Wednesday 30 June 2010

Exhaust hole

I've finished the hole in the side panel for the exhaust which required a little fettling on the lower edge to clear the downpipes. Here is how it looks now with the side panel on. The lambda sensor system also arrived this week. The sensor can be seen resting on the collector as I'm looking where best to position it.



I've started to consider how best to fix the side panels onto the chassis - rivets, sikaflex, rivnut inserts....
The exhaust can't be removed with the side panel permanently on and I don't want to make the exhaust hole any bigger in order to remove it in the future. Sikaflex may be the easiest method to fix the panels on but perhaps more permanent than rivets which can be easily drilled out although there'd be the rivet ends rattling about inside the chassis! Requires more thought....

There are some gaps where the panels fit to the top of the chassis in the cockpit area. I've tried using clamps to close the gap but it felt like too much force was needed and I don't want to stress the panels if there is another way. A possible solution round this would be to pack the gaps with something such as washers which were used by another Locostbuilder who encountered the same issue.

Sunday 27 June 2010

Exhaust system arrives

The exhaust system ordered from MK turned up this week. Minor annoyance that the lambda sensor boss I specifically requested wasn't present. In hindsight, this means I can locate the boss wherever I want, I'm thinking angled towards the car rather than straight up. I've not welded stainless before so I think this is another job for mate James!

I've offered up the manifold and made a template for the side panel cut-out. The side panel was then cut. I'll now need to figure out a how to make a suitable bracket for the silencer.


I've also ordered a Techedge 2J1 wideband system plus a stainless boss and bung from trigger wheels.



Wednesday 16 June 2010

under dash

I've fixed a section of aluminium onto the chassis in the area that will be underneath the scuttle. The fuse boxes and megasquirt will be mounted onto this.

I've already mounted the Megasquirt which arrived early this week from Extra EFI.



Saturday 5 June 2010

Steering Mod

I finished the steering modification to clear the oil filter a while ago and realised I've not published any pictures of the results so here goes:

oil leak continued...

The engine came out again today. The gearbox had to come off to find out where the oil leak was coming from. It turns out the sump was the culprit so I applied a little sump sealant in the joint and put the sump back on. The engine and gearbox are now back in the car. I'll put the oil back in next week to check that the leak has stopped.

I ordered a sheet of aluminium earlier this week to make a surface to mount the megasquirt and fuses to but this hasn't arrived yet.