The Red Green Machine

[greenMachine]

Progress is happening.

Car is ready to go back on the ground. Fixed the dodgy cold side elbow below the RB bar, where the pipe had to be moved back to make way for the RB brace. Eventually it will have to be welded up, but later. I have to dig out my alternator, because Chris the Autronic guru is coming up to tweak the software so it can control the standard alternator. To give better access, the radiator will be left out. The new fittings and hose for the oil cooler are installed, ready for connection.

Bushes have been greased, still waiting on the caps though. Wiring for the oil temp and pressure installed.

Dann, your airbox is a b****d to access the filter. Too hard for an old fart! So, I took the angle grinder to it .

It now sports a big 'ole on the top. Rivnuts will be inserted in the perimeter of the said 'ole, and a hugely expensive slab of solid electricity will be bolted down to reseal it, but also to provide easy access to maintain the filter. With my dusty access road, that is a must. Photos of the Red GreenMachine Ezy-access Mod will be available in due course, subject to payment of the usual fee of course.

Now, to get that jack out, and get the rubber back on the ground ...

[Roadrunner]

Dann, your airbox is a b****d to access the filter. Too hard for an old fart! So, I took the angle grinder to it .

Yep I agree, but I can see why it's made the way it is. In due course I'll be taking a grinder to mine as well leaving a 1 inch lip, insert some riv-nuts and cut/bend a new lid for it DDMWorks style

[ManiacLachy]

Dann, your airbox is a b****d to access the filter. Too hard for an old fart! So, I took the angle grinder to it .

Yep I agree, but I can see why it's made the way it is. In due course I'll be taking a grinder to mine as well leaving a 1 inch lip, insert some riv-nuts and cut/bend a new lid for it DDMWorks style

I think mine was an early one so the design might be different, but it wasn't too bad to get to. Less painful than I had anticipated even. Hardest part was the bolt at the front shared by the power steering fluid.

[KevGoat]

Dann, your airbox is a b****d to access the filter. Too hard for an old fart! So, I took the angle grinder to it .

Yep I agree, but I can see why it's made the way it is. In due course I'll be taking a grinder to mine as well leaving a 1 inch lip, insert some riv-nuts and cut/bend a new lid for it DDMWorks style

The BEGi CAI I fitted had the same problem. I left a lip for some rigidity, ground the welds smooth and cut/bent a new lid to fit. I placed riv-nuts around the side edges. Filter is easy to access now. Here's a few images ...

[greenMachine]

Ooops, made a mistake with the dimensions, and the new cover is just a tidge too small. I could make it work, but it is simpler and better to redo it.

On another note, I spoke to the filter people when it looked problematic that I could get the foam filter off without damage, or making it impossible to seal after putting it back on. They confirmed that on these filters the foam filter is not removable, it needs to be cleaned in situ, Glad I checked. I ordered their cleaning and oiling brews, I think they were in my mailbox before I had shut down the computer - very speedy service!

ML, mine is similar, it is possible but a pain in the bum. Getting the bolts in is part of it, but the other is just manoeuvring it past all the stuff that is in the way, unplugging and disconnecting plumbing and wiring, it is just simpler to bypass all that with a removable lid on the top. I have made matters worse because I have the catch can venting in there as well. On the up side I will also use the exercise to properly secure the three relays that are inelegantly mounted in there too.



On preview: That is a big filter Kev! I like your approach, I think I will have a second look at the way I was proposing to do it, and may incorporate some of your ideas.

[Roadrunner]

Dann, your airbox is a b****d to access the filter. Too hard for an old fart! So, I took the angle grinder to it .

Yep I agree, but I can see why it's made the way it is. In due course I'll be taking a grinder to mine as well leaving a 1 inch lip, insert some riv-nuts and cut/bend a new lid for it DDMWorks style

The BEGi CAI I fitted had the same problem. I left a lip for some rigidity, ground the welds smooth and cut/bent a new lid to fit. I placed riv-nuts around the side edges. Filter is easy to access now. Here's a few images ...

That is exactly what I plan to do. Nice job!

[greenMachine]

Grease nipple dust covers, it will be interesting to see how the ones on the bottom inners fare on my dusty stony road ...


Airbox modz:
catchcan breather venting to airbox/intake, of course


Good access to air filter, you can also see the bracket for the three displaced relays.

[SKYHI]

Good job. I had a quick look at my Nitro Dann airbox this week and it doesn't look like a 5 minute job to get to the filter, so I've left until after this weeks Time Attack event.

[greenMachine]

Took the driver's side oil drain off this afternoon. It is part of the catchtank setup, which I have replaced (see earlier posts). Two little allen head bolts, the front one is easy, the rear one fiddly as hell, if I hadn't already taken the radiator out I am not sure how I would have got to the back one. I have made up a little blanking plate to replace the fitting. Interesting, there is a post on MT.net that shows a pipe inside the sump running at an angle back from this fitting towards the rear of the sump, so clearly there is an issue here with oil clearing the drain.

Also progressed sheathing the sensor cabling for the oil temp and pressure sensors. They will run back from the radiator filler area along the side and across to the ECU in the passenger footwell.

I am not happy with my first attempt at re-oiling the air filter - maybe I should have read the instructions first, but hey that's for girls, right? I am going to clean and re-oil it the way I should have done it first time and see how that turns out. The problem this time was the end, which proved difficult to compress sufficiently to squeeze out the oil.

If I still have a problem doing it as per the instructions, Uniflow have told me they can make me a 'stubby holder' filter sock to fit over the current filter, which I would leave dry, or perhaps remove altogether. Being able to remove the 'sock' would greatly simplify the cleaning process.

[KevGoat]

First time I cleaned and re oiled my uni-filter it all looked pretty straight forward so why bother with instructions? After cleaning it I got rather frustrated with how hard it was to work the oil through. Later reading showed me I was supposed to warm the oil first ....

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[greenMachine]

These two photos show my final arrangement for the sealing of the upper front of the inlet volume.

Don't do it this way. When I went to test fit the nosecone, it would not fit. There is insufficient clearance at the outside extremities, beside the corner of the headlights (only the two outside pieces, the centre one is fine).

Fortunately, all I had to do was turn the aluminium angle around so the corner was lower and closer to the radiator, basically turning it upside down. Plenty of clearance now!!

Car is sitting on the trailer now (thanks Peter ), ready for the finishing touches.

I should have checked the spring seat height on the race shockies against the road ones I took out of the GM: pretty clear it is too low for my dirt track!

[greenMachine]

Car is back from the tuner, new I/C piping on the cold side, shift light and ECU plug for the Solo2DL. The Solo is mounted from a RAM mount glued behind the rear vision mirror. It is well out of my line of sight, good and bad ... won't obstruct vision, but on-track checking of lap times will be a bit awkward, and we all know where that can lead us, don't we Bryan ....

The shift light is another possible vision problem, it is mounted on the shroud just behind the steering wheel, fine for road use (if you actually used it on the road), but when the race seat goes in, I am pretty sure it will be at least partly obscured as a result of my low eye line. That will be an easy fix though, if it proves necessary.

The piping was one of those things, first you start out with a new TB (Skunk in this case), that requires a new adapter, and then when the RB ARB brace is installed the stock IC piping will not fit ... end result is a mishmash of joiners, clamps etc, a real dogs breakfast.

The new piping is one piece from the IC, and (naturally ) takes a different route. So all my ducting on that side is being redone now - the upside is that with more practice with the tinsnips it is looking just slightly more professional.

The real trick is reusing the stock undertray , this has required major surgery to that area, the whole RF corner has been cut away, part is being reused above the IC piping, and new sealing plates are being made to fill in new air bypasses to ensure no air can escape the radiator. Oh, and the SE undertray has been tossed, most of it anyway after yielding up sections to use as template for making the NB one fit. Those pieces will be carefully stored away for future use, as I suspect the undertray is going to be a consumable on my road.

I am not confident that the ride height is high enough, so I will add a bit more in, to ensure I don't undo all my work on the undertray and ducting the first time I drive out my gravel road.

Pictures to come, just too busy to take them today, hopefully tomorrow.

[Daffy]

Looking forward to the pics mate . I really got to look into resurrecting my undertray- I’m keen to see how you get yours sorted

[greenMachine]

Pictures to come ...

Piccies!


My old SE undertray was toast, so it was sacrificed as a template. This photo shows the modified NB undertray (ex-GM Mk1, so a little second-hand ) with the RHS cutout for the new intercooler piping, and the amputated piece which is reused above the IC pipe. It also shows some of the butchery to the lower front edge of the NB undertray, to reproduce the SE pattern allowing the SE ducting under the IC to mate up.


This photo shows the undertray in place, and the blanking plate to prevent incoming air to exit through the inside of the curved IC pipe ...



... and the amputated section of the undertray. I decided to cut this off, as it looked like it would break off anyway.



The last-but-one section in place (much nicer than the bit it replaced ).


Front view. The gap will be sealed with a piece of plastic angle. Also shown is the plate that will seal against the bulkhead in the nosecone. Aluminium tape and Clark rubber adhesive-backed sealing strips are the order of the day for final sealing. I'd better straighten that clamp, I never noticed it was crooked until I saw the photos. The nosecone has both a vertical bulkhead, and horizontal sealing plates, and these plates sit flush against the bottom of the vertical plate shown here, all the way back to the front of the undertray.

One problem area emerging is whether I can get the RHS of the SE nosecone ducting to fit around the new larger IC pipe. A couple of test fits (for other items) showed it was reluctant ... that is tomorrow's task.

[Lokiel]

Tip for this relay mounting solution:


Those metal brackets bolting the relays to your aluminium rail are actually very brittle and they will "bounce" up and down, stressing them and will eventually crack.

Mine were originally bent 90* and I straightened them out which weakened them.
When I re-made my Cold Air Box earlier this year, one of them snapped. Luckily now I only need 2 of the 3 original MSM/SE relays so it wasn't a problem, I had a spare.

Add a small aluminium shelf for them to sit on and take the weight of the relays.
Insert it between your aluminium rail and the relays, using your existing bolt points.
The shelf only needs to 3* as wide as your aluminium rail, enough to bear most of the weight of the relays.
If you want to go "next level", make it a U-shaped shelf so that the relays are held snuggly inside the shelf by the shelf's sides.

PS: Easy access to the air filter is important. I realised this years ago when I made my first Cold AIr Box because if it's not easy to access, you're not going to check it until you've got a lot of time on your hands. My new Cold Air Box is even easier to remove the lid, the original one used 5 bolts - the new one only needs 4 so it's 20% more efficient