Skoda Rally Blog

… and shrinks.

The only way I got the car ready for WRGB last year was by being a list-writer. Without sounding like an old git, having a list of things to do does two things – firstly, it means you have clearly-set tasks so you have an idea of what you should get done in a day and secondly you can actually plan for those tasks, meaning you don’t go to the shops 5 times.

So I’ve started list writing, and today’s tasks included removing the fuel tank, removing all the old fuel lines and brake lines, cutting the dash to fit round the rollcage, getting the seatbelt mounts fitted, boot hooks and some wiring work.

Apart from the wiring work, all done! First up was removing the tank, which involved pumping all the fuel out of it. Wish I’d done it when I got the car – there was nearly 10 gallons in there! It’s all orange and stale now, so no good apart for cleaning. Once that was done, the tank dropped out fairly quickly, and then all the pipes off, courtesy of the bolt cropper which handily seals the pipes as it goes, making the job a lot less messy.

Fitting the boot hooks was in the “make yourself feel better by making it look like a rally car” category. Half an hour well spent though, and this time I’ve put them the right way up, and also put plastic on the boot so it won’t wear through the paint quickly and make it rusty!

Cutting the dashboard wasn’t easy – the Felicia dash is actually an old-style Favorit dash (very square and angular) which has a new bit screwed to the top. As the cage is quite complex I decided to pull the curvy bit off and get the lower bit fitted first, and then hopefully make the top bit fit nicely with a curve round the cage tube. And about an hour later this had been done – the dash had to have a LOT of plastic taken out of it to fit round the cage tubes (the vents won’t be working again, alas), but no major mistakes were made. Which was nice.

Then, removing the remander of the soundproofing from the floor – this is nasty bitumen stuff, so the old petrol came in handy but it still took ages and was very messy.

Once the petrol had been allowed to dry, all the seatbelt mounts were welded in, again a much better solution than the last car’s jobs.

Again, this doesn’t sound like a huge amount, but there was an hour wasted getting bits in the morning, and another in the afternoon because Custom Cages won’t be able to supply the tube for the rear mounts “until at least the middle of next week”, and this information was only forthcoming when I phoned to check on the whereabouts of the missing parts. I’m still amazed that while the quality of the kit is beyond doubt, the service I’ve had has been crap. OK, I’m just some bloke who’s bought one of their cheapest kits, but if I treated my customers like this, I wouldn’t expect to be working. Fortunately an hour on the phone located some of the tube that I need for the mount, so I can actually make some progress over the bank holiday weekend, otherwise it would have been a complete stall. Now I just need to sort out getting the interior and the engine bay sprayed during next week, and WRGB might, just might happen. Maybe.