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Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 166
Reg: 06-2008

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Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 01:36 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gavin - Had a look at that YouTube video -oops!

Aaron - Went with a Subaru blue, the one off the 2007 WRX STi. As you would have noticed with your car, it looks much better in real life than in the photos, but you get the idea anyway.
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 168
Reg: 06-2008

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - 09:03 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

OK, so Christmas has slowed progress a little on the car, but I have managed to achieve a couple of things.

The seat mounts are the next "important" thing (important because they'll be holding my backside in the car, more or less, and because the seat needs to be in position before I can do other things like steering column, switch panels and stuff), but they are being developed in a step-by-step process to make sure the angles and offsets are all OK. Because of that I'll go through the whole process later, when I can show each stage and the finished product.

Marking out for the removal of the rear guards has been done, but again I'll show that later once they've been removed.

Now that the interior has been painted I have been able to undertake the vital task of putting grommets in all the holes in the floorpan (you'd be amazed how scrutineers zero in on that) so that you can no longer see daylight through the floor. There are a couple of spots in the firewall that I didn't have grommets for (I could have sworn I removed all the grommets myself and placed every one of them in the same tin, so I'm buggered if I know how I ended up with holes without matching grommets...), but I can get them if required, and because the firewall will have various cables and things passing through it, I'm not too worried about it for the time being.

I have started work on mounting the window net, although because I originally bought it for a different car (the Celica), the design of the net is not exactly suited to my current needs, so I will have to modify it slightly. The net is the type that runs a spring-loaded bar across the top, and another solid bar across the bottom (which in the Celica was to be mounted on the horizontal side intrusion bar). Because the side intrusion bars on the Soarer are not horizontal, I'll be using straps to tie in the bottom of the net instead.

So when I say progress has been made on the window net, really only the top half of it has been sorted. The bottom half will have to wait. So here's some photos of the top mounting points. Fortunately they were able to be fixed to existing threaded mounts on the A- and B-pillars.

Here's the front (A-pillar) one, first from in front (looking from where the windscreen will be), and then from behind (or underneath, depending on how you hold your head):


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And here's the B-pillar one:


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The window net is now hanging in place (I put the bottom bar in temporarily to allow the net to hang straight in an effort to get some of the wrinkles out of it from its time in storage):


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And finally here it is roughly from the perspective of the driver:


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So that's about all there is to show for now. A few other bits and pieces have been done, but they are parts of a bigger picture, so will have to be described later on down the track.

Cheers,

Andrew
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 170
Reg: 06-2008

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Friday, January 09, 2009 - 02:04 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Finally got around to cutting the rear guards off last week. After placing the new fibreglass guard in position, I estimated where it would need to be fastened to the car, and then marked out the old guard for cutting accordingly. The solid lines in the photos are the cutting lines, and the dashed lines are where the cut edges will be folded back to 90-degrees to make the edges of the metal more rigid:


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Once the marking out had been done, I took to it with the angle grinder with a fine cutting wheel. Here are the cut off guards:


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I didn't expect to lose as much, but there's a good 5-10kg of weight in those removed guards, which I'm happy with as the fibreglass replacements are far less than that.

Here is what was left once I cut those guards off:


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As you can see, the inner guard has been trimmed back, and has perpendicular cuts in it to allow the edge to be folded up. The lower, outside parts of the wheel arches have been left in place for the new guard and side skirts to attach to. Here's how it looked like from inside:


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The next step will be to do all the folding back of those cut edges to stiffen them (a tedious process involving a few big shifting spanners and a hammer) and then to sort out the actual attachment of the new fibreglass guards onto the car. I'll get around to that some time next week. I'll also be writing up about the seat mounts and new steering column/shaft soon too.

Cheers,

Andrew
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
NSW
Soarer TT manual

Posts: 1156
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Friday, January 09, 2009 - 04:50 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Faaark! I bet that was a leap of faith...measure ten times and then double check?
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini

Posts: 24
Reg: 08-2008

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Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 06:14 am, by:  Michael McKellar (Mickmini) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Get some steel angle (of appropriate lengths) and clamp a piece each side of the metal you want to bend over. Once it is all clamped up you can bend the entire length in one go, and you end up with a nice neat fold line. This will also be a lot quicker relieving you of tedium!
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 171
Reg: 06-2008

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 11:39 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Ben Lipman wrote on Friday, January 09, 2009 - 04:50 pm:

measure ten times and then double check?


You better believe it. And then I still managed to mess it up on the driver's side by cutting straight through an area I was meant to keep to allow the new panel to attach...


Michael McKellar wrote on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 06:14 am:

steel angle (of appropriate lengths) and clamp a piece each side of the metal you want to bend


Copy that, will get onto it soon.

Things have been progressing with the seat mounts (more on that in another episode) and the steering column/shaft (more on that in another other episode).

Today we did a bit of fibre-glassing (insert my mate Bruce wiping the sweat off his brow and mumbling, "A bit of f.....g fibre-glassing, is he kidding?" And I know you can't reply Bruce, because you've lost your password). Yes, just a bit. There's still more to be done, but here are a couple of highlights:

The top (or outside) mold of the bonnet has been done. Next stage is to take a mold of the internal skeleton. Here's what it looks like:

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The underside of the boot lid skeleton has had the mold done. Next stage will be to crack that one off and make a new facsimile of the skeleton, which will then be attached to the outside shell of the boot lid that I've had for a while. Here's what the inside mold looks like:

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We also made a new part off the mold of the undertray that I had borrowed a few weeks ago. Remember the mold looked like this:

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The part we made today will be married up with the front bumper/spoiler assembly and trimmed to fit it properly. Once that's done a new mold will be made of it, and then new parts can be generated. Here's how the part looked when we took it off today (the excess material is still to be trimmed off):

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And this is a close-up of one of the venturi (is the plural of venturi venturi, or is it venturis? Venturies? English is such a complex language...) on the undertray:

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Work also started on the rear bumper today. In this photo, make note of the area where the number plate would normally go, the area directly underneath that, and the recesses for the exhaust outlets:

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Today the area at the bottom centre of the rear bumper was removed, which will eventually allow for the rear diffuser to pass through:


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Once that was done, we went to town on that recess for the number plate. I won't be running any plates on the race car of course, so there is no need to have the recess. Bruce made up a quite excellent batch of expanding foam, which well and truly filled the void. We may have mixed up just a little too much:


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It only took about 20 minutes to harden, allowing the excess to be sliced off with a knife:


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Then it was sanded back to the same (well, similar) profile of the bumper:


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We whacked a quick coat of resin and fine glass over it next. It will be finished off with a bit more glass and some bog, and then it'll be like new (after it is rubbed back and shaped). Once that's done, we'll chop out the excess foam from behind. Here it is as it now looks:

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The next step with the rear bumper will be to blank out those recesses for the exhaust (my exhaust will be running out the sides so those recesses are not necessary).

Oh, and we commenced stripping out a boat that is in for some repairs too...

So that's all for today. Hopefully there'll be a bit more fibreglass work done this week, along with some other bits and pieces at home in the garage.

Cheers,

Andrew
Aaron Casey
DieHard
nsw
'94 jzz30 gttl, 2 mini's one supercharged :-)

Posts: 814
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 09:50 pm, by:  Aaron Casey (Blownminiturbo) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

wow looking good it will be interesting to see how much exactly it will weigh when you are finished lol. yeah i know that blue that was one of my choices and i very sweet colour cant wait to see that all finished
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 172
Reg: 06-2008

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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 05:08 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Aaron Casey wrote on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 09:50 pm:

sweet colour cant wait to see that all finished


Neither can I!! The colour looks so good on the interior that I'm really pushing to get the fibreglassing done so that the exterior can be painted. It'll really start looking like a car then...
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Reg: 06-2008

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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 06:48 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Attention to Detail. The Small Things. The Nice Little Touches. Pride in One's Work. Sometimes you need to apply these qualities when building a race car. Toyota did it when they built the Soarer, so it is only reasonable that Toymax does it when building a Soarer Sports Sedan. "What the hell is he on about?" I hear you ask. Read on, and see if you can pick up on the Nice Little Touch.

The steering column/shaft was finished off and mostly installed today. I just need to have a couple of brackets made up for mounting it and it will be fully completed and ready to, um, steer.

This is what the original steering column looked like when it was removed. As you can see it was fairly bulky (it was about 6-7kg):


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The one thing that had to be either retained or replicated from the original column was the spline on the end that fitted into the universal joint near the firewall. This is it on the original column:


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The other end of the new column would have to marry up to this piece, which in turn has the removable steering wheel able to attach to it:


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And here is that same piece attached to the back of the steering wheel. Note also the size difference between the new wheel and the original Soarer wheel underneath it:


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The obvious choice for a new column was a simple single shaft arrangement (I don't need to adjust the tilt or anything fancy like that). That was reasonably easy to fabricate with a flange on the top end, and the original spline off the old column was cut off and joined to the new shaft (it wasn't just a cut 'n' shut, so don't try it at home kids). Here's what the new one looked like when it was done:


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You may be able to tell in those photos that the new bar is a bigger diameter than the old shaft (though it was much smaller than the bulk of the whole column). This was done to ensure strength and rigidity. The length of the shaft was determined by a truly scientific method (remember the seat is set back as far as possible, so the normal wheel position was too far forward). With the seat mounted in what will eventually be its final position, I sat there and held the steering wheel. The Handbrake then measured the gap between the back of the wheel and the start of the old shaft. It was as simple as x=a+b/c-d(f-g/i).

The plan is to attach the shaft to the car using a couple of spherical bearings. They will allow it to rotate easily, will last forever with such a light workload, and will allow for a little bit of height adjustment too:


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Running the single shaft as the new column did cause one slight issue. The rubber boot that attaches to the firewall and protects the universal joint on the steering column (as well as keeping debris and noise out of the cabin) no longer fitted the new shaft. Here is the boot in question:


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The inner diameter of that boot is 4", and the shaft diameter is 3/4". After a couple of ideas were bashed around as to how to remedy the big gap, a mate with a new business and a CNC mill provided the best outcome. The material in this photo is nylon, which is very solid (allowing it to be machined) and resists heat very well (he tested it with a heat gun and wasn't able to even soften it). In fact it is the same stuff they make the little brake pads on the back of skateboards out of. Anyway, he was able to mill a piece that would do the job for me:


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Now, that piece is perfectly satisfactory. It fits nicely, and will do the job very well. But whether he knows me well enough to know how truly pedantic I am, or whether he is just that way himself (actually it is a combination of both), that piece wasn't quite good enough for my mate with the mill. So here's what we're going with, and here is how it looks clamped up in that rubber boot:


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Chances are nobody will be able to see it, much less be able to read it, but it is a nice little touch nonetheless. Once he had milled it all I did was mixed up a bit of the paint from the interior (yes, that metallic WRX blue) and applied it using a really small paintbrush. It cured in no time in my external drying oven (it was 43-degrees here today after all).

My mate has an ABN now too, and is willing to have a go at creating anything. So if you have a Nice Little Touch idea of your own, let me know and I'll pass on his details.

The steering wheel attachment was fastened to the flange on the end of the new shaft, and then the spherical bearings and rubber boot were slid into place, and the whole thing was ready to be installed:


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The spline fit neatly back into place in the universal joint. I had marked the "top" of the shaft as the steering wheel only fits on in one position, and made sure the front wheels were pointing straight prior to fitting it:


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The rubber boot then slid down and was secured in place, and the whole thing held up with cable ties until I measure it up for the correct height of the two mounting brackets (one will attach to the firewall, one will utilise the dash bar on the roll cage):


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Then it was just a matter of test fitting the new steering wheel. Here it is:


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The final resting place and the angle of the photos are a bit deceiving, I do have lots of clearance between the wheel (and my hand) and the vertical bar on the roll cage.

The centre of the steering wheel is yet to be finished off too. I already have an idea for another Nice Little Touch there, but you'll just have to wait on that one...

Cheers,

Andrew
Aaron Casey
DieHard
nsw
'94 jzz30 gttl, 2 mini's one supercharged :-)

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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 07:17 pm, by:  Aaron Casey (Blownminiturbo) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

omg there is alot of effort and engineering going into this.. its great to see people try do it right... lol and gives other people ideas and incentive to do it themselves. keep up the good work hopefully when you get it going everything works perfect...
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 174
Reg: 06-2008

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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 08:03 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Aaron Casey wrote on Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 07:17 pm:

hopefully when you get it going everything works perfect...


I hope so too! And yep, there is a fair amount of effort going into it...
Phil Gibson
Goo Roo
WA
'91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31

Posts: 1354
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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 11:59 pm, by:  Phil Gibson (Sciflyer) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Aaron Casey wrote on Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 07:17 pm:

gives other people ideas and incentive to do it themselves.




Certainly does, reminds me that ive got the electric adjustment on mine so i really should see if i can fix the wheel in position and get rid of all the motors and weight in it (obviously a lot!)

Nice work Andrew :-)
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 175
Reg: 06-2008

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Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 07:10 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks Phil. Hey, how do you get the borders around the photos in your thread, or is it a trade secret?
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

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Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 10:12 pm, by:  Peter Nitschke (Pen) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Andrew, the borders are from using the Thumbnail option to another host site, rather than uploading the pic here.

I much prefer if the pics are uploaded here though, as if they are ever removed from the host site, the whole thread tends to look a bit useless.
Phil Gibson
Goo Roo
WA
'91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31

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Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 10:40 pm, by:  Phil Gibson (Sciflyer) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Good point, but i often use the pics elsewhere so i just find it easier to use links
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 176
Reg: 06-2008

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Monday, January 19, 2009 - 01:55 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

OK, thanks both of you. I've got nowhere else to use the pics, so I'll just keep doing it the way I have been. I just thought yours looked nice with the borders Phil!
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

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Monday, January 19, 2009 - 02:41 pm, by:  Peter Nitschke (Pen) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Most pic editing programs allow a border to be added. (I think).
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 178
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Monday, January 19, 2009 - 06:32 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Nah, too much effort! Just thought it might have been something I was missing about the site.
Bruce Stevens
Newbie
NSW
Landcruiser 80 series

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 03:00 pm, by:  Bruce Stevens (Rein4cer) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Andrew McKellar wrote on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 11:39 pm:

Today we did a bit of fibre-glassing (insert my mate Bruce wiping the sweat off his brow and mumbling, "A bit of f.....g fibre-glassing, is he kidding?" And I know you can't reply Bruce, because you've lost your password).


Yess Andrew, I've been able to re set my password, so I'll be watching from now on!
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 03:41 pm, by:  Peter Nitschke (Pen) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Good work Bruce!

And welcome!
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 02:58 am, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes, welcome Bruce.

Everybody, this is Bruce. He is Da Man when it comes to fibreglass stuff. He has a mountain of knowledge and expertise, and is always willing to share it. And being as though that's what he does for a living, all you have to do is pay for it.

Bruce is, naturally, the Toymax team member responsible for all the fibreglass on the Soarer. Part of the deal is that I help him out in the workshop, which I enjoy. Yesterday we spent the whole day working on the ruined transom of a boat. Today we might get a chance to do some car parts as well. Maybe.
Ben Socratous
Goo Roo
SA
I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 07:33 am, by:  Ben Socratous (Socrates) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Andrew McKellar wrote on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 02:58 am:

Yesterday we spent the whole day working on the ruined transom of a boat.


Funny that, boat building/repair is where I learnt the tricks of the trade too! I've just moved back in with mum for a while, so have no where to work atm, plus mum seems to have an issue with me wanting to remove all the food from the freezers to house a few rolls of pre-preg :-( ahahaha
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 07:41 am, by:  Michael McKellar (Mickmini) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Andrew McKellar wrote on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 02:58 am:

Part of the deal is that I help him out in the workshop, which I enjoy.




You sure it is not the styrene fumes you enjoy?? Maybe it is just working in the hot workshop in coveralls that is scrambling your senses!

Nice work there on the fibreglassing and steering wheel. keep it up and i might just go and polish my car (next job to do) when the temp gets above 2 deg in the garage.
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 08:49 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Oh yeah, it's the fumes I enjoy...

We did a bit more today, mostly on that confounded boat. But in between layers we were able to do a couple of "car" things.

Work continues on the rear bumper. The number plate depression has been filled and sanded a couple of times, but we're going to mount it onto the car to do the final rubbing back, so that the final shaping happens when it is sitting correctly in position. Here's what it looks like now:


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Bruce also went nuts again with the expanding foam. He really loves it. I swear it is the whole reason he is in that industry. This time we filled the exhaust outlets in the rear bumper. Here it is with the familiar "too much foam again" look:


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And here's how they looked after a bit of cutting and sanding:


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They'll next cop the same treatment as the number plate depression - glass, fill, rubbing back, etc.

We also trimmed up the front undertray today, and sized it up in comparison with the front bumper assembly. Looks like it will go together with not too much alteration. No photos of it yet, sorry. We'll work on it again next week to match the two parts up, and then we'll throw it up on the car to make sure everything clears OK.

We also added a bit more glass to the bonnet mold today.

So there was some progress. Coming soon: the brackets are being made up for mounting the steering column, planning out the fuel system and running the lines, and photos of Bruce's plumber's crack when his paper overalls split very unfashionably.

Cheers,

Andrew
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 185
Reg: 06-2008

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Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 09:02 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

BTW for those who may have missed it in the For Sale section, I'm going in on a group buy for on board fire extinguisher systems, and a general invitation is extended to Soarer Central members to also get these units at a reduced cost. The units are really designed for track cars, not road cars, and you can see the details here:

http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/messages/292/276627.html?1232358998

Cheers,

Andrew
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 187
Reg: 06-2008

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Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 07:18 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

In the immortal words of the Rolling Stones: "I see a line of cars and they're all painted black".

I wasn't going to do anything on the car today, but seeing as though everyone else around here was enjoying a lazy, do nothing type of long weekend Sunday, I took the opportunity to tidy up a couple of things that had been bugging me.

First up, I took care of all the folding of the edges of the rear guards, and then I had to deal with my paranoia about rust again. I didn't want to leave where I had cut them exposed, so I set about priming and painting them. My paranoia about rust was only outweighed by my paranoia of overspray, as you can seen in the photos:


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And here it is unmasked:


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And just to show you that I did do both sides of the car:


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And some closer shots of the leading and trailing edges of the guard:


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Of course all the areas I have painted won't be seen once the fibreglass panel is in place, but I had to take car of the bare metal, and I didn't want to leave it just with primer on either. And I didn't see a point to painting it in that beautiful metallic blue colour either, when you won't be able to see it in the end. So black was it.

And while I was at it I took car of a couple of places in the engine bay that needed priming and painting too:


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Doesn't look like much overall, but there was a few hours work in it today. I've been promised the whole day on Tuesday to work on the car. I'll wait and see on that one, but seeing as though I've made up a list of "immediate" things to do on the car in the next two weeks, and seeing as though there are 36 things on that list (well, 35 after today), a couple of whole days on the car might be good...

Cheers,

Andrew
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini

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Monday, January 26, 2009 - 09:01 am, by:  Michael McKellar (Mickmini) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Howcome there is not a little tab for screwing th fibreglass panel under the RH side window as per the LH one?

sorry if that spoils your fun....

otherwise looking good
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Monday, January 26, 2009 - 10:52 am, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

See, you thought you were being a clever trained observer, but in fact you have failed at the first hurdle:

Andrew McKellar wrote on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 11:39 pm:

And then I still managed to mess it up on the driver's side by cutting straight through an area I was meant to keep to allow the new panel to attach...


It pays to read everything, yes?

But, as it happens, it won't make any difference now anyway. The fasteners I will be using won't require those tabs - the panel will be able to be fastened pretty much anywhere onto the existing metal. I'm taking the car down to the factory some time soon, where I will put the rear panels on for fit and figure out where the fasteners will go.
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini

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Monday, January 26, 2009 - 06:15 pm, by:  Michael McKellar (Mickmini) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

oh, i only look at the pictures you know
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Monday, January 26, 2009 - 07:56 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You are an engineer...
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 12:00 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Well the "whole day" Tuesday turned out to be "a bit of the afternoon and some of the evening", but I got a few fiddly bits started.

The diff is now all back together, full of oil and ready to be put back in the car.

I have started work on the dash board:


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And I roughed out the run for the fuel lines and other fuel components. I just need about $350 worth of connectors and braided line, and it'll be able to be completed:


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I also picked up a few of the bits and pieces I'll need for the switch panel, although there's still more to get so I'll talk about that another time. I'm hoping to put a few more hours into it tonight, then its off to the fibreglass workshop again tomorrow.

Cheers,

Andrew
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini

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Friday, February 06, 2009 - 07:42 am, by:  Michael McKellar (Mickmini) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Anything you need, you might be able to get for less here if you have someone in Melbourne to pick it up ...
http://shop.ebay.com.au/merchant/britekmotorsport_W0QQQ5ftrkparmsZ66Q253A2Q257C65Q253A1Q257C39Q253A1 QQ_ipgZ200QQ_trksidZp3911Q2ec0Q2em14
Aaron Casey
DieHard
nsw
'94 jzz30 gttl, 2 mini's one supercharged :-)

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Friday, February 06, 2009 - 04:43 pm, by:  Aaron Casey (Blownminiturbo) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

wow that is alot of stuff there..
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

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Friday, February 06, 2009 - 06:21 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, 3000 items takes up a lot of ebay space! There's a few things of interest to me in there, but with the current Soarer bank balance resting comfortably at $0, I guess I'll miss out on some bargains!

I'll put another post up by the end of the weekend with details, but all I've done for the past week is fibreglassing, fibreglassing and, well, fibreglassing.

I have roughed out a bit of a plan for the switch panel too, which will be mounted on the transmission tunnel adjacent to the driver's seat:

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More soon.

Cheers,

Andrew
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 201
Reg: 06-2008

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Monday, February 09, 2009 - 03:34 am, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

As previously mentioned Bruce and I got a fair whack of fibreglassing done last week. A bit of it was even stuff for the car! We finished off the bonnet mold and cracked the original bonnet out, and we're now preparing the inside of the bonnet so we can take a mold of the inner skeleton. When the fibreglass bonnet is made, it will be married up with the fibreglass inner skeleton so that it maintains its rigid shape. Here's how the mold looked when we got the bonnet out:

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We did some more on the rear bumper, with the exhaust gaps now glassed over and ready for the filling/sanding fun:

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And a bit of time was spent marrying up the front bumper/spoiler with the new front undertray. It has been roughly put together for now, allowing me to bring it home and put on the car to ensure everything will fit with adequate clearances. More on that in a minute, but here's what it looked like when we started roughing it together:


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That's about all fibreglassingly speaking, except that we also added a bit more to the inside mold for the boot lid. This week we'll add a frame to that and it'll be ready to come off the boot lid.

And so on to the weekend. Saturday - did nothing, too hot. Then read about Ben's efforts on his car in the heat, and felt inspired. But not inspired enough to plan to do anything Sunday (that was supposed to be a hotter day, after all). The only thing on the schedule was for the front bar/undertray to be fitted to ensure clearances, with dad coming over to check it too - another pair of eyes helps when thinking about how to attach it to the car to maintain strength but also be quickly removable. Dad was coming over early, so I headed out to the garage in the morning to tinker until he got there. By the time he arrived just after 4pm I had achieved a couple more things than intended, and had sweated a couple of litres.

I fiddled around with the design of the subframe to mount the dash board, discovering that my excellent design skills had ensured that the back part of the dash cover would actually be sitting above the level of the front windscreen. Not good, obviously. I spent a bit of time rectifying that, and now just have to redraw the plan with the new dimensions and it'll be right to make up and install.

I ran the return line for the fuel system, which will be a solid pipe for the most part. I had lots of trouble getting it to bend in the right places without kinking when going up over the diff. area and into the boot, so I made the executive decision to cut it short and run hose over the complicated bits. The same thing will happen at the front end, so it'll get the same treatment. The pipe runs up through the back of the front guard, so I'm going to fit a stone guard over it just to be sure it won't get damaged:


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I also ran all the wiring from the rear end of the car, so the tail lights, brake lights, rain light and both fuel pumps are taken care of. I used cabling that I stripped out of original looms, but had to join things in various places as some wiring normally goes through things like lamp out indicator boxes, which I don't need. I dummied up the wiring to a battery and tested the brake lights and tail lights, with all working fine.

Then we got onto the front bumper. It fits really well, and with the undertray still clears everything it is meant to. And the undertray does add to it. Here's a comparison of the bar mounted without the undertray, and later on with it (apologies for the poor photo quality):


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I also mounted the front lights (I'm using the high beams only) so that I could ensure the front bar will clear them adequately. The lights are mounted to the front subframe, not the bar like normal. This will allow quick removal of the front bar without the hassle of unplugging lights. Here's how it looked mocked up at the front, showing where the undertray sits:


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And here's how the front end looked originally, a couple of months ago and now:


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I started to get a bit excited with how the front end is going to look, so I also then wired up those front lights. Not content with seeing wires hanging around the front of the engine bay, I ran them through the inside of the framework of the front and the channel under the front guard. It was fiddly and took a little time, but they're now invisible. And of course I couldn't help myself, and it was starting to get dark and all:


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And that's about when the trusty Ford Territory decided to break down, so the rest of the evening my attention was diverted. Still, I hadn't planned to do anything on the car on Sunday anyway - too damned hot...

Cheers,

Andrew
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini

Posts: 31
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Monday, February 09, 2009 - 08:02 am, by:  Michael McKellar (Mickmini) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

looks good.

off topic - here is a couple of pics of my new sponsor stickers on the Mini. I have to give them a plug.

ERG = Emerson Race Gear available from Speedzone in Greenacre (also known as R+R Speedsports).

The Mini Experience Magazine, available in good newsagents and by subscription. You can read all about my adventures in the Netherlands.



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I am waiting for some roll bar padding to arrive and some studs for the wiper motor, and I should be able to get to a slalom next weekend!

michael
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 202
Reg: 06-2008

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Monday, February 09, 2009 - 08:55 am, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Paint the inside of those guards will you, they look terrible. I've PM'd you about your sponsors - they should provide support to a Soarer now that you've plastered their name all over a Soarer site.
Cameron Laufer
DieHard
Queensland
T

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Monday, February 09, 2009 - 03:01 pm, by:  Cameron Laufer (Ivboost) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Andrew would you mind sharing with me the Colour code of that blue, I would not mind playing with that colour form my car, I love it
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 203
Reg: 06-2008

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Monday, February 09, 2009 - 08:50 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

No problem Cameron, Just send a stamped, self addressed envelope and $10,000 to me care of Soarer Central and it is yours. That's about what I need to get the thing on the track where people will actually see the colour...

Only kidding, I'll PM you.
Peter Svehla
Newbie
NSW
CBR

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Friday, February 13, 2009 - 06:38 pm, by:  Peter Svehla (Cpd) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hey Andrew,

I've just become unemployed for a couple of weeks, so if you need a hand with anything, give us a yell.

Keep up the good work,
Pete.
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 207
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Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 10:29 am, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Perfect timing Pete! I've been off for the past few weeks and start back to work on Monday...

Will get you to come around though, so we can get some wiring work done for the relays and the Motec. I'll give you a call.
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 208
Reg: 06-2008

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Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 07:35 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Geez, I post a lot of photos, don't I? It may almost be worth adding a couple of minor posts, just to get to that magic "45" number for automatic archiving. But I'm not that kind of person.

So, in the last week we (and by we I mean Fibreglass Master Bruce and I) have finished the external bonnet mold, cracked the boot lid out of its new mold (that caused a bit of trouble when some pesky gel-coat and resin stuck into bits it wasn't supposed to, and then the mold stuck tight), and made a few more modifications to the front spoiler/bumper/undertray.

There's more to come on all those fronts (including we're adding some more spread to the front spoiler - but only to the maximum the rules will allow, which I know you'll like Michael), and for the time being there's no photos.

So that's all I have for now, on the fibreglass front.
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 209
Reg: 06-2008

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Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 07:41 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I also spent a fair amount of time this week preparing and painting the roof and C-pillars which turned out, quite frankly, pretty damned sh1thouse. The colour is a perfect match, and went on really well. The clear coat, however, was very disappointing. I mean, it looks OK, and I'd get away with it without most people noticing anything wrong, but I've rubbed it all back and it is going into the booth on Thursday to be redone anyway. I'm trying to get it into my head that it is a race car and not a show car, but I just know that once the other body panels are done, the roof just won't compare, so I may as well get it sorted now. I hate being so anal.

Sorry no photos yet - I'm going to wait until it is done properly.
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.

Posts: 210
Reg: 06-2008

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Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 08:07 pm, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I also spent a bit of time this week putting the engine and gearbox together, and then throwing them into the car to check for fitment of a few things.

Here is the engine and gearbox together (the engine is still wrapped up as the spark plugs are still out and the sump is still missing, and I don't want any crap to enter the engine in either of those areas):


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When I dropped the assembly into the car, I noticed a few things:

1. There is lots of room in front of the engine to allow for a bigger radiator and coolers.

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2. The engine sits a long way back in the car - No. 1 & 2 cylinders are lined up with the front suspension towers - which will help with overall balance of the car (I guess I never really noticed that when looking at all the pollution gear and other stuff in the engine bay of the road car).

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3. The engine mounts are offset, meaning I can swap them around and the engine will be a further 50mm or so rearwards - every bit helps, and there is enough clearance at the firewall to do it.

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4. The front of the gearbox/bell housing fits nicely.

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5. The rear end of the gearbox is way short of the mark compared to the original auto box ( that's the universal joint of the prop shaft you can see through the hole in the transmission tunnel in the 2nd photo). I have a fair idea how to fix things so I can still utilise the original cross-member, but I will definitely need a remote shift kit and will still probably have to bend the gear stick to be able to reach it, now that the seat is so far back in the car. Unless someone out there has already remedied this problem...

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I also spent a little time today cutting and bending aluminium to make up the rest of the dashboard. More on that at a later date.

Cheers,

Andrew
Andrew Meiers
Goo Roo
Victoria
TT

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Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 10:26 pm, by:  Andrew Meiers (Acmtt) Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What car was the gearbox from. The jza70 has a forward shifter position, so you can buy the parts to make it a jzz30 shifter, the more rear shifter. You can also swap the rear extension housing of the late model r154 . Its the remote shifter setup , same as the getrag and late model w58's. I don't know if these other two interchange though.

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