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...

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!!!

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

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!

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....

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!

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.