RM1Sepex Build Thread

[Frank818]

I did on the pass's side, it's worst there cuz the side sail is not pushed fwd. I think I know why all this, it's cuz of my LCA spacers which push fwd the wheels a little bit, requiring me to push fwd the fender requiring me to push fwd the side sails but I can't much otherwise the doors could suffer or like you said it's the rollbar thing or the humps lid would be too much pushed causing probs in the back panels. But it's hard not to have the fender line up with side sail, for splash guard and looks.

[RM1SepEx]

Haven't posted in a while, been busy. Mom-in-Law has visited the hospital 3 times with a heartbeat racing out of control. She turns 93 in 3 weeks. Went to the Dr today... very rare for someone to do that 3 times in 3 weeks. Really, why. By the 3rd time they die of a heart attack or have a stroke! UGH

Car is progressing. Got title ! Got insurance $356 per 6 months from State Farm... Hagerty was $505... Progressive over $800 WOW State Farm, registered her today! Used the old Caddy plates, the lady charged me sales tax, then used the purchase price for my base kit as the cost basis for Maine's excise tax! I didn't have to pay any exise tax for the remainer of the year (till September) as it was based on an original cost over $44,000 for the Caddy! My lucky day, the state and town's loss every year that I register her in the future. I need to submit my request to the State for my vanity plates It's either FFR 818 or 818 JLO (I call her J Lo as she has a rather curvy butt :p

Cleaning up some items to prepare for my safety inspection... Friday???

Final question do I travel 3 hours each way Saturday to attend the FFR open house or do I drive my car around locally and debug the little beastie?

[wallace18]

I would make sure the bugs are worked out before a 6 hour journey myself. You could trailer it to the Shopping center across the street from FFR and drive it from there. It is your call. I am sure lots of folks would love to see the car though. Best of luck.

[RM1SepEx]

I would trailer it, the problem is that it's a long drive for me both ways, out in the heat. I'd have no legs all day and still have to drive home, in traffic with an 8.5 wide trailer. MA drivers tend to be a bit aggressive, last time one of those little Fiats almost got run over dashing in and out of lanes. Weekend traffic all depends on timing and stop and go is a bear with my 6 cyl truck towing 4000 lbs of car and trailer.

[Tamra]

How did the safety inspection go? Glad to see things have been progressing!

[RM1SepEx]

State inspection done, VIN # ME 7008 how funny is that? Pete in Lewiston is ME 7000

I'm so damn close but all the awkward stuff doing the upholstery caused my back to scream at me and last night and this morning it rained so I took the day off. Just not quite ready for the std annual inspection req of all cars in Maine...

I have to wire the console switch for the interior lights, screw in the oak faced console, upholster the rear firewall behind the seats, bolt in the seats and belts yet again and do a final adjustment of the headlights. I'm going to wet sand and clear the VF pieces before bolting them back in place. I do need to make up some aluminum trim pieces and powder coat them to finalize the vinyl edges

My blinker problem was stupid, FFR flasher died, I did a poor job on the ground connection... :( 20 minutes with a friend and a meter, crimp on a new connector, poof everything works.

CF pieces, what does everyone use for a clear coat???

Here's a mystery... My nice powder coated aluminum grill... lost, can't find it! I'm sure that I put it somewhere it wouldn't get damaged the day I powder coated it! Bright Orange for God's sake!!! :mad:

[RM1SepEx]

Finally able to drive J Lo legally! Just got off the scales, 1898 w/o the aero splitter, diffuser, rocker boards and carbon street spoiler. Fully padded vinyl interior. Stock seats were a PITA, The Schroth harnesses compounded the lack of space for the stock seats.

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I do have some gel coat repair and a whole lot of buffing to do. Aero install and some graphics soon!

[Hindsight]

Congrats on the street legal milestone! Go put some miles on it!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great Job Dan

[Tamra]

Congrats! Huge accomplishment!

[AZPete]

Your work looks great, Dan. Congrats and enjoy putting a few on the odometer.

[RM1SepEx]

Last night I hit the vino... after adding a mere 1/8 foam padding and the vinyl as well as ditching the stock sedan belts that locked upon their own whimsey the seats were just too wide to get the belts in place. My friend Mark came over this AM and we took the saws all to the coiled springs that force the seat forward to adjust the angle of the seatback. Even with those perches and pins cut off we had to use thin aluminum to allow the seats to slide into place, protecting the vinyl. I was very creative with the rare earth magnet extension to hold the nuts in place to get the threads started and had to do all sorts of contortions to tighten them.

Every time we make what seems like a slight change it causes a ripple effect making something else need to change! I've done so many things multiple times...

I hope that I like the seats, they seem to be made for someone bigger than a 35 inch waist, unusual for a Japanese car! My Miata seats are too narrow and don't support enough. My extra Recaro seats are awesome but are made for an old E30 BMW and they just sit too high.

All done without normal feeling and sensation from the chest level down. :p

[bstuke]

Congratulations Dan!

[Frank818]

That is so great!!!
And not even 1900!

[RM1SepEx]

Drove to my inspection station passed, no issues, put her on the lift, minor oil leak from the left side seal on the transaxle. Put the lift down... can't shift, no gear selection no neutral. Had to trailer her home. Transaxle's been apart 3 times by local Subaru dealer! UGH

Totally legal, runs well fastest car I've ever driven. No dyno next week, reschedule again! Past fastest was Peter Farrell Supercars modified 1993 Mazda RX7 TT

Waiting for contact with Joel Local dealership service manager and friend...

[Frank818]

What happened there? Locked up trans?!? :(

[RM1SepEx]

autocross today, start pulling it apart tomorrow?

[Hindsight]

That's really odd about the transmission Dan... have you thought about sending it to Andrewtech instead of the dealer? Maybe you know someone good at the local dealer, but my experience with dealerships is that they (generally) are good parts replacers but not good parts repairers.

[RM1SepEx]

It's a 70,000 mile transaxle being used with a minor (cobb stage 2) tune in a 1900 lb car... I can't believe the problems that I've had with this stupid transaxle... I'll get it worked out. So far I've done so much by myself with only help on the engine and transaxle... If we run into more problems I'll seek out add'l expertise. Hoping that we can debug and repair w/o pulling the trans. Looks like I'll be adding a plug to remove the rear w/o pulling individual light plugs etc... only 9 wires...

[RM1SepEx]

I finally have it running properly. 200 or so miles so far and nothing has fallen off, very fast, I'm getting used to the "nervous" attitude under extreme power conditions. Only significant rub now is severe bumps the front tires rubbed vs the fender to nose joint where the panels come together. I clearanced them as far as I could.

Filled the tank, fuel seems to seep a bit from those stupid rubber gaskets at the fuel sender and the fuel pump... UGH fuel tank isn't long for this world... I should have done my custom tank using the center tunnel and the area in the front where Bob put his! next year's winter project?

Transaxle: I ended up pulling it apart and cleaning the reverse detent assembly that comes in from the top left side of the transaxle that the top shifter arm engages... I couldn't get any details on what that thing does or even why it's there. The local Subaru guys have no experience with that system and they got no help from the factory Subaru gurus at a training event in MA last week. I just figured that there wasn't any other area of the transaxle to mess with. The damn case had been split 3 times and the rear section alone pulled 4 more! Works well now, been reversed when hot many times now, works great.

I ended up using silicone to "glue" down the carpets, fingers crossed that it stays in pace, the permanant carpet tape last about 20 miles before it slid all over the place.

[Hindsight]

Glad you got that reverse issue resolved! Congrats on having it on the road and working well. Hopefully I will be right behind you.

[Frank818]

Did you pull the trans out for the 7th time? :(

[RM1SepEx]

The last 3 trans episodes were:

pull off rear clip, unbolts trans mount, lift engine/stands, slide in 2X4 to hold it up and remove all the bolt on bits like shifter and exhaust hanger, drive out shifter pins, pull rear plate off, pull off back trans section

The case was removed and split "only" :mad: 3 times

my horn started beeping on its own... time to check my home made contact that wipes vs the wheel adapter from NRG... very embarrasing ;)

[Hindsight]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfxfjUW-HVs

[RM1SepEx]

much louder but yup, exactly like that. I worked on it again this AM, time for another little test cruise... I redid the contact connections with liberal use of extra shrink wrap tubing. No horn going off in 20 miles. I'm 1/2 way to my initial new shortblock oil change at 500 miles.

[RM1SepEx]

Got up to 340 miles, brought my wife out for our first cruise, big loop, ended at an ice cream place a few miles away.

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Then, yup transaxle lockd up yet again. AAA couldn't get her on the roll back, he gave me a ride home and I took my trailer over and picked it up.

Not a great way to introduce the wife. She did turn off the stereo, she wanted to hear the exhaust noise, that's a great thing!

[Frank818]

Man, you are not lucky at all. What could be causing the trans to work fine and then all of a sudden die? :(

[wallace18]

Sorry to hear about the transaxle. The car looks great though. I know your hard work will pay off in the long run.

[RM1SepEx]

TRansaxle apart again, bottom line parking lot type reverse first to reverse, restart to leave no reverse. What happens is the trans stays in first while the shifter arm is in the 5th reverse slot. The 3rd-4th rod can't move because it is in first so you can't get anything to move into neutral. I can't figure out how this stiff assembly can get from first to the reverse slots for the 3rd shift rod w/o putting the 1st 2nd shift rod into neutral!

UGH

When I pulled the section off the transaxle, the shifter arm was positioned as shown with the trans in first as shown

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stumped

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Dan,
does each of the 3 shifting rods have strong detents in the forward, middle, and rear positions?
Bob

[Frank818]

Dan I'm so ****ing sorry about all your ordeals. :( First, the worst body any guy got, then the worst trans. :( I'm crossing fingers you'll get that fixed real soon, you don't deserve all that ****.

[RM1SepEx]

Frank, my motor blew too :rolleyes:

[RM1SepEx]

Bob, yes the in gear notches are very positive, however when you are in any gear the little pegs between the rods lock out being able to get it into two gears at a time. I have a photo embedded in an email. I sent it to you.

The detents lock it in each gear, the shafts also have detents so when on shaft moves, the other two can't. Right now in my trans you can engage first with 5th or reverse.

[Erik W. Treves]

dan... if your tranny has this piece in it.. it has to get indexed into slot in the back cover.. that happened to mine 2 twice until I figured it out

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=56287&d=1468766999

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Dan
Can you circle the part you are talking abut in this picture?

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=56314&d=1468818122

[RM1SepEx]

nope, the plunger interlocks pins slide so that the shafts can't move at the same time. I've just learned about them... on the blow up I emailed PN 32824A you can see the slots in the side of the shafts for the detent balls, these shuttle between the shafts. As soon as it moves from the neutral position is slides to the indent on the other shaft so it can't move. I've never seen them, just the blow up and the discussion with Zach Fothergill who resolved my problem after just 5 minutes or so of debug. It's taken months with the local Subaru dealer.

[RM1SepEx]

dan... if your tranny has this piece in it.. it has to get indexed into slot in the back cover.. that happened to mine 2 twice until I figured it out

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=56287&d=1468766999

yes, once my trans had a problem with that too, the tech had bent one of those steel fingers and it caught in the slot of the shift fork vs just stopping it's movement back. We tried messing with that 2x, thinking it was my problem.

Bob, see the 3 slots that the gold tone shifter arm slides into. Each of those slides forwards or backwards for a gear. Each position has a detent slot cut into the end of the shaft. When any shaft is moved from neutral to another gear the shuttle pin slides and locks the other two in place. Try it with a screwdriver when the case is open. In mine it was possible for 5th and reverse to be out of neutral and still shift to first or second with a screwdriver. The shafts are missing the interlock pin

[RM1SepEx]

Hopefully my last transaxle update! Pulled trans again and split the cases. These shifter fork shafts have 3 detent, one for each gear and one for neutral. These slots are engaged with the spring loaded balls and are located on the side of the transaxle. 90 degrees from these are the shuttle pin detent slots. They are located at the same position as the neutral detent. The rev - 5th shaft and 1st - 2nd shaft have one slots, the 3rd - 4th shaft has them on both sides. This center 3rd - 4th shaft has a small hole drilled through it. The photo also shows the holes for the shuttle pins in the case. these go in big pin # 32824*A, 32824*B, 32824*A. This puts the B pin in the hole drilled through the 3rd - 4th shaft. Bob, the photos show the notches where the shuttle pins seat in the shift fork shafts.

When my case was split the second time, a shifter fork rod was pulled out too far and the B pin fell out. That's why my trans allowed 1st and rev - 5th to be engaged at the same time. so I solved my bent rev lockout issue and picked up a somewhat related issue complicating debug. There is also another of the A pins in the black, cast iron reverse shuttle assembly.

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Another big thanks to Zach F, he was extremely helpful!

Transaxle is back in the car, I should have her back under her own power today.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great news Dan, Enjoy the ride.

[flynntuna]

Dan, if you could take a few minutes while putting the transmission back in, to measure the length of the bolts mounting the transmission to the engine I'd be very grateful. :cool:

[RM1SepEx]

Too late, done! Now back to cleaning up body stuff etc

[Frank818]

Dan, this has to be the last time you pull it apart. No matter what, I hope you made sure it was the last time of your life you pulled it apart. I don't want to see you doing it a 7th or 8th time.

Now go drive that baby with your baby and come back with the car running!

[RM1SepEx]

engine out twice, timing belt water & pump while in the car too. The trans has been out and the cases split 3 times, the rear of the case in the car 5 times. Yes I hope that I'm done. I can see how Wayne is so fast though. Each time I come up with a faster way to do it and he has built a bunch of kits. I'm going to focus on the gel coat next and I think I can improve my door alignment a bit. My door to access the oil fill and dipstick can't be simply held down with velcro stuck on. It gets too hot in the sun and the pressure in the engine compartment pushes it forward. I think that I need mesh with larger holes. It's the only place that I used the FFR mesh too! ;-) My speaker location takes up too much of the dead pedal. Even at 5'8" the legroom is cramped, no fuel tank behind the seat would be best.

The stock fuel tank is crap between the gooped seal for the senders and the poor low fuel delivery but pulling it out will destroy my vinyl interior. I should have put it in the front from the beginning like Bob did. My plan to build as provided rapidly led me down multiple do over rat holes.

She is pretty addictive to drive tho...

[Frank818]

Fuel delivery issues related to tank? Isn't that related to pump, fittings and hoses more than the tank itself?

[RM1SepEx]

wide flat tank w/o any real baffling, high G forces, no fuel, That's why Craig did his setup and why Bob runs a smaller rectangular tank in the front

[Bob_n_Cincy]

wide flat tank w/o any real baffling, high G forces, no fuel, That's why Craig did his setup and why Bob runs a smaller rectangular tank in the front
Filled with foam. 56503

[Frank818]

The foam is a great idea but it seems to use a lot of space?
Plastic golf balls with holes (Rasmus' idea) is the same thing when you put a lot, does it any (foam, balls...) reduce that much gallons? And you just throw the foam in without placing it in any way?

[RM1SepEx]

Frank that foam is all air, I have an aftermarket cell in another project filled with it.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

The foam is a great idea but it seems to use a lot of space?
Plastic golf balls with holes (Rasmus' idea) is the same thing when you put a lot, does it any (foam, balls...) reduce that much gallons? And you just throw the foam in without placing it in any way?

Frank, The foam comes in bricks. I neatly stack it in leaving a hole for my pump to slide into.
my tank holds about 80 lbs of gas. the foam is only 2 or 3 lbs. So the lost volume is pretty low.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Fuel-Cell-Foam-14-x-4-x-6-Inch,52163.html?sku=6007050&utm_medium=CSEGoogle&utm_source=CSE&utm_campaign=CSEGOOGLE&gclid=CjwKEAjwq8y8BRCstYTm8qeT9mwSJACZGjUkRapJ24ia ONLL5xas_vZvDxLQ0twbQKwM9H5OrIdAHhoChszw_wcB

[RM1SepEx]

BTW, checked my suspension alignment, the rear transverse links were less than 1 degree from flat and when I adjusted it to zero angle it made a huge difference in the handling of the car! I thought less than one degree would be fine ( the alignment shop used a bubble level)

[Frank818]

Dan, what did you use to be more precise than 1-deg?

Are you talking about the 2 lower lateral links? And you mean flat as 100% parallel to the ground and to each other?


Bob, the foam is out of stock but I get the idea in part. I'll test drive mine in high lateral g-forces and if I starve then I'll come back to that idea, keeping both your names in mind.

[RM1SepEx]

electronic level, yes rear lower lateral links, yes parallel to the ground

starving a turbo build is not a good idea...the term BOOM comes to mind

[Hindsight]

I did the same, using a digital level, though I don't know that I could get them parallel to the ground.... I was able to get them parallel to eachother though. I have a pic in my build thread of it, but basically just set a piece of angle aluminum across the links at the inboard end and checked the level with a digital gauge, then moved the aluminum angle to the outboard end and checked the level with the digital gauge there. They weren't level, but I adjusted them until the angle at the inboard end and outboard end was the same.

[Frank818]

Parallel links look twitchy, hey.

No Dan no boom. Turbo won't be running, I'll just do a couple of tests in 50-60mph tight corners for a few seconds, low pressure in engine at low RPMs.

[RM1SepEx]

Make the arms level by placing a digital level across the rear arms as far out towards the wheel as you can. You have arms that change effective length as they go up and down. You want them to be level so that they are in the same place in the arc. If they aren't then as you add and decrease power the wheels self steer the car from the rear. The inner points may be a slight bit off as the pivot in the rear ia an eccentric to allow toe adjustment. With adjustable rear arms you can get them perfect by adjusting the eccentric bolt position to match the height of the other. The parallel of the arms along their length is effected by ride height and out of your control.

[Frank818]

Can we say that if the car doesn't seem to want to steer from the back the arms are adjusted correctly?

[RM1SepEx]

It would be a fair assumption

[RM1SepEx]

So we started playing with vinyl today... what does everyone think? The curvature required us to start in the center and arc the vinyl across the rockers

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[Frank818]

Sorry, you played with vinylester for Kurk's scoops or vinyl decals? I think the decals cuz I don't remember seeing them before. They cut the car's look pretty well, I think they're better than not having them.

I don't know how you fitted the engine cover without cutting through the sides of the humps to clear the rollback. Lucky you, in the end, after a 2nd set of panels. You deserve it!

[RM1SepEx]

Frank, roll bar clearance on the engine cover is very tricky, balance how far back you can slide the side panels while getting alignment for every other panel and the wheel openings. Mine are actually ground behind the gel coat for maximum clearance and I've glued on a thin rubber sheet on the roll bar to prevent rubbing. I found the limiting factor was the door latch brackets but you could enlarge the slots a bit.

I was asking about the orange vinyl graphics, as we looked at more orange it overpowers the car quickly.... I still can't find my orange powder coated grill for the front, I need some sort of rock grills for Kurk's scoops. I'd like to go CF for the scoops and an additional targa bar over the roll bar. I'll order a couple of the FFR badges for the front and back. I need to do some sort of rock guards for the leading edge of the rear wheel wells, I'm at 2000 street miles and the chipping and abuse in the gel coat is brutal. I'll add some sort of mudguard at the trailing edge of the front wheel well too.

PS just finishd my first 200 mile stint without a gel coat void popping off too!

[Frank818]

I have some limitation factors that prevents me from pushing the cover back, but that's ok I'll live with the trimming.

Do you have pictures of your gel coat chips?
Are Kurk's scoops eating rocks?

[RM1SepEx]

No rocks so far but the front edge of the rear wheel arches get beat up real bad, I just ordered some 5D CF vinyl (looks like clear coated gloss CF) to cover the area and absorb the rock damage. I'll terminate the orange stripes and replace with the vinyl that looks like CF

Gel coat damage is hard to photograph on the white gel coat but it's pretty bad after 2000 miles. The popped areas are wherever you have a sharp edge. Leading edge of the engine cover, edges of the front fenders around the wheels, edges of the top of the body sides along the engine cover, mostly the very front edge where the doors and engine cover come together.

[Hindsight]

Looks great Dan! Good to see it this far along. I too have issues with the front of the rear quarter panel, near the vent. Am thinking about cutting a small piece of carbon fiber vinyl wrap to stick on there, like the Porsche guys do. Everyone loves carbon fiber, even the vinyl kind lol. I already have a canned answer for when people ask me if my center console is rear carbon fiber: "It's real carbon fiber vinyl wrap!"

[Frank818]

I'd be curious to see what others with many miles say, if they had the same issues at the same places. That's sad though, after so much effort and 2k miles later it looks like a 20yo car driven off road. :(

[svanlare]

I think the decals look great!

[RM1SepEx]

Frank here you go, before and after gel coat repair shots:

[Frank818]

Holly crap!!!!!!! That's super bad!

I don't understand on the top front of the side sails where the doors shut. Thought there wasn't airflow up front there and it's covered by the door so how can rocks hit there to the point of chipping off the entire gel coat.

I don't think a wrap will sustain that beating. With plastidip the good thing is that it's easier to repair.


Hey, how's our trans doing?

[RM1SepEx]

not about air flow as you drive they body jiggles and wiggles, void edges crack and pop. Every time that you take a cover off you stress areas, they crack and pop. The rear edges of the wheel wells, I'd guess that rocks may have something to do with those. The top edge of the left sail panel was incomplete, the front upper edge ended in a knife ended shaped point, looked nothing like the other sale's termination.

Note: both of my doors have settled and need to be lifted at the rear about 1/16 inch. The left side also needs to be rotated a bit as the bottom alignment is off 3/32 or so out at the rear bottom edge of the door. Aligning everything and keeping it there with slotted holes isn't perfect. Once I have it where I wasnt it to stay I'll add some 1/8 roll pins.

Bottom line: each of those tight radius areas are difficult to mold properly. some panels have no fill at all in these areas when shipped others have gel coat and air pockets before the fiberglass. These small, tight areas have to have fiberglass filled tightly into them to get a strong, long lasting surface. I used a bright light and found quite a few that I was able to fix before finishing the car, others have just shown up. I've found that the gel coat doesn't match perfectly so a tiny transition is sometimes visible if you inspect the area. I've finalized sanding and buffing those areas. The photos were taken before final sanding and polishing and they are never perfect.

The rock chip area is the front edge of the rear wheel opening. Rocks hit it from the front wheels. I'm addiing some 5D CF vinyl over the damage and to act as a sacrificial surface, a gravel guard. You can't see these well as the coloration is very subtle and it doesn't photo well. I also ordered some thin CF stock to make some simple mud and rock guards

The hood has a few chips and gouges already as well. It's so low and cars in front of you kick up crap... My wife's Miata takes a beating too and the 818 nose is lower still.

[flynntuna]

You've got an early kit don't you? Those voids in the glass look bad. I have a red gelcoat body, I'll have to make sure I thoroughly check for voids when I get to that point.

[RM1SepEx]

You've got an early kit don't you? Those voids in the glass look bad. I have a red gelcoat body, I'll have to make sure I thoroughly check for voids when I get to that point.

See my sig, serial # 17, These are my second set of many of the panels... I've seen a red body in the 240's that was worse than mine, it's a crapshoot

Worked on my rear trunk today. Made cardboard pieces for a full width, flat floor trunk. I have about 1 1/2 inches to the cat and muffler so I made up an aluminum heat shield to go between the exhaust and the trunk floor. Gold foil reflective tape will also be used under this layer.

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[flynntuna]

So far my body parts(the 818) look pretty good, we'll see for sure when I get a light behind them. The trunk looks good, will the floor be one piece? What's your ideas for the targa bar over the roll bar? I've been going back and forth with ideas for a targa bar. If I could make something that resembles the Ford GT's buttresses and still look good without it being or looking, what's the word I'm looking for... Stupid.

[RM1SepEx]

Worked on the 10" deep x 46" long trunk today. 0.050 aluminum sheet with a 1/16 x 1 aluminum angle across the top just after end of the engine cover. I have about 1 inch of air space over the heat shield for the cat and 2+ over the muffler. I'll do some test runs and measure the surface temps after I get and install the gold foil radiative heat barrier tape.

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[Frank818]

There seems to be a lot of space in there.
Where did you attach each ends of the square tube that holds the top of the front of the trunk?

[RM1SepEx]

It's 1x1 angle Frank, it will be screwed to the edges of the side panels on each end, just clecos for now. The edge by the rear fiberglass sits on a shelf that I bonded on the lip under the lights that runs all the way across the car. The bottom edge in front is attached to the rear wheel wells.

Just did a temp test this afternoon. worked very well trunk no more than 5 degrees over ambient. 3 inch ss belmouth, CAT, pipe all wrapped with DEI header wrap. 1/2 minimum space to the aluminum heast shield and 1 inch min to the trunk. Gold foil reflective tape not installed yet, just came in today's mail. Also added CF around the rear plate to dress it up.

Temps: Craig's turbo heat shield (turbo blanket installed too) 200 degrees, heat shield 125 or so, exhaust pipe at exit 175, trunk wall and floor 75 max

[Frank818]

Nice temps results you got there! You could keep some yogourt and cheese in the trunk for quite some time and still eat them without getting sick. :)

I see you are not using washers on the 1/4-20 top body bolts (top of rear fenders), otherwise they would touch the covers. I couldn't make that precise and have to trim out the covers, nice job you did.

[RM1SepEx]

I could insulate the well in back of the left rear tire for cold wine and cheese storage! :rolleyes: I'm actually thinking of stowing a tire repair kit, small compressor and spare tire in a can in that left side area... 1/2 the places that I can go for an awesome cruise are no cell service areas.

[matteo92065]

That is a fairly reflective surface. Did you put your hand on it to see if the IR temperature was close to accurate?

[RM1SepEx]

yes, surface is cool to the touch, below body temp, within 10-15 degrees of reading

[RM1SepEx]

All that I need to do now is add the carpet to the trunk, came in yesterday's UPS. The trunk does not heat up at all after adding the gold foil reflective tape to the bottom of the exhaust shield and the bottom of the trunk. I finished the front inner fenders this afternoon, my only question now is if I shark hide or powdercoat either white or black. I also added mud flaps made out of CF beghind the front tires, a tow hook and a panel to close off the splitter.

[Frank818]

Cool!!! I got 3 questions.

Where did you get those flaps?

What did you get and how did you bolt the tow hook?

I see you are not using weather strips like Wayne (in the back on top of bumper and side sails' tunnels), it's not that much required?

[RM1SepEx]

I just bought doubled sided CF material from EBay for the CF mud flaps

The tow hook is from EBay as well http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-88-BILLET-ALUMINUM-RED-FRONT-REAR-JDM-JAPANESE-CAR-AUTO-TRAILER-TOW-HOOK-KIT-/381322071843?hash=item58c8910f23:g:6DwAAOSw9N1V26G X&vxp=mtr
I just drilled a 1/2 inch hole through the radiator support tubing. The fiberglass is clearanced to closer to 5/8 -3/4 for a nice tight fit. From the inside, bolt, washer, tubing, washer, nut, spin on hook assy.

I'm not happy with black weatherstripping, not sude how I'm going to do it. It's even more important in the trunk area, right now the body funnels water into the trunk

[C.Plavan]

You might want to be careful with that tow hook. I really don't think it will support the weight.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

You might want to be careful with that tow hook. I really don't think it will support the weight.
I'm not sure the radiator frame can support the pull force.
Speaking of tow hooks, we needed on today at the track.

[C.Plavan]

Ooops. That's what I meant- that radiator frame is pretty weak I recall.

[RM1SepEx]

I wasn't too keen on it at first either, only installed it after feedback from an R builder that used that location successfully (818 owners on Facebook). I'm my case with a street car it should be fine to pull the car into the trailer or up onto a rollback

[UnhipPopano]

In looking at the aluminum added to the front wells [#1329] how do you grease the joints underneath?

[Frank818]

The tow hook is from EBay as well http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-88-BILLET-ALUMINUM-RED-FRONT-REAR-JDM-JAPANESE-CAR-AUTO-TRAILER-TOW-HOOK-KIT-/381322071843?hash=item58c8910f23:g:6DwAAOSw9N1V26G X&vxp=mtr
I just drilled a 1/2 inch hole through the radiator support tubing. The fiberglass is clearanced to closer to 5/8 -3/4 for a nice tight fit. From the inside, bolt, washer, tubing, washer, nut, spin on hook assy.

That is exactly why I asked. I've been looking at those for months but never bought one yet cuz the bolt hole needs to be 15mm and the rad frame tube is 20mm (minus the metal thickness and you're on 15mm), which makes it pretty tight and requires a perfect center hole, assuming it would not rub on the top and bottom metal of the tube while drilling. But you made a 12mm hole and it fit, so if that's true that 0.5in is sufficient, darn I'll order one right now!

The rad tube is not the ideal location, true, but if it's just to pull it say on a tow truck or something, it's sufficient. I had mine pull many times so far and all the times was with the tow truck's hook on the rad tube.

Yeah I thought of water in your trunk, let's see what you come up with in the future.

[RM1SepEx]

In looking at the aluminum added to the front wells [#1329] how do you grease the joints underneath?

my fittings point down ;-) these inner fenders are screwed on, only takes 2 minutes to remove them

[bbjones121]

Can you fit golf clubs in your trunk?

[AZPete]

Dan, you did such nice work on the front wheel well covers that I might copy them.:D:D

[RM1SepEx]

Dan, you did such nice work on the front wheel well covers that I might copy them.:D:D

I sent the patterns to Craig! :rolleyes:

[Mechie3]

I sent the patterns to Craig! :rolleyes:

:o

I'm trying. I got them traced out. I've done about zero car or garage work since 10/13/16. Even my time at work is so busy these days I often don't get a stop for lunch. At home, my older daughter is now resisting going to bed so story time at 7:30 might mean she finally goes to sleep at 10, that is if I don't fall asleep reading stories to her first.

[RM1SepEx]

Two kids, wife, work, 2 FMods, 818s, can't keep up? What a surprise... Isn't it amazing how life gets in the way Craig? I can't wait to see those Zero DB front, rear and side scoop grills too... I hope to have them powder coated and installed for the Open house next year. Oh yeah, I also sent him the trunk patterns... ;)

[Frank818]

One kid, 2 wives

Yeah life does get in the way. :)

Front grill? Where's the advertisement on that? I guess I missed it.

[Blwalker105]

Craig, stop reading her stories she likes! Once they get to that age you gotta go boring. Start in with the US Tax Code, and if she's still awake in ten minutes hit her up with some safety regulations or crashworthiness directives. You'll be back out in the garage in no time. ��

[AZPete]

LOL! Winner, winner for the best reply of 2016!

[RM1SepEx]

Yeah life does get in the way. :)

Front grill? Where's the advertisement on that? I guess I missed it.

Frank, Craig and I collaborate all the time ;) the grill, front inner fenders, trunk, side scoop and rear grills, all are request based, templates made but not actual products.

I want better cooling and air flow for my side mount AAIC, so I made templates for the side scoops and asked Craig to do his CAD and aluminum magic thinking it would be a great zero DB product. I also thought my inner fenders and trunk would be marketable so I gave him templates.

Remember when the larger louvers showed up cut into my hood in Orange before they were available? ;) I requested the larger, longer louvers too, needed more under hood flow through the radiator

[Frank818]

Keep on going Dan, we need those stuff. :)

No picture of templates, CADs or something? :)

[RM1SepEx]

Craig does CAD, I do napkins, paperboard, kraft paper, sketches of concept that I take photos of on the floor and send to him. I did the original geometry for Craig's hood hinges too. Once he saw how I approached it he did those AWESOME parts. I removed my band saw and drill press pieces and installed his!

When I worked as an engineer in the early 80's I installed and developed processes for semiconductor mfg. I worked with the design and machine shop groups to implement changes. Working with Craig brings back great memories.

I pulled together 4 builds off the forum to come up with solutions for the MR2 shifter and rearward cables. We all ended up with different solutions (Craig's is the prettiest) Me, Craig, Bob in Cincy, AZPete (moral support) and Andrew & Tamra. The emails, sketches, supplier info, really flew around for a couple weeks! :)

[flynntuna]

You guys do a great service for the community! A great example of American ingenuity :cool:

[Frank818]

You guys do a great service for the community! A great example of American ingenuity :cool:

Definately! Much better than Trump. Ooops...

You are absolutely right Dan, moral support from AZP is a must.

[Mechie3]

Yep, Dan and I have worked together behind the scenes for about as long as we've had the kit. He came up with the basic hood hinge layout, I took it and figured out how to make it cost effective and fancy. We've done several other parts and I've done a few one-off's for him as well. We even managed to meet in person once. His son was graduating from my alma mater and I happened to be home visiting. I've also worked with Bob n Cincy on the clocked AWIC kit and have met him a couple of times in person too.

[RM1SepEx]

And one of my autocross friends in Maine relocated from Indy and was friends with Craig... what a small world. Working out this stuff is what makes life interesting.

[Frank818]

Plz keep us posted on the front grill (and other parts) once there is progress.

[RM1SepEx]

Installed Craig's trunk Louvers in between my humps in the engine cover to improve cooling. Left the last louver flat as a mounting flange and "glued" them in place with silicone. I finished the cut edge with white vinyl edging.

69532 69531

[Frank818]

Pretty nice! Probably a better place there.

May not look cool if you install a 2nd one on the rear cover though.

I like your stickers.

[AZPete]

Nicely done, Dan, as usual. Your gel coat polished up well. Is that "BUILT" decal from FFR?

[RM1SepEx]

Frank, I have a real trunk, no vent to feed water into my carpeted trunk!

Pete, I bought the sticker on Ebay and was able to match my vinyl and powder coating