Thursday 31 December 2009

In defence of the Specialist M'lud

If you own an integrale then you have in your possession a piece of complex automotive history, please treat it with the respect it deserves!

So many cars come through those workshop doors in such shoddy condition it is a crying shame, bits missing, parts put on back to front, oil leaking out of every silicone bodged orifice. Quite often the cost of the work involved to bring these cars back to a roadworthy condition is more than the car is worth and it is so sad that much of my job is spent finishing someone elses job off because they got so far in and realised they were out of their depth or just made such a hash of things that they caused more damage than than they did good.

If you can't afford to look after an integrale then don't buy one and they are expensive cars to run.
Think with your head and not your pocket.

I sometimes get asked to fit other peoples supplied products, the answer is usually 'No thanks':

1. When you go out for a meal do you take your own food with you and ask them to cook it? How do you think we stay in business?
2. If the car later develops a fault which could be linked with or solely blamed of this part where does the fault lie? The part? the fitting? Then the arguments start....

There are a few well respected integrale Specialists dotted around the country, please use and support them as they charge what they do because they have the parts and the knowledge to keep your car in top condition. In these times of ever declining spare parts, knowledge and common sense believe me, it ain't no easy task.

free counters

Sunday 27 December 2009

Centre Lathe

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When I first started earning a crust at the age of 16 I was trained to use machines, both in the workshop and at college, I've always enjoyed working with them and still have all my own fingers...
Back in Summer I decided it was time we invested in a centre lathe, there were a few reasons for this.

The integrale is of course not a new car anymore and so many come in with bits and pieces missing, on a new engine build this was never going to do was it:

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With many parts NLA or taking a long time to get hold of you have to take matters into your own hands in order to survive and get the job done:

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The same car came in with one of the map sensor nipples snapped off and someone had tried glueing it back on, but the glue had run into the sensor and blocked the hole so when plugged into the scanner there was no reading. The car was needed and map sensors are expensive so the solution was quick, easy and permanent:


















A clutch centering tool was also one of the first things I made after not really getting on with the universal ones you can buy:

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To be able to make your own precision parts as and when you need them without having the problems involved with sub contracting them out is very satisfying, the lathe is a such a versatile tool it's difficult to imagine work life without it..

Some other bits:











Cheating a bit here, but it did the job:









I don't think we'll be winning any awards, but it gets the job done and properly.

Saturday 26 December 2009

Auxiliary belt tensioners

At last a replacement for those badly specced cast iron things which snap so easily...


















Made from Zinc plated billet steel these won't ever break!

Click on the banner at the top of the Blog to gain access to the site for prices.


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Track of the month: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=steC-8NSVIw

Poignant lyrics.

Project Evo Chapter one.

A bit of a slow burner this one, I'm hoping to get it finished before we stop using petrol to power cars as I have some radical new parts to use on it.
The idea behind it is simple, It will be a no compromise track car, be as light, powerful and handle as well as possible.

I started off with a straight, but rather rusty shell. It was cheap enough and I figured by the time I had hacked it about to strengthen it, lighten it, make things fit better and added light weight panels it would have been sacrilegious to start with a decent one, they've all got rust on them anyhow!


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Sandblasting in progress:

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The neighbours were well impressed.
It came out nice and clean though with an excellent surface for the primer to cling to. I masked off the seams so they could be welded afterwards:

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The rusty sunroof equipped roof panel has been taken off and we made a carbon fibre replacement, lots lighter and also stronger, it will eventually be equipped with all the composite panels we do.

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As you can see in the pics above I started on it at home, just doing a bit on free weekends. I bought some A frames and turned them into a spit so I could spin the shell around to gain access to every part, if you are working comfortably and safely you are going to spend more time getting the job done just right. The spit is now at the workshop for use on customer cars.

Deltaparts.co.uk


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I handmade all the strengthening plates to the front end:

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I knew that Metalworking course at college would come in handy one day!


Right now it is having the cage fitted and welded in, seam welding and the strengthening plates welding on. Every item was degreased and etch primed before being welded. Etch primer is the one and only thing which you should use on bare metal, it won't scratch off very easily at all as it attaches itself chemically to the metal. It's also good near the welded areas as it doesn't come loose, burn and flake off, it just goes orange.

The engine bay was braced and the suspension arms bolted on to prevent any possibility of warpage from the welding.

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Favourite track last month but one(!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E
Not usually a fan of folk, but this hits the spot. Just 4 guys and some basic instruments, make the most of it 'cos the follow up is rubbish.

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Club Lanciasport sprint day at Curborough














Time to do some testing, meet up with fellow Lancisti and give the cars a good work out.

Some pics of just a few of the cars there including yours truly in the red 16v Deltaparts developement car. A massive thanks to those on the CLS commitee (especially Chris E) who make this event possible and everyone who turned up, the weather was very kind to us and everyone had a great day.

Photography by www.nslphotographics.co.uk/

Saturday 24 October 2009

Body shells and Cages.

Integrales have weak shells and cracks in various places at the front are common, especially on the wider Evo models. You can try to strengthen it or simply add a cage. Photobucket Why do they crack? Cracks are formed by the metal being regularly flexed, steel can be bent quite a lot before it starts to break, but your car will have seen a lot of flexing since it was made over 15yrs ago. Photobucket You have to remember that the basic shell was designed in the 70's for a small medium priced FWD hatchback with 1.3 engine. By the end of its run the power output had tripled and the weight of the engine, transmission and ancillaries had grown out of all proportion, still the basic shell remained. The heavy engine and transmission is hung out at the front which apart from making the car a bit 'understeery' means that it puts a lot of strain on the front part of the shell, the chassis rails or legs get a good work out. Support for the chassis rails comes in the form of the suspension arms below. The problem here is that they are fixed to the shell via rubber bushes which allow movement. If you were to replace these with solid bearings or brace around them then you would stop a lot of the movement and stress fractures on the legs themselves, you could however move the problem further back on the shell. Replacing rubber bushes with bearings will increase feedback from the car to the driver making it more enjoyable to drive, the suspension will be encouraged to do its thing too instead of the chassis flexing. The downside is that road noise in the cabin will be increased - they were made from rubber for this reason. Photobucket The floorpan beneath the front inner seat mountings crack too, this is basically the weight of the driver and passenger bouncing up and down, easily remedied by welding on strengthening plates. Photobucket The cills on Evos can crack by the base of the A pillar, the front door surrounds also near where they meet the top of the A pillar. It is caused by the chassis flexing because of the engine/transmission bouncing up and down over the bumps in the road. These are the main areas which crack, there are others. I've known and had dealings with three cages: OMP, Sparco, Custom Cages. OMP Rated: 2/10 Just don't even go there, it has no diagonal bracing (front to rear), doesn't tie to the shell and is short on well, just everything... If you must buy this thing then at least make up some brackets to weld it to the shell at high level - top of A and B post, it doesn't do much if you don't apart from make the car difficult to get into. Sparco Rated: 9/10 Overall the best off the shelf package for those who expect to get what they pay for and don't want to pay for hidden extra materials/work. It is has lots of diagonal bracing, weld in brackets to tie it to the shell and is based on the Grp A cage which was very well thought out - well it bloody well should have been! Custom Cages Rated: 7/10 http://www.customcages.co.uk/Rollcage/LoadRollCage.castle?manufacturer=Lancia&model=Delta Integrale&type=Multipoint On the surface a very comprehensive cage with lots of tube, on fitting it you will find that not much of it actually fits. The cage features a diagonal bar which goes from the base of the A pillar, up through the bulkhead/wheelarch and meets the horizontal bar near where it fixes to the strut top. This is a very useful addition as it tackles the problem that integrales have in this area. Photobucket The A pillar tubes are bent to the wrong angle, a few other braces have the wrong angles cut on them or are short. If you buy this kit be prepared to re-bend some of the tube and order some more for the parts which don't fit. You will also have to make up some brackets to fix it to the shell at high level (A & B posts) as none are provided. It comes across as a cage which was originally designed and fitted to a crashed car, but persevere, add more tube, brackets and you will have a very good strong cage. Photobucket Photobucket How do I come to these conclusions? Well having a bit of common sense when just looking at the thing works wonders along with some easily learned structural knowledge, how braces do what they do and what forces are at work. In the workshop we have a two post lift with four adjustable pads which sit under each of the jacking points, if a car has no cage or a poor cage it sags to fit the lift if the adjustable pads aren't wound up exactly equally. If you lift a car with a properly fitted good quality cage in this way it will rock from corner to corner. An interesting read here on the CLS forum: http://www.lanciasport.com/forum/index.php?topic=1020.15

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Site goes live

http://www.deltaparts.co.uk/

We are off to a slightly shaky start, there is still the odd mistake here and there and it is a bit light on content, but it can only get better and the range grow.

A massive thanks to site creator James and photographer Nick for making this possible, being a computer dufus and not a great cameraman I couldn't have done it without you.

:-)

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Wheel studs and nuts


Just a short post on the small subject of converting to wheel studs & nuts from bolts.


Although there is the advantage that the wheels are much easier to put on with studs, they are usually fitted when wheel spacers are used to allow for the extra thickness. When ordering measure the total thickness of everything which the bolt has to pass through: The hub, brake disc or bell, spacers, wheel and of course wheel nut. The nuts we sell are 25mm total long, the studs are measured as their total length, we stock mainly 60 or 80mm although other sizes are available to order, so:


Hub: 11mm

Standard brake disc: 7mm

Spacer: 17mm

Wheel thickness in nut hole: 15mm

Nut length: 25mm

+5mm extra


Total 80mm





When fitting, an aerosol can of brake cleaner and cotton buds or a small bottle brush are ideal for getting the threads in the hub de-greased and clean before applying liquid thread lock and winding the stud home. Keep an eye on the back as it is easy to go too far when using two nuts together to wind them in, don't go much further than the stud sticking out of the back a mm or two. Allow to dry before putting the other components on and finally the wheel nuts of course.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

BC_Racing Suspension





I was rather apprehensive of this system when I first read about it, it seemed too good to be true, but on going round and seeing for myself what it was all about I was happy to give them all the struts and springs they needed to copy and make it work.

On receiving the first set I wasn't dissapointed, the build quality and way it fitted was 1st class, likewise the way the car drove when it was fitted.

Terry, the new owner of an immaculate and beautifully standard (apart from the nice wheels!) white 16v had come to us complaining about the terrible ride on his car, "A shocker must be leaking or a spring broken" he said.
I checked the car over and found nothing wrong, the front struts were nearly new. This just goes to show how bad the OE set up is when a new owner thinks it is defective, Terry opted for the BC-Racing fast road set up.

We carefully fitted the struts and set the car up by lowering it just 20mm and resetting the tracking and camber to our specs. What an improvement! On the softest setting the car just soaks up the bumps and holds itself upright when cornering, if you are found wanting something stiffer then it is a simple job to just turn the top adjuster to firmer for those more spirited days out and trackdays.

The next time I saw Terry was at the Club Lancia Sport Curborough track day where he was lapping quicker and more composed than most people there - including the more higher powered modified cars.

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About Me

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Welcome to the Deltaparts Blog, here you will find, well, anything which is on my mind I guess, but mainly things to do with the Lancia Delta integrale and in particular anything to do with my business, Deltaparts. It will be a bit irregular as it's not every day (or even week) that something worth mentioning happens. I would like to try and make it interesting - at least to some people anyhow, but also hopefully accessible and readable for the average 'man on the street' so I won't bore you with loads of large words, bombastic overblown sentences or technical jargon. I will describe on here how lots of the parts that we sell came about as there isn't room on the website ( www.deltaparts.co.uk ) to explain. I hope you enjoy reading it as I do writing it, when something becomes a chore you know it's time to stop doing it....