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Old 16th February 2010, 22:13
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- The seat belt mounts on the roll bar bend too easily, so reinforce them. (My tester said he'd have failed my car, had I not reinforced them).

- Don't bother with the Rover pedal box - the bias with a stock master cylinder and the Rover 200 calipers put far too much front bias on the car.

- Use 260mm vented discs and calipers (200 vi ) and zr160 rear discs and calipers (this applies to the early rear hubs - it might not work with the newer designs). This will help restore a more natural balance, if you're using a stock master and servo.

- Ditch the supplied throttle cable and buy a PTFE lined one - the difference is significant

- Install a hydraulic clutch

- A Mk2 Golf front wiper motor also fits directly

- Check the travel of the suspension isn't being limited by the ball joints necking.

- Brace the steering column supports.

- Don't use a u-bolt on the NS rack mount - to get it tight enough to properly hold the rack, will locally crush the rack casing.

- Check the supplied front tie rod ends are correct (should be a metro tie rod, with a metric thread).

- Be wary of the integrity of the chassis powder coat.

- The car's shape generates rear end lift at speed. Note Marlin fit a large rear wing to their race cars.

- 195/50/15 tyres are cheap! Don't go chasing large diameter wheels with rubber band tyres, unless your only concern is looks. The compliance of the 50% profile tyres assists general road driving greatly.

- Toyo 888s are BAD road tyres - tramline, noisy, little sidewall compliance.

- The Elise screen is available with integral elements.

- Fit the "touring" tank, unless you like filling up stupidly often.

- The rover heater box works really well in my experience, and can provide more than enough heat for even the worst weather. If using the donor heater matrix, be wary of the solder joint where the copper heater pipes attach to the matrix end caps. It's prudent to fit a new matrix when building.

- If fitting a K20A2 and going the hondata route, CPL appears to be the best agent.

- Custom axle-bars (honda/vw inner, to rover outer) can be acquired from Drivelink automotive.

- Don't bother with a radio - you won't be able to hear it!

- If you plan to use the car on track, make allowances for additional gauges during your build - oil pressure / temp.

- If you plan to use the car on track, consider an extra oil cooler, as the engine won't get a much airflow cooling as in the front engine installation.

- Fit a baffled sump if you plan to use sticky rubber.

- Keep a couple of coils spare if running a 1.8t with the push fit design. They aren't very robust.

- Another vote for the second pump and swirl pot.
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