Bearing in mind the only thing you’re bedding in is your piston rings, I’d only use running in oil for a short amount of time, in fact when I bedded in mine I took it to my local tuners and they ran it in on a hub dyno on a preset program for an hour then we let it go. Piston rings need pressure behind them to bed them into the bores and prevent bore glazing which can happen quite quickly. Also use something like a mineral oil, apparently the additives ina semi oil arrest the break in process. Either way personally I’d do a relatively short running in period in the interests of longevity. Everyone’s got an opinion tho...

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Team Running Engine again!
Team Negative Camber!
My Budget track engine build thread!
Now appearing at a Trackday near you!!

That’s how I was told

Unless you have access to a test bed




PS ...Tom looking great mucker

Things progressed reasonably quickly last week while I was off work. Got the engine down to where the car's stored



Got the gearbox on with a new LuK clutch and speed sensor.



I'd left the cam covers off to make it easier to reach around ( ) and fit the exhaust manifold and heat shield.
Fitted the cam covers with the Thermo-Tec seals and a bit of Wellseal, hopefully this sealing solution works.



Bought and fitted some Baker BM breather hoses. Original one's were old, brittle and cracked. You can also see the oil take-off for the pressure sender that I've secured to the bottom of the battery box.



Got the engine pretty much assembled in the bay and set-to wiring in the VDO gauges so I could check oil pressure was where it needed to be before firing it up. This didn't go to plan as I really don't have a clue when it comes to electrics. I've now got the pressure gauge reading, and the 'idiot' light doing what it should however, the gauge illumination, that was working, now isn't



Gauge is reading 4.5 bar (heading towards 5) on cold cranking which I've read is about where it should be. I'll be collecting some fresh fuel on the next visit and hopefully firing her up

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

Good work Tom,

Why did you need to add sealer to the thermotec gaskets,

Thought they didn't need them?

Thanks
Trevor

Thanks Tom I have a set of gaskets here just waiting for my powder coated cam covers to be done,

Can't find anyone selling wellseal over here so may try find an alternative

Thanks
Trevor

Well done Tom always nice to get a project completed and bring it for a spin,

I'm sure you can't wait to give it the beans when it's all run in

Thanks gents!

Took her out for a spin last night and got another 80miles on the engine bringing the total to 100. You can definitely tell when things are starting to come together as the engine feels 'tighter', more together with more grunt. I suspect it's about as run-in as it's going to get but I'll keep going to see if things improve further + I want to make sure those minor leaks are sorted before changing the oil again.

Looking to do some shorter journey's the rest of this week then a longer stretch Saturday evening where I'll head up the A3 (more 4th gear, WOT to 4K & cost down) head east on to the A272 for some faster twisty fun then dive south to Fuel Coffee House for a burger! That round trip should see another 100miles under my belt.

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

With the running in period complete I've just been driving the car and doing a few odd jobs. The passenger side wing mirror got replaced for a new OE one as the adjuster knob had come adrift, the replacement is much smoother to adjust.
The gear selector rods didn't feel bad but had been off a couple of times and one of the shorter one's got slightly bent. All three got replaced and I couldn't believe how much tighter it all feels!

The roof on the car was completely devoid of any lacquer and there were areas of paint missing down to the primer. I had a go at wrapping it but that ended in disaster so three rattle cans from the local paint supplier were thrown over, doesn't look too bad actually!

Before & after


When I had the Michelin PS3's fitted I found that one of the wheels had a not insignificant flat-spot in it. I had a couple of spare rims so prepped and painted one. Got some runs in the lacquer but, like the rest of the car, the wheels will be getting a pro refresh at some point.



First coat


Also replaced all of the exhaust mounts for the one's salvaged from the 80K XSi I broke. The motor factor one's on the car had only done 2K tops (dead one at the bottom and this was one of the better one's!).




Late May bank holiday I was at the Retro Rides Weekender that took place at Goodwood Motor Circuit. It's been running since about 2013 but I'd never been despite Goodwood being just up the road.
The car was accepted on to the Stock v's Custom display and I was positioned alongside a white GTi-6 with throttle bodies and various other goodies.



I also got accepted for the morning track session where we had a couple of sighting laps followed by 6 laps spaced out throughout the morning. Cars went out in groups of five, I brought up the rear of our group as I appeared to have the slowest car and the least experience.





Car felt good and wanted more although more practice & confidence were needed from the driver.

It really was a great weekend despite having to be pulled together at the last minute due to Covid uncertainty. Everyone was friendly and the track guys in my group of five were brilliant; happy to chat whilst waiting, no snobbery, everyone found their place in the line-up etc. Poor chap infront of me in the Capri rubbed through a coolant hose on his first outing, every0ne rallied around to get him going but it just wasn't to be unfortunately.



And finally, the 4th owner of my Rallye appeared. I recognised his name when he introduced himself as it was on some old paperwork that came with the car.



He was thrilled to see that it was still going and in good shape.

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

Thanks Trevor

I got the linkage rods from neatcarparts on eBay. The listing suggests 'OE brand', they didn't come in Peugeot packaging but they do look exactly the same as the one's that came off the car.

click for long one
click for short one

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

A few more little jobs have been ticked off the list and the car's feeling all the better for it.

Must've been November 2019 I'd been left stranded with what turned out to be a failed starter motor. I'd bought a replacement from the local motor factor just to get the car mobile again and it seemed to be doing a fine job so was left alone.
Now, with the engine rebuilt, and compression back to what it should be, the cheap starter was struggling to turn the engine over quickly enough for my liking.
I'd had the original Valeo starter rebuilt at the same time as my alternator (that had died dousing it in petrol and water) so it was ready to go on. Why I didn't do that whilst he engine was out is probably something to do with the shiny appearance of a newer starter.





The Valeo starter had had a new body, with magnets, and new brushes. Seems to have done the trick and starting is much more positive.

When I got the car it was fitted with an MTS branded back box. I'd been impressed with the quality so replaced the mid section and cat with MTS items.
I'd had to drill a couple of holes in the back box to drain all of the water/condensation that had built-up inside it (plugged with rivets) presumably whilst it had been sat in a yard for years and then not driven much before I got it. I knew I would be on borrowed time and now, it appears, that time was up.

MTS replacement sourced via ebay. I was advised I'd be waiting a month for delivery from Italy but I was happy to wait.



Replacement isn't as deep as the previous version



The blow wasn't too bad but it wasn't going to improve



I'd slapped some paste on just to seal the blow whilst I waited for the replacement to arrive.




Aside from the exhaust I've replaced the single electrode NGK plugs for the more usual twin version as I thought this might've been contributing to the lazy starting problem. Also replaced the crank sensor as I found a Bosch one for a good price - can't hurt replacing a 20+yr old sensor.
Car seems to be a bit smoother in the general running department and the exhaust has quietened things down just slightly.

Unfortunately I seem to have a very slight weep of coolant from the heat exchanger. I checked the pipes above whilst doing the starter and they were fine. Not sure what the solution to this is as I don't think a replacement part is available, maybe good used replacement or sandwich plate + oil cooler? Just going to monitor things for now.



Last on the list is a pair of 21mm torsion bars. I've got Xsara VTS springs on the front, which are slightly stiffer, so I'm hoping that the thicker bars will balance things out - I'd felt a slight sway from the back at Goodwood.



They're with the powder coater at present so not fitted yet.


Away from the mechanicals I've been using the car to go to and from the office this past week. She'd got pretty filthy so a good scrub was in order before meeting some of the local car club at the weekend.

Not a huge turn out due to the weather but a few 306's (HDi estate, Rallye and completely stock GTi-6) and a lovely old 505 estate that's just had a fresh coat of paint. Coincidentally, the 505 appears to have been sold from the same dealer as my Rallye!

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

It's been a few months since I updated this. Not a huge amount has gone on in terms of improving the car but here's where I'm up to.

Threw some rattle cans over the roof and boot. Lacquer I'd used on the boot previously had crazed so rubbed it back and started again.





That got her looking better for Pugfest where I met some of you lot.



Only bought early bird tickets for hill runs and the heavens had opened overnight only stopping half an hour before the hill opened. Bit slippery in places!



The following weekend I attended a 90's car themed event at Fuel Moto Cafe.



Had one of their Nitrous burgers which appeared to have a whole jar of jalapenos in it!



Sorn'd the car at the end of September to get on with an underside tidy-up and also, the tank had been leaking since I bought the car. Replacing the elbow and sender/pump seal didn't fix it. Turns out the breather 'T-piece' was leaking (green bit in the pic).



Sourced a replacement tank and taken the axle off.



And now getting on with the clean-up.



This'll be going on.

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

Thanks for the encouragement. I've used the Bilt Hamber stuff on various things over the years and it's nice to use something that actually does what it says it does!

Clean-up's going well

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1343Z4 coolant hose o-rings for sale
198131 injector o-rings for sale

Hi Tom

What's your method for drilling out sheared bolts (eg. your bumpstop cup holder)? I recently removed mine and the exact same thing happened - one came out no problem and the second snapped. I've never had much success with drilling out bolts but I'll need to with this one!

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1999 GTi-6 (china blue)
1999 Rallye (black)