well its back in one piece and is probably as good an example as you could hope to find in the UK. The bottom of the OSF wing is toast but its not a major pain to repair with the panels being bolt on.
I really need to sort the suspension now ... I can live with having no power but 20mph and white knuckles around roundabouts is no fun ... exciting but not fun !
trying to find out what bolts in from the Aussies, i\'m hoping i can use a full strut from a S2 rx7 on the front as that\'d upgrade the brakes, shocks and springs in one fell swoop. It\'s crying out for a nice set of dished old school wheels. Might give weller a call ... 13x7\'s should do :D (might be a bit OTT actually!)
Good news there Mike.:D Now the enjoyable bit planning the upgrades, eh?
I\'ve been watching these on Ebay and thought they might suit you. 7 x 13\'s as well. The down side is they\'re 2/3 the price of the car.:(
(http://i21.ebayimg.com/01/i/03/d4/55/a2_1_b.JPG)
What calipers do the S2 run - single or 2 pots? May have to change the master cylinder as well?
To finish off the front suspension upgrade you\'ll need the anti roll bar from an estate- half as much diameter again as the standard.
Where to get one ? - well it just so happens ...........:rollin
As for the rear, I ran Spax adjustables- I recon it\'d be worth giving them a ring, as I think they can remake any of their old patterns.
Best of luck, and I shall be following this with interest.
Rich;)
hey rich they look cool!
will they fit on either of mine? and any chance of a link?
cheers,
gord.
ps. congrats mike and welcome to the club :cool
although i think 1st gen owners should already be in it - otherwise we\'re gonna be tooo exclusive..
go the old-skool :)
if they are 4x110 and the correct offset (not sure for old school cars ? around 20mm ET ? ... depends on the width) they should fit ... can\'t find those on ebay, they must be under an odd description. They look like early compomotive wheels ?
If you mean 2nd gen when you say S2, then they are 4 pot calipers. If thats not what you meant I will shut up and withdraw from the area! :D
Nica mota Mike :wave
S2 = series 2 sorry for any confusion.
I have some series 5 4 pots that are not destined for this car as they won\'t fit under 13" rims (+single pots should be more than enough to stop this feather weight!)
found them ... they are ford stud pattern i.e 2mm out for the mazda (don\'t like the idea of that)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28648&item=7974736650&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
I\'ve been running the Ford PCD wheels on my cars for 20 years + and never had any worries:D ( even down those wonderful Irish lanes:cool )
The one difference tho\' is that I converted them all to studs instead of bolts;)
It would be quite easy to make up your own big brake conversion. The caliper mount bracket is only a flat steel plate which bolts to the strut, a la RX2. You could make up a new one to accomodate any disc diameter and caliper mount.
(http://img65.exs.cx/img65/8480/brake19gv.th.jpg)
(http://img65.exs.cx/img65/5984/brake28be.th.jpg)
Heres some brake options I\'ve looked at (1000/1300 strut is slightly different in the mount department.)
Ford Group 4 Alloy Hub/ BMW vented disc/ Willwood Dynalite 4 pot
(http://hometown.aol.co.uk/jmazdaman/images/4spot.jpg)
(http://hometown.aol.co.uk/jmazdaman/images/4pot.jpg)
1000 Hub/ MX5 Vented Disc/ HiSpec Alloy Ford M16 Copy Caliper
(http://publish.hometown.aol.co.uk/mazdaparts70s80s/images/finished3.jpg)
Ive stuck with the 2 pot for the moment because of master cyl sizing probs.
When/ if I refit the disc braked English axle then I\'ll look at making a bias pedal box, and then the Princess 4 Pot copy would be an option. BTW studs have been shortened since this pic was taken:rolleyes:
Rich;)
I might be tempted then (+ with the abundance of ford stud pattern and offset rims!)
What sort of width/offset were you running on your 323 ? even though this project isn\'t on till after the rx7 is 100% finished I might be tempted by some old school bling (and some decent suspension) as I will be using this car a fair bit over summer.
Were you using standard front stuts or does somthing better bolt in ?
on the strut options. I am sat here looking at that 1100 front strut and I think the mounting at its base looks very similar to the rx7 one.
Do you think I could bolt up (or modify slightly) a s2 rx7 front strut complete but use the 323 top mount (or a hybrid) and then hopefully the ball joint tapers should match (IIRC the japanese have had a set of standard automotive tapers for a long while)
Only prob with the s2 strut is the resulting positive camber and you also end up with reduced spring travel.
I recommend trying to retro fit different discs and calipers to the 323 strut as above. The discs and calipers off the s2 could be adapted quite easily to the 323 strut
As for master cylinder RX-4 it a good upgrade for bigger discs.
doh positive camber is bad ... i want a fair bit of negative camber on the front.
Whats the usual mod for the 323\'s then ? I\'ve had a good look round it today poking holes (only found one or two soft bits and they are around previous repairs I already knew about) and I must say it needs some serious effort on the suspension side of things (I can fit under the car without jacking it up for a start!)
looks like the rear shocks should be fairly simple to upgrade, just a question of finding some the correct length and re bushing to suit.
Does the S2 front strut definetly result in more positive camber ?
ie. \\----/ and not /----\\ surely as long as the stub axle is perpendicular to the strut and the mountings are the same top and bottom it should result in the same as standard camber/caster ?
What about rear springs ?
Ok to answer my question.
S1-S3 struts sit at a steeper angle than the earlier rx\'s so retrofitting them results in less camber. apparently the S2&S3 struts aren\'t quite so bad as the S1 struts which result it +\'tve camber.
Now I\'m investigating if I can find some adjustable strut tops :) hehehe the search is never ending :D
*edit* might have founds some :D ace s2 front struts it might be :)
So many questions Mike:D
First up - wheels. I ran my 323 on Alleycats and KN Starmags in a 6 inch width with 185/60\'s( RAC road rally rules at the time :rolleyes: )
The ET of the Starmag\'s is 16 and a backspace of 102mm. Any more backspace than this and it gets a little too close to the front strut for comfort.
As mentioned earlier I ran an English axle which is 52 inches wide, compared to the 323\'s 54 inches IIRC, so I used a pair of 1 inch spacers behind the Starmags. On a standard axle I think you can run the rears with a bit more backspace, allowing you to maybe get a 7" under there. Just means you have to carry 2 spares:(
I sent the standard strut casings to Leda to be revalved, and used MK2 Escy springs at -1 inch and 180 lbs ( straight swap).
Leda can no longer carry out this service. Instead they cut off the tube and weld on their own tube/ rod assembley, and valve to your requirements. This also means that they are 2 1/4 coil overs, so theres a huge choic e of spring rates.
I ran standard springs on the rear and Spax adjustables.Give Spax a ring - I\'m sure they can help you out.
If I were to build another one I\'d fit Escy turrets in the back and use 2 1/4 coilovers. Bin those heavy bottom arms and springs, and make up some rose - jointed tie rods to fit into the original Mazda mounts. Save some weight and super adjustable:D
Rich;)
yes lots of questions :D (I\'ve split the thread from the other one if anyone is confused BTW)
Thanks very much for the answers ... I\'m having a bit of scrounge round my mates now to see what wheels I can dig up + I have made enquiries about a brand new rx3 X-member (not genuine .. made in aus) ;)
Right progress is being made :)
Got a set of 13x6 4x110 wheels from Kiwimazda in the post soon ;)
Sent a money order off to Aus the other day for a brand new RX3 type X member
and have a nice strut brace, sump guard and stiffer front ARB from the mazda parts guru ... Richard :cool
Still hunting down the rx7 struts and other bits n bobs for the suspension though. They are prooving more difficult to track down than really odd bits :confused:
Wheels
Coolio alloys there Mike:cool
Do they have a choice of styles, for future reference?
One option that may have been of interest before you ordered the xmember is that of running a Ford front end.
I forgot to mention this at RS:( . I looked into it some years ago and it seemed pretty feasible.
Capri crossmember would have fitted in with about 5mm to spare either side. Admittedly you\'d need to make engine mounts, but you\'d have the luxury of a choice of front strut/brake (6R4 big enough?) set up, and also a quick rack.
Out of interest ,what sort of money do the \'7\' strut/brake set ups go for?
Keep up the good work:D
Rich;)
Kiwimazda is a user on here :) (another UK mazda rally nut) ... I think the alloys are orginally from Aus and are called globes or somthing similar ?
The X-member is just for the engine mounts, the suspension x member is still left in place as in the rx3.
No idea how much a set of 7 struts are worth as I\'ve not found any for sale yet. Whole cars don\'t fetch much ££\'s so I doubt they are majorly expensive.
Only trouble is you need to change the strut tops or make them adjustable as the KPI is significantly different in the rx7.
started taking some measurements today and trying things to see how they fit.
more piccies.
sump guard + strut brace
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0028small.jpg)
Strut top plate in position
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0044small.jpg)
Front strut out for measurements
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0034small.jpg)
This is what the front end looks like on a 323 minus a strut
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0042small.jpg)
and the strut tower itself
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0037small.jpg)
the strut top attached to the front strut - the centre bolt is M12 fine and the PCD of the bolts is approx 130mm with the hole in the strut tower being just under 100mm in diameter
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0035small.jpg)
Mike
strut dimensions (measured with a ruler by my eye so not super accurate but close enough)
Some series 2 \'7\' hubs and 4 pots up for sale on Ebay there Mike.
Maybe the hubs will fit the 323 strut and make up a bracket for the calipers?
If so mod the strut body to go 2 1/4" - just a thought
Nice inner wing ther by the way:D
Rich;)
I have some 4 pots already on the \'usefull spares\' shelf in the garage, unfortunately there is no way they would fit under 13\'s
Cheers for the tip off on the struts ... will take a look see.
got the wheels in the post today and they fit :) (only just with the std. front struts!)
I have to decide whether to get them refurbed or not now. I\'m tempted to just clean them myself and run them as is for now. They have a couple of dings in the outer rim but the seat for the bead looks straight enough.
hmmm more decissions. (camera batteries are dead too so no pics :( )
I\'ve had to remove the little screws in the rear drums to fit the rims though. I presum these are just to hold the drum to the axle while messing around with the bearings ?
great thread mike:cool
wish more people would blog their projects so diligently, it\'s very educational.
keep up the good work - soon you & Rich will be able to publish a guide to old-skool mazda modification:)
sanded down and painted the wheels last night ( I remember now, why I hate painting things) hopefully they will last more than 5 minutes before the paint comes off :p
I might get some photos tonight (camera on charge now!) before I make an attempt for a second coat of paint.
noticed a slight problem with the alloys too ... one of them is a different offset to the other 3 ... well the numbers on the rim suggest it is, I havn\'t checked yet. I have 3 that say 13x6JJx19P and one that says 13x6JJx23P. If it measures out by 4mm I\'ll just have to make a spacer.
Does anyone else know if its safe to remove the small screws on the rear drums ? I can\'t see them doing a great deal appart from aiding assembly
:yes Mike - its fine to remove those screws.
What I would say tho is to keep them for when you adjust the brakes - they\'ll hold the drum square and central onto the half shaft, while you adjust each shoe individually.
Once you\'ve done the brakes remove the screws, bolt on the wheels and these will clamp the drums in position. :D
Rich ;)
I think the wheels are just about ready for some tyres now ! These photos are about as close as I want to post of my \'handy\' work with a paint can :D
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0047sml.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0049sml.jpg)
Ordered some wheel studs and nuts as well + A single 5mm spacer ... will machine 1mm off it. I\'ll probably pin it to the wheel as well to stop it going adrift or being forgotten
I doubt 4mm would make much difference on the rear axle anyway ... the panhard rod would allow that much lateral movement over a short travel
oh and is anyone else missing ausrotary :( ... been reading it a lot lately
Mike , I was on ausrotary about an hour ago??? I know that the direct link via my favourites isnt working but i can still access it via the good old history button on my compooter.
cheers, michael.
damn ... just searched for it on google and its working once you get past the home page ... been lost for a few days now LoL
Cheers for that !
oh and is anyone else missing ausrotary :confused:
Just checked out the parts trader so works fine for me Mike.
Wheels will be a good contrast against the canary yellow :cool
The 323 disc and hub are 1 casting so when I fitted studs to the hub I drilled, tapped and fitted 4mm grub screws to hold the studs in position and stop them winding through when the wheel nuts are tightened. But I guess you \'ve already sussed that :D
Rich ;)
I was going to use stud lock ? These ones have 10mm of thread and then a blank section so they won\'t screw through the hub.
If there were enough room on the front I\'d have drilled out the threads and pulled in some standard mazda studs with splined bit ... no different from how they are fitted on the later rx7s
Coolio, that\'ll work fine ;)
Wheels are on now ... it shows up all the rest of the bits that need doing ;)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0054sm.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0053sm.jpg)
suspension next (would have been first if I hadn\'t found some wheels right off!)
looking cool mike :cool
Looks wicked with the black wheels on
That looks well tough now MIke!
Cheers for the kind comments guys.
Its still a long long way off where I want it to be but its a step in the right direction :)
I have just ordered some very reasonably priced strut tops for it too. They are very bling and should fit without too much fettling.
Should look even tougher sat a little lower with plenty of negative camber :yes (also got the 2 1/4" spring perches with thrust bearings to suit)
Quote from: MikeLMRCheers for the kind comments guys.
Its still a long long way off where I want it to be but its a step in the right direction :)
I have just ordered some very reasonably priced strut tops for it too. They are very bling and should fit without too much fettling.
Should look even tougher sat a little lower with plenty of negative camber :yes (also got the 2 1/4" spring perches with thrust bearings to suit)
Hi Mike,
How much were they?
Ray
£117 shipped to the UK ... about $179 if you don\'t want the top spring perches and other bearings. once I get a hold of them I\'ll let you know what they are originally for and how well they fit. I can\'t see any drama in making them fit the rx7 dampers and the strut tops are very easilly modified.
The centre distance between bolts on these are 114.3mm rather than the 112.5mm I measured so not far off at all.
Ray,
what was the ID of the threaded collars you used to convert the S2 struts ? I have only really found 2" ID ones in the UK
Cheers ~ Mike
That sounds about right, mazda tubes are particuarly small diameter 44mm from memory, so I had to put packing spacers between the strut tube and the threaded tube. I just used a standard conversion kit from TAS, I think that Nova\'s/Corsa\'s are a smaller diameter (46mm maybe?), but you pay more of a premium for the kit. Are you getting some uprated inserts?
Ray
yes the RX7 specific kits in the states are like 5 times more. I was thinking about welding some shims in place before the threaded tubes.
I am currently looking at some Tokico adjustable struts (have a set on my rx7) I am wondering if there isn\'t somthing better about. (probably not if the rx has a small tube strut)
TAS have gone bust :( apparently
was looking at the rally design kits but they aren\'t meant to be very well made
Hey MIke have you seen the \'used\' rx8 engine on e-bay? not that I am trying to put ideas into anyones head?!
now you are a bad influence ... but my budget won\'t stretch that far.
(is it the one with possible water seal failure)
Yes it was the one with the water seal failure one. So I guess you will be sticking with the 20b idea? he, he, he.
its the right colour for a 20 Bee too :) (sorry terrible joke)
some more parts of the puzzle have arrived !
Studs to convert the wheel bolts (the bolts are actually OK with the wheels I have ... I checked the thread engagement and the taper seating but I prefer studs and nuts over the bolts)
Threaded collars and lower seats to convert the struts
And
A pair of 180lb/" 12" long springs ... a little longer than I originally planned but I want to make sure the springs won\'t bind.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/019c2003.jpg)
Checked everything over this afternoon and should be taking a trip out to Thoresby Jap show tommorow. (taking the club stand)
strut tops arrived today but the struts have now fallen through so I\'ve got nothing to fit them on.
Notes so far are ...
spherical bearings are FK bearings FKS10T 0.625" ID
They come with an adapter sleeve that doesn\'t suit a 12mm thread ... need to find one that does or make one
The strut top pattern is spot on ... bolts straight on
The spring hats are for 60mm springs and not the 2.25" ones I have (need turning down)
Just need struts before I can start sorting it all out
piccies (as if I\'d forget ;) )
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/2.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/7f333b6d.jpg)
Hi Mike.
Just been looking at you pics. Where did you get those top mounts they are sex.
I have some struts you might be interested in. WE have already welded on the 2.25 threaded tubes and they have 300lb front springs and those kyb inserts i told you about.
A good friend of mine in NZ has a 323 with 12a pp power but i think is up grading ti 13bpp. It is a very quick car. I went out in it (must have been 10 years ago) and i thought I was going to die. He then entered it in a hillclimb and was fighting for a top place over all and then inverted it. Hence the rebuild that has taken 10 years.
I am going home for a holidat in Dec so can get some pics
Cheers
Brian
Hi,
they are from techno toy tuning (t3) in the states. No idea what car they are for but the strut top pattern is just about spot on for an early Mazda. The bearing ID is a little off. The guy who owns is it very helpfull and sent me a set that matched my measurements the closest.
I have sent you an e-mail about the struts.
I recut the location diameter on the spring cups today (using a lathe) for some reason they were to suit 2.5" ID springs and not the mega common 2.25" ones :confused:
Hopefully I can get some struts sorted soon and find out what else needs modifying. (knowing me ... everything :D )
~ Mike
Mike have you thought about converting the original struts and then rebuild them using thicker oil. I\'m sure you could get a seal kit via a dealer.
We found Castrol GTX did the job:cool
BTW I have a pair of new rears for an SP if your intersted
Rich ;)
I\'m still working on some Spax ones for the rear.
Unsure about the springs yet, apparently 1st gen rx7 ones fit ? 9so therfor the coil ovet conversions will too.
mmm, my RX-2 is like a boat ( bouncing up and down!) at the front, will have to do something about the shocks. I wonder if I can get a kit, or, Mike, can you find out if Spax do a strut insert? We used to be able to buy an adjustable insert from Gabriel.
the 323 struts aren\'t of the insert type design. Not sure about the rx2.
RX3 X-member came in the post today ... not a clue where it bolts on !
hopefully its a little more obvious when compared with the car :D
the 1st bit of rx going onto the 323 :D
... brand new RX3 cross member from Aus and it bolts in perfectly, no need to jack the car up or anything (piddly little jack in the back ground was to push the ARB back into position)
now there the small matter of an rx7 engine and box :3gears-rh
btw its not as rusty as its looks in that photo :eek:
Thanks to Moonwrap (Lynn) for this excellent photo of my 323 from RotorstockII verses the official Mazda press image :)
Mike
just wondered if you would like a complete dashboard from a 1400 sport 323. I just found it at the back of my garage. I originally fitted it to my first Mazda, a 1978 323 hatchback. If I recall it will fit all RWD models.
yes please :)
send me an e-mail if you like
Cheers ~ Mike
Mike - daverey is correct in what he says about fitting all RWD models, as long as you have the dash top as well.
I converted both my 1000 and 1300 323\'s to SP spec dash - the only thing needed is a feed from the coil to a pin in the multiplug to run the rev counter. IIRC you need to find an actual female pin to fit in the multiplug as there\'s only the hole there to take it.
Re your master cylinder - can you run an ordinary girling type? (as fitted to hydraulic handbrakes), and also is your tunnel going to need any subtle (i.e big hammer!) modifications to clear the slave cylinder?
Rich ;)
not looked at it to be honest :) (on the M/C) apparently its a bolt in swap so I\'m not expecting to adjust anything.
The dash looks like a nice easy swap with it being in seperate pieces. (was looking how hard it was going to be while driving down the A1 yesterday)
After getting enormous pleasure from beating a lot heavily modified RS2000\'s and 205 GTI\'s at a round of the Welsh hillclimb championships yesterday,I\'ve decided to stick with my 4 potter and not fit a rotary to my 1000.
What has this got to do with my 323 I hear you ask?Well it means that I have no longer any use for this
(http://publish.hometown.aol.co.uk/jmazdaman/images/mastercyl.jpg)
Before you get too excited its actually a brake master cylinder for a B16, so the question is what bore size do you need? The parts books I have for the RX3 and 4 dont actually list bore sizes,but this one comes in at 0.75.
Also at the investigative stage is a rumour of a 6 point Safety Devices cage for the 323 if your interested.
Cheers,
Rich ;)
oooh any photos from the hill climb ? sounds like you are well justified in sticking with the 4 pot, it certainly sounds the part :cool would love to see it at full chat on a rally or sprint ... perhaps a far flung marshalling trip may be in order.
I\'m not sure on the M/C either I\'ll have to have a look in my 1st gen manual and see what the rx7 uses (most likely donor for the slave cylinder)
ooh very interested in the cage ... driving a car without one just doesn\'t feel right anymore :D
just had a look and the rx7 uses a 0.625" M/C and a 0.75" slave cylinder.
If I am thinking correctly a 0.75" dia one should work as it will displace more fluid per unit of travel. I just need to nip out and look at the 323 in the garage now.
OK keeping with the theme of making this a conversion with step by step piccies ...
Clutch cable mounting (notice how it looks just like the mounting for a slave cylinder :cool )
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/3c4fbbeb.jpg)
and the strang \'push cable\' clutch the rod below the pivot pushes the cable rather than pulls on it ... so bolting on a hyraulic master cylinder is just a case of bolting it on (and perhaps modifying the rod ... or fitting an rx3/rx7 one ?)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/ce0f3eb2.jpg)
anyone would have thought mazda intended it for rotary swaps :)
Ah, Yes, strangest feature of the RWD 323, a clutch cable that pushes rather than pulls !
Hey Mike what do you plan on doing for an exhaust.? i.e pipe diameter, extracters? wall thickness? as the rotories run hotter out the hot side I guess slightly thicker wall thickness will be needed.
Stainless or mild steel? all answers on a postcard. :p
cheers, michael.
p.s. big gravell sprint being run by the 2300 club up here on Mull in january too.
not sure yet keeping my eye\'s peeled for a 12a header ... or there could be the mystery plan B which could yield all the running gear to get it rotorised ;)
Being a sucker for nicely made bits I\'m rather tempted by the 12a header for sale on ausrotary, only disadvantages are its rather short and its merged into a 3" dia collector, so a little OTT for what I was planning.
I\'d get someone here to bend you up some. Would be cheaper than getting them from Oz?
Are you making a rotary powered hotrod there Mike?
C\'mon Mike, you cant drop a hint like that in your last post and not explain?!!!
What running gear are you thinking of that wont need headers?
tell me more. By the way there are a few 12a\'s for sale on e-bay at the moment.
Hmm, just noticed something totaly irelevent to this topic but as Mike is a moderator perhaps he could explain the feel free to elete this post.
I thought I had about 510 posts the other day but today only have 499? just curious. Dont really care that much but just wondering??
if I delete a post your post count goes down ... I can\'t explain that lost post at the moment ;)
Don, I am building a sleeper :) ... although a roll cage may give the game away a little LOL ... basically I\'m building a car that I like, no motivation other than that :)
still no front struts :( ... fed up, they were in the post and now nothing and no answers to e-mails either
at this rate i\'ll have the repair panels for the bodywork before the front struts from the UK !! and they took 3 weeks to get in stock !
Repair panels, Mike? Tell me more please
Rich ;)
from rare spares in Aus, they do repair panels for the bottoms of the wings.
I can get rear arches and outer sills in this country. I could really do with an inner sill but I figure we can rebuild that good enough seeing as its just at the back end and not really visible.
Struts arrived yesterday evening so I got to trying them on the car today.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/6beba5d2.jpg)
looks a little low here but I have had it wound up to higher than standard ride height. Not sure on the camber yet. Must go fetch the gauge from the other garage. I hope its a little OTT as I\'m on full adjustment at the moment :eek
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/c252baed.jpg)
As you can see the brakes are a little larger than the standard ones and they aren\'t yet connected. I\'m not 100% happy with the strut top setup yet but its going to take a drive around the block to try it out first. The springs seem a little softer than I imagined but the damping is FAR FAR superior to the unmodified side :wiggle
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/ad003459.jpg)
Lots to do before its roadworthy.
Are you deffo going 12A still Mike? If not I have a 13b for sale :)
That car is going to be the mutts nuts, when do you think you\'ll be finished?
I would like a 12a really as its mostly a bolt in job to change over.
No idea when it will be finished ... I\'ve barely started to be honest.
What brakes are you running Mike??
Looks quite the \'b\' road car and once it has a 12a in it will be loads of fun!
Michael, it will be running with standard drums on the back and the S2 front brakes that came with the struts.
yes, should be a laugh once its sorted :)
Hi Mike,
Are you keeping the original colour scheme or are you going for a respray, either way I look forward to seeing it (again) when she\'s smarting a nice new rotor :cool
Jase
it will be staying Yellow, I\'m no good at painting things and don\'t have the budget to pay someone to do a "proper job" so It\'ll just be tidied up once the bodywork is solid but it certainly won\'t be a show car.
Quote from: MikeLMRit will be staying Yellow, I\'m no good at painting things and don\'t have the budget to pay someone to do a "proper job" so It\'ll just be tidied up once the bodywork is solid but it certainly won\'t be a show car.
It\'ll be the mutts at the end of your mod\'s eitherway :cheers
Jase
Hi ya,
Going back about 10 years or so...we fitted a 13b to one of these 323..in RSA years ago they were very popular cos the 1300 could go miles on tank of gas,hence there were many around and in very good nick...no rust dents etc,cos the weight was ideal once stripped out they really made good street sleepers....the 1300 ran a good diff ratio for grags and the diff itself was bullet bud...never broke
Hey Oldone, that avatar looks suspiciously like Kyalami?
Quote from: oldoneHi ya,
the 1300 ran a good diff ratio for grags and the diff itself was bullet bud...never broke
really ... I was expecting it to break in pretty short order ! Thats encouraging anyway as I will be running the standard axle till it breaks
Indeed it is squire,that pic was taken going down "the mineshaft",5th gear full tilt and waiting for the left hander to come up,debating if i should lift of the gas or close me eyes and keep the pedal glue to the floor... :cool somehow me b.....s are not that big so i back off a little heheheheheh :eek
The standard diff of the 323 was however locked (pin not welded)...the desighn is very similar in size and strength as the rx2.....
By the way i got pics of most circuits and in car video of the RX2 at Kayalami !!
Oldone, I am starting a new thread.
Small update today (no piccies ... sorry)
Welded some new mounting brackets (also home made) to the struts for the brake lines. I also removed the discs and repacked the bearings with grease. The main point of all this dissassembly was however to batter the brake dust guards back straight as Parcelforce did a good job of bending them all over !
JUST got to sort the threads for the brake lines, buy some new wheel nuts, recon the calipers, find some pads and a fitting kit and then get it all tracked up.
Also trying to get hold of some Racing Beat Caster blocks for the ARB mounts and thinking about making some Roll centre/Camber blocks for the bottom of the strut so I can at least run some negative camber !
why not do the adjustments on the top of the strut,so the whole strut is at an angle..you get it to perform better under cornering load and then you also adjust the hub for more camber if you need ? just asking.....
Because I\'ve used all the scope for adjustment at the top to take up the difference between 323 and rx7 struts DoH
BTW Lada Riva rear struts fit on 323\'s with minor mods ... so I have a pair of bilstein Dampers for the rear Wooo !
(photo for reference) This is full over in the strut top and the wheel is still pretty vertical (not had chance to measure it yet)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/c252baed.jpg)
If you make the tower higher then your adjustment angles are more acute.....have a device which you can adjust the camber and you can adjust the whole strut forwards or backwards....great for heavy loads on the brakes cos the strut does not "fold" backwards......you also use a rose joint on the top of the shock and not a rubber bush(sp)....pretty basic cos the adjustments can be made by 3mm at a time which ever way....could take pics and mail....works on the circuit
I\'m already running a Spherical bearing at the top :) But I am using the full range of the adjustment to dial out the difference in KPI of the rx7 struts when they are compared to 323 struts.
At the end of the day its only a road car so if its 0 degree\'s I\'ll be happy ... if it\'s positive I\'ll be on a mission to sort it though !
Quote from: MikeLMRI\'m already running a Spherical bearing at the top :) But I am using the full range of the adjustment to dial out the difference in KPI of the rx7 struts when they are compared to 323 struts.
At the end of the day its only a road car so if its 0 degree\'s I\'ll be happy ... if it\'s positive I\'ll be on a mission to sort it though !
Looking good mike :D
Think I drove past your house on Saturday as I saw a red rollcaged up 323 parked up just past Lincoln heading towards the coast :chat ;)
Paul
not my house but that was my car ;)
update with photos
I got fed up trying to remove the hub nut from my spares car (spot the fcuked socket) So I got on with fitting the rear shocks on the yella car :) #
(CLICK FOR BIGGER PICCIES)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_79fa6ff8.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/79fa6ff8.jpg)
A nice period accessory thats a must for any car with points ;) this one is from my dads rwd 323 estate :)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_dc35ab3e.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/dc35ab3e.jpg)
The new mounting for the brake pipe (brake pipes yet to be sorted ... probably rx7 ones)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_0e20cd51.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/0e20cd51.jpg)
all cleaned up and straightened :) (dust shields ... THANKS parcelforce!!)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_6cbc8bd3.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/6cbc8bd3.jpg)
Lada vs Mazda ... Lada wins ! Bilstein Rally shocks for a Lada Riva
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_ee57b40b.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/ee57b40b.jpg)
On the car, pressed out the Lada bushes and pressed in the Mazda ones and they fit a treat ... damping rates are just a little uprated !!!
Mike whats that period accessory? :xconfused Does it give a better spark or something? Progress is looking promising, you don\'t hang about!! ;)
its a capacitor discharge ignition system, basically it takes the load of the points so they last a little (well a lot) longer before they need adjusting.
The car is now sat on its new suspension, the rear is VERY well damped ... I don\'t know how it will handle with soft springs (standard and standard height) and high rate dampers but thats the setup as used on lots of rally cars so I don\'t forsee too much of a problem (I hope)
The to do list is a lot shorter now.
to be ready for the Pod in Oct I need ...
- Wheel nuts (to be robbed off my 323 gt spares car)
- Brake plumbing ... need to work out what threads they are first. I presume the old UNF style fittings.
- Brake pads (just require purchasing)
- Brake calipers .... need to work out if I\'m going to use these as is or strip, clean and refit them OR splash out on some recon ones (£££\'s!!)
- Paint the new cross member and strut brace
Then thats about it appart from setting it all up
Mike I am sure the suspension will be fine, I am a big fan of soft springs/hard shocks myself. Had this setup on my RX-2 and it handled brilliantly on the track and on the road.
Gonna get this setup for my current RX-2 if I can. At the moment its quite amusing to make the front bounce up and down on the brakes, though !
Just posted off my calipers to a company for reconditioning (at a reasonable price ... will let you all know if they are any good) I also have a set of racing beat caster blocks to fit under the ARB to increase the caster a little (they ended up being V expensive !! ... not sure I\'d buy anything from them again ... but then again they are spot on and even come with detailed instructions 6.5/10 :) )
Hopefully the calipers might be back in time for next Sunday (because the rally car has two bent con rods at the moment :D ... Ford = Hydraulic Lock = Bent rods = 20 mins dropped but still finished and still revs to 8K+ :rollin )
no calipers in the post I\'m afraid (it was a long shot ;) ) so I\'m in the other 1300 323 at the weekend I\'m afraid (in the general car park) If anyone is short a pass I can meet up with you sometime mid morning ish (stag do tonight so I\'m no way going to be really early :D)
Mike, keep your pass and still bring it round and we will hide you on the stand ;)
nice one clive :)
Got the calipers back now and so far I\'m impressed. Nicely powder coated black, new pistons and new rubbers all round. Looks like a top job for circa £100 for a pair ! Most places want £100 + each for recon calipers !
So Bigg Red gets a thumbs up so far from me. I also like the fact that they took the time to answer my e-mail promptly and politely ... something a lot of companies seem unable to do these days !
Won\'t be fitting them for a while though as I\'m flying out to India for a week on Monday (work) so I\'ll be a bit quiet(er) for a bit.
pics just because I haven\'t posted any for a while ...
garage is now full of **** due to local flooding (water boards fault ... its done it before!!) Not happy as its stopping me working on the cars + its caused a fair bit of damage (luckily not a lot was on the floor) and i have two cars in the drive mid engine swap so I\'m a bit miffed about that too
No update pics (I have some but they aren\'t pretty!)
They best do a good job of clearing up
Bit of an update, firstly many thanks to Davery who donated the SP dash and to Carl who kindly took time out to meet up with me yesterday so I could collect it ... thanks guys much appreciated :wiggle
on with the piccies ...
The reason for the lack of progress lately (see above) ... its still not 100% sorted :( the garage stinks like a drain
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_flood301005028.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/flood301005028.jpg)
This is the old dash ... no tacho = no good :)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_olddash.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/olddash.jpg)
Now with the shiney new 5 dial version ... mmmm (notice the ultralite gauge lurking ... more of that later but initially the fit looks good ;) )
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_dash1.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/dash1.jpg)
The difference in the dash pads
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_dashpad3.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/dashpad3.jpg)
The damage I need to get fixed ... not sure how yet, its distorted here
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_dashpad2.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/dashpad2.jpg)
and split here ... hopefully its fixable :) I\'m also going to spray it dark brown to match the original.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_dashpad1.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/dashpad1.jpg)
a NOS pattern front wing
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_newwing.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/newwing.jpg)
a box o bits to sort my front brakes finally
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_newbits.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/newbits.jpg)
and some piccies of the caster blocks installed
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_casterblocks.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/casterblocks.jpg)
Glad your pleased Mike, the dash looks right now. Sorry about the broken corner, didn\'t notice that.
Dave
no worries about the dash I was pleased to find one in the UK! :cheers
Just be careful with the hard rear shocks. It can cause the rear to skip about under power. No weight transfer and all that stuff.
My Rx2 Rallycar at home needs fairly soft shocks to get traction, mind you, It is mental.
I guess we\'ll find out how it handles pretty soon. All the brakes are now done (as of Monday) I just need to find the time to find 4 more spare wheel nuts in the garage, charge the battery (my battery charger picks a fine time to pack up!) and wire in the new dash then if its dry and fine out it\'ll be out for a test drive :)
Next on the list is a roll cage, bodywork and maybe some decent seats.
Seen that front wing somewhere before methinks. Any opposition in buying it?
Should have news re: the roll cage next week -unfortunately I\'ve lost the guys phone number :spank but I know he still has the cage :cool
Let you know as soon as I know :Thumbs-up
Rich ;)
cool :Thumbs-up
No, no other interest in the front wing. I wonder how many are actually left on the road these days :driving
i\'ve got a few irons in the fire with the dash pad too, option 1) is to repair and option 2) is possibly a brand new one :yes
hmmm thinking about seats, the plan is to closely match the style of the standard ones without matching the lack of support ... the cheapest option would be to stick a set of bog standard bucket seats in but I\'m thinking somthing more subtle would be better
these are the options I\'ve considered so far :-
standard piccy first then ...
Mx5 seats (always overpriced and often worn out)
Lotus/VX220 seats (too low ?)
I reckon that the mx5 seats would be the better of the 2 choices as the others do look too thin.
cheers michael.
they are my preferred choice ... but they are so damn expensive :(
on another note ... its aliiiiiiiiiiveeeeeeeeee :evillaugh :Party
connected the dash (two plugs) and jumped it from the folks camper battery ("borrowed" for now ;) ) and everything works fine after a bit of bulb swapping :Thumbs-up ace no wiring required !
that went so well I decided to have play at fitting the oil pressure gauge and got most of that sorted bar a bit more plastic trimming to get the backlight to fit correctly ... it\'ll just need somthing to read the pressure of then :yes
Still no further with the dash pad though.
Hey Mike, you posted in my suspension post on ausrotary. I have seats out of a series 4 or series 5 rx7. They bolt straight to the 323 rails, with the only complication being that a spacer/adapter has to be made up for the drivers seat as the side bolts onto a hump next to the transmission tunnel in the rx7. Very comfy seats, the brown leather ones I have match nicely with the 323s interiror. My only dislike with them is that they are quite heavy, a lot heavier than the 323 ones. Still, they\'ll stay in my car a while, but will make way for some thing lighter when I get a bit more serious.
does that mean a set of series 3 seats would fit ?
Been out in the snow in the 323 today :eek ... only up the drive and back though :( so I can get the rally car in the garage to fit an engine thats not been hydrauliced ;)
everything but the battery seems to be functioning which is nice.
auugh you are so brave.... :3gears-rh ..only mad dogs and englishman go out in this weather.. :WaveBye ...errrrrrr and rally drivers... :rollin
been busy busy busy in the garage. Building a new rally car to replace the Lada. the snows not bad but I feel sorry for anyone who needs to get from A to B for work etc. .... its alright for a bit of a play but a little dangerous.
Well I\'m pretty sure series 4/5 seats can go straight into a series 1-3, so I would say so, but I believe they will need a spacer made up for the console side of the drivers seat.
cool, doesn\'t sound too difficult at all. I can just about remember how the seats fit from taking them out of my 1st gen.
Yeh, its not hard. The seats i\'ve got literally bolted straight to holes already in the 323 rails. Easiest seat swap ever apart from the spacer, which isn\'t difficult.
have I really not done anything to this car since 26th Nov :( oops
Well the 323 has been stuck outside in the cold and wet for a bit while my rally car gets fixed (new engine, brakes, hyd handbrake, lines inside car, battery in boot and air filter ford proofed - the cause behind the new engine!)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/small_snow.jpg)
poor thing is being neglected :(
Plus we\'ve been a little busy with a top secret rally project ...
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/d20f0454.jpg)
Weight is your enemy Mike, but there again,if thats a M***na :2eek :2eek, you need the extra strength :p
Interesting:Thumbsup!
Rich ;)
Oooh whats the secret new project? I cant make it out :(
A little bit of inspiration for you Mike
(http://hometown.aol.com/jmazdaman/images/img36371uy.jpg)
Although the air filter through the bonnet trick was done back in 1980 by this guy in the States
(http://hometown.aol.com/jmazdaman/images/usrx323.jpg)
Now, where to find pics of a modified 1000 :3Confused :Giggle
Rich ;)
oooooooooh I\'m inspired!
Michael ... theres a big clue in Richards post ... but shhhhhhhh its top secret.
P.S its not mine and its not a rotary :( but it is going to be cool.
1000 = sexy!
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/886/tryagn7rn.jpg)
that is just............*spurts*..............sorry! :InLove
some very cool pics on this page. Top motorvation for a work in progress.
chers, michael.
Right enough of the drooling and dreaming, lets get this thread back on track. :Giggle
Talking of track - after reading Ray\'s Oulton thread I have realised that mine is suffering from twitchy handling after fitting the 2 1/4\'s and running it lower to the ground and, not being entirely up on my suspension design/settings, need some help :3Confused
Mike you say you got the castor blocks from RB -are they RX2,3 or 4 or would I be right in thinking they\'re all the same?
How much does it drop the ARB, and does it move the bar forwards or backwards in relation to where it was?
Also had a thought on your camber prob - can you extend the length of your TCA\'s? When I fitted the Ford axle to mine I fitted rose joints to the lower trailing arms to allow axle alignment.
It involved cutting around 3 inches off the body mount end (to do away with the bush) and then welding a piece of angle iron,with a captive nut on it, over the end to take a rose joint, and so allow movement of the axle fore and aft in the arch.
I think the same principle could be applied to your TCA\'s.Its basically a cheap way of doing this:
(http://www.racingbeat.com/photos/14006.jpg)
The angle would sit across the width of the arm where the 2 bolts are in the above pic. I used angle iron as it allowed me to weld along the underside, as well as around the edges, giving a larger surface area.
Cheers,
Rich ;)
Hi Richard, the caster blocks pulled the ARB forwards as the mounting on the rx3 323 chassis is angled, it also drops the front of the bar by a few inches.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/casterblocks.jpg) not sure if the others kits are the same ? I seem to remember some have offset holes rather than just a big spacer like these rx3 ones.
Heres hoping mine handles OK ... otherwise its going to be a tedious drive down on the 18th :D
Well I got the 323 running tonight and its been for a run down the road, the front suspension seems to be working well, but needs tracking before I am sure.
The rear suspension is not working at all well. I think the safest thing to do at this point is to go back to the standard stuff as the dampers seem to be solid ! (siezed ? ... they moved when I fitted them) I\'m also begining to suspect that they are not monotube shocks and/or do not work upside down (they are fitted 180 degree\'s out to the original fitment)
The electronic ignition box seems to work really well though. And its great to have a dash with a tacho at last.
bit of a step backwards but considering whats changed it\'s to be expected.
oh and my Dad fixed the wobbly mirrors :driving :King ... by taking them to bits and tightening them up (why didn\'t I spot that !) Top job :)
bit more cheerfull tonight. Got off earlyish from work and bought the 323 a nice huuuuge battery big enough to cope with any engine I wish to fit in the future, then fitted all the dash back together, doesn\'t look to shabby even without any restoration :)
Also borrowed the tracking guage so I can get the tracking set and test drive again after refitting the standard shocks. Now on the lookout for some adjustable shocks with a bush type fitting at each end open length 500mm and closed length 345mm.
After the Oldschool mega mini meet I have been inspired to crack on with the 323 and get a rotary in it. :3gears-rh
The parts list is gradually being ticked off and over last few days I\'ve sorted some parts.
Roll Cage - Ex 323 challenge (thanks Richard! + NOS bits)
Oil cooler - Fleabay - from a 2nd gen
SP Rear shocks - NOS
front chrome bumper and bits - NOS
6 port 13b
Clutch
Carb and manifold
Hopefully once we get a free slot in the garage I can get cracking on fitting the cage and giving that rotary a good home !
caged photo (not fitted yet ... just for transport !!)
Good stuff Mike. I will race you to a complete conversion. I do have a hrad start but alot more to do until it is finished.
Maybe we could race at rotorstock. (youd kick me ar£e but would look great for the cameras!
cheers, michael.
could be 12a on 12a for rotorstock ;)
Heres one just for you Mike :D
http://videos.streetfire.net/category/Mazda/0/9737A4D7-228B-46DE-A426-5F5CEF6F16FE.htm
ACE :rollin I guess Glenn may know the owner of that car (its off his old website !)
The parts collection is starting to grow now and I\'ve got my work cut out finding all the little bits that make up a running engine from a short block. Luckily I think I can use up most of the bits off my old 12a block :) my only worry at the moment is forgetting somthing important :Yawn
does anyone know if Mazda sell full engine gasket kits or am I going to have to spend an afternoon down at Mazda sat with the storesman ordering them all ?
I think I may end up with an N/A FC parts car ... basically just to nick all the odd little bits off. it\'d also give me a better apreciation of where all the senders and pipes and bits go on 6 port 13B ! (I could do with a dummies guide to rotary anatomy ... maybee I should create one once i\'ve done!!)
Yeah Mike Mazda sell a gasket set
Quote from: MikeLMRI think I may end up with an N/A FC parts car ... basically just to nick all the odd little bits off. it\'d also give me a better apreciation of where all the senders and pipes and bits go on 6 port 13B ! (I could do with a dummies guide to rotary anatomy ... maybee I should create one once i\'ve done!!)
Hey , Ill buy the diff off you and the doortrims (Trying to put a rollcage in my FC and need a donor diffhousing for a 94 MX5 diffcentre!)
Go to http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/ for the "Factory" Workshop manual but be careful, I think I got a Trojan from the site.
OK, you can have those bits if I get a parts car, its quite a big IF at the moment though :D
Actually, Does anyone know where I can get a 95 MX5 diffcentre from? the STD diff is not good for getting around flags.....(Mind you, The Hydraulic handbrake works well)
Ebay I reckon.
I\'ve just gone and ordered some adjustable coil over units for the back, they are 20" open length and 12.5" closed length which closely matches the old shocks. I\'m not sure if I will need to turret it yet, I\'m thinking they may fit in nearly the standard position with some persuasion.
Rich, If you ever need those SP shocks you only have to ask :)
Thanks for the offer Mike :Thumbs-up
Look forward to seeing the coil overs :mmmm
Rich ;)
Hey Mike what brand coilovers did you buy. What pundage springs etc. I cant believe that there is sooooo much about suspension I am wanting to learn at the moment. Just want to have a car that even if little underpwered it will handle like poo on a blanket.
cheers, michael
Michael, they are GAZ units ... not a premium name in dampers but I think they will do just fine for me. The company is run by one of the guys who formed Leda
I\'ve gone for some 120lb/" springs on the back I\'m not sure if thats going to be too much but I took the view that i had to start somewhere and the 180lb/" springs on the front are quite soft so I\'d just go a few steps lower than those
just sorted some 3" racing harnesses ... thats just about all the safet bits sorted. I will be fitting an fire extinguisher too.
This isn\'t going to be much of a sleeper LoL ! I\'m thinking I may as well just buy some buckets seats now instead of some semi standard looking Mx5 ones !
This is the "still to find list"
EGI engine bits - in progress
Gearbox - in progress
Engine gaskets - will order from Mazda on Friday (ouch)
Oil cooler lines - I\'m thinking Pirtek
Exhaust pipe - HGV supplier
I may also being doing somthing scary to the front suspension but thats all in my head at the moment :bandit
Some photos of the engine, i would have posted it up last night but it was late.
Coilovers arrived too ... more photos
got some more bits stashed away now
Rear axle and LSD
Propshaft
Gearbox
Starter
clutch bits
oil cooler and lines
+ some wheels and tyres for mock up with the axle so we can narrow it to the correct width
The nice thing about the Dana axles is the hubs are slid over and welded to the tubes, once I cut through the tube all I need to do is machine out the welds cut through the tube and chisel it out, then its a case of pressing it back onto the casing and making sure its all square before welding it back up
I think the half shafs are either going to be resplined proffesionally or if the price is pretty close I may go for some Strange custom halfshafts
The Rally car project was up and running tonight on the fool injection ... had a bit of stress getting it running but it all seems sweet now ... sounds ace with just a 4-2-1 manifold attached :D
Still got quite a few bits to find on the rx323 though
a new coffee table arrived this morning ;)
D_I_S_H. those are going to look great mike!!!
Pirtek is a good idea for the Oil lines.
120 pound rears may be a bit soft .
Not long now ... 2 more exams and then its trailering the 323 to Rally HQ ready to start work :)
Its going to be a HUGE job :)
this made me grin when this came through the door ... just got to adjust the metal to suit the paperwork now !!
1308cc :yes
notice they have messed up the the model at some point ... its down as a 1300 DL
Swapped the 323\'s round in the driveway ... shuffling 4 cars, only two of which start without the aid of jump leads and a battery was fun! All ready for its last piston powered trip to the garage tommorow :D
oh and this is what happens when I leave car parts unattended ! hmmm those wheels look familiar :D
You clearly have FAR too much time on your hands dude!!
nothing to do with me (appart from my parts being "borrowed" !)
as of 11pm lat night there is no longer a piston engine in my 323 :D No photos as I wasn\'t planning on working on it last night !
Busy weekend working on other peoples cars but I may get somthing else done and hopefully grab some photos :)
Quote from: MikeLMRas of 11pm lat night there is no longer a piston engine in my 323 :D No photos as I wasn\'t planning on working on it last night !
Busy weekend working on other peoples cars but I may get somthing else done and hopefully grab some photos :)
Hey hey its ****edon free !!!!!!!! Well done bro.....by the way are you a vendor now as you are working on other peoples cars !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :Nono!
yeah I\'m trading under Rufus Fook Coachworks ... no bodge too big no shortcut too small :Giggle
Quote from: MikeLMRyeah I\'m trading under Rufus Fook Coachworks ... no bodge too big no shortcut too small :Giggle
Great bud,happy for you............when is there a mini meet up at your place so we can drop the ROTOR in place ?
mike, i have a modified rx-4 front engine bracket. if it\'s any use to your conversion let me know. ;)
Hi Haden, I\'ve got a new RX3 mount and X-member I was going to use. But I think we are going to use 2nd gen style mountings instead :) Thanks for the offer :)
Era ... not sure when the rotors going in, all depends on the chassis work
Hey Mike, sounds like you\'ll be needing one of these soon :god
(http://publish.hometown.aol.com/jmazdaman/images/rib.jpg)
Keep up the good work
Rich;)
Quote from: RichardHey Mike, sounds like you\'ll be needing one of these soon :god
(http://publish.hometown.aol.com/jmazdaman/images/rib.jpg)
Keep up the good work
Rich;)
Me please !!!!!!!!! :mmmm
Hi Rich,
that engines got your name on it :) I think an oldschool meeting is in order so I can bring it over to you :) No rush really though it\'ll be quite happy in storage for a while yet.
LoL at the sticker ... its got a 1.3 badge on the back, is that not enough of a clue :Giggle
Got plenty of work done on a mates mini today (changing steering rack :) ) and I have had a little time on the 323 too ... but not in the garage. I did have more done but my laptop threw a wobbly and locked up :(
Just thinking aloud here... Mike is that x-member and bracket for sale, then? Will it fit my RX-2 with a 1st Gen RX7 12A, and I wonder if it\'ll make my life easier by saving measuring, welding, etc ! ?
Hi MArtin, I don\'t think it will fit a 2, the RX3 one bolts up under the angled antiroll bar mount ... theres a couple of photos somewhere on this thread :) It may be for sale once I have my engine in and the mounts made (until then I am not 100% sure if it will be used)
Got the engine bay totally stripped and cleaned today, all bolt on front end panels are off and I have found very little rust :cheers infact other than the wings a few little bits the front 1/3 of the car is almost rot free and very tidy indeed :D very happy with that.
No photos as my camera had flat batteries when I came to use it :Grrr
Tried the S3 rad in for size as well and its going to be a very tight fit LoL its sat on the ARB and the filler cap is marginal on clearance with where I think the bonnet will be ! Not a big deal really it will fit once we have finished ;)
some update photos ;) the scale of the project is just taking hold ! The drawing and layout alone is a big job :)
took a delivery of some parts for the 323 yesterday ;) Also got a selection of hoses through the post courtesy of T-Rex - Thanks :)
Got nearly all of the interior and exterior of the car stripped down today, this is going to be a ground up rebuild now, we may even go as far as stripping the dash out just to make life a little easier when we paint the interior.
A long way to go yet !
Jeez Mike looks like you slipped with the grinder! :) Am looking forward to seeing the rear end being fabricated. Top stuff, takes a brave man with committment to do this. Just think of the rewards at next years RSIV when the wheel stands are freaking all the fd boys out!
LoL we\'ve just taken a little bit out for a good look and a measure. It\'s given me a bit more of an idea and i\'ve roughly sketched out a bit more of an idea. A lot of stuff is going to have to wait till next week due to other comitments.
just finished taking the dash out ... not a complicated dash by any stretch of the imagination but still a pain in the @rse :)
some photos of the dash out + some more parts arrived.
taking the dash out worries me more than doing anything else on this project :Giggle
Have now removed over half the sound deadening tar in the car and have the heater matrix and blower out so we can get good access to the transmission tunnel. Plenty of planning going on now and I reckon the engine might be going in for a "trial" fit (well not exactly in the right place but in the engine bay) fairly soon ;)
Hey Mike - things progressing at a pace here - keep it up
What method did you use to remove the tar?
Just out of interest did you weigh the car before starting the mods - would be interesting to see the difference before and after
Rich
Hi Richard, no I didn\'t get chance to get the car weighed before hand :(
I have used elbow grease to get the tar out, basically chipping it out carefully with a blunt screwdriver and hammer and then finally finishing off the last 5% with thinners and a wire brush/cloth. NOT a nice job, but needed because of the seam welding, and other fab work going on. It also saves a little weight (I doubt it\'s more than a few Kilo\'s)
Been out marshalling last night so the other half of the floorpan will have to wait zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
on a slight tangent, this is my potential new daily driver... a 323F V6 I\'ve always like these from having first seen them being PDI\'d at mazda when I worked there during the school holidays. I just so happened to spot one for sale on fleabay that was local and going for the right money.
Got to get rid of my old work horse of a 323 now :( its a shame mazda didn\'t do a better job with the underseal otherwise It\'s still be a cracking car. Oh well it\'s done good and won its fair share of the rallies it entered :Giggle
That new 323 looks very nice. Tried to talk my wife into getting one. We are aiming for Mazda 6 instead.
its being delivered tommorow night :Wiggle insurance isn\'t too bad either. (even though it is a parallel import from Cyprus ... RAF I think)
chap dropped the car off tonight, fairly tidy and a steal at £670 :) really chuffed with it so far, hope It doesn\'t let me down once it\'s on the road.
best bit is it costs me only £90 a year more to insure than my 1300 :Giggle the noise is ace too
Quote from: MikeLMRreally chuffed with it so far, hope It doesn\'t let me down once it\'s on the road.
eh? No way! Mind you they were made when ford had there grubby paws inside Mazda. :-(
Hopefully most of the technology went from mazda to ford and not visa versa.
Not really heard anything bad said against the KL V6\'s though
bit of progress today, we cleaned the garage (big job! and never ending!) and I stored a load of the bits that won\'t be going back on till we\'ve painted it. Also found out that the availability of glass for the car is good (probably more sets of glass than there are cars in the UK!) so I think we will be taking out the bonded screen and not having to work around anything :) The cage is going to be ace ;)
engine is in ;) The engine mounting points are bit odd on these 2nd gen engines aren\'t they !
Anyone know how much is safe to remove from the sump (and put back else where obviously. The 1st gen 12a sump seems to have a much shallower front section.
Right, a photo update (needed some timeout in the garage ... long story, so went out an grabbed some update photos for the thread)
As you can see the engine is sat in the bay for some serious head scratching work. This is not it\'s final position ;)
Awesome stuff mike! looks like you have pretty much got the centre plate of the engine in line with the front strut tops. Nice to see the carb and manifold being used aslo!
cheers, michael.
Looking good bud........:cheers :mmmm
Nice to see my old carby/KN as well!!:eek
Quote from: travellinboblooks like you have pretty much got the centre plate of the engine in line with the front strut tops.
cheers, michael.
oh it\'s going further back than that :evillaugh lots more cutting tonight ... I am really keen to get some constructive work done soon though ... all this destruction is getting worrying ! need to see metal going back in !
We welded 2 30mm box section beams across the chassis rails tonight and as you can see we have bolted in a beefy front strut bar + the lower X member is still in place. Got to try and keep the chassis straight !
got the engine sat further into the car now, probably more than 8" further back than the standard RX3 setup puts the motor. The major problem with this is the X - member ! the engine is sat so high the prop wouldn\'t fit in the tunnel if we put it in as is ! ... some serious sump/x-member ineractions are going to need sorting I think
OK, some more gory photos, The engine is going to sit a lot lower than it is at the moment, but we ended up in the pub after a serious planning session rather than getting too mucky :D ... lots planned for tommorow night.
I promise we will put some of this back in soon and fill in the gaps :)
(crikey two photos with me in ... must be slipping up!!)
good work mike, is the car going to be used on the road?
or will it be brapping around rally stages and circuits?
I can see plenty of thought has gone into your project, keep up with the photos!
street/strip I\'m hoping it will handle pretty well so it might see some corners too :) It certainly isn\'t going to be a daily driver ;)
Quote from: MikeLMRIt certainly isn\'t going to be a daily driver ;)
Wissy........of course it has to be a daily driver...:bandit
only because I walk to work ;)
Granted...then it will be a Sunday morning,scare the village folk car then...:3gears-rh :Hammer :rollin
Mike,
Stumbled upon this link. He also has the engine mounted on the suspension crossmember.
(http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/4623/julian0060mv.jpg)
Might be of some help
http://ausrotary.dntinternet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=82597&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=ffa67c5439cc4be69083fe18237ff5e2
thats awesome ... thankyou !
inspired now ... Hopefully I can get the sump and X-member made up this weekend.
Personally i think a mini meet at Mike\'s is in order...if all the old schooler\'s get together,fly up there,we could sort that engine location for him in 2 ticks.........whats your add Mike ??????:guinness :cheers :yes
LoL it\'ll be sorted soon ;)
The crossmember is now braced with a temporary brace and cutout and the engine has the start of a custom sump bolted to it, the engine is now probably sat 80mm lower than it was before and about 6" further back :Laugh
the sump so far is a 3mm sheet which I\'ve profiled to match the engine and drilled for the mounting bolts and drilled a clearance for the large bolt on the front housing. We\'ve now sat the engine in the car and marked where we have to clear the steering so we can build the sump up round everything.
Once the sump is finished the engine/suspension crossmember will be fabricated. I reckon we could fit a few more rotors up front :rollin
Photos to follow as I forgot my camera today :rolleyes:
you will be glad to know that we have started to add metal back into the car tonight :Giggle well it\'s only the sump but its the start of much bigger things and a step forwards :)
I\'ll let the piccies do the talking here are the progress pics. There\'s some more to come out to let me take the top off the carb in situ but the majority of the cutting is done.
I\'m also on the lookout for a ballistic blanket for the bellhousing as it\'s going to be sat next to my feet/legs ! I calculated that I\'d need 7mm of decent grade steel plate to contain a full on flywheel at an over rev rpm of 10\'000 (if it\'s going to go it\'s going to go at mega rpm) 7mm !! I think Kevlar is the way forward, but the tunnel will be 3mm plate around the flywheel anyway. Fook the weight it\'s gonna be safe.
Engine isn\'t quite square in the shots as it shifted after we had measured up for the sump and trial fitted the box.
Anyway photos !
Some extra ones (lots of photos today!)
The sides of the sump DO fit it\'s just that they are thrown together the wrong way round for a quick photo as I left the garage. Hopefully my gaskets will arrive form Mazda soon and I can swap the front cover so that once the sumps on we can make a new crossmember up.
notice the high tech metal folder :yes it runs on elbow grease and big hammers :Laugh
last of the photos
Front section of sump is 270x85x80 and holds about 1.9 litres of oil when full.
The rear section is going to be much bigger, tapered from 85mm-60mm front-back and will have 3 1/2" flexi\'s linking to the front sump under the steering. Hopefully it will work first time. If not we will make another till it does.
lets have a go at this "posting a video on the forum" thing then, this is what you have to deal with when clearing a steering box/drag link etc ... the engine will sit about 5mm higher than this when it is in to allow for some flex in the mounts etc. (not much I hope as they are going to be fairly solid!!)
Whey it appears to have worked :cheers
Awesome stuff MIke! You have enough room at front of the engine for at least 1 more rotor and a decent enough sized turbo :)
cheers, michael.
Even listening to Drive by The Cars while you work.
There\'s no doubting your commitment Mike. :god :rollin
whatevers on in the background is the local radio station ... Monday is country night uggghhh, not my choice :)
I like both types of music. Country and western! yeeeeeha.
cheers, random post for the day...
Great work, thanks for the updates!
Thanks for the comments :)
Got most of the sump welded up tonight, need some trial fitting then it\'s onto final cutting/welding then fitting the drain plug and cross over pipes and cleaning up the outer profile to tidy the job once we are sure it\'s all good .
Oh and leak testing.
Got looking at sorting out some sort of protection from the the clutch/flywheel today. And got as far as nearly ordering some Kevlar to make our own blanket (double layer of Kevlar, with Ceramic lagging infill all strapped together with some seatbelt webbing and bolted at the engine/gearbox joint)
But then i found a universal Nylon SFI approved one for $80 from Summit racing in the US and ordered that instead :) didn\'t fancy cutting and sewing the stuff to be honest (tis tuf stuff to work with apparently)
photos are of the trial fit of the sump, engine is just dropped in and roughly in the right place. probably about 10-5mm too high and not square or level but it fits and clears (and still will when it\'s in properly) which is the main thing.
Now cut the sump plate out for the pans and started to make a pickup, a 1st gen pickup fits just fine but needs the flange rotating by 180 degree\'s or so.
Got to spend some time bolting it all down before we weld it too ... don\'t want it to distort too much! Slow progress but lots of engine in and out work and cutting.
Got a neat idea for the engine mountings tonight too :)
top stuf mike. you guys should definately turn that little workshop of yours into a car prep buisness!!! That sump looks great.
So what are your ideas for the engine mounts?
cheers, michael.
Quote from: travellinbobtop stuf mike. you guys should definately turn that little workshop of yours into a car prep buisness!!! That sump looks great.
Totally agree Michael! That sump looks really cool. I\'m well impressed! :mmmm :Thumbs-up
Quote from: travellinbobSo what are your ideas for the engine mounts?
LoL with the amount of time we take and beer/coffee that gets consumed we\'d never make any money.
Engine mountings are still in the idea stage but I purchased another 4 poly suspension bushes to make them up when we have a crossmember and finished sump to work around. They won\'t look anything like the old style rx mountings but will be more like the modern FWD type mountings.
made a blank sheet of aluminum up tonight and sandwiched that between the sump plate and the engine then bolted it all down snug and we welded the sump pans to the plate and b*ggered off down the pub for a pint (well a coke as I was driving) to let it all cool before we remove it tomorrow. We also welded up a new pickup which is basically a 12a pickup but rotated to fit in the new front section.
It now needs a sump plug and few other bits doing, but i think tomorrow we will make a start on the new cross member (woo! more metal going back in!)
Sump was leak tested today and didn\'t leak at all :) ... all credit to Dave the welder :Thumbs-up
I also spent about 3 hours grinding to remove all the unecessary parts of the suspension crossmember and fabricated a new box section to replace what has been removed. Tommorow we weld the new bits in place and remove the cross member for final welding and gusseting on the bench.
The sump just needs a drain welding in (when we know where it will be accessable) and the cross feed pipes to join the two pans.
OH and if anyone wants to swap a 12a front cover onto a 13b ...they don\'t fit ... only one of the sump bolts line up and it\'s a different shape ! Looks like we will be TIG welding some new engine mountings to the 13b front cover on Monday!
Right ... an update with some substance :)
Friday night, we welded up the sump (see photo) and the oil pickup
Saturday, we first leak tested the sump then proceeded to grind some more out of the original crossmember to tidy things up and made up a new bar that fitted in the space that we had available.
Sunday, early start and first of we had severe garage door failure resulting in the whole door (3 car wide) dropping on our freshly painted rally car project :flamed so first task was to make some seriously strong steel wheels to replace the crappy nylon ones that had worn out (to be fair they are very old) about 1/2 hour with a hole cutter and a welder had that sorted and by then Mark had turned up to respray the car and fix the dents !
While the repairs were going on outside I prepared the new crossmember for welding to the original on the car and then Dave welded 75% of it while still on the car. We then took the crossmember off the car and started to box it all back in and gusset the old to the new to make it strong enough.
So thats where we are ... modded sump, modded cross member (not the prettiest thing in the world but it will do) BUT, still no solution to the engine mount on the block itself ... needs more thought before a solution will be found.
anyhow .... Photos ->
last six photos
I got a box full of pipes from california today :D I think they got mixed up and sent me some roll cage tubing ... it\'s really thick walled stuff :cool
hopefully enough parts to build an exhaust to suit our rather unique engine bay :Laugh
Ian, will send you a cheque for that spare U pipe ASAP as I reckon we will be needing it :guinness
Mike,
Just going through the tread, is that a weber 45 carb? on a 13b?
like the suspension set up (i wish!)
Mark
nearly, its a 48 Dellorto. I think a 45 is a little on the small side for a 13B
any idea on BHP?
my weber should be going on to a ported 13b so it would be a good comarision?
Mark
not sure on the power, I\'ll be happy with anything over the standard for a 13B 6 port. At the end of the day if it pulls hard and with no major flat spots I\'ll be happy. Once it\'s up and running I may go a little more extreme with the engine (I\'d like to now but don\'t have the cash and this engine is a very good starting point)
Know what you mean!
mine is the 4 Port 13b im estimating 200bhp? with the carb but like you say as long as she works and make\'s me smile i\'m happy
Mark
has it been ported ? and what sort of weber carb ? 48 IDA ?
it has been ported, i have a weber 45 to go on it, tried to find a 48 but there were none about at the time, pip will be fitting it soon and setting it up so i will et him to rolling road it then
Mark
Quote from: MikeLMRnot sure on the power, I\'ll be happy with anything over the standard for a 13B 6 port. At the end of the day if it pulls hard and with no major flat spots I\'ll be happy. Once it\'s up and running I may go a little more extreme with the engine (I\'d like to now but don\'t have the cash and this engine is a very good starting point)
That dont look right Mike,a carb has to to stand up,not lay down....:spank :Typing
do the IDA carbs sit lower than the up and over Dellorto manifolds ? i don\'t have a lot of room for some strange reason :D
Quote from: oldoneThat dont look right Mike,a carb has to to stand up,not lay down....:spank :Typing
My 45 sits the same across the engine nice and tidy
Mark
Quote from: oldoneThat dont look right Mike,a carb has to to stand up,not lay down....:spank :Typing
my weber 45 sits the same way over the engine nice and tidy
Mark
Quote from: MikeLMRdo the IDA carbs sit lower than the up and over Dellorto manifolds ? i don\'t have a lot of room for some strange reason :D
A) cos your engine is to high in the car
B)cos its not far back enough
C)cos I dont know what the reason is.............LOLOLOLOL:wiggle
I don\'t think it\'s possible to get an engine any lower without going to a front steer rack :) (I\'ve looked at the option and it could be done)
It\'s because of the position of the bulkead, an IDA would foul the wipers :D
Quote from: MikeLMRI don\'t think it\'s possible to get an engine any lower without going to a front steer rack :) (I\'ve looked at the option and it could be done)
It\'s because of the position of the bulkead, an IDA would foul the wipers :D
You are doing well Mike,good direction you are thinking in.....:mmmm
Mike,
U bent is ready to post as soon the chequre arrive!
Your delly carb is an excellent one, easy to driving hard to 8.500 rpm with steel flywheel and better fuel mileage than 48 IDA.
180+hp and light weight 323.no brother!
install two facet fuel pumps with two switchs, pump 1 on for steady driving and pump 1 +2 for high performance.
Ian I will get that cheque posted ASAP, been a bit distracted sorting out for IoM next week so very little going on with the 323 (well this one anyway)
What size fuel lines were you running Ian ?
P.S how did you get on at that sprint the other weekend?
Mike,
The size of tube is 5/16 inside dia and it\'s rubber fuel pipe which goes under the car, got copper tube as well but did\'t install.
Going to starting a forum about sprint race weekend. look out for it.
I look forward to reading it Ian :)
Not a lot going on physically with the 323 today but quite a few planning victories (working on rally cars today) The speedo cable bolted straight onto the EGI gearbox (don\'t you just love japanese interchangeability ... two cars probably designed 10 years appart and at opposite ends of the "range" and the speedo drive is still to the same pattern) so thats sorted, we got an exhaust manifold design very much done, we have about 10mm to spare to the steering arm at full lock and a very nicely positioned exhaust for silencers etc. (going to need to revisit that exhaust thread soon to pick up on the good info again) Plus we made some templates up for the engine mounts and got those all worked out.
Hopefully we can cut some metal and make some headway tommorow.Rally Isle of Man next week so progress is going to stop for a week or so.
Doesn\'t seem like a lots gone on with the 323 for a while. A week off everything in the IoM (OK so it involved rallying ... I admit I\'m an addict :D) + The amount of other work on at the moment means that only a little time is spent on the 323.
I\'ve got some steel cut out for the engine mounting, some bolts and bits sorted so I can actually bolt it onto the engine. Plus I\'ve been scraping some more of the sound deadening goop off the floorpan. fortunately it\'s nearly all gone now and back to clean metal wooo! (does anyone want some prisoners punishing ? screw breaking rocks, thats easy! They can come and scrape tar off car floorpans instead!)
Hopefully I can get the engine mounting made up over the next few days and things will progress again. It\'s a struggle sometimes to see clearly how to do somthing straight away and thats what takes the time.
Use a hairdryer to warm and soften the \'tar\'..peels off quite easily then,plus get a small cold chisel,sharpen it, and with a small hammer the difficult bits just flake off.Have spent hours doing that horrible job.When its off and all is painted,it just looks the dogs Bo....s !!!!!!:guinness
I have to admit I seem to have caught the NA mazda rotary addiction.
Im gonna wait and see how long the engine lasts in mine, and then might go for a bridge ported 12a with a nice webber or similar. My only real concern is,
1) how much do these fancy carbs cost 2) are they available to buy anywhere 3) (my main concern) how can I make good power without it being too loud, at the moment I am running the Janspeed exhaust and quite honestly its nearly too damn loud as it is.
Im amazed at how well the series 3 handles, it puts a standard 3rd gen to shame for chuckability imho.
Quote from: A7NTYI have to admit I seem to have caught the NA mazda rotary addiction.
Im gonna wait and see how long the engine lasts in mine, and then might go for a bridge ported 12a with a nice webber or similar. My only real concern is,
1) how much do these fancy carbs cost 2) are they available to buy anywhere 3) (my main concern) how can I make good power without it being too loud, at the moment I am running the Janspeed exhaust and quite honestly its nearly too damn loud as it is.
Im amazed at how well the series 3 handles, it puts a standard 3rd gen to shame for chuckability imho.
My 13B bridge idles at 84db and at 3000rpm its 87db..never tested beyond that.Bearing in mind its a daily driver,short intake and small air cleaner,it still forks off and the roads are to narrow for it !!!!!!!!! It has scared many a \'boy racer\'.hehehehe There is nothing like the looks and stares you get at the brap brap brap machine,when the laugh,you just leave them behind and then you laugh :Typing
A7nty,
did\'t mean to be to be cheeky.
You wrote in at Wrong forum, start a new one. so we all reads about great n/a rotary power.
It\'s addiction!!
Quote from: oldoneMy 13B bridge idles at 84db and at 3000rpm its 87db..never tested beyond that.Bearing in mind its a daily driver,short intake and small air cleaner,it still forks off and the roads are to narrow for it !!!!!!!!! It has scared many a \'boy racer\'.hehehehe There is nothing like the looks and stares you get at the brap brap brap machine,when the laugh,you just leave them behind and then you laugh :Typing
Hehe I know, my FD has a bridge port ;) and 500+bhp helps vanquish the boy racers :D
Quote from: ian duncanA7nty,
did\'t mean to be to be cheeky.
You wrote in at Wrong forum, start a new one. so we all reads about great n/a rotary power.
It\'s addiction!!
Good point, I will do that tomorrow.
Ant, I think there are a couple of RB Dellorto setups for sale at the mo, they are cheaper than an IDA and the longer runners make for better torque. Probably won\'t make quite as much outright power as an IDA but what the heck if it\'s just for a bit of fun :)
Quote from: MikeLMRAnt, I think there are a couple of RB Dellorto setups for sale at the mo, they are cheaper than an IDA and the longer runners make for better torque. Probably won\'t make quite as much outright power as an IDA but what the heck if it\'s just for a bit of fun :)
They are okay MIke,and not that far behind the IDA\'s....:yes
Quote from: MikeLMRAnt, I think there are a couple of RB Dellorto setups for sale at the mo, they are cheaper than an IDA and the longer runners make for better torque. Probably won\'t make quite as much outright power as an IDA but what the heck if it\'s just for a bit of fun :)
Cheers, who\'s selling them? What sort of money?
I think that Steve, dubber, was selling one a wee while ago.
cheers, michael.
I think Steve has one (Dubber91 ?) and KiwiMazda had one off the other RX323 for sale.
Got the engine cradle built today ... I can guarantee its different from the usual front/side mounts :) and very strong. Engine and box will go back in the car tomorrow to finish up the other side of the engine mounts. Will sort some photos too. i\'m hoping now we\'ve made this we can start to move forward again.
Good stuff mike. Jealous of your progress. Guess I just need to pull me finger out! Looking forward to seeing photos of the cradle too.
Oh and I recieved the manifold from carl today so please cash the damn cheque!:)
cheers, michael.
It feels like a long while since we achieved something (it\'s been a month in fact!) but yeah it\'s good to be doing something again. Are you pretty busy then ? I cashed the cheque the other week, thanks LoL I was broke after my IoM trip :D
Will have to let us know when you get round to fitting it all :)
Ok here are some engine cradle photos. It will look a lot tidier once it\'s all painted but theres some more fabrication work to go on with the engine mounts so it\'s "raw" for now. Engines not sat in the right place yet as I need to trim down the the front bar as it was left long until we decide on the position of the mountings.
Pretty cr@p weekend all in, got some work done but made some fcuk ups + hacked and burnt my hands countless times ... one to forget I thnk :2Confused
So whats the go Mike??? Hows progress treating you? have you had much mor time on the yella terra?
Cheers, michael.
spent last week changing both CV joints and both wheel bearings on the v6 323 (mostly spent waiting on correct parts and then getting bailed out by a friend when my attempt at changing the bearings using the press at work didn\'t go to plan)
the CV joints were just noisy and the boot was an MOT fail so that had to be done, and I killed a wheel bearing by cooking it with the brakes on the mountain road in the IoM LoL all the grease ran out ! (the seals must have been fooked to start with ... thats my story and I\'m sticking to it!!)
so it\'s not looking likely I\'ll get chance till later this week. + I have next week off work so might get a load done then if I can get the metal work cut during the day and the welding done in the evenings (I can\'t weld ... very well anyway!) Fingers crossed the weathers OK too as I\'m hoping to get down to SantaPod for the FIA euro finals qualifying on Friday.
made a brief start on the engine mountings today. Hope to have the engine in and X-member 100% done with the engine mounts by end of play tomorrow :) I can make a start on the gearbox mounting and tunnel then. Hope it\'s going to come together quicker now these tricky bits are sorted (I doubt it :D )
Got the subframe finished up 100% and painted today. I bit the bullet in the end and redrilled the suspension mounting holes further out by 13mm so I should be able to run a little negative camber rather than the ever so slightly positive camber it had before. We welded up the old holes and welded washers over to strengthen the new ones ... no going back now LoL.
Engine mountings have been fabricated too and the whole thing boxed in. It\'s looking a lot neater than it did before. This car really is taking longer than I thought it would. Not having a lot of time to solidly work on the car is the main problem. Hopefully this being totally done now will give us a boost. No photos again I\'m afraid :( I really have got out of the habit with working on the car when I can
pictures of the latest progress ... or lack of it :Giggle
The engine mountings have been welded in place now and the rest of the cross member boxed in and the lower arm mountings redrilled to give some negative camber again
anyway piccies ... the paint job om the x member really is shocking, the first go was good but it\'s been ground down welded and held in vice etc. since then lol !
Not being to able to read the pics...are your engine mounts solid ?:Typing
nice carbie man!
Looks like the exhaust manifold will have to be a work of art mike!!!
Not too much clearance between it and the steering box. Rack and pinion conversion I hear someone say??
Oh yeah, nice carby!
cheers, michael.
Quote from: oldoneNot being to able to read the pics...are your engine mounts solid ?:Typing
They are poly bushes, not much play but a little "give" I hope it\'s enough, the are mounted so far outboard of the engine that a little give should allow enough engine movement. If they don\'t work we will change the shore rating of the bushes, if that doesn\'t work it\'ll be out with the angle grinder LoL !
Michael, exhaust manifold isn\'t bad at all, engine is offset to passenger side a fair bit, I could easilly fit a standard RB manifold I reckon ... but it\'d be too low :) Loads of room. If we were to fit a turbo it\'d sit right up the front so no problem with that either :)
Thanks for the comments. work on the transmission mount and tunnel starts this week. Hope to have it looking a bit more solid and less fred flinstone soon !
I am at the stage where I am welding more stuff back into the car than I am cutting out and it is a great thing!!!!!
Would love to spend a few hours checking this thing out MIke. Top stuff.
cheers, michael.
Hey mike what were the polly bushes that you used for the engine mounts from?? i am re-doing mine and am up for new ideas. Would love to get rid of the factory fb engine mounts as they are a bit too big.
cheers, michael.
they are kit car and hot rod bushes from supeflex ... not sure if they work yet LoL should do as the bike engined kit car folks use similar ones as do grass track racers (where I got the idea from as my mate like his grass tracking)
Cheers for that mike, just bought some mx5 lower suspension bushes, look the same-ish but orange, for £14 on e-bay. I guess I will see when they turn up.
cheers, michael.
cool, let me know how you get on with them.
Fair bit of progress this week on the 323, made and fitted the rear X-member and started to make the space frame transmission tunnel. It\'s looking a bit more car like now ! Scary. This is the first time we\'ve done the real heavy fab work so we are learning as we go !
The bank card got a good hammering earlier the week as well. Ordered a pair of Kirkey Pro street seats and a kit of parts for a 4 link rear end. yet again the time and money trade off went towards buying a kit of parts and modifying to suit ... we have scratch built most of the rest of the car so I suppose it\'s not too big a deal :) ... the geometry of the 4 link will still be down to our own design once we remake the chassis brackets etc. though.
Hoping to get a lot of the trans tunnel done tomorrow and maybe measure up for the start of the roll cage. Photos tomorrow ! It\'s not looking pretty at the moment ( it may never LoL but it should work ... eventually!)
Looking forward to the pics. Good work Mike. This will be a car to look out for in the future that for sure! :mmmm :Thumbs-up
So where are the photos??? huh....c\'mon...were waiting...:)
Oooooooohhh, Kirkey seats... Its gonna look like a space ship. Pics pics pics.......
Ok, some in progress shots. Dirty, unfettled, unfinished (its not pretty!) LoL I started to make some mountings for the rad today as well. It will look a bit better once we take the engine out and can sort the bulkhead side out and neaten up all the rough (very !) cuts
metal going back in though :)
ooooh look sgood mike! Nice work that. Yu and your mates really should go into buisness.
cheers, michael.
LoL we\'d have killed each other within a week of working together full time :)
Cut most of the front slam panel out the car now and scrapped the rad mounts I made last night. LoL it looks loads neater now :) (don\'t really hesitate cutting things out now ... in for a penny !)
You need to fit your starter motor.........gear lever comfortable ???????
Starter was in when we made the tubes up, has been taken off again for access. Can be seen in the 7th photo sat on the floor :) ... thanks for the comments ... don\'t want to miss anything important.
The gear lever isn\'t too bad, will probably decide what combination of shorterning the housing and lever modifying will be done once the seats are in.
was thinking aloud................:Typing
it will be interestig to see how well it sits ... have a few ideas if we need to move it right forward. ... my mate wants to fit the the TH400 out of his old jag LoL I told him I\'d need a couple of hundred more horsepower to justify that monster box !
Start to see a little bit of light at the end of tunnel now. Lots of remaking stuff to be done and arguing no doubt !
Position the seat,lower the steering column and extend and leave all as is.!!!!!!!!! You will be close to having to much weight on the rear.............:yes
will have to stick a few more rotors out the front just for weight balance purposes !
LOL Micky...................
Quote from: MikeLMRit will be interestig to see how well it sits ... have a few ideas if we need to move it right forward. ... my mate wants to fit the the TH400 out of his old jag LoL I told him I\'d need a couple of hundred more horsepower to justify that monster box !
Start to see a little bit of light at the end of tunnel now. Lots of remaking stuff to be done and arguing no doubt !
Just spent the last 30 mins catching up on this thread Mike. That is gonna be 1 tuff 323, I\'m liking your progress dude :cheers
the TH400 is an awsome box, rather heavy but still a good option for later on, I\'d say it would sort out any weight distribution issues you may have aswell LOL!
Cant wait for more pic\'s
Jase
Awesome thread Mike!!!...proper inspiration! I wish I had a garage..must make one as where I live is all muddy.
I would like to post a progress thingee too for my chevette project (picking chevette up tomorrow!) but I\'m not that computer literate so i\'m wondering whats the best way to post in photos? I have \'photo bucket\' but I\'m not sure how long the photos last?
I would like it for other people to use the info i\'m posting for their projects in the future and still have photos to see.
cheers
alex
Hey Mike where dod you get the 4 link bits from?
cheers, michael.
they are competition engineering parts from the states.
Alex, the photobucket piccies last as long as you are a member I think. If you are a member of this club you can of course upload them 10 at a time to the forum as well. If you are stuck and want to post piccies e-mail them to me and I will sort them.
Ok- thanks mike. I\'d better start taking some pictures then !
slow progress as usual :)
Radiator is just about mounted as I want it (needs some ducting to finish it off) gearbox mounting is nearly done too.
AND
I\'ve stripped down the standard wiring loom and i\'ve got most if not all the wiring figured out and just waiting for the steel to go into the tunnel so I can work out where the loom is going to run. I\'ve run the lighting through the inner wing now and inside the front bumper tube so there is going to be almost no wiring in the engine bay to suffer from the heat (and clutter it up)
Looking at the igntion now and thinking that the standard coils are looking a bit bulky and I\'m thinking some 2nd gen TurboII coils might be neater. Also thinking about going direct fire at the same time.
I also need to find a 13b N/A water pump + housing + stat housing and all the associated bolts ... anyone got a spare one in good condition ?
TII coil packs might be of interst as well :)
Next up ... more wiring and figuring out the oil cooler lines and mounting the fans etc.
hello mate, im sure i got a water pump in housing and stat etc your can have....AND th turbo 2 coils....might as wll stick with th NA ones on the bug now.
Gimmie a ring or mail anytime mate
:Thumbs-up
saxgod91@hotmail.com
07834693226
Damn mike you are steamng ahead with it arnt ya? I just cant seem to find time to get into the workshop for more than half an hour at a time.
So I guess your car should be running before christmas??
the engine might get fired up but its still a big job ... not start the roll cage or the rear suspension yet ... then theres the floor pan to put back in and ... well lots of stuff :)
you interested in this stuff? ill make sure i got it all if so...
yes please.
sorry, replied to that question in another post for some reason ? (LoL I\'m a bit random sometimes ... to much going on at the same time!)
haha, ill check it all out today....
steve
hey fella, i think i got those parts, gonna have to see if i can find the bolts for the water pump though......
ill get some pics asap
Steve
ah cool, thanks for digging them out.
yeh I\'m very interested
here ya go......
(http://file022.bebo.com/5/large/2006/10/25/07/5750708a2357186551b213432632l.jpg)
(http://file022.bebo.com/5/large/2006/10/25/07/5750708a2357186689b516811996l.jpg)
(http://file022.bebo.com/5/large/2006/10/25/07/5750708a2357186863b680050469l.jpg)
what ya reckon?
This things really coming along now Mike, i know when i was putting mine back together you get to a stage when it flys along, any ideas on when she will be ready?
March show?
Mark
I\'d planned on getting it done for then but its all going to slow down soon as we have two cars entered in a rally in Dec and they both need a fair bit of work to prepare.
Got some rod ends sorted for the rear suspension today, was going to use bushes but the design of the 4 link kit kinda put a stop on that so 3/4" x 3/4" rose joints it is !
Yes Please Steve send me an e-mail and we\'ll sort out the details.
Hey Mike. Hadn\'t been on here for ages, the projects really taken a serious turn! Interesting to me, cos I sold the 323 I had to buy another that was \'basically complete\', but I\'ve ended up completely stripping it and rebuilding it too. I also have moved my engine back a long way, but not as far as yours! About 120mm from memory, just to where the oil filter is right up next to the firewall. Also, I\'ve built mine more for corners than drags, you might be interested to know that I have transplanted the entire front end out of a series 4 rx7 in, giving me rack and pinion steering, and better suspension and brakes. Gives more clearance for the turbo dump too (12abp, t04). I too have been in the process of cutting my car, although less tunnel and rear end mods, more just bracing, including a cage that goes to all suspension mounting points. Awesome progress, I can\'t wait to see the finished result! I\'m hoping to have mine finished and on the road over here in early Feb.
Get back in the garage! You\'ve helped inspire me to keep working on mine and get it on the road ASAP.
Glad to here you\'ve enjoyed reading it, I\'ve enjoyed writing it and working on it. Rally this weekend so work may start again soon :) I hope. Will be an update pretty much straight away as I think I missed the last lot of progress (got a bit swamped with things to do)
Have made you an overseas guest too ... please post some photos of your car .. sounds very interesting!!
Thanks ~ Mike
Quote from: MikeLMRGlad to here you\'ve enjoyed reading it, I\'ve enjoyed writing it and working on it. Rally this weekend so work may start again soon :) I hope. Will be an update pretty much straight away as I think I missed the last lot of progress (got a bit swamped with things to do)
Have made you an overseas guest too ... please post some photos of your car .. sounds very interesting!!
Thanks ~ Mike
No worries. Where should I post up pics, in here? Probably won\'t be for a little while anyway (I\'m at work at the moment!). Waiting for updates;)
you can make a new thread ... thats what the forum is for. You should be able to upload piccies straight to the forum.
the angle grinder is going to have to come out again ... gawd knows how this is going to fit ! manifold to suit my engine is on it\'s way. (a little cheaper than the engine to suit the manifold!)
:2eek :god :god :evillaugh :cool :D :bandit
Wow looks like it is set up for a PP mike!!! be almost a shame not too....he, he, he...
So that didnt take long to get it? Awesome motorvation though!
yes ... the boxes of various random car bits is stocking up! I have to find a home for them on the car soon or I will be overun ! hope to get something done this weekend even if it\'s just a dust off and uncover and tidy up.
This was the reason for the delay. All prepped and resprayed (very roughly!!) in a month :)
Quote from: MikeLMRyes ... the boxes of various random car bits is stocking up! I have to find a home for them on the car soon or I will be overun ! hope to get something done this weekend even if it\'s just a dust off and uncover and tidy up.
This was the reason for the delay. All prepped and resprayed (very roughly!!) in a month :)
WICKEDDDDD !!!!!!!!.......................:D :cool
Aaaah IO love those ladas. Such a great looking car.
So where is the next run of photos mike??? I think i remember you saying you missed out on an updte? :)
Slowy getting back into this now ... did a bit of head scratching and planning today, I\'ve hit a few problems with the fool injection fitment so we\'ve abandoned the engine side of things for a bit and moved on to fitting the roll cage in a temporary fashion to brace the shell so that the rear chassis can be cut off and replaced with the new narrow rear end.
Also had a good tidy up and it\'s starting to feel like we are ready to start rebuilding again Woo! anyway on to the photos Sorry for blured ones but it was really too dark to get the auto focus working properly.
New things to note, relocated lighting wiring loom to inner wing and seperated engine loom and stripped and moved inside the car ready for fitting to the ECU and the new engine loom.
Also the radiator and oil cooler mountings, I am planning on paneling these in later with aluminium.
Plus a photo of the 4 link kit ... will make fitting the rear axle all that much easier, have also got a set of fully adjustable coilover mounting brackets to fit as well. All parts are from Competition engineering, appart from the rod ends which are PTFE lined chromolly jobbies from a short oval supplier who\'s name I forget!
Nice work, loving it!
Mine\'s progressing slowly too. Still not finished the cage or bodywork, partly as I went away over christmas, but getting there slowly.
Well I have been doing a bit of work, been really busy!. Loads going on at the moment + my camera decided to play up but here we are, it\'s now February 2007 (crikey is it really!) and we have actually been quietly making some progress!
Hit a bit of a stumbling block with the fuel side of things so did what we do best and have ignored it and got on with somthing fun while we think about it. Result = visible progress and much higher spirtits :D
Work done over the past 2 weeks involves fitting the start of the cage (this is only a 1st fit to hold the car square while it is cut! hehe
The sills have been reinforced too, and tied into the cage mountings front and rear.
And finally ... we chopped the rear chassis rails out and tied in the new crossmember (still needs more work but thats for later on) so we can start fabricating the new rear chassis. Should be fun. There are some shots of the mockup rear tyre in there somewhere as well and the rot trap at the back of sills which is all being cut out anyway :)
Oh and we should have an overall shot of the car as it stands ... realised that I hadn\'t got one for a long time!! I stood on the bench to get this one ... aren\'t high ceilings great!
guide to photos
1 = rear passenger side
2 = drivers side through rear hatch
3 = reinforced sill (those aren\'t repair patches!)
4 = drivers side arch ... notice tyre
5 = Tyre "in place" yeah right
6 = mmmm rusty
7 = random 1/4 panel shot ?
8 = overall giants view shot
Looking good Mike :D Gonna be ready for RS5? ;)
Very nice - wish I was half as good!
Quote from: BrettLooking good Mike :D Gonna be ready for RS5? ;)
RSn+1 I think LoL No, I am hoping it will be done. It won\'t be fast, it won\'t be loud. But we will have built it and had fun and thats the main thing.
got to get some 38mm CDS tubing (might go to 45mm if it\'s reasonable) bent for chassis rails now. Decided to go tube frame at the back as it\'s lighter than the classic yank "chassis rail" approach. Rest of the back end will be ali panels.
is that tube up to drag racing spec? obviously you dont need it for RWYB but for the future...like...
Damn your engine is so far back in the bay! Are you reinforcing the transmission tunnel around where the flywheel is? I reckon it would be about ankle level! Thinking about putting a strip of 3mm over the top of my tunnel just in case.
top work mike, looks like a busy weekend ahead!
cheers, michael.
Michael all that was discussed a few pages ago :) LoL there is a SFI approved blanket on the front of the car in those photos and there will be some steel and Kevlar around that area too. Not decided yet. the trans tunnel isn\'t finished yet. Just getting the bare bones fleshed out at the moment.
The tube is to MSA specs. Not that I can prove it as it is an old cage. I doubt I will ever log book the car. It is being built for the fun of it and nowt else :D
Danm this thread i sso long I must have forgotten!
hehehe it\'s hard to keep up. Given up updating the two others I had on various other boards ages ago
been doing some working out regarding the 4 link this weekend, didn\'t get much done yesterday but a plan is starting to form (watch this space it\'s a cunning one :D) but here is a few piccies from the laying out and measuring from today ... oh and a photo of a few bits that are kicking about waiting for their turn :)
Nice one Mike. Sometimes the planning takes alot longer than the doing which can be frustrating!
I like the wheels! wide enough? :)
should be wide enough, might have to go for larger diamter just so I can find tyres to suit though (the 235\'s are a little streched) and not a flared arch or body kit in sight ;) if I could get 15x10 wellers I\'d be stoked but they don\'t make em :(
The plan for tommorow night is to knock the theory on the head and tack the chassis brackets on the car and make a dummy axle out of some 3" dia tube we have knocking about (well about 7metres of it in fact!!) then we can make the entire rear end without having to worry about chopping the axle to slide the brackets over (and to narrow it) we can then move everything around to our hearts content and then just make the volvo axle match the dummy one :) a cunning plan and a good practical look at how all this going to work out geometry wise.
sweet! good choice of seats ;)
well this is the update from monday night, still got lots of things to play with geometry wise but the wheels are sat at normal ride height and in nearly the correct place in the arches.
Spotting an Kumho\'s ,it\'s V700?
yes, road legal cut slicks :) ... only "road" tyre anyone makes that wide in 13" :D
It\'s very good tyres cos have been using it with success with soft comp.
Little better than 888R
Thinking about go back to V700 again!!
P.S
keep up with your very good work!
wow- good effort there fella- makes my project seem a heck of alot easier all of a sudden!
and relax....
323s seem very very simular to chevettes. whats the standard set up on the back suspension wise?
your car is gonna be fun!!
standard rear end is 5 link with coils ... only trouble is it\'s not strong enough :D hence the ovlov axle goin in it\'s place :D
Excellent work, thanks for the updates.
Thanks.
Latest update. Team mate (unknown to me) bought a "pipe" bender to make some chassis rails oops bad idea it won\'t do tubing and kinks it to hell Doh! so we wasted a long while trying to make it work but with no sucess. (even to the extent of compressing sand under great pressure inside the tube ... check out the monster nut and bolts :D )
So for the record DO NOT try and bend expensive tubing with a cheap PIPE bender ... all it does is waste expensive tubing and teach you an expensive lesson.
So instead of paying someone else to bend the tube I\'ve invested in a decent roll cage tube bender from //www.jd2.com ... looks like a nice bit of kit and they are a long established firm with very good reviews ... looking forward to having the time to play with it TBH!
here are some photos of the tube "bending" efforts, also frigging about with the 4 link (yes the brackets are on upside down ... it\'s designed for huge slicks and we are having to play with the geometry to make it fit) also a new "small" welder for making some of the welds required when narrowing the axle casing.
Well since last time I posted some bits were collected and other arrived by post the last of which arrived today after a little delay due to shipping delays (my fault). The work on the car has also been delayed by my current workload with degree work (aslo my fault LOL), so progress is a little slow.
SO whats arrived ... some bits that may not be used on the 323. I\'ve not decided what they are going on yet ... other than the controller will be usefull as the rx-7 has a Mircotech LTX-8 fitted now.
The other thing that has arrive is the proper job tube bender :cheers whey! put it together tonight and it\'s a hefty bit of kit in the least :chat had a little bit of a play but need it bolting down to somthing more solid first! Now I \'just\' need to organize a load of CDS tubing so we can get cracking (got another report to finish first) Anyway onto the Photo (notice not plural)
One off cheap intercooler (future proofing 323) and one off handcontroller (rx-7 & 323 use?)
hey your pipe bender is just like the one we have at work- used it to bend scaffold pipe to make some bike racks out front of the shop.
you could use scaffolding....wont rust plus nice and strong if a little heavy...........he he
what!!!!!!!!!!!!!! an intercooler???? I go away for 2 weeks and all the world goes mad! he, he, he :)
so what is the cool,er going into mike?
errr ... the 323 :D sooner or later ;)
I was just thinking you must be back soon!
Quick update - I finished my uni project so spare time is back again! woo! worked nearly 60hrs in the past 4days... why do I leave these things till last minute ... CAD models of the suspension I \'designed\' looked ace though and I used my weller wheel models from my 323 rear suspension to finish it off a treat with no extra work ... bonus LoL !
AND some 2" OD stainless steel weld elbows arrive in the post ... use TBA one they have all been welded to some other bits ;) hehe
So with a week off work mike I reckon you should almost get it finished:Laugh But seriously, keep us updated and hope lots gets achieved.
cheers, michael.
well got quite a bit done today :)
Fabricated a base for the new tube bender and set it in concrete along with about a tonne of reinforcing ... don\'t want that pulling out the ground mid bend! Hopefully it will set square ... it\'s currently level to within 0.1degree using a digital inclinometer 8)
Also ordered my roll cage tubing - Clubman 500 spec in 38x2.5mm (to match the existing cage otherwise I would have gone to 45mm) 25metres :D (this is in addition to the 6 point cage in the car :D
And made a start on my alternator bracket (it\'s going down the side of the engine) Just need a double pulley and some odd sized bolts to finish it off. (damn silly fine bolts on the engine!)
thats about it, tubing should arrive soon but can\'t bend anything till the concrete cures!
LoL ... lots getting sorted today. Just ordered 8 removable roll cage joints for the X door bars (want to keep front cage removable to take the dash out later on for spraying and finishing of the plumbing and fab work. They are for 40mm tube but nothing an hour or two of lathe work won\'t sort out
and ordered some stupid silly fine bolts for the engine (£2.50 EACH!) ouch :(
Some Piccies from today bit more steel cut out, axle aligned a little better and some more laying out and thinking about the setup and how it\'s going to work
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0328.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0328.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0327.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0327.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0322.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0322.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0321.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0321.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0332.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0332.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0334.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0334.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0335.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0335.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0336.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0336.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0344.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0344.jpg)
Been waiting for my roll cage tubing to turn up since Tuesday ... nothing :( bummer ... also waiting for door bar ends and rear brake calipers. The post is next to useless!
Now THAT\'S a pipe bender....
Looking good Mike. That\'s a fearsome looking rear sus set-up. Liking the rollcage design too.
Awesome- looking good. summers here- love it when I get spare time in summer- enjoy!!!
cheers for the comments , steel is here now so I am happy :D and the 1st 1 metre chunk is welded in place. We\'ve also set the axle in the body ready for sorting out the suspension and welded it solidly in place so it can\'t move around on us (getting it aligned was quite a task!)
Mike, can you tell me more about the costs of pipe bender extras, and shipping etc? Also you didnt fancy the notcher as well then?
Got a notcher already :) bought one from chester tools UK, nothing to it really, but cheaper to buy than make one off.
The pipe bender was best part £700 in the end I got it from a UK supplier (an off road place) not cheap but we will use it a fair bit between us.
http://www.straightforwardsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/shop.html
Some photos from Friday. First bar welded in place, hopefully we can start to tidy up all the rough edges once the chassis is finalised. There is so much going on around different parts of the car it is going to be a lot of mocking up to work out where it all fits!
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0390.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0390.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0388.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0388.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0386.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0386.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0379.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0379.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0373.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0373.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0372.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0372.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0368.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0368.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0365.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0365.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0363.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0363.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0359.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0359.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/th_DSCF0356.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/DSCF0356.jpg)
Just a little tip if you are having problems bending tight angles and kinking the pipe... If you stuff the pipe with sand then it stops the walls caving in on the pipe.
:D tried that (check out photos with big ass bolts and nuts welded to end of pipe to pressurise the sand)
Bit of progress today ... ordered a new ECU. Going with a haltec E8 rather than the Weber Alpha (which I have Ebay\'ed)
Well bit of an update :)
Chassis has been started and I\'ve decided to junk (well I will sell them once I have finished mocking up the suspension) the chassis engineering 4 link brackets and make our own to my own design :) yank bits do not fit 323\'s no matter how universal they claim they are :2Rolleyes
So today I have been measuring, swearing, swearing some more, kicking things swearing again, measuring some more and finally drilling some holes and then having to make a drill jig to finish off (try drilling two co-axial holes 38mm diameter through a 4"x2" box section that is 5mm thick and you will find out how tough it is to get spot on. Anyway should be OK now and will post some pics of the bodgery tomorrow.
Also had a few more bits turn up :)
Water Pump
Door Bar fittings
Rear Brake Calipers (HB 929 ones ... I reckon they are the same as Rx-7 ones or close enough ;)
Lotus Elise Thermostat housing (Inline)
FD main pulley (thanks Chris)
FD Alt Pulley (Thanks Jitesh)
just waiting for some EFI bits in the post now (the Weber Alpha has been sold on Ebay) as mentioned above i\'ve gone for a Haltech E8
Here are the only piccies I have at the moment. Making the chassis is going to be a tricky job, hopefully it can be done over the weekend!
well got a fair bit done today, first chassis rail has been bent and now needs notching and welding in place :D it\'s been a stress full day as none of us have done anything like this before :) so lots of learning of lessons.
1st thing this morning finished off my jig for drilling co-axial holes in the chassis rails (part of tube notching jig fitting with a custom guide machined up on the lathe to suit) and it seems to have worked quite well and I "believe" the two holes are equal around the centreline by about 1.5mm which isn\'t too bad considering I am useless at marking out and it usually frustrates me to the point of swearing :lol:
Next some measurements were made and the tubes needed drawn up and dimensions calculated for bending
Then a 90degree test bend to establish the offset of the bending die (all are slightly different) and a bit of practice.
After the practice we moved onto the real chassis rails ... I think it is pretty close to what we wanted and I\'ve just got make another identical one now!! (eeek) for the other side.
Hopefully we will get the matching one made and them notched tomorrow!
Fingers crossed for the main bit of the chassis to be done for Monday eve! lots of photos hope they are self explanatory.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0424.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0424.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0423.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0423.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0422.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0422.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0420.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0420.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0419.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0419.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0418.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0418.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0415.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0415.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0414.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0414.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0411.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0411.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0409.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0409.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0408.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0408.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0407.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0407.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0404.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0404.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0403.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0403.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0402.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0402.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0398.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0398.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0397.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0397.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0395.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0395.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0393.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0393.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/th_DSCF0426.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/CHASSIS/DSCF0426.jpg)
chassis rails are done and in the car for 1st fitting :mmmm
they fit well enough and are pretty accurate although a little different to what I had 1st drawn (reworked along the way :rollin )
Lots to do!! this is a big project but it\'s starting to take shape now.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0442.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0442.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0441.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0441.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0440.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0440.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0439.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0439.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0438.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0438.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0437.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0437.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0436.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0436.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0435.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0435.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0433.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0433.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0430.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0430.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0429.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0429.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0428.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0428.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0427.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0427.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/th_DSCF0443.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis2/DSCF0443.jpg)
Interesting, Mike!
thanks John ... yours is looking good too! couldn\'t stretch to an ARR chassis so we will have to make our own ;)
photos of tonight\'s work ... two backstays and probably the hardest notches to make in the whole cage. just took it steady and they came out OK. we will just about perfect the art when the cage is finished I reckon :lol:
about 8 metres of tube so far another 17 to go!
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0447.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0447.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0446.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0446.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0444.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0444.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0454.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0454.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0453.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0453.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0452.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0452.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/th_DSCF0449.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis3/DSCF0449.jpg)
Notice it\'s a bit too dark for photos ... need more bank holidays with sun!
been a busy week, got both door bars made up this week, doesn\'t seem much be we made a jig to notch them as well so at least one night was spent doing that. The main cage is pretty much done now, next step is to take it out and weld round the parts we couldn\'t get to and to clean it up and paint it, then it\'s time to take the screen out and fix all the chassis tie ins to the cage.
Next job might be the exhaust, or possibly narrowing the axle ... fun fun fun !
No photos I\'m afraid, went out in rush this morning and forgot. The door bars look nice though
Been a slow week really, took the cage out the car on Tuesday? I think then spent the rest of the week cleaning it up and fully welding all the joints and brackets out of the car. Then Thursday and Friday were spent cleaning and painting the cage using garage door enamel.
Today we refitted all the front cage and welded the main hoop in place for the final time just the rear stays to weld in and the cage should be done appart from triangulation and picking up on the front suspension and an under dash bar.
Also been picking up some parts for the next stages this week.
Some Kevlar and 2 pack resin for part of the transmission scatter shield (composite and steel 3mm steel - Kevlar - 3mm steel.
Chromoly 3/4-16 Rod ends and inserts to make up the panhard rod
12mm aluminium plate to make a water pump blank off/adapter plate
Electric water pump
New ECU
Wideband 02 sensor and interface for the ECU
Fuel pressure regulator.
Also got a load of exhaust tubing turning up soon ad some basalt rockwool so we will be building our own exhaust from scratch.
Not sure how much time I will get to work on the car in the next month ... busy doesn\'t quite cover how much work I have on at the moment!
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0470.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0470.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0467.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0467.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0465.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0465.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0464.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0464.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0463.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0463.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0462.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0462.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0461.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0461.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0458.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0458.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0457.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0457.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/th_DSCF0475.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/painted%20cage/DSCF0475.jpg)
damn mike at this rate you will be long finished before me.
looks good!
well we keep nudging the job onward rather than backward ... which is a start :)
The mountain of work can be daunting at times ... nothing of any significance is standard or bolts onto this car without some amount of work to make it fit.
Hows the moggy going ?
Moggy isnt going anywhere at the moment. In fact the farmers whom are good enough to allow me to use their workshop, have pushed it out and wedged it into the furthest corner of the farm yard that they could manage. So might get to have a play tomorrow but have to go see if it is ok with them first.
cheers, michael.
wow, looking like some serious progress :D
How big was the waterpump in the end ?? Looks like a nice peice of kit :D
Shaun
there are some specs here ... http://www.emp-corp.com/products/advanced/components/WP25ElectricWaterPump/
it\'s not massive, about the same diameter as a CD and about 250mm long, it\'s got a big box of electronics tagged on the top which I am thinking of moving elsewhere though. Theindustrial version of the EMP site mentions it can be ECU controlled so I am investigating that at the moment as well as the E8 has lots of spare outputs that can be mapped.
Sounds nicer than the davies Craig one :D
Shaun
Loads of exhaust bits came through the post today as usual it\'s a load raw material rather than off the shelf stuff. A number of 2" bends, a 2x2"-1x2.5" merge a couple of 2.5" bends and some straight bits, some full of holes ;) and some not :) also got two bags of basalt wool (think they call it lava rock in the states) The rest of the parts will be scavanged from the steel pile in the garage and fabricated ourselves.
Also got some saddle clamps so I can start on the rest of the roll cage (yes more bars ;) )
Also some 32mm OD alli tubing came with the rest of the steel, will be welded to some 12mm alloy plate to replace the water pump :) (pffft adapter for £££\'s has cost less than £20 so far and I have material left over for more bits later :) )
I also won a spare set of rear wheels on Ebay ... hope they fit as they are 2" wider than the steelies :Laugh
Just need time to fit all this stuff now. trying to gather all the parts i need to finish this job so I don\'t have to wait on the post in the future!
Lava Rock is a BBQ\'s C/Coal, don\'t burn oot like broon basalt wool and good stuff/cheap from BQ or homebase etccc...
Rock wool\'s colour is white, using to cover hot metal,prep for welding and cooling doon as well.
Using R/wool for rear repackable muff but short lived about 2yrs running and goes rattle balls like!!
surely the lava rock stuff would rattle like hell? is it used for gas BBQ\'s and stuff?
will the basalt wool stuff not last then? was told it was higher spec than rockwool (which a local industrial insulation company uses shed-loads of) Doh! Was planning on wrapping all the silencers 1st with a layer of stainless steel swarf (fine spring stuff ... nasty sharp stuff as I am sure you know!! :) ) to take some of the heat and stop too much of the fine filler coming out the exhaust any time soon.
I have a feeling I will be short with the packing so I will look out for high temp rockwool (there are lots of brands and different specs)
Where did you get the pipe from ??? Looking for some bar stock for the new intake !
Shaun
local steel stockholders mostly. Walker exhaust parts and Jetex as well. Ask Kev he knows of a supplier local to you for exhaust tube. (I\'m using mild steel BTW)
Better using lava rock for mid box and basalt for rear re-packable muff.
Lava rock, real rock for Gas BBQ, don\'t buy a compressed core like charcoal,straw etcc.
Get the sack bag and put lava rock in and break it until into "say" approx .500"-.125" size lump. its won\'t rattle like hell
There will be no harm to use the basalt and it will burn oot soon!( Hope I\'m wrong)
Have been using inconel swarf for rear box and it\'s sound like a chainsaw:2Confused insane!! and home insulation( orange/pink colour) will burn oot while driving around the block!:Hammer
Rockwool, easily getting it from the Fab shop/welding supplier/Heat treatment etc.
My FC at this moment , using Kevlar wool inside the rear muffs but I don\'t know the condition
I was planning on a combined swarf to take out some of the heat and then wool. I will try and track down some decent rockwool I can get stuff that\'s OK to 600*C but then basalt stuff is meant to be higher than that (it is also rockwool) do you use needled rockwool (it is meant to be better from a falling to bits point of view, sometimes called needlemat.)
Will look out for lava rock, do you put wadding it as well?
Wadding?,just rock itself
Needlemat? unheard of!
Rock wool can hold to 850*C(?) ,
Same temp as stress relief/heat treatment oven.
Will find oot more about Rockwool details.
Spoke to heat treatment man about the white rockwool,saying that\'s can hold up to 1100*C and remember that\'s no air inside the oven to burn it.
"My FC at this moment , using Kevlar wool inside the rear muffs but I don\'t know the condition"
it\'s not kevlar ,it\'s ceramic
Hope it\'s help.
thanks for that, trying to get some ceramic wool locally ... but not having much time at the mo due to spiralling amounts of work for uni again. Doh.
Needlemat is good it\'s like rockwool but they run stainless wire through it to stop it from dropping to bits. Think you can get needled ceramic insulation too. Might be worth a try in the FC\'s exhaust? I do a fair bit with lagging due to work but it\'s not for silencers usually :D
Interesting EWP choice. I have recently gone for the meziere. What sort of flow rate does it provide? Beleive it or not the stock pump pulls well over any EWP i have found: its only idle flow that changes.
In terms of control well it isnt a simple one. Most of the ECUs i use have a switch mode control, so basically on or off.
I have worked on operations before where you can use pulse width modulation as a power delivery device. AS the EWP isnt an inductive device it becomes certainly more difficult......
If there are a number of \'stages\' of swtiching for EWP (i.e. 5 flow settings like power settings on a welder) it might be possible but it will take up as many channels as there are settings!
Good choice of wideband btw. I like haltech, although i prefer some of the NGK/NTK stuff.
let me know if you need any help on the engine management stuff. Have you thought about the stock water pump housing yet? Do you want to run a thermostat? It isnt as easy as simply bolting on a blanking plate im afraid.....
pump should be on a par with the meziere one going by the specs, it\'s real intended use is on big diesels so I am hoping it will shift enough water.
Planning on making my own adapter plate (got the pipe and some 12mm plate and I have already started to make one but it needs redesigning due to insuficient room to weld the pipes in! ... not a lot of room!!!)
as for a stat ... yes I am planning on running an inline stat with a bypass and running the pump in two stages with an ECU controlled step at full operating temp. so while the stat is closed it\'s running at low volts and just ciculatiing water to allow for even warm up then when the stat opens (roughly) it kicks in for full cooling flow. As ever it\'ll be chopped and changed until it works once the car is running :)
Thanks for the offere re: the management ... I\'m sure I\'ll be asking lots of people lots of questions once I start playing with it properly.
Hoping to work on the car this weekend... it\'s been a while due to Uni work getting in the way. Oh well only two more weeks then it\'s 4months off Woo!
:Thumbs-up
sounds like your a man with a plan!
good work!
always got plenty of ideas and plans ... having the time, money and skills to make all of them a reality is the problem :)
Not a lot done this past week due to Uni work at the begining of the week and then feeling not too great for most of the weekend :( anyway more out of being bored than feeling 100% better I decided to get some work done today. Tasks done now are ;-
- Finished the rear diagonals and X-bracing
- Started making one of the tubes that braces the front suspension. It passes through the old hole for the wiring loom and will be blanked by a plate that will be fixed in place later. All the front end of the cage is bolt in so It can still be removed to refit fit the dash.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0477.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0477.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0492.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0492.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0490.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0490.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0488.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0488.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0485.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0485.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0484.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0484.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0483.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0483.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0482.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0482.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0481.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0481.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/th_DSCF0479.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/chassis%204/DSCF0479.jpg)
had a bit of time to work on the car on Tuesday and fitted the passenger side suspension bracing tube and planned how the bar will fit behind the dash (it\'s going to be a hard one to make, lots of bends and no space!
I also got some bits back today ready to make up the inlet manifold (been waiting a couple of months for them) sidedraught IDA :D hehe
I also got some wheels in the post today I nearly fell over laughing when I saw them as I was laughing so much ... if they fit on the car as they are I will be amazed ... they 13" in diameter and almost as wide ! they don\'t weigh anything though. Will post some fitted photos soon :D
Hoping my chassis brackets might be done for this weekend as well ... lots can be done then ...suspension, axle, coilovers, chassis tubes etc.
some piccies
Mocked up the inlet manifold, will probably add a brace to the engine just for piece of mind but it should be massively strong once it\'s all welded ... doesn\'t look right sat out there on it\'s own though!
Also tried the new rear wheels on ... they look mad :D I need to take about 1" out of the inner rim (3 piece split rims so not a problem) other than that they fit just fine and I\'m chuffed with them the tyres are properly gone though so I need a pair of decent wide slicks to go on :-) these ones are 12" wide ... I think I can only sqeeze 10\'s or1 1\'s on the back at the most ... should be wide enough ;)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0500.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0500.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0498.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0498.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0497.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0497.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0496.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0496.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0508.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0508.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0506.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0506.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/th_DSCF0502.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/wheels%20IDA/DSCF0502.jpg)
also note the electric water pump related DIY project at the early stages :)
some axle pics, all the piccies for the steps are there but in the wrong order ... also some piccies of the home made axle spreader :D
Also started to sort out rear brakes, machined down the halfshaft so I can fit the discs over and mocked it all up using the cut up bits of axle (it\'s quite handy when it\'s all in little bits!)
Got exams till Thursday now so no further work to be done till after then ... bummer was just getting stuck in with the axle ... we are taking about 350mm out of the axles width to get it under the 323 :)
also thrown in one of the sunset (not a great photo as it was mega bright!)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0563.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0563.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0560.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0560.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0559.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0559.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0556.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0556.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0552.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0552.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0551.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0551.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0548.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0548.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0547.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0547.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0545.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0545.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0544.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0544.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0543.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0543.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0541.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0541.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0539.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0539.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0536.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0536.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0534.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0534.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0531.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0531.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0530.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0530.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0529.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0529.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0528.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0528.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0525.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0525.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0520.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0520.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0519.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0519.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0518.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0518.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0517.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0517.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0516.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0516.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/th_DSCF0567.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle1/DSCF0567.jpg)
wow, everything is mega work !!! So are you getting custom halfshafts made up too to take out the 350mm ??
Looking fab as always !
Shaun
yes, priced up getting the axles re-splined and re-drilled and lots of places will not touch them as they are made of some high strength steel and are a bugger to machine (scrapped a carbide tip taking a light cut out of the axle flange tonight ... need to get some more hmmmf)
So I am putting an order in to Moser in the states who will make up some half shafts to suit the new axle width + to suit the new stud pattern (ford ... nice to be common for once!), brake discs and of course the width.
It\'s a shame as the standard shafts are reputed to be good for more torque than most road going twin rotors will ever hope the throw at them (they are huge!)
Are you sure you cant have the spline re-ground into the shaft, just a case of profiling a wheel to suit. You should be able just the grind cut the shaft to the correct length. Does the shaft have a center cut into it ?
What grade of carbide where you using, I used to use alot of the stuff ! Alot of Walter tips and sandvik.
Shaun
I honestly don\'t know it came in a box with the lathe along with a lot of sandvik stuff. It didn\'t come with any spares and no markings.
The thing that also pushed me away from re-splining is the fact that people have broken re-splined shafts at the new splined section, think it is because the originals are heat treated after cutting? . (Spoke with John Beardmoore on the subject of his experience with Volvo axles and he put me on to Moser)
Thinking about it I think they can be induction hardened to give a case depth of hardness. Plus they come from a forged blank to get the grain structure of the material to follow the lines of the shape of the shaft.
Ebay does quite a few inserts, is it V,C or W Style insert ?
I used to work for Volvo Trucks manufacturing axle components :D
Shaun
that would make sense as they are necked down at each end ... ah right volvo OEM experience :D are the truck axles not made by Dana then?
One thing John did eventually do with his axles, (after breaking the resplined ones) was to bore out the hubs and have the hubs shrunk on in the new position. It was not a recommended solution though due to the material ... said it was tough going and he got it done where they were using carbide tip drills with centre feed coolant and a BIG lathe ... don\'t think our 1920\'s relic will stand that sort of abuse
no idea on the insert, its a triangular tip with 6 cutting points (all now well abused ... it\'s lasted forever though!) and a centre hole and expanding dowel thingy for mounting it in the tool.
(only ever used tool steel when I was an apprentice tip tooling was too expensive and we had to learn to take light cuts and look after the tools instead ... not that I was ever good at re-sharpening the damn things!)
We used to manufacture the heavy duty ones and most of the volvo trucks ones. Unfortunately the company that did it isn\'t now there ! It shut down about 4 yrs ago. The where originally Leyland Bus, then it was owned by volvo, then owned by Albion Automotive, then owned by AAM (American Axles and Manufacture) who shut it down !
Shaun
Sounds like a C style insert, probably CNMG style with an 8mm face length (chip breaker).
I\'ve seen them do upto a 3.5mm cut with that style and seen inserts take a 6mm cut !! Production you usually take them just shy of max abuse :D
Shaun
Got some new inserts out of my dad\'s old tool box, they were leftovers from a disc skimming lathe were he used to work .. unexpected freebies are cool 8) so got 60 more tips to wreck before I need some more :D
Spent a good 3hrs grinding bits off the axle today and shortening the tubes. Just need to make the cast housing fit over them now and it\'s done and ready for the new halfshafts (need to measure them up and order soon)
I also picked something else up for the project yesterday but I\'m not sure I\'ll post about it yet, will wait till it turns up in the post and then see :D
This update represents a lot of time and work, both in sourcing custom made parts to my own designs and in time and work cutting a grinding to get it all fitted correctly.
1st of some photos of the chassis rails, nice and straight now.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0670.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0670.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0668.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0668.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0667.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0667.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0666.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0666.jpg)
And now setting up the new 4 links and welding in the chassis end of the brackets, we used the laser level to check they are nice and square in the car + used the rod ends to set the spacing, being careful to not get them too hot during welding. (not hot enough so you couldn\'t hold them)
Got the other side to do the same now and will use the level to check they are perfectly inline with each other. Then it is on to the axle. Lots of hard work and hours spent for not a lot of progress.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0686.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0686.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0685.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0685.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0682.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0682.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0681.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0681.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0680.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0680.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0676.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0676.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0675.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0675.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0672.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0672.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0671.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0671.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0665.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0665.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0661.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0661.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0658.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0658.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0657.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0657.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0690.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0690.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0689.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0689.jpg)
the garage guard :lol: don\'t fook with this one :)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0684.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0684.jpg)
Also been out to King Lynn to fetch a car for a friend and one the way back we decided to make the most of the location and go and watch the F1 Stock cars at the Norfolk Arena ... Fantastic racing as usual :) can\'t beat watching 30odd 510CI Big Block powered cars hammering round a small track :lol:
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0699.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0699.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0697.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0697.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0694.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0694.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0693.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0693.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0692.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0692.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/th_DSCF0691.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/4linkbrackets-new/DSCF0691.jpg)
busy week again, been down to Silverstone for formula 1 testing, and got a fair bit done to the car.
The other chassis bracket is fitted (took some alligning did these little buggers) and today we made up a new drainage system for the garage to stop the water we\'ve been getting on the floor lately (tested comprehensively today!!)
And between an hour before the pub last night and this afternoon we got the axle brackets on as well. Although the stick welder didn\'t want to play so most of it was MIG\'ed on the highest setting and then we struggled with the inner welds with the stick ... it just doesn\'t seem to have any guts like it\'s stuck on the low settings :( not good for welding big fook off axle tubes!!
anyway it\'s on and in the right place (I hope!!)
Goodwood tommorow and then back on the car Monday night. We are aiming to have it sat on it\'s own wheels and suspension again by the 01/07/07 !! it\'s look like it\'s possible at the moment.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20brackets/th_DSC00022.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20brackets/DSC00022.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20brackets/th_DSC00025.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20brackets/DSC00025.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20brackets/th_DSC00023.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20brackets/DSC00023.jpg)
apologies for the photos they were taken on my phone.
Some better photos taken with my camera on Thursday to compensate.
DC and Massa are the only names I know from these piccies.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/th_3.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/3.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/th_2.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/2.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/th_Spyker.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/Spyker.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/th_5.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/5.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/th_4.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/f1/4.jpg)
Finished welding up the axle after spending hours setting it up last week and tacking it solidly in place. (see piccies of it on my make shift jig to hold it vertical for setup)
Also got a new Kirkey Seat an a pair of covers from Randall Motorsport (thats 3 seats now! ... one of the others was too wide for the car and me so I ordered another one 1" narrower again. They are extremely comfortable seats even though they don\'t look it. Far FAR better than the standard ones which were uncomfortable at best! these ones only weigh about 4Kg each too :)
Then it was a case of bolting in the cut and shut (mock up) half shafts and fitting the lot in the car and checking clearances and plotting the next faze which is to make up shock absorber brackets and to fit the panhard rod and finish cross bracing the chassis. Hopefully I can get some of that done before I move out to Berlin and the project is on hold for a while.
The axle is certainly a heavy lump so it must be strong ;)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1415.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1415.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1413.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1413.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1411.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1411.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1410.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1410.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1409.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1409.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1408.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1408.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1406.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1406.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1404.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1404.jpg)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1402.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1402.jpg)
New Seat and Cover
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/th_DSCF1401.jpg) (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/axle%20in/DSCF1401.jpg)
Haven\'t been here for ages, and doesn\'t look like you have either! How\'s the car going now? Good to see progress on it since I last came on here though.
yeah it\'s been sat a long while now with no progress. Working abroad full time (and living out here for the majority of the time) is taking it\'s toll. Plus I have been trying to get my rx-7 back up to scratch (engine rebuild, general tidying up and resolving of issues) which is also going very slowly.
So Frustrated at the lack of progress but it\'s still not dead :)
where is mike these days????? miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike.........would love to know how ya are buddy and if htis project has moved on at all?
cheers,michael.
Hey,
I am still alive but this project is not. It\'s currently sat in a garage waiting for me to decide what to do with the bits. (finishing it is not going to happen, and I think it\'s taken me nearly a year to come to terms with that)
Things have changed a little now I am back in the UK, got a 120 mile a day commute that eats all my spare time (and energy!). Currently I am driving an Audi A4 avant turbo diesel so it\'s all a bit tame and boring I am afraid. My green 323 V6 died recently due to economic reasons (exhaust failed at Y pipe and only replacement available was from Mazda at roughly one arm and one leg!)
But I am now hankering for something more interesting after less than 6 months of diesel driving (it\'s not like it\'s that slow either at 130bhp it\'d probably give my rally car a run!) but it will have to be something mainstream and fairly new to fit in with the big mileage at the moment. I think I\'ve got the feeling that I have to own something a bit lairy now before they make them (more) exorbitantly expensive to run and own or they just stop making all the fun models due to the emissions targets set for the auto industry.
Still got the 1st gen and the Yellow peril 323 and all parts so if anyone is interested in a project car or various parts (most of them are listed on this thread or the one about my rx-7) get in touch. The Rx7 is pretty much all there, it needs a remap for the new ported motor and some minor finishing work - Rad fitting (new alloy item) electric fan fitting, motor has been sat a long time but is 0 miles on a new build (of course it requires mapping too and probably some bigger injectors to keep up with the bridgey 12a)
Anyhow, how are the pair of you doing out there on the island? How is the pottery business doing and how is that Moggy of yours!
interested in the seats and wheels - if theyre 4x108 :) prices and piccies?
hey mike, well loads have happened for all of us sounds like since you went below the radar! we are now living in oz, have been here for about 8 months now, building a house etc.... chuck us an e-mail for a proper catch up. float7@hotmail.com
kinda wish i was still in the uk but as i would love to grab the 323 project of fo you.
hope it all goes to a good home! talk soon, michael.
The Wellers on the back are 13x10 with a 4x108 pcd (and a 4x100?) I can\'t recall the offset but I think it is negative, and they have a pair of brand new soft compound Kumho 235/45/r13 tyres on them. - 150quid for the pair.
the fronts are 13x6.5 (or 7\'s can\'t remember) still in the boxes 50quid for the pair.
I have 3 Kirkey seats, all are brand new and in 3 different widths (need to find out what sizes they are) and two have covers. Would like 100 each for the ones with covers and 75 for the one without.
Can sort photos at some point but the parts are not local to me at the moment.
thats cool - because of my more \'rotund\' frame i think i\'ll be needing the wider seats!
The wheels are for a mazda 1000 - im guess the offset is going to be all wrong?
i like lots of your parts.....is it just easier if i come over? haha
well they all fit nicely inside the shell of the car, if you have the cash you can take the lot! (there are a lot bits that have collected over the years , I need to have sort out and compile a list in fact!)
I don\'t know about the offset but the 10" wide wheels used to stick out the standard 323 arches by about 6" !!! (they are properly wide and have the opposite offset to the standard wheels) IIRC they have 4" of rim on the inside and 6" on the outside. I have the CAD models I did somewhere on my old laptop.
did you sell the star-style 4x110 wheels then?
if you can get measurements of the kirkeys, that\'d be great.
No they are still there, I think all of them are with the car, a couple of them might be knocking about in various garages though. I will have to check out what is where and get back to you on it.
hi mike, do you want to sell the 6 port manifold? and front strut tops any e mail address?
cheers jon
carefull mike!!!!all this interest in your car might make you want to finish it!??
michael.
I can\'t remember if I still have a 6 port manifold? I will have to look! It\'s all a bit grey as to what is boxed up in the garages.
cool, its a shame we dont have 50 hour days and require no sleep, projects like this would get done in no time atall.
jon73@jnlags.wanadoo.co.uk
if you find any other bits.