Duncan's Race Car - The Most Overdue Build Thread On Sau

[Victory]

made some progress on Neil's Radical's wiring this weekend, but stuff all on my car.

I did get this snazzy pressing kit of ebay which made short work of the subframe bushes http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231667756034

Just put a correctly sized sleeve above and below the bush

turn the handle (OK, lots, and hard), and it is done

voila

This bush pressing kit looks the goods and would make a great Christmas present (I will have to leave the family some hints that I need one of these).

I have had so much hassle trying to fit Skyline sub frames and suspension arms into the press to replace bushes where this will fit in anywhere and be so much easier.

[Neil]

what, lunch was unpaid? you are a harsh boss...

Well I figured I'd spent soooooooo many weeks working on your shitbox that lunch should be on your own time. 3 cheese and vegimite sandwiches and a couple of bottles of water should have shut you up. Oh it did take you a hour to remember where you were up to on my shitbox as well.

Don't stress to much,,, your old girl will get some lovin AFTER this coming weekend.

Don't forget to buy the carbon sheet for you firewall blanks.

Cheers

Neil.

[Neil]

This bush pressing kit looks the goods and would make a great Christmas present (I will have to leave the family some hints that I need one of these).

I have had so much hassle trying to fit Skyline sub frames and suspension arms into the press to replace bushes where this will fit in anywhere and be so much easier.

Just make sure you have some bushes to press in on chrissy morning Charles,,,a kids gotta be able to play with his new toys.

Cheers

Neil.

[Duncan]

hahaha you both said bush.

and yes....ebay says the c/f sheet is on it's way....

[Neil]

Vote 1 for no bush.

Me thinks another weekend on the Radical is in order, then back to yours.

[Duncan]

yeah that is modern way, eh.

we should definitely keep going on the radical....before I forget everything again

[MBS206]

I'm free Saturday Neil...

Need me to bring my hammer?

[Neil]

Now back to the Duncan build.

How are we going to remove all the shitty interior black paint before a complete interior respray?.

Personally I was thinking we keep going with a total strip of the car and get all the cars paint removed, soda stripped or something, I haven't really investigated to much, but I can. Anybody got any good ideas?. Like she's just about naked now, why not keep going and fix her damaged bits and vinyl coat her outside and freshly paint her interior. We have never had her so apart ever and I can't see us doing this again for some years so this seems like the right time to get it done. Trouble is it means he won't get to drive her till mid 2016 which will not make him happy.

Thoughts People.

Cheers

Neil.

[boxheadmr]

If the paint is in pretty gpod nick soda blasting might be a bit extreme and you might be better off just sanding back a little and painting.

[BOZ22N]

Just rub it back by hand where it needs it then apply three coats of low sheen black [emoji3]

She is no show car. No offence Duncy

[Duncan]

haha none taken....I am thinking sanded and painted to....but by a professional, not me.

I did the interior of the nugget with a spray gun and it came up shit. Plus it didn't look particularly durable either

[Duncan]

f**kign cars. Post is a year old next week but still future tense. everything always takes much longer and costs much more than you expect.

So, that was more like a 12 year history lesson than a build thread, but I intend that the thread will change a bit from here. I’m not worried about saying what actually happens, both the wins and mistakes that comes with doing pretty much everything at home.

The plan from here is to do a pretty big overhaul on the car, and the target (although not essential), is the NSW Production Car round at Bathurst in April. Upcoming jobs:

Replace the PowerFC with a Haltec including dash and flex fuel sensor

Strip the interior and properly prepare it, eg removing tar

Remove unneeded wiring (I’ve only ever added, not removed)

Replace all bushes and balljoints, they are a bit shabby after 10 years racing and 15 years on the road

New fuel pumps, hoses and FPR

Rebuild calipers and booster, replace ABS

[Duncan]

there was a question elsewhere about the oil filter/cooler/thermostat system and I realised there were no pics in this thread.

I have a large oil cooler where the a/c cooler is factory. Upside down to help it drain if I need to. Custom bracket bolted to the radiator support and I'm about to add another bracket between the bonnet catch support and the bottom (top?) of the cooler because I'm not happy with how much it can move when bouncing over ripple strips

Removed the factory oil/water interchanger, mostly because they are impossible to clean once a set of bearings have been through them and they are $400+ to replace from Nissan. I now have a Stagea mount which angles the fitting nicely to an Earls relocator. Dash 10 Teflon braided lines.

Remote filter locator in right guard between the intercooler hose and the BOVs

Earls thermostat behind the reo under the headlight. This required a whole heap of fittings and strange angles. It also has mounts for temp and 2 pressure senders (currently factory and aftermarket gauge, I am changing the aftermarket gauge sender across to the haltech sender but the same basic setup.

The thermostat requires a lot of fittings but I think it's worth it considering the range of ways the engine is used; driving to events, cold mornings, endures, hillclimbs etc.

Close up

Slightly better perspective of location

Setup has been excellent, no signs of running either too hot or cold even in the most challenging times including 40o+ 20min rally stage

BTW, anyone thinking of doing braided lines, make them up yourself. They are straightforward with instructions and care. The much bigger trick is working out how to mount and route everything because fittings take up a huge amount of space.

[XGTRX]

Are you comfortable with the diy lines and fittings holding the pressure Duncan? I had one split and it made an almighty mess, lucky I was just cruising at the time. What are your thoughts.

[Leroy Peterson]

Solid setup, upside down oil cooler is not a bad idea actually....

[Duncan]

Are you comfortable with the diy lines and fittings holding the pressure Duncan? I had one split and it made an almighty mess, lucky I was just cruising at the time. What are your thoughts.

well based on my awesomely wide experience of 1.....yes I guess it depends what failed for you, hose or fitting, and whether the hose was in good condition or possibly damaged?

I think enough people have used these types of fittings at all levels of racing to be OK with it. But it's a good reminder I should put some more padding around the hoses in a couple of places and monitor it for rubbing.

[XGTRX]

Good to know, mine failed at the fitting so it was probably a dodgy assembly, I was asking because not sure if its safer to go to pirtek or enzed that's all.

[Roy]

Its always good practice to either support/bracket both ends so there is no tension in the cooler or put some allthread throught both facesand put a nut either side of the flange faces to stop the cooler from distorting with heat, load and vibration. If they are in an easy to see spot bot a big deal but over the years have seen a few cooler split and dump oil over the track etc as they were not in visible spots to see the distortion from poor supported cooler installs

[Duncan]

Good to know, mine failed at the fitting so it was probably a dodgy assembly, I was asking because not sure if its safer to go to pirtek or enzed that's all.

Good to know, mine failed at the fitting so it was probably a dodgy assembly, I was asking because not sure if its safer to go to pirtek or enzed that's all.

good to hear it was at the fitting really......making them was straightforward but there were things to check around the cut end of the hose and how far it pulls in while assembling that someone could get wrong. So far so good..

[/url]

Its always good practice to either support/bracket both ends so there is no tension in the cooler or put some allthread throught both facesand put a nut either side of the flange faces to stop the cooler from distorting with heat, load and vibration. If they are in an easy to see spot bot a big deal but over the years have seen a few cooler split and dump oil over the track etc as they were not in visible spots to see the distortion from poor supported cooler installs

yeah I really need to support both ends I think, especially since its a big/heavy core

[XGTRX]

Yeah hose split along the length of the hose so probably wasn't cut right so with the pressure and heat split it. Maybe the Teflon coating was damaged. Worth keeping an eye on I suppose. Cheers.