. So Jan/Feb is the date.

[Martin]

Awesome project - I'm in the same boat, itching to get onto the track for cost effective fun
Are you going to be racing with a local club - what class?

[Jarred]

Hi Martin,

At this stage, I'm not aiming for any specific class. I'll just be doing entry level track days, 'run-what-you-brung' sort of events, atleast for the first year or so. After that I'll reasses what my goals are, where it'd like to go (ie more competitve, same level, different sort of events etc)

I'll probably sign up to PIARC (Phillip Island) to get my CAMS license, foot in the door etc.

[Jarred]

Couldn't be bothered doing much this afternoon. Did a few small things though, and took a couple pics.

I use my camera phone (which is greater megapixels than my actual camera) and upload directly to my photobucket using a neat little photobucket app. Then once on the laptop, jump onto photobucket and my pics are all there. Really convienent and easy. Saves trying to find the camera, take one photo, find batteries that aren't flat, take more photos, tear the house apart looking for the cable to connect it to the pc.. You get my point!

Swapped out the old coolant bottle, this is why:


Filthy coolant balls are a real pet peeve of mine!

Cleaned out the throttle body, it wasn't too bad but did have a bit of gunk in it. Will look at installing a catch can eventually, to help reduce this.



A few of the gauges I've collected. Volts and water temp aren't too flash, (or overly important) but the oil temp and pressure gauges should be pretty handy once out on the track. The best spot is probably on top of dash in the centre. Easily seen without moving my head, just not sure about legalities. Will also install an oil pressure dummy light (aka engine rebuild light) along with the gauges too



Also have these on the shelf for a rainy day. Have a rebuild kit for them, but no idea how to rebuild them.