As you may have read, Pete and I have been taking part in the Javelin and Toyota sprint series in a variety of cars over the years.
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Well, Pete has had a variety of cars
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Ive been running a Westfield since 2015.
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What follows is an intro to our new joint project
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initially lifted from another forum
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which Pete and I will keep updated over time so you can all point and laugh when it inevitably goes horribly wrong
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The last couple of years sprinting has been enormous fun, but having a fair amount of money tied up in a car that gets very little use has got me thinking recently about trying something different.
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Cheaper.
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Maybe a little more disposable.
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And then, all set to go up to Croft last weekend, the turbo on my trusty tow-car decided it didnt want to hold all of its oil anymore.
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![Image](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4266/35749755166_7d7c24c5c8_z.jpg)
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2017-07-08_07-04-25![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
by
Ben Edwards![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
, on Flickr
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Pete came to the rescue with a very kind offer for me to double-drive his current Fiesta
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a 140k mile Zetec S with some ECP coilovers and a set of R888Rs.
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It was a bit different to the Westfield, but a lot of fun nonetheless!
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![Image](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/35621077912_264ee4d0dd_z.jpg)
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2017-07-08_07-05-15![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
by
Ben Edwards![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
, on Flickr]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35nL38iUay4
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So a plan was hatched.
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We both do all the same sprint events, and would like to do more trackdays.
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Neither of us drive our
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other cars very often, and both of us have more sensible things to be spending money on.
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Why not share a car? All the costs are halved.
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We have between us two garages, two sets of tools and a hydraulic lift.
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Trackdays just become car
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+ additional driver.
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But what could we get?
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We spent the 5 hour drive back from Darlington looking at many different options.
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Civic Type R? Clio 182? MX5? Too many in the series already, and we wanted something different.
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I got very excited about the prospect of an MG ZS180
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(yes, really!), but it would put us in a class with VX220s and V6 Exiges.
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Same for an Accord Type R.
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Z3/Z4 were too expensive, but we did want RWD.
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Weve both had a variety of MR2s in the past but fancied something different
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something that could fit both of our kit, plus tools, jack and a spare set of wheels for a weekend.
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We kept coming back to the obvious answer that was staring us in the face
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Ive owned one before, but even so the internet scare stories can be a bit off-putting.
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How would it cope with regular track abuse? Only one way to find out!
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We set a budget of
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£1000 and hit eBay.
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We almost had too much choice for our budget so whittling them down was a fairly arduous process, and finally chose one to go and have a look at.
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So, yesterday evening, I put down a deposit on this beauty:
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![Image](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/35402023390_1ef6d592d0_z.jpg)
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2017-07-08_07-05-28![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
by
Ben Edwards![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
, on Flickr
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![Image](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/35621086892_86797b6d1c_k.jpg)
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2017-07-08_07-05-39![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
by
Ben Edwards![](./images/smilies/spacer.gif)
, on Flickr
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Yep,
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£1000.
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It has a recent rebuild from Apex Rotary, starts well from hot and cold, and has clearly had some money spent in the past.
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It already has a stainless manifold and full exhaust system, Tein coilovers etc and seems to have had recent plugs, Magnecor leads and coils.
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On the other hand the paintwork is scruffy, it smells of dog, has a bit of play in the steering column and has some horrendous drug-dealer wheels fitted
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(those rears are 265 section!).
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So, plans? Well, the coilovers were on the list already so theyre a bonus.
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The exhaust does have a cat
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(so MOT friendly) but is fairly loud and the manifold is blowing slightly.
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We might be a bit close to some track noise-limits, so Ill need to investigate that.
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Well flog the wheels in favour of a couple of sets of standard wheels
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(one for road use and one for a set of R888Rs we already have ready to go on).
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First sprint event is in three weeks so we have our work cut out! Longer-term plans will be to strip a reasonable amount from the interior, acquire some braided lines, fit a bolt-in roll cage, bucket seats and harnesses and take it from there.
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Hopefully itll give us a reasonable amount of fun without grenading itself.
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Pick-up this weekend!