My 3B project (ongoing)

[AndyP]

Rocked into my local SEAT dealer after work today and bought a front splitter off the CupraR.

Make sure you take plenty of pics when you fit it, it'll make fitting mine easier

[andy10v]

I have just been on the phone to Pete at Quattro Corner who has kindly releaved me of over £500 for a complete polybush set front and rear, gearbox and diff mounts, top strut mounts, Poly subframe mounts and bottom ball joints. There maybe somethong else too but cant remember.

That is my plan as well, but I am going to get it in drips and drabs, and pretend it doesn't actually cost that much.

Was that including new nuts/bolts etc?

[Dobby84]

Make sure you take plenty of pics when you fit it, it'll make fitting mine easier

Dont worry I will do my best to describe the process. Doesnt look to hard if Im honest.

That is my plan as well, but I am going to get it in drips and drabs, and pretend it doesn't actually cost that much.

Was that including new nuts/bolts etc?

I thought about doing that but seeing as the car is currently sat doing nothing and I have access to the BMW for a while I thought I would do it all at once. Plus I dont want to be taking the suspension apart all the time especially after it has all been alligned.

[Dobby84]

Latest Update

Right guys, a little update on what I have been doing the last few days.

First of all I have been making up a heat shield which I started by using cardboard to see where it could be mounted and produce a final mock up.

I am using Nimbus heat shield which is pretty stiff but still easily cut and bent into shape.


With the final heat shield made I then added a red trim to make it look neater and protect everything including me from the sharpe edges.




I am waiting for some ducting to arrive so that I can install the large Green cone filter and somehow route a cold air feed to it from the front bumper.

Next I started to fit the SEAT CupraR splitter I recently bought.
I started out by removing the central supports that would normall be used to attach it to the propper bumper.



Fitting it was a bit of a pain, I first centralised it on the bumper and marked a suitable position. The main problem is that the S2 bumper has large radius curves along the underside which ment the the splitter had to be forced into place.




As can be seen by the next pictuers it doesnt look too bad for a first fit. It isnt perfect but a start. Due to the shape of the bumper it doesnt sit level to the ground which is annoying me a bit but maybe with some trimming here and there I can get it sit better. If Im honest Im not sure if I will keep it but will leave it on there for a bit an see if it grows on me.





Also had a rather nice parcel turn up today.



Pretty much everything I need I think.
Front ARB mounts (superflex)
Front Wishbone bushes (powerflex)
Front Subframe mounts (superflex) + Bolts
Front Bottom Ball Joints
Front Top Strut Mounts High Density
Gearbox Mounts
Diff Mounts
Rear ABR Mounts
Rear Wishbone Bushes (superflex)
Rear Subframe Mounts (superflex) + Bolts
Rear Bottom Ball Joints
Rear Top Strut Mounts
Aerocatch lockable bonnet catches (bigger than expected so not sure if I will use these yet.)

Let the fun begin. Will be taking my time though, slowly slowly catchy monkey as they say.

[Error404]

Nice collection of bits - you will really notice a big difference the car will be transformed
Then you will notice how poor the chassis is

[Dobby84]

Nice collection of bits - you will really notice a big difference the car will be transformed
Then you will notice how poor the chassis is

Anything will be better than how it handles at the moment. It has a mind of its own sometimes.

[Dobby84]

One thing after another!

After installing the heat shield and cone filter over the weekend I started the car up. Runs nicely now with no smoke as before so the catchtank and heat shield have done the job.

The only problem is that I am getting a lot of pressure in the radiator hoses when its warm. The temp gauge is working fine and reaches 90+ as normal but the fan isnt coming on and like I said there is a fair bit of pressure in the system.

I have re bled the system to make sure there is no air locks and made sure the rad was full aswell. Ran the car back up to temperature again with the same results.

Could it be my thermostat not opening up correctly and if so would this stop my fan from coming on? I have a feeling that the connection on the motor isnt too great and the plug seems quite loose so will be checking that. Probably going to replace the stock fan with a slim line one for better access in that area.

[Dobby84]

Quite a succesful evening was had today.

I got home from work and managed to get the front wishbones, front anti-roll bar and front subframe off the car.

The best bit is that the wishbone bushes came out easily enough with the help of a hammer, drift and some gentle 'tapping' lol

The subframe on the other hand was slightly more work.
One of the metal centers pretty much fell out when I looked at it. The others were a bit more of a mission. Ended up burning them out which despite being a messy and smelly job works pretty well.

Light stopped play so tomorrow I will prepare the subframe and wishbones and install the new poly bushes.

[andy10v]

Good stuff.

I am really surprised the wishbone bush just hammering out, they are normally quite well in. Not to be rude but are you quite sure you got the outer metal sleeve out and not one of the two inner ones?

[Error404]

never heard of any easy bush removal on these!

[Dobby84]

Good stuff.

I am really surprised the wishbone bush just hammering out, they are normally quite well in. Not to be rude but are you quite sure you got the outer metal sleeve out and not one of the two inner ones?

I assumed I have,

Got the inner metal part out then the rubber which left a thin metal sleeve which I had to drift out. I will take a picture this evening to show where I am at but the poly bushes seem to fit in there nice and snog now.

[Dobby84]

Well this is what my subframe bush holes look like at the moment, need cleaning up a bit but the Powerflex bushes seem to fit snuggly in them




Looks like it was painted before I got the car so only had to a bit of touch up here and there rather than a full refurb. Okay I probably should do it but dont really have the time or money at the mo.

Painted the wishbones though and the anti-roll bar too just need to fit all the new bits and fit back to the car.

[Error404]

nice work dude.

you've done the hard work now, if you want to refurb the subframes at a later date the poly bushes just pop out anyway

[Dobby84]

nice work dude.

you've done the hard work now, if you want to refurb the subframes at a later date the poly bushes just pop out anyway

Thats what I was hoping.
Got a feeling that the rear one will need some attension but ill deal with that when I get there, probably next week if all goes to plan.

Got a re-con diff to swap in too but the hard work has been done on that I have done a search but cant seem to see a "how to" guide to remove/install the diff. I may just be blind though. Any suggestions anyone?

Then next month swap the springs and strut mounts over once I can afford the new ones.

[Error404]

if you're doing the rear subframe its easy.
Undo the prop & driveshaft bolts off the diff
Unplug the sensor and vac lines off the diff.
Undo the pinch bolts off the ball joints
Pop the tie rod ball joints out the hub arms
Undo the ARB droplinks

then drop the whole subframe and diff assembly off together