Managed to get a fair amount done on the car today. My goal was to finish stripping the car out ready for the new cage and bulkhead and to also get rid of everything up front that is surplus to requirements.
So started by removing the radiator and the battery.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontnoradnobatt.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontnoradnobatt.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontnoradnobatt.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
This gave access to the heater box and the A/C box. The mounts on both of these units where they bolt to the bulkhead had actually broken, so a good yank was all that was required to have them both out. There are also several bits of heater box air distribution trim at the bottom that also simply pull out.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/wellnoacnoheater.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/wellnoacnoheater.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/wellnoacnoheater.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
I am still going to duct some cold air into the car to keep the screen clear etc, so I am leaving the air distribution ducting in (visible at the top in black) I will connect a big flexi tube to this and pipe cool air in from the standard place.
Then I started stripping the wiring down at the front. There is soooooooooo much stuff that you don�t need, so I will be stripping the loom down and removing all of the unwanted stuff. I will also be moving the fuse box and relays from under the front to the inside of the car, to make them easier to get at and change and get them away from the elements.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontwiring.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontwiring.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontwiring.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Then moved to the inside and started to strip the dash out. I thought this was a bit fiddly actually and I am mulling over a few different ideas to make the whole thing a bit more user friendly. I may replace the ally vertical part of the dash with a carbon strip or something.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/dashout.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/dashout.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/dashout.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
You can see the air distribution vents there. I may end up loosing the outer two due to the roll cage front legs, but I will try and keep them if I can, as after seeing Russ get out of his car after the 1st race at Oulton, the guy was on the verge of spontaneous combustion!!! So I reckon cool air is a good thing!!
You can also see in the pic above one of the 4 alarm box modules (on the left just to the right of the left most vent pipe. HOW MANY WIRES!!!, All of this will be going and all of the wires will be stripped out. At the end of the day, I will be able to remove my ECU in 5 seconds and you don�t get a much better immobiliser than that!!
I then stripped all of the wiring from the rear bulkhead and the engine bay. Serious amounts of wires man. I hope I can bloody remember where it all goes!!! LOL.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearwiring.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearwiring.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearwiring.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Also removed the ECU and rear fuse box and relay box from the bulkhead, ready for it to be cut out.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/bulknoecuetc.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/bulknoecuetc.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/bulknoecuetc.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Shot of the bay with all the wires removed
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/baynowires.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/baynowires.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/baynowires.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Then it was out with the screen. My original one had cracked and I have a plastic one as a replacement. The guy that put this in must have used about three tubes of the sealant stuff, it was about half an inch thick in places. Cut my bloody hands to shreds and there were shards of glass bloody everywhere
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontnoscreenbulknoecu.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontnoscreenbulknoecu.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontnoscreenbulknoecu.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Then it was out with the fuel tank. This was pretty easy, just remove the panel under the tanks and the tank is then held in by 4 bolts. Take those out and it simply falls on your head!!! One thing I will say though, I couldn�t believe how much rust was on the outside of the tank. I mean my car is a 2001 that has probably done 13,000 miles and as far as I know never lived outside. My new tank is a 70 litre bag tank.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/fueltank.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/fueltank.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/fueltank.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
It has two internal pumps that feed an internal swirl pot. I then connect my pressure pump in the bay and Bob�s ya mom!!! The whole tank including pumps and swirl pot and everything only weighs 6kg�s The old empty bare tank weighed 12 kg�s. Plus I now don�t need my external swirl pot and the pipeing will be a lot less and much more straight forward.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/fueltankpumps.jpg[/image]
The picture above shows the top plate with the pos and neg connections for the internal pumps. The fuel return is also on the top. The fuel feed is the one on the rear side of the tank at the bottom.
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/fueltankpumps.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/fueltankpumps.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Then came the most fiddly pain in the ass job of the day removing the original roll bar and removing the bulkhead. Basically I got my bugger off great electric hacksaw and just chopped the roll bar up. There was NO WAY it was gonna come out in one piece, so it came out in four pieces instead!! It was a tuff job as the roll bar is actually bonded to the bodywork, so all that has to be cut out before the roll bar will budge.
Then it was out with the bulkhead This is bonded all along the bottom edge to the ally and it is bonded down the bodywork on each side and round the rear supports of the roll bar. All of this has to be cut out and eased out. Again it wasn�t gonna come out in one piece, so after chopping it up it came out in about ten pieces!!!
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/oldrollbargone.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/oldrollbargone.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/oldrollbargone.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Then came trying to fit the new cage. Its bloody big and weighs a tonne!!
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/newcagefloor.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/newcagefloor.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/newcagefloor.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Had to fettle the sides of the side bodywork, as basically the cage has to slide in from the back dead straight so that the front legs go into the dash properly. So after more electric hacksaw action the car was looking like this
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearcarfullystripped.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearcarfullystripped.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearcarfullystripped.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontsidecarfullystripped.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontsidecarfullystripped.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/frontsidecarfullystripped.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
The cage then simply slid into place!!! I was pretty shocked at how well it fitted actually!!!
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearnewcagein.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearnewcagein.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rearnewcagein.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/sidenewcagein.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/sidenewcagein.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/sidenewcagein.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
All that is left to remove now are the heater matrix pipes that run from the back to the front and the AC hard pipes. I would have done this today, but I needed some bits for my dremmell, so that will be the first job on Wednesday!! (have to do some real work tomorrow ( I have removed the oil cooler lines that run the length of the car. In an attempt to save some more weight I am going to change my oil cooling to an oil / water Laminova in the bay. It will mean the pipe runs are less and the laminova weighs about the same as the current oil cooler rad. I also think it simplifies the pipe runs etc. I have had no problems at all with my current setup and I will revert back to it if the oil / water method doesn�t work out.
I will also being using an oil / water laminova to cool the gearbox oil.
I guess the reason I am confident that my cooling system will handle all this extra heat is that I am completely changing the way the cooling system works. I am going to switch to an electric water pump, which means I can ditch the stat all together and the pump will simply turn on when it needs to and increase in speed and flow when the temp rises. I have taken the water pump off my engine and it is at my machine shop having the internals machined off it!! This also means that horrible metal pipe that runs from the block over the top of the gearbox will go, thus freeing up some more space and stuff.
I will post some pics and better explain what I am doing as and when it starts to go on the car.
So that was that really, quite chuffed with how the day went.
A few pics of some other goodies.
Re sprung and valved Ohlins!!
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rebuiltohlins.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rebuiltohlins.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/rebuiltohlins.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
New plastic side windows
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/sidewindows.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/sidewindows.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/sidewindows.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Also a shot of the business end of my gearbox. The pic below shows the electro magnetic ram, that via the bell crank moves the gear selector lever. I know the Solenoid looks big, but it is the ally case that makes it look bulky. It weighs less than the standard gear lever and cable mechanism.
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/gearbox1.jpg[/image]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/gearbox1.jpg[/image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SeanBicknell/gearbox1.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
Sean…