Month: November 2009

Well i ventured out in the 35deg heat to the garage, with long sleeves and jeans to grind and weld.
Bloody hell that was hot.

Anyway, i built up the second of the coilovers and they are pretty much ready to go. For those who keep asking, here is a little step by step:

Firstly, you have to grind off the old perch:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29496-1/IMG_0952_s.jpg[/IMG]
I use a 1mm cutting disc to get it reasonable, then a 3mm grinding disc to remove the bulk of the material, and then a sandpaper flapper disc to get it smooth.

Next up you slide the sleeve over the strut:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29499-1/IMG_0953_s.jpg[/IMG]
I tend to weld mine on about 10mm down from the top of the strut, i think that one was 12mm. That is mainly so i can get a decent bead on the top, and so i dont thrash out the gland nut thread too much.
I just use my welding ground clamp to hold it in place, as it should be a smooth but not loose fit.

Next up welding:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29502-1/IMG_0954_s.jpg[/IMG]
I weld a full bead around the bottom of the sleeve, in 3 sections. And then 3 shorter stitch welds for a 1/6th of the circumfrence each. Pretty damn simple.

Then its off to be painted. I add a bit of masking tape to ensure that the threads dont get all oversprayed and then carefully paint away from the sleeve to minimise overspray:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29508-1/IMG_0956_s.jpg[/IMG]

And then voila, all done:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29526-1/IMG_0962_s.jpg[/IMG]
I add a touch of paint down the guts of the tube too, just to minimise the chances of rust forming and jamming the inserts in the tube.

While i had the grinder out i lipped the dust shields on the struts too:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29514-1/IMG_0958_s.jpg[/IMG]
That is important for the brake upgrade, so that the discs clear.

While i was waiting for the struts to cool and then the paint to dry i got a few other things done.
Firstly, i refitted my R32 rims to the front, with tyres that have tread on them this time.
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29520-1/IMG_0960_s.jpg[/IMG]

I used the Gorilla nuts that i got from the US too:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29523-1/IMG_0961_s.jpg[/IMG]
Its both nice and scary to see how much, or more realistically how little, engagement you have on the stud.

I also popped the other door handle in with my rekeyed lock:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29517-1/IMG_0959_s.jpg[/IMG]

And put the space saver spare that i got yesterday into the boot.

While i was out getting the space saver, i found at the Jap importers a nice strut brace which will suit just fine:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29505-1/IMG_0955_s.jpg[/IMG]
The stud pattern is slightly out, so it will need to be redrilled, but thats no issue whatsoever. I think its from an ST202 Celica.
Big props to [URL=”http://smoothgarage.com/”]Smooth Garage[/URL] for their good prices on the space saver and the strut brace. Other importers wanted up to 15x the price of the space saver 😮

Thats about it for now, ill test assemble the struts tomorrrow, to see whether ill need to put a spacer into the upper hats, and then they should be pretty much ready to go into the car.

Im still waiting on the rear caliper adaptors, so its likely that ill hold off putting the front struts in until both front and rears are ready to rock and roll.

After the struts are done, ill finish off tidying up the interior, and then get started on the 2JZ and sorting out the loom and replacing some stuff while its on an engine stand.

Now that the Supra is all through regency and i dont have to worry so much about having a stock car…
[SIZE=”7″]Let the modifications begin[/SIZE]

However, on the downside, someone tried to break into the car the other day. Jammed a screwdriver into the lock and tried to force their way in. Thankfully they failed, and only because the plastic handle that the lock is incorporated in broke.
You can see here where it happened:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29459-1/IMG_0939_s.jpg[/IMG]
The left lug is where the lock is normally bolted to, and you can see that the twisting force that they applied broke the lug free of the plastic, and when i came back to the car the lock was hanging down inside the door.

Thankfully i have another handle around which i can replace it with.

Onto the modifications. I had a bit of a chance the other day to grind off the spring seat on one of my MX83 struts, and weld on the coilover sleeve:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29463-1/IMG_0941_s.jpg[/IMG]
Quite a simple process. Lots of grinding, lots of sparks, and then smoothing with a sandpaper disc.
I welded it all around the bottom, but only stitched it on at the top. I was initially worried about blowing holes in the tube, but once i realised that it was 2.5mm thick my worries went away.
Instead i used a fairly high amperage, and ended up getting some good penetration:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29466-1/IMG_0942_s.jpg[/IMG]
Not overly good on the photo, as the camera has decided to focus on the bottom of the strut, but you can see it there.

Also, i got around to fitting my steering wheel:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29475-1/IMG_0945_s.jpg[/IMG]
Which is all nice and stuff, but soddingly far away from the indicator stalk. Its a 70mm dish wheel, and i have a 80mm bosskit on there too. Pushes it a bit far away.
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29484-1/IMG_0948_s.jpg[/IMG]
Ill have to see if i can get a 40 or 50mm kit instead.

In addition to all of that, a gratuitous shot of the oil cooler i picked up for the car:
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29493-1/IMG_0951_s.jpg[/IMG]
Fairly standard alloy 13 row cooler, with built in -8 fittings. Hopefully 12mm will be enough to do full flow.

This weekend holds more grinding and welding, as i want to get my coilovers pretty much done, and probably some work in the garden.

A whole bundle of goodies arrived today from the grand old US of A, at a VERY damn cheap price courtesy of our rocking $.

[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29441-1/IMG_0933.JPG[/IMG]

In that picture you can see the oil filter relocation parts, the 3 gauges ill be running and the wheel nuts. Bit of a closer view of hte nuts here:

[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29444-1/IMG_0936.JPG[/IMG]
They are a splined drive nut, where each nut is essentially a locknut anyway, which i think is a pretty good idea. Now i just hope that i dont lose the locknut tool 🙂 I think ill order away for a spare too.

Lastly the gratuitious shot of the oil filter bits.
[IMG]http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29447-1/IMG_0937.JPG[/IMG]
The two relocation parts were quite simply dirt cheap, at $10 and $12 for the spin-on and mount respectively. The adaptor and AN fitting certainly didnt break the bank either, rocking in at $4 and $6 each.
Certainly a whole lot cheaper than the local speed shop who wanted $49, $69, $9 and $16 respectively.
I also have a thermostat for the oil cooler which isnt pictured, and i picked up a 13 row cooler the other day as well.

Other than that ive been busy and away recently, and so i ahvnt done anything much. Did get to work grinding away at the struts tonight though, for about 20mins before i was called away to other things.
Wont get much time to work on it until this weekend, where some things need tidying up on the car… like the door lock which some prick decided to try and jimmy with a screwdriver.

Thankfully ive already rekeyed the guts of the broken lock into a new lock and we should be right to go.