691 replies to this topic

[KTS]

..you could always leave the decision on what to do with the bonnet 'til after the car is painted, and see whether the bare carbon fibre look works. if it's not to your liking, you could then opt for the carbon fibre stripes look, and if that doesn't work, get them to blow over the edges for the fully painted look

 

down side is that it's likely to add some cost doing it this way (..as opposed to getting it painted with the shell)

 

the blue and white (silver) engine colour scheme should work really well with red

[alchall]

..you could always leave the decision on what to do with the bonnet 'til after the car is painted, and see whether the bare carbon fibre look works. if it's not to your liking, you could then opt for the carbon fibre stripes look, and if that doesn't work, get them to blow over the edges for the fully painted look

 

down side is that it's likely to add some cost doing it this way (..as opposed to getting it painted with the shell)

 

the blue and white (silver) engine colour scheme should work really well with red

 

This may be the route I take, got some time to consider it yet though....

[alchall]

About time for an update!

 

So while I was waiting for the loom to return I decided to try my hand at some zinc plating, there's a few parts that need a clean up that are either unavailable or expensive to buy so thought I'd be best serviced getting a small kit, there's a few places that sell them, I went for a kit from Gateros plating and bought a power supply from amazon.

 

So after a quick test I tried it out on some actual parts, a pin from the brake assembly and a hook from the heater, one in gold the other silver passivate....

 

 

The hook doesn't look right on the photo but it's actually good.

 

Next up the 4 main bolts that hold the diff housing on, I couldn't get replacements for these so I had cleaned them up but they'd started to rust, now looking good...

 

 

Then onto brackets for the lower engine steadies, one was fine, one was badly plated and the other I had to adjust so I could fit both front and rear racing steadies. So the latter two got cleaned up and plated and then fitted....

 

 

Also finished up the riv nuts and trial fitted the grille, looks good!

 

 

I'm now a bit undecided on breathing for the crank case, I was going to run it into the catch can with the other two but am a bit concerned that this could be a bit restrictive, so for now I've fitted a new breather to which I can fit a filter to keep this separate (more on this to follow further down). Anyway, both are still options, I had to adjust my U bend a little though as it was in the way, but it's good now....

 

 

While I was at hose adjustments I adjusted the oil drain hose so it's not so close to the timing belt, I had to add in about 1.5cm here, already had an unused adapter and some spare off cuts of hose. Also fitted the radiator bottom hose so the snake is complete....

 

 

And adjusted the oil drain hoses from the rear of the head as they were too close to the exhaust headers....

 

 

So some more interesting pictures, got my loom back from David (Wired by Wilson), he's done a fantastic job for me, this all now fits perfectly and has all the extra bells and whistles I need.

 

As a result it was time for the final test fit, so here it is.....

 

 

 

 

Happily the cross member mod I did works nicely, I've room here to pull the engine back a little now if I need to, as it's quite close at the front, but all my adjustments in the engine bay have worked out well.

 

You can also see my breather filter poking out, not quite sure yet where best to route this!

 

 

 

 

So that's it for now, turning my attention to the vacuum pump next, need to work out where to mount the pressure switch and the reservoir, think I can see how this will work now. Also looking at the wiring behind the dash and mounting the ECU, I can now see how this will work too.

 

Bonnet should also be here very soon so will be test fitting that and fitting the bonnet pins (not looking forward to drilling holes for those!!

[72hump]

Alright mate, anymore updates?

[alchall]

Progress a little on the slow side but here's a snippet or two!

 

New bonnet arrived, it's great but doesn't quite fit, the front doesn't have the correct profile so it won't fully close so it's back with the guys to rectify which they think they can do.

 

Looks nice at a glance....

 

 

But as you can see the curve isn't right, the chrome lip shows how it is out so the lip itself crashes into the top of the front panel and it's about 10mm short of fully closing....

 

 

Also got my new dash and centre console which I've started to put in place to test fit, something not quite right here also as it won't go flush in at each end, this is a top dash rail issue rather than the dash itself, not worked out quite what's going on yet though.

 

Here it is built up and ready to go (was missing the vents in the console at that point but I now have them)....

 

 

And is it sits right now in the car....

 

 

Having refurbed my heater I then decided to look for an MPI twin speeder, found a really nice one on eBay so that's with me too now but no pics for now.....

[72hump]

Progress a little on the slow side but here's a snippet or two!
 
New bonnet arrived, it's great but doesn't quite fit, the front doesn't have the correct profile so it won't fully close so it's back with the guys to rectify which they think they can do.
 
Looks nice at a glance....
 

 
But as you can see the curve isn't right, the chrome lip shows how it is out so the lip itself crashes into the top of the front panel and it's about 10mm short of fully closing....
 

 
Also got my new dash and centre console which I've started to put in place to test fit, something not quite right here also as it won't go flush in at each end, this is a top dash rail issue rather than the dash itself, not worked out quite what's going on yet though.
 
Here it is built up and ready to go (was missing the vents in the console at that point but I now have them)....
 

 
And is it sits right now in the car....
 

 
Having refurbed my heater I then decided to look for an MPI twin speeder, found a really nice one on eBay so that's with me too now but no pics for now.....

Looking superb mate, the work Nick and Ben do at the Carbon Weezel, is first class. I opted to fit a small heater that's commonly used in VW campers, takes up less room.

[johnR]

Looking good - you had better luck with the zinc plating than I did - I gave up in the end and get mine done by a local company.

[alchall]

Looking superb mate, the work Nick and Ben do at the Carbon Weezel, is first class. I opted to fit a small heater that's commonly used in VW campers, takes up less room.

Agreed, I’ve got a few parts from them and they’re all great quality and I didn’t have to pay a premium for my bespoke radiator bracket. They’ve been really quick to get me sorted with the problem with the bonnet too which is all you can really ask for!

[alchall]

Looking good - you had better luck with the zinc plating than I did - I gave up in the end and get mine done by a local company.

It does seem a bit hit and miss and I have had to re-do a couple of parts, getting the adjustable power supply helps a lot as long as you get your maths right ?

[johnR]

I found using a fishtank heater helped as the solution seems to need to be kept at a stable temperature.

[bdean]

 
More bits and bobs coming through now so I can do some final test fitting, ordered a custom dash and centre console from Optimise Automotive so I can work out what space I have behind it for ECU etc

How do you fit your speedo to the Optimise binnacle? I have the same but the Optimise binnacle is not as deep as the original nor recessed for the white tubes the stick out further than the speedo face. I’m assuming I can just cut them down to make them flush with the front of the speedo?

[alchall]

I found using a fishtank heater helped as the solution seems to need to be kept at a stable temperature.

 Yes I have a small fish tank heater and it does help, especially when the ambient temperature is cold.

[alchall]

 

 
More bits and bobs coming through now so I can do some final test fitting, ordered a custom dash and centre console from Optimise Automotive so I can work out what space I have behind it for ECU etc

How do you fit your speedo to the Optimise binnacle? I have the same but the Optimise binnacle is not as deep as the original nor recessed for the white tubes the stick out further than the speedo face. I’m assuming I can just cut them down to make them flush with the front of the speedo?

 

 

It is a different type of profile to the originals and you have to cut those white tubes back so they're flush with the front edge of the screw mounting points then they will fit up against the back of the binnacle, I may run some tape or sealant around them eventually to maximise the light that gets to the green indicator lamps.

[72hump]

A quick question mate, where did you get your injectors from?

[alchall]

A quick question mate, where did you get your injectors from?

 

Funnily enough you're the second person to ask me this in the past day!

 

I deliberated for some time about what to get and where from and decided it was a bit of a minefield so in the end I got them from SC, they were expensive but at least I can be sure that they're a good match, somebody with some better knowledge may be able to give you some good advice about what alternatives would work for less outlay.