Eggs-Benedict-Relle: Dax Rush

I had a Dax Rush. Perhaps writing about it here is some sort of cartharsis. I bought it. I liked is as is, but it wasn't me. I probably should have just built one, but there was never the time to do that. So I bought it, complete. With piped leather seats and dash, with oldy-worldy dials on it. And a fuel injected pinto that stuck out of the bonnet:

Did a track day like this:

with my good mate who was racing Porsche 924's at the time:

Brands Hatch, 2006.

It didn't last long like that, and was soon in pieces for the first time:

The brakes 'needed' upgrading, and the wheel centres had to be black!

At the time I was working away in a very damp garage. Brakes awesome though!

Engine had been rebuilt, it didn't go badly, but even with only 700ish kilos to drag around with it's 110-ish bhp, it still struggled to break the 7 second to 60 barrier (although it has to be remembered that this was on the road in 'real' conditions, not on some sticky Santa Pod-like surface).

An LSD rear end from an XR4x4 was found on the 'bay:

and various bilt-hamber products used to clean bits of it up:

The wheels were put back on:

and various other bits (new dashboard, new dials etc:

and that's how it stayed for a short time. Tore about a bit like this, but managed to touch down heavily on local roads, needed a new sump:

Which again, was found on the 'bay. It's proper RS2000 one.

Took the car to car limits. Was massive fun, learnt a lot:

But again, a bit bored with how fast it went. So apart it came again:

>

and ebay again investigated:

Engine had only done 60K, but was bottom end had all new ARP bolts put into it, and after stripping all the usual mondeo gubbins off, was very much lighter. In fact I could easily lift it onto a workbench without the use of a hoist. With the Pinto, no chance!

Garage was still very damp at this stage...

I'd also had 2nd thoughts about the dash, and started again:

After a lot of help from next door neighbours, I got the engine in again:

with a new alloy rad. Looking smart!

The car itself was looking very scruffy by this time:

the wiring was all over the show and nothing was really working. It was a collection of shiny go-faster bits.

And then finally we got our new garage started. In this time, the Dax had been in a neighbour's barn, and under a cover outside the house, and was starting to look bad. Nothing could be done about it, just had to wait until the garage was finished. And we waited, and winter came, the building stopped:

At some point in the early spring, the garage was finished enough to actually do some work. I was itching to sort the car out, and John the mechanic was drafted in to help. He swore alot and said the head needed rebuilding - this was purely as a result of it being left in various damp atmospheres:

the bores were OK though, and we gave them a good clean up:

John did the head:

The engine got built up:

The cams got timed in:

The car got rebuilt, and after a few late night sessions:

The electrics were yet to come. As I'd converted the car to use Emerald ECU and injection, there were plenty of electrics to go round. And of course, the computerised Dash2 I'd added:

This dash talks to the ECU via a CAN interface. Very clever it all is too.

I just needed to get some metalwork done, and i'd be nearly there!

But there was of course more trickery with computers needed:

Once that was over, she was ready to drive again:

Did some more track days, some amateur time trials again, and we'd cracked the 6 seconds to 60 now! Car is much faster, and with the new Kumho Ecstas on the rims, was very very grippy!

In the middle of all this somewhere, my baby daughter was born. This car became impractical on so many levels and so it (and my wife's z3, which I never liked driving) had to go.

Final work included sorting out the binnacle to lose all the horrible Ford stalks, relocating the hazard switch under the dash and fitting self-designed push button indicators and full beam switches: