Dashboard work...again

So the dashboard is coming on well. I'm very happy with the shape, it has a more natural feel to it.

I've sprayed parts black to help me find holes and high / low points. Below is how it currently looks

The next two bits to do are;

* Make a dial surround that also fits over the key hole.
* Fix new demist vents on top of dashboard.

I'm taking a new approach to the demister to lower the amount of piping. I will bond the below under the dashboard where the  the vent holes are.

I will then get both outlets to join under the dashboard and then go into this channel which will then feed out of two vents. The piece about is 660mm long so will fit fully across the dashboard.

After the above 2 pieces are done. I will look into starting the flocking.

work has started (interior)

So first of all I got one last local meet in before the end of September and the weather changed. the cool evening air gave a nice crispness and punch to the engine as well.

So within a few days I was on to the job at hand...the interior. I'm in no rush to do this and will do it right rather then fast. So previously I had ordered my new seats. The criteria was I wanted small ones in terms of height and width and also reclining. Reclining was simply because there was a small amount of space behind the seats but with a fixed seat you simply cant get in there. With a reclining a hand luggage suitcase would fit or other bags you may want to put in out the way.

Luckily these were also one of the cheapest seats as well, which is rare to happen. The comfort of them compared with my current ones is like night and day so I'm very happy. They raise the seating position a little but I can counteract this by removing the carpet and sound deadening from underneath the mounting points so there will be little difference but more comfort, the seats also feel like they hold well for their shape.

so I test fitted one of the chairs, you can see even though they are the smallest reclining seat I could find there is little difference in size but they are slightly smaller, in theory they will probably be easier to get into as well.

So on to the interior and it came out easily enough, as I took it all out the dust from the bodywork was everywhere so ive done a fair bit of cleaning already and then moved on to tidying the new wires I had added once on the road. (tv screen, electric door opening).

Since then I've been measuring areas of the interior to start designing the new centre console between the chairs.

what's been happening since

Well I got the car home and solved the lack of boost problem. This was the offending piece which must of fallen off so a spare sourced.

Such a small piece such a lack of power!

Since then I've been using the car a fair amount and one thing I wanted done was for the car to be badged which I forgot to mention in the last update. So I had laser cut some badges which I made in CAD. I really like the design I then sprayed them black and fitted them. Just to the front at the moment.

So with the continued driving I've hit 1200miles done. The first 150miles were with the headgasket issue and testing so its now been a 1000miles engine trouble free and niggles. Im running higher boost and the car is performing well.

Ive had a loose connection on the lights and a couple of other bits but nothing major so I've been able to run my focus back on to the fun stuff...how the car looks! the rear for me has never been that good ive not been happy since day 1 when I finished it but was small on the scale of work I had to do.

However my exterior rear plans are;

* change rear lights to LED design
* Rear wing - interchangeable - maybe even actuator controlled as not difficult to do
* Rear look...full stop

So I've started working on various light designs which there will be many more updates on as i try different LED's and styles, however one thing for me was to make the middle part between the two matt black light cubby holes also matt black. But how. so I choose plasti dip, its basically a sprayable black rubber paint. People spray whole cars in it, which is fine if you want a matt finish, gloss I don't think looks good. So I gave it a go.

It came out really well, it can be hard to pull the masking tape off without pulling more of the black off than you want but I can improve my technique. the bets bit is it will just peel off when I don't want it anyone. I would actually recommend using the stuff to people it works well. I warmed the can up first in water which stops large blobs flying out, a good tip for normal spray paint as well.

I'm still not sure whether to keep the exhaust where it is or more it back down to the bottom like a normal car but its going to be a fun winter sorting out the exterior....and of course redoing the whole interior!

I'm still learning...

So since the last update I've had a nice drive in the countryside and a couple more test runs as I raise the power.

The power is rising nicely but tends to drop off before the redline with this engine, although holds the boost. I'm still not up to 1bar and at about 0.7bar currently so slowly getting there, but I keep getting boost spikes to 0.95bar, which is fine but not once I raise the boost as the spike will rise as well, so I need to sort that first by adjusting the boost controller settings.

The coilovers are still leaking and actually the top mount centre bolt on one came loose due to all the banging going on. I'm still sourcing new ones which I hope to fit soon as that should improve the ride, i see ever hole and wait for the Bang!

As well as that just before the Wilton show mentioned previously I was rushing to fit the exhaust and didn't do a good job...it fell off... then was ran over. So I've just finished replacing it.

I then went to a local meet and a new issue showed up the clips that hold the headlight unit on one unit wasn't strong enough and kept popping off. Called Carbuildersolutions and explained and as I bought from them they sent me the little clip free! Great! I've fixed the issue already and seems good now, below is the car taken at dusk when back, a little run with an Ultima on the way back, unfortunately no photos.

If everything is stable and ok for a few weeks, I may move on to working on the interior whilst still using the car. I could still fit new lightweight carpet, the current stuff is too heavy and thick which keeps more heat in!

Recent work and finally driving it

First of all I completed the doors. This involved a few things, first was to fit the new blanking plates for the car and removing exterior door handles. This gave the car more security. the remote central locking is working well.

After this I fitted some open pocket foam inside the door, its light and will stop excessive noise as well. With the interior parts of the door completed it was at this stage I fitted some door cards just to tidy the doors up. the final finished article will be higher quality and match the dash etc... when done.

Next was the exhaust piece being completed, well there's few things I've got majorily wrong on this project, but this was one! It looked horrible, the design just did not suit the car. Im only sharing the picture for others so they don't go this route!!

So at the moment I have the original tip on for driving however a new tip has arrived already and I'm very happy with its look, I've just got to do some minor adjustments to it and it will be on and looking much better!

I've now set the front ride height at 85mm on both sides give or take a mm or two. This works well for me with the front arches looking full enough but allowing me to get on and off the drive without planks etc... At the end of the day I want to be able to use the car relatively easily. the rear will need to be lowered further in the future.

Next I had the side windows refitted, the current fitting was done in the bodyshop and there was too much dust in them when fitting with some areas lifting. As well as this I had a nice rubber edging added to give it a cleaner look.

The final side window bits are being fitted this week to finish the look off but I think it gives it a much nicer edge.

So then it came to driving it at the weekend. This was the first time since the engine had been put together and various other work. so I took it out, with the softer springs I fitted a while back the ride is better but still a bit softer at the front would be nicer. It has too much of that coilover 'bang' for my liking. The engine was now performing correctly and not eating water, so it does look like a poor fitting of the headgasket was the cause (should of done it myself in the beginning!).

Now whilst driving the car is not overheating, but it is running hot, ideally it should run up to about 195f and mine is running around 210f-215f. Now when on the drive it gets warm and the fans kick in but never gets higher then the 190f i'd expect. However once driving it raises slightly and sticks at that higher temps, so not overheating but just running hot. So I've had to look into why and what can I do to improve it.

I noticed the coolant pipe return from the radiator is very close to the downpipe, so the coolant is cooled at the radiator and then reheated just before re-entering into the engine. Meaning the water flowing into the engine is hotter then it should be, raising the operating temperature slightly. this doesn't happen on the drive at idle because the down pipe hasn't raised up to the hotter temperatures, as well as this the hot and cool pipes to the radiator run close to each other under the car, again not helping. The 2 pics below show where the pipe is now and the new path I'm going to do this week with a new pipe. Also a diagram of what it was like on the MR2 and you'll see its far away from the exhaust and the radiator pipes are separated.

As well as this other work I'm going to do to help temperatures;

1. The engine compartment temps feel high, when lifting the rear clam shell I can feel its warm, so id like to lower these, so I've ordered a turbo blanket to help.

2. Exhaust wrap for the downpipe. Now exhaust wrap is a debatable subject to many, however in this case keeping the temp inside the exhaust has a big benefit to not radiating onto other components and will also lower engine compartment temps with the the turbo blanket as well.

2. Ill also try and wrap / insulate the hot water feed to the radiator under the car so it does not radiate heat on to the returning pipe.

I think with the above I will drop 10f minimum, I actually think the biggest cause of heat into the system is the fact the coolant pipe is 1cm away from an unshielded downpipe!

So back to the drive, I managed to complete 90 miles without any actual overheating, eating of water etc... the car had no faults and ran as expected. If I can just lower the temperatures now a little bit for safety I can then work on lowering further intake temperatures, which will already benefit from the above as well.

The performance, well the turbo is still at 7psi (actuator pressure) and I wont turn the boost up until temps are under control. seeing as I haven't had the geometry done yet the car handles pretty well with minimal pull to one side.

Here's a quick video, sorry there isn't a good one yet. I've got to get them all on a video training course as I received a lot of videos of the floor.

Bodyshop work

So the car has been at the bodyshop a while now and work has been going well. so the first time I went door they had lined up the doors and filled and smoothed relevant parts and put a layer of high build primer on.

I was impressed at this stage the work looked great, the only area which did not look really good to me was the lower door edge it stuck out too far, so it was agreed that would be built up to be matched. You'll notice the spoiler isn't done at this point.

Also the rear vents were not done and I couldn't decide on what to do I said to the bodyshop most importantly it cannot effect the strength of the piece and left it with them. They did a great job and did the below, really happy with them and it suits the lines of the car.

The car was almost ready for spraying and was in the final stages of being prep'd

So next I took the headlight covers and splitter away to be hydrodipped to match the wheels.

When I was bringing these back I got a surprise the car had been baked and sprayed! I'll let the pictures do the talking but its an understatement to say I was pleased with the results.

As you can see the 3 stage paint, varys well from sunlight to dull light which was exactly what I was after so it looked good on a cloudy day! the paint hasn't been flattened yet and I've been impressed with the reflection lines at this stage so I'm sure it will look amazing once detailed in the summer. wont be long till its put back together and I get it back.

Bodyshop update, Door solenoids and other pieces

So I guess the big update is the bodywork and whats been done so far;

So far the doors have been aligned much better, this has left the top of the door sitting more flush with the roof as well as the top of the back edge and the front edge. the downside to this is the bottom lower edge is sticking out quite a way, I've asked them to build it up a bit to make it look better. This is because of the fibre glass itself, he says there was no way it was going to sit perfect all the way round and i have to agree, I know I had a fight with it over many hours.

A couple of pics below, the 2nd photo shows the lower half of the door and behind the door is the bit ill have them build out a bit so the door sits more flush, I don't think it will effect the look of that panel.

In the top picture above you can just see a vent in the scoop. This is a rally vent which I've put in so can be scooped in to the cabin for circulation or can be opened in reverse so air is pulled out. Both have different functions.

Scooped in = cooling
Sucked out = Ventilation - useful when its been raining

The rear has had all the holes and bits I did for the IVA test refilled. The centre piece is still to be cut out and also the new camera hole created. Lower vents have been cut.

The rear hatch lines are much better now as well. They hadnt cut the vents at this stage as they decided the original suggestion would add too much weakness so waited to discuss it, we think we've come up with an idea now or some venting which will be stronger.

The spoiler will be done with the car but wont be on the car when sprayed. Simply put they think it will look good without it. It needs to be done at the same time because of the paint being used however i can of course just fit the spoiler afterwards by drilling some holes. If I was to fit the spoiler and didn't like it, I cant just fill the holes and have them blend back in.

As well as this I have been looking into door solenoids, the reason for this is i can then remove the external door handles which gives more security. So I have bought a kit which includes two door solenoids and a remote which will allow me to pop the driver and passenger doors individually. As well as this I will hide a button somewhere on the car just as a backup and also there will still be a good old cable within in the door itself if required as a last resort.

I have also purchased a HID kit for better visibility as I felt it was quite poor with standard bulbs. Now I hate just as much as anyone being blinded. So first of all the light lenses are the correct type for them and secondly I've bought 35w 4300k versions so they will be still brighter but not stupidly bright like the 55w HID ones.

Interior progression, Windscreen test fit and bodyshell

First of all I continued on with the interior, starting with making a cardboard templete of what the centre console will be like, I've made this out of cardboard to get a feel for the design as I decided where things will go.

Following this I installed the rear sound deadening and carpet, as well as sealing the carpet along the roof lining with some rubber door trim as this then sealed nicely to the body to help work towards an air tight interior to keep noise out. Seat belt anchorages were welded with triangulation plates and threaded bushes to meet IVA requirements and the seat belt hook eyes were fitted as well were the seats. Everything went in without an issue and the seats are on runners for adjustable seating to allow shorter people to drive it as well, being 6ft 1 I still have to bring the seat quite far forward although headroom is tight.

Once this was done I needed to test fit the body ready for a windscreen test fit. (the Windscreen is an E marked screen I've had made). The body went on very easily and sat neatly in position, not forced at all and everything lined up. It was actually very easy and the fibreglass being so strong due to its thickness didn't to appear to of suffered from any large amount of sagging over the 6 months its been sat around.

So on saturday morning the windscreen arrived and we gave it its test fit, apart from deciding we potentially should add some supports to the fibreglass on the sides to help keep it more rigid it was a good fit.

Again the shell showed just how strong it was during this test fit and it really is very well made, the only issues with the shell are some pitting on the edges from a lot of release wax or in some cases missing gel coat (probably from the other extreme!) However its only body work and with hours of working it can get you to the point you want it.

So I then spent the day working on the body work, 6hours and I have one wheel arch and half a side to show for my efforts but if I get it up to even a 90% finish it will save a lot of time in the body shop, below is one front wheel arch and you can see the bottom edge of the skirt is much straighter.

Before:

After:

Whilst the shell is on its allowed me to look into the windscreen wiper solution which will be worked on over the next few weeks and also noticed that the clutch cap fowls on the front bonnet (you'll notice its not shut in the pics) so this will need to be lowered slightly.

The rear clam shell closed on to this main body work with clips at the top and 2 locating spikes per side on the rear, these appear to be made of steel and not lasting well, so those have been replaced with some stainless steel ones.

The shell will stay on the chassis for a week allowing me to do work I need to do to it, however it will then be back off allowing me to work on other bits of the car again. The main bits at the front I need to do are the battery tray and the clutch reservoir. I also will order and then apply the relevant door trim for sealing in the cabin when I next fit the body, but overall a very good weekend.

Other things I found out;

* Wiring will reach directly from chassis to lights meeting IVA spacing - no more connectors needed
* Getting out with any sort of dignity will be asking alot
* Its going to be quite low! May be road restricted or in the future in car height adjustable suspension might be needed!
* Headlights will  need replacing with RHD ones

Issues, Solutions and Brake system

So last time you remember I fitted the steering rack and had an issue on fowling the brake pedal, well the manual rack and longer column does appear to resolve this. I now need to fit this permanently and get the column attached permanently as well.(that will be a future update)

So in the meantime I have been putting the front suspension corners together. This showed up an issue with the steering rack as it was pulling both wheels inwards, after speaking with DDR I need different / longer tie rod ends so am awaiting the details on them for the time being but at least that mean't I could move on and not worry about the issue.

The next area for me is to fit the brake lines, however because of the tunnel under the car being large but still tight to carry the coolant pipes I needed to do a dry fit of both at the same time. So in the tunnel I will mount the rear brake and clutch lines at the top of the tunnel and the coolant pipes underneath. I am using brake line clips that you simply drill a 6mm hole for and push the clip in, they are far more secure then I thought they would be and will also pass the IVA test.

The IVA states it has to be secure and as there are no bends in this area, there should be no movement, the extra support will be on either end where the pipe bends. My first issue was...I cant get a drill up there...So I had to drill through the very substantial steel frame  from inside the cabin...then drill back out the front side. I will have to grommet the holes in the cabin which wont be seen when the interior is done, but I had no other solution as a right angle drill wouldn't even fit up there.

This weekend Ill be making up the initial pipes for the clutch and brake line down the tunnel and then hopefully rivnut'ing below for some P clips to hold the coolant pipes. I've decided I will run the Power cable, wiring loom, aircon pipes, earth down inside the cabin, most will go down the centre of the cabin under the centre console as there is plenty of room. I will separate the positive cable's run point from the loom / earth to ensure no electrical issues are caused.

Finally in the final prep for the brake line creation / positioning, I fitted together the front suspension and brakes. They are 324mm Supra MkIV vented front discs with 4 pot Nissan front callipers (used on Sx200 / Skyline GTR) with an adapter bracket and stainless steel flexible brake line (PVC covered - required for IVA test)

Update and Engine Progress

There had been a delay in the delivery of the kit, so I took the time to do some other tasks I needed to get done not car related, well I completed them so back on to the engine...

Yesterday the head was refitted and then the rocker cover.

 ** head bolts are stretch type so should be replaced. I also upgraded to a rev3 metal head gasket, there are some hole size differences and placements of the holes regarding the water channels. Biggest change I noticed was larger and additional hole on cylinder 4 which would tie in on what I've read regarding heat temps and cylinder 4 being the hottest. **

Head bolts should be tightened in the correct order at 500kg /cm and then an additional 90 degree turn. Only 2 steps on these bolts.

So here it is;

...On to turbo and exhaust manifold!

Update on Current Work

Well I decided to go a bit further on the engine cleaning then had planned and the block in the end was basically cleared of brackets etc... and painted.

At least it should be very clean when being put in the car!


** TIP **
On the other side of this block are two hoses that are nicknamed say hello to

The Hose from hell

The Hose from hell On Earth

I strongly suggest whilst the engine is apart you change them so you never have to once everything is back together. These hose's make MR2 owners cry when they leak, I'm sure its not as bad on a kitcar..but why take the risk of having the hassle.

The smaller one comes with clips and is about £15 the other about £30....money well spent!

Small Update

With the weather in the UK being freezing for the past two weeks and some snow I haven't really been out into the garage much. But yesterday I was out there again, more tidying and generally cleaning up bits like the air intake, this generally involved using a Dremel with a cleaning metal attachment removing all the grim and dirt, they have come up nice and clean.

I'm not going for a polished look on the engine itself, just clean and tidy. Should have some bigger updates in the new week or so!

Cooling System

The DDR kit comes with the majority of the cooling pipework. What is required from the mr2 is the radiator and fans. Luckily my radiator was in great condition with very low amount of rust and also very few broken coooling fins.

I then decided to paint it black and apply an emblem stencilled on (it is in the middle the photo angle makes it look like it is not). I will now work on refurbishing the fans or may move to buy some new ones.