Monday, October 27, 2008

Coils

My leads aren't ideal as they need the length changing and the end fittings changed, atleast ideally. Although not important for testing, they could use the correct ends on really as the spark plugs are heavily recessed so the bore could use a seal to stop filling with water, junk etc.

May look into swapping to the EU3 system, consists of coils that sit on the rocker cover, so direct power feed to the one plug and a short lead to the other 1-4, 2-3, wasted spark. Neater job. No immediate need.

These coils fit on the rocker cover under a plastic cover. See what turns up on Fleabay.


The bulkhead would have nothing on it then, bar the pedals and horn!

Exhausting

Well, done the can shell. Knocked up a front mount, doesn't do much, and not really needed. But adds some support.
Roughly knocked up a tailpipe. Needs polishing and finishing. Can be angled around.
Joined the two halves by making a tight fitting ring from some of the left over can.
I could get this neatly TIG'ed. However, I think it's better to add/make another ring on the outside from some 2mm alloy and bolt the two halves together on some M4 fixings, 6 each side, 12 in total. Gives me the option of adding something else or removing something etc. Can be taken apart.
I need some more baffle tube as my new silencer turned out to be a road legal one. Some debate of the overall function on the forum. Will remain straight through.

Also waiting on some V-bands to arrive, then I just need to get the tubing and finish the pipework, will just get 3 bends made from the angles on my template and get them welded together. I can tack them in situ and take them somewhere to be welded. Allows me to get it bang on I guess.

Only jobs bar this are to just finish off the alloy bits (valances, tunnel) and get them coated.

Many other small jobs have also been done, but nothing worth a mention.

Once the exhaust is on, there is no reason, provided all mechanical things work as intended, that it cannot run and drive and be MOT'ed right away. Oh I need to get the seat belt strap bar finished off.





Noticed this FINE example of a 6 cyl manifold on Andy T's blog :D

Might wish to speak to GT on the forum about that.

Admin(at)jagclub.ru

Or come along to the forum www.sideways-technologies.co.uk

He also has just finished a run of new design valves that have "science behind them" for all the Triumph engines 4 cyl, 6 cyl, titanium valve caps, high spec proper valve springs etc.

Forged pistons that work for most Triumph engines. New type of spark plug. Valve guides. Steel crank? Ti Rods?

Genuine "developement" parts, NEW things, exciting things, remember development has largely been dead since 1970's for anything related to a Triumph.

I think anyone wanting a genuine improvement for the Triumph engine should SERIOUSLY look into GT's stuff.

List of forged piston apps:

http://www.jagclub.ru/pist_08.html

Something about exhausts:

http://www.jagclub.ru/631.html

I drove the car with this full system fitted and it went very well, it was very quiet cruising and around town and sensibly noisey at full chat. No need for 3 extra silencers at the trackday, as you need with something like Canley's straight through pipe or a single silencer. I have no doubt that this manifold spanks the arse of the Pheonix, TLD, Jigsaw, Canley supplied "fakes", which all have odd primaries, cheapo collectors and cheap construction. You gets what you pays for.

This is a PROPER manifold. Forget 1-2% in the variation of the crap produced by Pheonix for all these suppliers...This thing is from another planet.

I had no idea what this car drove like before, except to say that the owner of the car was pretty damn happy with the system, after all thats all that was changed and I felt the car went well, I am rarely that impressed with alot of "tuned" engines.

Car was quicker than the two ones I have driven that were fitted with "super doper" engines from jibberjabber.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Do the Can Can

So a micron consists of some pieces.
It's repackable. Held together as below, with a allen bolt inserts through the outlet. Must take into account fitting and removing this when I modify the outlet. Probably easiest to just remove the rolled end from the oulet, add a slip on tail pipe. Reason is to deflect the exhaust gas off the tyre and change the outlet angle a bit as needs more kink.
I have another silencer arriving tomorow, I will extend the silencer by 300mm, making a total silencer of 750mm. I can make one from the two.
The tube above can be extended by 300mm making it 750mm. I can then shorten the outer case of the newly arrived silencer by 150mm to make it 300mm, get this welded to full length one. Then stick all the packing in and the job almost done.

Not sure about welding the two pieces of the nice stainless outer together, they are pretty thin. Will get my alloy welder bloke to run a few tests on the off cuts using TIG and stainless rods, I don't want some mess on the side of my car. If it looks a bit suspect I will take it to someone really shithot, or make two rings from some stainless sheet that sit inside and outside, and then rivet the lot together. Dunno. Yet to test Mr Alloy Welder on anything stainless and 1mm thick.

Could be easier still to source a length of stainless ducting tubing 750mm long, if there is a size that matches the exhaust end caps...Anyway with two silencers for £60 I should have all angles covered.

I even have another outer tube, alloy. I wanted stainless though, as doesn't corrode!

Also I will have spares. For when I wack the exhaust into a curb or rip it off on a verge :) I am sure it will be fine, just need to remember to give the nearside a little more room than normal (i.e none).

I'd rather the exhaust underneath, but I have explained this before. It'll be sound on track as there are no vertical curbs and there is plenty space to the floor, you just need to not run with the wheels touching or right up against any banks or solid verges, or be rubbing wheels with any vertical curbs that are over 3" tall.

Give major respect for any high curbs when turning into left hand junctions...You know when folks end up with the rear wheel running over the curb, well, that would be bye bye silencer if the curb was over 3"...Another thing that makes lending the car out difficult. I am sure I would have no issue as it would be second nature, like when driving a lorry etc...However someone who just jumped in would have a high chance of forgetting...Expensive mistake as it'll probably rip the pipe off and batter the sill and bulkhead...So best to avoid it. No issue on the continent though :)

Anyway this exhaust is a bit of a test, the main work will go into the downpipe and manifold. If the clearance becomes an issue and the exhaust gets grazed, yet the system proves quiet and works ok for power I shall create another silencer thats triangular / oval and even longer ...and gives more clearance.

No idea how loud the PRI system is. Thats a really small diameter on the outside and REALLY long...Have to start somewhere.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Barge Boards?

Another piece, one more left to make then clean them up and paint them white.
Alloy poles give good simple and sturdy location.

Bit of a squeeze.
Not that the clearance is needed, but full lock can be obtained, steering angle turning left will be reduced slightly due to the exhaust pipe that will running along the outrigger, so it will never need to move this far. I need to devise a method of limiting lock in that direction. I think a small handbrake type cable, you know, woven steel cable, thin stuff, with an eyelet on either end would do. Add one end to the steering arm bolt and the other to the front of the anti-roll bar bracket on the wishbone...Basically just stops more than a certain amount of steering which is just useless and wears out your tyres anyway, via this teather, that last few insane degrees. Next time the rack is out I'll look at limiting there.

It's getting tiring now!

This is good R&D for the other car actually.

Was hoping to make a pair of 1 piece screens that run from the front to the bulkhead, bit like my valances, only in the middle will bolt a radiator of the correct size, this will need two rear exit outlets on rad, I can then shoehorn in everything behind the rad and between the two screens. The screens keep junk out the timing belts and engine area and also work to feed the rad and act as a shroud and somewhere to mount stuff, also maybe could be removed as 1 unit, screens, rad, shroud, saving hassle. However this requires of measuring and alot of templating, consideration for exhaust space, getting it complex kinked around the carb, trying to make it so the engine will come out without removing all this stuff. Making it easily removeable if there no way to remove the engine with it in place. Getting it all to fit around the bonnet tubes and incorperating the grille, valances, steering lock requirement...Then pondering the worth of hacking out the wheelarches from the bonnet and just knocking up all this back up as part of the bulkhead, side screens, so making wheel arches on the tub and chassis...You'll see the headache when you see where the carb ends up...This prompts me to hack the wheel arch out, as to be fair knocking up stuff from alloy, panels, is quick(ish), where as messing about with fibreglass and adding stuff onto other stuff....Just hack it out and start from nothing!
Noticed a couple of a grey hairs the other day...not suprising :)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Onions

Some modified onions.
They now got wings. So they cannot move and do not rely on magic to stay inplace. The bearings no longer rattle about either.
Them wings pinch between the sidespacers on the shock spherical and the wishbone. Specially thinned out washers provide a crush free assembly.
This also means I finished off the front suspension. The rear is ok, just need to stick oil in the diff.
Spotted another micron can on ebay, with a little dent at one end, looks ideal for stripping down and using the baffle tube and outer body to extend my current one (by welding them together!) to something like 800mm long. Shall get the silencer finished before doing the pipework.

Everything seems to be functioning perfectly, so once the exhaust is done it should run and drive! If there are no issues I'll be relieved. Cause I'd quite like to just wang over a sheet over it and get away from it for a while :) All that leaves is sorting some way for it to be a convertible and some tougher rear suspension, which I do not intend to do for a while. I'll be happy enough to have a working object again.

I'll be hoping for a large improvement in pretty much everything! One thing doing this project has taught me, is that you should never underestimate how much time you can waste on something :)

I am glad I had solid direction as to where I was going, my objectives and my desires. I had the patience to work it all out to be as simple and the least fiddly as possible, while not comphremising anything I wanted to do.

I waited for stuff to appear at the right price, kept my costs as low as the "standard" of build allowed. This is important, cause you will never get your money back or the time back, so if you are gonna waste cash, atleast do it sensibly.

I paid retail for virtually nothing. I tried to keep the "style" of the work done as impersonal as possible, not styled in anyway, it's looks are as a result of function not vanity.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Something

Fuel now flows to the carbs, as finally my fuel pipe turned up. £3 a metre it's arite. It's alloy with a black coating. This stuff is useful for fuel injection.Beep Beep. Found this E92 BMW horn on ebay for 99p. Smaller/lighter than a normal one, it'll sound through the wing vent! One less MOT thing. Rebled the brakes and got the pedal a bit sharper, it's better than it's ever been, so can't moan.

Rear lamp units are a bit grotty and the connections are on their last legs so might get some TR3A ones which are a bit more compact.