K-series Surge Baffle Plate 1

Phew...6hrs to make this plate.

All by hand.

Initial cut out above.
Oil rail slot cut out with oil pickup pipe.
Flange bent over.
It'll fit between the sump and block, no gaskets, just rover's "gloop" sealer. Its made from 2mm.
Left some small gaps to allow draining back in some areas.
It still needs a few holes drilling to allow draining back and relief for oil trapped above in some areas.
The gap to the side of the oil-rail ladder should allow oil to drain back in the sump from the centre of the block area. Also it will dump the oil trapped in the area above the right hand sheeting when you take a left hander! Needs a bit more thought but its mostly the.

Nicely made, shame you won't see it.

Next baffle will be less work.

Other baffle systems

Some load of rubbish imo- sold for MEGABUCKS by Helier Performance.

Really no info on this stuff.

Baffling baffles K-series Sump Waffle.

The task in hand is to somehow make an Anti Surge system for this complex lot.

I am using the normal Rover sump, being much deeper and having a good box section for the oil it has alot of benefits over the Caterham sump. Caterham are notorious for surge they have some horrible bodge up solution of foam and plates. Oddly people do now winge too much in the Elise and MGF. Looking at the sump you'd expect it to surge alot in these cars...

My main concern is braking and right hand corners looking at the engine. On left handers there is not that much surge potential. Left hand corners would make the oil surge towards the top of the block in the image below. If can't really surge up the casecase wall cause the oil ladder and block prevent it from doing so...(to some extent, but will still remedy this). You can see 3 holes rearward from the dipstick, oil can run up these, so my plate will cover these and instead of the large openings I will add 5mm holes here instead. These just drain oil back from the head.

I think the main important in baffling is to arrest the initial surge...What should happen on this side of the block is oil runs up the wall of the sump when you turn in to the corners, it will slosh to the surface with the diptick and 3 holes and then stop surging and hold station. Hense my idea to limit the drain back holes there are 6 drain back holes from the head and they are totally oversized there is not a gallon of oil in the head draining back all the time!

Above you can see my main concern, right handers, as the oil is free to run up the block wall, nothing to stop it at all. My first plate will concentrate on this side of the block.

Below is the pan. The pan floor is horizontal to the road the pan is "stepped"...The shallow side will be completely full of oil and overflowing up the side of the block. The other side will be about 3/4" below the matting surface. The shallow side equates to right handers.
Initial stage 1 idea is a 1.5mm thick plate, bit like a crank scrapper etc. This will stop the oil rushing up the block wall and should arrest the initial surge and with the aid of a small lip should "wave" the oil back to the main pan.

Oil can drain back into the pan through this gap and differences in the level on the other side can be accounted for with the 3x 5mm holes.
So the plate will be like this. That should keep the oil in place on right handers...Most UK tracks are right hander dominated!

There will be another plate/box (not shown) that bolts between the oil rail and the plastic oil pickup pipe....this shrouding the pickup pipe and protect the engine under acceleration and braking and act as a baffle round the pickup for left handers...

Need to get some alloy sheet tomorrow. Be nice to have it all removeable and bolted in. The sump is super rigid as is the block, so hopefully with a piece of dead flat alloy I can get away without paper gaskets and just use the normal sealer...

Will it work? We will see...Its no biggy to remove the sump in the car anyways. I usually make stuff that works, so confident in my idea, it took me 4hrs of thinking to start work on a template.

Chassis painting

Got a bit obsessive...

Stripped all the old powercoating off the front of the rails...Down to baremetal! A solid days work, hardwork! Powdercoating tough to remove! Especially from a shotblasted metal surface. Chassis is mint on this car anyway, but the powdercoating was not the best and I wanted to be shot of it.

I did this to the very front before, so alteast it'll be a decent job now and last.

I brushed over wishy washy couple of coat of Etch primer, then one thick one over that.

I will give the lot a quick flat tomorrow and if my POR-15 chassis paint arrives it should be done!

Decided to remove the shock towers, will get those powdercoated...I wanted them loose anyway.



Horrible work!

Finally some action

How to remove ya K-series.
Lift it up over the cross member.
Forwards 6inches till the back of the gearbox clears the mount and rests on the floor.

Up we go.
Over the radiator and out.
Empty hole.
Cleaned up the chassis a bit.
Finished off the seam welding on the towers, one had started to open up.
Now have to paint the chassis.

Have to pull my finger out this week. Intend to do plenty.

Discs

Having a further poke...No problems here.

The PRI kit uses discs from a small Italian mid engined Fiat :) They are altered on the O/D, I/D, thickness.

Problem with them on the rotoflex is they are a little too "Deep", and the braking surface sits a little bit too far into towards the hub, would need a spacer between disc and hub. So will need to find another disc type.

Need to find a disc book or get hunting at a friendly motor factor.

There is enough clearance on these alloys to being the disc surface outward up to 3/4".

Problem with any kit ideals is making sure they fit a range of wheels. The Pri kit will not fit the stock wheels 4.5J anyway...
Plenty of room on my 14's.
I think the best idea is to draw up the upright and hub in a CAD program and draw up some of the calipers I could use.

Any good free and easy CAD programs about?

Rear brakes

Been messing about with rear discs.

Only really come to one conclusion...looks highly expensive and a pain the arse.

Also getting a decent caliper behind the wheel looks harder without some horrendously complex adaptor plate..

I shall probably be leaving my car on drums, why? Cause they work! Simple, cheap, reliable...

Never had a problem with them.

I was costing up a conversion kit with some nice alloy two pot calipers with a handbrake device in them...Looking about £1000. Whats the point? Who is gonna spend £1000 on a really trick brake kit? 5 people a year?

I could possibly make some cheaper model using a rear caliper from a production car with built in handbrake device...Just sell modded discs and "source your own calipers"...

That seems the only likely way to make any cash from it.

Again, every racing GT6 is yusing drums, so why bother? sure if you can produce a kit for cheap using OE parts, ok, do it...

None of the PRI stuff is really useable with the rotoflex anyway...Also the PRI kit is very well made, but so complex.

If you want to buy a PRI rear brake conversion, ask me...Price £1000.

Don't forget to vote in my Polls :)

Well get on with it :)

Was lining up some wiring work on a Dutton, but after total inspection my only advise to the guy was to rip it all out and start again. Never seen such a mess, melted wires, everything wired backwards...After quoting £900 for the job of making a new loom...Seems I may have convinced the guy to sell it and buy something else! Oh well.

Poor Stacy

Laid to rest once more :)

Maybe its time to start a blog based "Satirical Comedy".

CT's Newest Blogger

Well the blogs sure livened up today, and I think they may have needed it in all fairness?



Lonsdale! Anyone doing something different - Do something to your car!



Who is gonna put up a blog from someone called "Stacy Rhect" ....LMAO!

Just TOO good to be true eh?


STAYS ERECT?



Given me and alot others tears today...I had them pouring down my face this morning, infact my cheeks still ache from laughing so much :)

Amazing what 30minutes can do, quick yahoo image search for "girl spitfire", images appear on page2! make a blog add a few images, change all your CT contact info, request the blog from "stays erect" to be submitted.

Binjo!

Ok it only took 12hrs to get rumbled.
That's what I call QUALITY internet entertainment.

Cheers Ferny, jokes on you :D har har bloody har!

I think that was FUNNY with a Capital F!

The most interesting blog since mine was removed? :)

By all means send my magazines to New York from now on.

Remove my blog, ban me from the forum, but I can still have the "last" laugh...

Oh did we laugh!!!!

ITS A BIT OF FUN LADIES!!! A LAUGH!!

Is 2008 the year of evaporating humour?! not here its not!! 2008 has started great!

Something better to do? Like what, watch TV, grunt, stratch my bottom, be BORING? No ta, I model myself on Peter Pan.

Been a bit quiet here?

That time of year huh...Must admit Febuary is always a crap month for motivation...They say the most depressing month of the year...With the 1st and 2nd weeks of feb being the ones with the highest suicide rates...Well certainly equates to my motivation level. Must say the weather has been super the last few days, but doubt it will last, also bloody freezing at night. My bodyclock is always screwed this time of year...Feel knackered, dumb and unmotivated till the sun appears again...

I made some small bosses to weld onto the tanks, messed about with brake lines.
Mounting this header tank has been doing my nut. I didn't want to "mod" the suspension tower and couldn't really think of any neat way to fix this thing on without some eyesore mess.

However it came to me earlier.

I will use some chassis thickness 3x1" box section for the shock turret strut brace...I can move the tank forward from where the image shows, weld on a bracket to the strut brace and afix the header tank to the brace...That should be easy to remove...The strut brace will need to be removed to remove the engine, so will the header tank, so the two items can be removed as one, saves some arsing about. I will go and hunt for some materials tomorrow.

Roll on warm weather.

Question and Answer.

Question : "Why is it that the people who spot these potential death traps never do anything about it like making a superior version of their own?"

Answer: Will be published here in due course.

Question: Why do the Mice play when the Cats away?

Answers on a postcard.

Bit more this and that

This is my funny hose connector that you can fit into a large hose by making a hole and compressing the hose between two other parts of this adaptor. It did have a push on tail seen below, but I cut that off and welded a JIC6 connector on. Thats all I did today. Its so grim and cold I long for spring, even my motivation is lacking!

So I can now use a goodridge -6 on it. This will go to the header tank.
Other parts of the fitting.
Gearbox tunnel mould is coming along, here it is with the alloy flanges bonded on, basically just have to fibreglass up the old gearstick hole, attack it with filler and sanding block and HOPEFULLY it'll be ok with some small holes drilled in "technical" areas as a vacuum forming plug.

I thought you might like to see a fibreglass panel that almost fits, its Matt's roof!
Bar the corner above that will need "pulling" in for a bit to settle it. Its basically done anyway, bar bonding in a window.
Fits a treat here.

Also here.

You will see plenty of progress on Matt's car here soon, there has been some delays but no problems, also some planning work and looking at small parts like rear discs before getting any powertools out and making some full scale progress. It'll ignite the blog again soon.

This and That

Went to see the very nice bloke @ Flexolite and got/ordered some parts to get my water and oil system finished.

Tel: 01684 541941. Fax: 01684 541841. Email: derek@flexolite.co.uk. Tell him K-series Spitfire man sent you.

He is also making ALLOY princess calipers soon.

-4 outlet to purge air and flow a small amount out from the inlet manifold/head.
Some random other parts.
Front suspension awaiting a lower bearing carrier to be made.
Some rear suspension for Matt's.
This area of the turret needs axing to get the dry sump in...plenty of work in that!
Few issues to sort with the rear suspension, firstly the "boot" rubs the upright....?
There is basically no running clearance between the CV outer body and the upright. So these need taking apart and lathing of the uprights is needed.
Technical spacers required as the wishbones do not fit the uprights?

Also the new hubs are FAR FAR too tight on the end of the CV shafts and you cannot be sure the bearing endfloat is set right as they are SUPER tight, ie bad tolerances. So I will need to find some old original hubs, which I am told actually fit. Either the driveshaft end is oversize, or the hub splines or the I/D of the hub spline bore or all the tolerances are out of wack. So basically none of the items, wishbones, uprights, shafts or hubs fit anyother item in the group!....

To be fair I do not trust anyone else to fix them correctly, so I will do this work myself at the engineering shop, it been offered that they be repaired at source. However I'd rather just do it myself to know its done right...it works for me!