Mechie3's 818S

[07FIREBLADE]

Without knowing the actually size available it is hard to really tell what would work in that area. I don't have the new front yet. I heard from ffr and they said for crate shipping to SoCal would be in the 2k range. They are currently trying to work something out with Stewart to possible take a truck full of tops/fronts and deliver a cross country for a fixed rate. Something like the led light they have or a mesh were a real fog light projector could be mounted in A CNC mesh with a pattern cutout.

[ben1272]

Are you going to be releasing the bellcrank assembly for the transaxle shifting? I like your solution a lot. Have you set a price?

Thanks!

[Mechie3]

I always intend to release everything I make. Here's the caveat. The machine I use to make all my prototypes isn't mine. I can use it to make personal items/prototypes/one offs, but I can't sell the items I make on it. Everything I sell is made at third party machine shops. If I order one piece the cost is often incredibly high. Order 5 and it's less, order 10, lower still, order 20 or 30 and it tends to bottom out on pricing. As long as I get enough people interested I can order higher quantities and take advantage of volume pricing. It's sort of a catch 22 though. Say I get 10 people interested but the price is $300 (theoretical), then only 5 people want it, but then the price jumps to $500, so then only 1 guy is interested, but by that point it's $700 so everyone drops out. On the flip side, I get 15 guys in and it's $250, so then 20 guys want in, and it builds up. It can go either way.

The coupe arms are a good example.

This was my cost for the coupe arms.
10 pieces: $70/pair
20 pieces: $59/pair
30 pieces: $56/pair

You can see how the pricing drops off quick and then levels out. Mainly because the setup time and programming times are often flat rates and amortized over the number of units made.

So, long story short. I will have them quoted and present pricing and probably do a group buy just to leverage better pricing and lower my risk (I don't need 10 of these on a shelf when I can make my own) and then we'll go from there.

[nkw8181]

side vents = large open side scoops
front = bumper? If I make mesh for the front bumper and you have a hinge you'll need the coupe style arms to clear.

Front bumper meaning the cutouts you can do on the sides. Or more like brake vents

[Mechie3]

Make an actual prototype of the rear grill instead of just paper printouts. .0625" thick material. Some of the features needed a .063" endmill to make so it took quite a long time to setup and machine. Laser cutting will be much faster and can handle the small radii no problem.

http://i.imgur.com/6I5dn9H.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/achlNQY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6xJQVp0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qETJt5J.jpg

[metros]

Wow, that looks pretty badass. I couldn't really picture it with the paper cut outs. I think that will look especially good around the exhaust. It would just be difficult to get the exhaust pipe centered perfectly as everyone has different situations.

[Mechie3]

That particular design will have one left side, one right side, and then the middle will be left for the license plate. That way people not running a center exhaust aren't left with an orphaned hole. A separate plate could be made for the middle. I was originally going to run a center exhaust with the AJW setup but because it's ~2 inches off center I don't think I'm going to run it.

[metros]

I cut my ajw exhaust to add a muffler to the system and have the muffler tacked in where I believe center to be. If not I can have it adjusted and rewelded.

[Frank818]

That's cool!

So these lights/cut outs will fit with VRaptor's center grill made for AJW exhaust (actually more for center top single 3" tip)?

[Mechie3]

Frank: No idea what the cutouts are on the V raptor grill. The back side of the lights are ~3.5" diameter. They do fit the cutout on my grill. Hahahaha! I have pricing for my rear grill just haven't shared it yet. I wanted to install the grill on my car first so people get a better idea of what it looks like. Haven't had time to machine a matching side yet so I might just install the one side and then post a pic.

Bad pun coming up: I stalled on my build for a while. Couldn't figure out a good ebrake solution as it was fighting for space with my shifter/cable mounting solution and I've been out of town or had in town visitors it seems 1/2 the time since thanksgiving. Hindsight was doing something similar and he gave me an idea. I moved my cable mount forward a bit and saved ~2 inches. Should be able to fit the stock ebrake in there now. I guess hindsight really is 20/20. ;)

Changing the fore/aft rod end to a female version and removing the coupler. For the left/right coupler it got shortened.

http://i.imgur.com/kD1M8mO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/l0Cqx6m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/FgSvq6w.jpg

Also machined something for the first time in a month. The old machinist retired and we hired a new guy. Instead of sitting idle 95% of the time the CNC now runs 95% of the time. Had to come in on the weekend to make something. Prototyped up two of the latest revision of the shifter setup. Still have a few parts to make.

http://i.imgur.com/uINDlct.jpg

[Mitch Wright]

Looking really good.

[Hindsight]

Nice!! Looking forward to seeing the e-Brake finished. I think I will wait to do mine until after I do my first go-kart (which should only be a week or two away depending on how the rest of the exhaust goes). Those shifter parts are slick! Look much better (and are lighter) than my home-made job.

[Pearldrummer7]

I guess hindsight really is 20/20. ;)


heh. That's pretty good.

Shifter assembly looks awesome, Craig.

[Mechie3]

Nice!! Looking forward to seeing the e-Brake finished. I think I will wait to do mine until after I do my first go-kart (which should only be a week or two away depending on how the rest of the exhaust goes). Those shifter parts are slick! Look much better (and are lighter) than my home-made job.

I actually designed a full rally car/drift car style ebrake...but locking it was one challenge I had no good solution too. The looks and lightness of the bell crank are all benefits of CNC access. There's not really anything super amazing about it technology wise that no one else with several hours of time, CAD, and a CNC couldn't do. Luckily for me (well, my business), most people don't have the CAD or CNC.

[taco20]

I actually designed a full rally car/drift car style ebrake...but locking it was one challenge I had no good solution too. The looks and lightness of the bell crank are all benefits of CNC access. There's not really anything super amazing about it technology wise that no one else with several hours of time, CAD, and a CNC couldn't do. Luckily for me (well, my business), most people don't have the CAD or CNC.[/QUOTE]

Hey I went with a drift park brake lever for mine and if you look at the picture it has a little red lever that holds the lever back to act like a park brake. Works really well if that would help with you ebrake design?

50204

[Mechie3]

Found a few hours of garage time today. We get presidents day off now so I spent the morning with the family then my wife went to work and I took our daughter to daycare to get 3 hours of garage time. Saturday night I went to the shop at 8pm and finished up around 1 am. Made some tabs to mount some lights, finished up the prototype shifter and got it mailed off, and made the second grill piece. Been waiting to make this part since the machinist has been using the vice setup and I needed to pull both vices to make this part on a base plate. I also bought the IR 529 saw. AMAZING! The HF piece of junk makes your hand go numb, jams up all the time, and can't cut straight at all. This tool was easy on the hands and cut smooth and straight. Certainly worth the $150ish.

Put on the grill, marked the holes, drilled the holes, cleco'd the grill in place, traced the outermost portions of the interior mesh pattern, remove the grill, cut out the bumper, installed lights into the grill, cleco'd it back. I have some flush mount pem studs to press into the grill so that when it's powdercoated and mounted you won't see any hardware or rivet heads sticking up that says kit car. I like it. Sort of a cross between a Ferrari Challenge car and the Mclaren P1 (non GTR). The center is fit for a license plate or I have a third part I plan to make for an exhaust exit so I can use the AJW exhaust as is for now.

FFR Setup:
http://i.imgur.com/coL1lDu.jpg

Cleco'd:
http://i.imgur.com/yNzDKhn.jpg

Outline:
http://i.imgur.com/ryQyDbn.jpg

Cleco'd with lights:
http://i.imgur.com/15Bd14n.jpg

Cleco'd with lights and license plate:
http://i.imgur.com/pYEsE0H.jpg

Compared to the part I cut out:
http://i.imgur.com/wws0duX.jpg

[Mechie3]

Long term I don't want a plain AJW exhaust. I either want something that has dual exits where the license plate is (though I like the bottom area being open)
http://www.sssupersports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/14-mclaren-nb-p1-gtr-rear-view.jpg

or something with a geometric shape (like most lambo's, just high mounted like the P1)
http://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/76778mclar11.jpg?itok=eASXzCfW

Or have a dual exhaust exit in the corners of the lower opening with spacing similar to this:
http://www.exoticanovitecexhaust.com/Images/speciale.jpg

I'm also considering cutting off most of the bottom half of the rear bumper and make the diffuser go full width kind of like the sesto elemento, though the bottom edge of the shortened bumper should have something to give it depth vs looking like a cut off panel.

http://www.lambocars.com/images/prototypes/sesto29.jpg

[Hindsight]

I really like what you did with the rear bumper!

How are you attaching the mesh? I didn't quite follow all of the description. Also, where did you source those cool lights?

I really wanted a high center exhaust but just couldn't find the room to do it with any kind of muffler that would provide any muffling at all.

[Mechie3]

I'm using flush mount pem studs. The pem studs are like screws but without a standard head. They get pressed into the sheet metal. The specific variety I purchased are designed to press flush so they're not as noticeable.

http://img.directindustry.com/images_di/photo-m/9040-9459313.jpg

The lights are my secret. lol. I imported them from a manufacturer in China. It took me a very very long time to find LED lights that didn't look like they belonged on a semi truck and that didn't cost $900 (Hellas) or look riced out. Now that I have the grill actually installed I'm going to post up in general offering the grill, the grill with lights, or just the lights. I need to double check pricing but just the lights would be around $300 for a set of four. The inner one does a single red ring and reverse, the outer one does two intensities of red rings and a yellow/orange blinker. I've played around with a power supply and the inner light can be wired with resistors and such to make it function as a dual intensity red ring. That will give four medium intensity red rings for running lights, four bright red rings for brakes, two reverse lights and two blinkers. Normally I'd share my source except I'd like to offer these as a kit. Given how long it took me to find, and that more than a year after finding them and sharing them on here and facebook no one else has managed to find them, I'd like to keep my source for now. :)

[Hindsight]

Hey, if it's a product you will offer, I completely understand. If you offered them with mesh then count me in as first buyer, otherwise I am interested in the lights.

Thx for the info on the studs. Had no idea such a thing existed.

[Mechie3]

They also make Pem nuts (pressed in nuts), floating pem nuts/studs (allow for misalignment), PEM spring loaded thumbscrews. I used some of the pem studs on my firewall. It makes it so you can have threads in a thin part without using rivnuts and reducing the need for loose nuts (or in areas where you can't reach the back side for a nut).

I plan to offer the lights, mesh, and the little tabs to mount the lights. I've actually had the quote for the grill for over a month but wanted good pics to go along with the product offering instead of a pic of a loose part with some hand waving involved.

[Hindsight]

Awesome. I think the mesh would look really cool all painted black, with the license plate area painted black as well. Kind of what I am thinking about doing. Any idea on ETA? I won't need it really soon but probably within a month or two since I plan to working on the body by that point.

[07FIREBLADE]

Do you think you could get 2 lights into Harley's new Vman inspired bumper. Or make a single inner style setup. That way we could just play with resistors and have a single light work all functions. Possibly turn as a high intensity function

[Frank818]

Nice grills and lights, they won't fit with VRaptor's rear upper grill (which I have), would need grills that don't extend more on the inside (towards license plate) than they do on the outside. Oh well I guess I'll have to stay with FFR's lights. Besides I think you mentioned yours don't say if they are DOT, right? Not that Indiana cares about lollll, but some other places yeah. :(

[Mechie3]

07: That's one thing I was wanting to work on. The lights are 3.75" dia. If we did just 1 light there are some larger 4.75" lights. The only problem is that only one light loses one function. You need turn signals, running lights, brake lights, and reverse. Each light has a maximum of three functions even if you play with resistors. If you use high intensity as the turn then you lose braking functions. The best option is probably one big light with turn signals and a separate reverse light bar.

Frank: Probably not. His grill goes almost up to the recess for the FFR lights. I'm not sure I understand what you mean about not extending more on the inside than they do the outside (extend in reference to what?) The lights are not DOT, but the are approved for use in the EU (ECE standards).

[Frank818]

50745

[Mechie3]

Ahh, I see. You need something that would likely also work with Harley 818's Vman style bumper.

[Frank818]

I checked this morning and VRaptor's grill is too wide to fit with grills that would be around the headlights (even some very small ones). The center grill goes almost to the headlights already so not much space there, unless, unless I make the top section of the bumper a full wide grill. Ah well, I'll stick with std FFR lights but at least I'm gonna have a great grill with a center 3" tip, it should look aggressive enough.

[Mechie3]

In post 1510 I showed how I moved up the cable mounting clamp and saved a bit of space. I was using 7' cables going around the engine, now they have to do under the intake manifold. They might be too tight to curve under the upper firewall now. We'll see. My shifter is a little farther forward than FFR calls for I think. Another 2 inches on the cables would be perfect. The space made by moving up the cable mounts made it so I could mount my e brake where I wanted. Instead of mounting it on top of the rails like FFR calls for, I mounted it below. I also move it over as far as possible to the passenger side for cable clearance. On the passenger side was a tab that gets cut off. Mine was slighly bent and preventing it from sitting flush against the rail. I trimmed it higher up and gained another 1/8" or so of side movement.

The rails are 3/4" tall and the steel bracket is another 3/16" or so. It's just held in place temporarily for now to test the fit but I love it. I used some 5/16" bolts going through the top of the rail through the bracket and held on with nylock nuts. The front tab of the e brake is on top of this bracket with an M8 and nylock holding it to the bracket. I need to make a similar bracket to hold the rear. The fore/aft cable runs underneath the ebrake and will be held down with a cable clamp. All in all the ebrake is about an inch lower and 2 inches farther forward than FFR's placement. Front tab to the ebrake is ~9" from the rear of the rails and the center of the shifter is 19 3/4" from the back of the rail. Placement is perfect. Before I had to move my arm awkwardly backwards to reach the e-brake and lift up at an odd angle because my arm was hitting the seat bolster. Now my arm is at a comfortable right angle when my hand is on the lever (wihch is good if I ever needed to pop the ebrake in an emergency).

Top View. Lots of extra holes in the rails now. Good thing they're not structural.
http://i.imgur.com/8DkSygv.jpg

Angled view. That left most hole is the original FFR location for the ebrake.
http://i.imgur.com/kjK9fuJ.jpg

Nice comfortable position:
http://i.imgur.com/Bq4derz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tjNfAIg.jpg

[Hindsight]

Looks great Craig; I will probably do something very similar myself.

[Mechie3]

I got part of the idea from you. :)

[AZPete]

Nice work, Craig. I don't know where you find the time after parts design/production/sales/shipping.

[Mechie3]

Well, this started around 10pm last night and finished at midnight.

[RM1SepEx]

I moved my shifter and the top of the tunnel upwards, it ends up with the same relationship between the shifter and the parking brake handle. It's only the 4th attempt to get something that I liked.

[AgentH]

Subscribed. Better late than never. I started following your Nasioc thread from the very beginning though. Glad you're still making forward progress and innovating along the way!

[Mechie3]

Things are still slowly moving, usually late at night. Seems whenever I reserve an entire day to work on the car I end up not even making it outside. :/ I did manage to get some done on some late nights.

My first cable clamp was a single bolt per side style. Fitting cables through was tight and I had to pull the rubber off the cable each time. It was starting to chew up the insides and couldn't get tight enough anymore. I made a clam shell style one with three bolts. Much easier to replace and much tighter.

http://i.imgur.com/yDfkEAT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KFpPY2R.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/GKTiQG1.jpg

I wasn't sure how much I liked my alternator mount. With minimal test time I viewed it as a liability. I modified a stock mount instead and reused the aluminum turnbuckle I made. I cut off the mount for the AC pulley tensioner and the AC mounting holes and smoothed out some of the casting lines, sand blasted it, primed, and painted. This requires me to relocate my FPR which I decided I wanted to do anyways. That is only 1/2 done now.

Milling off tabs:
http://i.imgur.com/qY3G37b.jpg

Finished piece:
http://i.imgur.com/QFcf1W6.jpg

Terrible dark cell phone install photo:
http://i.imgur.com/0w8npN1.jpg

[Mechie3]

I milled and turned a piece of aluminum to make an adapter for the fuel cap vent mod. It saved me from having to weld on a bung and roll a tube end. I'm having my friend weld it to the modified FFR cap (machined off the lip so I could slip this over). I could probably weld it but I have 4 hours of time into this part plus some blood, so I didn't want to risk ruining it.

http://i.imgur.com/yJ5MmOs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/nOEiRwd.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/DuXzOod.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/VE3jUok.jpg

This is what happens when you try to snap off a sharp burr with your hands but you want to keep working and have no bandaids close by:
http://i.imgur.com/TebGD5g.jpg

[Mechie3]

Made an adapter for my BPV return hose. I changed my plan on the BPV back to using the OEM so my hose alignment was terrible. This let me fit a 90 deg silicone piece up to the stock hose (cut back some)
http://i.imgur.com/t6PBrl8.jpg

Installed:
http://i.imgur.com/ZH1J5sq.jpg

Got my BPV mounted and all of teh sensors mounted in the AWIC core (pre core temp and post core temp for gauge and post core temp for speed density tuning)
http://i.imgur.com/pgOWP8f.jpg

Lastly, my friend Conor landed a full year Indycar ride. He led for 15 laps yesterday and was in second for the next 20 or so laps and was on par to podium but got hit exiting the pits. He needed a new wing which cost him position. He started 20th and finished 13. We had some friends over (the guy who used to weld for indycar, his wife and daughter) to watch.

http://i.imgur.com/CQjJzxk.jpg

My daughter (left) and her friend sitting inside Graham Rahal's Indycar seat inserts from his 2012 car.
http://i.imgur.com/RTpGSHq.jpg

[Mechie3]

Went outside last night to do a couple of things. First up, add a vent line to the gas tank. Pulled the fuel pump....inside of tank is rusty. Sweet! :mad: Well, guess I'm not doing that tonight. Going with a Boyd tank now. I'm just glad I started a business so I can write off a lot of these purchases and they don't come out of my (regular) pocket.

http://i.imgur.com/fpeGftT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/yPbauCo.jpg

My friend welded up my gas fill port adapter. Said the flanged cap (from FFR) welded funny since it had lots of porosity. I guess I'm not terribly suprised as it's likely recycled material from china then machined into a cap.

Spacing the joint:
http://i.imgur.com/d13JQDm.jpg

Welded:
http://i.imgur.com/cW6LGpN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zDFgOwJ.jpg

[Mitch Wright]

It is going to be fun to see you car when finished to check out all the trick bits you have been coming up with.

[Hindsight]

Wow, that deadline is really making you increase the progress! Looking forward to seeing it done and on the road. I love the filler neck mod. Much cleaner and nicer looking than my setup. And yes, my filler neck aluminum welded up really funny too. Basically most all the FFR aluminum stuff, and the Frozen Boost aluminum stuff welds poorly for me. The only exception is the Alcoa 1/8" aluminum plate FFR provides. That welds great.

Those saddle clamp things you made.... you could do something similar for brake lines, wink wink. Maybe after you meet your deadline :P

[Mechie3]

Haha. I can look into those brake line saddles. ;)

The frozenboost core welded like garbage for me. At least all the welds are hidden underneath. I knew welding a bung onto round tube would be a losing proposition for me but that CNCing a piece would be win. :)

[metros]

Zero Decibel Motorsports - Creating solutions I don't really need, but do need since forever.

I'm still not sure why you're not on the payroll for FFR. How many of these trick pieces could they then tag on as upgrades to this kit?

[Hindsight]

^^^^^ Agree

[AZPete]

On FFR payroll? No way. Then Craig couldn't deduct his entire 818 as a business expense. I'm envious and have to find a way to make mine deductible.

[Harley818]

Craig, what is your reasoning for the switch back to stock blow of valve?

[Mechie3]

I actually own the car under my own name, but many of the mods/add ons are owned by Zero dB. lol. Worst case, someone sues the business, I keep the car and just have to remake a bunch of parts.

I think a lot of my solutions/parts (especially the one offs) don't fit the FFR business model. They're trying to make parts that are cost effective and functional. I make parts as though I have an unlimited budget because, for me, machine time, design time, and sometimes materials are free. All of my parts sold at FFR margins would probably make the kit cost the same as the superlite SLC cars :D Granted, a bunch of my parts would be cheaper sold at the 400 part count vs 20. I also probably take longer to come up with parts (though, sometimes I'm tired from designing stuff all day at my real job). I enjoy being able to just do my own thing and also sell some parts too.

Harley, I tried finding reliability data for the BPV but couldn't (not terribly surprised). For now I'm sticking with the proven OEM until the car runs well to set a baseline, then I can experiment some more.

[nkw8181]

Are you going to have any issues with the gas cap venting? I.e. I thought the cap wasn't venting

[Mechie3]

This only vents during a fillup. Some have had problems, some have not, I'm being proactive about it as it's easier to change now than later. As fuel goes in the fill neck, air needs to escape. If it goes in fast the rollover valve (in some cars) can't evacuate fast enough so air comes back out the fill neck and spits fuel. This vent attaches to the top of the tank and behind the cap. During a fill air can evacuate out the larger diameter (1/2") hose and exit behind the fuel cap, but above where the fuel pump nozzle is. When the cap is closed the vent is fully contained within the enclosed fuel system and no longer acts as an external vent.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18131-Fuel-Filler-mod

[Mechie3]

I had one of the first (the first?) harness bar from FFR. I already shortened the spacers and made them fatter but my set didn't have any washers (I actually pointed out to FFR that the mismatch between the bolt head and the through hole on the rod end meant minimal support). I went and made my own finally except I made them shoulder washers instead of plain washers. I also made them out of titanium. No reason, other than I could. And blue. I like blue. :D

Dark blue is hardest to get. It transitions away from it too fast. One is perfect (royal blue with purple) the other is just past perfect (light blue with royal center):
http://i.imgur.com/U9fFPqq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Dty5rmD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uJzOoNa.jpg

[Frank818]

If you're ever selling a fuel cap complete with the vent, I'm a buyer. And I won't be the only one! (hint hint hint loll)

[THE FURNACE]

You are correct Frank. I would buy one too!

[Mechie3]

Selling a complete cap would be difficult. I'd need your cap, then I'd need to modify it, then get the billet part I designed, then weld them. I'm sure my friend could do them faster now but it was $60 to weld my pieces together (~1hr of labor/materials). At that rate, it's probably cheaper to hire someone to just weld together pipes with threaded bungs.

Got a fair amount done this weekend.

NRG hub, 2.5 quick release, and 320mm wheel installed. It's much easier to get in and out of the car and the top of the steering wheel is no longer even with my forehead.
http://i.imgur.com/HrdXUyZ.jpg

While it was still mostly light out I got a better shot of my alternator setup:
http://i.imgur.com/zyOB6ti.jpg

And the gas tank....oh....the gas tank. Easy job right? Pull the seat, pull the firewall, pull the tank. No, that's too easy. I'm an engineer in development for a living. We're required to work closely with mfg and service during development to make sure the product can be manufactured AND serviced as easily as possible. The 818 has a lot of "non serviceable" items because the instructions say to rivet things in place. I had cut off the top of my tunnel cover and riveted the sides. Making a new top with screws to access things like shift cables, wires, etc. Except....you can't pull the firewall (at least the original style one) without removing the tunnel sides. Doh!

First I pulled the seat, but I can't pull the seat without unthreading the seatbelts because there's not enough room otherwise. I then trimmed the rear of the tunnel aluminum. It's all covered by the ebrake piece anyways so it doesn't matter if there is a gap. In the FFR setup you'd have to remove your ebrake, shifter, and undo all the rivets to get the firewall out. Not good if you're at the track and need quick repairs.

http://i.imgur.com/Z2lLjzE.jpg

Forgot how tight the firewall was too. Has to come up perfectly straight or it binds on the side aluminum because it's too tight. Same with the gas tank. Finally got it all out. 1 step forward, 5 steps back, but it'll be better in the end.
http://i.imgur.com/t7cdgWg.jpg

Mocked up a new tank. It has 1/2" clearance on the passenger side and 2.5" clearance on the driver side (for clutch/brake lines). I didn't chop off the ends like the FFR tank. Fuel filler location was determined by how I could modify the existing FFR fill tube so that if others want to copy this tank they don't need to remake a bunch of parts from scratch.

http://i.imgur.com/DENydM1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VJdFlEY.jpg?1

There are two versions of the tank. One is rectangular and 14 gallons (minus pump volume), the other adds an angled from (like the original FFR tank) and goes up to 17 gallons.

Overall layout:
http://i.imgur.com/Ii6c6Gw.jpg

[Mechie3]

End Shot:
http://i.imgur.com/ph1zvQB.jpg

Clearance to frame rail in teh rectangular version:
http://i.imgur.com/9J62ytD.jpg

Fill port:
http://i.imgur.com/sh308Qt.jpg

How I cut the tube:
http://i.imgur.com/lBhCdzA.jpg

Assembled (end on top with flare goes into tank)
http://i.imgur.com/WtOhlRw.jpg

View from behind filler cap looking down and forward towards tank:
http://i.imgur.com/8Ho1hrU.jpg

View from above filler cap looking down at tank:
http://i.imgur.com/yfH9xeA.jpg

[Mechie3]

Prothane swaybar bushings installed:
http://i.imgur.com/89Qoyfw.jpg

[Frank818]

I like your fuel tank. Well not in cardboard box but once it'll be in alu.
Plans on selling those (2 versions) one day?

[RM1SepEx]

Craig, why not just have them weld a pipe sticking straight up for a hose to slide over and be clamped vs making the aluminum "lean to" that you designed in cardboard? easier to make...

[Mechie3]

The "lean to" is a copy of the lean to they have for their version of the 818 tank. If you use a pipe straight up I need to find a 90 deg bend silicone that is fuel resistant. This way I can just reuse the silicone fuel hose that FFR sent.

Frank. I don't plan to sell them myself but will share my dimensions for anyone else who wants one. It requires the old style firewall so the number of people wanting it will be small. Too much risk for me to order a handful to try and resell. Not sure how much room there is for margin either if I have to pay boyd's first. Sent off a drawing and model today for quoting.

[Frank818]

There's a new style rear FW? I guess I have the old style, I have the old tank and I don't remember my FW being different than any others.
Dimensions are fine, I could get one made up yeah. I believe one day I'll change the tank, too many little/medium issues with it. Although it's the WORST part to service, as you already know.

[Mechie3]

Newer cars have a new tank (10 gallon?) that is thinner behind the driver. The rear firewall was changed to allow the seat to move back a little bit more.

[Mechie3]

My parents have been visiting from NY for my daughters 2nd birthday (that means I'm 2 years behind getting this car finished :rolleyes:) so not much work has gotten done. Last few weeks have mostly been spent getting bell cranks assembled and ready. I got the new bumper from Harley (pics of that to come when I get a chance to actually unwrap it) and the new front end from FFR showed up too.

I did manage to do a few things:

That circlip that is meant for the front axle did indeed work for the rear axle. I used a set of needle nose pliers to pre squeeze the clip while my dad easily tapped the axle in with a mallet. It's nice and secure now and I no longer have axle parts and grease filled paper towels all over the garage floor.

Made a new FPR mount. This moves it off the engine and onto the cross supports behind the firewall. To machined pieces welded together then part of the weld machined off to make it flat again. Repolished after welding.

http://i.imgur.com/7s2MA8U.jpg

My dad helped me hang up the Daytona Prototype front end on my garage wall so that freed up a ton of garage floor space making it easier to walk around.

Splitter mounted:
http://i.imgur.com/SOA2TbA.jpg

Bumper/hood mounted:
http://i.imgur.com/5gBeMsE.jpg

The mess I call my garage. There's an 818, F500, lathe, mill, and other stuff in there.....somewhere.
http://i.imgur.com/xJDC7f2.jpg


I decided since my 818 is never going to be done I should just buy a lotus instead, but I think it shrunk in the dryer.

http://i.imgur.com/JwYd0Ev.jpg

[Mechie3]

Oh.....and then this happened (so now the 818 is really never going to get done). ;)
http://i.imgur.com/gIFZVXw.jpg

[STiPWRD]

Congrats! I can totally understand how car work slows down after a baby (let alone 2), especially when that baby becomes mobile. A neighbor asked me the other day, "so where is the baby seat going to go?" referring to the 818. I had a good laugh about that, like I'm really going to finish this thing while my boy is still young enough to need a baby seat, hah!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great News Craig.
Now you need to work on the 818Stretch. (4 seats)
My First child. Wife handled 90% of the stuff. Left me with 10%.
Second child, Wife handled 90% of new baby and 50% of first baby.
So my total went from 10% to 60% when the second baby happened. Big life changer.

Just wait until they are 6 and 8 years old. The word BUSY will take on a new meaning. Best years of my life.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Congrats Craig! Life comes at you fast. Sometimes I get frustrated by it all but have to remember to tell myself to enjoy the journey and stop focusing so much on the goal.

[Mitch Wright]

Congratulations Craig, your daughter is a cute and looking sharp in her new hot rod.
We just took care of our grand kids (4, 6 and 8) for a week while mom and dad took a vacation. Had a great time but also reaffirms that their is a reason why we have kids when we are young. Those little buggers wore us out and needed to get back to work to relax.

[nkw8181]

Part number for you Prothane swaybar bushings?

[Mechie3]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003870QGU/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Check your swaybar diameter.

[NISMO_RB25]

Congrats Craig! I have an almost 2 1/2 year old and now a 1 month old, so hopefully sometime in the next 5 years I will actually finish my 818.

[Flamshackle]

Oh.....and then this happened (so now the 818 is really never going to get done). ;)
http://i.imgur.com/gIFZVXw.jpg

Congrats Craig! Such amazing times with wee ones about :-) my boys are loving our 818 and I am looking forward to building memories with them (and the car)

[Mechie3]

I'm pretty sure the entire world is conspiring against me finishing the 818. First time getting to work on the car itself in about a month on Sunday. Got everything out of the way Saturday so I could work the entire day. Woke up at 3am and threw up my dinner. Couch surfed all day Sunday. Lame!

Get out to the garage Monday when my wife took our daughter up to bed. 1 hour later "she's learned to hop out of the crib and stands at the stairs sobbing 'Mama'. Can you go put her to bed?" A little over an hour later I was back in the garage and finally got a few things done.

First things first:
I got the rear bumper from Harley with the "vman" design. I like it a lot. Plan to cut out the lights and put grills and LED units in there, but the bumper itself is nice. The edges were nice and smooth and the design is much more modern and 3D looking vs the flat backed FFR piece.
http://i.imgur.com/Epb4FGl.jpg

Hard to see, but even the line between the bumper and the cutout area has a nice 3D feature added to it.
http://i.imgur.com/zeoM1J1.jpg

Tires showed up Monday. ZII Star spec, 235/40/17 and 255/35/18. Getting them mounted next week after my F500 tires arrive so I can make just one trip to my friends house with the tire machine.
http://i.imgur.com/mjAJGlJ.jpg

Radiator plug was leaking. It was a half formed 1/4NPT. I tapped it out all the way and made a plug for it.
http://i.imgur.com/bwAF0nO.jpg

Got my FPR mount finished up and bolted to the frame. I need to trim the front hump aluminum for it to fit, but planned on that. The aluminum for the hump block off sits 1.25" behind the lip on the fiberglass (which doesn't make sense to me).

http://i.imgur.com/2XpLueV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/snQZWyM.jpg

[Flamshackle]

Stunning work as always mate and good to see your project ticking along :D

[Hindsight]

I sure do hear you on the universe conspiring against your garage time!!

[Frank818]

I feel that pain on finishing up the car Craig, I do...

But still, your work is awesome!

[THE FURNACE]

Won`t those tires be dried up before first ride?

[Rasmus]

Won`t those tires be dried up before first ride?

https://m.popkey.co/067386/De53m.gif

Ohh snap! :cool:

[Mechie3]

Won`t those tires be dried up before first ride?

:(





yes.



(but I'm hoping not)

[Mechie3]

Won`t those tires be dried up before first ride?

Little slow on the comeback....but:

http://i.imgur.com/voz43Tn.jpg

[THE FURNACE]

1 year before you sell me any more parts eh? ( eh is a Canadian saying ). That might just work out! lol. Between the shirt, bell crank and hinges, it's the shirt that will get any immediate use! Hahaha!

[Mechie3]

Got a little bit of work done, but work should be faster, or at least more efficient.

First, I played the annual game of "find the F500". Over the winter the F500 tends to get covered in tools, 818 parts, and everything else. It also becomes impossible to get the trailer/car out of the garage. Cleaned all that up and put all my tools away, threw away stuff, swept the floor, put my 20ton press on a rolling cart so it can move easily. Took up most of the working Saturday hours but well worth it.

I think that's an Fmod:
http://i.imgur.com/3dI6cka.jpg

Oh look, I found a car:
http://i.imgur.com/okky0o9.jpg

I also hung up my 2016 Indy 500 flag. Last years flag was pretty lame. A big "500" logo, and no cars or anything. This year they stuck a car front and center. Love it!
http://i.imgur.com/VyQuYg3.jpg

Now to the stuff you really care about:

I trimmed 1.25" off the aluminum base that holds up the hump block off aluminum. YMMV, but for me this number made the aluminum sit flush with the fiberglass. Might use some velcro to attach it so it's easy to take off and hidden fasteners. Might also just use dzus fasteners. Not as OEM looking, but maybe better long term?

Moved everything 1.25" back:
http://i.imgur.com/bkCtwPG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GZzSDUM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/FSq3V3u.jpg

[Mechie3]

Got the ebrake mounted up. Had to trim a few edges to go around the seat harness mounts and drill new mounting holes for the cable bracket (ebrake handle was moved forward).
http://i.imgur.com/f7qdMaD.jpg

Didn't get too much gone because I had a "helper".
http://i.imgur.com/dgFB4jc.jpg

[Mechie3]

Got my tires mounted last night. They seem to fit pretty good. No alignment yet. I need to check upper A-arms, as the front arm can't go tighter. Can't tell if the threads are bottoming out or not but I have some wicked positive camber.

Tires are 235/40/17 and 255/35/18. Wheels are XXR 530, 17 x 8.25 et35 and 18 x 8.75 et 35 rear. No spacers. Sedan arms in sedan holes. Ebay rear trailing arm.

The OD is closer to 23.5 than the mathematical 24.4 you'd expect a 235/40/17 to be. 1.5" of clearance to the rear aluminum when going straight. Didn't turn the wheel to see how that does.
http://i.imgur.com/RmQTaZz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dUeEWOV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2N65j8S.jpg

Rear tire has good clearance as well.
http://i.imgur.com/SgLXhvt.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RgYk3qA.jpg

[Hindsight]

Looks great Craig! We have the same tires but mine are a different size in the rear (265). Looks like they fit well for you too. I'm very happy with mine. On good pavement with the limited slip diff, I get full traction in second. I would expect you to have similar results.

[THE FURNACE]

The chassis looks great! Nice work. I'm really looking forward to this build, because of the great support from other builders, and the trick aftermarket parts that you offer.

[longislandwrx]

that transmission mount has seen better days

[Mechie3]

Hmm...hadn't even noticed that. I'll have to take a closer look later.

New tank showed up:

http://i.imgur.com/vZTf4Mf.jpg

Filler and two 1/4NPT for a rollover valve and the gas fill vent.
http://i.imgur.com/zW0gQz8.jpg

Internal collector area near the lift pump (check valves enroute):
http://i.imgur.com/J2ZUw1j.jpg

Installed:
http://i.imgur.com/ZMHvfd3.jpg

~3/4" clearance on passenger side (forgot driver side pic, it's 2"+):
http://i.imgur.com/fDIB2UB.jpg

Ample front clearance (tabs barely extend past firewall):
http://i.imgur.com/dJ8CSKV.jpg

Rollover valve installed, fill hose 1/2 installed (it's tight, didn't think I could get it off if I put it on all the way now):
http://i.imgur.com/rp9QuHy.jpg

[Frank818]

http://i.imgur.com/okky0o9.jpg


I love your rear tires.




http://i.imgur.com/VyQuYg3.jpg


Hey wait! You really are from Indiana!!





http://i.imgur.com/RgYk3qA.jpg

Something changed here....

[Mechie3]

I'm actually from Rochester, NY. I've only been in Indiana for 7 years. If you look carefully though you'll see a flag for each indy 500 I've been here except 2009-2011 are all covered by the centennial era flag. I have two 2012 flags because the one they were selling (the top one) is kinda lame. Last summer someone on craigslist had a different 2012 flag that was awesome that I had never seen before.

[Mechie3]

Well, I've been busy. Haven't even read any build threads in the past week much less post in my own for almost a month. I don't have all that much to report either since most of my time was spent either getting parts ready to ship for orders or going to the Indy 500 or other life things.

Indy 500: I won some tickets. Not just any tickets. Top floor of the Pagoda. Those of you familiar with the speedway know you can't buy tickets to the pagoda. You have to be rich and either buy out an entire suite or be famous and get invited by someone rich. Even then, you can't buy out the top suite. Or, you could be me and win tickets from Verizon.

This was one of the coolest things ever.
http://i.imgur.com/c0fMFLg.jpg

View from up top:
http://i.imgur.com/fP2T05h.jpg

View from one corner of the pagoda. From the north I could see turn 2, 3, and 4. From the South I could see turs 1, 2, and 3. Nowhere else can you see so much of the track.
http://i.imgur.com/ascqgt9.jpg

Afterwards we walked down to winners circle. We weren't really supposed to, but everyone was so focused on Rossi's win and we just acted like we were supposed to be there so no one questioned us. Hahaha!

100th 500 winner Alexander Rossi:
http://i.imgur.com/48ztPva.jpg

While the above pic was happening I stepped onto the podium and got my pic:
http://i.imgur.com/N6pDW96.jpg

[Mechie3]

818 stuff. I've been focusing on my fuel tank. Spent some time designing the pump mounts and all that stuff.

Overview of all the parts. Machinist at work had a break so I hopped in on a Friday and made all these in about 5 hours.
http://i.imgur.com/IzWyf3q.jpg

Electrical studs. These go in the tank and connect to the pump with lug connectors. I was concerned using just a plain set screw stud would allow fuel to seep up the threads so this is a double sided stud with a flange for sealing and flats for tightening.
http://i.imgur.com/nqWp0ES.jpg

Underring. These go inside the tank. The Boyd versions use a thin plate with rivnuts. I was worried that the rivnuts would potentially spin and then you're stuck not being able to get your pump mount off. This under ring is also taller so that it has vertical stiffnes to force the tank to be flat if it has localized deformation. The studs are set screws so using a wrench or passthrough socket you can hold the stud in place and loosen the top nut.
http://i.imgur.com/zyFVoZW.jpg

Double sided AN fittings are expensive. I took some standard bulkhead fittings, reamed out the inside halfway and machined either tubes (for return/fill lines) or barb fittings (for pump output). Pressed them together. One tube was kind of thin so I welded it. Blue anodizing turns bronze when it gets super hot apparently.
http://i.imgur.com/RFVd4Ak.jpg

[Mechie3]

Lift pump plate. Fuel pump mount is a 1/2" solid rod welded to a counterbore on the underside of the plate. Single -8AN output.
http://i.imgur.com/WuUAMNX.jpg

Engine supply plate. -8AN input from lift pump, -6AN input from FPR, -8AN output to engine.
http://i.imgur.com/Kr0FYQg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/lGMQxvN.jpg

Lift pump plate in place:
http://i.imgur.com/dhMuJji.jpg

Both plates in place:
http://i.imgur.com/kFXT99g.jpg (http://imgur.com/kFXT99g)

Check valves installed in baffles for lift pump side:
http://i.imgur.com/L7UCgpl.jpg

got some new lights in and made up a CAD model for a grill for the rear of the Harley/Vman style rear bumper. This uses both the smaller (3.5"OD) LED taillight along with a larger one (4.75").
http://i.imgur.com/X1Agkzn.jpg

[Hindsight]

Look at all that bling. You still going to produce the other style rear lights and mesh?

[Mechie3]

Bunch of bling that no one will ever see. If they do, it's because something broke and I had to take it apart.

I'll still make the other rear grills if there is enough interest. There seemed to be some, but not a lot, so I tabled it for now to focus on getting my car done.

[AZPete]

Craig, it all looks amazing. And, we all envy your 500 seat!!

[Mechie3]

The only downside of that seat for the 500 is that every other seat will never match up.

"oh wow, these seats are great!"
"yeah, they're not bad"
"What do you mean? You can't get better than this!"
"well....this one time.....back in 2016....."

lol

Fell asleep while putting my daughter to sleep Monday, so I didn't get to work until Tuesday, but Tuesday's are booked until 9:30pm, so I didn't get to work till 10. Pretty much why my car isn't done. I did manage to make the last of my fuel lines last night and got those installed.

http://i.imgur.com/wQYaCLI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mHOregU.jpg

[wleehendrick]

I did manage to make the last of my fuel lines last night and got those installed.

54791

Looks great!

[Mechie3]

I posted them on facebook with the following fake convo:

"hey bro, how much HP does your fuel system support?"
"all of it"
"oh snap, it must be quick!"
"yeah......it doesn't actually run"


:p

[Frank818]

Wow what a job man. And what a ticket... you'll never see again. lolll But you did take full advantage of it so I'm not worried.

About the rear lights grill, these fit only the VMan-Harley type and not FFR's?

[longislandwrx]

love it. needs more E98.

[Mechie3]

Wow what a job man. And what a ticket... you'll never see again. lolll But you did take full advantage of it so I'm not worried.

About the rear lights grill, these fit only the VMan-Harley type and not FFR's?

I took so much advantage of that ticket! I got there around 6:20am and didn't leave until about 5pm. :D

The rear light grill I just posted above is only for the Vman/Harley bumper. The one that fits the FFR bumper had an interest check thread here:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?20151-Group-Buy-Interest-Check-Rear-Grille-and-LED-Lights-Zero-Decibel

There wasn't much interest so I focused on getting my car to run again. I think the big deal was that it was made to work with the custom LED lights I had vs working with the existing FFR lights. It can be made to work with them, I just haven't had the time to take measurements and model parts. It's still on the back burner though, not thrown away. :lol: Someone (Dave, can't remember forum name offhand) already asked to buy the single prototype I have in the event none ever get made.

[Mechie3]

Found 4 hours between 8pm and midnight on Friday to work on the car. Saturday was spent mostly doing housework (mowing) and getting the F500 ready for Sunday. Sunday was spent autocrossing. First autocross was 35F and pouring. Second (yesterday) was 90F and humid. I wouldn't mind averaging those out a little. Got FTD and 6th on PAX.

I made some spacers for the seat mounting and sub harness. I didn't like bolting through thin walled tubing knowing it was holding me in. The bottom of the tube is drilled for the bolt through hole, the top was drilled for the spacer to drop in. Spacer was .050" below the top of the tube to make sure that there was melted material below the top surface of the tube. I TIG welded them and then, where needed, ground the top flat so I wouldn't be putting excess stress on the seat mounts. Having spent 95% of my time welding aluminum, welding steel was a nice surprise at how easy it felt.

No pics for this part, but I also finished mounting the fuel tank and the lower firewall. The new tank is stiff and pulled the floor of the car flat so the holes for the lower firewall didn't like up anymore. Ha!

http://i.imgur.com/btJPgky.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6dl1Sii.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hQS4O4C.jpg

[Hindsight]

Great idea on welding those sleeves in! I may have to do the same thing on mine. The only harness points I ran THROUGH to steel tubing though, were for the anti-sub belts which I don't think see nearly as much force as the lap and shoulder so I think they should be ok, but maybe someday I will add sleeves like you did for those as well.

[Mechie3]

Minor update. Had glorious plans to work on Sunday. Went to Fogo de Chao for fathers day and then passed out on the couch for 3 hours (didn't help I stayed up late Saturday working on fenders).

I got "eagle eye" lights from ebay. They were cheap. Quality is hit or miss. Got 12 of the white ones and 10 of the amber. I picked out the best 6 to use. Most issues were the aluminum housing was scratched or the lenses had weld lines from some plastics molder trying to pump out 1,000's of these too fast and not running the right temps in the tool. Once in a headlight and down at knee height it probably won't be noticable, but it would bother me. lol.

http://i.imgur.com/FGxr2vd.jpg

Removed the seam lines on the front fenders. Took several hours each. I was hoping to just shave it down and buff it. No dice. Several areas had voids and even more areas had epoxy showing through once it was shaved even with either side of the seam. More disappointing is that the pieces of the mold didn't line up that well. The biggest offender was where the square corner of the mold is near the headlight opening. The wheel well piece of the mold sat lower than the top /headlight piece of the mold. Even when the seam was fully shaved down and flush with most of the surround material the wheel well side of the seam was recessed.

To shave it down I used a wood chisel set. The first passes where with the chisel used normally. When it got close to being flushed I held it up at a 70deg angle and pulled it backwards. Instead of cutting it shaved it. Followed up with a razor blade pulled backwards to shave it as well. It will definitely require body filler and more sanding. On the one hand I'm not surprised, on the other, I would think that with 25 years of doing this the molding quality would have been improved.

http://i.imgur.com/J8DU04k.jpg

[Kurk818]

A lot of the seam issues could have been eliminated if FFR placed extra gel coat within the seams to allow sanding of the seams and still be within the gelcoat layer.

Whats your method to fix the seams?

[Mechie3]

Not sure really. I was hoping I could just fix with the gelcoat I have, but it needs body filler. Might just body fill and vinyl wrap it or paint it myself and live with it. Not really sure.

I think there was extra gel coat but it gets pushed out when they put in the resin/glass. It would also help to have better molds.

[UnhipPopano]

Mech, pulling a sharp wood chisel towards yourself is not safe. Have you ever tried using a Cabinet Scraper? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOmAWhgdEJA]

[Mechie3]

I didn't pull the sharp edge towards me. I was doing what was shown in the video at 4:20, just reversed.

I was sitting on the floor, with the fender on the floor in front of me. The handle was in my right hand, my left hand was on the middle of the metal portion. The handle was facing towards me, the sharp edge was facing away from me. The handle was up about 45-70 degrees off the surface. I pulled it back so it wasn't cutting with the intended blade surface but used the back edge to shave very thin layers. Because it wasn't cutting in it had no chance to suddenly take a big cut requiring more force and potentially letting go and flying towards me.

[Mulry]

Cabinet scrapers are great. I'd recommend these for this application:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=49548&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1

[UnhipPopano]

Given the price of a scraper, it is a good idea to have a couple of them and find which ones work best.

[Mechie3]

Got the prototypes of the Harley Style light grille made up, pems pressed in, bumper cut, and all installed. Lights are just resting in place for now. Once powdercoated the pems shouldn't be noticeable as they're flush mount.

http://i.imgur.com/h6VbxUB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AQOd5nH.jpg

Got the AWIC lines going through the cabin shielded too.
http://i.imgur.com/5J7slZi.jpg

[Hindsight]

Slick - love those lights.

[ben1272]

lights look great, as usual. I found myself behind a ferrari 458 today and wondered to myself how the rear end of the 818 would look with its round tailights jammed right up into the corners. It would require some body work to be done right (in my opinion) but I think it would give the rear end a nice wider squared off presence. I need to do some photo shopping.

If I didnt have to buy a Vman bumper and then your grill set, I would maybe go for it.....I'm just reaching saturation level with spending money on this car!

[Frank818]

Got the prototypes of the Harley Style light grille made up, pems pressed in, bumper cut, and all installed. Lights are just resting in place for now. Once powdercoated the pems shouldn't be noticeable as they're flush mount.

http://i.imgur.com/h6VbxUB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AQOd5nH.jpg


Wait a sec down there man. Are you really sure those grills+lights don't fit the std FFR bumper?

[07FIREBLADE]

They could possibly for but the bumper doesn't have that nice ridge like we do.

[Frank818]

Might be worth trying, I'll keep it on my list. I need to get rid of those yellow lense flashers.

[Mechie3]

Frank, you don't need that particular grill to get rid of the lights. The Harley style grille probably won't fit very well. The bottom and side edges are pretty even but the top is different. The red one has a bigger gap between the fiberglass and aluminum which is why the red/blue don't match. At the top you can see how that gap is no longer a nice even 1/4" or so but starts to deviate.

You could try these, but without that ridge it might look weird or incomplete. I would suggest the larger grill (red ones) either with the two smaller lights (as originally designed) or it could be change to use one large and one small light thought the staggered lights look better IMO with the angled grill.

http://i.imgur.com/dC9crL2.png

http://i.imgur.com/SGixZua.png

http://i.imgur.com/O0y7pvJ.png

[Frank818]

Ha, I see the diff better now. I guess only the red one is ok with FFR bumper. But not ok if you are using VRaptor's grill, like me. I'll spend more time on the lights once I get everything else done, then. :)

[Mechie3]

I can always make the red ones have the same general shape as the blue ones in terms of the chopped off angle. They get expensive to make though when you're only making 2 pieces, so the more people you get to make them the better pricing will be.

[Harley818]

Frank be serious..... you KNOW you need this new rear bumper.
I know you've already been bit by the extra bug, so there's no point stopping now.

Plus how often will you be able to purchase parts for your car without importing, or paying duty, GST etc. I will even take Canadian money from you.... no US exchange fees.
And it will look unique, especially with Craig's light and grille arrangement.

[brian b 36]

I would like a set

[Canadian818]

Plus how often will you be able to purchase parts for your car without importing, or paying duty, GST etc. I will even take Canadian money from you.... no US exchange fees.
And it will look unique, especially with Craig's light and grille arrangement.

This alone has me considering it, hmmmm.

[Mechie3]

I would like a set

A set of the red style grilles and lights? Or a set of the blue ones altered to fit the FFR bumper?

[Mechie3]

Hey...I did something! Wife and daughter are out of town so I got some serious garage time in last night. Spent all of it routing hoses and cables and other floppy things. If something can vibrate, it will. If it can touch something, it will. If it can touch something, it will rub a hole through one of the things. I'm not a huge fan of things carrying fluids rubbing through and leaking especially when they're behind a non quickly removed firewall.

I bought a bunch of rubber coated clamps and put one to guide every bend of every cable and hose. I also put the AWIC lines inside of some DEI insulated sleeve. I insulated both sides just to prevent heat transfer both into the hose (for the cool lines, though the hot lines will likely be colder than the engine bay) and to prevent heat transfer from the hose to other parts (like the cabin sheet metal).

Coming of the AWIC core:
http://i.imgur.com/zbLu6ik.jpg

Cheap and easy support solution for the AWIC filler:
http://i.imgur.com/dSJC2Gx.jpg

I was concerned the Ebrake cable splitter would rub a hole in the coolant lines so I made a little sheet metal divider. It does two things. 1: it separates the hard cables from the soft lines and 2: it acts sort of like a clamp to hold the coolant lines down. The blue is silicone hose that I put around this section of the shifter cables. The shifter cables are hard and run close to a fuel fitting and the firewall. Don't need anything rubbing through.
http://i.imgur.com/z7NNmxb.jpg

Zoomed out view:
http://i.imgur.com/jb7Q67E.jpg

Ebrake cover on:
http://i.imgur.com/5FnDp7t.jpg

[Hindsight]

Looking real good Craig! I am 100% with you on rubbing hoses. That time spent will save a lot later!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Looking good Craig,
I put a expansion filler tank on my AWIC. Do you think that was not necessary?
Bob

[Mechie3]

Probably not necessary, but doubt it hurts anything. My F500 has an expansion tank style filler. I know some of the F600's with motorcycle engines absolutely need them. My old F440 motor was just a plain filler style. I was very careful in how I routed everything so that the filler cap and bleed cap on the AWIC core were both the highest points. Everything flows down from those points with no upward points that would catch air. The swirl tank would have made it so I didn't need to be as careful routing.

[brian b 36]

blue altered to fit ffr

[ben1272]

Craig,

What method did you use for attaching your iWire harness to your frame as you routed it? Brian has given me 2 options, a screw in type (like used throughout build for brake lines, etc) and a plastic press in clip that has a release tab, like what is found on production cars. Which (if either) did you use?

Next time you find a convenient moment if you would snap a picture of how you mounted I would love to see! Thanks in advance.

-Ben

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Craig,
What method did you use for attaching your iWire harness to your frame as you routed it? Brian has given me 2 options, a screw in type (like used throughout build for brake lines, etc) and a plastic press in clip that has a release tab, like what is found on production cars. Which (if either) did you use?
Next time you find a convenient moment if you would snap a picture of how you mounted I would love to see! Thanks in advance.
-Ben

If you really want it to look good.
I would screw or pop rivet these to the frame. Very easy to add wires if necessary.
55551

[C.Plavan]

Craig,

What method did you use for attaching your iWire harness to your frame as you routed it? Brian has given me 2 options, a screw in type (like used throughout build for brake lines, etc) and a plastic press in clip that has a release tab, like what is found on production cars. Which (if either) did you use?

Next time you find a convenient moment if you would snap a picture of how you mounted I would love to see! Thanks in advance.

-Ben

Timely Post!!!!! This is the easy and trick way of doing it.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?21398-Pro-Racecar-wire-routing-tips!-Sharing

[Mechie3]

For the harness under the dash I just ziptied it directly to the frame. It'll be covered and not visible. For the parts in the engine bay, I didn't get around to mounting those yet. What I used for the large bundles (AWIC coolant lines, fat iwrire harness under firewall) was mcmaster part number 8863T79. Just a vinyl coated P clamp with a 1/4-20 screw, washer, and a rivnut in the frame.

My F500 uses the plastic pop rivet zip tie mounts for things like brake lines and wiring. The method chad posted would be good for tight areas such as the engine bay with the engine already in it.

[Mitch Wright]

I am used rivet on plastic Zip tie mounts. Under the dash I also just zip tied to frame members under the dash.

[ben1272]

If you really want it to look good.
I would screw or pop rivet these to the frame. Very easy to add wires if necessary.
55551

I like the way these look.

[Mechie3]

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so particular about wiring and hoses but after I saw pics of shaved engine bays in hondas and hot rods I thought "wow....that is amazing". So, I spent another 4 hours last night routing wires, unrouting them, routing again, routing the next one, changing the first one, routing the third one, undoing all of them, routing them backwards.......you get the picture.

Got something I'm happy with. Going to get some wire loom to bundle things together more to make it look like I only have a single large bundle in the engine bay.

I modded my engine harness years ago, all the connectors are on the driver side. I didn't like how they sat all open and detracting from the prettiness of everything else. Ended up routing that harness underneath the intake manifold with all of the plugs now hiding next to the starter. The plugs for the MAF, O2, and solenoid also go under the manifold, behind the alternator, and out under the turbo inlet.

Going under manifold:
http://i.imgur.com/r0TdRyG.jpg

Plugs near starter (not plugged together):
http://i.imgur.com/8VbYaZx.jpg

One single bundle contains everything that goes backwards beyond the axles. The front half of it is all contained in two clamps. The back half is half under a frame rail. Once bundled in a single loom it will look nice.
http://i.imgur.com/Iexs6ao.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/DjeBLaz.jpg

[Hindsight]

Looks fantastic Craig. Just remember, "Better is the enemy of done" lol. At least, that's what I keep trying to tell myself......

[Mechie3]

Spent another 4 hours last night mostly being anal retentive about wire routing. Got the AWIC pump finally wired in, front harness all set, made a fuel pump harness for my dual pumps and got that all routed and hooked up, and tested my lights. They're 23mm eagle eye lights, not the ones that FFR sends you. I didn't like the multi faceted ones. They look kind of cheap. These are really bright. Also tested my push button start. Didn't have a button so just touched the wires like I was in gone in 60 seconds. Didn't realize it was in gear so it hopped forward a bit. Good thing I just did a quick brush of the wires.

Garage lights on:
http://i.imgur.com/8YkFlSb.jpg

Garage lights on, exposure reduced (not how dark everything is because of reduced exposure even though flourescent garage lights are on):
http://i.imgur.com/hinmZkC.jpg

Garage lights off, headlight aiming across garage:
http://i.imgur.com/wCDeQqe.jpg


Left to do:
Get some fuel
Check all suspension
Fill coolant (again)
Fill AWIC
Check all engine hoses
Move coolant overflow to back of car (need to reread how others did that)
Reinstall seat and harness
Bleed brakes and clutch
.....go kart?

Autocrossing Saturday and Sunday, but Monday is open!

[STiPWRD]

^ I had to shield my eyes from the first pic, man those r bright! I'll probably pick up those same LEDs.

[Hindsight]

RE coolant overflow:

Remove hose from radiator cap and cap it off with a silicone block-off cap and a hose clamp (preferably spring type).
Ensure the radiator cap on your rear expansion/degas tank is LOWER pressure than front
Ensure you have the overflow hose connected to the rear degas tank and that it goes into and to the bottom of an expansion tank.

That's all I did. Works great. When coolant expands, it goes into the expansion tank and as the engine cools, it draws any coolant back in. Though with the new larger coolant expansion tank I'm running, there really isn't any overflow because the larger tank acts as a buffer.

[Mechie3]

If I'm running the Wayne mod on teh degass tank, do I just T into that line?

re LEDs: Buy more than you need. I got 12 of the white ones. I picked the best 6. Others had weld lines on the plastic lens or dinged up anodized bodies.

[Hindsight]

If I'm running the Wayne mod on teh degass tank, do I just T into that line?

No, that is the bleeder line and is under pressure. Keep that isolated. On the fill neck of the degas tank, there should be a barb. The degas tank cap keeps that barb closed off unless the pressure is exceeded at which point it purges into whatever hose you have connected to it (which should then route to the overflow tank in the back). If you have a small hose going from the top CORNER of the front radiator to the degas tank, this is the radiator bleeder line and that is the line that you would tee into Wayne's degas bleeder line. That's how I did it on mine... though when I made my custom degas tank, I just added a separate port into it but it works the same way. I have not had to ever bleed my setup and have not had overheating issues. It self-bleeds.

[Wayne Presley]

You have two hose barbs on the degas tank that are under pressure, one goes to the turbo and the other goes to my mod fitting. The barb under the cap goes to the coolant recovery tank.

[Mechie3]

Ahh, I read "go to the bottom of the expansion tank" as "go to the bottom of the degas tank" by accident. My wayne mod line goes to the other line on the top of the tank, not the bottom. That one goes in between the manifold. Getting everything all mixed up here on a Friday.

did you swap front and rear caps? I recall in Tamra's thread something about the radiator cap can suck back in but the head/degas tank cap is not designed to suck back in.

[07FIREBLADE]

Have you been able to get a couple pics of the mounting brackets for the tail lights. Deciding on how I want to go about installing them.

[Mechie3]

It's just a right angle piece with a hole to go over the stud. The batch I made came up about .050 too short and don't work. Haven't gotten any CNC time in a while to make new ones. Need to update my model and have some laser cut.

They're simple, lightweight, and hidden.

http://i.imgur.com/CK9YWs1.png

[Hindsight]

Ahh, I read "go to the bottom of the expansion tank" as "go to the bottom of the degas tank" by accident. My wayne mod line goes to the other line on the top of the tank, not the bottom. That one goes in between the manifold. Getting everything all mixed up here on a Friday.

did you swap front and rear caps? I recall in Tamra's thread something about the radiator cap can suck back in but the head/degas tank cap is not designed to suck back in.

I did not swap caps. On mine, right from the donor car, the caps were correct. The degas cap vents at a lower pressure and it allows sucking back during cooling. I'm not sure if the front cap sucks back in but just in case it does, that is why you cap the barb off the radiator fill neck and secure it with a hose clamp - so it can't suck air in during cool-down. Another Wayne tip there that I picked up in some post from 1+ years ago.

[codename Bil Doe]

Have you considered inserting check valves to prevent the engine from sucking air back in?

This was a common problem with LNF's (2.0T in the Solstice GXP and Sky Redline, 2nd gen of the engine in the ATS/CTS/2017 Camaro).

They are very difficult to bleed as you can only fill them from the upper hose. This resulted in several overheating problems due to trapped air pockets in the block including on vehicles straight from the factory.

The solution was very simple. $8 check valves that insert into the coolant overflow return lines. They prevent air from being sucked back while still allowing coolant to pass thru the return line.

My race car has zero coolant bleed issues after installing. I put them on every gm 2.0T I work on because those engines are hard to bleed.

Long-winded explanation, but maybe you can make use of these.

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f114/engine-overheating-check-valves-coolant-lines-71309/#/forumsite/20883/topics/71309?page=1

Can find them as cheap as $8. They press into the coolant return line.


https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-20876185-Original-Equipment-Assembly/dp/B00S0JQX18

[Mechie3]

You shouldn't need check valves as the system is designed to vent overflow into a container and then suck from the bottom of the container. When the car is cold there will still be coolant in the container so it should never suck air.

Had an autocross Saturday and Sunday. Also embarrassed myself big time. Fell asleep Saturday night at the hotel, woke up at 8:45 (registration ends at 9). Threw everything, myself, and the two dogs in the car, checked out of the hotel, and drove to the autocross site. No one was there. It was 8:45 on Saturday night, not Sunday morning. I had to go back to the hotel and say "uh...yeah......so.....it's Saturday night but I thought it was Sunday morning. Can I have my room back?". lol

Knocked these items off my to do list.
Get some fuel
Fill coolant (again)
Fill AWIC
Check all engine hoses
Added a catch can to the PCV line
Move coolant overflow to back of car (need to reread how others did that)
Mount boost solenoid
Mount e-brake cables to suspension arm
Clamped fuel filler in place
Added trigger lines to fuel pump relay
Hooked up fuel level sender
Started checking suspension bits

I don't like the OEM coolant overflow. Looks cheap when not installed on the front radiator fans. Going to make something different.

Car last ran 2 years ago. Since then I changed to an AWIC, changed the fuel tank, pump, and fuel line setup, changed the entire wiring harness, and did other odds and ends. Started right up and idled nicely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOOHPK5QUQ

[Hindsight]

Oh my god, that is absolutely hilarious. I've done that before thinking it was one day, when it ended up being a different day, but never flipping AM and PM hahahaha. You must have felt SO foggy when you woke up at 8:45pm in a panic.

Must feel good to have it running again.

[Mechie3]

I had actually fallen asleep at 5pm reading a menu, woke up at 6, went and ate, then went to bed at 7. It was overcast all day so almost 9pm and 9am didn't look too different. Last year I lost year end pax by 2 points, won it the year before, and came in 2nd the year before that. I'm gunning to win it again this year and my only thought was "no nononononono! I'm going to lose year end pax because I missed my alarm!?!?!?!?!"

[ben1272]

Car sounds real good Craig, nice job.

[Frank818]

Yeah it does sound pretty good! Sounds like a CNCed car to me. lolll And a lot of fumes, almost like me.

[Mechie3]

Just a simple bracket to mount my catch can. Of course, I grabbed the wrong screws to actually attach the catch can.

http://i.imgur.com/hIu84wB.jpg

[Mechie3]

No pics, but the list of things to do is getting smaller. Bled the brakes and clutch (and mopped up lots of fluid on the floor). Started double checking all suspension bits. Finished the front passenger side, started on driver side and didn't finish before I went in to watch the indycar race. Noticed I was missing an axle nut too. No idea where it went. I ordered some new ones previously but they were on the rears. Once the suspension is all checked I need to install the harness and seat and take it for a spin. My luck, it won't happen this week and I'm gone next week.

[Mechie3]

Well, frustrating night last night. A while back I drilled out the holes for seat mounting larger to weld in some sleeves. They weren't spot on the old holes and now the seat mount won't line up anymore. Spent a few hours trying to fix that and stopped after a bit. Need to get some sharper drill bits. Everything is so tight that there's really only one way for things to go together. Move the hole in the aluminum and the nut won't fit on anymore. Make one hole line up and the other side interferes with the harness mount. Doh! Hoping to go kart this weekend.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Well, frustrating night last night. A while back I drilled out the holes for seat mounting larger to weld in some sleeves. They weren't spot on the old holes and now the seat mount won't line up anymore. Spent a few hours trying to fix that and stopped after a bit. Need to get some sharper drill bits. Everything is so tight that there's really only one way for things to go together. Move the hole in the aluminum and the nut won't fit on anymore. Make one hole line up and the other side interferes with the harness mount. Doh! Hoping to go kart this weekend.
Hang in there Craig,
When we first put on our body, we were only drilling 1/4" holes for 1/4" screws. The fiberglass expands and contracts with temperature. I think now all the holes in the bottom of our side sails are 5/16 or 3/8 with 1" diameter cone washers.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Getting the seats to fit right was a PAIN for me too. After initially getting them fit, for some reason I think the fiberglass of one of the seats expanded or something because when I went to install it after it sat out of the car for 3 or 4 months, the holes didn't line up anymore. Real pain. Then, with the floor pan in place, you'll have to remove that any time you want to get the seats back out. The floor pan isn't fun to put in either because it's a huge panel and aside from the frame bar that goes across the front of the seat area, the rest of the frame bars are concealed, including the rear bar. One wrong drill and you drill into your fuel tank!

[Mechie3]

I drilled the floor pan before putting seats in. Used marker to trace the frame rails, lay out nicely spaced holes, and then transferred those to the frame. 1 extra inch would be amazing! I grabbed some sharp drills from work, should make it much nicer drilling on my back vs using a dull bit.

[Frank818]

We hear ya CNC, we all got these types of issues. It's a world of constraints as soon as you step out... Theeee Manuaaaaaaalllll (said with a freaking spooky voice).... lolllll Are you fixing them solid without any possible adjustment? Then yeah, you gotta be so damn ****ing precise.

I had alignment issues as well with the seat mounts. Was then very hard to get my 6xM6 screws per seat to line up. And yes, when I get them out I need to remove floor pan, when I remove floor pan I need to remove both side sails, when I remove side sails what else do I need to remove, my engine? Why not? lollll

Take a 7 beers, vote Trump and Pence and they'll make Your Seat Great Again, I promise. :)

[Mechie3]

A month after my last post I finally got my seat tubes welded, seat installed, picked up all the loose nuts and bolts from the floor and did a thing:

http://i.imgur.com/4ZpNEy0.jpg

Nothing fell off, nothing leaked, no fires. Been 1.5 years since I've driven a manual. Car needs to be tuned but it ran decently enough (just got oddly quiet when coasting). Brakes felt weak. Probably just used to power brakes and wasn't treating it like my F500 that requires some serious brake pressure (that and the car has sat for 3 years). Still plenty of loose ends to tie up but it'll be ready for a tune. Definitely needs an alignment too.

Got a new license plate as well.
http://i.imgur.com/mcJVgo2.jpg

[STiPWRD]

Video or it didn't happen ;) ps, I'm loving the wheels

[Hindsight]

Awesome congrats! Must be easy to get a license plate in your state eh?! Still waiting on mine.

On the brakes, I have found the 818 is extremely pad sensitive. I had Hawks on it with brand new rotors and braking was scary bad. I was afraid to drive it. Tons of pedal pressure and it still wouldn't stop well. I put some Ferodo DS 2500 pads on there and it's much, much better. Still need to fully bed them but it improved it 200% just with the pad swap alone. Tamra and Andrew really like their EBC Yellowstuff pads so that's something to consider too.

On the idle - even after a tune, I notice the same thing on mine. I think it must be a Subaru thing. When you push in the clutch, it lets the RPMs drop lower than I am used to.

[Wayne Presley]

Congrats Craig. Pad selection is important. In the Hawks, I use the Street/Race or DTC30 pads. EBC yellow stuff pads are a good choice also.

[Hindsight]

I was using Hawk HPS so that might have been the difference.

[Mechie3]

No video. Go pro wasn't charged, don't know where the SD card was, and didn't want to wait two more days (busy tonight). Plus, less incriminating evidence. ;) It's plated, but no lights or windshield and a few cops live in my neighborhood. Some newer people have started complaining to the HOA more and more lately. "Waaa, someone is building a deck!". HOA said "yeah, we know, it's approved, shut up".

My 818 has been plated for quite some time now. It's actually my second plate, first one was a generic ID.

Pads are Hawk....HPS? HP+? Not sure why it would be so bad unless they need to get up to a higher temp. Sucks because they're brand new pads. edit: I bought some HP+ back in 2012, 2 months before the car was totaled. Maybe it's those? Used to have DTC-60's. Braked awesome. Super dusty and NOISY!

[wleehendrick]

Great milestone! I hope to be there soon.

http://www.kth.se/blogs/abraham/files/2015/03/8ky0s4.jpg

[ben1272]

Nice Craig, that is great news. I almost have as much fun watching your build as building my own! Of course, my build has been inspired by yours in more ways than one as well! I'm sure more to come.

[Mitch Wright]

Congratulations Craig.

[longislandwrx]

ODB approves

57658


Got a new license plate as well.
http://i.imgur.com/mcJVgo2.jpg

[Frank818]

So easy to get a plate in IN not I should say congrats. loll But congrats! :)

Hey I see a transverse bar between your 2 hood hinges, did we get that too when we ordered ours?

[Mechie3]

Everyone gets that bar. It's the first part that gets wrapped and dropped in the bottom of the box.

Getting a plate in Indiana is too easy. :D

[Blwalker105]

Congrats Craig!

[Frank818]

Craig, is that the bar engraved with ZERO DECIBEL MOTORSPORTS?

[Mechie3]

Yes. It mounts in the front of the brackets so that when the hood is open the words are right side up and going left to right if you were standing in the car looking forward.

[Mechie3]

Sunday night (I think) I got the new fenders and bumper insert mounted:
http://i.imgur.com/XXEaiRT.jpg

Monday, it came back off to mount the sheet metal:
http://i.imgur.com/AoWgyeV.jpg

Need to redo the bumper insert. It's not wide enough for the hood. I thought I had a good matchup between the fender curves and the bumper insert curves but I might need to fudge it a bit.

http://i.imgur.com/KFpF31R.jpg

[Mechie3]

Also just noticed I go karted my 818.....on 8-18.

[ben1272]

Also just noticed I go karted my 818.....on 8-18.

Sure.....and we're supposed to believe this was a coincidence? ;)

[Hindsight]

What, and you waited all this time to tell us? Video?

BIG Congrats Craig! This was a long time coming. Huge milestone. You made all sorts of cool parts for yourself and the rest of us, and now get to start enjoying your own car as well. So cool!!!!

[RM1SepEx]

When I go karted mine I was told, no video, it didn't happen! Congrats Craig.

I'm approaching 1200 miles on mine now. I'm so thankful I didn't paint her, several gel coat areas have popped leaving voids on the edges.

[AZPete]

Congrats Craig. Before you do anything drastic, like cutting, try all the adjustments for the new fenders/front insert/hood. Mine was way off at first but then I moved the hood by adjusting your hood hinge mounts, moved the fenders by adjusting the lower braces and support rods, pulled the fenders back and screwed them to the mounts by the windshield, and then bent the lower mounts for the insert.

[Mechie3]

I posted a pic I'd post go karting in 8-18. I just didn't say I go karted explicitly. Lol.

Pete, hood isn't mounted anywhere and the front is bolted down hard to the insert. I might need to push the fenders out a bit and make the insert match the curve. Just measuring the hood is too wide.

[Frank818]

Yeah the bumper insert seems a bit short in overall size, but like Pete from that heatsoaking area in USA (where you can't plate a bunch of car parts you ordered from FFR a week ago) you just move one or 2 things a little and it somehow changes quite the fit of the other parts around. I was about to commit on some heavy trimming/moding/filling and when I decided to bolt tightly the panels together it changed everything and no need for that at all. I still find the insert too short though, could have been a little bigger for better fit.

Just make sure you take care of the fenders/side sail fit when you move the fenders. It's easy to miss that one but it's so important, it looks very bad when you're too far off in that area. Non CNC parts will fix this. :)

[Mechie3]

Fender to side sail is perfect. I'm not measuring anything. I found out the hard way with the original body fit (2 years ago?) that nothing is symmetric and getting exact centers to line up means nothing else lines up. I find features that need to match (like the fender to side sail) and mount that, then work my way around. I'm going to try refitting the center insert with the whole thing off the car so nothing is fighting me getting a nice fit. Will probably need to oversize some holes and then bolt it all back together.

[Frank818]

I did oversize/slot most of the holes on the insert. The tighter you bolt it on the more it changes the location of the holes. But it's easier this way cuz it gives some adjustment you can play with when you install it, less stress on the insert that way. The holes need to be very close to the edges though, I hope that won't affect much strength and that the fiberglass won't crack with time.

Did it go-kart well?

[wleehendrick]

Hey Craig, Hope everything's OK there with the tornadoes yesterday.

[Mechie3]

Yep. Had to "hunker down" (aka, stand and talk with co workers) in the hall for 45 minutes. All of the damage was an hour west or an hour north. I think there was rotation showing on the radar, but nothing actually materialized in the metro area.

[Mechie3]

Made a switch plate:
http://i.imgur.com/G4PAPwU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GzcFsBK.jpg

Start switch ring lights up blue, other toggles light up red
http://i.imgur.com/R2mDglP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OIJ8qOU.jpg

[turbomacncheese]

I absolutely LOVE that! I don't have access to cool stuff like that, but I might try send some stuff off to online businesses that take your design and make it (3d metal printers for example). Seriously though, that's awesome.

[Frank818]

Why am I not surprised about the CNC switch plate. :) Nice job again! And nice switches too! Never seen those before. Ebay cheapo?
I'm just concerned about the no (apparent) security on the pump switch. What if something happens and flips down the switch. Might be a 1 on a million to think that but in my old past this thing happened.

[Mechie3]

Why am I not surprised about the CNC switch plate. :) Nice job again! And nice switches too! Never seen those before. Ebay cheapo?
I'm just concerned about the no (apparent) security on the pump switch. What if something happens and flips down the switch. Might be a 1 on a million to think that but in my old past this thing happened.

Kind of the opposite of ebay cheapos. They're made by philmore electronics, cost $3.30/ea. The have non LED ones for ~$2.80. Took a long time to find those. I don't like the metal ones. They look kind of chinzty/1980's to me. Wanted somethign with a finished look. The button for engine start was $26.

https://www.hndme.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=127

Pump: I'm wiring up the switches so that the red LED on the end only lights up when the switch is toggled on. Additionally, I'll wire up an LED in front of the gauge cluster so when the pump is switched to off it'll light up really bright. Two different indicators to ensure it's on when it needs to be.

Finished up the new radiator sheet metal. I then used the sheet metal as a guide of where to place the brackets for the retrofit front end. Worked out pretty well. No trimming needed to fit the brackets. I did have to fit to clear weld beads on the subframe as well as clear my AWIC HE mounts.
http://i.imgur.com/ZtAlPvf.jpg

Here's where I have a problem. The manual says to make the inner lower edge of the nose mount level with the bottom of the chassis. My chassis is 5" off the floor measure in three locations to make sure the chassis isn't angled up. The nose mount measures 6" (rear) and 7" (front) off the ground. It's already bottomed out. The ~1" of adjustment slots are way too low. Even if I did need to move up I couldn't because the bolt heads are in the way. There's only ~1/2" of material left so even if I slot the side braces I only have 1/2" more to go. What did people do here? Just bottom it out and call it good enough?

Bottomed out.
http://i.imgur.com/3fnYQHy.jpg

Rear of brace at 6"
http://i.imgur.com/wtHIvpl.jpg

Front at 7"
http://i.imgur.com/Vy5RSK9.jpg

I have some sweet positive camber. Posted on facebook and already got ideas for this (cutting down the threaded studs and the lip on the black tubes). Everything was bottomed out and I couldn't tell if I was just doing it wrong or if modification was needed.

http://i.imgur.com/wKl31WC.jpg

[Mechie3]

Lastly, a different project team at work needed a piece welded. It was already zinc coated so I guess they couldn't send it back for more beads or the lead time was too long. They found out I knew how to weld so I volunteered to give it a shot. Promised nothing as I don't weld steel very often. Ended up like this. I was happy. :D

http://i.imgur.com/aTXNizi.jpg

[Hindsight]

Nice stack of dimes!

[AZPete]

Craig, I just bottomed it out and called it good enough. Race guys might be worried but mine is a street car so clearance is more important to me than aero.

[Frank818]

That rad sheet behind the front one, it ain't FFR right?

No worries on the front brackets, man. Mines aren't bottom out and I get great similarity relative to the side sails' height. I'm curious about my height though, can't recall what I came up with, but I know that if bottoming out that was giving too much angle on the fenders and was stretching/bending the fiberglass at the bottom front of the fender.


Craig, your rear fender liner tabs, they install on which side of the alu panel? You bolt the alu towards the engine or the wheels? Cuz on your picture you bolt towards the wheels but I find that awkward and difficult to access:

58296

Maybe just a pic to show the tab and not the true installation?

[Mechie3]

That was a reference pic. The tab goes on the inside of the car with the entire fender linder on the outside of the tab. Bolts go through the liner into the tab.

[Mechie3]

Took the fender/hood brackets and got rid of the hood pin mount and chamfered the edge for extra weight reduction. Using my hood hinge so don't need that steel piece hanging out there.

http://i.imgur.com/FxWIi5O.jpg

[Mechie3]

Modified one of the A arms during lunch.
http://i.imgur.com/3Mia8hv.jpg

[Canadian818]

I find it very odd that some require a lot more modification than others to achieve the same alignment. It's as if there's a variable we're unaware of. I didn't need to cut anything, the front adjustment is quite long to achieve 6* caster and the rear is just a few threads from maxing out. How much camber/caster could you get before you modified them?

[Mechie3]

I didn't measure, but I bottomed everything out (even trimmed the inner studs somewhat) and the wheels were still visibly pointing outwards (positive camber). On my quick test drive the outside of the tires got dusty, the insides stayed clean.

Could be the tolerances of the frame, the different types of control arms, the different a-arms on early kits, or the fact that I had an early chassis where none of the rear control arm mounting holes lined up so I had to grind them open to make anything bolt together. I don't know if I need as much modification as I have above but it's much easier to do on the lathe at work and then back it off some than to try and do it at home with much cruder tools.

[Frank818]

Definitely not the A-arm thing as your pic shows you got the latest version. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with LCAs and most probably the early frame you got prior to some revision on the mounting holes, yeah.

[Mechie3]

My ball joint mounts are angled. New ones are straight. Not sure it makes a difference.

[Mechie3]

Got my panel mostly wired up yesterday.

Click this link for a video of it working
https://vimeo.com/182485701

All on:
http://i.imgur.com/aBNX777.jpg

LED's turn off individual to signify function status.
http://i.imgur.com/QvGW4SD.jpg

[UnhipPopano]

With the lettering engraved into the aluminum, the cavities will eventually fill with whatever. One alternative is to use Fill in Paint or Epoxy.

[Scargo]

Looks great! Love the power on lighting.
Markal-Lacquer-Stik-Paintstick (https://www.amazon.com/Markal-Lacquer-Stik-Paintstick-Black-051123/dp/B00Y3IOFS8/ref=pd_sim_60_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0GCHWACK6SQD3VJRWY66) Website of one manufacturer. (http://www.markal.com/solid-paint-markers/lacquer-stik/)

[Frank818]

Who says this panel is ugly? Who says that? Let's beat him then! lolll Awesome panel Craig, awesome, weren't expecting anything else anyway, otherwise we would have complained. :)

[TouchStone]

With the lettering engraved into the aluminum, the cavities will eventually fill with whatever. One alternative is to use Fill in Paint or Epoxy.

Enamel paint and paint thinner is cheap and easy for engravings. http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?16780-JJ-s-818s-Build&p=192613&viewfull=1#post192613

[Mechie3]

Making slow progress. The last autocross of the year was Sunday so I can now focus a little bit more on the 818 (though, a baby is due sometime within the next 20 days!). I ended up placing second overall for the year and first in class. Second year in a row I came in second. Was 2nd in 2012, 2015, 2016. 2013 I missed half the season swapping an engine, 2014 I actually got first. Might have some surprises for next year.

Got the sheet metal under the radiator installed. Had to trim it for clearance with the radiator mounts, make some openings to allow low hanging parts of the subframe to poke through, and trimmed about 3/4" off one side because it was too wide. The clearance was probably needed because I have an old subframe with the steering rack mounts in the wrong place, but being too wide? That just seems odd. Also had to make some clearance for my AWIC HE mounts and for some weld joints that weren't allowing it to sit flat.

AWIC and weld bead clearance
http://i.imgur.com/xoUwD1A.jpg

Subframe clearance underneath.
http://i.imgur.com/HW5jfzp.jpg

I've been keeping with the theme of using 10-32 x 3/8" button head screws to mount all sheetmetal except the cockpit and front firewall. With how many times I've removed things and how many things I'll likely want to be able to service later, rivets don't make sense. It takes 5X as long, but is worth it IMO. I'm big on serviceability and reliability.

Made some grilles for the rear of the car (Harley style bumper)
http://i.imgur.com/Xx4uXis.jpg

A few people mentioned having trouble bending the front nose support straps. I used two clamps on the end and then use a wrench on the other end to twist it. A screw driver through the hole works well too but will elongate the hole slightly. Put both clamps near the end. The longer the distance between the wrench and closest clamp the easier it is to twist. The angle of twist = TL/JG where T = Torque, L = length, J= polar moment of inertia, G = material property. The bigger the L, the lower the T. #themoreyouknow ;)
http://i.imgur.com/BqrayUQ.jpg

[Frank818]

Ha, you also had that rubbing issue of the bracket near the steering rack onto the floor alu sheet. I decided to grind off some of the bracket, both sides.

You going to fit splitter?

[Mechie3]

I have the 818S splitter.

These small issues bother me the most. Not because they're hard to solve, but precisely because they're easy to solve and FFR didn't. They're the types of mistakes I see new engineers here at work make because they're easy to miss in CAD. We expect them to go back and fix it for the next build rather than saying "let manufacturing fix it".

[UnhipPopano]

Well before CADD, the engineers in the office would short change the engineering process and say "They will fix it in the field". So for saving a couple hours of engineering, Millions have been wasted.

[wleehendrick]

I've been keeping with the theme of using 10-32 x 3/8" button head screws to mount all sheetmetal except the cockpit and front firewall. With how many times I've removed things and how many things I'll likely want to be able to service later, rivets don't make sense. It takes 5X as long, but is worth it IMO. I'm big on serviceability and reliability.

Are you tapping the the frame or using smaller nutserts?


Second year in a row I came in second. Was 2nd in 2012, 2015, 2016.

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/ec/ec4c6b46237dc55e2614702b6950a4635c06772bb70a3f15fa 89b7d858350e1f.jpg

:p

[UnhipPopano]

There was a post that some of the sheet metal is designed to be integral with the steel for FFR design analysts. Mechie, have you had any conversations with FF regarding those panels that are screwed on?

[Mechie3]

2nd place: inorite? Big changes in store for 2017.

Threads: Rivnuts. Funny you ask, because I just made this little guy today. The Astro tool comes with a 1/4-20 and other thread sizes but they chose a 10-24 instead of a 10-32. Wat? Made my own adapter since I got tired of using the pop rivet type right angle tool.

http://i.imgur.com/9GVUD6h.jpg

[Frank818]

What's that tool for? Inserting rivnuts?

[Mechie3]

For rivnuts. It's for the larger one shown here. It sets them with much less effort, makes them tighter, is much easier to use overall, and sets them straight. The other one always gives me problems with the threaded portion coming undone at the wrong time, being hard to squeeze, and making them lopsided.

http://i.imgur.com/t9cJSh2.jpg

Temporarily mounted the rear lower mesh I made:
http://i.imgur.com/8cHNXmT.jpg

[TouchStone]

I second the astro tool, I should have gotten it from the beginning. The other tool is still handy when the astro tool wont fit.

[turbomacncheese]

I'm digging the centered single exhaust. Really cool, man.

[Mechie3]

Got some work done late Friday night and then worked quite a bit on Sunday.

Hood fits like poop due to the (well documented) issue of the fenders not being the same length. Side sails are mounted the same left to right relative to the frame at the front. Fenders are mounted to those (little triangle recess mates with the side sail, only fits one way). At the front the fender is mounted to the center insert with all the body lines lining up. Center insert is centered on the subframe. Once the hood is lined up at the front it fits like crap at the back unless I pull the passenger fender way out and push the driver fender way in. At the windshield the fenders were clamped and the distance from the edge of the windshield surround to the fender edge was the same. If I use the hood pins holes that were drilled previously for my old front end then the hood is 1" from even reaching the edge of the fender.

Front looks nice
http://i.imgur.com/YyE3vnm.jpg

Rear looks....not so nice:
http://i.imgur.com/2uS0OgS.jpg

Modified my door latch brackets. Cut them with a saw minus a small piece so it was flexible but held its shape. Bolted it to the frame and the body to force it into shape and then welded it up. This is how far off the passenger side was. Driver side had to be fully cut in half, trimmed, and then welded. Prior to this if I bolted it to the frame and then the side sail it would push the body up and forward and the doors no longer fit.

http://i.imgur.com/oybuDLd.jpg

Bolted the splitter and center insert to the frame. Not really sure what FFR intended here because there are no instructions. There's a slot and a hole. The slot lines up with the insert, the hole doesn't. Same with the splitter mounts. Two slots and a hole. The slots fit the carriage bolts, but then you'd have bolts and nuts hanging on the underside. I just used the one round hole in the rear.
http://i.imgur.com/NMS10Fk.jpg

[Mechie3]

Need to make my own brackets for the fender up front. I expected as much. If you use the measurements FFR gives you for the side brackets you have to cut away a fair amount of the radiator surround which makes no sense. If the surround fits the subframe nicely and there is a cutout perfectly sized for the bracket....why would the bracket mount elsewhere where there is no cutout? The funny part is, the front bumper mounts (the wings that stick out) are still 1" higher than they should be (even though they're bottomed out in their slots) so the fender would actually be 1" even lower at this point if the other mounts were at the correct height.

http://i.imgur.com/WsZ75wy.jpg

Started fitting the headlight buckets. Trimmed the fender opening to have a 3/" lip vs the 1/2-5/8" lip that was there. It fits better. Used a head gun and flattened the flanges on the bucket. It's really curved on the one section for some reason. By flattening it, it has a nice flange to mate with the body vs a round edge mating with a flat body. After it was cleco'd in place I used the heat gun again to help it conform to the body.
http://i.imgur.com/6lljt71.jpg

Cutout the rear behind the lower mesh:
http://i.imgur.com/rMg733V.jpg

Going speed/density so I made my own intake without a MAF port. Tucks nicely behind the side sail with ~1/2" clearance to everything.
http://i.imgur.com/6KASi0L.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Fyp0SMC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cOK5nic.jpg

[Mechie3]

Also finished up my fill vent and connected the fill port with the fill tube:
http://i.imgur.com/ovBx4uQ.jpg

[Hindsight]

Look at you with your fancy AN fittings ;)

Even with my big 1/2" ID filler vent, I have found I generally can't fill the tank with the fuel nozzle all the way into the filler. I have to have it in only 1/3 of the way or so. I think part of it is that the FFR tank has the filler pipe connecting below the top of the tank. Why, I don't understand... it makes the tank very hard to fill because once the tank gets to like 1/3 full or maybe 1/2 full, you are essentially filling a completely sealed off space, and having to wait for the the fuel to self-level up into the tank. That makes you have to pump a bit slower. I believe the Boyd tank has the filler neck on the top where it belongs.

[Mechie3]

This is a (designed by me) Boyd tank. Filler is at the top and higher than everything else. I'm guessing it's that way because they took the '33 tank and made it work for the 818. Frame openings dictated the location on the existing tank vs adding a new top piece.

[Hindsight]

But if the boyd tank and the FFR tank both fit without frame mods - that doesn't explain why FFR put their filler so low, no?

[Mechie3]

The boyd tank builds up above the stock height. It requires a separate piece to be fabricated and welded to the top of the tank. The new piece is square so has more bends and welds vs just moving the location of a round filler. The round piece doesn't need any bending or shaping, just cut some tube and roll a bead. Likely a cost measure. Mfg can make two tanks 95% the same and jsut weld the fill next on in different places.

[Frank818]

Mister Craig, did you see that your front fender louvers, designed for the old nose, fit a little different on the new nose? I think it's ok but how should they fit best, do you know?

Like this:

59245



Or super close to the headlights?

Or should you design slightly different ones for the new nose?

[Blwalker105]

Is it possible to reverse them and carefully re-bend the slats? Looks like the contours would match well and you could move them much further rearward if you wished.

[RM1SepEx]

Mister Craig, did you see that your front fender louvers, designed for the old nose, fit a little different on the new nose? I think it's ok but how should they fit best, do you know?

Like this:

59245



Or super close to the headlights?

Or should you design slightly different ones for the new nose?

you have them backwards, wide edge forward will fit the space

[Frank818]

Yes it does fit better with wide edge forward. I'm testing which side up looks better, now.

[Mechie3]

What do you mean what side up looks better? Front and back should be identical (though one might have a nicer finish as when the other side is finished it tends to scratch the underside).

[Frank818]

No that's not what I meant, but it's ok I got responses on my build thread.

[Mechie3]

Been too busy working (real job, 0db, car, getting ready for baby) to post updates.

I..."massaged" the front end and got it to fit better. There's still areas that the meticulous engineer inside me dislikes, but it is what it is. The subframe rubs against the driver side fog light recess (for lack of a better term). I'll need to grind off the edge. The passenger side fits nicely ins the little pocket/rib next to the recess so clearly the body and/or the frame isn't straight. Can't quite get the leading edge of the hood straight. If you look at the FFR showcars, they're the same way. The passenger side fender doesn't line up right with the hood. It's certainly a manufacturing problem (I'm sure the design is fine in CAD, they just can't make real parts match the CAD).

Driver side hood/fender. Decent alignment:
http://i.imgur.com/r2pB5ag.jpg

Passenger side. Hood is pulled back (same as FFR showcars):
http://i.imgur.com/8dSHOr6.jpg

Driver side hood/fender/windshield. Note position of hood tip relative to triangle on the fender (also note the fender line actually bends inwards while the hood continues to bend outwards making for an odd mating of convex and concave edges):
http://i.imgur.com/SbHQiBX.jpg

Passenger side hood/fender/windshield. Confirms what we knew that body isn't symmetric.
http://i.imgur.com/FVShLHB.jpg

[Mechie3]

Now, back to things I'm good at. Precision machining parts that fit together nicely. I don't like the plastic overflow tank and don't want to pay $70+ for one. Solution? Make my own. Machinist is out for a week so I took advantage of the open time on the CNC.

Top and bottom caps. The recess in the bottom cap reduces weight and makes it so if gunk builds up in the coolant tank that it settles in the recess and doesn't get pulled into the engine as easily.
http://i.imgur.com/XvwNtLK.jpg

Tapping top cap:
http://i.imgur.com/mf7qSGf.jpg

Test fit. Side bungs are for a sight level:
http://i.imgur.com/BuT2mGY.jpg

Welded together. Not award winning beads but not bad for an engineer teaching himself TIG through youtube and google. lol. I'm mostly happy it doesn't like complete garbage and I didn't burn up several hours worth of machining.
http://i.imgur.com/iAIDaCm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5OI6c2t.jpg

[Mechie3]

Another inside view of the bottom of the can:
http://i.imgur.com/87IIpjP.jpg

Started making a cap for the coolant tank. Used titanium, of course. Cut the one side on a CNC lathe and threaded it. Chased the threads with a die to make sure they were good. The die holder is about 3' long end to end.
http://i.imgur.com/4nVN7z1.jpg

Took several chases with the die to get it to fit smoothly. Titanium likes to bend and not cut so tools like dies tend to temporarily deflect the material instead of cutting it.
http://i.imgur.com/21Wz45Q.jpg

Switch panel mounted:
http://i.imgur.com/9yt1GOr.jpg

[flynntuna]

Aren't you painting your car? The hood issue can be fixed if you're painting or even if your willing to color match the gel coat. It's a lot of work for sure but possible.

[Mechie3]

I will paint or something eventually. I know it can be fixed. It just adds time (I'm already three years into a 200 hour build ;) ), I have another project showing up in late october/early november that needs to be ready for autocross season in late April. I've never done fiberglass so it'll take more time than the knowledgable person, or I could pay (which would be $$$). Originally these were "paint free", which I interpreted as "bolt on". It was certainly an appealing part of the puzzle as the metal work is something I can do.

[flynntuna]

Yeah I was hoping for "paint free" too. But at least that fix won't keep you from driving the car. Working with fiberglass isn't really that hard, just time consuming (sanding).

[Mechie3]

Did some lunchtime work. Cleaned up the backside of the cap and bored out the inside. 1/4lb is too much for a cap that is only titanium to be bling bling. Aluminum would have been so much easier and faster, but less colorful in the end. Gotta drop that weight!

http://i.imgur.com/2HDxmUU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sbCnhx4.jpg

[AZPete]

Incredible work. I sure wish you lived next door.

[Frank818]

I..."massaged" the front end and got it to fit better.

Yeah girls like that. I mean, your car is a girl, right.




Driver side hood/fender. Decent alignment:
http://i.imgur.com/r2pB5ag.jpg


Passenger side. Hood is pulled back (same as FFR showcars):
http://i.imgur.com/8dSHOr6.jpg



That's odd, I have the opposite situation, the driver's side is just a little longer, I can easily sand off the difference or add gel coat to the pass's side, but in your case the pass's side is longer. Have you tried centering the nose insert to the frame, then fitting the pass's fender right and then the driver's? Or maybe it's your frame, there are too many differences with my panels and other new nose's panels I've seen.



Driver side hood/fender/windshield. Note position of hood tip relative to triangle on the fender (also note the fender line actually bends inwards while the hood continues to bend outwards making for an odd mating of convex and concave edges):
http://i.imgur.com/SbHQiBX.jpg



Hum I think there is good stuff to do here, little adjustments to follow the lines and it should look good.


Passenger side hood/fender/windshield. Confirms what we knew that body isn't symmetric.
http://i.imgur.com/FVShLHB.jpg

That's a lot. You could cut the hood but it's easy to see the change in angle. Maybe adding gel coat on the top of the fender to match the hood's edge but where's your door fitting?

[Mechie3]

Have you tried centering the nose insert to the frame, then fitting the pass's fender right and then the driver's?


That was the first approach I took and you saw how well that turned out.



Hum I think there is good stuff to do here, little adjustments to follow the lines and it should look good.


I put a straight edge on my fender and it clearly goes from a convex shape most of the way and then switches to concave right at the very end for the last couple inches.


Milled out a 5 lobe pattern on the CNC. First time milling titanium on the CNC so was a bit nervous:
http://i.imgur.com/8xTKyQC.jpg

Then hit it with a torch. Perfect color! Holding it with tweezers because at this point it was still hot enough to leave a permanent imprint on your hand.
http://i.imgur.com/7oMpqXm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1xaMkeN.jpg

After wasting time listening to two VP candidates talk over each other like middle schoolers I went in the garage and mounted it up:
http://i.imgur.com/kG7COl8.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vWGodO4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/N34bCH9.jpg

Need to get fittings for it and polish it up and it'll be finished.

[tmoretta]

Hey Craig. I PM'd a question for you. Please reply. Thanks, Tom.

[svanlare]

That turned out awesome, well worth the effort!

[Frank818]

Aluminum can change color like this? I thought it was only titanium and maybe other rare metals.

[Mechie3]

Aluminum can change color like this? I thought it was only titanium and maybe other rare metals.

Well...that's because:


a cap that is only titanium to be bling bling

and




First time milling titanium on the CNC

It's titanium. ;) lol. Just giving you a hard time. It's probalby about $200 worth of titanium. I couldn't cut it with the band saw so I used a 3/4" mill to cut a piece off the end. (that alone probalby wasted $30 worth of titanium). But, when you have almost 12 feet of 2"OD titanium you got for free, you don't really care. :D

[Bob_n_Cincy]

But, when you have almost 12 feet of 2"OD titanium you got for free, you don't really care. :D

That sounds like 3 set of axles to me.
Bob

[Frank818]

But, when you have almost 12 feet of 2"OD titanium you got for free, you don't really care. :D

You son of a... lolll :D Good thing you started on that, hopefully you'll come up with great products we can benefit like the alu ones you already did. Maybe a full titanium exhaust? :)

Sorry I missed it when you wrote "titanium" in your other posts, I guess I was too impressed by the pictures!

[Mechie3]

I'm (mentally) working on a simpler design for that overflow tank. I have a bunch of milled features, but I think it can be done with laser cut puts (much less costly in low volume).

[Frank818]

Hey man, have you tried fitting the old nose and see if it has the same issues as the new one? If yes then we could most probably think it's the frame.
But that is only if you still want to know whether it's the frame or panels...

[Mechie3]

I had the old front end on at one point. The fender to bumper was different at the hood junction and the hood had a similar issue with the one side being slightly off.

[Mechie3]

My latest masterpiece. Lol.

http://i.imgur.com/RTiLo1w.jpg

[Scargo]

Nice! Congratulations!