Discussion
sdh2903 said:
No not at all! I totally agree. Everyone I look at the current manifolds I think the same. It will happen at some point.
Ref the 3d printing. If I was keeping the original injector locations in the OEM lower manifold and just needing the adapters I would have 3d printed. But because these are now 'wet' I went alloy. The other consideration was cost. I couldnt home print them in a single piece and getting them done externally in a material that would cope was pretty expensive, comparable to the cost of the aluminium ones.
After watching this chaps vids:Ref the 3d printing. If I was keeping the original injector locations in the OEM lower manifold and just needing the adapters I would have 3d printed. But because these are now 'wet' I went alloy. The other consideration was cost. I couldnt home print them in a single piece and getting them done externally in a material that would cope was pretty expensive, comparable to the cost of the aluminium ones.
https://youtu.be/hFkr3t0e4Z8
I think they’d survive ‘wet’. Great progress though.
I’ve looked at the Jenvey and Borla ITB kits for my current Ford Windsor V8 powered Cobra. They are nearly £5k just for the bodies and manifold!
Have still been chipping away at things that seemed to have taken forever. First up, whilst out I wanted to upgrade to a slightly larger alternator (60a) as although it coped ok the little 40a denso must have been borderline. Also i wanted to tidy up the engine mounts as they were a little rough and ready.
The plan was to mount the alternator off the existing pulley mount on the engine timing cover. Mocked up
Had the alt bracket and engine mounts water jet cut.
Alt bracket with it's dowel pins that will fit into the existing holes on the engine.
As the alt was now independantly mounted I needed to make up the new n/s mount. It needed to sneak inbetween the alt and the oil filter, which due to the sandwich plate for the oil cooler, was now even more in the way. I could have gone for a shorter filter but as the rocketeer sump runs at a lower capacity I wanted to keep the large filter.
Snug.
Whilst it was In for the mount tack up another slight issue cropped up. The newer engine moves the oil filler neck up to the top of the cam cover and is taller. Too tall in fact as it was fouling on the bonnet.
I did think about cutting the filler down and getting it re-welded but then on removal found it was a magnesium alloy which I'm told is incredibly difficult to weld. So I went for a different approach.
And hacked the top off a spare cap.
That should be enough to clear. I've also 3d printed a top to bond to the cap to aid removal.
Another job that needed sorting was a slight weep from the box. It was leaking from the joins in the casing. I could have attempted to repair it but as mx5 gearboxes are so cheap I just bought another.
And the engine is now in aswell. Fingers crossed for the final Bloody time.
The plan was to mount the alternator off the existing pulley mount on the engine timing cover. Mocked up
Had the alt bracket and engine mounts water jet cut.
Alt bracket with it's dowel pins that will fit into the existing holes on the engine.
As the alt was now independantly mounted I needed to make up the new n/s mount. It needed to sneak inbetween the alt and the oil filter, which due to the sandwich plate for the oil cooler, was now even more in the way. I could have gone for a shorter filter but as the rocketeer sump runs at a lower capacity I wanted to keep the large filter.
Snug.
Whilst it was In for the mount tack up another slight issue cropped up. The newer engine moves the oil filler neck up to the top of the cam cover and is taller. Too tall in fact as it was fouling on the bonnet.
I did think about cutting the filler down and getting it re-welded but then on removal found it was a magnesium alloy which I'm told is incredibly difficult to weld. So I went for a different approach.
And hacked the top off a spare cap.
That should be enough to clear. I've also 3d printed a top to bond to the cap to aid removal.
Another job that needed sorting was a slight weep from the box. It was leaking from the joins in the casing. I could have attempted to repair it but as mx5 gearboxes are so cheap I just bought another.
And the engine is now in aswell. Fingers crossed for the final Bloody time.
wrayvon said:
Keep up the good work!
Jealous of your access to a 3D printer also... maybe I need to invest in one
They are very handy. Especially for bits like the oil cap or for prototyping bits. Jealous of your access to a 3D printer also... maybe I need to invest in one
So engine is not far off buttoned up.
As the injector locations are different, some of the coils face the opposite way and the cam sensor being in a different location I had to reroute a fair chunk of wiring.
And tidied up
New aux belt ordered and alternator all mounted up
I had previously ran a dead head single fuel line to the front of the car with the reg and return at the tank. Jenvey and Kms both recommend using a traditional return line with the regulator after the fuel rail. So an additional kunifer solid line was ran in. All the hoses in the engine bay have been replaced with PTFE hoses and AN fittings.
Plumbing has also been ran in for the laminova. Just awaiting a pipe getting welded for the tee off for the heater pipe with the 2 sensor bosses for the coolant sensors. This did arrive last week but some numpty ordered one with the wrong thread.
I had hoped to use an off the shelf air filter from reverie, however with the fuel rails getting in the way and height being critical it just wouldn't fit. However the very helpful guys at reverie and ITG made a custom one at a lower height for no extra cost.
Whilst waiting for bits, thought I'd take a look at a niggle I'd had ever since the start. The diff pinion had leaked ever since it was overhauled. Well I say leak it was a weep really. Even rested up over winter it wouldnt drop a drip. I'd ummed and arred even just leaving it as the level hadn't dropped but it was leaking and it shouldn't.
Weepy goodness
As the sierra diff input flange is just a bolt on flange (and doesn't disturb the pinion torque) I'd hoped to try and do it in situe but with my chassis being a narrow tunnel model there was no hope.
With the flange off can see where it was coming from.
New seal fitted and while it was out gave it an oil change, didn't really need it but daft not to while it's out as it doesn't have a drain plug so isn't the easiest to do in situe.
Diff back in.
Another task Id wanted to do for a while and made sense to do whilst the back end was apart was to add a 3rd brake light. So bought a kit from mofast and bonded it to the underside of the roll bar.
Was going to start with the final assembly and fit of the throttle bodies but at the last moment realised I had the wrong config of linkage levers. I'd been sent them set up with the centre body as the master rather than the end one. At first I thought I needed 4 but after disassembling and shuffling the levers around got it down to just 1. Thankfully as they are 30 euros each. Along with a quite frankly ridiculous postage cost of 25 euros 1 lever ended up being 48 quid.
Weepy goodness
As the sierra diff input flange is just a bolt on flange (and doesn't disturb the pinion torque) I'd hoped to try and do it in situe but with my chassis being a narrow tunnel model there was no hope.
With the flange off can see where it was coming from.
New seal fitted and while it was out gave it an oil change, didn't really need it but daft not to while it's out as it doesn't have a drain plug so isn't the easiest to do in situe.
Diff back in.
Another task Id wanted to do for a while and made sense to do whilst the back end was apart was to add a 3rd brake light. So bought a kit from mofast and bonded it to the underside of the roll bar.
Was going to start with the final assembly and fit of the throttle bodies but at the last moment realised I had the wrong config of linkage levers. I'd been sent them set up with the centre body as the master rather than the end one. At first I thought I needed 4 but after disassembling and shuffling the levers around got it down to just 1. Thankfully as they are 30 euros each. Along with a quite frankly ridiculous postage cost of 25 euros 1 lever ended up being 48 quid.
Edited by sdh2903 on Monday 27th February 18:32
Great thread - thanks for writing it up. I wish I had the time, skill and knowledge to mess about with cars like this. Also fascinating to see how much you know about how to get things done, including what's possible and who to contact.
I also echo requests for a video - it'd be great to hear how this thing sounds!
I also echo requests for a video - it'd be great to hear how this thing sounds!
I last read on the forum before I left , you were on the first engine. That was a while ago and the 'influx' of engines has been quite impressive , in a sods law kind of way.
Not sure if you remember, that my rad also dumped its coolant within 100 miles in a similar fashion , with a standard S2000 pump. Ian was getting through them by the handful. They were all basically rubbish. Cheap for the factory to buy and change the earth for them.
I always admired your way of going slightly off normal with your builds, even if there is a few V6's now north of the border. I was looking for the number plate board in the garage
If I mentioned to the Mrs in building another Westfield, it would be divorce , without question. The dismay that the build caused , she would shoot me if I did it again. And she has just got a new job involving shotguns.............. best not mention it.
Not sure if you remember, that my rad also dumped its coolant within 100 miles in a similar fashion , with a standard S2000 pump. Ian was getting through them by the handful. They were all basically rubbish. Cheap for the factory to buy and change the earth for them.
I always admired your way of going slightly off normal with your builds, even if there is a few V6's now north of the border. I was looking for the number plate board in the garage
If I mentioned to the Mrs in building another Westfield, it would be divorce , without question. The dismay that the build caused , she would shoot me if I did it again. And she has just got a new job involving shotguns.............. best not mention it.
Justin S said:
I last read on the forum before I left , you were on the first engine. That was a while ago and the 'influx' of engines has been quite impressive , in a sods law kind of way.
Not sure if you remember, that my rad also dumped its coolant within 100 miles in a similar fashion , with a standard S2000 pump. Ian was getting through them by the handful. They were all basically rubbish. Cheap for the factory to buy and change the earth for them.
I always admired your way of going slightly off normal with your builds, even if there is a few V6's now north of the border. I was looking for the number plate board in the garage
If I mentioned to the Mrs in building another Westfield, it would be divorce , without question. The dismay that the build caused , she would shoot me if I did it again. And she has just got a new job involving shotguns.............. best not mention it.
Yeah theres now been loads of premature rad failures all with differing engine and water pump configurations, just cheap crap, the guy who built the new one said its just the cheapest possible imported cores that are the problem. Not sure if you remember, that my rad also dumped its coolant within 100 miles in a similar fashion , with a standard S2000 pump. Ian was getting through them by the handful. They were all basically rubbish. Cheap for the factory to buy and change the earth for them.
I always admired your way of going slightly off normal with your builds, even if there is a few V6's now north of the border. I was looking for the number plate board in the garage
If I mentioned to the Mrs in building another Westfield, it would be divorce , without question. The dismay that the build caused , she would shoot me if I did it again. And she has just got a new job involving shotguns.............. best not mention it.
Yes definitly keep the mantra happy wife, happy life when theres guns involved
So it seems like ive been treading water a bit of late, but things have started to come together a bit in the past week.
Firstly the altered coolant pipe arrived back and after a coat of paint, fitted up and the coolant refilled and bled. Pipework routing isnt perfect and not as neat as i'd like but will do for now while i see what effect the laminova has.
I'd whipped off the throttle bodies to build them up with all the o rings and get them to a baseline setup, in doing so id noticed that the levers had varying adjustment inbetween cylinders, so on one bank on end would be at the far end of adjustment whilst the other end was adjusted to the opposite end. Having spoken to KMS they were aware of a hand bent batch of link levers that were shipped whilst a machine was out of operation with varying levels of tolerance. They agreed to send me out a new batch free of charge. When they arrived the bodies were broken down and all swapped over. Things are much better now. Knocked up some gaskets ready for final installation.
I had a to-do list of things to look at on the interior too. The carpet over the tunnel was splitting at the join at the tunnet top, also as it was a single piece carpet it meant a major strip out to do a simple handbrake cable adjustment. The single piece carpet was binned and I used some 4 way stretch carpet left over from a mates camper project on the tunnel sides and some quilted vinyl left from my previous westfield for the top. Also 3d printed up some new gear lever and handbrake trims, just waiting on new gaiters arriving.
The drivers heated seat had never really worked, much to the amusement of my daughter who automatically switches hers on whenever she ventures out with me. I thought it was going to be a pad change but for a change it was a simple fix, i'd crossed 2 wires. They dont really get 'hot' but do get warm enough to make a difference when its chilly.
With the bodies now back in, sorted out the throttle cable. Luckily the KMS bodies will take jenvey bits, so I'm using the jenvey staggered throttle inputs with the link cable to join the banks, works well and easy to setup. Even managed to keep my existing cable.
Then it was time to sort the filter backplate. The air filter config had caused lots of headaches due to fuel rails being in the way, and the primary concern of bonnet clearance. It came down to really 2 choices, mount the back plate directly to the underside of the trumpet lips, or go for an airbox with a cone filter where there's room for one. As the primary reason for going for the ITBs was for the noise I didnt want to lose that by using an airbox, it may well end up being the case that it ends up too noisy and if it does it will be a future option. After ordering a couple of bits of 2mm ally same size as the filter, got to work with the holesaw.
And fitted up, along with the Intake air temp sensor
And finally test fitted with the bonnet to make sure it cleared.
Before giving up for the day I wanted to turn the engine over for the first time with the fuel pump fuse pulled to make sure I had oil pressure, which it does! Am rapidly running out of jobs now before attemting to fire it up.
Firstly the altered coolant pipe arrived back and after a coat of paint, fitted up and the coolant refilled and bled. Pipework routing isnt perfect and not as neat as i'd like but will do for now while i see what effect the laminova has.
I'd whipped off the throttle bodies to build them up with all the o rings and get them to a baseline setup, in doing so id noticed that the levers had varying adjustment inbetween cylinders, so on one bank on end would be at the far end of adjustment whilst the other end was adjusted to the opposite end. Having spoken to KMS they were aware of a hand bent batch of link levers that were shipped whilst a machine was out of operation with varying levels of tolerance. They agreed to send me out a new batch free of charge. When they arrived the bodies were broken down and all swapped over. Things are much better now. Knocked up some gaskets ready for final installation.
I had a to-do list of things to look at on the interior too. The carpet over the tunnel was splitting at the join at the tunnet top, also as it was a single piece carpet it meant a major strip out to do a simple handbrake cable adjustment. The single piece carpet was binned and I used some 4 way stretch carpet left over from a mates camper project on the tunnel sides and some quilted vinyl left from my previous westfield for the top. Also 3d printed up some new gear lever and handbrake trims, just waiting on new gaiters arriving.
The drivers heated seat had never really worked, much to the amusement of my daughter who automatically switches hers on whenever she ventures out with me. I thought it was going to be a pad change but for a change it was a simple fix, i'd crossed 2 wires. They dont really get 'hot' but do get warm enough to make a difference when its chilly.
With the bodies now back in, sorted out the throttle cable. Luckily the KMS bodies will take jenvey bits, so I'm using the jenvey staggered throttle inputs with the link cable to join the banks, works well and easy to setup. Even managed to keep my existing cable.
Then it was time to sort the filter backplate. The air filter config had caused lots of headaches due to fuel rails being in the way, and the primary concern of bonnet clearance. It came down to really 2 choices, mount the back plate directly to the underside of the trumpet lips, or go for an airbox with a cone filter where there's room for one. As the primary reason for going for the ITBs was for the noise I didnt want to lose that by using an airbox, it may well end up being the case that it ends up too noisy and if it does it will be a future option. After ordering a couple of bits of 2mm ally same size as the filter, got to work with the holesaw.
And fitted up, along with the Intake air temp sensor
And finally test fitted with the bonnet to make sure it cleared.
Before giving up for the day I wanted to turn the engine over for the first time with the fuel pump fuse pulled to make sure I had oil pressure, which it does! Am rapidly running out of jobs now before attemting to fire it up.
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