Brad's rocket build.

[golftdibrad]

Well, next big thing is almost done. got all the hard lines run. It was not as bad as i thought.



As previously mentioned, I used the lonacre kit. It said, in big red letters, THIS KIT SHOULD NOT BE USED ON RAD VEHICLES. Furthermore, the AN-3 flex lines declared that "FOR OFFROAD USE ONLY, NOT DOT APPROVED" My view on that is Stainless lines don't rust and if AN lines are good enough for racecars, the FAA, and the military I'll take my chances.

The kit came with nice metal brackets that you screw the adapters in. Some days, having a car made of round tube sucks. some creative work with the hammer, two drill bits, and a coat of primer and paint later I got this:


I also ordered new master cylinders from wilwood. Why would I do that?

1. The remote mount kits are 50 ish dollars.
2. There is an identical part that in every way is the same except that the resivor is cast into the MC.

Now I know room is a bit limited in the rocket nose but I really don't know why MEV went with the compact MC's that need a remote mount vs the ones that don't; they cost almost the same. I can for see that the clutch may need a remote mount but its gonna be close so i only got two for now. One could argue that it be nice to have the compact MC's fed by one reservoir. I disagree, if a leak develops its better to have the two circuits independent of one another.

pic of ones kit shipped with:


ones i ordered:


wilwood part number is 260-6579

I still have to tighten all the fittings and figure out how to secure the rear lines to the floor so they don't vibrate to pieces but all in all that is minor stuff. Honestly the rear may need to be redone to accommodate the fuel cell, something else i kinda forgot about :/

One more big step is completed though

[golftdibrad]

Apr 2, 2010 7:32:05 GMT mattsmev said:

How do i mount them? I am not sure i understand the question. i use the wheel nuts supplied, no spacers or anything. I'll check the offset this weekend and let you know

Cheers

Mattsmev

I guess what i meant is that whn i put on my wheels i cant even get them on all the way before the wheel hits the upper a-arm. Do you preload the suspension? is the coil spring free floating so its easy to compress?

thanks
BRad

[mattsmev]

Hi Brad

I can just about get the wheels mounted, but to do the final tighten i have to just drop the susspension a little bit to fully seat the wheel and then a final tighten when the car is back on the wheels

Cheers

Mattsmev

[mightylad]

Apr 20, 2010 20:09:31 GMT mattsmev said:

Hi Brad

I can just about get the wheels mounted, but to do the final tighten i have to just drop the susspension a little bit to fully seat the wheel and then a final tighten when the car is back on the wheels

Cheers

Mattsmev

Hi brad,

I found the same as mattsmev. i found that the wheels bind on the lock nuts of the top bones if i fully tighten the wheel nuts before dropping the car to the ground (plenty of clearance when on ground).

Ol

[golftdibrad]

Thanks guys!

[golftdibrad]

Well, got the clutch MC in and mounted up the new MC's. To use these you have to take the pedals apart, but its no big deal really. Tips for anyone using this set up:
1. Take brake pedal off.
2. Install clutch MC
3. Put on the middle brake to your disassembled adjuster, slide adjuster through hole
4. install other MC
5. rebuild brake pedal and secure MC's to pedals...must do this last.

I also built a welding cart for my welder finally. First time MIG welding so not too pretty but it'll do.

[mattsmev]

I think here in the UK we need to have a fluid level warning light, which the focus donor reservoir obviously has. I expect this requirement is why few of us brits have adopted these master cylinders, although i can see that they make good sense

Cheers

Mattsmev

[golftdibrad]

Apr 25, 2010 19:19:15 GMT mattsmev said:

I think here in the UK we need to have a fluid level warning light, which the focus donor reservoir obviously has. I expect this requirement is why few of us brits have adopted these master cylinders, although i can see that they make good sense

Cheers

Mattsmev

makes sense. Funny you mention that i was thinking of trying to adapt one of the caps to take the level sender in it.

[golftdibrad]

I bought seats. They barely fit, but they fit. They were expensive, ~500. They are ultrashield pro drag seats, with blue covers to be ordered cause race shop didn't have them. They are 18" wide.


I take pics, but in epic irony....
After waiting YEARS to get a camera mount for the car I finally did, so I bring it to the autox and try to video a run (with awesome spin recovery I might add) and its dead. D-E-A-D. some luck, huh?

So this week i get to mount SEATS!!!!

-Brad

[golftdibrad]

been busy. Seats almost ready to go in.

[mattsmev]

Gerat video - i can see a whole new bread of build sites coming on. I like that idea so much i may take mine to pieces just to rebuild it.

Cheers

Mattsmev

PS - I have just bought new seats from Triton race seats. one had to be sent back, so this weekend for the newark show i have odd seats, pitty, but it's the way it does. The new seats are really narrow and fit with loads of room to spare. I just can't put any weight on.

Mattsmev

[golftdibrad]

It has been quite awhile. Went on a bit of a sabbatical from this project; did some lemons racing, lots of life changes, fixed other shit in my life. Now, its back to business and time to make shit happen.

OK, been doing work, Son. First, clean up. Many projects have been started and finished in the garage besides the rocket and it was time for a cleanup.

before:

after:


now, to actual work. In order to avoid a fiery death I'm redoing the steering AGAIN. I was never really happy with it.

START. get shaft from england. 15mm, expensive, not compatible with anything.

Lucky for me, i have a buddy with a lathe and i know how to use it
center drill


chuck it up


turning shaft down to 9/16th or 14mm


finished


now for the focus end of things. Did you know....that shaft that goes to the column is not round? previous attempts have screwed the end up alot too.

so, make a hole in the center of it:


skipped alot of steps on the lathe again here, but here is the result:


also did alot of investigating about shifting the thing..... did you know mcmaster sells 6 ft push pull cables, and that the distance from the shifter to the trans is.....6ft

-Brad

[golftdibrad]

So, I got the steering welded up in its final incarnation. I'm going to pull it off again tonight to paint it and then we'll put that shit to rest.

Steering feels smooth, very minimal wiggle, strong.




I'm going to get on my soapbox here for a minute. This has been a HUGE sticking point for me on this project. I think that in order to make the kit easier for the end user (esp us state side guys that can't get this stuff on this side of the pond) the parts and/or directions for interfacing the focus column to the rack more complete. I spent about an extra 100 bucks on parts and shipping from Europe. I was lucky to have access to machine tools or it would have been another several hundred dollars for machine work.

Here is a picture of the part that should be included or have instructions on how to make it:
It was pretty much all I had to go by from the build manual.

I know some time has passed since I got my kit and perhaps this has been improved, I just wanted to post my comments and impressions. Stuff like this is going to come up in any build.

So... the list... in order.

1. mount seats
2. do things necessary to start the engine.
3.
4. Profit.

but seriously, after the engine runs and I bleed the brakes the damn thing can drive.

[golftdibrad]

So, did lots of random projects today. First on the list: gas. The suplied fuel tank look kinda small to me so I measured it. It will hold 6.5-7 gallons. Assuming a cruise mpg of 30, that a decent range of 180 miles or so. Thrashing..lets say 10 mpg (this is realistic based on the miata....) so thats 60 miles. Motorcycles do about that and this is like a big bike so i'll roll with it.

So we have to extend the focus fuel.....thing to fit the deeper tank. THe instructions say to use 6mm threaded rod but here in 'amerika we use 1/4-20 like a boss.



Also took of the steering for the LAST time (hopefully) to paint it.



That is about as long as it gets and its just enough. I am worried about leaks. If this all sucks the car will get a standard return style fuel system, MAP/VE tuning via megasquirt, and an FIA fuel cell with extreme quickness.


(TWSS)

The 'extender' to get the transmission at the right height is weak sauce now with no sleeves and open ends. Been on the to do list for awhile.



and now its on the 'DONE' list




Other things I did that are not pictured: I took out the seats and sliders to paint where i welded them in, drilled all the holes in the drivers seat, cleaned floor of the car, made a list of hardware to order, and flipped the brake calipers in the rear right side up.

This is actually interesting, I'm not going to use the handbrake setup. I'm going to use a manual line lock for a parking brake. I don't need 'emergency' brakes since I have to completely independent hydraulic circuits with independent fluid reservoirs. the only way the brakes could fail is if the pedal breaks and if that happens your pretty much boned anyway.

So....maybe some more work tomorrow, but maybe not. Definitely more this week

[brownie]

Apr 25, 2010 23:51:16 GMT golftdibrad said:

Apr 25, 2010 19:19:15 GMT mattsmev said:

I think here in the UK we need to have a fluid level warning light, which the focus donor reservoir obviously has. I expect this requirement is why few of us brits have adopted these master cylinders, although i can see that they make good sense

Cheers

Mattsmev

makes sense. Funny you mention that i was thinking of trying to adapt one of the caps to take the level sender in it.

I actually carried out this mod awhile ago, very easy to do and the integral MC's look much neater plus u don't have to worry about the position of the reservior for IVA purposes
www.mevowners.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=brakes&action=display&thread=670