The Start of a Journey - Metros Build Thread

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Good news is I beat 3 other applicants for a promotion.
-Intake has been finished - it'll be drawing air in through the passenger side hump, which has shown very important for controlling intake temps by other builders.

Hi Metros,
Congrats on the promotion.

The guys getting air through the passenger hump are 818R with no windshield.
Bob

[C.Plavan]

Hi Metros,
Congrats on the promotion.

The guys getting air through the passenger hump are 818R with no windshield.
Bob

That was my first spot, but it was a littler lower than the hump. I had to bring it outside the hump for ambient air.

[metros]

Thanks for the input. For the time being I'll keep it as is. Mounting the rest of necessary parts will let me know potential alternative without redoing work several times.

[metros]

I didn't end up getting a work day off this week. However, I did get a fair amount accomplished for such a short amount of time available.

-Ran the AWIC lines from core to heat exchanger/pump. I also covered those lines in heat shielding to protect the coolant tubes from radiating heat into them as they'll be run side by side. Just need to p-clamp them in place.

-Loosely applied the windshield frame to check for clearance around the master cylinder. Next I can mount the remote reservoir for brake/clutch lines to the windshield surround.

Look at those aerodynamics!


-Aligned the rear end as best I could for my home garage. Tightened/torqued all rear suspension bolts. It feels good to put the paint line on bolts that I know are done.

-Installed rear 15mm spacers - Rear wheels now fit with several mm of clearance. With the way I have it aligned I may be able to back down to the 10mm spacers or tweak it a little further to make the 10mm spacers work. I'm going to keep it as is until I know where the wheels are in relation to the body.

-AWIC will be finally finished once I receive a package on Tuesday. I needed a 2.5" diameter x6" long aluminum pipe with bead rolled ends to get everything to line up to my liking.

-I was scouting out potential mounting locations for the setrab oil cooler. Here are a few pictures. Provide feedback in reference to body mounting position and side scoop.

[metros]

Work has been crazy and I'm still adjusting to my new position and the extra hours required to do my job. A few weeks ago I spent a week in Orlando learning to become a Driving Rehabilitation Specialist. Working towards being able to eval/treat people with disabilities or who have suffered a stroke, etc. in order to drive again. Spent a lot of time learning how to use hand controls for brake/gas and all sorts of other adapted strategies.

I've since been able to button up a few parts of my project.

I finally have the AWIC set up how I'm happy with and tweaked to my liking. The coolant lines have been run and p-clamped in place. I also used a heat sheath to protect these coolant lines from the engine coolant heat.







Pump:

[metros]

I've also been working on my oil cooler set up. There have been other 818 builders who have gotten their car on track and are fighting heat issues in the oil. I have since more than doubled the size of oil cooler I'll be using and added a shroud/fan to pull air through it. Today I created 1 post for mounting the oil cooler. Need to wait for my brother in law to come over and weld it in place. Mine will be a lot less elaborate than the other 818 builders that are struggling with oil cooling. But then I'll be using street tires and I'm less experienced on track. This should be more than enough for my set up and ability level.



Where I'm looking to mount it.


Center console has been modified and drilled for mounting. Need to drill holes in the chassis and the center hole for the shifter. Then I can get it powder coated while the car is getting tuned.



My help in the shop hasn't exactly been helping move things along. He checked the fitment of these bolts for the windshield surround over and over. Not sure what he was concerned about but he did want to make damn sure they were going to fit correctly.

[Hindsight]

Looks like you are making some great progress and everything looks good. I like the oil cooler location you chose. Are you going to build a duct for it to the scoop?

If so, I saw this while browsing Eastwood: http://www.eastwood.com/15in-adjusta...ile-gauge.html. Had no idea such a thing existed. It would make it so much easier to fab things up that have to seal off against strange curves and angles. You could box the oil cooler off to the side scoop completely with some thin aluminum sheet, or do it with fiberglass etc.

Nice use of thermal protection on the hoses. I plan to do something similar.

[metros]

I'm going to try without ducting first. If it needs to happen then I would purchase the setrab ducting for it. I already have the hose from the last oil cooler I purchased.

I recommend the hot rod sheath off Amazon. Way cheaper for bulk purchases of 1" sheathing. Doesn't velcro, so you have to slide it down the length of the cooling lines. You'll be ok with 50' exactly or short just a little. No, there is not 50' of line. But to get a tight fitting on the hose you need to scrunch the heat sheathing down, which shrinks it. Think chinese finger trap.

[metros]

Over the last several weeks I've had limited opportunity to work on the car. I spent one weekend helping a family member roof their house and helping others with their vehicles. Still managing to make some forward progress though.

My last post you saw where I was looking to mount the oil cooler. I had my brother in law come over to help me weld up the necessary brackets.

Here they are welded on and cleaned up. Added some dog ears to the brackets for actually bolting to the oil cooler.



Painted and oil cooler set in place:


Clearance between cooler and rear wheel. There is 2" of space between the closest point of tire and cooler mount. That should be plenty, right?


I took a page from a few other 818 builders and cut the top off the center console. Then it won't be such a pain to work in the center tunnel if the need ever arises. Also, I cut the center hole for the shifter to mount and the necessary holes in the chassis. Just need to rivnut the top bolts for the center console to hold the lid in place. I found that if you push just enough the top overlap will fit down over the side pieces. Makes for a very tightly secured lid.



Unfortunately I cut the hole a little to wide. I'll need to make a sheet that goes between the shifter and center console lid to cover the hole. Or re-create the pre-bent piece from F5 without access to a brake.


Countdown to firing:
-Wrap up hooking up battery and wiring.
-Run lines between oil cooler and thermostatic sandwich plate.
-Heat wrap headers - I never planned on this because I ceramic coated the manifolds. But I'm going to wrap them because others have said how much heat is a problem in the engine bay.
-Finalize mounting of brake master fluid reservoir.
-Mount overflow tank and coolant reservoir.
-Add engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, AWIC coolant (already filled the trans).
-Check for leaks.
-Cross fingers.

My goal is to have the car to Mach V for them to work on before their open house on August 1st. They're going to weld the wing mount I purchased together and fabricate the seat mounts. I better get cracking.

[Frank818]

Will there be something (fiberglass panel, alu sheet, etc.) between the tire and oil cooler or it's thin air?

[metros]

I assume I'll have to modify heavily or create my own splash shield. But yes, there will be something to prevent rocks or debris from puncturing the core.

[metros]

Made a few little steps toward go-karting this weekend.

Made little rubber pads to help isolate the oil cooler from vibration even more. The mounting brackets have vibration isolaters and now there is another layer of dampening at the chassis to oil cooler mount. I used a 1/4" thick rubber floor mat for the pieces.



Final mounting:


I ran the lines from thermostatic sandwich plate to the oil cooler. I'm using -10an push lock line. Talk about a wrestling match to get the lines fully seated into the fittings. I feel very confident that it would take the hand of god to create a leak with the way this line fits.

I routed the lines away from the exhaust manifolds and looped them back around next to the heat shield. I'll also be ordering a different heat sheath to protect them. I thought I had velcro on heat protection. After they were all installed I learned they had to slide onto the hose before installing. Nope. Not going back to re-do that.



They're hanging down a bit but will tuck up nicely with some p-clamps along the way.



Shifter lines are all adjusted and installed to the shifter. I took the center console panels off as I was planning on having them powdercoated while the car is at the tuners (Mach V). Now I may have to wait a bit more so they can work some sheet metal brake magic on the top cover.



May adjust the angle of the shifter once I have seats mounted. The k-tuned shifter is one of the coolest add ons for the 818. If you like tools/gadgets, this is the shifter for you. I'll be able to feel how it shifts once I bleed the clutch line.

Gas pedal stop:


1/2" by 2.5-3" bolt with 1/8" steel welded to the top. I can adjust the depth of the gas pedal stop by adjusting 2 lock nuts that hold this to an aluminum plate that spans between 2 firewall posts. Obviously still drying though.

I also heat wrapped the exhaust manifolds this weekend. I originally wasn't planning on heat wrapping as I had the manifolds ceramic coated. But with the concerns with heat in the engine bay I decided to wrap them. In the future, I would recommend wrapping them off the car. I was able to do an ok job on the car but not as tidy as if I had all the pieces to work with separately.

Countdown to firing: Update - grey = done
-Wrap up hooking up battery and wiring.
-Run lines between oil cooler and thermostatic sandwich plate.
-Heat wrap headers - I never planned on this because I ceramic coated the manifolds. But I'm going to wrap them because others have said how much heat is a problem in the engine bay.
-Finalize mounting of brake master fluid reservoir.
-Mount overflow tank and coolant reservoir.
-Add engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, AWIC coolant (already filled the trans).
-Check for leaks.
-Cross fingers.

[Frank818]

Nice cooler setup!
Where's your intake air filter going?

[metros]

Passenger side hump for the time being. Not sure if the maf will be happy with having an elbow, even though it's huge and shouldn't have much restriction.

If that doesn't work I'll have to find somewhere else.

[Frank818]

I think I missed that part, but what's the reason for the cooler to not be on the driver's side?

[metros]

I believe it could be. Just put mine here.

[STiPWRD]

Looking good, hope you get it fired up soon and then take me for a ride :-). I've made some progress too and will try to post an update soon.

[metros]

Between yesterday and today I've completed a ton of odds and ends. Need to finish mounting the ecu, fill with coolant, install battery, and finish bleeding the clutch line.

Oh yeah, replace a coolant coupler that I drilled through when drilling holes for ecu mounting.

Otherwise it's looking like I'll be able to fire it up tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

[metros]

Well, I didn't quite meet my goal of starting the car. The only things left are bleeding the clutch (which has been a *****) and installing/hooking up the battery.

Evidently these cars are notorious for having difficulty in bleeding the clutch master/lines. I have removed the slave cylinder, compressed the slave piston with a c-clamp, and bled the clutch line with a vacuum system while nipple pointed straight upward. When doing so I don't get air bubbles any longer and the clutch pedal only moves maybe an inch while the piston is c-clamped. However, when I reinstall everything the clutch pedal just sits on the floor and I have to physically pull it back up.

In searching for bleeding tips, I've found that I may not have the throwout bearing retaining clip seated correctly. From what I've read it should take a lot of force to move the clutch fork. However, mine moves forward/back without much effort at all. May end up having to pull the trans to straighten that out. Feel free to correct any of that information if I've got it wrong.

The good news:
-Ecu is mounted - I again used my 1/4" thick rubber floor mat to create a vibration isolator that sits underneath the ecu.
-Coolant overflow is installed with Craig's mounting bracket. All lines have been hooked up to the coolant overflow.
-Overflow line has been run from front to back - this eliminates mounting 1 reservoir up front. Still need to mount one for the AWIC system.
-Brake/Clutch remote reservoir is installed in the windshield surround.
-Brakes are mostly bled - I need to hit them all one more time with a partner working the brake pedal for me. Only had 1 leaking point - otherwise issue free.
-Wiring for AWIC pump and oil cooler aux fan is complete. The pump is key on power and the aux fan is on one of the switches on the master switch panel. I figure I won't need the oil cooler fan much when street driving, hence the switch.
-Coolant for engine/AWIC system has been put in. I used the uview airlift air vacuum tool for both systems. It doesn't get any better than this tool for coolant system filling. I highly recommend it for the 818 especially as there is a lot of line and many opportunities for air pockets. This tool uses air compressor power to create a vacuum in the system (great for checking for leaks) and then transfers coolant in the system air free. Worth every cent.
-Cleaned up a lot of wiring with zip ties.

To do:
-Straighten out bleeding the clutch - pull trans to correct retaining ring?
-Install battery.

Ugh - so close.

[brian b 36]

metros try un skrewing the shaft on the clutch master that solved my problem about 3 turns brian

[metros]

Positive update!
Removed the slave cylinder and pulled on the clutch fork. I could feel it interacting with something and gave it a good yank. It popped and now feels engaged. The tip of the clutch fork (outside the transmission) now moves about an inch by hand but otherwise doesn't have any play. Does that sound like an appropriate amount of movement?

I re-installed the slave cylinder and the clutch pedal has some pressure to it. It goes maybe halfway down and doesn't remain stuck on the floor. I think if I re-bleed everything I'll be in business.

Thanks to the help of the forum. The internet comes to the rescue yet again!

[mikeb75]

Clutch fork movement sounds proper after your adjustment. Matches my experience. GL!

[metros]

What a day

[mikeb75]

!!!CONGRATS!!!

Your exhaust has an interesting sound, 'gonna be quite a sharp sound/bark I think.

[metros]

Clearly I've had a great weekend! Started it yesterday without any fires or leaks actually. Go-karted it for the first time today.

For now the seat is just zip tied in place as I'm having my tuner weld in some mounts while it's there.

Right now it's running a little rough. It won't idle and I need to keep feathering the throttle to keep it running. I anticipate the tune will be a major contributor there. Donor was said to be tuned on ecutek, however I never found an ecutek box while I tore the donor apart. I thought that when using ecutek to tune it had an add on box that stays in the car?

Either way, Mach V Motorsports will be tuning the car for me on accessport. I'm going to need to add in a muffler as this is just a bit loud for my tastes as is. Should take a lot of the rasp out of the exhaust note as well.

How do others typically do builds with new clutches that need a tune? Putt around to break in the clutch or go right to the tuner? Get a limp tune?

Video:


Earlier today I had to stop and take note of how good these wheels look on the go kart. Mach V Motorsports - 'awesome' on front and 'wicked awesome' on rear.


I'm measuring at 5" exactly from chassis to ground. That number seems in the correct neighborhood as other builders but feels really low after working on the car at 24" height from the dolly for so long.

[mikeb75]

You can use your AccessPort to raise your idle a few hundred to see if that helps. It's in the Tune -> Adjustment menus. (Just re-read your post, don't know if you have your AP yet... if not never mind

[C.Plavan]

Don't worry about the new clutch. You will be fine going straight to dyno. Congrats.

[Flamshackle]

Clearly I've had a great weekend! Started it yesterday without any fires or leaks actually. Go-karted it for the first time today.

congrats! wheels look great

[Tamra]

That's awesome!!! Congrats!!!

We went straight to the tuner followed by about 90 minutes of actual autocross racing the next month. Our clutch feels great and seems no worse for wear.

[metros]

That's re-assuring. I've given my tuner 2 options of what he prefers based on time to break in the clutch and/or adding a muffler to my exhaust system. I'm not sure how much difference that would make to a tune. Based on what Dan at Mach V says I'll take it for tuning/wing supports/seat mounts before vacation or in several weeks.

[STiPWRD]

Great videos! All the hard work has paid off, I can't wait to do the same in a few weeks. I made some good progress on the wiring this weekend but I'm still a solid 10-20 hours of loose ends away from firing it up. Btw, I got my windshield installed into the frame this weekend after calling 10 different shops, I finally found one that would do it, let me know if you need the info.

[metros]

Thanks, I'd love the info passed my way. Great way to save some time.

[Hindsight]

Big congrats on the first start!

[Frank818]

The beast is working!

5" of the ground in line with others? I thought no one went that high and more around 4.5"-4.75". I'll try as high as I can me too, but I don't know if 5" will be hard on the tie rod's ball joints if at full extension.

[JeromeS13]

Make sure you double check the ride height after you install your body panels. I found out the hard way, when I murdered my bumper pulling into my driveway for the very first time... Haha

[Frank818]

Final mounting:

Metros power, at what angle have you mounted the oil rad? I just needed to buy a new set for different reasons and the only place I can mount it is like yours, but at what angle compared to the 1.5" vertical tube it's welded on?

[metros]

I can take a look when I get home. I tried to replicate FFRspec's mounting position seen in this thread.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ion-post-yours

[Frank818]

Ha, I get it. And now that I look at those pix from that other thread I realize even more how crappy the venting is on that car. The side louvers let air in directly on the rear splash guard! That's far from an efficient setup. I'll have to fab my own "air redirect" plate (meaning more time before build completion). It seems the cooler will fit forward from the side louver, I mean the louver opening will not be directly on the cooler (judging by the pix), so there should be minimal direct airflow to the cooler. That's pretty sad but there aren't a ton of locations possible for a cooler, hey?

I have a better idea now, though, tnx.

[metros]

I wouldn't say the side opening will feed the cooler directly without additional ducting work. I do have the cooler positioned within reach of incoming air and with a strong auxiliary fan to pull air to it.

I could also enclose the cooler and duct air direct from the side scoop if necessary.

[metros]

I wouldn't say the side opening will feed the cooler directly without additional ducting work. I do have the cooler positioned within reach of incoming air and with a strong auxiliary fan to pull air to it.

I could also enclose the cooler and duct air direct from the side scoop if necessary.