Finally Bought My (almost) Dream Car!

[KidChameleon]

I got an MIJ exhaust off ebay. Next day delivery, and I fitted it today. The old cherry bomb was embarassingly loud, especially considering I go to work at 6:30am. I had to keep the revs below 3,000rpm for it to be reasonably quiet, but then what's the point?

The replacement is a 6" x 18" stainless silencer. It has about 1" clearance around it in the side pod. It's MUCH quieter than the cherry bomb, but it still has a loud, deep rumble when I put my foot down. Cruising at a steady speed it's not much louder than any other car.


The car is going in for a tune up on Wednesday. I could fiddle with the carbs myself but I could make it worse, and I want to know what power it has as well. I have an old print out for 118hp (I don't know if that's at the wheels or BHP) but there's no date on it.

[DanceswithUnix]

I got an MIJ exhaust off ebay. Next day delivery, and I fitted it today. The old cherry bomb was embarassingly loud, especially considering I go to work at 6:30am. I had to keep the revs below 3,000rpm for it to be reasonably quiet, but then what's the point?

The replacement is a 6" x 18" stainless silencer. It has about 1" clearance around it in the side pod. It's MUCH quieter than the cherry bomb, but it still has a loud, deep rumble when I put my foot down. Cruising at a steady speed it's not much louder than any other car.


The car is going in for a tune up on Wednesday. I could fiddle with the carbs myself but I could make it worse, and I want to know what power it has as well. I have an old print out for 118hp (I don't know if that's at the wheels or BHP) but there's no date on it.

Nice one, my exhaust needs re-packing. ATM there are very few circuits that would let me on

The 118BHP should be at the wheels, as no-one has any clue what the losses in your drivechain are a flywheel figure will be a guess.

[KidChameleon]

I had a little play with the carburettors on Sunday. The idle mixture screw should be 1-2 turns out but one was 3 turns and another was 4 1/2 turns. I put them roughly where I guessed they should be and the backfiring was a lot better.

Following a Porsche Boxster home on Monday night, I was matching their acceleration perfectly. They do 0-60 in 6 seconds, which sounds right. (Does anyone else have performance shootouts in their mind while they're driving? "Ford Fiesta... 10.4 seconds. I could beat that easily. Focus ST. 6.4 seconds... Hmmm".)


However, it went to Alan Jeffery in Plymouth today. I think the power it had before was about 102bhp (flywheel) and after tuning was about 110bhp. That's not too bad, roughly 8% increase. I've read different dynos can give different results, so I'm not too bummed about the loss on the old read out. There's a pretty big difference in the driving. Much smoother and I can feel it's faster, especially in 2nd gear.

There's a problem now that the spring on the throttle doesn't fully return it to closed so he couldn't set up the idle speed accurately without fabricating something for it. That would explain why it sometimes idles at 1,200 and sometimes at 1,800. I'll sort something out myself, but then the idle mix will be a little off.

[KidChameleon]

Hmm... what do we have here?




Looks like a 2.0 litre Duratec engine.



I'll have to make some space for it...







Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of the empty engine bay while the bonnet was still off. Maybe I'll get some at the weekend when the guy that's helping is coming back over.

The usual thing with a Duratec is to buy a bell housing to mate it to a Type 9. They're over £250 new, plus clutch levers and whatnot. I found out The 2006 onwards Mazda MX5 gearbox bolts straight onto the Duratec because it's basically the same engine. It's more modern, can safely take more power, and has a much nicer mechanism. It's more of a click-clack than wiggle-squidge movement. There are plenty on eBay with a BIN of £400-500 but I managed to snag one for a mere £125. It brings up a few problems, though. The bell housing on the MX5 box is wider and longer than a Type 9 bell housing. A shortened sump saves a couple of inches over the standard sump, but then the MX5 bell housing will stick out below the engine by about an inch.

With that in mind, I can set up the ground clearance without the engine in place. 4" from the ground is the same as the Crossflow before, and in this position I should have about 10-20mm clearance under the bonnet, which is loads.




I had a chop a few bits off the gear box to make it fit in the transmission tunnel. Unfortunately, the box is as far back as it could reasonably go without hitting the driver's footwell in the engine bay. That gives me this problem...




There's a lump in the dashboard right where I don't want one. Having tested the position from the driver's seat, I'm now thinking of bending the gear stick backwards. I was having to stretch very slightly, which would get tiring after a while.


I'm going to be using GSXR 1000 bike throttle bodies. The early ones can be split up and independently positioned. A lot of people weld tubes onto a flange, then connect the throttle bodies using silicone hose and hose clips. I'm going to be using the original throttle body mounting rubbers bolted straight to the flange. The port matching won't be perfect but it's much easier. Aluminium really needs to be TIG welded but I only have a MIG machine, which gives terrible results on aluminium unless you're very skilled.

With a MicroSquirt ECU I should get around 190bhp. I'm aiming for at least 180bhp. I think the standard internals are safe up to around 215bhp, then you need to start replacing pistons and con rods, which is when the expense goes right up. The standard crank is safe up to around 8,000rpm and I'll be using ARP conrod bolts so I might have the rev limit around 7,400rpm.


I'm going back to New Zealand mid-February so I'm not expecting to have the swap finished by then. I was hoping to at least have the engine bolted into place but now I'm not so sure I'll get that far.

[Zak33]

hey man..welcome back again

the ARP bots are a good idea,... you won't ened any more revs that 7.5k will you..? this thing is gonna be lunar!

[KidChameleon]

hey man..welcome back again

the ARP bots are a good idea,... you won't ened any more revs that 7.5k will you..? this thing is gonna be lunar!

Depends where peak power is. There's no point going more than about 200rpm past it. Having said that, I wouldn't know where peak power is until it goes on a rolling road. The standard chain tensioner has issues with sustained high revs (over 7,500) but I have a feeling there might be a problem with mine anyway. I'll get the chain cover off at the weekend and take a look at what's wrong. As I turn the engine over, there's a certain point where the chain "pings" slack, then tightens up again as I turn it over some more. Hopefully it's just something to do with tensioning, rather than something more serious.

I think the MX5 box has slightly shorter ratios than a standard Type 9. Upping the rev limit could fix that to an extent. I think I worked out the top speed would be limited to 146mph, but I doubt I'll ever get near that on a track even assuming the aero limit is higher. Having said that, 150bhp bike powered Furys easily hit the rev limiter at 135mph.

It should be rather nippy with 190bhp. I'm expecting 0-60 in under 5 seconds, and it should be more drivable than the Crossflow. I found there wasn't much power until about 3,000rpm, when it would suddenly take off. If I didn't start off above 3,000 then the whole acceleration felt drawn out. There wasn't as much of a kick as if I had started accelerating above 3,000.


Once I work out what I'm doing long term I'll consider exporting it to New Zealand. By happy accident, my car was first registered in 1999 and it turns out New Zealand has stricter import rules for cars built after 2002. There are various rules about brake/fuel lines and wishbone sizes that I would need to look into. Other than that, I could import it as an "Immigrant's Vehicle" which circumvents some rules, and makes the car exempt from customs and duty as long as I don't sell it within a year.

My main concern is that the cost of exporting it would be a large portion of what the car is worth. A container alone is around £2,000 then I'd have to add various admin fees, which can be up to £2,000 if you don't get things straight to begin with. Maybe I could get my parents to contribute to the container if they're going to move a lot of personal stuff as well. But, hey, it would be the only Fury in New Zealand as far as I know.

[Rave]

2l Duratec. Good choice. Very good choice .

[Hoonigan]

2l Duratec. Good choice. Very good choice .

Agreed, very nice engines indeed, had a go in my uncle's Mondeo 2L 2011 Mondeo yesterday and it was soooo nice to drive.. Bucket loads of torque too, compared to my 1.2 2007 Twingo

[Biscuit]

I do love duratechs

Given that the car is pretty much an entirely custom build, would'nt the rules about when its built be a lot more flexible?

[KidChameleon]

I do love duratechs

Given that the car is pretty much an entirely custom build, would'nt the rules about when its built be a lot more flexible?

I think it makes more problems. The government website is pretty standard. It takes you round in circles then eventually gives some vague and irrelevant information. I've found a lot of info about production cars but nothing specifically about kit cars.

I asked on an NZ kit car forum and got some good advice. One of the points was on seatbelt mounting points. The guy I was talking to cheated by importing a Caterham, where he could produce some safety test results. I believe they would otherwise need access to seatbelt mount points to assess them, which could mean taking body panels off. The Fury seems pretty clear and open on that, though. Front wishbones have to be made out of 25mm tube or bigger and looking by eye, mine seem to be 20mm.

If I ever export it, I would have to budget for a load of spares. Toyo R888 here are £87 but they're £150 in New Zealand. I could just pack the container full of extras. Exporting could just be a pipe dream, though.

I was hoping to get a shortened sump in for the weekend but they don't have any available off the shelf and the others are halfway through manufacturing.

[MaddAussie]

Lovely little car

[KidChameleon]

I've knocked up some engine mounts and got the engine in. They're not the prettiest welds but they should hold.




The green line shows roughly where I think the shortened sump will come to. Unfortunately, the 10* sumps won't be in stock for another 4 weeks. That will have to wait until I get back in June. It's currently got 2.5-3" of ground clearance. I should have 4" with the shortened sump, which is about the same as before.



The cam position sensor at the back of the engine is slightly too high to close the bonnet. But I won't need the sensor, and the transmission is tipped up too high at the moment. Once the gearbox is mounted properly it should bring the back of the engine down low enough.

[DanceswithUnix]

It should be rather nippy with 190bhp.

Same power as the old Alfa V6 in my Napiersport Corse. Should keep you entertained for a while, though as I said before you always get used to the power eventually. Passengers never seem to though

[KidChameleon]

I've been doing some more work on the car over the last few weeks. I had been hoping the weather would be good for working on the drive, what with it being June and all. It was better in New Zealand, and it's equivalent to December there! I've been trying to work in between showers. There isn't enough space to work in the garage, and there's too much flammable stuff to weld inside.

I've replaced the rear lights with some brighter LED rings. I didn't like that the old tail and brake lights were from the same, dim bulb. Now they're separate and a lot brighter. I don't have any photos, though.

The fuel system is mostly plumbed in. I have a swirl pot and a low pressure pump behind the seats and I will be putting the high pressure pump in the engine bay. The GSXR1000 throttle bodies are made up and on the engine. I'm having trouble finding connectors for the Suzuki MAP and TPS. I could just buy a loom off ebay but I'm reluctant to spend nearly £30 for just two connectors. For the TPS I could just cut the wires and put a different pair of connectors on, but the MAP doesn't have any wires to cut.

I've chopped the old gear stick at the base and welded a shorter rod onto it. The design of the old stick meant I couldn't just cut it down.



Not shown: A plastic cover which bolts onto the gear stick mount to hold it in place.




Bonus: It goes through the same hole in the upholstery as the old stick. I'll need to make the hole in the metal plate a bit bigger, though.



My fingers still slightly make contact with the dash but the knob needs to be pushed down a bit more once I've got the gaiter on, so it might give just enough clearance. Otherwise, I could just take a little more off the rod.


I bought a manifold kit on ebay but I've had to chop it about to fit on my car. Ideally, the headers should be equal lengths but I thought it would be too much work to get it right. By pure luck, headers 1-3 are all within an inch of the same length, which is very good. Header 4 is about 4" shorter, though. If I had some spare bends I would try making it a bit longer. In hindsight, I should have swapped headers 1 and 4 on the collector. The pipes are half tacked and half fully welded at the moment. I wanted to get it into shape then concentrate on getting the engine out as soon as possible. I can finish welding it up off the car. Once it's all welded up I'll grind them smooth. The pipes are close to the brake lines but I'll be relocating the reservoirs.






I've gone for a Microsquirt ECU, a pre-built version of Megasquirt. I'm getting help with the swap from someone who has an almost identical set up and he's going to sell me his map, which means I won't have to go to a rolling road to get a good tune. I could go to a rolling road afterwards just to fine tune things but it would still be cheaper this way. He's helping out on Sunday so we should be able to get most things wired up, albeit temporarily with screw terminals.

I had been hoping to have the engine running before I go back to New Zealand next week but there's still a lot to do.

[melon]

In 2004, my dad and I went to look at a kit car manufacturer for sale. Ever since then, I've been aiming to own one. They don't have the quality of supercars, but they do have good performance for a low price.

It's a Fisher Fury. This one has the Le Mans bonnet (my preferred choice), a full windscreen, and doors. The engine is a 1700cc Ford Crossflow, which needs the carburettors tuning up. I have no idea what the 0-60 time is, but I'm guessing a bit over 6 seconds.

I say "almost" dream car - I wanted one with a more powerful engine, but with insurance and inexperience, it might be for the best to start with this engine. I was planning on doing an engine swap in the future. I had a blat around some country lanes and I can certainly tell the difference from my usual 320d touring (surprise, surprise).

It has quite a few scruffy bits and pieces, but they're easily fixable. The biggest concern for me is that the exhaust doesn't line up with the exhaust hole (the metal plate on the sill) so some of the fibreglass above it has a hole melted through. Most of the rubber trim is easily replaceable.

It's a great car for people who love attention! Half a mile away from the seller, a bunch of kids on the side of the road waved and shouted "Nice car!" Half a mile later I was filling up in a petrol station and someone came over and said "Nice motor, did you build it yourself?" Errrm, no... Driving around town, I had a lot of people waving from the side of the road.

Wheres the blonde ?



M

[KidChameleon]

Some stuff has happened and now I'm up to here:







I had someone round yesterday to help get the engine running. By the time we were set up and ready to start it was half an hour before he had to leave. Fuel was flowing, cranks were cranking, and sparks were sparking but the engine would not fire up. He ended up staying an hour later than he said he had to go but still no luck.

I spent some time sat in my car on the driveway this afternoon contemplating the intricacies of life. Tunerstudio (PC software) was not showing an RPM reading while the engine was cranking. After a bunch of googling I found a mention of a setting that defaulted to something no one likes. So disabled the multi/dual spark thing, crossed my fingers, and turned the key.
*churn*churn*churn*pop*churn*splutter*
"Ooh! Hmm, maybe I should set the camera up. But what if I just turn the key some more..."
And so, if my car had windows that was where the exciting first start video would have gone.

The engine popped, farted, and puffed smoke from places it shouldn't. Eventually it kicked into life and kept running. There was smoke billowing from the exhaust but it just added to the mystifying atmosphere. Like dry ice, except carcinogenic. After a while the smoke died down and it was idling fairly nicely.

My neighbour owes me a round of applause.




The smoke was because I had put some oil in the chambers. Helps protect them while the engine isn't running for a long time, and also loosens up the piston rings.

The exhaust manifold is finished. It's not pretty but it will get me going until I pay someone to make a good one.

ECU/EDIS/sensors etc are wired in. Now I know it's working I can tidy the wires up.

Coolant is plumbed in.

The alternator isn't properly mounted. It's good enough just to get the engine going but it's not a permanent solution.

The gearbox oil has been filled. The filler plug is exactly in line with a chassis rail. Half an inch further forward or back and it would pop right out!

My pedal box is set up for a cable clutch but the MX5 uses a hydraulic system. Someone suggested using a go-kart master cylinder, which has a lever that can be pulled by a cable. I have this mostly set up but tomorrow I will need to attach the cable to the master cylinder.

I have a new propshaft but it won't go into the back of the gearbox. I think it's either some burrs on the splines of the shaft or I will just need to tap it from behind, but I will need to tap it from under the car.

I had someone making a shortened sump for me, but they've been held up by the laser cutters so I might just get the sump before I go back to New Zealand. I've currently got the standard sump sealed up on the engine, but it only gives me 3" of ground clearance.





The car is being shipped to New Zealand next Monday. I've been frantically trying to at least get it in a drivable state to get it onto the container. I decided that as I was going through the expense of a container I would buy a new chassis. I found someone selling a nearly full body set, minus the scuttle panel, for a good price. They had to damage the scuttle to remove it from their car. I bought an entire rear tub and now I have a spare rear panel. Given the quality of New Zealand drivers, I think that's worthwhile.

The plan is to get my current car on the road and then start building the new one at some point in the fairly distant future. I might not start it for a couple of years, but if I don't take it now I probably won't get the chance again.

With the price of built kit cars in New Zealand I could at least make most of my money back on the car, even with the added cost of shipping.