PhoCup's 408 Exo Build

[phocup]

Thanks gwnwar. I assume you're referring to this diagram.



Based on that, there's not many grounds I can remove .. the extranous system are ground along with the ones I think I'll need.

For example ..

SAS-UNIT, power window,  mirror switch ect are all redundant but Ground G201 must be kept for the headlights, turn signal and cig lighter.

Then buck switch, trunk light, defogger switch, ect are all redundant but Ground G402 must be kept for backup lights, license plate light, ect.

That means I'm best off not trying to eliminate grounds ( which I think you're trying to show me ), but run them all to a grounding bus like Sean did.   Also it helps with debugging issues, for example, if the front headlight isn't working then make sure ground G201 is properly done first.

[gwnwar]

You got it.. Also remember 1 fuse might power a couple of thing too. You might want to get car running and all lights working then go at the harness.. That way you can start engine check gauges, lights as you go.. Remove tape and split tubes from harness put slip ties loosely around wires so you can remove unneeded wires but still have an organized mess..

[calibuild]

Hey - just sharing a lesson and not sure what your floor plan is, but if you are not going with scuffed aluminum, and haven't riveted them on yet, you might consider taking some cardboard and putting it underneath the chassis. Then take a pen, and trace the inside of the floor panels. This way you'll have an outline to use for grip tape, or rubber etc. Wish I had thought of it. Got my floors done, but took a lot longer than it needed too!

[SeanW]

Oct 19, 2016 1:00:47 GMT calibuild said:

Hey - just sharing a lesson and not sure what your floor plan is, but if you are not going with scuffed aluminum, and haven't riveted them on yet, you might consider taking some cardboard and putting it underneath the chassis. Then take a pen, and trace the inside of the floor panels. This way you'll have an outline to use for grip tape, or rubber etc. Wish I had thought of it. Got my floors done, but took a lot longer than it needed too!

Dang! That's a great idea. Wish I'd done it too. :/

[phocup]

Yup, great idea but unfortunately I was 'upgraded' to the welded steel floor in order to get my kit shipped faster so I'll have to figure it out the harder way when I get to that stage. The floor is going to be powder coated along with the frame so not sure yet what will both protect the powdercoat as well as show it off, while not affecting performance. Clear grip tape maybe if such a thing exist. Haven't looked into it yet.

EDIT:  Actually found these floor cut out templates directly from Exomotive ( Floor, Kick, Driver, Passenger ).

In other news, finally after a month+ wait ( ordered these in early Sept ) my Apexi N1 coils are here!

Looks great in person ( will take pictures tomorrow ) and I'm sure will perform great, but the unexpected plus was that they dropped about 8.84 lbs off from my original ( not sure if OEM ) KYB shock setup for all 4 corners.   

[phocup]

FINALLY !!! Its back from the powdercoater.




Tried to be as careful as possible putting blanket under the frame.  Thought the weight of the frame would have held the blanket down but I guess something must have shifted or the weight unloaded going over a bump because this is what I saw when I got home.  Luckily, the damage is not much as all.  I'll take a picture of the damage later when I get help unloading the frame.

I'm super happy with how the color turned out though.   Its hard to see in pictures, but its a two coat powder, with some 'gold' flakes on top.   Really pops in the sun, but in the shade, looks just like a normal yellow.

[phocup]

Thanks to the sweet deal Robert @ RC Refinishing gave me, I was able to get EVERYTHING powdered.  Would definitely recommend him to any future Bay Area builder.   It actually took a bit longer than we expected to get it done because (1) it rained here and (2) he had to build a custom rack to hold the exo frame during the powder process, but I'm super happy about the result.  

A few pics:

[SeanW]

Holy sparkles, Batman! That looks gorgeous!

Do your self a favor and invest in a lot of blue painter's tape to protect that finish while you assemble your beast. I really wish I had done more masking on my project.

[SeanW]

Also, is that an SV lurking back there?

[phocup]

Yes sirrrr .. an 09 SV .. among the last of her kind ( in Amuricah at least ).

And thanks for the advice. I actually have a big roll ( a few of them actually ) of Gaffer tape on order from Amazon. I heard its a bit better than painter's tape as far as protection goes since its made of fabric. Somewhere in between duct tape and painter's tape.

[jwagner]

Oct 22, 2016 4:16:16 GMT phocup said:

 I actually have a big roll ( a few of them actually ) of Gaffer tape on order from Amazon.

Make sure it comes off cleanly, especially if you're going to leave it on for a long time.  Else you'll spend a lot of time taking off tape adhesive with Goop or similar stuff.  I used a couple of sticks of foam pipe insulation duct taped on the high wear areas.  Also wish I would have done more, the drive shaft tunnel is pretty beat up since I didn't protect that.

[phocup]

Since I was able to borrow SeanW's nutsert tool today, I'm strongly considering using all nutsert vs rivet for the kick panels in the driver / passenger footwell ( not floor panels ).

The thinking is it would be easily removable in case I need to later on vs having to drill out 10-20 rivets per panel.

Also considering using clear caulking for vibration insulation vs black RTV.  I don't see a big problem with this as its not a structural part, so as long as its there and not vibrating, it should be okay.

Your thoughts ?

[phocup]

Ooodles of noodles .. taking everyone's advice to heart and making sure I protect the frame. About $30 worth of foam insulation tubing, painter tape, and zipties. A pretty good investment IMO especially since I can reuse the noodle on my next build ..

Also make it a bit more comfy to lean over the top rails to work on something inside the car / hood.

[phocup]

Finished 'noodling' around and got some real work done.

Friend came over and helped me get the engine and tranny is mated back together with new flywheel.  Its so flyyy so it deserve a post.  

[phocup]

Seats came late yesterday and finally had the chance to test fit today. Kirkey 18" does NOT fit, Kirkey 16" for sure ( with limited sliding ) and Kirkey 17" is a maybe only if solidly mounted.

Even when raised 1.5" off the floor beams ( figure 1" cross bar + about 1/2" for the rails ), the 18" seat hits the tunnel. No amount of moving back and forth was able to get those to mount in straight. They would fit when the seat is rotated outward about 5-10 degrees. Meaning the passenger would be looking toward the side view mirror vs straight on. Not going to work for me.

Luckily, the return shipping for the 18" seat is free for me, since JEGS f'ed up my seat in the first place by shipping it in a single plastic bag like it was a tshirt, resulting in a million little scratches all around and a few deep gauges where the bag broke completely through.  For comparison, when I bought my 16" Kirkey from CarID a few weeks ago, it came in a giant box full of bubble wrap and those plastic bags filled with air.  SMH @ Jegs.



Here's the 16" that fits.  I positioned it as close as possible to the side rails.  As you can see part of the chair goes over the rail.  Even with that, there's only 1.5" space between that and hitting the tunnel again.   From looking at the Kirkey shop drawing, the biggest seats that will fit is 17".   I'm dreading the day I have to tell some friends "No, you can't go for a ride in my car because you're too fat." 

No such problem on driver side .. plenty more space over there.