RCR Mk11 - 0038

Dave Collins

Supporter
After completion of my car in June 2012 this winter has seen the first major overhaul take place and I thought it would be worth sharing some pictures whilst everything is apart.

The key driver for the work was worsening high crankcase pressure in the engine throughout 2015 and the fact that oil was starting to force itself out of inlet manifold and sump gaskets. I want the car to be super reliable for 2016 as I have two trips with it to Le Mans this year. One for the main 24 Hours in June and the other for the Classic in July.

The engine was taken out in late October and has since been rebuilt by ICE Automotive at Silverstone. They found the reason for the high crankcase pressure was due to the fact that every #2 compression ring on every piston was broken. Engine has been treated to a new set of rings/pistons, bearings, oil pump and timing chain. I hope to get it back in the next week or so and refitted to the car. It is not clear what caused this issue however the engine was still running well, just leaking oil!

Also thanks to Powermaster in the US who have built me a modified version of their 9504 starter to fit on the offside of the engine in to the standard ZF bell housing. This will replace the previous one which had started causing problems after the engine bay got very hot on last trip to Le Mans.

The other main modification being undertaken is to fit two large Kenlowe dual speed fans to provide more effective air flow when in slow traffic with high ambient temps. I am waiting to fit this setup to the car so I can work out how much if anything will need to be shaved off of the nostril to provide clearance. From measurements it looks like it may need to be 2 or 3mm.

The Hi Speed fan will be switched from the Omex 710 ECU based on engine water temperature. Once I get on the road I will play around to see if the blanking plate from the fans should be removed under normal/track use or just modified with rubber flaps to give more airflow.

Following posts have a selection of images showing the above.

All should be back together for trip to rolling road for ECU re-mapping in early March and then test trackday at Castle Combe.

Dave
 

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Dave Collins

Supporter
New Fans ready for fitment
 

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Dave Collins

Supporter
Misc Images
 

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Dave Collins

Supporter
Empty engine compartment and rear Mk11 style rear frame. Bottom of frame has location for handbrake cable connections.

As you will se next job after getting car completed is to sort the garage floor!
 

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Dave Collins

Supporter
Engine build pics
 

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Awesome car, really very nice. I've seen your "in flesh" car at Classic le Mans 2014, it was already superb. See you in July at LMC 16...
 
Very nice car. Would love to see some more pictures of the car when it was finished. Also see you had a wider rear bulkhead made. Really nice.
 

Dave Collins

Supporter
Engine is now back in car and I was finally able to take it out for a first run today. Unfortunately it has been wet most of the weekend so I had to wait until a small window of opportunity this afternoon when there was a dry window. Put 30 miles on the car and all went well. Engine runs much more smoothly than previously following fitment of new pistons and rings to solve the broken ring issue that caused previous crankcase pressurisation. It will be interesting to see how the performance stats vary when it is checked over on the rolling road in 2 weeks time.

New 2 speed high output fans worked well so hopefully that will assist with overheating issues if it is hot at Le Mans in the summer. Also wiring in place to add dual bay fans in rear as required which are automatically switched on high speed fan setting.

As part of the refit I also upgraded the starter solenoid wiring as I noticed that on the test sheet that came with new starter that solenoid activation current was 35amps with 10 amp hold current. I think if the previous one had a similar current draw then that would explain why I had started to get starter unreliability and the solenoid had started showing signs of contact pitting. Probably caused by arcing as the solenoid was activating. Used old solenoid circuit to drive relay to switch new 40amp supply direct from battery.

Pictures show normal trackday 4 box exhaust system which lowers noise to between 99dba and 102dba depending on noise test conditions. It will be interesting to see if the rebuild has any other affect on noise levels.

Dave
 

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I agree, awesome job, such a classic look and testament to the outcome you can achieve with a high quality kit like RCR. Would of loved a build thread on this one. More pics please.....
 
Hi Dave

Very nice job indeed...really superb car. May I ask you where did you source the big clear plastic carb stack you've fitted ? I'm desperately looking for one for years...
 

Dave Collins

Supporter
Hi Dave

Very nice job indeed...really superb car. May I ask you where did you source the big clear plastic carb stack you've fitted ? I'm desperately looking for one for years...

A friend of mine had a small batch of the clear intake vac-formed some years ago and I purchased a few off of him. Ideally they need to be a little bit thicker as they tend to warp when under clip temp gets high and I have already got through 2. You can see that the one in the picture is a bit warped around 1 edge. I did have a chat with Mike Teske sometime ago who at the time was able to supply but I did not follow through on that.

Thanks for the compliments on the car. I have a whole load of images from the 5 year build of the car between delivery to UK in 2007 until it was finally completed by Arden Automotive in 2012. I will try and see if there are any interesting images from that time and add to the thread.

Below are a few early ones before car went to Arden.
 

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Dave sensational detail....please do the build thread from start to finish with all your pics and info so many awesome details and ideas.....
 
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Dave Collins

Supporter
Just picked up re painted wheels this morning from Pro Alloys in Melksham. They have done a great job to clean up and powder coat.

Decided to go with Subaru legacy gold in satin finish as it provides a closer finish to the Dow 7 coating used on 1960's magnesium wheels. Comparing with pictures I took of 1046 last year I would say they are a bit lighter in colour but still much closer than the previous Nissan Gold used when the car was built. Hopefully they will stay good for a few more years.

Also fitted some new Avon's to the rear and collected them directly from the Avon Motorsport warehouse. Impressive stock of tyres obviously ready for the start of the season.

The final picture is of 1046 for comparison.
 

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