KP's Build - Final Assembly

[fasteddie]

Hi Kevin, the quality of your build is stunning, it`s nice to see that you have the same issues as the rest of us regarding making the loom tidy. with the benefit of hind sight I wished I had not started to modify the loom, with all the problems it has given some of us. best wishes Ted

[rumbleseat]

I check this thread weekly looking for updates and it kills me not seeing anything posted. But now its been long enough I'm starting to get worried. Is everything alright with the project?

[Kevin Patrick]

rumbleseat - My apologies for the lack of responses the last two months! Rest assured I have been very busy with the Exocet. Starting in early July, I began making plans for an exit from my current company to start a new company dedicated to bringing the Exocet to the US market. I am happy to report that Stuart and I reached an agreement last month and the first ten LHD US-Spec Exocets are in production.

That said, I am way overdue for a build update. Should have one up by the weekend.

[h5ngs]

Yeah would be great to see your build progress coming along as i think your has been the most attention to detail build yet. Keep up the good work, also i hopefully will be starting the rebuild of my donor soon but need to finish the workshop first, i have the intention of supercharging my build with the mini eaton m45 charger so should be fun im waiting for a reply and i should soon have some parts ready, can wait to get started.

[rumbleseat]

KP, that's you that's bringing the exocet over??? Dude you are AWESOME. I saw the page a little bit before I asked how your project was going. That's great, and even better you're in my state. Have you got a fabricator and kits ready to go?

[Kevin Patrick]

More photos of the current progress soon, but here is a short video update of a shakedown run before fitting panels and lights.

[Kevin Patrick]

Some electrical-related work...

The reason the tach was not working earlier was an easy fix - I simply forgot to plug in this connector:


To ensure the fuel pump/rear lighting wiring that runs next to the driver is able to be hidden away, I lengthened the four fuel pump wires and one of the grounds near the rear left corner. All connections are soldered and have heat shrink tubing installed.






Air horn is now mounted:

[Kevin Patrick]

After installing the radiator, I was not 100% satisfied with my method/fasteners. Decided to redo it and use stronger hardware and new spacers. It looks/feels much better now.


Front sway bar mounted with M8 nylocks.

[Kevin Patrick]

For the air intake, I was hoping to make a mount that would not have to tie into the chassis. I believe in the short to mid term I may try to install a MegaSquirtPNP or something similar so I can eliminate the AFM from the equation all together. I ended up fabricating a very simple bracket out of aluminum flat that bolts to the engine lift point. Easy to remove later.


Once that mount was complete, I then built a bracket for a coolant expansion tank that bolts to the AFM.


Next, this was bolted to two free tapped holes on the side of the AFM.


Overall, it is sturdy and keeps the air filter from contacting the headers, brake/clutch lines/etc.

[Kevin Patrick]

Rear Panel fabrication

Made a cardboard template for the rear panel. The plastic panel is easily cut and shaped with a fresh razor blade. Attached to the chassis using black oxide finished stainless steel screws just like the side panels. Note that my design will be different from yours as I have the bolt-on MSA spec roll bar which had to be taken into account.

[Kevin Patrick]

Fuel filler hole

To keep things simple, I decided to go for the side-mount option and use the existing fuel filler and hose instead of doing a nice top mount installation. I used a 2 1/4" hole saw which is perfect for the stock fuel filler. I taped up the area well and ran the hole saw in reverse - worked like a charm and the hole is excellent.

[Kevin Patrick]

Battery Mounting

I am using a small Odyssey PC545 powersports battery and a matching aluminum hold-down mount.

M6 rivnuts installed on the right side of the tunnel.


Battery mounted


That thing is great - I was amazed how much cranking power it had compared to the stock battery. I'll shorten the stock battery wiring to clean it up a bit.

[Kevin Patrick]

Before attaching lights and finalizing the installation of the GRP, I decided it was a good time to go do some initial road testing to see if any glaring issues existed that needed to be remedied. Installed the seats and harnesses then went for a spin.









HOLY <<EXPLETIVE>> <<EXPLETIVE>> THIS THING IS FUN!

Things needing to be addressed? Not too many! Couple of little squeaks with the transmission tunnel but that should be an easy fix. Another exhaust hangar needed for the mid pipe.

Time to fit lights and panels!

[Kevin Patrick]

Front lighting was simple enough. I used a corner bracket from the hardware store which was cut down to make the bracket for the Dominator headlamps. It will be painted gloss black to blend in.

This wiring chart may be helpful for those of you using Dominator headlights:

Main
(MX5 : Dominator : Function)
Red-White : Yellow : High Beam
Red-Black : White : Low Beam
Black : Black : Ground

Parking Lights
(MX5 : Dominator : Function)
Red-Black: White : Parking Light
Black : Yellow : Ground





I am going a different way on the rear lighting for the initial registration. I've heard some people have issues with non-DOT marked lights in the US during registration, so I have picked up a set of DOT and SAE marked LED combo stop/turn/tail lights made for trailers. Georgia also wants the lights to be at least 20" off the ground, so I fabricated a small bracket to attach at the rearmost top shock bolt. Certainly not the prettiest rear lighting set on the MEV board, but after passing initial registration I'll re-address.

[mabbs]

Quality build Kevin. Not long now before your on the road ;D