Nige's wide body poject

[Nigelr32]

I just thought I'd change the title of this thread.

[Nigelr32]

So, tonight I have been busy for a short while fitting up the bushes and getting the subframe back in. With a little application of the supplied grease all the bushes and sleeves pressed in with no more than firm hand pressure.

Here's the subframe with the bushes fitted. You'll also notice I've fitted the collar for the Whiteline KDT 924 rear diff bushes. Its is basically a pressed steel plated ring, required to support the right hand rar diff bush.



And here we can see the Subframe placed upon a blanketed trolley.. why you ask, well, all will become apparent.



The subframe is easily rolled into position on a trolley, then a jack can be used to find the centre point so the subframe can be lifted into position flat and true to the mountings in the bodyshell. I have read horror stories of people stripping the threads in their body by not getting this step right. basically, if you cant turn the bolt by hand, some thing is wrong.. STOP!!!



Once aligned correctly, the bolts can be screwed all the way in, by hand and the jack and the trolley can be removed. now, how pretty does this look!!!





Yes, I am a big tart who loves clean bright colours....

Tomorrow the diff will be going back in with the new Whiteline bushes. Then the car will get all bolted back together, stock for a comparison study with just these bushes replaced.

[sam69]

Great job you've done but I reckon you need a hoist .

[Nigelr32]

Originally Posted by sam69

Great job you've done but I reckon you need a hoist .

This is where the language barrier comes into play Sam. In the UK a hoist is an engine crane, which I have. I assume you mean a "ramp" to get the car up in the air?

I may get a ramp one day, but at 51 yrs old, time is running out lol.

[Nigelr32]

So, I haven't posted here in a while, so I guess I better get you guys up to speed..


I decided to go turbo on this car so have stripped the engine for blueprinting and Carrillo Rods, Carrs Bolts and CP 10:1 Pistons.I have also ordered a Billet oil pump from Japan as I have heard the stock pump can fail?? I have a new Subaru Gasket set, Three bond sealant and ARP fasteners for the mains and heads. Next on the list may be some Ferrea valves and springs??


Here you can see I've dummy built the casings so I can insert a little tool I made..





The tool allows me to scribe a mark where the plugs go into the head..





Then I cut holes in the rail, ready to weld in DOM steel tubes so I can access the plugs and do compression checks easily.





I am also seam welding the whole front of the car up to the seam in the floor below the pedals. That's why you can see the sealant all stripped out.. Note also I have cut out a section of the vertical box section around the front tube. This is so I can actually weld the tube to the rail itself, then weld the box back over the top.





After asking some questions and getting some great answers on this forum, I was able to mod the ends of the rocker panels to allow for the planned 9.5" wheels going on the front.





Thanks for looking in guys, I'll try to keep you all updated more regularly in future...

[ChrisD]

Awesome build so far - looks like you really know what you are doing. Thanks for the review on the SuperPro bushings too, as I was just about to order some of them but maybe I won't bother now... if you aren't quite sure where they should go then a car modifying novice like myself won't stand a chance.

[ChrisD]

Oh and have you got any quotes for the Carrillo rods yet? Only place I've found in the UK that sells them says they will be £1159 (includes VAT) and then I've got to find someone to install them as I don't think I'd be able to do any internal engine stuff myself

[Nigelr32]

Originally Posted by ChrisD

Awesome build so far - looks like you really know what you are doing. Thanks for the review on the SuperPro bushings too, as I was just about to order some of them but maybe I won't bother now... if you aren't quite sure where they should go then a car modifying novice like myself won't stand a chance.

Super Pro actually responded very quickly Chris, and posted a set of instructions on their site. It all becomes clear then... The old bushes are a complete swine to get out

As for rods, speak to Mark at Abbey Motorsport. Say I sent you, he quoted me better than anyone else, and beware, you need the Carrillo H beam rods and it's worth going for the Carrs bolts. He would also be able to fit them for you. You might want to consider pistons too as the engine strip down is costly, both financially and time wise. You will really benefit from lowering your CR as well.

Adrian at Fensport will also satisfy all your requirements. If you're going to buy a Turbo from him, you might consider using him as a one stop shop?

[Nigelr32]

I got the front of the shell totally stripped out, so thought I may as well get on with some stitch welding. I hope this helps add some rigidity to the car?








And, from inside..





We have a long way to go yet, but it's so darn cold here right now my mask keeps fogging up.. this could take a while..

[Nigelr32]

OK, I've had a change of heart now, and have decided to build a lightweight stripped out full cage track machine.


I have had all the engine work done and am starting on the shell. here we can see it on its very own rotisserie. You will notice I already seam welded the front end.. this was done when the shell was still on stands, lets just say the floor welds will be redone, they aint pretty!!







The rotisserie allows the body to be rotated and worked on in any orientation, so instead of having to grovel around on ones back to seam weld the floor, one can simply stand on a stool and do it vertically from the top.. like this....





Or you could always have the floor in front of your face??





Or the other way round??





Having this jig will also make the job of stripping sealant and cutting out the boot floor a lot easier, especially for an old bugger like me!!


The white '86 in the background used to belong to "Steveoexige", it had a JDL Turbo kit, Tein suspension, Cosworth brakes bla bla, now it's stock.

[WhiteFRS69]

damn, talk about a full overhaul!!!

nice!!

[meWant]

in for the updates, Project seems to be looking good from here.

[Nigelr32]

Well, I've been away for a while, but I have been working on the car every day!!

You may remember I bought a UK copy of the RB V1 kit. I would have bought the genuine kit, but I didnt want to risk the damage in shipping from the USA, plus I didnt want to line the pockets of the UK customs and tax man!! So, I bought the kit which wasnt really very good at all!!

See here..http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...61#post2244661

After over 150 hours of hard work, I now have a full fender kit and moulds to make my own kit that actually fits.









Then I had to cut the arches out and weld in some gussets to fill the gap..



From the inside..

[Nigelr32]

I forgot to add these pics earlier..





It's a full cage from Custom Cages in the UK. The front tube configuration on this cage will not allow the use of the stock servo on the brakes.. you have been warned. Check out their website, you'll see what I mean. So far they have been unable to show me any pics of the cage as their cad model actually fitted to a car..

I also have a Samsonas 6 speed sequential box on the way, along with a Motec M150 and Tilton pedal box. I want to remove all the electronic crap such as keyless entry and am currently trying to find out how I can do this. This is one reason for going Motec.