584 replies to this topic

[allpaw4]

Am liking this thread. Welds dont look particulary nice on their own, but once ground and filed, it looks oem.

[JDWhiteWRX]

The valve cover is finally finished, I can't tell you all how many hours I put into this thing, it was a learning exercise that's for sure! 

 

I'm super happy with how good it turned out and I think it will give the engine a really unique look.

 

[El_Freddo]

You MADE that rocker cover?? That’s EPIC!

Small piece many may never see, but your craft skills are definitely on display, hidden in plain sight whenever the bonnet is lifted!

And red so the engine revs 10% harder right??

Cheers

Bennie

[JDWhiteWRX]

You MADE that rocker cover?? That’s EPIC!

Small piece many may never see, but your craft skills are definitely on display, hidden in plain sight whenever the bonnet is lifted!

And red so the engine revs 10% harder right??

Cheers

Bennie

 

More like modified a rocker cover, shaved the top off with basic hand tools then welded it back together. This removes all the baffles inside, the dipstick and oil fill hole and basically makes it dry sump ready.

 

Also makes the motor a little less tall.

 

I'm not sure if this link will work but it shows the process

 

https://www.instagra...94052224/?hl=en

[JDWhiteWRX]

My transmission adapter and clutch kit arrived yesterday from PMC Motorsport. Everything looks good except they didn't include a clutch release bearing, not a big deal I should be able to get one locally.

 

 

I don't have an engine crane at the moment so I had fun lifting the engine onto a dolly so I could slide it out and test fit the adapter.

 

 

Now I just need to figure out how I am going to mount the engine permanently in the car. The lowest point of the engine trans combo is actually the front of the trans, it hangs lower than the stock oil pan. We are currently in the middle of a heatwave so work might be a little slow going but big things are finally happening.

[JDWhiteWRX]

I have started working on getting the engine mounted in the car, first step was to make a basic low profile dolly long enough to carry the engine and trans mounted together.

 

 

It cost me about $30 in material, the castors are cast iron so they can easily take they weight, it works really nice.

 

 

I tried to slide the engine into position but the reinforcement in the tunnel stopped it going as far back as allowed under the rules.

 

 

Removing the reinforcement was not fun at all, especially during the heatwave that just ended today. 2.16kg in total.

 

 

All gone!

 

 

The engine could now slide back as far as I needed with some room to spare. I also took opportunity while the car was up in the air to lower the rear differential so I would have a better alignment and lower COG.

 

 

These next 2 photos show the engine basically 99% in its final position. I have ordered a laser pointer to get it in the exact position.

You can see it sits reasonably low and a fair way back.

 

 

 

Next step is to figure out engine mounts, steering rack mounts and basically triangulating everything together.

[El_Freddo]

[allpaw4]

Nice work man, this is amazing stuff!
Are there any expected issues from removing the bracing? I just figure the factory doesn't usually put shit like that in if it doesn't need to. Interested!

Cheers,
Ben

[JDWhiteWRX]

Thanks Ben, the bracing was for the original transmission mount, everything is further back now and a different trans so I'll just make a new mount.

[allpaw4]

Ah rodgie, that makes more sense. Really keen to see how this all comes along, finished product is going to be one amazing bit of gear!

[JDWhiteWRX]

I spent some time on the weekend installing everything into the rear end. All control arms, drive shafts and the new 5x114.3 wheel bearings.







My laser pointer arrived today so I should be able to line the engine up correctly with the rear differential and then look into making some mounts.

[RX25SE]

Nice work mate.

 

I love that each pic you post has less yellow metal than the pic before!

[El_Freddo]

That frame work doesn’t look like a lot of effort, but we all know the effort you put into it - and it looks beautiful too!

You must be itching on the inside to have this completed (I know I am for you)!

Cheers

Bennie

[JDWhiteWRX]

I've been going back and forth with the design of the front end for the past 2 weeks. I am now confident with what I have come up with so work has begun.

I was trying to design a way of mounting the engine that is strong enough but not over done and heavy. It's not just the engine but the whole front end needs triangulation that ties back into the roll cage because I have removed so much metal.

 

Speaking of removing metal, the front came off yesterday

 

 

 

I am not 100% sure how I am going to cap off the frame rails yet so I had to use a hole saw to cut the lower part out so I could mount the steering rack at the correct height.

 

 

I've ordered some polyurethane bushings for mounting the engine and gearbox, they are not very large so should be very stiff but take the edge off the vibrations. 

I did think about solid mounting it all but I don't really want everything vibrating undone all the time and this way I still have the option of replacing the poly with nylon if I decide I want it solid at a later date.

[allpaw4]

Is it worth rolling up some sheet metal to sit where the rack end slides through the chassis? Adds a little strength, and keeps crap out of the chassis rail.
Loving the updates!

Just thinking out loud.

Cheers,
Ben

[JDWhiteWRX]

So what will happen there is once I decide on the final length of the frame rail it will get a 3mm plate welded over the end of it. The plate will most likely contain some captive nuts so I can bolt on a crash bar, radiator support and things like that. There may even be some tube extending out to support the front aero loads.

 

I am doing what I can right now to get the engine mounted but it looks like I am going to have to order the dry sump and possibly the intake manifold to make sure I don't run into any clearance issues later.

[El_Freddo]

I am doing what I can right now to get the engine mounted but it looks like I am going to have to order the dry sump and possibly the intake manifold to make sure I don't run into any clearance issues later.

Bugger mate, such a shame having to buy more parts!! At least you know you’re going to need them for the build, timing might not be great though.

And that crash bar section is super important. An old mate’s dad who is an exhaust builder by trade built a cage for an escort (let’s just say he’s done a few in his time!). The cage took a hit into a tyre wall, straight on at 140km/h. Front end needed some new panels and the frame rails moved about 6mm! More bracing to the front towers was added after this.

It’s definitely worth the effort to get that front end built right in the event you’re in a front on crash. The rest of your work should be fine to work with again. Just a thought to put out there, it is Motorsport after all!

Cheers

Bennie

[JDWhiteWRX]

I haven't updated this thread for a while but lots of things have been happening.

 

I have got my poly mounts for the engine and the gearbox, I'll post some photos when I have mounted the engine.

 

I bought myself an engine crane and engine stand to make my life easier. I needed to flip the engine over and modify the sump so there would be space for the main crossmember.

 

 

I have placed an order for an AT Power belt driven dry sump kit but I did not order the billet oil pan with it to try and save some money. Due to Covid it will take 8 weeks to arrive.

 

Not to worry I just need to make an oil pan and then I can continue getting the engine and transmission mounted in the car.

 

Version 1 of the dry sump oil pan involved cutting the base off the OEM pan and then a lot of CAD to form the desired shape.

 

 

 

I went as far as tracing all the cardboard templates onto some sheet metal and then cutting them all out and bending them to shape.

 

 

It was then I realised I was never going to be able to beat the metal into shape well enough to close up all the gaps and weld it together.

 

So I went back to the drawing board and came up with a very simplified design that was much easier to cut out and will be relatively simple to weld.

 

 

The engine is on a 13 degree tilt so oil will run down to the box section in the bottom of the pan where I will have two -12 lines running to the external oil pump. I have also added a notch that will give extra clearance for my tubular crossmember and to some degree separate the scavenge stages from each other.

 

 

 

It's all ready to weld, I'm just waiting for the -12 AN weld on fitting to arrive.

[El_Freddo]

I love your CAD work!

Keep it up

Are you working towards a set end date to roll this out the shed and hit the track?

Cheers

Bennie

[JDWhiteWRX]

I love your CAD work!

Keep it up

Are you working towards a set end date to roll this out the shed and hit the track?

Cheers

Bennie

 

Thanks mate,

 

I'll finish it when I finish it