Sometimes I get around to doing stuff on the car. Lately, it has been wiring, so today was fixing up the radiator mounting.

I bought the ASI radiator around 4 years ago (yes - it is taking some time..) and unfortunately, the person who welded the mounting points on the bottom was on the *bleep*.

Radiator mounting points are off by around 2cm and the unit is also warped, so doesn't mount vertically properly.

So this weekend, I thought I'd fix up the joke that the welder had done by modifying the mounting hardware. While some could say that the mounting points on the bottom could have been moved, the mounting tabs at the top didn't allow for secure mounting of the radiator by the brackets either.

As you can see, the mounting brackets are way too high when they are seated normally.


And they don't line up. Told you the welder was on the *bleep*!


I started cutting up the rubber that joins the top bracket to the bottom bracket.


As you can see, the offset is still quite large.


Using a sharp knife, I sliced through as much rubber as possible before mounting in the vice and using a wire wheel to remove the rest of the rubber. Removing as much rubber initially allowed for a slightly cleaner job to do and less clean up after.


My friend on this job - the wire wheel. Had to use three different types to clean it all up.


Like bonding fibreglass pieces together, there are some holes for the rubber to ooze through and create a bond on either side of the metal. I cut out the rubber bits on all the holes.


Rusted vs cleaned up. Bit of a difference


And all cleaned up.


The rubber mounts were next, with a slot cut out using a mini hacksaw and a 10mm drill bit to shape the rubber. The slot allowed me to move to the drivers side nearly 10mm. I wanted the radiator to be aligned as much as possible so I can build a shroud in line with the radiator and not have gaps or have to angle the shround later.




Ii also bent the tabs a bit to fit better on the radiator mounting tabs.


Then it was tape time on the radiator itself. Had to make sure no gaps where the polyurethane could ooze onto the radiator.


I also wanted to fill the gap left in the bottom rubber mounts, so I taped the bottom mounting points as well.


Because I had taken the mounting brackets to bare metal, I wanted to ensure they were protected, so pre-coated the tabs before putting them in position on the radiator.


Mounting the radiator, I coated the rubber mounts with polyurethane and then packed the gap with more poly. Initially I was using the gun, but ended up putting poly on my finger and pushing it into the gap on the rubber mount.


With the rubber mounts done, I started on the top mounting tabs. I put a heap of poly onto the taped area and then put the mounting tab on top of that in line with the sides of the mounting point. Then I added a thick layer of poly to start to build up ploy between the tab and the bracket. The additional poly at the bottom helps to reduce the vibration (well, that is the theory..)


I pre-coated the mounting bracket and also added a thick layer of poly to again, build up the poly between tab and bracket.


Then I mounted the bracket onto the body, aligned it straight and added more polyurethane.


After a little think, I added a washer under the mounting bracket. As the bracket was raised, the poly in between was sucked in a bit, so I added more poly and smoothed it out.


Everything should be ready in 24 hours of curing but I probably won't pull it up for at least 3 days.

_________________
GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

Thats really interesting, what type of poly is it your using that comes in the gun?

I have only seen it in the past as a two part mix?

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

The polyurethane I used is this poly adhesive stuff. There is no need to go super crazy using shore rated, cast polyurethane for radiator mounts. Keep in mind - fit for purpose eg. I'm not going to be using this for engine mounts, drivetrain rubber replacement or a diff cushion haha.

http://www.selleys.com.au/adhesives/con ... pro-series

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GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

Just tested the bracket and the poly has thickened up, but should tight like a tiger Radiator shouldn't go anywhere. Next question is whether the bonnet will still fit with the brackets in that position.

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GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

really like the attention to detail....and the fact your doing all this in a small garage on axle stands ect...this cars are bars***ds to work at the best of times!!!

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ST185 266BHP/257FTLB

I agree great detail nice project.

I get worried sometimes..



With the need to build new guards to fit new wheels, Jonno sketched this up at work. I think he likes aero.
Lets hope he doesn't charge like a wounded bull if we build the carbon undertray.. note: if is a big big IF haha

Latest update:

If you didn't know, I am a project manager with experience in portfolio, programme and change management. This means I am highly organised and task orientated at work.

The Elephant, while an extensive and drawn out project, is a hobby and relaxation time for me. With the amount of work I have on the plate and the mental fatigue that comes with the job, I have maintained that the car is a hobby.

The decision has now been made to go from hobby into a proper project. I have toyed with this idea in the past, making high level project plans on my lunch breaks and writing priority lists, but now its time to get my A into G.

This culminated in a 20 minute looking at the car on saturday and writing down things I saw needed to be done. Then on Sunday, I spent another 4 hours working out all the tasks, resources required (parts, people, pro engineers etc) and started prioritising. I ended up with 140 tasks and stll continue to jot down more as I continue to think.

I have a lot of work in front of me, and a time I have to meet. The elephant is to be used as a wedding car in late Feb 2013.

This is the car as of 10 minutes ago.


An hour ago, I ordered a bullseye housing for my Holset HX35. This afternoon tyres will be put on my new wheels. I received a vintage air compact heater unit yesterday. The order for hoses and fittings will go out by the end of the week. Aluminium will be bought and brackets started to be made up. Seats will be decided over the next couple of weeks and mods to the factory rails will be sent to the engineer for certified welding.

IT"S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG - keep an eye out

Cheers
Dave

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GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

The project management thing is something I joked with the local guys about when starting my ST205 build. There were so many parts and dependencies, getting things in the right order, machining etc that I now wish that I had done that.

Did you use MS project or another tool?

_________________
GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

Funny, same boat here. I'm a PM and have always steered well clear of letting hobby become actual projects too!

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02 Mini Cooper Race Car
94 ST205 Import
92 ST185 Carlos Sainz
www.mcnab-racing.co.uk

I too have resisted planning my track toy project in detail, the big danger is you will commit the rookie error of trying to cost out the project. There's an old project management adage which says that the person who says it will take the longest and cost the most is the only one with a clue how to do the job.

There are some other old favourites:
* A badly planned project will take three times longer than expected - a well planned project only twice as long as expected.
* If you don't plan, it doesn't work. If you do plan, it doesn't work either. Why plan?
* If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.
* A little project planning saves a lot of fan cleaning (my favourite!)

_________________
Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

I don't see the point of a detailed project plan in a 1 man job.

As far as I've ever seen all a plan do in a multi resource situation is provide upper management with something to beat you with when every other bugger ignores it completely and, despite your timely warnings, it all goes wahoonie shaped when the stated deadline passes without result.

That's when the real project management skills of ducking and diving, blamestorming, pterodactyling* and Monday morning quarterbacking come to the fore

Of course a reasonably good list of stuff to do is a different kettle of amphibians entirely and is a sensible document for any major project

"If you fail to plan you plan to fail"
If I plan to fail do I ultimately fail to fail?

*like seagulling but larger volumes from a greater height

Haha, all very wise words which I know much of.

My latest are:
1. Rome wasn't built in a day
2. A leopard(s) doesn't change its spots
3. Practice what you preach
4. Changes don't happen from the bottom up
5. Stop f'ing whining and get on with the bloody job!

The detailed plan will assist me in understanding what I need to do in order to work more efficiently. This is also not a 1-man build as my friends will be contributing to finishing as they owe me numerous hours which I need to utilise.

The time is a date in late Feb 2013. There are no specific times on activities, but knowing the logical order is important to make it happen. eg I'm not going to drill a hole in the firewall while the engine is in place as I'll be in an awkward angle leaning over putting pressure on a holesaw and will most likely make a crooked hole and damage myself.

Resource costs - well, I already have a list of around 95% of costs so far except for time. I need to know what I have to buy now so I can buy it and have it when I need to do the work. I spent $1800 yesterday..

I use MS project at work and have used other PM tools as the career has progressed.

At the end of the day, I have to apply 3 & 5 if I want to finish the car. Note, the 'finish' is back on the road with certification (mods are certified in NZ). I'll do minor mods later eg change interior colour, build fan shrouds, install stereo system etc.

_________________
GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

Just a little teaser



27/09/12
- Getting my friend to organise some aluminium bar for me to weld brackets and other bits and bobs.
- Have received fittings and hoses, though the order was wrong, so will have to sort that out soon and get a credit or refund at the store.
- My cousin has shipped the bullseye turbo housing to NZ. I expect a 1-2 week wait and then I can mount turbocharger properly and build downpipes, wastegate outlet etc.
- pulled steering column out again to make room as I need to work under the dash, mounting ecu, control boxes, relays and route wiring. Also to mount vintage air gen ii compact heater (LHD heater in RHD car requires a little bit of lateral thinking)

Maybe on the weekend I'll add a photo of the wheels. on the car. Looks a bit high at the moment, but I again need to shift stuff and make room as I have help weld up some panel steel in the garage on saturday on my friends skyline (pictures in previous posts)

Off to garage now. Need to get rid of some work stress and prep for saturday.

Teaser 2

_________________
GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

Life's busy as per usual, but as I procrastinate on doing a poster for Movember to pin on the work bulletin board, I thought I may as well procrastinate by doing an update on the Elephant.

7 Aug 2012: Bit myself playing in the garage. This was a couple of days before flying to Sydney for World Time Attack 2012. Lets just say that this has taken a while to heal and my fingerprint is going to be even more unique with a nice scar.


18 - 31 Aug 2012: Started fabricating exhaust stuff. Needed to make a joiner between custom midpipe I bought off guy and a cheapo aftermarket downpipe. This was during the plan of starting engine on factory ECU with factory turbo. Engine start on factory ECU has been escalated to 'Just Do It'. Good practice though and I can save the flanges.










Engine has to be in bay to measure exhaust stuff. Wiring - oh how I love thee.


1 Sep 2012: Thought I better take a photo of 2nd part of midpipe. 3" straight through. I may put in catalytic convertor. Second guessing that route now I know that it isn't necessary for certification.


More practice I get, the better the welds get haha.


And joined up.


Wheel has clearance from the shock body


My my, what big brakes you have. Thanks to Bazda/Barry at http://www.mrpltd.co.nz for setting this up for me.


19 Sep 2012: Car in usual disassembled state


Those wheels.. well the powdercoating makes putting wheels onto spacer spigots quite difficult. I wet sanded the coating off where the wheel sits on the spigot


21 Sep 2012: Measuring up for the radiators. Note, there are 3 radiators in the pack. I used 70mm welding cable to see how the hose would orientate. Cable not that flexible, so realistic on routes for hoses.






25 Sep 2012: to mount the radiators, I found some factory mounting points. I removed the plastic and have a place to mount the bottom bracket for the rads. Still need to cut aluminium and weld up the brackets though.


29 Sep 2012: Friend came around for some welding. Boot section was coming apart after a previous repair failed after many years. Welds had rusted through, so I helped fix it up.




7 Oct 2012: I don't miss Bathurst. I wanted to get some work done while other friends drunk beer and ate sausages, so I moved a TV into the garage. I was still productive that day.


Hose fittings bought - car is slowly coming together.


14 Sep 2012: Note, there are 2x 10 row coolers for PS and gearbox


18 Sep 2012: I bought a seat, Bride Ergo II. I then bought a Bride Brix II as it had the matching gradation pattern. Shame I couldn't find matching seats, but there is minimal difference in looks. Brix is still in Auckland haha. Maybe it will come down this week.


Will need to provide rest of update soon. I uploaded 50 photos covering off the main points during last couple of months. Sleepy time - laters

_________________
GT Four Adovansu

"I want to enjoy the powerful and nimble agility behavior."

Nice update - are hose hose fittings steel or aluminium? They look smart.

_________________
GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK