Deimos development

Sad Times

2012-01-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally decided that it was time for the car to go - I really do not want to sell but I got it mot'd back in October and that was when I last used it. I've done more miles on my bicycle in the last two years than I have in the 6 years the car has been road legal.

So, we are, as I posted a year or two back going to get on with the extension to the house as eldest boy starts secondary school later this year and it'd be nice for him and his bro' to have their own rooms. As such, toy car will be in the way during the build and the money really is required towards the costs of building work.

It's been on ebay for the last 36 hours and has already reached reserve, so it's going regardless and the more I think about it, the more depressed I get.

While I don't use it much, it's been a big part of my life for the last nearly ten years.

Sad Times indeed.

I may or may not post in here again. Don't know yet

Another year...

2011-01-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Haven't actually used the car for a month or so, and havn't done any work on it either. Need to get some of the jobs done ready for the Pioneer Run in March, so...

Want it painted, and may replace the diff with a slightly lower ratio one I have at work, till I get around to chucking the bmw one on.

Time flies, so does the car...

2010-10-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

blimey, nearly two months since the last post and yes the car is getting used, but the more I drive it, the more I think I should take it off the road to work on it:D

No, don't panic, it'll not be off the road any time soon.

I'm currently in the process of flogging a load of the old stuff I accumulated when I was building the turboed setup and hope to realise a few quid towards the next project, but hey, that's another blog....

Later

Doing the miles...

2010-08-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

When I went for the mot last weekend, I had a full (to the top) tank of petrol - it's nearly gone:D

I reckon I've done 120 miles in the last week and only a couple of minor irritants so far. First was n/s exhaust kept leaking - turned out that where I'd made my own exhaust flange and welded pipe to it, it was no longer flat. Fixed that with the linnisher and silicon sealant.

Other thing was a progressively worsening oil leak which I had one of the guys near work look at - who found it straight away - oil pump cover nuts were loose.

So, jobs to do are - replace light switches in living/dining rooms, replace shower unit, do extension plans (well, finish them) and get them submitted, then replace bushes in coilover units as they seem a bit worn; come up with some sort of engine stabiliser or remake engine mounts using same sort of bushes used in the wishbones, get car to someone who can do corner weighting/tracking etc etc; replace inner pivots on lower front wishbones with spherical bearing (which will allow me to increase front track width to match rear. And get it painted!

Errr:D

Later

We're on the road again:)

2010-08-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

Left work 10 minutes early yesterday so I could get home and sort the last remaing point from the mot fail; being the "hub component fouling chassis" - in effect, because the side panels now stick out further than they used to, the wheel arches rubbed the body.

Easy fix though - just snip the cable tie holder the steering rack rubber in place, slide back and screw two more jubilee clips to each side. Use two each end, but so each clips tail goes into other clip.

Anyway, got up early and got car to test station for 8.00am and had to leave it there for an hour as there were a couple of cars in front of me (though guv'nor said he'd try and get me in between the two - only a retest on the failed parts). Went home and had tea and toast, then more toast!!

At 8:50 I wandered back to shop and was advised he was doing paperwork. Two more mins I was back in car driving home. Put car on driveway, got V5/ins and new mot and drove (other car) to post office. Quarter hour later I was fitting rfl disc in car, then drove off to work, where I had a chat with the chap who'll be doing a bit of paint!!

Me happy, just need to get car set up properly!

Pics and vid to come!

Nearly there

2010-08-04T15:39:00.001-07:00

G'day.

Since the last post, we've had a weekend away in the caravan which was good fun, but prevented me from finishing the car; which was just tough.

I've been doing bits and pieces to the car since the MOT failure and have done all the required jobs except the steering restriction - which shouldn't take long - hope to do that on Friday eve - maybe get a retest on Saturday.

Did the new exhausts over the last couple of evenings and (nearly) finished attaching them tonight (only a bit of steel to connect rear of exhaust to hanger). Naturally, had to start the car with the new cans and what a difference! It's positively civilised.

Maybe a happy post Sat pm

Fail....

2010-07-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

....but not so bad (though it will be expensive; hope that's not too contradictory!).

In case you didn't see previous post, I finally got the car in for an MOT today, and it failed.

The deffo fail was headlight adjustment, and I was spot on with that. Already playing around with adjustment.

Another point was the o/s top balljoint having too much play - turned out to be the nut inside the upright adaptor not being tight enough. So that's already fixed, though I had to take the suspension apart.

One more small point was the drivers seat belt bolt was 90% undone, so that's fixed too.

Big thing is the noise, and it's this that's going to cost as I decided that I may as well get some proper silencers and fit them. Several reasons, but primary at the mo is the get through MOT, but will also keep me in with the neighbours, who haven't complained but could. So it'll make the car much more useable (I'll be able to go out early and come back late).

Only downside is price, but I'm hoping to haggle! Will have to do a bit of work on exhausts to make fit but hey ho

I have 10 days to get car back in for partial retest, so need to get cracka lacking!

Will post agan when all jobs done, though you may have to wait till after test:)

Tomorrow, Definately

2010-07-27T14:19:00.001-07:00

Rang garage today only to be told no slots left so booked appointment for tomorrow!

Till then!

MOT today...

2010-07-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

...if they can fit me in!

I've done all I can think that needed doing, now just have to keep fingers crossed. If all goes well - ie it passes, straight to the PO to get RFL, then drive to work.

:D

Nearly...

2010-07-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

No pics unfortunately.

I was hoping to get car in for an MOT yesterday but hadn't got up early enough to get on with the few jobs I needed to.

However, I did have an excellent weekend working on the car and have just a couple of 5 min jobs to do, which I may do in a minute.

Everything painted in primer, car all cleaned, hoping for a MOT/rfl tomorrrow:D

Wish me luck!

Calmed down now...

2010-07-14T16:59:00.001-07:00

Ok, just a little posting with a couple of the pics I put up last time - this is the cold air scoop, which is now about 95% finished.

And here's a pic of the side of the car, the bonnet now has more grey primer.

Nearly all jobs done now, just have to adjust headlight aim and tighten securing nuts. Want to paint it all in red primer, more for consistency and it'll look tidier, then a really good clean and maybe MOT/Tax next week:D

Till then...

Aaaaarrrggghhhh

2010-07-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

Had big post, was uploading vid which took forever and never finished. Had to come out, lost entire post and I can't be bothered to redo it tonight.

Getting regular, this

2010-06-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

I made the light mountings on Friday night, and finished them off (aesthetically) on Saturday am at work. Just added some threaded studding to them, which I'll build up tomorrow, then, after I cut holes in rear panel, behind arches I can attach lights and feed through wiring and connect.

Then it's horn and scoop for air and air filter. Who knows, may have mot by next weekend:D

Quick update.

2010-06-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, just a few pics for your amusement.

I have some side impact bars that I may or may not use - the restrict space slightly so remain undecided at the mo.

You see where the rear lights need to be - I was about to make the mountings for them this evening and realised I've left all my resin and hardener at work. Doh!

I'm quite liking the lack of any form that can be made out by using grey primer - I may yet go for a red and grey paint job.

Hoping to get many jobs done over the weekend, how many will be on the car remain to be seen:D

You can see what little work needs to be done.

Who knows, I might include a vid in the next post...

Pics coming soon...

2010-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Morning.

I am making progress, but it's a little slower than anticipated - well I did ride 54 miles last weekend for the BHF London to Brighton bike ride.

The things I'm having trouble with; though not so much the fabrication, more the design, is the mounts for the rear lights.

Want to get the design right, then do I fabricate from steel (will rust, heavy), make from grp (won't rust, light weight) or model, mould and cast in ally (won't rust much, lightweight and very timeconsuming!).

Think I've just talked myself into the plastic. Then it's the scoop for cold air feed, headlight flasher and hooter!

Will post pics and more updates this weekend.....

We're on our way......

2010-06-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I seem to have found a new level of enthusiasm to get the car back on the road, so.....

I've finished modifying the bonnet (again) and am now just getting it readied for paint (along with the front arches and scuttle).

Once the bodywork is prepared, it's a matter of getting all theniggly bits and pieces sorted - such as wiring in the front and rear lightsets and fixing the hooter. Final job will be to rearrange the column switchgear to toggle switched mounted to column shround.

After that, off for MOT then rfl and get it to a friend to chuck some paint on scuttle, bonnet and front arches; and finally after three and 2/3 years I'll be back on the road.

Then we'll be onto the extension, but that's another story.

Pics etc in a week or two when something to show for it:D

Errrrr

2010-03-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Now been another couple of months with no progress (though I did buy another bicycle:D).

Anyway, today, after a break from working on the car of nearly 10 months I made another start on it.

It wasn't the kind of major effort required as I'm suffering from a (really irritating) cold, which I don't usually suffer from!!!

Anyway, got the rear arches sort of back on, need some more 6mm screws/nuts to finish and did a bit of filling on the bonnet.

Have resolved to finish in a month, so more soon

Hmmm!

2010-01-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Been another couple of months since I posted, so apologies to anyone watching.

I may, or may not, have mentioned elsewhere that my garage roof leaks, and the heating consists of a fan heater. Well, two actually, but you have to leave them on for a while to reap any benefit. Anyway, life's too short to wait, so have been falling asleep watching the telly.

Yes, we have satellite, 12 billion channels and nothing to watch. Aaaaaarrrggghhhhh!!!!

What was I going to say, ah, yes. The car, what's been happening.

Well, the short of it is, nothing; too cold, too busy with work, christmas, try to get fitter etc etc.

We have the Pioneer Run coming up again soon (I thinkI planned on getting the car ready for that last year, and the year before), so maybe this year heh:)

I really don't have a great deal to do, so when weather improves slightly I'll be on it. Promise!

Till next time.

Long time, no post. Again!

2009-11-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

Just realised it's nearly 6 months since last post - where does the time go.

Well, I've got to admit that after the mad session I last had on the car back in May when the weather turned for the better, I decided to give it a rest as it was so hot. Then I went on holiday in August and cracked/broke/strained rib(s) (unknown as NHS didn't Xray, and they still hurt!!!!) so not had a chance to do anything. And very busy at work.

One nearly interesting thing is, that because I nearly, bought another project. I didn't, but nearly did. Still quite keen for it to happen, but hey....

Anyway, I probably won't get a chance to work on the car till Christmas break, so there prob won't be another update till new year, so I wish you all a Happy both now.

Simon

Big post, perhaps

2009-05-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

OK, Went to Car Builder Solutions on Saturday and got their usual helpful service (yep, I'd recommend them to anyone), and got my nice new petrol cap, hose and tank connector/adaptor thingy.

The tank adaptor is a flat piece of ally with a hole in it with an ally tube welded on. The idea is to use existing cap (which in my case was bolted directly to tank) to mark holes on adaptor, and use existing tank holes to attach it with.

My only criticism of the adaptor is the thickness of the plate part, which while fine for strength but didn't allow me to countersink the setscrews into it.

Simpe answer there was to cut the neck off old cap, and turn it into a big washer with countersunk holes already in.

As I was using setscrews, I had to have nylocs on the inside of tank, and the "tool" resting over the tank strap is my Heath Robinson affair, consisting of a socket the right size and a length of flattened tube welded to it, and bent so that it fits through filler tube without dropping nyloc. Worked a treat.

The next pic is of the new ally back panel, already cut approximately to shape, with the lower edge bent ready to rivet to rear lower tube and with filler hole roughly cut.

The next job was rivetting panel on the bottom chassis tube then starting the tiresome job of folding the top over chassis tube, then bending panel around the corner. This was quite difficult as I wanted to retain the shape I had made on the fibreglass panel, being a square corner at the bottom and a radiused on at the top.

Which eventually ended up like like

Yes, they are dents in the ally at the top. It's what happens when the G clamp slips.

On a slightly lighter note; whe I was at CBS, I was perusing their display boards and spotted a "Start" button. So a bit of gratuitous spending was called for. It's also served the purpose of filling a hole left by the fan override switch I'd left in the dash! Two gauge sized holes to fill yet!

It's not wired in, but the "loom" is made and just needs plugging in.

Next pic is of one of the rear arches which are going to be reprayed by a friend (Phil at HRC) who does it for a living. I'm just doing the preparation work to try and keep costs down. Yes, that's filler in all the stonechips! Both rear arches are the same.

Next job I had to do was get the roll bar brackets welded into place, so I removed all the bits I'd installed and had to weld some spacer pieces to roll bar tubes that went into chassis. For a brief moment I didn't think it was going to go back in as I took a guess on how much to widen by. Fortunately, it's a nice snug fit.

Once they were welded in, it was a case of welding top tubes into place. Unfortunately my mig skill leave a little to be desired on the neatness front, so a soon as car is on the road, I'll take it to work and go over the welds with the tig - which will be neat!

Other things I've started doing are the new ally side panels. I'd hammered the top over on a couple of the sides - which took about 1.5 hrs, with box section clamped over, but it looked rubbish. The I remembered Phil has a sheet folder so paid him a visit...

so, I'm going to redo the ones I already half made. I'm also going to lose the wood/vinyl interior and do that in ally too!

Anyway, progress is being made, so till next update, here's a gratuitous pic of a 3.9 Rover V8 with my modified exhausts:D

Till then

Simon

Now it's getting ridiculous!

2009-05-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Having made a decision over the last few weeks that I would be replacing the side panels with new ally, and that the back boot panel might as well be in ally too (rather than fibreglass), I ordered three sheets of 2.5m x 1.25m x 1.5mm ally yesterday.

That meant that I had to get organised in the order that work was to happen - like a list of jobs, and when they needed to be done.

Tonight that list included removing tail lights, rear arches and the boot panel. And I succeeded, and I made a template of the panel ready to transfer to the ally. So far so good, ahead of schedule.

I've spoken to a friend who's going to do the painting, just to find out what I need to do finish wise, in preparation so just need to get those bits of plastic that I can give him (off the car) filled, sanded and primed.

If I can stick to my schedule, I'm hoping to have the rear panel and both replacement side panels in place, all plastic panels ready for topcoat and the roll bar all welded, painted and fitted, the exhausts back on and plastic panels to Phil for painting by Monday pm.

Hopefully he'll be able to do them next week, so I'll have them back on the car by weekend of 30/5 and I'll just need to get the bonnet - yes, I'm going to make that from ally too - fitted!!!

Other changes I'm hoping to make include moving the fuel cap to the new ally back panel as it was a major inconvenience trying to get the fuel filler into the boot without chucking petrol everywhere and I want some new rear light assemblies to replace the budget "trailer" lights I had.

A couple more minor jobs like fi the horn, then off for ticket and tax:D

More on Monday with pics (yeah really!).

Till then

Simon

Tidying up...

2009-05-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

...from where I left off last week is what I've been up to.

As I said, the top radiator hose needed fitting and a couple of minor hoses (eg the plenum heater hoses) needed "t-ing" into what was to become the top hose.

The slight headache came when I was looking at the (original) heater hoses. On the SD1 engine, these run under the inlet manifold to the rear of engine, so I connected one straight to the header tank and the other was blanked off. On the Range Rover engine, they are both at the front of the engine, and would need blocking, but that would have created air locks (as they are both vertical).

In a moment of pure genius, I had the bright idea of getting a piece of steel tube, and welding two "t's" to go into the tops of hoses, then running that along the engine, by the injectors, to the rear of the engine, then (with a reducer) to a flexi rubber pipe to header tank. Simple!!! So I filled the system with water/antifreeze and ran the engine for about 10 minutes on Sunday.

That went well in as much as I didn't have any leaks, but it did remind me to do two things. The first was to check for oil pressure (which I have) and that I need to get the fan wired up.

Well, it's Monday as I write this and the fan was wired up earlier this evening and now works fine.

The ecu is now in residence so to speak, but I think I'll be putting a cover of sorts over that for security.

I can't remember if I mentioned that the engine wouldn't turn over on the key, but only with me shorting the starter motor terminals with a screwdriver. Well, that turned out to be a wire in the wrong place! Easy but time consuming fix, and engine now starts on the key.

There are a couple of little jobs that I need to do like wire in the tacho, but they aren't required for the MOT, so they may have to wait, as I'm quite keen on getting the bonnet done. Once that's done, I'll be ordering some more ally sheet to redo side panels and the boot (which is fibreglass at the mo). Had a chat with a friend this eveing who paints for a living and I may have him paint the car. Need to find out what sort of finish I need to get to first. Even wife was keen on it being pro painted when I mentioned it:D

Anyway, I doubt I'll do much on the car toomorrow (Tuesday) as I'll be swimming in the evening, but hopefully by the end of this (bank holiday) weekend I'll have the bonnet done and have some pics for you:D

Till Monday then...

Simon

Hurrah!

2009-05-10T16:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's not going to be a very long post, as I only did a little bit on the car today, but what a bit!

Started off this morning looking at the wiring - yeah, in complete contrast to where the wiring was in the list of jobs to do.

Anyway, firstly looked at the wires around the coil and sorted those out, then figured I needed a 6.8k Ohm resistor in the wire between a/f meter and coil, but didn't have one - except the one that goes to the speed signal thingy, which a) is supposed to limit the speed in the Range Rover and b) wasn't being used because of a)!

Anyway, sorted those out, then looked at the wires for the ecu, and if you look in all the blurb on the net it says the ecu has a brown wire for permanent live feed, also found it may be brown/orange - could I find them?! Well, no not as a direct connection!

Anyway, had a look through the bundle of wires and figured that it was another orange/? wire (yeah forgot for the mo!) and there is a white wire from coil that's needs connecting to a switched white wire from ecu.

So, connected that lot up, carefully, and thought I'd turn it on and see what happens.

Bloody hell, it started, but ran really rough, very little throttle control, high tickover (about 2500 rpm), couldn't close throttle any further etc.

Started thinking; oh dear.

Then, when I looked at the airflow meter, the bulb went of. I thought that I'd left an old rag in the plenum inlet to prevent ingress of dirt, dust, spanners, nuts and bolts etc.

Quickly removed hose, removed rag, reconnected hos and tried again.

Wow. Started instantly, ran with a slightly lumpy tickover, but instant throttle response. It occurred to me later while looking for my allen keys, that lumpy tickover is due to a couple of airleaks which I knew of, but forgot to do anything about.

Next job I started today was getting the rad back in, which involved hacking the bottom hose around a bit, but that's now back on, just the top hose to do, which I'll do over a few evenings.

And I started tidying the wiring, ready for a permanent fix.

All in all, I'd say I'm very pleased on the day's progress.

More next weekend hopefully

Till then

Simon

Getting there!!

2009-05-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

Another quickish update I'm afraid.

Didn't quite get the whole (long) weekend on the car, but I've had a good few hours today and a little time yesterday!

You'll recall the list that needed doing went something like this:

Need to make a bracket for the air flow meter
Modify exhausts as no turbo's to connect pipes anymore
Wiring will need sorting
Sort the bonnet out
Fit the radiator and plumb in
Paint the rest of the bodywork
Modify the alternator bracket
Get roll bar sorted!
Throttle linkage (which I'd forgotten)

Well the exhausts are all connected from manifold to tail pipe on both sides, so that's one of the bigger jobs done. I've also made the mounting bracket for the airflow meter - not a pretty site, but hey, just won't open the bonnet! The other successes for the day were getting throttle linkage connected up and modifying the alternator brackets. So now throttle works and alternator is back in place.

List now looks like (in order I'll do them, I think):

Fit the radiator and plumb in
Sort the bonnet out
Get roll bar sorted
Wiring
Paint the rest of the bodywork

Let's face it, fitting the radiator isn't going to take too long, possible an hour or two depending on pipework route, and how it all fits under the bonnet - it'll be slightly different than turbo route as I had the coil packs and didn't need to go over dizzy, which I now do.

The bonnet I should be able to do in a day - a fairly intensive day, and likewise sorting the rest of bodywork a similar time. The rollbar should take about four or five hours.

Still to sort the wiring, which I keep looking at and getting nowhere. It's a bit irritating really as whereever you look on the web it only needs about three wires. Can I find the elusive three?

Anyway, going for a nice cup of tea now, and will have a little more time on car tonight and tomorrow evenings, then next weekend hopefully.

Maybe more pics midweek.

Till then

Simon

Quick update on not-a-lot!

2009-04-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Right, very quickly, as there isn't much to tell.

Went to Detling Kitcar Show and quite enjoyed that. Managed to get twenty stainless steel bends from 38mm tubing for only £40. When you consider most places seem to charge anything up to £20 per bend, you can see why I was quite excited:D

Anyway, the point of buying the bends was to build new exhaust manifolds, but having since spent a couple of evenings knocking up new manifolds and not being too impressed with the rushed results, I've since decided to use the Range Rover manifolds and make some link tubes, which should work better, look worse and save a lot of time.

Now, I still have a lot of work to do on the car, but this weekend coming I've "told" the wife I'm spending all weekend (including the Bank Holiday Monday) sorting the car out. And she's agreed:D

If you recall the work needed was this

Need to make a bracket for the air flow meter - which will face rearward
Modify exhausts as no turbo's to connect pipes anymore
Wiring will need sorting
Sort the bonnet out
Fit the radiator and plumb in
Paint the rest of the bodywork
Modify the alternator bracket
Get roll bar sorted!

The car also needs an MOT and tax, but if I can get that lot done next weekend, we may have T&T the week after:D

Bigger, hopefully more positive post a week on Monday!

Simon

Another four weeks passes!

2009-04-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Detling starts tomorrow, and over the last four weeks I have made (and very nearly finished) a towbar bracket mounted bike rack!

It's quite good, honestly:D Car has detatchable towball, and the bike rack fits in the socket. Held in place with bolt and even with bikes on, I'll be able to open the boot. Oooooo

So, as you may have guessed, with the evening work, swimming and making bike rack, and with Easter weekend being Detling, I've managed to get absolutely nothing done to the car in a MONTH!!!!!!!

At this rate, it'll be three years car will have been off the road and another summer gone!

Never mind I hear you say, Easter weekend; it's four days off. Well, you'd be right, but I spent all day painting the boys bedroom yesterday (Friday) and more today, Detling on Sunday am, lunch with Mother/Bro, wife and kids then might test new lawn mower. Oh yeah, also refaced all the fascia boards a week or two back.

Might get out there Monday, if I don't go into work.

Might not go to Detling which will p me off slightly as I've been looking forward to it for a good few months.

Anyway, if I get anything done, I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath.

Done a bit...

2009-03-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Managed to get some time on the car today, which was nice.

List of jobs that needed doing prior to today's play around were:

a) Fuel lines - at the rear I needed to bend the pipe (for fuel return) to shape, and clip to chassis, and clip fuel line in the transmission tunnel.

b) The existing fuel feed (in boot, by pump) has the pressure regulator fitted to it, which will need removing and the "t" piece removing, as pressure reg incorporated on fuel rail of this engine.

c) In the engine compartment, I'll need to get the fuel lines connected to the fuel rail, and then test system - ie turn on ignition and fuel pump and check for leaks.

d) Also need to make a bracket for the air flow meter - which will face rearward, and modify exhausts as no turbo's to connect pipes anymore.

e) Wiring will need sorting, which I'm not looking forward to, then

f) I need to sort the bonnet out,

g) fit the radiator and plumb in, and

h) paint the rest of the bodywork!

i) modify the alternator bracket

Oh, and get roll bar sorted!

Not too much then.

So what did I do today?

Well, got up at 7.30, straight to the pool for a quick 80 (ish) lengths, home at 9.45, find wife and boys still relaxing, so feed boys, get washing on line, wash up breakfast stuff (all adds up to good garage time:D), then have major tidy up in garage.

And at about midday, I finally started working on the car. It was quite productive - I got a) to c) done, including the leak test. That might come in for some more testing and/or modification before I go on the road, though I'm sure all's ok.

Obviously, I'd liked to have got a bit further, but you know what it's like. Want to do something - first job of the day and........ spent 20 minutes looking for my hacksaw. Rest of day wasn't quite as bad, but I had tidied up, so was entitled not to be able to find anything. For what it's worth the hacksaw was under the bonnet!

Also removed the Emerald ECU/turbo and LC1 (lambda) gauges. I may replace the 13cux ecu with the Emerald at some point, but not just yet.

I'm going to be working Monday and Wedneday evenings and swimming on Tuesday, so won't get much chance to work on car, though I may be able to modify the alternator bracket as it sits about half inch too far forward and doesn't align with the pulleys; I'll also try and get the airflow meter bracket made, maybe fitted. While tidying the garage I found the Range Rover alternator tensioner bracket - which will help!

Anyway, next Sunday, I'll be out for the day Chief Marshalling the London to Brighton Pioneer Run (veteran bikes), so will will try and do some work on car on Saturday afternoon.

Till then

Simon

Slo go again

2009-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

Another couple of weeks of not much progress.

I've sort of sorted the engine compartment hard fuel lines, just need to get some soft line the right size, then "p-clip" it in the transmission tunnel .

Also started hacking the bonnet around; well most of the hacking is done, I just need to get on with the detail and filling/reshaping.

Really busy at work at the mo, so not much chance to get on with car.

Never mind. Yes, again I'm getting fed up with lack of progress.

Hopefully, next post will be on a more positive note, and some work will have been done on the car.

Simon

Quick post!

2009-02-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time on the car this week, even though I was hoping to have made some more progress.

I swapped over the starter motors (from turbo engine to this one) as that already on new engine had a slightly different layout which resulted in the solenoid sticking out too far towards exhaust. Putting the other on on has given me another couple of inches. Which is nice.

I also got round to putting the alternator bracket on (again from the old engine) as I want it nice and low and out of the way, but as usual, there's always a spanner in the works. In this case , it's the water pump/timing chain cover. I think it's one of them intermediate type covers, but the result is that the alternator and waterpump/crank pullies don't line up. I'll take the easiest fix, and remove half an inch from the alternator bracket. Using the new engine's pullies actually gives me about and extra inch of space at front of engine, so that might help for something.

I've plugged the loom into all the sensors on the engine, but have so much wiring, I'm going to have to strip the covering off the loom and go through it to see what I need and what I don't.

I fitted the turbo exhausts to the new engine, but might try and use the new engines manifolds as they will probably flow better.

I'd like to say I hope to make a bit more progress this week, but we have a bit of a rush coming up at work, so I'll be working Monday and Wednesday evenings, swimming on Tuesday which might leave Thurs/Friday if I'm not too tired.

Anyway, till next weekend, I guess

Simon

Pics, pics and er, pics

2009-02-15T09:25:00.001-08:00

Ok, as promised, a quick update in pictoral form - and apologies in advance, some are a bit rubbish!

I didn't get a chance to do any work on the car today - needed to get my swimming fix in, then took some rubbish to the dump, then went out for lunch at the sailing club and finally, got home and cleaned the inside of my bus:

which took the best part of 2 hours!!!!! Well, theres a lot to clean:D

Anyway, back to toy car, this (rather dark/dull and out of focus) pic was taken the evening before the new engine installation and the lighting is quite poor. It's only an empty engine bay, so hardly worth getting excited about.

This is a pic of how far I got installing the new fuel return line. You have to bear in mind the aggro it took to get this baby down the transmission tunnel and my reluctance to start bending it (by hand) to the correct shape. I'm sure it'll be ok once I get started though.

As you can see, this is a pic of the engine, now in situ. Notice it still has the three inch high flame trap - which won't fit under the bonnet. Easy fix, as I have a flat takeoff on the other engine that I'll fit to this engine, which will allow me to lay this one down, and out of the way.

Here' a pic of the engine in situ, from the front - thinking my bonnet is going to need quite a bit of hacking around to get that plenum to fit, and the airflow meter and the air filter:D

Anyway, that little lot should be enough to keep you amused till next weekend, when I hope to have

a) done the return fuel line - meaning bent to shape, connected to fuel tank and "P-clipped" into place

b) got the fuel injection pipes connected to fuel line

c) got ecu and engine wiring into place

d) got the alternator mounted

e) maybe one or two other jobs too.

Detling KitCar Show in about 10 weeks!

Till next time

Simon

It's in, it's in, it's in...mostly

2009-02-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you know how today went - will be more tomorrow, but mostly pics.

First thing that I needed to do this morning was to get a new gasket for the oil pump cover remote take off.

Jump in car, drive to local (non franchised) Land Rover showroom/service and parts place) and ask if they have a gasket. Bear in mind this engine appears in about 80% of the vehicles they deal with, and ...no, they haven't got one!

Jump in car, drive to PWMC (local spares shop mentioned elsewhere on here) and see one of the folks in there. Ask if they have any gasket paper, to be presented with a roll of the stuff.

Paul then came over to give me a hand for the day, and once the pump cover had been swapped over and the return fuel line loosely fitted down tunnel, it was time to chuck in the engine. With a little wiggle here and there, and the removal of the LR positioned alternator and the water pump tensioner wheel (which won't be needed as alternator will be repositioned back to bottom left of engine), we eventually got the engine in the car.

Plenum sits a fair bit higher than old one (which had had about an inch machined off), so I'll have my work cut out over the next couple of weeks getting the bonnet modified (yet again!), sorting the plumbing and the wiring.

Then paint, MOT and tax and away we go.

As mentioned earlier, another post tomorrow which will be mostly pics.

Simon

New Dawn starts later.. like morning!

2009-02-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Last night (being Thursday, this being Saturday morning - with me so far!), I attached the flywheel and clutch to the new engine and removed the engine mountings from 3.9 engine.

This evening (being Friday:) I started cleaning up the remote filter housing ready for installation to new engine and guess what?

The pressure release valve was sticking. Needless to say, I'm quite relieved in a way that it was something simple. That solves the low pressure issue. Still, it's fairly irrelevant now, I'll just have to keep an eye on oil pressure. Cleaned it all up and ressembled it and it seems ok. Fingers crossed.

When the turbo engine goes into the next project, the chassis will be designed around it, so I can revert, for the most part, to standard production items - such as the orginal filter takeoff.

Anyway, I got the new engine home and it's sitting on the garage floor. First thing in the morning, I have to go and get a new oil pump gasket, then swap over the remote takeoff, drain engine oil and remove some of the useless bits of engine compartment ventilation and side mounted air filter housings.

I'll also need to get some "P-clips" and get the other fuel line in (going down the transmission tunnel, next to existing one) while engine is still out - no I haven't done it yet.

When that's all done, we (a friend is coming over to help) can get the engine in.

Then starts the wiring rehash, locating the ecu and airflow meter etc etc. I know I could use the Emerald, but I'm going to stick with the Land Rover bits as far as possible.

Anyway, won't say anymore, or there'll be no point reading the next exciting instalment.

Will there:D

Till tomorrow (or this evening, as the case may be)

Simon

Can't think of one!

2009-02-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

No progress on the car today - I wasn't expecting much, anyway.

Would say though, that all this activity is going on in a single car garage which is rather full up. Having the turbo engine lying around is creating problems - so this evening I knocked up a bogey (1 1/2" SHS frame, 1/2" ply sheet and some 2 1/2" wheels), so I can move the thing around.

Tomorrow, I'll get the old engine onto that, then I can move car onto driveway and give engine bay a though clean.

Next job is to get the return fuel line in and replumb the fuel lines in the boot (ie remove the pressure regulator as now surplus to requirements).

Also tomorrow, I'll try and get the auto box bits and pieces removed from the new engine so I can put on the flywheel and clutch. If I'm lucky the new flywheel bolts and spigot bush will arrive.

Need to order some stainless bends for exhaust. Aaargghhh, forgot that!

Then we should be ready for the big instal on Saturday morning. Need to be as engine crane has to go back Sat PM

Anyway, more tomorrow hopefully.

Simon

Few bits....

2009-02-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Just a very quick update!

Phoned Rimmer Bros today and ordered some flywheel bolts and a new spigot bush - not sure if that's actually required as I haven't taken the auto drive plate off the new engine yet, but for the sake of a couple of quid, decided it would be worth having.

It occurred to me this evening, after I'd removed the flywheel about the sense in getting a new thrust bearing and complete clutch. The old stuff seems in reasonable nick, so probably not worth the expense; or is it....

Time will tell I guess.

Also removed the take off plate for the Mocal remote filter assembly, which will also need to be transferred to the new engine, and while I'm at it, I removed the starter motor.

Tomorrow, well later today (being Tuesday already), I'm planning on removing the auto box parts from the new engine and going to finish cleaning the engine.

Anyway, that's it for tonight. More Wednesday hopefully.

Simon

Delays and ....... well, more delays

2009-02-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Right, last night (before I posted on here), I'd been in the garage looking at the car thinking hmmm, "Can I really be bothered?", knowing full well that if I'm to get the car back on the road, this is the only way forward.

So, knowing that last night, I made a gentle start - looking at what needed to be undone (bearing in mind that with the turbos, the engine was a bit wider than standard) and starting to undo manifolds, disconnect the ecu and remove wiring etc etc.

So, to today. The intention was to get up early, go for a swim then make a start.

In reality, I got up about 9.30, and was giving the idea of not going swimming some serious thought. Guilt eventually got the better of me, so off I went. And did about 50 lengths, without dieing, which was nice.

On the way home I popped into Paddock Wood Motorists Centre (been getting stuff from them since the early 80's!! and borrowed (alright, hired) their engine crane for the week. It's bloomin' heavy and the idea of putting it into and removing it from my car twice didn't appeal, so I got it for the week.

Then got home and wife made me go shopping with her and the boys, which ended up with us having lunch at the Nutmeg Tree in the Victoria Centre in T/Wells. Can't recommend the place enough (been having meals in there for about 8 years, and am always happy with service and food). Alas, I digress.

Eventually, got home and made a proper start, undoing offside exhaust manifold, disconnecting water feeds (more to allow easier access to other nuts and bolts), undoing oil feeds and undoing engine mountings (yes, after I'd attached the crane).

I then spent the next three hours trying to remove engine only to continuously find I needed to undo other things - and finding one bolt on belhousing I hadn't undone. Duh.

Anyway, it's out!

So now I have to clean up the engine compartment of oil, crap, dust and dirt and transfer clutch bits onto the new engine. Which reminds me, I need to get a new spigot bush and new flywheel bolts (from Rimmer Bros).

That's it for today, will post updates during the week.

Simon

Quick post - with pics. Aren't you lucky:D

2009-02-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

This is what I collected from the nice chap near Battle

And this is the important bit - just after I'd made a start degreasing - but having run out of degreaser/got cold etc etc. Most of the crap is off though. Might have to make some exhausts. Again!

I'm now going to go and start taking Deimos apart, so you might be lucky and have more pics tonight or tomorrow.

I forgot to say, and I'm sure you'll be over the moon to hear this; I bought a bicycle and got round to riding it to work this morning. It's only three miles, but about a mile is a 1/10 hill and the mile before is a gentle uphill gradient, so, if there's no more updates this weekend, it's cos I'm too knackered to do anything. Oh yeah, and I'm gonna swim a mile or so in the morning. Finally decided to do something about my couch potato tendencies:D

Till later, tomorrow or next weekend (when the new engine will be going in!!!!!)

Simon

A New Start, perhaps

2009-02-05T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let you know that I got my new engine last night. It's a 3.9l V8 from a 1994 Range Rover Classic (about 200bhp). It's done about 80,000 miles and has had the top end done.

I found it on ebay, having just flagged up about 15 Range Rovers that were potential donors, I came across an ad for, well, all the running gear (axles/box/transfer box, complete loom, ecu, pump - all I need and more).

Phoned the chap up, sounded nice enough, asked if he'd split as I only needed engine/ecu/loom and pump and he said he'd prefer not to. Anyway, I now have a load of stuff to sell - which, if I'm lucky will ensure I get the engine for not a lot. Maybe even free, which would be nice!

So, this weekend, it all kicks off. I'm going to try and remove the turbo'd engine, then swap over the flywheel and clutch assembly, move the alternator to the new engine (to the correct position), then plan on installing it the following week.

While the engine is out, I'll have a quick tidy up in the engine compartment, and get the other fuel line installed.

So, till then then, with pics hopefully.

Simon

Done it again...

2009-01-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

Nearly another month or so has passed and.........

I'm still no nearer getting the car back on the road, well, in its current state anyway.

I've had a major change or plan which, whilst I'm still up for the turbo idea, is proving to be a complete pita, so for the moment, I'm going to get a 3.9 and chuck that it, and get the twin turbo unit on the bench (have to make one first!!!) and have a rethink - probably single turbo mounted on the passenger side (but fed by all eight cylinders - in case you were wondering!).

It just so happens that, having spent the last month or so on the lookout for a complete Range Rover or similar - which were usually several hundred miles away, and untaxed/motless, I found a pleaseant chap fairly local who's broken a complete 3.9 RR that he was going to use for a project.

Needless to say, a quick call ensued and a "BIN" on the bay took place. Not only am I to get a 3.9 with ECU, loom, fuel pump etc etc - I will also have a load of RR running gear that I'll need to sell; a) as I don't want/need it and, b) will get some money back from.

So that's put me in a slightly more positive frame of mind - looks like I'll be busy next weekend:)

Anyway, if all goes to plan, some more updated next week, with pics and smiles and happiness all round:D

Till then.

Simon

Christams already!!!

2008-12-26T02:58:00.001-08:00

Can't believe it, it's nearly two months since the last post, and what's been achieved? Well, not much really. I have most of the stuff I need to get on with the car - to do the jobs recommended by Emerald's Dave Walker, but am still lacking enthusiasm, I guess I was hoping it would work ok ad I'd be on the road by now. Haven't even bothered to renew the road tax yet (SORN'd instead) as it may be a while before I'm ready. It also needs an MOT so...

First thing I need to do is get the mechanical bits sorted - first job is to find out why I have such low oil pressure, then get a return fuel line in, get pressure reg mounted up front, get the cage fixed in place and painted, get glass for screen etc etc.

After that, a bit of painting as I started "restoring" the arches at the front after I noticed how chipped they were, then the scuttle was glaring at me, then the rear arches.......

So, I may get around to starting this over the Christmas holiday - though I have the two boys to look after, and they take priority.

I've got the marshalling to oversee for the Sunbeam Motorcycle Club's Pioneer Run late in March, so I have three months to get above lot sorted, get car MOT'd/Taxed and back to Emerald so the mapping can be finished.

Will try and do some work and keep posting a little more frequent and regular.

Happy Christmas and great New Year to y'all:D

Simon.

A title, hmmm

2008-11-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

What can I say? I'm having trouble on the enthusiasm front at the mo. I'm working on the car in a single car garage, and it's full up. I have trouble doing anything in there and I'm getting slightly peeved by that and my inability to get on with car.

I thought I could sort my oil pressure prob out by putting in a higher value oil pressure relief spring, but (and after 3 hours !!!!) I managed to replace it, only to still have low oil pressure. Pump strip down next.

I've now decided that all the bodywork acyually looks very rough, so I've started preparing that for a repaint.

Anyway, just a short update. Catch you in a fortnight with some progress hopefully.

Cheers

2008-10-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

We set off about 6.40am this morning and got to Emerald about 9.40, so we were there early, which was nice.

Firstly we unloaded car from trailer and the young lad working there (John, I think) got it onto the rollers, strapped down and wired up.

Dave Walker introduced himself to me and friend Paul, then he ran through some simple checks to ensure all was well with ecu connections, noticing there was no water temp signal. That turned out to be a dodgy sender connector.

Then we got to the subject of fuel pressure reg and me mentioning that it was in the boot, and him mentioning what a dumb idea that was (job number one!!).

Anyway, the short of it is, it's been mapped to a point and best guessed beyond that and can be driven, but I need to investigate air leaks as he couldn't get tickover below about 1400rpm, we think the turbos were smoking when engine got to about 3500rpm (either that or it was spinning the wheels with two of us sitting on the boot.

So, I'm going to finish getting the cosmetic jobs, front roll bar in and painted etc etc and carry out Dave's recommendations while driving it around. I wanted to run engine last night, but couldn't get it started, so we had the exhaust wrap smoking away for a couple of minutes (which Dave photographed - for his amusement I suspect), then 10 mins after that, it blew a hot water hose off..............

To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed, but as Dave said, I've not had it running enough to start mapping so couldn't hope to find any teething troubles. I did take it up the road and it's a hell of a lot quicker than it used to be, and that was with 2 psi of boost and I want 10!!!

As a result the day ended early, I got sad and didn't take any vid or pics.

Anyway, it should be ok for me to drive there next time, so I'm going to start sorting the jobs out.

Will keep you updated.

What a day...

2008-10-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

We had friends over last weekend and I had had the car running (to check for water leaks and cos friend wanted to see it) and he noticed a burning smell. "Oil" I asked, "No, plastic" was the reply. "That'll be the plastic wiring convulted tubing then." I replied. So today I decided I ought to sought that out, which took most of the day.

I managed to get the bonnet partially sprayed yesterday (in white) and it looks awful, so I'm going to redo that part in matt black. The nosecone part will be red. Also managed to get bonnet/nosecone fixed to car at the front (hinges) and one of the rear overcentre catches. I'll do the other one evening this week.

Had another friend over this evening and we now appear to have brakes, which is helpful.

The engine side panels are fixed at the top, but I need to raise car to get the underside fixings done, and while I'm at it, I'll modify the sump guard and fix that back on.

Anyway, I'll be off for now and hopefully next weekend the car will be back on the road with a few minor jobs needing to be done, but I'll do those as and when. It's two years since I started this little conversion and I'm kind of losing patience with it:D

Till then and hopefully with dyno chart, and car on road vid:D

Later, as they say.....

Aaarrrghhhhh. Couldn't think of anything better!!!

2008-09-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

Right, what's happened in the fortnight since the last post....

Well, I think mechanically (engine at least) we're nearly there. I ran the engine this afternoon for a while and apart from a very very slight leak from a turbo union and a melted wire which had been touching a turbo all was well.

Need to connect the fan to the ecu and I nearly fitted the sidepanels but because of the wire prob, think some heat shielding may occur first....

The bonnet is nearly finished, but I have alittle prob, in that the people that supplied the paint before, no longer supply!!!. I have a bit of red left over, so will do the nose with that and the bonnet in matt black for the moment.

I was planning on having proper "tintop" style bonnet catches, but am now thinking traditional over centre catches are what I'm going to be time limited to, but hey ho!

Here's a pic of the car as it was this afternoon, though I subsequently managed to do about 4" of welding (out of about 40!), but it's a start...

I was also hoping to have more traditional headlight mountings, but I've been got by the inability of having the lights close enough, and being able to open the bonnet. Wider wishbones are required but not poss just yet.

Looking good, hey!

Anyway, here's pic with some lights!!!

The white bits are body filler.

And here's the vid.

Anyway, I'm going to look for some heat shielding, and maybe think about a rehash of the underbonnet wiring!

Hopefully in the next post, the car will be "finished". Why quotes, I hear you say. Well, you build a car and see if it's ever finished:), and the one after, will be it on the rolling road and maybe, just maybe, on the road itself. How exciting's that.

Till then, then!

Mapping getting closer and closer

2008-09-15T16:22:00.001-07:00

In the fortnight since the last post, I seem to have been busy, but not achieving much - hopefully all these little jobs I seem to be doing will gel, and I'll suddenly have a finished car:)

I got the Innovate thingy and welded the boss into the exhaust, but have decided to order another boss/bung for the other exhaust, so that should be with me tomorrow or Wednesday, hopefully. Then I can weld that in by the weekend, which will mean that the engine compartment side panels can be properly fixed on and the brakes can be reconnected. I've already refilled the cooling system. Then tighten a couple of sump screws as I have a leak from gasket, then on with sump guard.

I've nearly finished attaching the nearside exhaust to the rear hanger bracket. Well the hanger bracket is now bolted up, so need to drill a bit of plate, cut to size and screw together.

Most time is being spent on the front hoop trying to get the chassis mods, alright couple of bits of 5mm plate welded into place, which should happen this weekend, if not sooner. Then I can paint them and the lower half of the hoop. Then weld in the top bars and paint rest of hoop etc.

You may have noticed that there is a certain urgency all of a sudden. Well, car was booked in towards end of October for mapping. When I booked the session, I foolishly asked if they had a cancellation queue and could I go on it.

Today, I got the call I didn't want have offering me a date three weeks earlier than planned so yes, now there's a rush.

Once all the above jobs are done, it's just a matter of finishing the bonnet (2 - 3 hours), so in theory, we should be ok.

Anyway, best be off. More this weekend (with pictures!!) if plans come together.

Till then.

Been away, back to play!

2008-09-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Peeps,

Guess what? I had another holiday, this time down to (not damp but) definately dreary Devon.

Been going for many years and the weather's never been great, and the same could be said this year. Did manage to spend a couple of days on an overcast beach. Even went in the sea, which was nice (after I'd been in for a couple of minutes at least).

Anyway, as I've been away, I've obviously not done much to the car - apart fom purchasing and installing a turbo boost gauge!!!!!. I'm still on a bit of a high getting the comms problem sorted out.

This evening, I ordered an Innovate LC1 wideband Lambda sensor/controller thingy which I'm hoping will be here in a couple of days, then I can weld the bung into one of the exhausts (I know I should do them both, and I may yet!).

Naturally that means I can start trying to map my engine at home, but (big news!!!) I booked up with Emerald to get the car on their full mapping rolling road session which happens late next month. Exciting times ahead.

So, next, I need to finish tidying up the car (finish bonnet) and double checking all the wiring, plumbing, nuts and bolts as I want the day to go smoothly! Don't want any leaks or electrical gremlins on the day. If I can map to half sensible, I may drive around the block a few times.

Going to look at a boat tomorrow, and may take it for a test sail on Sunday, so maybe slow progress, but I'll try hard. A lot to do in seven weeks.

Hopefully pics of turbo gauge, Lambda installation, refitted side panels, reconnected brakes and a very nearly finished bonnet this weekend.

Till then.....

Okay okay, so it's Monday....

2008-08-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

How's that for a quick update (though his will be very short) , or as you might have gathered, I should've titled this page:

Good news, brill news and oops.

The good bit is that I managed to spend quite a lot of time on the bonnet and it's very nearly done.

The brill news is that following all the aggro I've had trying to get the ECU and laptop to communicate, having sent the unit back to Emerald (who checked and confirmed it was fine) and having done all they asked, and not having had the ecu on the car for 3+ months while I've been doing the bonnet, I decided to recheck the wire to one of the pins they said was essential for pc/ecu communications.

Looked at multiplug and yes, it was wired to pin 11, but for some strange reason I saw fit to disconnect said plug from ecu and check the other end............................

Ahhh, no connector - it kept slipping out, so last night I sorted that out and this evening plugged in the laptop and.............bingo. We have comms, so the mapping can start. Cool huh!

The oops is the bonnet, just managed to put a roll of kitchen tissue on some wet primer. Doh!

Anyway, said it would be short.

Later:)

A bit more!

2008-08-15T15:19:00.001-07:00

Right, bit brief t'other day, so thought I add a bit more.

The bonnet was made from the mould and, let's say, it didn't come out quite as well as I'd hoped, but it was done in a real rush!.

I have quite a lot of work to do on it, but it's just sanding and filling, fortunately the shape is ok. So, that's going to be a job for Sunday - I'll take it to work and use air sanders etc on it. I'm only intending to get it useable as I need to get the car mapped, so smooth will be fine with a coat of primer.

Last night I set bonnet the position and got the hinges in place, though they are only "glued" at the moment and need 'glassing in. Just need to do the rear catches, which will be like traditional bonnet catches as I'm trying to avoid "over centre" catches.

Quick word of advice - make sure you mask everything up, in my haste and having the inconvenience of a single car garage, I covered the engine and now I have wishbones, springs, steering gear and bodywork that all has overspray on. Most of it's coming off with thinners and I'm repainting as I go (it needed it anyway), but there's so much...... see pic below, to see what I mean.

I've bought a Turbosmart boost T which I have yet to instal, though it should be going in over the weekend.

Anyway, I took some pics earlier.. here's a good one showing why you should be careful when masking:)

Nearside turbo installation

Offside turbo installation, and yes I will be putting some sort of heat shielding around the steering column!

Finally, a pic of the car as it was earlier this evening. I'm quite pleased with the overall look.

If I get my way and can have a few hours on the bonnet on Sunday, and can finish cleaning/repainting chassis and can get the boost t in, I should be able to permanently attach the side panels, connect air filters and reconnect the brakes.

In theory that means I can drive it:)

Further update on Sunday if all goes according to plan (yes you know the one.... best laid plans or mice and men....).

Till then, then.

Another month. Already!!!

2008-08-10T11:39:00.001-07:00

Right, v quick post I'm afraid.

Bonnet has now been made, and needs a bit of finishing. I'll be able to attach side panels to engine this week, then reconnect brake pipes and bleed.

Next will be getting the legal bits done, like fitting headlights and indicators, then finally, off to Emerald for a sesh on their rolling road so it can be mapped.

In the meantime, here to entertain you:

Cool huh.

Anyway, like I said, short post, so till next time...

Time flies etc

2008-07-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I hadn't realised quite how quickly the time had gone.

One minute, I've just updated the blog, then two months have gone bye bye. Quite unbelieveable! So apologies to all you millions of watchers. Well, at least one anyway, who's only comment I don't intend to detail.

Well, what's been happening on the car. Let's see now.

Er well bonnet is now nearly nearly done. I'm just being a bit retarded in my ability to apply paint. Wouldn't think it'd be that difficult really, having already sprayed all the bodywork in a previous millenium.

I think the prob has been my lack of time to work on the car and impatience when I can, so when I paint, I paint; and paint and paint. Paint is quite thick, and cracks as it dries. Well it did last weekend, so I left it till Tuesday to dry a bit better. Last night I put on a thin coat of primer filler and did same again tonight. This is of course after I had what I thought was a finished surface. ready for polishing and moulding.

Still, hopefully this Sunday should see me at that stage. Hmm, I'm moulding the bonnet regardless, any imperfections will be dealt with in the mould and the new bonnet.

Hopefully, I'll mould it Sunday, leave for a week, lay up new bonnet the folllowing Sunday and remove that from mould the Sunday after. New bonnet on car by end of July. Promise (but fingers crossed!

Anyway; pics, I'm sure that's all you really want to see, so the following should give you a good idea on how the bonnet looks, but you can't see the cracked paint, so it won't matter. You'll also notice the front roll hoop/windscreen frame is nearly sorted, couple more tweaks and I can weld that up too. It's going to be bolted in, and welded to the rear hoop (which is also bolted in) and theoretically, it should be removeable. There will be two top bars that connect front to rear, a cross piece in the area below the screen and side bars between front and rear. I had all the tubes bent by Anvil Tubesmiths near Seddlescome for a very reasonable price, and nice quick service (2 days)!!

I think the lines are much better than the old. The scoops on top are for the intercoolers. Side exits will be cut into the new bonnet.

Here's side view (nah, really!!)

In this pic you can see the drastic measures I taking to aid cooling. The main panel is outset by three inches. The black bit also has a hole behind it allowing air in, directly towards the turbos. The forward facing scoops (both side panels are the same) have the air filters behind them. What you can't see, though I was hoping you could, is the vent in top of bonnet behind the rad, another cooling aid.

Once front hoop is in and the bonnet is on, I've got to get it on the rolling road to get engine running correctly, then I can use it. Next steps will be tidying car up and thinking about the new diff I have. Ratio is somewhat less than current one (2.88 compared with 3.92) so gearing should improve, and so should economy. I see now reason why 45mpg might not be possible:) Might put a diesel in it next:D

Anyway, I'm going to have a nice cup of tea and some of the rather large bar of Galaxy I got for my birthday.

I'll try and post a bit more regularly, even if not much has happened, though as you might have gathered, I'm expecting to do quite a lot over the next fortnight.

Cheers for now.

Another day, another post!

2008-05-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd just post to show you the days work on the bonnet/nose.

I managed to get a good few hours on the car today so am reasonably pleased with the progress:)

Just to give you an idea of the amount of work I've been doing (and trying to justify the amount of time it's taken), this is a pic of the bonnet before I started doing any of the mods.

Underneath that huge scoop are the carbs. It wasn't what I wanted but was more a necessity. That was the first thing to go, so we ended up with this. You'll notice that I've already started playing around with the plenum.

As I wasn't sure what I wanted, but knew what was needed, I ended up with this monstrosity about a year ago, and till last week, this is how the bonnet looked. Now you see why I decided to leave it for a while!

With the intercooler scoops as eyes, the plenum cover as a nose, and the (just visible) radiator vent, it looked badly like a face. Something needed to be done, so....

...off with the intercooler scoops and "nose" over plenum. I also removed the polystyrene bits I was using to widen the lower front of the nosecone - either side of the radiator. Anyway, I had a brainwave and used some steel mesh as a former, which I gradually folled with filler to give me...

I'm aiming for a smooth look, and as you can see in the nest pic, I think I might succeed.

I now "just need to" ( yeah right) get the same finish on the other side (not far off), and figure out how I'm going to cover the intercoolers. Once that's done, it's a matter of finishingall the edges then sanding/painting/sanding polishing to get a really nice finish so I can mould it. After that, it'll be to make a new bonnet, paint and fit, by which time ecu should be in and working, then we'll be off.

I'm hoping to do some work on it in the evenings and next Sunday (finish??????), so, no more till then I'm afraid.

Gotta go!

Simon

Still no ecu, but hey, I've started the bonnet!

2008-05-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's my failings in the computer world, though I have to admit I do despair at times.

I've decided that my level of competance has dictated I return the ECU to Emerald for them to check over, though I'm sure it's fine. When that comes back, I may have to "phone a friend" from Locostbuilders who's kindly offered to bring his laptop over.

While that's away, I thought I'd make a start on the bonnet, as this is very nearly the last part of the jigsaw, aside of mapping the engine.

When I first started this project, I'd started modifying the bonnet without having any of the mechanical work done, which meant that I didn't know where intercoolers would be, nor the plenum etc, so when I started again last week, I had to pull off all the changes I'd made to the bonnet, as a) it looked crap, and b) well, see a).

It's amazing how having a year between certain jobs where originally you struggle to visualise how you want something to look, and how bad it turns out, to starting again, and getting a decent result in a tenth of the time.

Anyway, you're out of luck if you think I'm going to post pics of what it looks like as of today, because it really does look like a work in progress, but (and it's a very big but like what's the weather going to be like tomorrow) I have a whole day on it tomorrow, which should be all it takes.

In the meantime, here's a couple of pics I took last weekend so I could make up a front rollbar template (with 2" drainpipe). No, you're not seeing that either. I may go and see someone about that next week. They can can it out of something a bit stronger:)

Damn, it's got the rollbar on it, and pics of the bonnet:)

I made those nice shiny exhausts from stainless steel, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, I'm off cos I want an early night so I can get on with car tomorrow.

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzsimon

Just an update!

2008-04-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

I'm still having issues getting the ECU and laptop to communicate, which I suspect is down to the laptop. I'm going to get my old desktop PC out of retirement tomorrow and try that. If it works, I'll buy another laptop (maybe). The alternative is to send the ECU back and have them check it out. Might even send them the laptop too!

Going to the Detling kitcar show tomorrow, so may try and buy a few things - I particularly want/need and Innovate LC1 wideband sensor so when I do get comms between ECU/laptop, I can start getting Air/Fuel mixtures a bit more accurate.

Tomorrow, I have decided will be the day that I start redoing the bonnet. The intention was to include glassfibre scoops on the bonnet for the intercoolers, but to spped things up. I'm going to make them from ally, and rivet them to the i/c's and they'll just have to stick through the bonnet. I did have the mad idea of attaching a small pressure vessel (with slow pressure release) in the wastegate actuator lines to power pressurised intercooler sccops. The idea being the when boost went up, scoops would go up, and as boost went down, the scoops would come down slowly, venting from the pressurised vessel. But I haven't got time for that at the mo.

I've still got the oil leak, but have found this is coming from the oil union on the turbo, so really needs to be fixed asap and before engine is run in anger. Fortunately, should be just a case of tightening a bolt.

Anyway, I'm off for a nice cup'o tea. Keep your fingers crossed, there may be a vid soon!

Till the next time

Simon

Big Smug Grin, but more later

2008-04-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Right, yet again, it's been a while, but that's what happens in research and development:)

Anyway, ah yes, just had to have a look at the last post to see where we were up to.

I think this may be a long post, quite a lot of progress has been made and I reckon we could well be on the road within two or three weeks. If all goes according to plan.

And we know what happens to people who say that sort of thing.

To start with, some pics.

This is a picture of the engine as it was about a week ago, before I rehashed the wiring to the coil packs (which I don't think you've seen yet - they're mounted on a bracket to the left (as you look at pic) of the water pump). I'd decided that the wires I was using for the coil packs where far too large, so ripped them out and used smaller ones! You'll also notice the lack of HT leads. This proved to be a bit of a headache as a direct result of a lack of knowledge. You see, the Rover V8 had a coil and spark plugs. Go into any spares shop and ask for a set of leads for a Rover V8 and that's what you'll get. Ask for some leads for a Rover V8 that go into a Ford coil pack, and you'll get a blank look. Anyway, I found out, after much toing and froing that you buy ordinary HT leads, pull the coil end rubbers off and stick on an adaptor. Easy. So yes, I have HT leads.

I'd decided that I wanted a more direct route for the top water hose, so had been making a new thermostat housing out of stainless. Well that turned into a right pita, so looked at the Rover item, looked at some scrap ally tube I had, and an idea formed in my head!

Tried the tube on the engine side of housing, perfect fit. Chop down housing so it becomes a flange and insert ally tube. Next I need a fitting therein for rubber hose to connect to, so chop up the remaining outlet for the same, and lo and behold it fits in ally tube (with a bit of turning down). Solder all together, and hey presto. If it fails, I'm going to mould and cast in ally as a single piece. In my hurry, I forgot to put the thermostat in, but that should only take 5 minutes:)

I welded up a couple of stainless ally bends together to give me the rest of the hose.

Gotta apologise for the quality of the next pic, it's a bit blury, but it shows the new alternator mounting bracket that I knocked up. It looks a bit Heath Robinson, but hey, it does it's job. I may even cast one of them in ally at some point.

It should mean that by bonnet profile will be a bit more flexible - ie, I'll have more space under the bonnet.

I finally got round to wiring in the fuel pressure regulator. This is a job I really hadn't been looking forward to doing as it meant I'd have to test the fuel lines. Petrol at 30 - 40 psi I find a scary prospect. Especially when there's what may eventually be two red hot exhausts and glowing turbos no more than two feet either side of the pipe!

Once wired in, I took the plunge and turned on the fuel pump.

Nothing, just lots of whirring. Strange I thought! Anyway, check that fuel was coming from tank to filter, fine, but nothing getting to fuel rail. Hmmm. Check wiring on pump. Ahhhh. Put feed to +. Rewired and tried again.

Don't know why I was worried about fuel lines. Check fuel pressure, and it was about 120psi and pump was starting to struggle. Tried several times and finally got it down to more reasonable 40psi. Still, now I know I have a saftey factor of three reducing to about 2.5 at 1 bar boost pressure. I'm happy with that, though will of course check security of fittings regularly.

The next pic is for all of you who are wondering what I'm doing about air filters. Well, this is my brainwave. I know a cold air supply is desirable, so how about this. The air filters are mounted in the side panels, with a scoop over them. Yes, I have thought they may get flooeded, and I'm thinking about that at the moment. Scoops are vented at the rear, so that may be sufficient. I may just bolt a deflector to the wishbones. There is an ally sheet "box" on the other side if the panel with ally tube ducting to the turbo inlet - can just be seen between panel and coilpack mounting. I might work, though I suspect I may need to get something a little more flexible to go between the two. If you're wondering what the filters are, they're Scooby Impreza jobbies. Replacement filters from Halfords for about a tenner each. If one is good enough for a 200bhp Impreza, two should be plenty for my hoped for 300bhp.

Next job on the list was bascially connect the ECU to the loom and the laptop to the ECU and try and start the car.

Connected everything together, and got no signal from the ECU to the laptop. Contacted Emerald who recommed I try a couple of things (check wiring to ECU and that crank sensor was close to trigger wheel (TW)). Well, I didn't have power to one of the pins, and I sorted out the bracket for TW sensor. Again, I still can't connect to the PC, but I turned the engine over and I started firing. Hell, I'm going to keep going, and see what happens.

IT RUNS.

Badly I'll admit, but I really don't care at the moment. Once started, it ticks over. Starting takes a good few turns as I think cold start enrichment needs looking into, but I think prime need is to set the ignition as it's not been set yet. Getting a bit of turbo whine, which is nice. Also got a couple of leaks that need sorting.

I'm going to order a Boost Tee from Turbosmart today and set that to about 12 - 14 psi, and an Innovate LC1 wideband Lambda sensor/controller.

Got to add how thoroughly impressed I am with the service from Emerald.

Anyway, as you can guess, I'm as happy as a happy person.

Hopefully, next post will have some pics of the progress on the new bonnet, which I have yet to start, and which WILL be done very quickly. By end of April at latest.

I'm also starting to think about my next project, which will be done for a grand:)

For those interested, the Detling Kitcar show is 12/13 April, and I hope to be there for at least an hour or two.

Speak soonish

Simon

Doesn't time fly.....

2008-03-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Thousand apologies - I didn't realise it had been so long since the last posting.

Unfortunately, not a great deal to report at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I have done a few bits and pieces like fitted one of the exhaust brackets, seen in previous post. Why one, well car is on axle stands and ramps (so I don't have to bend down too far to work on engine), and the nearside (left) is against the wall and there's shelving in the way.....basically I can't get to the other.

I've also removed the distributor and replaced with my modified one, and as a result, I've decided to relocate the alternator to the lower left side on engine. Currently working on the bracket for that, but it'll be based on the power steering pump bracket that it's replacing.

I've also replaced the crankshaft pulley with the new one (with toothed wheel), and modified and fitted the supplied bracket for sensor.

Getting the old pulley nut off was slightly challenging - I bent the bar supplied with my socket set, so stuck a bigger bar over that. This made bending other bar easier, so I borrowed an impact wrench. That failed miserably, so I stopped at local tool shop, bought new 24mm socket and when I got to work, got some 1 1/4" 10 swg steel pipe and welded a length to the socket, and a cross piece for a handle.

Got it home, locked the pulley, and gave new tool a turn. No problemo:)

Fitted the fuel pressure regulator and associated plumbing in the boot and got some small hose to connect to the plenum. Needed to make an adaptor for the plenum so I could take a two vac/pressure hoses out - one each for fuel reg and the map sensor.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have the alternator mounting made by (and fitted over) the weekend so that will be, more or less, all mechanical modifications done (apart from the new thermostat housing I'm making - always something else!!!).

If that's the case, I'll get some snaps and put them here so you can have a laugh.

Finally, we got a new daily driver as I couldn't justify the expense of the ZT260 as well as toy car, much as I liked it. Anyway, bought a Renault Grand Espace and very nice it is too.

Anyway, to quote Tigger, TTFN

Simon

Some pics for your gratification

2008-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Right, just a quick update with a couple of pics.

I finally managed to finish welding up the stainless exhaust brackets and making them look ok. I'm not overly concerned with aesthetics as they will not really be seen; more concerned that they do their job!

I also mentioned yesterday that I'd put up a pic of the finished remnants of the distributor.

You've already seen the cut down version, well this one has an ally cap on (to keep the dirt out). The cap was made from an offcut of 2" diameter bar, chucked(!) in lathe and turned down.

I've managed to get it so it had to be heated (over gas flame) to expand it slightly then slipped over end of dizzy. Left to cool and it's a nice tight fit! Pleased with that.

I'm going to be selling my tintop so I can look for a diesel van with windows (probably an Espace, maybe a Galaxy depending on who comes up with the right deal), so we'll be down to one car

"Unless I get toy car back on the road." says I.

"Go on then!" says swmbo

So I'm guessing that is permission to get it finished - which means I might get some done tomorrow (well later today).

You should find out tonight!!!

Bye for now.

2008-02-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

As you may have guessed there has been a distinct lack of progess this last week and a bit, though today I did cut the stainless for the exhaust hangers.

I've had the ss lying around at work for the last year of so, and have kept on thinking "must do that, must do that".

I've had it work for the very reason that I could cut it out and linnisher one day and weld up the next, but as usual, I've been too busy or too tired most of the time. Today, as we've just completed a fairly urgent order, I packed up an hour or so early and got on with them. I'll be welding them up tomorrow so may stick a pick or two up.

The original exhausts (see pic to the top left) were made from mild steel and even though I prep'd them thoroughly and painted them (heatproof paint, following instructions) they started rusting very quickly. The exhausts have now been replaced with polished stainless jobbies that I a) made and, b) polished. The hangars were also originally made from mild (3mm) and after about a 1000 miles one had broken, the other split half way through, so the new ones are 5mm stainless. I have heard that ss may suffer with fatigue, but I'm hoping that as the new ones are thicker and much, much stronger that they won't flex, and therefore crack.

Nearly forgot, I managed to turn a lump of ally down to fit over the top of the remnants of the distributor which by either luck or talent was heated then a shrink fit. Looks nice, so I'll put up a piccy of that too.

Anyway, gotta go. You may be lucky and get two posts over one weekend.

Fingers crossed!

Hmm. Best laid plans, and all that

2008-01-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I'd been hoping to get a bit of time on the car over the weekend, but things just didn't work out that way.

Got up a bit later than expected today, having got to bed a bit later than expected last night, then had to go shopping.

I'd been thinking of going to the Model Engineering Exhibition at the Ally Pally today (it was on yesterday, too) but decided against it, as I'd only spend money (and time) that could be better used elsewhere.

Anyway, I've been watching a programme on Information TV called The Painting and Drawing Channel (see www.paintingdrawingchannel.co.uk or www.saa.co.uk) and have decided I'd like to have a go at painting. Now, unfortunately for me, I can't draw for toffee, but I still managed to spend a couple of quid (that could have been better used elsewhere!!!) on materials etc. No wonder Artists charge so much for their work, have you seen the price of paints!! I may have to try using a couple of gallons of Dulux instead. Fortunately, I have a friend who offered me a "how-to" session as he's quite good:), so I think I'll take up his offer. Just need to find the time. Just need to find some subject matter. We have a very old bridge which should be a challenge as it's set in a steepish valley so greenery, trees, water, brickwork, and maybe a bit of sky too. Who know, I may add a surfer to the background just for a laugh.

Anyway, got back from shopping and decided I'd have a tidy up in the garage, as it was getting to the stage where I was having to step over things, and still not touch the floor.

I've got a Jag IRS (2.88/1.00 f/d ratio) which I'm going to either have to get rid of, store elsewhere or flog as it's big, heavy and in the way. I originally bought it for Deimos but have been persuaded by people who know better than me to use something else. Who knows, I may have to build that T bucket I've always wanted.

The Jag unit has been replaced a BMW diff (2.28/1.00) which will be going in, though I may "pre-make?" the rear subframe, so when I'm ready it'll simply be a matter of unbolting prop and uprights, cut out old, weld in new. Sounds simple, but that'll probably be another two year "winter project".

What I have noticed on the car, is that I'm going to have to remove the steering rack to get the crank pulley off. Not a major job, but could have done without it. Still I might be able to leave steering arms in place, and just undo rack. I don't need much more space.

Anyway, I'm off, just got to pop out for a couple of minutes, then I may get to the garage.

I haven't forgotten, don't panic!

2008-01-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd better let you know I haven't forgotten about the blog, it's just that not much has happened.

I think I managed to clean out all the tissue paper from the ports - using a mechanics grabber.

I've just "done" the wiring for the coil pack - done used loosely as it still needs finishing, but all wires are in respective brackets. The coil packs need a home somewhere in the engine compartment, and I'm currently thinking that'll be towards the front, but (obviously!!) behind the rad.

I've more or less finished the ecu loom and am currently trying to decide where to put the ecu. It needs to be dry (so not under the seats as car has tendency flood when it rains!) and away from the high temps of the engine compartment. That means probably bolted to bulkhead, under the scuttle.

I've set myself a target to speed things up (I've already renewed my road tax and as of today wasted £6.89 (14/366ths of £180, for those interested:)). Anyway, the car needs to be on the road, and tested for a week or two by the 9th March as I'm organising (with a friend) the marshalling for the Pioneeer Run (veteran m/cycles London to Brighton) from Pease Pottage services to Pyecombe Roundabout and it'd be nice to have toy car for that.

Anyway, gotta go the wife has just made me a nice cup of nice. Aren't I lucky!

More at the weekend hopefully.

Lack of progress - forecast

2008-01-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to try and clear some of the tissue from the three cylinders that it's visible in .

Firstly I tried a piece of stainless wire, with a small sharp hook bent onto the end. That was boring and slow. Next up was petrol. Everyone likes a big bang, so I found an old syringe (used for measuring hardener for glassfibre resin actually) and squirted some fuel down the driver's side cylinders.

Got a long length of piano wire, wrapped a piece of masking tape to the end, lit it and using this, lit the fuel vapour in cylinders.

Had some very, very loud bangs. Unfortunately (in this case), petrol tends to burn very quickly, so didn't seem to have much effect on the tissue.

I also tried chucking petrol in all the pots, putting plugs back in, leads on and spinning it over, but I think I still have the inlet tracts blocked on the rest of the cylinders, as it didn't want to fire properly.

And so, the reason for the title hereof, I think I'm going to have to wait till the weekend, and strip the inlet manifold off (and interoolers etc) and get out what I can from the other end. I may even get a blowtorch. I will not be taking the heads off.

So, from me, till possibly Saturday evening....

Wish me luck

Success and, oh *%^&$&%^&

2008-01-01T16:28:00.001-08:00

Yep, one of those days. Started off reasonably well, got up late (still recovering), and popped into work where I had a spare distributor and crank pulley, which I picked up.

Had lunch then we went into town to get some bits and pieces (me: nuts and bolts/her tv for the kitchen). Anyway I succeeded, she didn't:)

Got home and decided I'd make a start on getting the crank pulley modified for the trigger wheel. Having read in various places about using a lathe to skim off a couple of thou here, another couple there, I wasn't particularly looking forward to it.

Anyway, this is a pictorial history of how it went. Start off with one reasonably new pulley

And take it apart. Note the lack of lathe work required!

Then remove the rear section as a) it's surplus to requirements and b) it's where the trigger wheel is going to go.

Then figure out where you want trigger wheel to line up (I used a couple of 5mm spacers to bring it away from the rest of pulley, as recommended), and bolt it all together.

The other job I set myself to do was cut down the spare distributor. I'm going to use coil packs for ignition so the dizzy becomes redundant for sparking purposes BUT, the dizzy is driven by the camshaft, and the oil pump is driven by the dizzy, so it can't be lost completely. It just has to be reduced in size.

Take one distributor

Remove cap and innards, then cut off most of what's not required

Can't leave it looking as rough as that, so remove oil pump drive from bottom, pull out inner shaft, and shorten (the bit sticking out, on right side), turn for 10 minutes in lathe, and hey presto:

Just need to make a cap, which I'll do after I sort out the "Oh *%^&$&$%&".

This you really don't need to know about. Well, you do, but I don't want to tell you for no reason other than it's so embarrassing.

Doing engine work, cleanliness is rather good. So, when you have an inlet manifold, with all ports pointing up, you get a bit concerned about stuff falling in.

So you put tissue or rag in the holes.

Some time later, you decide that as you need to get tdc on engine and you want to turn engine by hand, it would be a good idea to remove the plugs.

Imagine one's surprise coming upon tissue paper in the cylinder bores. The engine still turns over freely, so I'm guessing nothing has jammed up.

So tomorrow, well later today, I take a hooked piece of (softish) wire and start fishing it out, then get the vacccum cleaner, then a bit of petrol and a match (maybe!).

Wish me luck:)

2007-12-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

Bit of a lack of progess over the last couple of days as eldest boy had his birthday so we all went bowling, which was a bit of a laugh, and I've been had by a bug that seems to have laid up quite a few people over the festive period. Quite amusing that I caught a bug shortly after seeing I Am Legend (which I'd recommend to everyone).

I've nearly finished rewiring the loom and have just received an email from Emerald explaining to a simple sole like me how the trigger wheel is fitted.

The throttle potentiometer is nearly attached - just need to replace a bolt that got lost, and I managed to fit the MAP sensor to the bulkhead. The connection to the plenum will be sorted out in the next day or so hopefully. This connection will be shared with the fuel pressure regulator.

I'm hoping I have a spare crank pulley lying around somewhere. If so it'll mean I can look at fitting the trigger wheel to that; making that part of the build a simple replacement, rather than remove, markup, modify and reattach.

Anyway, there you go, first post of 2008. May it bring health, wealth and happiness to us all.

2007-12-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

One of the jobs I'm not really looking forward to is modyfing the Rover injection loom. For starters, half the wires are not required, most will have the wrong "ends" on the them, then there is the resistor pack for the injectors. Being an old type injection set up, the injectors are low resistance (meaning about 2.5 Ohms, compared to around 15 Ohms). This in itself is not a problem, until (if like me and are fairly clueless as to how injection works) you try and figure out how they work. One Rover loom:

From what I can make out the injectors are (when ignition is on) always live, but only when the ECU earth the circuit do they actually do anything, rather than current being supplied by the ecu, and earthing elsewhere on the other side of the injector circuit.

Anyway, this afternoon, I've mostly been trying to mount the air temperature sender. This needs to be in the plenum to give a true reading. Don't forget turbos can heat the compressed air considerably, so sender has to be engine side of intercoolers. Also managed to sort out the throttle position switch, which involved making a piece up connect switch with throttle butterfly.

I didn't really want to take the plenum and all the gubbins that goes with it off; so on the offside the are several screw in parts that were originally used for brake servo vacuum etc. I took one of the hollow bolts out, drilled and tapped, then shortened both threaded part and bolt head so my sender pokes through into clear air. It looks as if a certain Heath Robinson Esq was involved, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

This is all that's left of the Rover loom - the resistor pack and injector wires. I also need to include the air temp sendor, map sensor, water temp (will use Rover jobby), throttle position sensor (potentiometer).

That big black thing on top of the engine is the intercooler - don't worry, it'll be fully ducted.

This here is a pic (centre fitting) of the air temp fitting crafted earlier today. It's airtight so we should be ok!

Here's a couple of pics of the layout - this one is obvioulsy from the front of the car and you can see that the plenum is now rear entry rather than the previous efforts. The intercooler is connected to the back, with air entry to each side:

This is the offside turbo - you can see how tight it is - I've had to run of of turbo air pipes round a chassis diagonal. This may require additional engine bracing if air pipe keeps getting knocked off. The steering column will have heat protection - the exhaust will be wrapped, and there may be a heat shield with dedicated cold air feed. Not sure yet.

I've had to do some fairly drastic mods to the bodywork to cover the above, and as there will be a lot of heat, had to be creative in methods of dissipation. The whole panel has been moved out at rear by about 3". The front side scoop has one of the air filters under it - same for other panel. This pretty much guarantees cold air for engine.

Anyway, got to go!

2007-12-29T05:56:00.000-08:00

Had to call Emerald a day or so back as I decided that the throttle position sensor I was going to use (of the original Land Rover or SD1) , was a going to be inconvenient to use as I'd have inconsitent wiring colours. I also needed an air temperature sensor, which I'd omitted in my original order.

Turns out ordering the TPS was the right thing to do, as no sooner had I started comparing the two potentiometers, two of the wires in the old unit came adrift where they enter the unit rendering it useless. It's also now one less thing to cause concern for possible breakdowns in the future:)

Anyway, here's a pic of the dual entry manifold I made. You can see the throttle linkage on the far side. I would have needed to make another for top left of pic which need to be liked. Nightmare!

This is what the general layout was going to look like:

I didn't use the Rover manifolds either - they were from a P6, but turbos were too low - hitting the lower chassis rails and not enough drop from the the turbo oil drains to the sump.

Ended up making some from Schedule 40 butt weld tube. It's about 4mm thick 316 stainless, so should be more than up to the job.

I add a few more pics over the next couple of instments, just to bring you up to date. Gotta go now, need some heatshrink, and swimbo's just got back from shopping.

Deimos Evolution

2007-12-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hi,

A quick intro, then more about what this blog is all about!

My name is Simon and I live in the South East of England with the wife, two sons and a couple of cats.

This blog is all about the evolution of Deimos, my toy car (if you're wondering where the name came from, it's the name of one of Mars' moons, and it means "panic", appropriate I thought). Deimos was started on the 6th July 2002 based on the plans and ideas set out in Ron Champion's book "Build Your Own Sportscar for £250". Ok, so the budget didn't quite work out, but the car did.

If you're unfamiliar with the book, I'll tell you it's about building a Lotus 7 style car without the Caterham type budget. The book has drawings, pictures and suggestions (based on several cars built by the author) for getting your own car on the road.

Now, there is no way I could afford to justify another expense to the wife of say a new Caterham, Westfield or Dax Rush, much as I'd like one sitting in my garage. However, the cost of building a car over three years with the annual price of a golf club membership might be possible.

Anyway, to move things on a bit quicker, I bought the book, got a donor and stripped it over a weekend. Bought 40+ metres of 16swg steel tube, an 8' x 4' sheet of mdf for building on, and on 2/7/02 starting cutting and welding. I had a rolling chassis in a fortnight, and on 3rd January 2006the car was registered and legal. It had cost slightly over £3,000 and that included all the legal costs (ie the SVA test and retest, insurance and a year road tax) and a couple of things I bought that were wrong or rubbish!.

Now, in the best traditions of people who like nothing more than to get something that works perfectly fine, working finer(!), I decided that the car needed more power (it has a 3.5l Rover V8 engine, LT77 gearbox and Sierra based (3.92:1 diff/driveshafts; homemade 'bones and uprights).

So in the April of 2006, I acquired a pair of KKK 03 turbos (from an Audi S4, the owner had upgraded to KKK 04, a popular mod I gather), a pair of Renault 5 GT Turbo interccolers, an injection plenum, manifold, fuel rails, injectors, loom, ECU, some stainless steel for new exhuast system etc etc.

On the 16th October 2006, I made a start by cutting a bllody great hole in the bonnet as somehow, I'd need to replace the SU carbs with the injection hardware.

After the hole was cut, all the non injection bits and pieces were removed and replaced for trial fitting. Bear in mind the Rover plenum and manifold is actually quite tall, and I didn't want too much sticking throught the bonnet.

After much umm ing and rrr ing, I decided it was way too tall and with the help of a friend machined about 1/2" from manifold, same from plenum base and 1/4" from plenum.

Those in the know also know that the plenum is side entry and I decided was also unacceptable, so acquired a second plenum. During a moment of madness, I made a dual entry manifold - one each side, but decided a) it was massive, b) didn't allow room for intercoolers, c) found out someone else had done the same thing, and was having trouble getting it runniing right abd finally d), decided that the throttle linkage would be an absolute nightmare.

In the end I made up a rear entry unit.

I then took the two intercoolers apart and joined them together to make a large dual entry, single exit intercooler. This is mounted to the rear of the plenum, with both inlets slightly downturned toward the turbos.

The turbos themselves are attached to homemade stainless manifolds and are connected to the rest of the exhaust. The oil and water feeds/returns are in and connected up, though I have a slight leak on one of the oil feeds, so I'll have to replace the pipe before I run it properly.

That's as far as I've got so far suffice to say that the next few instalments will be about me trying to wire up the new Emerald ECU and finally getting it running again. The six week project is now into its 14th month:)