Grippy's AU XR6 Track Car

Hi guys, this is my first post after lurking around here for a little while.

I've been sharing a Historic Touring Mini Cooper S with my Father since I was a kid, we've both grown tired of sharing the car and the extra work load on parts. After securing a company car last year I wanted to buy something from the blue oval on the cheap that can hold it's own at track days, and more importantly be reliable. The answer was of course the last of the SOHC XR6's, the AU3 XR6 HP. Being a HP without a single option from factory, it's probably the lightest XR I could have found too, bonus. I picked her up for $3,200 with a RWC, pretty happy with that. The twin pot front brakes were a big attraction over an E series that I was also considering.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j2...T/IMG_0803.jpg
The day I picked her up, complete with 4X4 ride height.

First up was a full service including gearbox and diff fluid replaced. A new high pressure power steering hose and a new steering rack were also fitted. Next was suspension, a set of Bilsteins, King Sl front and SSL rear springs, a camber kit and an aggressive allignment, the improvement over the standard 214,000km gear was obviously eye opening. Nice new lowered stance and front camber too.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j2...CT/photo-1.jpg
The goodies arrive.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j2...CT/photo-2.jpg
The new ride height.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j2...VCT/photo4.jpg

Little bit of front camber.

A couple of minor mods including a K&N filter and XR8 snorkel were added along the way, the next major mod was an LSD rebuild. She is nice and tight and a lot more fun to drive now. Great idea by Ford making LSD's an option of AU3 XR6 HP's... New brake pads were ordered, I went with Ferodo DS and some AP Racing brake fluid. Next was safety gear, I managed to buy a second hand Sabelt fixed back racing seat and harness for around $400 from memory, it feels fantastic on track with a nice low centre of gravity too. A set of second hand Bridgestone RE55 semi slicks and an old set of XR 17's were sorted in anticipation of its first track day at Phillip Island and also a Redback 2.5 inch exhaust with a single muffler.

I then had the common joy of dealing with a cracked fire wall and a sick pedal box. Pit Lane Performance did a great job of fixing it up with a brand new clutch cable at the same time.

Thanks for reading, there is more to come!
Cheers, Steve

Looks great! Welcome to the Forums.

And off to Phillip Island I went. It was a 35 degree day, but the AU ran beautifully and never got hot once, but it did develop a mis throughout the day. The best time for the day was a 2.10, plenty of room for improvement. The plan is to develop the car into a sub 2.00 car at Phillip Island.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j291/WhiteVCT/1-1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j2...T/DSC_0765.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j291/WhiteVCT/5.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j291/WhiteVCT/2.jpg

And one of the Mini for good measure.

Happy with the handling and braking at Phillip Island, it was time to chase more grunt, next up Pacemaker 4480 extractors and a high flow cat.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j2...CT/photo-5.jpg

To chase up the mis, I have replaced the plugs, leads, coil pack and fuel filter. Together with the now full exhaust the car feels 10 times better to drive, lots more pull and a fair bit louder now. I'm confident with the new found power and with the mis eliminated, there is already a few seconds to take off my PB at The Island.

The next race meeting is at Sandown in early June, I will be sure to grab some video footage. Here is a video of one of my sessions at Phillip Island, you can hear the car has a bit of a miss under load. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWyhn0f4CQE

It definitely doesn't make the power a lot of late model Falcons and FPV's do, but boy is it a heap of fun to throw around.

Next up for the car is a cam and a tune in a few months time, at the moment the Saloon car control cam looks like it will get the nod.

Cheers, Steve

Looking good mate. Please keep the updates coming.

Nice work mate, sounds like your enjoying it. Best luck in getting a sub 2:00min lap.

What time was the mini doing?


So is the au remaining road legal? Looks too nice for a track car lol

Good to see you here Steve. :)

Car is looking great, did the new parts sort out the miss?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by defective

What time was the mini doing?

So is the au remaining road legal? Looks too nice for a track car lol

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Dad in the Mini did a 2.06, conditions weren't great that day, he has done a PB of 2.00 at the island.

For now the car is remaining registered and street driven to meetings, just need to be careful with the harness and seat, if I get pulled over ill likely get done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TICK4D-TAS

Good to see you here Steve. :)

Car is looking great, did the new parts sort out the miss?

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Thanks Tim, I actually just got home from taking it for a spin, the miss is gone and it's driving like a dream now, it's pulling so much better. A cam and tune will give her some much needed grunt. Looking forward to getting it back on the track in early June.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grippy

Thanks Tim, I actually just got home from taking it for a spin, the miss is gone and it's driving like a dream now, it's pulling so much better. A cam and tune will give her some much needed grunt. Looking forward to getting it back on the track in early June.

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So what is the prediction, is the 2:00 barrier going to get broken.

Looks like you are having some fun, good to see.