hey guys, long time...dont be surprised at what little progress i have made (haha). just about finished with the quarter and school for that matter. thesis has been a killer as well as the DAAPWorks submission, but i am making it happen. anywho... the latest check mark on the long list of "to-do's" has been the cross member. i got the wrong "insulators"/mounts for the application, but managed to make them work just fine. from what i have seen i have managed to lower the motor more so than others doing the swap (lower center of gravity). these mounts are beefier than the ones many use on this swap, but whatever. the reason this has taken so long is because of the test fitting and such...these mounts are 2 inches longer than the ones others use, or else i would have been done the first time around. basically, the cross member mounts had to be cut down by only 1". since i had longer insulators i had to take the crossmember down to the bone (flush with the main portion - as you will see) i have two sets of pics. the first set is of the crossmember being modified for the mounts others have used - i got recommendations on how to modify the member based on others who have done the swap. it sat WAY to high and too far forward. so here....
this set of pics are of the crossmember modified to accomodate the mounts i purchased. again, they are longer than the ones others used. i used a small back plate to brace it even more (the one with holes in it - vertical). i also stitch welded it to the underside for increased rigidity. enjoy! this worked out great. the trans will clear by about 1/2" and i have about 2" from the radiator to the waterpump pulley (piece closest to the front of the car. i will have to weld a 90* elbow on the radiator to accomodate the radiator to the coolant neck (you'll see some more in a few weeks).
and some other goodies...the BC 264's. got a great group buy deal on these and COULD NOT pass it up...
thanks...oh, and comments welcome. will be sand blasted and painted along with the wheels this week... brettp.s.-by no means will this be done in time for import day, for those wondering (unless i get an incredible amount of open time)i have also since decided to do the wiring myself. shouldnt be too hard. i have begun piecing it together and it doesnt seem too bad (with the help of obie we'll tackle this beotch!!)
240sx/1jz updates...crossmember, rollbar, interior, etc...YEAH!!
intcarpet_01
just moseying along here. had the week after vacation to begin the 4-point roll bar (with tunnel supports). it took me awhile to get measurements and angles, but after figuring out lengths and angles (using a couple set of guages we have) it came out looking pretty good. the bends are nice and smooth, no crimping or crushes. the 5.5CLR die works really well (no scoring or anything). the notcher too performs extremely well. its for 1 3/4" tube, from .083 wall to whatever your body will allow you bend. NHRA calls for .108" wall (we used a .118" wall due to availability).
i will admit it takes some getting used to bend the main hoop and such, but the math and guages helped a lot. there are a few slight variations from the PS to the DS of the car. you will see in the pics i am sure (i'll point them out too). practice makes perfect...
if you recall, i posted up a few pics of the plates going in and used a thinner piece for the base plate. i then used the required 1/8" thick, 6" by 6" plate for the anchoring of the bar/hoop. the 1/16" plate (large base) made it a lot easier to weld the bar & 1/8" plate to the chasis. in my old civic hatch i just welded the 1/8" plate directly to the floor. it made for a ***** of a time welding (such a thick piece to a thin piece of sheet metal). anyways, here goes. some of the welding is not finished as of yet. i used our miller 251 MIG for the welding and in some cases it came out looking really good, others...not so much (suspending myself in weird positions made for some interesting times). i was able to get to all of the joints and weld around 90% of them. enjoy...interior should be wrapped up this week or next...then on to the mounts and motor install, woo who!!
i will admit it takes some getting used to bend the main hoop and such, but the math and guages helped a lot. there are a few slight variations from the PS to the DS of the car. you will see in the pics i am sure (i'll point them out too). practice makes perfect...
if you recall, i posted up a few pics of the plates going in and used a thinner piece for the base plate. i then used the required 1/8" thick, 6" by 6" plate for the anchoring of the bar/hoop. the 1/16" plate (large base) made it a lot easier to weld the bar & 1/8" plate to the chasis. in my old civic hatch i just welded the 1/8" plate directly to the floor. it made for a ***** of a time welding (such a thick piece to a thin piece of sheet metal). anyways, here goes. some of the welding is not finished as of yet. i used our miller 251 MIG for the welding and in some cases it came out looking really good, others...not so much (suspending myself in weird positions made for some interesting times). i was able to get to all of the joints and weld around 90% of them. enjoy...interior should be wrapped up this week or next...then on to the mounts and motor install, woo who!!
...and finally got the interior back in (i was getting very anxious...). the roll bar still needs paint, but that should be pretty easy. kevin introduced me to a type of self etching/self leveling paint that is brush on (a three stage: a base, clear, and topcoat. so i think i will be going that route (thanks dogg).
some of the carpet still needs a little work, like around the rear bars (add some material or stretch it a bit to fit around the bars better). nothing a little bit of time cant help. i used both black and a dark charcoal for the interior. the two-tone worked out very well as i was a bit skeptical in the beginning (you can hardly tell in the pics...the daylight does it justice). i used a spray adhesive to put it all down. this gives the carpet the formed looked, which i was pleased with as well. i hope the sound deadening i put in will help keep cabin noise down, but doubt it. in all i was pleased. back to school...
some of the carpet still needs a little work, like around the rear bars (add some material or stretch it a bit to fit around the bars better). nothing a little bit of time cant help. i used both black and a dark charcoal for the interior. the two-tone worked out very well as i was a bit skeptical in the beginning (you can hardly tell in the pics...the daylight does it justice). i used a spray adhesive to put it all down. this gives the carpet the formed looked, which i was pleased with as well. i hope the sound deadening i put in will help keep cabin noise down, but doubt it. in all i was pleased. back to school...
Re: intcarpet_01 (b-rett)
Looks good ---you going to paint that roll cage?