Another EXI hits the road

EXI Turbo · #1 10th December 2012, 20:51

Finally after too many years to count my EXI is on the road having passed the SVA and being registered last week. First time I have ever owned a brand new car !

... and has only broken down twice in the first 25 miles so a lot more reliable than I thought it was going to be :-) but to be honest both were down to silly errors in the build.

While it may not be the perfect time of year to get a car without a roof, windows or doors it will give me time over the winter to smarten it up. Ready for the trip to Le Mans which I have always promised myself once it was finished.

Chris Cussen · #2 11th December 2012, 12:31

Well done!

limpabit · #3 12th December 2012, 19:01

That's great news! Well done.

Some nice days in winter for driving the car. Clear and crisp.

EXI Turbo · #4 12th December 2012, 19:24

thanks, seems a long time ago that you helped me with the car

eaa53 · #5 13th December 2012, 08:29

The pain is worth the elation of success.

I have to admit that as soon as I had register my 5Exi in October this year and gained the 12 registration I took it off the road again.

I am planning on a February 2013 re-tax and some road use if the weather is dry.

EXI Turbo · #6 13th December 2012, 16:19

Thanks , I am keeping it on the road over the winter in the hope of some good days or an empty car park covered in snow might be interesting.

I also want to work on reducing some of the rattles. The body panels seem to bang together a lot so I guess they need rubber strips between them and maybe adjusting also.

And then there is the roof to fit !

Nick

limpabit · #7 15th December 2012, 08:47

I keep mine taxed and on the road over winter as well. Get a nice day, would be nice to see the car and have a meet.

EXI Turbo · #8 17th December 2012, 09:37

Hi Limpabit, that would be good.

I took the car out again over the weekend and would be good to talk to someone who has a sorted exi to understand what it should feel like. There seems to be a lot of noise coming from the panels rubbing/banging when going over bumps/pot holes etc so I am not sure what is normal .

Also would like to see how you hood is fitted as that is my next major job

maybe we could meet up in the new year

rgds

Nick

bigrich · #9 17th December 2012, 17:54

Hiya Nick,

What are your dampers set at - initially mine were really firm and this caused all sorts of rattles and bangs. They are now set at between 6 - 9 clicks up from zero!! Big difference. (Phase 1 suspension)

Also - tyre pressures - forget everything you do for an average road car. I run my 185/55 R15 tyres (Kumho V70a trackday tyre) at between 15 - 17 psi. Others may vary slightly but you need 'em soft - again thi smakes a big difference on the feel and ride.

Rich

EXI Turbo · #10 20th December 2012, 08:10

Thanks Rich,

I have the tyres at 16 psi which makes them look very flat but have not checked the dampers will do this at the weekend.

Also I think I need to add some rubber strips where the front/rear clam shells meet the body.

Then all I have to do is wait for some dry weather as the back end does like to break away under moderate acceleration

Nick

EXI Turbo · #11 8th January 2013, 07:00

Hi Rich, I took your advice and softened up the suspension all round and it has made a lot of difference. If I was counting it correctly it was 39 clicks from 0, almost as hard as it could be.

To start with I change to 29 clicks took out for the test drive and it felt much better. The test drive came to an abrupt end when I ran out of fuel. At least I know the fuel gauge only moves from full to 3/4 before it is empty !

bigrich · #12 9th January 2013, 19:45

Hi Nick, 39 or 40 clicks full range sounds right. If yours were set at nearly maximum then the car would be jiggling around like a skeleton in a biscuit tin!

Even at 20 plus clicks from soft is way too much for day to day road use. Be bold and wind them down to single digits(8?) And the difference will be seriously noticeable. This improved my handling and ride significantly.

Good luck

Rich

EXI Turbo · #13 15th January 2013, 14:25

Thanks Rich.

I was planning to reduce further but by the time someone had bought me a can of petrol and got it back home it was getting dark so I put it away for the night.

Now I have reduced further as you suggested , added a couple of brackets to stop the side panels from banging .

I had the day off today and although only just above freezing the sun was shining and I took it for another test drive. The handling is now much better for the roads we have around here and minimal banging from the panels. Best of all it didn't break down - perfect

Now, I guess I need to work my way down the other list of jobs,

Throttle cable does not run smoothly
Smell of petrol after driving a few miles
Fuel gauge not reliable
Heater controls need sorting
Fit roof
etc

Oh and there is the bodywork :-(

All part of the fun of owning a kit car

bigrich · #14 15th January 2013, 21:01

Hi Nick,

Glad to hear things are going in the right direction.

As a suggestion for the fuel smell - when I built mine it was tricky to get a seal on the top of the fuel tank where the pump sits.....I ended up resealing the gasket with red hermetite as well as the rubber gasket - this worked a treat and has been good for 6 years now....and I guess you need to remove the fuel pump / sender unit to bend the float arm and get a reasonable gauge reading.

Rich

alackofspeed · #15 29th January 2013, 16:57

Have you fitted a vent to your tank?

EXI Turbo · #16 2nd February 2013, 15:06

Gauge seems to be working now that I have bent the arm and sealed as suggested. Thanks

By the way i do not have a vent fitted , do I need one ?

Also I am looking at swapping the throttle cable for one with a Teflon sleave as mine is a bit sticky and has led to some interesting moments when pulling out of my drive in the wet and it suddenly goes free :-)

limpabit · #17 2nd February 2013, 15:10

I've not vented mine yet. Just want to drive the thing at the minute! Got my accelerator cable made at speedy cables.

alackofspeed · #18 2nd February 2013, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by EXI Turbo

By the way i do not have a vent fitted , do I need one ?

Also I am looking at swapping the throttle cable for one with a Teflon sleave as mine is a bit sticky and has led to some interesting moments when pulling out of my drive in the wet and it suddenly goes free :-)

Vent - there's no vent on the tank, so yes it is my opinion a vent is needed.

Throttle cable - I bought a Venhill universal kit for my car after bother with the natural drag of the long length of cable when using the Marlin supplied item. The Venhill lined cable has been fine for a couple of years now, and used in all weathers.

EXI Turbo · #19 8th April 2013, 12:58

Thanks for all the advice , I have now fitted a Venhill universal throttle cable which makes all the difference, fixed the issue with the fuel gauge and the smell of petrol which was down to the seal on the top of the tank.

As the sun was shining yesterday I took the car out for a drive, this was the first time I managed to return without breaking down or something falling off. It felt very good.

But when I returned I noticed that the engine continued for approx 2-3 seconds after I turned it off, any ideas ? I have the rover 2lt turbo

thanks again

Nick

limpabit · #20 8th April 2013, 15:36

I know how you feel about the breaking down. Been on a flat bed more than I can remember!

With the running when switched off. I had that both with the Rover turbo and this engine. Not all the time. Put it down to not giving it a good run and italian tune up.