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Rainbird's LCR
- Thread starter rainbird
- Start date
Hey dude. The main sticking point at present is finishing up this adapter plate and a lack of workshop facilities is slowing that down. Once I've got that sorted then things are pretty much ready to drop into the car really - once the engine's in I can finalise intake/DP/charge pipes and get them welded, but that's quick and easy to do really.
FR is looking tidy, by the way. Found myself flicking through your thread earlier and very envious of how well your car scrubs up! I've sort of given up on mine aesthetically recently, it's in dire need of a blowing over with some fresh paint haha. Is your front plate smaller than standards or is it just me?
As a slight side note, I picked up a load of box section steel earlier which will be coming into play with the car shortly due to unforseen circumstances. More on that next time though
FR is looking tidy, by the way. Found myself flicking through your thread earlier and very envious of how well your car scrubs up! I've sort of given up on mine aesthetically recently, it's in dire need of a blowing over with some fresh paint haha. Is your front plate smaller than standards or is it just me?
As a slight side note, I picked up a load of box section steel earlier which will be coming into play with the car shortly due to unforseen circumstances. More on that next time though
Hey dude. The main sticking point at present is finishing up this adapter plate and a lack of workshop facilities is slowing that down. Once I've got that sorted then things are pretty much ready to drop into the car really - once the engine's in I can finalise intake/DP/charge pipes and get them welded, but that's quick and easy to do really.
FR is looking tidy, by the way. Found myself flicking through your thread earlier and very envious of how well your car scrubs up! I've sort of given up on mine aesthetically recently, it's in dire need of a blowing over with some fresh paint haha. Is your front plate smaller than standards or is it just me?
As a slight side note, I picked up a load of box section steel earlier which will be coming into play with the car shortly due to unforseen circumstances. More on that next time though
Thanks mate, my front end could do with a respray if honest due to all the stone chips but she isn't in back nick. Yeah the plate is 3/4 the size of a regular one, and does look very small when compared to a regular plate. I've had it on for almost 3 years now and it's never caused any issues with the Police and even passed the last two MOT's no problem.
I'll keep an eye on your upcoming updates
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Ah wicked, thanks for the info. I'd like to run a slightly smaller plate on mine when I get around to converting the front grille to wide mouth, but not too sure what size to go. I think the most logical way will be to do the grille mod then work it all out.
I'd like to get my car blown over with a bit of fresh paint at some point but it's at the bottom of a very long list. Incidentally, a chap I nearly bought an LCR off before I picked this one up has just opened up his own bodyshop down the road. Perhaps I ought to call in and have a chat once all the mechanicals are sorted and run in...
I'd like to get my car blown over with a bit of fresh paint at some point but it's at the bottom of a very long list. Incidentally, a chap I nearly bought an LCR off before I picked this one up has just opened up his own bodyshop down the road. Perhaps I ought to call in and have a chat once all the mechanicals are sorted and run in...
There's a reason I haven't welded it all up yet!
Once the engine is in the bay, I can get in and check clearances against the box, shafts, assorted lines etc that are in the area and get it all stuck together properly. There's a bit of room to pull it all back inward a tad, though in its current form it's actually within 15mm of the centreline of the existing pipework on the car so hopefully won't need too much
How are you getting on with yours, still enjoying it?
Once the engine is in the bay, I can get in and check clearances against the box, shafts, assorted lines etc that are in the area and get it all stuck together properly. There's a bit of room to pull it all back inward a tad, though in its current form it's actually within 15mm of the centreline of the existing pipework on the car so hopefully won't need too much
How are you getting on with yours, still enjoying it?
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Minimal interesting progress so I'll save all the little bits for a proper update (hopefully) fairly soon.
In the interests of keeping this thread very vaguely alive (if a little comatose), here's a terrible photo from this afternoon after giving it a quick wash. Really need to get round to a proper session before the winter really sets in, though the paintwork on this is so bad it's not the end of the world if it doesn't get done. Would be nice to spend a bit of time in the spring sorting it out a bit so we'll see. Was getting dark by the time I finished so pictures aren't great!
In the interests of keeping this thread very vaguely alive (if a little comatose), here's a terrible photo from this afternoon after giving it a quick wash. Really need to get round to a proper session before the winter really sets in, though the paintwork on this is so bad it's not the end of the world if it doesn't get done. Would be nice to spend a bit of time in the spring sorting it out a bit so we'll see. Was getting dark by the time I finished so pictures aren't great!
Ok, since people have asked, let's get things roughly up to speed again shall we? Make youreself a brew and get comfortable, things are about to get incredibly long and boring...
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A quick flick back through this thread would suggest I've not posted much in the way of progress since October so having had a little look back at what I've got documented on my Google Photos account, that's roughly where I'll begin.
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Back in October I decided I'd had enough of the Royal Navy. To summarise, I'd reached a point where I could tie in for another ~5 years or so before reaching another opportunity to sensibly leave, or I could get out now so that's what I did. A number of reasons for my decision, both regarding quality of life in vs out of the military and priorities changing (more on that in a bit...).
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That left me with a little more time on my hands and having saved a good amount prior to leaving, I was in no mad rush to jump into any other employment off the bat. A couple of weeks later, I was approached by a local garage (I've known the owner a couple of years) to see if I'd be interested in a bit of engine work for them. Nothing too interesting, but a few generic engine rebuilds etc to keep me busy. As a bit of a side project while I was there I also rebuilt this V6, complete with LPG conversion. Points to anyone who can tell me what it's from.
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It had been totally stripped down to a bare block at some point in the summer and parts were in a big heap (every last nut/bolt etc thrown into a big box) which made it a bit of fun, but got it all together and running within a week.
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Also got to work on lots of (incredibly mundane) Fords. I did suggest dropping the above engine into this, but the owner wasn't buying it. Shame...
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Roll forward to November and I decided to swap out the faulty driver's door lock module. Fairly simple task and meant I could pull out a load more nastiness left over from the previous owner.
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This lot is still a bit of a mess so I'd like to sort it out properly down the line, but it'll have to wait for now. Back to being fully functional, so it'll sit out of sight and out of mind for a bit.
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Late November I started lending a hand out at my other half's Mum's place. It's a 300-year old barn conversion that she's owned for around 10 years, but was a bit of a state. She'd had a local chap in to help do a few bits but each bit of work he started revealed more of a mess than expected, so it's turned into somewhat of a balls-deep renovation.
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Here it is after being completely gutted (bare shell) and starting to put in some floors/walls again. Satisfying stuff to get involved with and given the rate at which matey was working, probably a good thing I got istuck in too or it'd never be done!
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A quick flick back through this thread would suggest I've not posted much in the way of progress since October so having had a little look back at what I've got documented on my Google Photos account, that's roughly where I'll begin.
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Back in October I decided I'd had enough of the Royal Navy. To summarise, I'd reached a point where I could tie in for another ~5 years or so before reaching another opportunity to sensibly leave, or I could get out now so that's what I did. A number of reasons for my decision, both regarding quality of life in vs out of the military and priorities changing (more on that in a bit...).
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That left me with a little more time on my hands and having saved a good amount prior to leaving, I was in no mad rush to jump into any other employment off the bat. A couple of weeks later, I was approached by a local garage (I've known the owner a couple of years) to see if I'd be interested in a bit of engine work for them. Nothing too interesting, but a few generic engine rebuilds etc to keep me busy. As a bit of a side project while I was there I also rebuilt this V6, complete with LPG conversion. Points to anyone who can tell me what it's from.
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It had been totally stripped down to a bare block at some point in the summer and parts were in a big heap (every last nut/bolt etc thrown into a big box) which made it a bit of fun, but got it all together and running within a week.
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Also got to work on lots of (incredibly mundane) Fords. I did suggest dropping the above engine into this, but the owner wasn't buying it. Shame...
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Roll forward to November and I decided to swap out the faulty driver's door lock module. Fairly simple task and meant I could pull out a load more nastiness left over from the previous owner.
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This lot is still a bit of a mess so I'd like to sort it out properly down the line, but it'll have to wait for now. Back to being fully functional, so it'll sit out of sight and out of mind for a bit.
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Late November I started lending a hand out at my other half's Mum's place. It's a 300-year old barn conversion that she's owned for around 10 years, but was a bit of a state. She'd had a local chap in to help do a few bits but each bit of work he started revealed more of a mess than expected, so it's turned into somewhat of a balls-deep renovation.
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Here it is after being completely gutted (bare shell) and starting to put in some floors/walls again. Satisfying stuff to get involved with and given the rate at which matey was working, probably a good thing I got istuck in too or it'd never be done!
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As December rolled around I was effectively working on a building site and the LCR was getting caked in crud (particularly since I was driving ~20mi of wintery lanes each day to add to the dust etc from the site) so it had a weekly wash, but little else was getting done.
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Around this time a for sale ad popped up on one of the local Facebook groups from a chap breaking an LCR for parts. A bit of snooping about showed he was a friend of a friend, so I touched base with him to see what the score was. Most of the big ticket items (bumpers, wheels, brakes etc) had been sold, but a (claimed) recently rebuilt gearbox and the engine remained. He didn't seem to want silly money for it, so I paid him a visit one evening to take a look.
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Turns out he'd put it up on stands and started breaking it a few months before and his parents were getting sick of it being on the drive, so he just wanted rid of as much more as possible ASAP before scrapping the shell. A deal was discussed and for £50 I'd squared away a spare gearbox (for future LSD duties) and a few little odds and sods, on the condition that I take them off the car myself. Annoyingly the wheels and brakes being long gone, and the driveshafts being well and truly stuck meant I had to chop the shafts (though they were a sorry state with knackered inner CV joints both sides so it was no major issue), but I set about whipping out the box. Had to cut things short that evening due to fading light, but returned the following day to finish the job.
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Bye bye driveshaft(s)
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Engine and box dropped
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Some more of the haul:
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Spare rack for a friend's Golf - easy upgrade for him as most of you will know - these are ~2.7 turns lock to lock vs the ~3.4 of the Golf.
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In all I ended up with the gearbox, engine mounts, hubs, wiper linkage and assorted other little odds and sods. Significantly better than I'd expected when I turned up to collect a cheap spare gearbox!
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More washing
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Around this time a for sale ad popped up on one of the local Facebook groups from a chap breaking an LCR for parts. A bit of snooping about showed he was a friend of a friend, so I touched base with him to see what the score was. Most of the big ticket items (bumpers, wheels, brakes etc) had been sold, but a (claimed) recently rebuilt gearbox and the engine remained. He didn't seem to want silly money for it, so I paid him a visit one evening to take a look.
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Turns out he'd put it up on stands and started breaking it a few months before and his parents were getting sick of it being on the drive, so he just wanted rid of as much more as possible ASAP before scrapping the shell. A deal was discussed and for £50 I'd squared away a spare gearbox (for future LSD duties) and a few little odds and sods, on the condition that I take them off the car myself. Annoyingly the wheels and brakes being long gone, and the driveshafts being well and truly stuck meant I had to chop the shafts (though they were a sorry state with knackered inner CV joints both sides so it was no major issue), but I set about whipping out the box. Had to cut things short that evening due to fading light, but returned the following day to finish the job.
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Bye bye driveshaft(s)
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Engine and box dropped
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Some more of the haul:
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Spare rack for a friend's Golf - easy upgrade for him as most of you will know - these are ~2.7 turns lock to lock vs the ~3.4 of the Golf.
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In all I ended up with the gearbox, engine mounts, hubs, wiper linkage and assorted other little odds and sods. Significantly better than I'd expected when I turned up to collect a cheap spare gearbox!
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More washing
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Soon after this, Christmas was rolling around. My parents had said before that they'd like to go skiing, so my brothers and I booked tickets for ourselves and the girlfriends too and off we went.
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While we were there, I asked a fairly substantial question and got the answer I was hoping for:
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Which resulted in drinking lots of this:
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Starting on a high was great and we carried the momentum through for a wicked week despite there being considerably less snow than ideal
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Once of the seasonaires had potentially the cleanest S3 I've ever seen. Good man.
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While we were there, I asked a fairly substantial question and got the answer I was hoping for:
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Which resulted in drinking lots of this:
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Starting on a high was great and we carried the momentum through for a wicked week despite there being considerably less snow than ideal
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Once of the seasonaires had potentially the cleanest S3 I've ever seen. Good man.
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Returned home and borrowed the Landy to collect the gearbox as I'd not had a chance to drag it home beforehand
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When I got there, the owner of the yellow LCR mentioned that the shell was being picked up for scrap a week later and if there was anything else I wanted, I could have it for free. Given it'd be rude not to, I ended up with not only the parts listed above, but also a full set of lights, some clocks, mats and an RTech tuned st2 ECU that he'd not yet sold. Oh, and an engine
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My garage is far too full now. I had considered leaving most of it, but the bit's I've picked up should give me a few parts I need/want for some little sub-projects and the rest that I can sell to help cover the cost of the K04-064 swap. If anyone wants anything let me know.
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Yet more washing
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A couple of weeks into the new year, Soph's car was due for MOT so I pinched the lift for a weekend and set about doing a few bits on that to ensure a clean ticket. Catalytic converter was looking a little worse for wear...
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A smattering of bushes, track rod ends, wheel bearings/hubs (not essential but one was on the way out) and a new exhaust (well, DP, flexi and cat section) later and we're good to go. Ideal.*
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Out with the old
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Make sure bearing is nice and chilled (domestic freezer does the job nicely)
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Ready to press
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Done
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Stuck some pressed plates on, popped down to the fire station to give it a quick clean. Looks lovely
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When I got there, the owner of the yellow LCR mentioned that the shell was being picked up for scrap a week later and if there was anything else I wanted, I could have it for free. Given it'd be rude not to, I ended up with not only the parts listed above, but also a full set of lights, some clocks, mats and an RTech tuned st2 ECU that he'd not yet sold. Oh, and an engine
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My garage is far too full now. I had considered leaving most of it, but the bit's I've picked up should give me a few parts I need/want for some little sub-projects and the rest that I can sell to help cover the cost of the K04-064 swap. If anyone wants anything let me know.
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Yet more washing
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A couple of weeks into the new year, Soph's car was due for MOT so I pinched the lift for a weekend and set about doing a few bits on that to ensure a clean ticket. Catalytic converter was looking a little worse for wear...
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A smattering of bushes, track rod ends, wheel bearings/hubs (not essential but one was on the way out) and a new exhaust (well, DP, flexi and cat section) later and we're good to go. Ideal.*
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Out with the old
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Make sure bearing is nice and chilled (domestic freezer does the job nicely)
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Ready to press
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Done
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Stuck some pressed plates on, popped down to the fire station to give it a quick clean. Looks lovely
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Between the whole engagement/wedding planning thing and working on the future MIL's place, all my disposable money and time has been pretty tied up, hence the massive lack of progress on the Leon.*
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That said, I was able to do a couple of very small bits.
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Poly filled the spare engine mounts I'd acquired:
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Matt (best man) was down for a weekend, so whilst we didn't get the new rack on we did fit the set of LCR Brembos he'd refurbed.
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Few gammy threads in the carriers kept things interesting, as did the fact he almost killed the brake line threads in one caliper, but nothing that I couldn't fix.
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Last week I also popped to Launceston to collect another K04-064 for Matt. Chap I collected it from happened to have a rather pleasant R32 (though it was as filthy as my LCR!)
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That said, I was able to do a couple of very small bits.
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Poly filled the spare engine mounts I'd acquired:
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Matt (best man) was down for a weekend, so whilst we didn't get the new rack on we did fit the set of LCR Brembos he'd refurbed.
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Few gammy threads in the carriers kept things interesting, as did the fact he almost killed the brake line threads in one caliper, but nothing that I couldn't fix.
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Last week I also popped to Launceston to collect another K04-064 for Matt. Chap I collected it from happened to have a rather pleasant R32 (though it was as filthy as my LCR!)
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I got my hands on a set of S3 Recaro seat subframes because reasons. Stripped them down, drilled some appropriately located holes etc and had some success (bolts inbound for seatbelt mounting then the seats can go in permanently)
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The Clubsports don't have seat-airbags fitted and as a result they cause a light on the dash and shut down the entire system which is less than ideal. With that in mind, I pulled out some bits form the garage (I'm not a fan of electrical poo as mentioned before, but got lucky) and figured out what I could do to get around things. Turns out a 2.7ohm, 0.5W resistor is close enough to the stock seat airbag to convince the system to operate normally (similar to the N249 resistor setup people run) so that's a win. I have some VW airbag connectors on the way to tidy this up when I fit the seats permanently, which will be nice.
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Still need to turn the light off using VAGCOM/VCDS, but it works perfectly. Result.
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Couple of days ago I managed to destroy a tyre
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So on a spare until I can get a set of fresh rubber this week
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Whilst the wheel was off, I fitted new pads and discs. Need to get back in there and give everything a proper clean and refit the arch liners I forgot to replace ages ago
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Was nice to get decent pads in there again (only stock Brembo items) and have a properly working/tidy pad wear sensor rather than the bodged blank I had to knock up previously after snapping the wire.
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This week my footwell became rather damp. Took the morning to reseal the door card and also to sort out a small lock issue I was having (I'd foolishly removed the bolt in the lock mech and it'd resulted in part of the lock-holding-bit (tech name) falling off and a loose lock in the door handle. Mad sense to do it all whilst the card was off.
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The problem
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Dried out footwell
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Dropped window
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Undo handle/bolts
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Remove card
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Undo electrical/mechanical connections
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Undo glass pinch bolts
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Remove glass, put somewhere safe
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Remove inner card
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Here's the fliper that had come off
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Popped off the handle as it was the easiest way to get access/see what was going on
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Back in situ. This was the bolt that you NEVER UNDO FULLY if you want to avoid the same problem
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At this point it started to rain, so I got a bit lax with photos given I wanted to get the car sealed back up. Cue a roll of butyl tape
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Not the tidiest job, but sealed up ok by the looks of it
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All back together and given the rain that came down soon after, it appears to be doing the trick nicely.
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And that brings us up to date. Hopefully get it through its MOT in a fortnight then look to get the engine/box in the car. For now, it's just a case of filling it up and enjoying it across Dartmoor some more.
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Hopefully that wasn't too all over the place, apologies if it was a tad disjointed but I've put it together from memory/GooglePhotoStash and then rearranged things due to images not working directly from Google, and then AGAIN because there's an image limit per post and apparently that's lower than the 80-odd I've got here haha so may be a few small inconsistencies. Given you're here you must be of reasonable intelligence so you'll figure it out
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The Clubsports don't have seat-airbags fitted and as a result they cause a light on the dash and shut down the entire system which is less than ideal. With that in mind, I pulled out some bits form the garage (I'm not a fan of electrical poo as mentioned before, but got lucky) and figured out what I could do to get around things. Turns out a 2.7ohm, 0.5W resistor is close enough to the stock seat airbag to convince the system to operate normally (similar to the N249 resistor setup people run) so that's a win. I have some VW airbag connectors on the way to tidy this up when I fit the seats permanently, which will be nice.
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Still need to turn the light off using VAGCOM/VCDS, but it works perfectly. Result.
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Couple of days ago I managed to destroy a tyre
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So on a spare until I can get a set of fresh rubber this week
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Whilst the wheel was off, I fitted new pads and discs. Need to get back in there and give everything a proper clean and refit the arch liners I forgot to replace ages ago
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Was nice to get decent pads in there again (only stock Brembo items) and have a properly working/tidy pad wear sensor rather than the bodged blank I had to knock up previously after snapping the wire.
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This week my footwell became rather damp. Took the morning to reseal the door card and also to sort out a small lock issue I was having (I'd foolishly removed the bolt in the lock mech and it'd resulted in part of the lock-holding-bit (tech name) falling off and a loose lock in the door handle. Mad sense to do it all whilst the card was off.
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The problem
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Dried out footwell
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Dropped window
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Undo handle/bolts
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Remove card
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Undo electrical/mechanical connections
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Undo glass pinch bolts
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Remove glass, put somewhere safe
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Remove inner card
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Here's the fliper that had come off
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Popped off the handle as it was the easiest way to get access/see what was going on
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Back in situ. This was the bolt that you NEVER UNDO FULLY if you want to avoid the same problem
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At this point it started to rain, so I got a bit lax with photos given I wanted to get the car sealed back up. Cue a roll of butyl tape
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Not the tidiest job, but sealed up ok by the looks of it
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All back together and given the rain that came down soon after, it appears to be doing the trick nicely.
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And that brings us up to date. Hopefully get it through its MOT in a fortnight then look to get the engine/box in the car. For now, it's just a case of filling it up and enjoying it across Dartmoor some more.
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Hopefully that wasn't too all over the place, apologies if it was a tad disjointed but I've put it together from memory/GooglePhotoStash and then rearranged things due to images not working directly from Google, and then AGAIN because there's an image limit per post and apparently that's lower than the 80-odd I've got here haha so may be a few small inconsistencies. Given you're here you must be of reasonable intelligence so you'll figure it out
So, another week another boring update
As I assume has been the case everywhere, the weather here has been pretty rubbish this week. Mostly heavy rain showers though some hail and sleet too.
As a result, I headed indoors on the most part and figured I'd try and get a little more done to the engine whilst it was on the stand. Coolant hard lines first, I grabbed the line I'd removed from the AYP engine when I picked it up, which looked like this:
Turns out that it's somewhat different the LCR (AMK/BAM) line, which was a bit of a pain. Some of the take offs are different and some don't exist at all. It'd be possible to connec the dots using hoses, but I'd like to keep things close to stock to ensure it goes in the bay and all plumbs in as easily as possible. Then I remembered there was one on the spare AMK lump I'd recently acquired:
Whizzed the short/cut off hoses from it and cleaned it all up. Spot on with one exception...
Turns out the o-ring that mounts to the 'stat housing had seen better days and looked to have been bodged with a little silicone too. Back to the AYP line to pinch the (fortunately decent) seal from there. Whilst I could have gone for a brand new one, it was in near-new condition so I'm happy it's up to the task. That said, if it leaks I'll throw a new one in.
Whipped out the EGT sensor whilst I was hiding from the rain. Looks to be an M12x1.0mm thread so I'll get a stainless boss knocked up so I can fit it to the DP when I get it welded up. Seems to be the best spot for it when doing the k04-064 conversion, given I don't want to modify the integrated exhaust manifold to take it. Will have to factor in the drop in EGT by that point when mapping though of course...
Has a slight nick in the braided shielding, so I may look to repair that down the line. That said, I may forget. We'll see.
Assembled another set of shelves in an attempt to create a little more space in the garage. It helped, though I still need to go through and organise a few other bits and figure out a better solution for the bikes/boards (wall/roof mounting)
With that sorted, there was a brief break in the rain so I popped out to the car. Figured it was time to throw in a new cabin filter. I was right.
I'd been meaning to refit the arch liners I'd removed XXX amount of time ago for reasons I forget, and kept not doing it so that was the next job. First up scrubbing out the accumulated dirt and grime so as not to leave filth rotting away back there, then refitting the cleaned liners with all new bolts. Look at the state of that water, grim!
A few showers later, the sun came out and so did Brownie. A few little bits under the bonnet between dodging the showers, with the foreman casting a scruitineering eye over all the work to make sure it was up to scratch.
By the time we were done, it was getting dark and even wetter outside. Given we'd had a pretty heavy session the night before (culminating at around 7am) we figured it was safest to head indoors for a quiet social one. Pulled out the Corbeaus for some Forza
They were soon hijacked
So we shoved some beanbags out instead and cracked on
Next day, I'd hoped to do a few minor pre-MOT bits. Nothing major, but I wanted to swap some wheels over to get the best tyres on (I'm waiting on a new set to arrive this week, annoyingly) and refitting the engine undertray.
Popped out to the parents place to say hi, and pinched their campervan leveling ramps
They're only really designed to help compensate for slightly sloping campervan pitches, so don't give much room but it's easier than jacking things up
Enough for me to stick my head/arms under, only to realise that the undertray couldn't go on due to some light damage on its own mountings and a missing piece of trim below the gearbox. Ah well, I guess that gives a decent excuse to do something a little different down the line
Anoyingly, the weather drew in again so I ventured back indoors. Prawn was kind enough to send a spare flywheel/pressure plate my way to try out, but it was looking a little tired. I'm well aware that it'll ever get seen and will only get dirty again, but it was raining and I had paint and a wire brush to hand...
With no sign of the weather letting off, it was getting late. Many moons ago I'd had the subframe assembly off to fit an ARB and the tracking was a little out when refitted as I'd not centred the steering wheel (mong). I'd considered getting the tracking sorted but given my plans at the time were to drop the subframe again and fit a 3" DP, I didn't bother. The wheels were straight so things drove fine, however as the steering wheel was out by more than 4.5 degrees it popped up a code. Straightened things up by eye (to within tolerance) and went for a 15 mile drive so thing would settle down, leaving the engine running whilst clearing the code and resolving the issue. Bingo, clear dash for MOT (once I'd put some fuel in anyway!).
These two were wondering what the hell I was doing. Standard.
Ended the weekend with a fresh ticket. Good to go for another 12 months and that's a green light for finalising the engine swap really...
As I assume has been the case everywhere, the weather here has been pretty rubbish this week. Mostly heavy rain showers though some hail and sleet too.
As a result, I headed indoors on the most part and figured I'd try and get a little more done to the engine whilst it was on the stand. Coolant hard lines first, I grabbed the line I'd removed from the AYP engine when I picked it up, which looked like this:
Turns out that it's somewhat different the LCR (AMK/BAM) line, which was a bit of a pain. Some of the take offs are different and some don't exist at all. It'd be possible to connec the dots using hoses, but I'd like to keep things close to stock to ensure it goes in the bay and all plumbs in as easily as possible. Then I remembered there was one on the spare AMK lump I'd recently acquired:
Whizzed the short/cut off hoses from it and cleaned it all up. Spot on with one exception...
Turns out the o-ring that mounts to the 'stat housing had seen better days and looked to have been bodged with a little silicone too. Back to the AYP line to pinch the (fortunately decent) seal from there. Whilst I could have gone for a brand new one, it was in near-new condition so I'm happy it's up to the task. That said, if it leaks I'll throw a new one in.
Whipped out the EGT sensor whilst I was hiding from the rain. Looks to be an M12x1.0mm thread so I'll get a stainless boss knocked up so I can fit it to the DP when I get it welded up. Seems to be the best spot for it when doing the k04-064 conversion, given I don't want to modify the integrated exhaust manifold to take it. Will have to factor in the drop in EGT by that point when mapping though of course...
Has a slight nick in the braided shielding, so I may look to repair that down the line. That said, I may forget. We'll see.
Assembled another set of shelves in an attempt to create a little more space in the garage. It helped, though I still need to go through and organise a few other bits and figure out a better solution for the bikes/boards (wall/roof mounting)
With that sorted, there was a brief break in the rain so I popped out to the car. Figured it was time to throw in a new cabin filter. I was right.
I'd been meaning to refit the arch liners I'd removed XXX amount of time ago for reasons I forget, and kept not doing it so that was the next job. First up scrubbing out the accumulated dirt and grime so as not to leave filth rotting away back there, then refitting the cleaned liners with all new bolts. Look at the state of that water, grim!
A few showers later, the sun came out and so did Brownie. A few little bits under the bonnet between dodging the showers, with the foreman casting a scruitineering eye over all the work to make sure it was up to scratch.
By the time we were done, it was getting dark and even wetter outside. Given we'd had a pretty heavy session the night before (culminating at around 7am) we figured it was safest to head indoors for a quiet social one. Pulled out the Corbeaus for some Forza
They were soon hijacked
So we shoved some beanbags out instead and cracked on
Next day, I'd hoped to do a few minor pre-MOT bits. Nothing major, but I wanted to swap some wheels over to get the best tyres on (I'm waiting on a new set to arrive this week, annoyingly) and refitting the engine undertray.
Popped out to the parents place to say hi, and pinched their campervan leveling ramps
They're only really designed to help compensate for slightly sloping campervan pitches, so don't give much room but it's easier than jacking things up
Enough for me to stick my head/arms under, only to realise that the undertray couldn't go on due to some light damage on its own mountings and a missing piece of trim below the gearbox. Ah well, I guess that gives a decent excuse to do something a little different down the line
Anoyingly, the weather drew in again so I ventured back indoors. Prawn was kind enough to send a spare flywheel/pressure plate my way to try out, but it was looking a little tired. I'm well aware that it'll ever get seen and will only get dirty again, but it was raining and I had paint and a wire brush to hand...
With no sign of the weather letting off, it was getting late. Many moons ago I'd had the subframe assembly off to fit an ARB and the tracking was a little out when refitted as I'd not centred the steering wheel (mong). I'd considered getting the tracking sorted but given my plans at the time were to drop the subframe again and fit a 3" DP, I didn't bother. The wheels were straight so things drove fine, however as the steering wheel was out by more than 4.5 degrees it popped up a code. Straightened things up by eye (to within tolerance) and went for a 15 mile drive so thing would settle down, leaving the engine running whilst clearing the code and resolving the issue. Bingo, clear dash for MOT (once I'd put some fuel in anyway!).
These two were wondering what the hell I was doing. Standard.
Ended the weekend with a fresh ticket. Good to go for another 12 months and that's a green light for finalising the engine swap really...
Small update:
*
*
Ok, not so much, but I did receive some parts off a slow boat from China...
*
New reducing elbow for the 80mm TIP and a Coldside DV relocation kit as I've decided I can't be bothered to try and cram it all in on the hotside as that corner of the bay is tight. Won't look quiiiiiiiiiite*so clean, but with a bit of work should do the trick.
*
Quick test fit (using 63mm charge pipe as I don't yet have a TIP made up...):
*
*
Initial impressions are decent. Hoses are nice and thick/stiffer than many I've used/seen before, despite costing a fraction of the usual UK prices. I'll likely cut down the DV takeoff on the relocation hose as it sits a little high (below) but that can wait until it's in the car. Excuse the fact the DV itself is in the wrong way, was only really there to hold things together!
*
*
Need to get the metalwork welded up (annoyingly I don't have the skills, which would speed things up a bit) but then it shouldn't be too long before I can think about getting it in the car. Only minor issues being I have no free weekends for the next month and potentially start a new job at the start of April with a month away from home - doh!
*
*
Ok, not so much, but I did receive some parts off a slow boat from China...
*
New reducing elbow for the 80mm TIP and a Coldside DV relocation kit as I've decided I can't be bothered to try and cram it all in on the hotside as that corner of the bay is tight. Won't look quiiiiiiiiiite*so clean, but with a bit of work should do the trick.
*
Quick test fit (using 63mm charge pipe as I don't yet have a TIP made up...):
*
*
Initial impressions are decent. Hoses are nice and thick/stiffer than many I've used/seen before, despite costing a fraction of the usual UK prices. I'll likely cut down the DV takeoff on the relocation hose as it sits a little high (below) but that can wait until it's in the car. Excuse the fact the DV itself is in the wrong way, was only really there to hold things together!
*
*
Need to get the metalwork welded up (annoyingly I don't have the skills, which would speed things up a bit) but then it shouldn't be too long before I can think about getting it in the car. Only minor issues being I have no free weekends for the next month and potentially start a new job at the start of April with a month away from home - doh!
Depressingly little progress with the car lately. New job 200 miles from home, a wedding to plan/fund and needing to use the car daily mean I've not been in a position to really do any major work which is pretty frustrating. Hopefully change that soon.
*
Brief catchup in picture form:
*
Got the tyres on the car, had the alignment done too. Tyre shop did it wrong, not particularly impressed.
*
*
So, I redid it at home to get it where I need it to be.
*
*
Standard DIY fishing line method and a calculator I knocked up on Excel. Seen in action here, along with my utterly knackered rear bumper from where a scaffold van reversed into it on base last year. Need to get it replaced at some point, it's a horrible mess!
*
*
45 profile looks cool, but rather than just give a little extra daily comfort, made things a tad squirmy and also rubbed on occasion. They've since been moved to the rear end, and I'll get a set of 40s on the front once the current rubber dies.
*
*
These are on the way out. Here's the worst of a set of 4, once I get through the rest I'll buy more Kumhos
*
*
Car has mostly been used for trekking between various offices. Still spot on as a daily, if a little rough around the edges
*
Went to Combe Spring Action Day. Played pit crew for Nick for the day - the A3 was throwing its toys out the pram (or rather, it's oil out of the sump filling the catch can and intake in the space of 4 laps...)
So we pinched Sam's e36 and went for a play instead.
Shame about the Audi, but a good day in the sun took the edge off. More important things in life...
*
Have had some fun drives over/around the Black Mountains during my time in Wales
*
*
*
*
*
*
Stuck a seat in it. Surprisingly fine for my 4 hour commute. Hoping it's tight enough for the occasional track day - the XLs always felt good and snug when I've sat in them in other cars, but I'm wondering if they'll be a smidge loose. Time will tell.
*
*
Felix likes them:
*
*
He also likes parcel shelves, provided they're in the sun:
*
Or dashes, for that matter...
In fact pretty much just loves cars. One day he's going to jump in with a stranger and disappear on a road trip!
*
Boost came and helped redo my door seals
Wishbone bushes could do with replacing soon. Not impressed by the Black Series set that are in there at all, haven't been in all that long and rarely used in anger yet appear to have lost the smaller flange. Rubbish!
*
*
Rubber line to fuel cap finally gave up the ghost. It'd cracked and gone brittle ages ago and he replacement is so cheap it'd be silly not to .*Gave things a quick wipe out too as they were pretty mucky.
*
*
*
Other than that, it's just been routine maintenance really. Soph's car has had a good service with all oil and filters, plus new droplink bolts as they'd necked fairly badly and it was causing a nasty knock (sounding just like top mounts, which we knew were good as I replaced them a few months back pre-MOT)
*
*
*
Also gave my brother's mk5 (pd140) headlights a going over. He picked the car up 18 months ago or so and they were pretty cloudy, so I'd grabbed him an Auto Glym kit to sort them out. Pretty impressed with the results. Here's a very quick 5 minute going over. Another short session after this had them looking like new!
*
*
*
Minimal engine progress due to being away a lot and wanting to spend the odd weekend I do have with the lady. Realistically I've made no progress in months and it's getting me down a bit. Only need to sort out the pipework/welding and really I am in a position to swap the engines and get it all run in etc though. In the meantime, I've just been hoarding yet more parts. What started as a simple dead for used k04-023 swap has gotten a little out of hand...!
Old k04 from the spare engine has seen better days mind...!
Proper update soon (maybe)
*
Brief catchup in picture form:
*
Got the tyres on the car, had the alignment done too. Tyre shop did it wrong, not particularly impressed.
*
*
So, I redid it at home to get it where I need it to be.
*
*
Standard DIY fishing line method and a calculator I knocked up on Excel. Seen in action here, along with my utterly knackered rear bumper from where a scaffold van reversed into it on base last year. Need to get it replaced at some point, it's a horrible mess!
*
*
45 profile looks cool, but rather than just give a little extra daily comfort, made things a tad squirmy and also rubbed on occasion. They've since been moved to the rear end, and I'll get a set of 40s on the front once the current rubber dies.
*
*
These are on the way out. Here's the worst of a set of 4, once I get through the rest I'll buy more Kumhos
*
*
Car has mostly been used for trekking between various offices. Still spot on as a daily, if a little rough around the edges
*
Went to Combe Spring Action Day. Played pit crew for Nick for the day - the A3 was throwing its toys out the pram (or rather, it's oil out of the sump filling the catch can and intake in the space of 4 laps...)
So we pinched Sam's e36 and went for a play instead.
Shame about the Audi, but a good day in the sun took the edge off. More important things in life...
*
Have had some fun drives over/around the Black Mountains during my time in Wales
*
*
*
*
*
*
Stuck a seat in it. Surprisingly fine for my 4 hour commute. Hoping it's tight enough for the occasional track day - the XLs always felt good and snug when I've sat in them in other cars, but I'm wondering if they'll be a smidge loose. Time will tell.
*
*
Felix likes them:
*
*
He also likes parcel shelves, provided they're in the sun:
*
Or dashes, for that matter...
In fact pretty much just loves cars. One day he's going to jump in with a stranger and disappear on a road trip!
*
Boost came and helped redo my door seals
Wishbone bushes could do with replacing soon. Not impressed by the Black Series set that are in there at all, haven't been in all that long and rarely used in anger yet appear to have lost the smaller flange. Rubbish!
*
*
Rubber line to fuel cap finally gave up the ghost. It'd cracked and gone brittle ages ago and he replacement is so cheap it'd be silly not to .*Gave things a quick wipe out too as they were pretty mucky.
*
*
*
Other than that, it's just been routine maintenance really. Soph's car has had a good service with all oil and filters, plus new droplink bolts as they'd necked fairly badly and it was causing a nasty knock (sounding just like top mounts, which we knew were good as I replaced them a few months back pre-MOT)
*
*
*
Also gave my brother's mk5 (pd140) headlights a going over. He picked the car up 18 months ago or so and they were pretty cloudy, so I'd grabbed him an Auto Glym kit to sort them out. Pretty impressed with the results. Here's a very quick 5 minute going over. Another short session after this had them looking like new!
*
*
*
Minimal engine progress due to being away a lot and wanting to spend the odd weekend I do have with the lady. Realistically I've made no progress in months and it's getting me down a bit. Only need to sort out the pipework/welding and really I am in a position to swap the engines and get it all run in etc though. In the meantime, I've just been hoarding yet more parts. What started as a simple dead for used k04-023 swap has gotten a little out of hand...!
Old k04 from the spare engine has seen better days mind...!
Proper update soon (maybe)
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