Here’s the latest update on the 1969 V4 Rally. Suspension and brakes are now done, so I have moved on to the electrics and the dashboard.
Rear brakes put together. New brake shoes and pistons.
I used the Saab 95 brake cylinders. The pistons are visibly bigger than the 96 ones (on the right). I’m not sure the brake balance is ok with this setup. If it doesn’t work I’ll just switch back to 96 pistons.
The handbrake levers were pretty much done for. We drilled out the old loose rivets, cleaned the parts, welded in new bolts, and painted them. They now work as new. (Sorry, no photo of the finished product).
The beefier Saab 95 springs. Some Skoda shock absorbers we found laying around the shop… Probably not optimal…
And I put these way old Girling Decarbon shocks in the front. I’ll probably need to get the Bilsteins at some point but decided to save the euros to actually finishing the car. Regular V4 springs.
Ventilation for the front brakes. Cutting the slits.
Spread open, welded, and painted.
Here you see how the scoop works. The actual Works cars had even bigger scoops.
New Brembo disk and the hub in place.
Time to fix the calipers. The pistons were worn out, so in with new pistons and rubber seals.
New piston in the caliper.
Calipers mounted.
New brake pads. Regular street grade. I’ll invest in better stuff later – when I actually get to really driving the car.
Pads in.
The locking pins that came in the installation kit – Not good… They slipped right through.
So I spread the locking pin big end with a drill bit.
Fixed. Now it will not slide through.
I also made a work light for the engine bay:
All it needed was a little wiring and a few holes drilled.
The light cost 3 euros and the switch is the hazard light switch from a V4.
The work light works!
And I started preparing the dashboard. As I’m putting in the older type dash all sorts of minor adjustments are needed. Also, I will need to simplify the electrics by removing all wires and elements that are not needed:
All sorts of used stuff I gathered for the dash…
Figuring out a rally-suitable dash layout.
Warning lights for high beams, charging and directional light indicators.
The interior light needed to be repositioned as it wouldn’t fit in with the roll cage. Also the door switches were removed, so I figured I’ll put it on the dash where you can reach it with the harness on.
I hacked a Saab 900 directional light to pieces and used it for the oil pressure warning light.
The oil pressure warning light. It’s nice to have a huge red light telling you that you already blew the engine…
Hello Tommi, thanks for the update on the 69 Rally. I had one thought regarding the rear brakes with the larger pistons. Have you thought of using a brake proportioning valve for the brakes. Years ago I replaced the rear drums with disc brakes and used a proportioning valve and I had brakes that made that 6000 lb car come to a screeching halt. Just a thought, my friend. Keep up the great work and am looking forward to the next update……Is the engine next? Bill…Cheers
Yes, my two stroke has the valves as it is drums front and rear. So I could possibly use those. But I think it’s simpler just to put in the 96 pistons. Back in the day they used to adjust the brake balance by cutting a suitable piece off the lining on the brake shoes.
I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the engine. Or basically I’m trying to decide how much money I’m going to throw at it. I was going to do it the “quick and dirty” way and just throw together some parts I already have. But I had a snag with the heads. I had these lowered (higher compression) heads with opened up exhaust ports, but as I looked at them more carefully I realised they were the 1968 or earlier version. Not compatible with the later V4’s. So I can’t use them. Would be a nice pair for someones Sonett II V4 I guess 🙂
Now I’m trying to decide if I’ll just use regular heads with 1.7 litre crank and buy new 92mm Ford OHC pistons with that. But for that setup the dual 45 Webers would be pretty much overkill, and not really worth putting them in. So if I’m going to have the engine bored to 92mm with new pistons anyway, I would really need proper Group 2 single port heads. It’s just the matter of cost… I think Sweedspeed has some pretty nice heads (compatible with unleaded fuel), but the price on them is, I think, closer to 2000 euros. Couple of hundred euros for machining the block, another couple of hundred for the pistons, bearings, rebuilding and tuning the webers… I’m probably looking at 3000 to 3500 euro. … And that’s not really what I planned in the beginning – the whole idea was to build this thing CHEAP.
Hi Tommi, One thing for sure, hobbies are expensive. I am still looking for the right combination for suspension springs, as the car was lowered 2 inches, by the previous owner/builder. Not to mention new Bilstein shocks, and paying an electrician to repair the nightmare of wiring behind the dash. Thanks for the update on your rally car, and am looking forward to see what you do with the engine.
Bill…Cheers
Hello Tommi, thanks for the update on the 69 Rally. I had one thought regarding the rear brakes with the larger pistons. Have you thought of using a brake proportioning valve for the brakes. Years ago I replaced the rear drums with disc brakes and used a proportioning valve and I had brakes that made that 6000 lb car come to a screeching halt. Just a thought, my friend. Keep up the great work and am looking forward to the next update……Is the engine next? Bill…Cheers
Hi Bill!
Yes, my two stroke has the valves as it is drums front and rear. So I could possibly use those. But I think it’s simpler just to put in the 96 pistons. Back in the day they used to adjust the brake balance by cutting a suitable piece off the lining on the brake shoes.
I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the engine. Or basically I’m trying to decide how much money I’m going to throw at it. I was going to do it the “quick and dirty” way and just throw together some parts I already have. But I had a snag with the heads. I had these lowered (higher compression) heads with opened up exhaust ports, but as I looked at them more carefully I realised they were the 1968 or earlier version. Not compatible with the later V4’s. So I can’t use them. Would be a nice pair for someones Sonett II V4 I guess 🙂
Now I’m trying to decide if I’ll just use regular heads with 1.7 litre crank and buy new 92mm Ford OHC pistons with that. But for that setup the dual 45 Webers would be pretty much overkill, and not really worth putting them in. So if I’m going to have the engine bored to 92mm with new pistons anyway, I would really need proper Group 2 single port heads. It’s just the matter of cost… I think Sweedspeed has some pretty nice heads (compatible with unleaded fuel), but the price on them is, I think, closer to 2000 euros. Couple of hundred euros for machining the block, another couple of hundred for the pistons, bearings, rebuilding and tuning the webers… I’m probably looking at 3000 to 3500 euro. … And that’s not really what I planned in the beginning – the whole idea was to build this thing CHEAP.
I guess I need to start saving the money 😀
Hi Tommi, One thing for sure, hobbies are expensive. I am still looking for the right combination for suspension springs, as the car was lowered 2 inches, by the previous owner/builder. Not to mention new Bilstein shocks, and paying an electrician to repair the nightmare of wiring behind the dash. Thanks for the update on your rally car, and am looking forward to see what you do with the engine.
Bill…Cheers