CR3171 Finally going back together!

[Aussie Mike]

Given the number of gearboxes I've done now I think it all the other knobs I've been playing with.

The plan is to bolt the body back on this weekend. I've got to re cut the holes for the roll bars and bumpers and then it's on with the body work.

Cheers

[Gav]

And the owners of those said knobs where happy for you to play with them?

[Aussie Mike]

No complaints yet except Stiffy who had an oil leak. He forgot to silicon his up shifter before installing it.

[Donunder]

Stop it Mike. I'm not touching this one! Stiffies with oil leaks!!!

Is there anyone on the forum, other than Stoney and me, who remembers the umbrella needle? I'm reminded of a mate of mine from back in the day when I was working in Townsville, a good hard tough footy plaver, who was reduced to a quaking mess after an umbrella 'treatment" he needed after a weekend up in Cooktown. That was followed by my first experience of plenty of good old Bundy out on the back steps of the ancient Criterion Hotel being prescribed and imbibed as much needed and excellent medication. At least when I came to the next morning under the mango tree in the back yard, all I had was a ripping hangover ... and one of the pub dogs snoring gently beside me.

[renovationinnov]

ouch donunder I have tears in my eye on that one

[spookypt]

Don, a mate of mine had that.

Post the umbrella needle I asked him if it was worth it....and he said "orr she ad a bit of a gut ona... but shewaz oright!"

I still laugh everyday at that story!

[stiffy]

Aussie,

No complaints yet except Stiffy who had an oil leak. He forgot to silicon his up shifter before installing it.

This is correct, easy fix when I pulled the gearbox out last year.

I too know of someone who has had the umbrella, not a nice proceedure...

Stiffy singing in the rain

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by stiffy

Aussie,



This is correct, easy fix when I pulled the gearbox out last year.

Hope it's been trouble free since resealing it Stiff.

[Gav]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

Hope it's been trouble free since resealing it Stiff.

Which knob are you referring to now?

[Towmaster]

I hope my newfound 'singledom' doesn't result in me having the offending umbrella......

[tomcat racing]

Whats it all over mate

[stiffy]

Towy,

If it does, I will ask my mate who the Doctor is........


Stiffy

[Aussie Mike]

I don't know about you blokes but I've been talking gearboxes the whole time.

[Aussie Mike]

This afternoons job was sorting out the Oil cooler plumbing. This morning I picked up a few AN fittings to finish the job off.

Here's the Oil thermostat. It's a MOCAL unit and bolts directly to the side of the oil pan above the filter. I like it because it lets me keep the stock filter setup. The lines are AN#10 and tuck in neatly along side the block.



Where they emerge at the front the return line connects to the Accusump via a collection of fittings. It was the neatest way I could work out with readily available fittings. The electric solenoid valve will be tied to ignition battery so when the key is turned on the oil discharges to the motor and pre-oils it prior to start up. I'll probably have an override switch on the dash too.

On the other side of the T connection is a check valve and the return from the oil cooler. The one way check valve stops the engine oil pressure from feeding back to the oil cooler. Cold oil under high pressure has been known to pop an oil cooler apart so this prevents it. It also makes the oil from the accumulator run to the motor rather than the cooler.



Here you can see how the lines will run to the cooler.



Cheers

[alffie]

Hey Mike
How close to the headers is the sterring arm with the power steering rack? Is there room for an AC compressor with the power rack?

[Aussie Mike]

Headers clear the steering just fine. One of the tubes has an extra bend to clear..

I think an AC compressor would be a very tight fit (The factory one at least). It may be possible to find a smaller unit from another car that would go in there.

Cheers

[Towmaster]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

I think an AC compressor would be a very tight fit (The factory one at least). It may be possible to find a smaller unit from another car that would go in there.

Cheers

The tightest fitting AC compressors for the LS engines are from a 2006-2010 ish Cadillac CTS-V. They had very little room between the rails and made a bracket that hugged the block.
I had to put one on the 6 litre when I put it in the Rodeo. Commodore one was way too wide to go even close.
It uses a smaller more compact Sanden type compressor.

[PeterAllen]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

...I think an AC compressor would be a very tight fit (The factory one at least). It may be possible to find a smaller unit from another car that would go in there.

Cheers

Mike, the 240Zs have a custom made bracket to mount the a/c as shown. The picture distorts it a bit - it doesn't protrude as much as appears.

If you are interested I can take some measurements and/or trace a template of the brackets.

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by PeterAllen

Mike, the 240Zs have a custom made bracket to mount the a/c as shown. The picture distorts it a bit - it doesn't protrude as much as appears.

If you are interested I can take some measurements and/or trace a template of the brackets.

Looks like a neat fit Peter.

AC in a Cobra seems pretty pointless to me. It's only any good if you have a roof and I can't see me driving with any kind of roof.

I am tempted to fit AC to my Corvette though.

Cheers

[Aussie Mike]

Been a long time between updates but I'm back into it now.

A lot of the work I've been doing has been pretty boring. Fiberglass repairs from where I cut holes in the wrong spot or changed mounting points etc.

I've been concentrating on getting the boot area sorted and then I'll be working my way forward in preparation for finishing the bodywork and paint. This means sorting out all those body mounting points brackets and roll bars etc.

Changing the way the roll bars mount to the chassis has meant some changes to the body mountings. The rear roll bar stays provide one of those mountings.

Most of the floor in the cabin and the boot is a sandwich construction for light weight and strength. Great stuff but the foam core means that you can crush it when bolting though it. To combat this I've been making aluminum bosses that act as a crush tube for all the hold down points. The the boss limits the amount the sandwich section can be crushed and transmits loads directly to the chassis. I've done this for seat mountings and harness attachment points etc.

Cutting neat accurate holes for the bosses has meant making some different drill guide tools that use the bolt holes to index the drill. This one let me cut the floor for the roll bar mounts. It only lets the hole saw through far enough to cut the fiberglass and not touch the chassis powder coat underneath.



The aluminum boss is then machined to be an exact for for the hole which doesn't allow the floor to move in any direction and limits the crush. It also means you can tighten any bolts down firmly to the chassis.

I had to change my roll bar rear stay mount design a little. It didn't allow enough up and down movement to easily get the rear stay installed into the socket in the hoop. It's not as pretty as the original setup but it's strong and will do the job. It should look better when polished at least.



Note some of the many patched up holes.

Sorting the roll bar mounts means I can fit the roll bar bezels. This was satisfying to finally see.



The other enjoyable job has been making the mounts for the quick jacks. When originally registered the car had no bumpers, just had plates to anchor the floor. The new mounts are made from 5mm stainless plate and should be plenty strong. The standoffs for the quick jacks are 3/4" aluminum rod that's drilled and threaded at both ends.



The lower rod mounts to the chassis under the floor. I reckon the whole thing would be strong enough to use the quick jacks for their intended purpose.

Here's one of the quick jacks mounted. These are home made. Chris L had some 6mm aluminum plate water jet cut for the profiles and I just welded them together. This one has been bead blasted. It was a finish I've been experimenting with. What do you think? This one is a bit dusty but the finish is a normally satin with a dull shine.



More fiberglass repairs where I originally made a mess of the lower quick jack mount hole. I made a nifty drilling guide for the quick jack holes to drill them accurately after the repairs. It should prove very handy for the front of the car where the holes go through an angled section of the body.

Cheers