Factory Five Forums - Blogs - thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/blog.php?1072-thebeerbaron Builder community site for Factory Five Racing. en Sun, 03 May 2026 09:54:26 GMT vBulletin 10 https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Factory Five Forums - Blogs - thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/blog.php?1072-thebeerbaron <![CDATA[It's always something...]]> https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?187-It-s-always-something Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:00:45 GMT The new engine is mostly back in the Blue Beast. Image:... The new engine is mostly back in the Blue Beast.

[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/5pmh4xsU9sgpjDNpbld12SQV2vrM6XkE5dfh60ePkkKoMPKBoXg3YfD1g5kB/IMAG0304.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/img]

I'm taking a couple of vacation days this week to work on the car out in CT. I'm house-sitting for my parents while they're visiting my nieces and nephew out in Aspen. I'll take a couple days of pure garage-time, then work short days from home. I have the luxury of working remotely, I'll do that and then head to the garage at the earliest possible moment (stock markets close at 4pm, so shortly after that!).

Last night, after getting the engine in and attaching stuff, I noticed the clutch pedal acting weird. There was no clutch pressure. The pedal snapped to the floor, then stayed there until I pried it off the carpet. Then it snapped back up to the top. Very odd.

I got to the shop late this morning after realizing I didn't [i]have[/i] to wake up early and rush there. I stopped on the way to get a replacement fuel hose and some clamps for the new coolant hoses. After fooling with the clutch more, I was getting nowhere. My friend Dean the car-restorer stopped by and helped me diagnose. After mucking about for a while, we found the clutch master wasn't pushing much fluid at all. An expensive trip to NAPA later, I had a new master and got to spend hours bench bleeding it, then bleeding the clutch system. The best bench bleeding technique was to do a gravity bleed. On the car, the best technique was to use a check-valve and drop the end of the hose back in the reservoir tank. It still took a bunch of pumping, but eventually I got good pedal pressure. Whew! Yet hours of time wasted.

[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/KvqtCu2DuTKzZG2P1MuOAgFmHbnS6pTCBCJ3927qX6OGpuy3Ql6GmhaT72VW/IMAG0299.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/img]

I managed to clean up the end of the exhaust pipe where it hits the remaining exhaust stuff. I really hate plain-steel exhaust systems. Look at that corrosion! Ick. More hours wasted.

[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/oC6QQREBf5yzDGBV1RMIMcgSbO2vS8JyuXVmigJqu3M0qJBFU9JfnIVEdD8N/IMAG0301.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/img]
[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/hkOcTlqvXwvQrZ5VzgVExPbDCgX3HnhsSLw9mGxCxTmqjQpKtqmBsrfPb1SD/IMAG0302.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/img]

In the end, I think the tally for the day was - got the hood scoop mounted, new master cylinder and clutch system bleed, new heater hoses installed, one new fuel line, belts installed, exhaust cleaned up, oxygen sensor installed, engine mount nuts installed, and that's it. Lots of little, time-consuming jobs. Argh!

[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/syatTUXdia0Hn21Zlkpd0o8MP6qPqn2kwydliLmCDKShiUSMqQcycKzxLCIB/IMAG0298.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/img] ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?187-It-s-always-something Long block accomplished! https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?168-Long-block-accomplished! Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:52:27 GMT I picked up the new heads on Saturday morning and had a nice chat with the owner of a Subaru recycling yard that's only about half an hour from my garage. Got back to the shop, had enough time to putz around a little bit, then had a family lunch (Happy 70th mom!). Given the shortened afternoon, I didn't get much accomplished Saturday - just the oil baffle, pickup tube, and pan on, then the new oil pump. Also the oil cooler.

I guess this is par for the course, but I was frustrated that the Subaru "complete engine gasket kit" doesn't come with a manifest, or any labeling of parts. Hope I guessed right!

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I found a manifest for the gasket kit online (and saved it to my computer for future reference!), I'll link it here eventually. The manifest says that the kit includes two gaskets for the oil cooler, which only requires one, as far as I can see. The most logical pair of O-rings that should go on the cooler did not fit and did not look like an exact match for the existing gasket, so I had to reuse the old one. Sigh.

Here's the short block after Saturday.

[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/zV4fRfHe91kMO9ZEYqHZSyzZmkq5eoEFEgMVOwKbVQuQUl4yCixBgt07zc4K/IMAG0222.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/img]

The photos I take on my cell phone never quite look as good as I think they do. But it's so convenient! I've been clicking a photo and if I have data service (which is spotty at the garage), I can just shoot it off to Posterous. Very easy to share stuff with you! So if you want an "as it happens" log, shoot over to my [url=http://thebeerbaron.posterous.com/]Posterous[/url] site to see the action "live".

Sunday started off with a minor heart attack. I glanced at the new short block when I got it (uh oh), but didn't examine it too carefully. When I flipped the motor over to install the first head, I noticed a small nick on the outside of one of the cylinder sleeves. I called my buddy Dean, who restores and maintains all the cars around me in the garage, to see if he was going to stop by today. Thankfully he was already enroute and allayed my fears quite quickly. The nick is small and on the water jacket edge of the cylinder casting. There is a lot of good, flat sealing surface between it and the bore. I'll get a photo up if I can, but for now I'm OK with it.

After calming down, I set about attaching the heads. I've never torqued things quite as fiddly as an aluminum head before, so this was an experience. Also, the service manual procedure for installing the head bolts calls for turning the bolts a certain number of degrees at different stages. Example: Torque to N ft-lbs. Back off X degrees. Back off X degrees again. Never had to do that before! I bought [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002STSW6]this Torque Angle Meter[/url] to help me along, and it performed admirably.

Call me anal, but I've been marking each bolt with a paint pen as I go along to indicate that I have torqued it to the proper value. I'm not marking it to see if it slips, though I plan to do that for suspension bolts on the actual kit, but just as a visual guide. Here's the long block, as I left it at the end of the day today.

[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/ayuhtzEBhxygqlokzaAHyCtDAztlFsyjwzwBfmqqnndFkxlJtfmffaoInuee/1229649185.jpg.scaled1000.jpg[/img]
(actually, it's not, I just realized I uploaded the wrong picture. The real one has the water pump attached)

See if you can see any blue dots! In addition to the heads, all I added today was the water pump. I put the crank pulley for the timing belt on so I could line the motor up for the head assembly. I put some orange paint in the alignment notch on both the oil pump and the crank pulley. Much more visible. An interesting note is that Subaru motors are not timed at TDC. With the marks lined up as shown, the pistons are mid-travel in all four cylinders and thus unlikely to hit any wayward valves as you assemble and align the cams. Whew.

Next weekend I'm off to a wedding in Vermont, so no updates for a while. ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?168-Long-block-accomplished! New motor time https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?161-New-motor-time Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:03:55 GMT After cracking both heads in a couple places (seriously, I'm talented) I did some digging and some [url=http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?2472-SubuGurus-engine-assembly-options]pleading on the forum[/url] for advice on the best possible way forward. On the advice of a couple of respected Subaru tuners, I decided against building a so-called "hybrid" motor, which uses a 2.5L Subaru short block with 2.0L Subaru heads. instead I bought a brand-new 2.0L short block and ordered a set of refurbished 2.0L heads from a local specialist.

The short block was ordered last and arrived first. Funny how that works.

[IMG]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/2cpIockzaIlsSu2DIjE1uoVB4Cmy3NDk7f2glelRK7YZP04q43hnv1UIekhu/IMAG0208.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/CdmaHQKXNPjhX7Z8P0Re5J0SMxDO9HxLIDRlsujOOAsyQj72sMLlJwmTKOHC/IMAG0209.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/IMG]

It's very nice and shiny. This weekend I stripped the old motor of its remaining useful bits: the oil pan, oil pickup tube, and windage tray. Those will be reused. I also popped off the old oil pump to learn if there were any hidden seals that I would need to replace. There aren't. The front main seal sits in the oil pump, there is no crank seal in the block (as you can see in the new short block above).

Other than acquiring the new block, progress was rather minimal this weekend. It was a nice change from the frenetic pace of the disassembly. I took some time to learn the media blaster and parts washer (I never knew the shop had a parts washer - it had been hiding under a 901 transaxle). I blasted the coolant cross over pipe that sends fluid between the two block halves, the crank accessory pulley, and the exhaust heat shields. Then I hit the heat shields with some high-temp "aluminum" paint to pretty them up. It's not strictly necessary, but it's a nice touch.

Before:
[IMG]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/lJ8o1S8qh0XIOEYJAnNbApCgjBJKJCwls4dMPCDj9hyk8XFS18lWIy9cMLQ1/IMAG0191.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/IMG]

After:
[IMG]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thebeerbaron/zAfgeLKx4ifyW1R0aYhW6gowWFbKK7Wy64XmJ3UwI2NmOzNC7eScdJmnwSH8/IMAG0193.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg[/IMG]

It's not obsessively clean, but it's clean [i]enough[/i].

You'll notice the pictures in this post are a bit larger than previous ones. This blog is great for access to the community, but the image size restrictions and general posting procedures leave something to be desired. Plus entries get hidden when people accidentally click the "blog this post" button on the forum. So I'm trying out [url=http://thebeerbaron.posterous.com/]posterous[/url]. It's much easier for me to post to and the photo quality is better. I'll keep the long weekly(ish) posts here, but succinct little things'll show up on posterous first. ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?161-New-motor-time Bad news https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?147-Bad-news Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:41:45 GMT Got word earlier this evening that I am a talented individual: I managed to crack both heads on this motor. The machine shop agrees that most people... Got word earlier this evening that I am a talented individual: I managed to crack both heads on this motor. The machine shop agrees that most people just blow a head gasket when they overheat a Subaru. I managed to crack both heads. The shop was quite impressed.

Time to start looking for a new motor. Sigh. ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?147-Bad-news Something is missing... https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?146-Something-is-missing Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:47:21 GMT Attachment 2462 (https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2462) The engine is out of the Blue Beast at last. I arrived at... [ATTACH=CONFIG]2462[/ATTACH]

The engine is out of the Blue Beast at last. I arrived at the shop on Saturday morning with the thought in my head that maybe we had accidentally re-engaged the passenger-side engine mount while jiggling the motor around. I rolled under the car and found that the tip of the engine mount stud was ever so slightly engaged in the subframe. A couple of quick pumps on the engine hoist and some careful pry-bar usage finally separated the engine from the transmission. Woohoo!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2463[/ATTACH]

Then it was just a matter of getting the engine out of the bay. Too bad about that O2 sensor... I was careful, but later found a nick in the wiring. Probably worth it to put in a new one anyhow. With the engine in the air, I discovered my engine stand bracket wouldn't fit over the clutch pressure plate, so I zipped that off. I love having compressed air just lying around waiting to be used. With the bracket attached, it was time to put the engine onto the engine stand. Which meant popping the casters off the engine stand and re-greasing them. And then knocking the worst of the surface rust off the mating surfaces of the stand and applying a dab of grease to ease things along (someone had stored this engine stand outside). Then I discovered that some novice had neglected to check if the arm length on the hoist was enough to slide the engine into the stand. It wasn't. Carefully put the engine down with some wood blocks under the oil pan, quickly extend the hoist arm and then finally onto the stand... Comedy of errors.

Life is much better with the engine on a stand. I got back to New York yesterday with no new scrapes or cuts on my hands and the grease under my fingernails was far less than it had been earlier in the process. It was a fairly simple matter to pop the intake manifold off the motor, but lots and lots of labeling of connections. Hope it's enough. With that job done, I took the shop vac to the engine. The wide flat boxer engine is apparently a great storage place for nut shells, twigs, and other junk. I wouldn't eat off it, but it's nice to have a fairly clean work surface.

From here it was all just simple disassembly. I won't bore you with the details, but I will point out a few issues that I ran into. The biggest issue was getting these cam bolts out.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]2465[/ATTACH]

They require a 10mm hex key and about five steroid-abusing gorillas worth of torque to remove. The approach I took was to leave the timing belt on, since there's no surface on the cam which you can put a wrench on to keep the cam from moving. With the belt on, all I needed was to lock the crank in place. After trying a few things, I came up with my own crank-holding tool.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2464[/ATTACH]

This is part of the bracket that holds the alternator and A/C compressor to the engine. I've held it to the block using a bellhousing bolt, the other end slips over one of the locating pins for the clutch pressure plate. You don't really get to choose [i]where[/i] the crank lines up, but it does keep it from moving.

Even with the belt keeping the cams from moving, my impact gun couldn't budge those cam bolts. I tried setting the pressure above what the gun was rated to, no dice. The only good news was that the expensive impact bit I was using didn't round out the fasteners or self destruct.

What I ended up using was this.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2461[/ATTACH]

That's a Craftsman 16" long 1/2" breaker bar with half of a jack handle from a Harbor Freight aluminum quick-pump jack on it. The tennis ball is on there for safety. The one tool I didn't have handy was a tape measure, but a ballpark figure is 42" of leverage. The Craftsman tool was visibly bowing as I pulled [i]gently[/i] on those bolts. It took some serious force, but eventually three of the four popped off with loud bangs. A few needed further coaxing, but eventually three were finger tight. The fourth gave me heart burn. This is an interference engine. Not only can the valves interfere with the pistons, they can also interfere with each other. So it's [i]really[/i] important that these cams don't slip during this process. The fourth one did. Only about three notches on the belt, but enough for me to call it an evening.

The next morning I popped off the valve cover and checked the cam situation. The cam that slipped was thankfully at the lowest valve height, so i don't think anything could have interfered. What ended up working was taking the belt off, then wrapping it between the crank and the single cam, taking up slack using vice-grips. With that setup, I was able to hang off the breaker bar and crank the final bolt loose.

The rest of the head removal process was straightforward if time consuming. Lots of labeling of parts. The heads are off to the machine shop now for a minor refresh (grind flat, valve check/cleanup, new valve seals, etc). My friend the restoration expert is supposed to look at my short block and tell me if it should be refreshed too. Here's what it looked like...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2460[/ATTACH]

Probably looks worse than it is. Granted there was coolant everywhere, but the oil was not milky at all.

One more rambling note while I have your attention. I think I previously noted that I find the Subaru shop manuals inferior to their Mazda counterparts. One good illustration of that is in their writeup for how to remove the heads. They neglect to mention that in order to remove the passenger-side head, one has to remove the turbo assembly, as it not only hangs off the head, but has an oil feed, oil return, and coolant return that are connected to the head. Kroil and the impact gun made short work of the relevant bolts, but somehow I had thought I could avoid removing the turbo. It's more oil and coolant connections that could leak after I reassemble them!

Right now I've got a list of parts I think I need to order to reassemble this thing. I wish I had good parts diagrams, but honestly, they've been hard to come by. Sigh.
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?146-Something-is-missing <![CDATA[Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew]]> https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?143-Relax-don-t-worry-have-a-homebrew Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:30:29 GMT I'm going to share with you a very important mantra from my heady days as a homebrewer: Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew*. Kettle boil over? Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew. Yeast not flocculating properly? Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew. Too many homebrews to see straight? Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

It works, trust me.

This is the attitude I am now taking with the 818. I attended the Open House and was there for the big reveal. I got to listen to Dave Smith say lots of fun and interesting things about the design contest, the ongoing design process, the future of the car, and many other things. I got to talk with some judges, some fellow 818 enthusiasts and some of the Factory Five family. And you know what? I'm not worried.

The forum is all up in arms Monday-night quarterbacking the contest winners, swearing up and down that if this popular choice or that doesn't go into production the car will fail. I'm tuned out of that now. Do I think there were some very nice designs in the winners circles? Yes. Are any of them what I had in mind for the 818? Mostly no.

Here's the thing - after speaking with Dave Smith and Michael Lye from RISD, I'm confident the design that goes into production will be stellar. Would I trust them individually with this task? No. But knowing that those two, Jim, and a host of others will be duking it out to decide where to go with this thing, I know a good design will come out. I think both Michael and Dave recognize the weaknesses of the design competition winners. I think Michael will push Dave's envelope a bit on what is a good looking 818. I can't tell if Jim's Judge's Choice award was a backlash against the forum for all their demands of a tall, correctly-proportioned roadster or an honest choice of something outlandish, but it had the pop necessary for an impressive design. I think Dave will push Michael for something that is not just "artist" pretty, but "car guy" pretty.

I don't think a web poll is the right way to decide on the final body styling. As a tool to bring the cream to the top - maybe. I thought that's what the competition was supposed to do, and yet somehow what should have been a bang came out as more of a whimper.

Anyhow, the lesson I learned from the Open House is that as crazy as Dave Smith is, he's got a good team to get the job done. It's probably why Factory Five has been so successful and that's why I can sleep easy at night knowing this car (in all its iterations) will look great.




In other news, the engine is still not out of the Blue Beast. It is so close I can taste it (and it tastes of minty Kroil, dirty grease, and flaking rust). I ended up taking off the entire down pipe since I couldn't get the thing to swing back far enough from the turbo. I snapped the two bolts that hold the pipe to the next section of the exhaust, but they were so corroded there was nothing left of the threads anyhow. If those are the only two bolts I snap on this project, I will be very, very happy. With that out of the way, I was able to focus on the engine mount bolts. After trying a few things, I still couldn't get at the bolts due to the sway bar. I was working on removing the first sway bar bolt (what promised to be a long and annoying process) when I decided to try one more thing. I found a 3/8" drive 14mm swivel socket and was able to snake the thing in there. With a 16" breaker bar, the nuts came loose! This breaker bar may be my new best friend.

The hex cap over the clutch fork required some serious muscle and that same breaker bar, but eventually it gave in. At first I thought I snapped my friend's 10mm hex drive socket, but that joyous sound was the cap breaking free. The pin came out very easily.

My buddy and I had a devil of a time separating the bell housing from the motor, but eventually it started to give. After some good effort, it stopped, leaving us with a 1" gap on the drivers side and no gap on the passenger side. After talking with the NASIOC folk, I've got a few theories, the simplest of which is that during all the jiggling and finagling, the passenger side engine mount bolt may have slipped back home. That'll be the first thing I check when I get back to the garage on Saturday. After that it'll be jacking up the front of the motor to try to get a better alignment to free the locating pins. And so on.

I ordered a 10mm hex-drive impact socket today for the dreaded removal of the cam gears. I went big and expensive on this one, I hope it holds up. Apparently they use steroid-abusing gorillas in the Subaru factory to attach the cam gears, giving us shade-tree mechanics a bugger of a time getting them off. I can tell you for certain that the shop that had this engine out last definitely used those same gorillas to attach some of these fasteners!

I will have this engine out on Saturday, if it means clearing the other cars out of the garage and using the diesel tractor with the bucket loader on the front of it to just rip the damn thing out.

I still haven't decided if I prefer Kroil to PB Blast. Except for those two exhaust bolts which were too far gone for any real hope, everything has come out quite nicely, and none of it shows any sign of having been anti-seized in the past. But has Kroil magically loosened every fastener to finger-tight? No.

*mantra coined by the illustrious Charlie Papazian ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?143-Relax-don-t-worry-have-a-homebrew Removing the donor engine and other thoughts. https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?141-Removing-the-donor-engine-and-other-thoughts Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:05:13 GMT The goal for this weekend was to get the motor out of the WRX in order to replace the headgaskets I stupidly blew on my second day of ownership. I... The goal for this weekend was to get the motor out of the WRX in order to replace the headgaskets I stupidly blew on my second day of ownership. I failed at that, but made some respectable progress.

Some thoughts I thought I'd share:

My engine block seems to be the sharpest casting I have ever encountered. Lots of scrapes and cuts. I noticed one particularly razor-sharp corner before cutting myself on it and actually hit it with a rat-tail file for a few seconds. Job done, but watch out for these things.

One of the how-to guides I was following wasted a good hour's worth of my time suggesting I remove a bolt that was absolutely inaccessible. The A/C compressor on my 2002 can be removed in one of two ways (in hindsight). The first is to remove the four bolts (or maybe five) bolts that hold it to a large bracket that doubles as an engine lift point. The other is to remove the compressor along with the bracket. Both methods have one very well-hidden bolt, but the bracket-removal was the way to go. I should have taken pictures of this, since it differs from the traditional method and is not covered in the shop manual. Of course if I were removing the engine to go into an 818, I would have removed some of the A/C lines, which would have made life much easier...

There are lots and lots of vacuum lines and things like that. I [i]think[/i] I've kept good track of them and marked them as best I can, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up wondering where something goes. I took some pictures and generally have a good memory for these things, but as part of a bigger project, this could get dicy. I'll see if my shop manual has a vacuum diagram or something, but it would be a great asset to the build manual if this were included there.

The turbo-to-downpipe bolts were a real pain. I got them all, eventually. But we're talking about 2' breaker bars, maybe a bit of a cheater pipe, it was ugly. And I am no longer a weedy little guy - this was serious muscle being applied! I had a great impact gun waiting there but the clearance was just not enough. In some cases it was the firewall in the way, in some cases the heat shield on the down pipe was in the way (sockets too fat to seat properly). It would be really awesome if the 818 kit left sufficient room to hit every single turbo bolt with an impact, because sooner or later that pipe is going to have to come off.

While we're on the topic - I'd really like to thank whichever Subaru engineering genius decided that it takes somewhere around a dozen M6 bolts (10mm head on Subaru) to hold [i]two[/i] heat shields onto this turbo. And these bolts aren't neatly lined up in a row, no, it's like playing Where's Waldo, except with tiny little bolts that are exposed to incredible heat. Amazingly, with generous application of Kroil (my new favorite garage helper) and some sympathetic treatment, none snapped or seized. Thank goodness for small miracles. I will seriously look into an aftermarket heat shield before reassembling this stupid motor.

At this time I would also like to plead with Dave, Jim, and whomever else is designing this thing: Let's stick with metric fasteners, please, for the love of all that is holy. It's often said that with 10, 12, 14, and 17mm wrenches, you could pretty much disassemble a Miata into its most basic components. With the Subaru, almost everything seems to be 12 and 14mm, with the 14mm being the most common this weekend. I found one SAE fastener on what was obviously a botched job by the PO, it was a right pain. 12mm didn't fit, 14mm no, 13mm no, finally I tried 1/2, bingo. If I have to play "guess the bolt standard" on this kit, I will be unable to keep this blog PG rated as there will be much cursing and gnashing of teeth.

[url=http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/metric-bolt-head-wrench-size-d_1458.html]This[/url] lays out why both the Miata and the Subaru require so few tools - they stick to a standard, in this case JIS. Not some hodgepodge of JIS/DIN/ISO. In my terribly humble opinion, a true "world car" would be entirely metric and follow the donor's standard. "Anything less would be uncivilized"

Other notables: I would like nothing better than to throw out the entire exhaust system (excluding turbo - is it part of the exhaust system, or the intake system?) from head to tail. It's got crusty, rusty fasteners, annoyingly bulbous aluminized heat shields that interfere with everything, and did I mention it's bulky, crusty, and hideous? I'll understand reusing as much of it as possible, but let me tell you, I'm hoping there's room for a very nice aftermarket header system in the engine bay, and I'm hoping that the exhaust after the turbo is so short FFR can provide a replacement stainless system that won't let the car down. I look forward to taking a sawz-all to this system one day, even if it's not strictly necessary.

The front oxygen sensor is proving troublesome to remove - the first socket I bought to remove it interfered with the chassis. The second one can't slide down far enough into the recess to properly grip the sensor. I've been told I might not actually need to remove the sensor, hopefully that's true, because I don't want to have to buy a third oxygen sensor tool.

All I have left to do to pop the motor out is figure out how to remove the down pipe from the back of the turbo without having to undo more exhaust fasteners. Remove the aftermarket front sway bar, which blocks access to the engine mount bolts (stock bars apparently do not have this issue). Remove the remaining transmission-to-engine bolts. Disconnect the fuel lines. Release the clutch fork doohickey (a very strange setup). Probably a full day's work, given how ornery these last bolts have become.

I'm tired, beat up, cut up, and satisfied with some good learning about the donor. ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?141-Removing-the-donor-engine-and-other-thoughts A long overdue update https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?140-A-long-overdue-update Sun, 29 May 2011 05:04:30 GMT I apologize for the lack of updates. Honestly, I've been swamped with this design contest. It consumed every free moment of my time for the last several weeks. It also took over my apartment. By the time I turned in my entry on Thursday evening, I was ready to be done with the whole thing.

These are images I sent in as my entry, resized for the forum and anonymized (I don't need my address and phone number floating around out there!)

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I hope you can see enough in these small-ish photos.

A few points I'd like to discuss - the clay is basically draped over my foam buck, with as little build-up as possible. As I narrowed down my idea, I realized that there was no reason to have a body which did more than cover the frame in an elegant fashion. If this is to be a lightweight, minimalist car, I don't think it's necessary to add body where the frame, engine, and wheels do not require it. The nose, side, and wheel arches are probably where I have the most clay on the buck. The nose has extra clay because I was guessing at the height of the frame and suspension bits there and planning (vaguely) for a radiator. The side has lots of clay because I don't think the clay buck accurately reflects the actual dimensions of the frame (since we've never gotten those!). Realistically, I don't think there's too much extra body there. And finally, the wheel arches. Let's talk about those...

I think one of the most striking features of this design is the flare that runs above the wheels. It actually starts at the radiator opening, turns a sharp corner in front of the wheels, then continues to a peak over the front wheels, then flattens and dips down to its nadir somewhere around thee driver's elbow. From there it quickly climbs to another peak above the rear wheel, before sliding down to the tail, where it tapers into the very tail of the car. From the front or rear, this has a flying shape, the vee of a hawk's wings, the flare of a stingray, something sharp, aggressive. It is a distillation, in my mind, of the flared edges of the Mazda Furai. From the side, this is a classic shape ripped from the profile of the Miura, the Birdcage Maserati, the D-type, and many others. It's a sensual shape, suggesting the hourglass shape of a Victoria's Secret model.

[IMG]http://www.qualityautomotivecincy.com/files/Muira.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/smokey600x402xv1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.idcow.net/idcow/products/aa2010.jpg[/IMG]

The tail gave me fits. With the exception of one re-work, the nose came together fairly easily. But that damn tail. Hiding the bulk and length of that gearbox was no easy task. I had an epiphany a while back and carved out something evoking the tail of that Birdcage. After serious contemplation, it looked massive and heavy. I originally dropped the fender curve to a tough behind the rear wheels, the curve directly following the radius of the wheels. That made for a long slope up to the tail and contributed to the weight back there. By extending that curve to finish further behind the wheel and under cutting it in the style of [URL="http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?121-Defining-Style-(a-hopeless-endeavor)"]the 917 I talked about earlier[/URL], I eliminated a lot of visual weight from the tail. The exact curve as the fender twists back into the body was a devil, but I think I got it right.

One last design element that I am very proud of is the intercooler intake. I blame this one on having purchased my donor and spent so many hours looking at that cursed engine. The intercooler on the WRX is in a beautiful place. Not in the aesthetic sense, but in the turbo-engineering sense. There is not a lot of excess plumbing involved. After the turbo, the air goes about six inches to the intercooler, and then about three inches to the throttle body (measurements are WAG). Compare this to running plumbing from the turbo to a side or even front mount intercooler - that's several feet of tubing, all of which contribute to pressure drop and decreased throttle response, nevermind the added expense. So my side-mount intercooler idea was out (and I really, really hope the final 818 design retains the top-mount intercooler). This left me with a problem: how to get air into a top-mount intercooler. On a speedster or other completely topless, windshieldless car, that's as easy as putting a scoop on the rear deck. But listening to the persistent whining and moaning on the forum about how this car had to have cup holders, seating for five, brass *** scratchers and the like, I knew that I had to make concessions for at least the option of a top. Which would block the simple deck scoop. Back to the drawing board. Roughing in a center pillar to reach the roof and draw fresh air into the engine bay, I realized I was just adding bulk. A third, center pillar really ruined the side profile and made that critical area behind the driver both busy and "full". I went all architectural here and borrowed from cathedral design with a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_buttress"]flying buttress[/URL]. That curved intake mirrors the airiness of the supports that allowed Gothic cathedrals to be so enormous, yet full of light. It emphasizes the fact that there is very little behind the driver, creates an interesting visual focal point, and serves a very important purpose.

[IMG]http://www.student.chula.ac.th/~52407679/FlyingButtressND.jpg[/IMG]

Finally, some notes on the construction and finishing. The body is not as smooth as I would have liked it. I'll happily admit that I am way out of my element here - this clay is nothing like what I'm used to working with, I don't generally aim for flawless and ruler-straight finishes on my usual ceramic work, and honestly, I had neither the time nor the patience to perfect these surfaces. The silver paint made it worse and the lighting I used for the photographs didn't do me any favors either. But the model looks pretty good in person, and I think the judges are smart enough not to focus on some lousy surface smoothing when there's so much more to the entry. I solved my wheel issue by finding some 3" diameter model airplane wheels online. I happened upon these white wheels which are actually very sports-car like for an airplane wheel. Sure, the correct 1:8 scale diameter would be 3.125", but I'm not going to sweat over 1/8 of an inch! I had to double them up though, as the goal was a 1" wide wheel and these were 0.4" each. I smoothed out the "dualie" look in Photoshop.

Painting the model in a city environment was not all that much fun, but had to be done. I didn't want to pack up my model, carry it outside, spray, wait for it to dry, then bring it back in. Too much room for disaster. So I bought some plastic sheeting and set up a spray booth inside my studio apartment. It worked, but I was very glad that I had plans for the day I sprayed it. I got up early, opened the windows, sprayed the model, and then left for dim sum with friends. The place still stank when i returned (did I mention I have no cross-ventilation?), but it wasn't too bad. I had to paint on the flat black shadows by hand. If anyone needs an almost-unused pint of flat black sign-painters enamel, I've got exactly what you're looking for.

For your fun, here's a picture of what my workspace looked like for this project. One shot where I'm in the carving phase, one where I've turned the area into a paint booth. Conclusion: I'm nuts to take on this project in such a cramped space!

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The photo taking and editing process is another time-sink I could whine about, but I'll spare you the details. :)

I'm going to be finding little slivers of this clay around my apartment until the day I move out, and I've sunk far more time into this than any sane person should have, but it's been a fun trip. I hope you've enjoyed following it!

I'm out in Connecticut now and later this morning I'll be moving the [URL="http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?126-The-Donor"]dead Subaru[/URL] into the shop so I can get started on yanking the engine. I'm not sure if I'll start any real work on it or just get it in the air and ready to go. Next weekend is my scheduled time to extract this lump from its electric blue home. I came up with an appropriate name for the Subaru earlier this week: The Blue Beast. It's violently blue. It's made my life miserable. It's a blue beast.
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?140-A-long-overdue-update Adding Lightness https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?130-Adding-Lightness Fri, 06 May 2011 04:03:16 GMT I still haven't quite figured out why certain posts generate a lot of comments while others do not. Certainly the view and post count goes down when I'm not active over on the 818 forum, but still, a successful post is more hit-or-miss than I would like. Food for thought.

I've been working and reworking the clay like a madman here. I finally started to get the troublesome tail to where I'd like it, then I moved back to the front and essentially tore it all apart this evening. I distilled the shape back to what I originally had in mind and the form is stronger for it. Art is an iterative process for me. The question is how many more iterations can I get in before the deadline?

I initially stayed away from the forum posts that showed works-in-progress and the weekly winners because I didn't want my design colored by what others were doing or saying about the designs. A few weeks ago though, I relented and started looking at some of the sketches that were coming in. I still refuse to participate in direct conversations about others designs, but I haven't found my design swayed by others work.

What I thought I'd discuss tonight is that I see a lot of bodies that do not seem to have the goal of the 818 project in mind. I'm not going to rag on others designs here, but I wanted to discuss some design concepts that seem to have been forgotten.

I'll start off by restating what I call "The 818 Thesis". The emphasis is my own.

[QUOTE="Jim Schenck, Director of R&D"]
The design goal behind this car is very straightforward, the car must be [b]simple[/b], [B]lightweight[/B], affordable, and easy to build in countries around the world. The emphasis will be on [B]handling[/B] and driving fun rather than on the 200 mph exotic or the everyday commuter. The majority of the cars we sell are street cars and this will not be an exception, so full lighting, covered wheels, and safety items will all be incorporated but not much beyond that in terms of luxury type stuff. To keep things simple this will be an [B]elemental[/B] performance based street car first but with a roll bar/structure sufficient for track days.
[/QUOTE]([URL="http://www.factoryfive.com/whatsnew/update/nextcar/818intro.html"]source[/URL])

You can argue my points of emphasis, but you're going to be standing on sand. My thesis is that the body design of the 818 should embrace the concept of lightness and simplicity. Lightness is not just something that is measured with a scale. I was carving away at the rear corner of my model the other day and realized that the curve I was following added mass. I have since rethought that corner and eliminated that [URL="http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/visual-weight-designs/"]visual weight[/URL].

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On the left, we have a lightweight form. On the right, we have a heavy form. I bet these pots weigh very nearly the same, but the short and stout has a lot more visual weight than the narrow and uplifted form. Notice how the slope of the curve on the outside of the tall form contributes to the sense of height and shifts the weight of the form up, off the ground. I'm exaggerating this a little bit since I had some trouble finding just the right image, but humor me. Look at how the relationship between the neck of the short pot and the height of the pot squash it visually into a lower, heavier form.

I'm not arguing for exoskeleton designs, but I feel like a lot of submissions scream Grand Tourer rather than flyweight sports star. Some of the proportions of headlights, ducts, and fenders scream "mass" more than "agility". As I called out in the beginning, one of the danger areas is the space between the driver and the rear wheels. It's a difficult area to work with - for roll-over protection and a potential roof, there has to be something here. But it's very easy to build this into the superstructure of an Iowa-class battleship.

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This generation of Toyota Celica has a serious visual flaw to me: the proportions in the rear wheel area. They're just wrong. Look at the distance between the edge of the wheel arch and the visual top of the car directly above it. It's almost as large as the diameter of the wheel! And it's funny, but it was kind of hard to find this picture. I wish I had it in silver, which would illustrate the issue more clearly, but all the pictures Google showed me were from angles which conveniently minimized this area. This massive, heavy area.

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Compare the Celica to this RX7. The narrowness of the C pillar and the minimal body between the wheel arch and the top of the car keep this one looking light. My eye doesn't see the glass of the hatch as weight here, the weight for me stops where the body does, or more correctly, the tint strip on the hatch. This area is much lighter, visually, than the same area on the Celica.

I'm heartened by the names that have been thrown out as part of the judging pool. I'm pretty sure they'll be choosing a lightweight design. :)
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?130-Adding-Lightness The Donor https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?126-The-Donor Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:39:42 GMT So I've been hinting at a big upcoming announcement and it was supposed to be quite a happy one: I found my donor and for a great price.

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It's a 2002, 111k, tattered outside, worn inside, good mechanicals. Bought it off a friend who has owned it since new and taken care of it. Adult driven. A little bit of coolant weeping out of the lower radiator hose, but that only needed topping every few weeks.

Got it to my parents place outside the city, paid the taxes and registration, and took it to get inspected. They noticed the coolant leak, then failed me on brake pads and rotors. On the way home from the inspection, the car overheated.

This is where the story gets sad. I go to pour in water and it starts flowing out the bottom of the radiator. The lower radiator hose came off. No coolant in the engine. Fill it, replace the hose, drive home, no problems. Replace a faulty clamp, burp the system, all is well. Then driving it to the garage where I'm going to fix the brakes and replace what I think is a faulty thermostat, I check the hoses again and find the lower one popped off. Uh oh. Replace, refill, leave the radiator cap off this time. Make it to the garage without overheating, but only barely.

It was a big struggle to replace the thermostat (note for future reference - the 10mm bolts that hold the thermostat cover on round off VERY EASILY, even with 6-point sockets). I needed to call in reinforcements with an EZ-out to extract the upper bolt. Painful.

I changed the overheated oil, replaced the coolant, and replaced pads and rotors at all four corners. In doing this, I found that the front rotors were the wrong size! They were about 1/2" smaller in diameter than the ones NAPA sold me! At first I thought NAPA sold me a bad part, but then I looked at the pads that were very oddly worn. The pads had about 1/4" of untouched material at the outer edge. Exactly the difference between the new and old rotor. Either the factory or my friend put the wrong front rotor on and the pad wasn't touching in one area!

After warming up the car for 20 minutes, perfect temperature, I noticed a bit of white smoke from the tail. I thought it was from the temperature dropping precipitously as darkness fell, but after a few hundred feet of test drive the temperature gauge started climbing rapidly and "condensation" was very obviously coolant burning. I shut it down and rolled back to the garage, defeated. After cleaning up the garage, I couldn't even restart the car to pull it back in. ARGH.

So I've got a great donor with a motor that I've overheated. The head gaskets at least need to be replaced, who knows what else we'll find. I'm very, very frustrated.

Obviously I should have checked the coolant level after the long drive up from Maryland. Obviously I should have had the inspection garage check the coolant level when they reminded me of the leak. This one is my fault. I've done some stupid automotive things, but this is up there in what it's going to cost me. As much as I'd like to do the work myself, I may have to farm this one out since the garage is a 90 minute train ride (plus a 30 minute car ride) from Manhattan. I figure it would take at least one weekend of work to pull the engine, one weekend to tear down the motor, hire someone to deal with the machining, then another two weekends to reassemble and reinstall the motor. Not sure if I can swing that.

So, not design-related, but a pretty sad starting point for what I'm hoping is a fun build log.

I don't have the receipts in front of me, but this is the tally of my build costs so far:

[CODE]
Purchase Price: $4500
Rotors, pads, thermostat, lower radiator hose: $244
_______________________________________________
Total: $4744
[/CODE]

I'll make a pretty spreadsheet sometime soon. I haven't figured in consumables like coolant and oil. The new filter came with the car.


Also of note: the correct rotors for the front and rear of the WRX contain two threaded holes on the hub face that accept an 8mm bolt that you use to pop them off the hub, in lieu of hitting them with hammer. The bolt that holds down the spare tire is a perfect fit for this hole!
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?126-The-Donor Defining Style (a hopeless endeavor) https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?121-Defining-Style-(a-hopeless-endeavor) Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:16:33 GMT I'm on vacation in South Carolina now, but vacation gives me a chance to decompress a bit and do things I love, which not only includes wandering around aimlessly in the warm Carolina sunshine, but also includes blogging.

Here now, a little later than promised, is a look at the current state of my model.
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I think this represents a lot of work since you last saw it. One of the main design elements, something that I could see in my head but couldn't get to paper, is that sloping outer fender. I think the nose becomes very interesting when you have the intersection of all these curves and I think clay is the only way to render them correctly. I think I've said it before here, but looking at this thing in the flesh really tells me where and how the clay should go. There's a little corner of clay (a perfect place for a side-view mirror) that only exists because the clay told me it wanted to be built up there. I'm damned if I know how that's going to fold in with the windshield and roof, but I'll figure it out.

The side profile needs work, especially the engine cover area. These photos are terrible, but the way the side scoop is rendered in clay really comes alive as the light hits it from different angles. What you have going on there is that the scoop is 1/2" deep at the bottom, from front to back. But up top it starts out 0" deep up front and builds to 1/2" deep at the back. (we're talking about 4" in real life here). I haven't gotten the curve perfect yet, but it's good enough to see that it would be dramatic and interesting in real life. Other than the scoop though (functional scoop for brake cooling, maybe I'll ask it to be intercooler too), the profile needs work. I thought "flat" would be an interesting counterpoint on the side, but it has ended up just looking, flat.

The tail is the subject of today's pontification. I was carving away, struggling to get the right curve to go around the frustratingly long transmission, when I was hit with the inspiration to take all the clay away, exposing the suspension arms to the car behind you. Exposing the side of the gearbox and the exhaust pipes in all their serpentine glory. Something akin to some of the Porsche 917 variants.
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But then I remembered cries from the forum that said "If this looks like a beach buggy, I won't buy it". Beach buggies do typically have the motor hanging out in back, chromed to the teeth, and sitting in an exposed frame of some kind. I don't find that image too appealing either, but after further vacation-time reflection, I came up with a hypothesis (please feel free to comment, I've been hearing crickets after these last couple of posts).

Style is a departure from the status quo. Eventually, successful styles become the status quo, at which point they are no longer perceived as style. I can in no way claim this is an original idea, but applicability of this art-world concept to the design competition hit me today.


Let's look at car headlamps as status quo and avantgarde. I'm too young to remember but at some point in the US, the only DOT-approved headlights were round. When the rules changed and square lights became legal, they started popping up (sometimes literally) on new cars. Because they were pioneering the idea of square lights, these cars were seen as stylish, edgy, cool. As soon as my parents Volvo station wagon got square headlamps, they became passe and the new hotness became aerodynamic plastic headlamps.

So what does this have to do with the design competition? It goes back to my earlier fears regarding posting pictures of my model's progress on the blog: too many cooks spoil the broth. If someone objects to a particular design element, you have to look at why you chose to include that element. Was it a statement of purpose, a direct and intentional departure from the status quo, or an accidental inclusion that might merit removal? I've chosen a very specific flare that builds and fades as it run over the wheels. That is not going anywhere. It is an intentional departure from the typical treatment of the wheel arches. Some people aren't going to like it and I am massively OK with that. But I think it is distinctive, which I think is one of the key elements to this design contest. The Toyota Camry appeals to the average appliance-car buyer because it does not offend - it offends the average enthusiast because it has all the character of a wet noodle.

That said, I think you're going to be seeing some exposed suspension bits on my design. Not 917-level, but I hope Jim chooses pretty shock absorbers.
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?121-Defining-Style-(a-hopeless-endeavor) The Joy of Factory Service Manuals https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?119-The-Joy-of-Factory-Service-Manuals Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:50:26 GMT One of my favorite accessories for my Miata is an original Factory Service Manual. It comes in a three-ring binder that’s about four inches thick... One of my favorite accessories for my Miata is an original Factory Service Manual. It comes in a three-ring binder that’s about four inches thick and contains hundreds of loose-leaf pages describing in exquisite detail how to take apart and rebuild a 1994 Mazda Miata. There are fold-out maps of the entire wiring harness with every wire color clearly labeled. There’s even a book of basic diagnostic procedures included at the front.

There is something about the level of detail of this manual that appeals to me. It’s knowing the precise torque spec for every single nut and bolt on the car. It’s having every single repair, refurbishment, or replacement procedure outlined in simple, straightforward steps. And it definitely never says “installation is the reverse of removal”.

So when I stumbled across links to electronic versions of the WRX service manuals the other day, I was thrilled. At this point we don’t know what parts will be needed, but now I’m covered. I have a service manual for the 2002-2003 cars and one for the 2004 STi.

When I finally get my donor, I’ll pony up for the exact model year service manual. Just to have things “right”. But for now, flipping through the .pdfs is strangely satisfying. I don’t find them as thorough as the Mazda documents and the illustrations especially are a notch lower in quality. There is something comforting about the pedantic, logical approach to such a complex system. It feeds my inner engineer to see such complex systems exploded and reduced down to their smallest building blocks. These massively complex cars are not magic, they are just a large pile of simple systems.

The clay model is coming along nicely, and I’m working on some cool developments outside the design competition. I’m taking a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina next week, and there’ll be a fun announcement after that. You’ll get one more look at the clay model before then, but for now this will have to do. ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?119-The-Joy-of-Factory-Service-Manuals Since 11pm is the perfect time to run a jackhammer in Manhattan https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?118-Since-11pm-is-the-perfect-time-to-run-a-jackhammer-in-Manhattan Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:20:55 GMT Yes, apparently the stretch of Broadway right below my 23rd story window can only be repaired at eleven at night. Jackhammers, large trucks with... Yes, apparently the stretch of Broadway right below my 23rd story window can only be repaired at eleven at night. Jackhammers, large trucks with hydraulic pumps and backup indicators. A wonderful cacophony of stuff I can't sleep through.

Here then are some snapshots of the current state of the model.

The nose. I've done a lot of work here, but the main design element is not done yet. Since I want this car to reflect my personal goals for the 818, I'm going with a very short front overhang. Interestingly, this necessitates a very quick rise from the nose to the top of what I envision as the frame. There are going to be suspension pickup points somewhere in here and probably a radiator. A low, sloping nose is probably unrealistic. I'm thinking of some very compounded curves here, but the design sort of petered out once I got to the top of the front frame. I've added in some clay to create a cowl area (envisioning an aeroscreen instead of a full windshield), and I think this buildup will help. Only time and further carving will tell. If I feel frisky, I may eliminate the "frame" I've assumed and carve out something far more extreme.
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Profile. It's getting closer. The main line that connects the "hips" of the design is getting close. It's not done yet, but it's on there. I've established the lines for the side details, and thought of the faceting that will happen in there. Those lines you see are not very deep, yet look how much shadow they pick up. This is one great reason to work with clay, you can see how the light actually falls on the design.
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3/4 view. You can see where I've globbed on some new clay, specifically in the cowl area and over the rear wheels. I've found some of the old clay patches I've applied are coming off when I try to carve them. This is not good. Where I need to add clay, I've been reclaiming it from the carving scraps and heating it in the toaster oven again. This time around I think the clay is a good 5-10F hotter than it was the last, so I'm hoping it really attaches well. It certainly applies better. I've also given up on the fire-alarm activating heat-gun, which I may have used to attach the unsuccessful patches. The new technique is far superior. And quieter.
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Finally, the rear. I haven't done much since that first run of inspiration. It's nowhere near right yet. Very, very heavy.
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The jackhammers have blessedly stopped. Maybe they're on lunch. Or maybe someone smarter than me offered them a beer if they'd just pack it in for the evening. Either way, I'm going to bed now. I'll have more progress to report soon, but I'm working on a very large announcement that'll happen some time in April.

Also, looking at these pictures reminds me I should get some mirror so I can start seeing the "full width" car. I think that will become very important soon.
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?118-Since-11pm-is-the-perfect-time-to-run-a-jackhammer-in-Manhattan Losing weight https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?117-Losing-weight Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:03:23 GMT Wednesday is supposed to be my day to work on this thing, but work ran late and I spent some time on the 818 forum dealing with posts there. I got... Wednesday is supposed to be my day to work on this thing, but work ran late and I spent some time on the 818 forum dealing with posts there. I got maybe a solid hour in on the model, which is less than I'd like but satisfying. I'm warming up some clay now and will put it on and take more pictures before I go to bed.

In addition to trimming away excess bulk, I started fleshing in some curves. Along the way I discovered that for now, the "hump" to go over the engine is not requiring too much design thought - it's hiding nicely inside the curves I have laid out for the rear fenders. I pulled out my sketch pile and used the grids on my drawings to locate certain landmarks in the body - the edge of the windshield and the start of the rear fender hump. Once I knew where those were and what height I expected them to reach, I could carve away the clay more easily.

I added a hint of shape to the all-important nose while I was in there. I'm also trying an idea on that rear - after Monday's discussion about how designs need to shock, I thought I would try revising the "natural" curve that I gave the tail when I was first carving it. Looking at it from the couch, it's nowhere near right yet. But it's just clay, it will get set right.

Here are a couple views of the current state, as well as the pile of clay shavings that have accumulated. And my tools. I should do a video or a series of pictures on how I use these, since I took to heart your input that some of you have never seen people work with clay like this.
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You can see there's a lot more shape now, it's lost a lot of weight. You can also see where I've scratched in some areas that need building up - places where I'll add in clay later tonight (it's still not warm enough - I don't think the oven setting was right). There's a divot in the nose that needs to be filled in and the corner of the body as it runs between the front and rear wheels needs building up - that needs to be much more square, at least initially. And those wheel arches I had carved so nicely are now ruined as I cut the clay back more flush with the wheels. I think it actually needs to come out 1/8" of an inch or so proud of the wheels, but that's not my central concern right now.

So yes, as soon as this clay is warm I'll add it to the model and call it a night. It'll be set up very nicely by tomorrow evening, when I should have a spare hour or so to fettle with it.

If you've noticed the pictures are getting a little better, it's thanks to my new cell phone. They're still terrible, but they're better than the old iPhone ones. Even though this phone has a flash, the pictures come out better without it. The phone is a Thunderbolt on Verizon's LTE network. What's amazing is that the phone's internet connection is reliably faster than my cable modem. Very refreshing after suffering through AT&T's network woes here in NYC.

--edited--

Here's the last pic for the night. I added some clay to that ridge and flattened out the face between the wheels. It's hard to see here, but where there was a bullnose curve from the deck to the side, it's now square-ish. Perfect for me to flesh out how the body will curve between the two wheels.
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]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?117-Losing-weight The danger of being boring https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?116-The-danger-of-being-boring Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:50:12 GMT I didn't mean to post to the blog today, but I came across this old Top Gear [URL="http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-gear-season-7-episode-1-all-rightsbbc-uk_part-1_2198407.htm"]episode[/URL], in which they review the Ascari KZ1.

[IMG]http://www.ridelust.com/wp-content/uploads/ascari_kz1.jpg[/IMG]

Hammond points out the reason you've probably never heard of this impressive car. It isn't ludicrous. He argues that with a handful of marques already well established, breaking into the "super car club" takes something more than just a competent and attractive car. It takes something like the Pagani Zonda.

[IMG]http://imagesphotospictures.com/data/media/94/Pagani_Zonda_S_7.3.jpg[/IMG]

I almost chose a more luridly colored Zonda to drive home the point even further, but decided to be fair and just throw up another silver car. Still, it's quite obvious why you've heard of the Zonda, but not the Ascari. The Ascari is a good looking car. But it's a tame car. It's got fairly generic styling - the tail is reminiscent of recent prancing horses, the nose and side scoops predate the McLaren MP4-12C but are nearly identical. It's functional, curvy, maybe a bit attractive. But it's tame. Sure, it posted a great lap time on the Top Gear track, but those headlights just scream family sedan to me (Mazda 6 maybe?).

Now look at the Zonda. It's all wrong. The greenhouse is too far forward, the rear end just looks fat, and those quad headlights look like after thoughts. And what are those side view mirrors doing on top of the roof? My personal favorite is the utterly ridiculous quad rear tail pipes stuffed inside a howitzer.

[IMG]http://www.autodrome.fr/zonda_f_full_rear.jpg[/IMG]

Hammond suggested that the Ascari engineers needed to hand the design to a ten year old and let him draw on fins and machine guns. Add a dash of madness.

Now I understand why Dave Smith has been so vehement that this car knock your socks off. It's not a matter of making a car that is just a good looking car. It has to be striking. Maybe he's not directly suggesting fins and guns (I think the permitting process for mounting automatic weapons to a vehicle might involve more headaches than the entire "Carroll" battle), but in order to be successful, this design has to distinguish itself not only in terms of performance per dollar, but sheer wow factor.

This is why I intend to paint my 818 bright green. Seriously bright green. ]]> thebeerbaron https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?116-The-danger-of-being-boring