VN Luke's VN

[azkwazere]

Happy 6th Birthday Lukes Thread!

aZk.

 

[ari666]

battery sorted its gonna be a race to finish, then a race against fluffy (i know ill lose, but meh its the participating that counts)

 

[VN_Luke]

Spent a pretty epic weekend on the car, with lots of work through until 4-5am... pretty damn determined to be driving this thing around in time for Christmas!

-Engine is now almost fully assembled - gaskets and sealant everywhere, all the dust/crap cleared out of manifolds/pipes/etc....
-Ignition and engine loom connectors are done too - well, aside from one pin that I need to re-seat, which means I need a terminal extractor... which means I need to wait for it to come from the states!
-Ford Mondeo thermo fans have arrived - will mount them up tonight.
-Have trialled the ECU and so far so good - controlling the speedo & trip computer, all the inputs from inside the vehicle are working nicely.. (clutch switch, "power" button, front wheel speed sensor, etc)
- Cheeris to Ari for the battery (and help with machining etc)


Now I gotta:
- get more machined off the supercharger pulley
- wait for connector bits and bobs to come from the states
- buy oils and such
- get flanges machined for dump pipe and "J-pipe" due to warpage when welding. They're up to about .3mm out - CBF dealing with leaks.
- and a few other small things.

It's surprising just how damn long it takes to do the "little things"!

Anyway, some pics:

More next week(ish)!

 

[Sokoza]

Lukes going to be very bored once this monster is finished....

 

[VN_Luke]

^^ haha, unlikely - it will be *REALLY* nice to have some more time to devote to other hobbies/pursuits though!

Another late night last night.

- Got some Mondeo thermo fans mounted and wired up! - they fit like a glove and wiring all works good
- Polished up the rocker cover, air filter pipe and turbo compressor housing (man I hate polishing/sanding)
- Dropped off pulley and pipework for machining
- Ordered electrical bits and bobs from the states with "express" post to melb - hoping to see them by the weekend so I can test looms etc
- Ordered supercharger oil
- Bought a bunch of brake fluid
- Cut & programmed a brand new key - it's fun to have the remote central locking working!
- Both front and rear glass are being installed on Friday arvo!

I also spent a bunch of time the other night putting a "base map" in the ECU - sorting out sensor calculations, conversions, mappings for inst. fuel usage and speedo, etc. - still HEAPS of effort left to go, but it's closer.

Ignition Loom (not yet wrapped)

Main engine harness (not yet wrapped)

Getting fuller... still need to sort out oil/air separator, rad overflow & power steer containers

Thermos installered

 

[HamaTime™]

Looks amazing Luke.

Twin LPG converters.

Obviously running an air mixer/carby style LPG system then? Gone gas research or a more specific type?

What made you choose an air mixer style LPG system rather than vapour or liquid injection? (out of interest)

 

[VN_Luke]

Looks amazing Luke.

Twin LPG converters.

Obviously running an air mixer/carby style LPG system then? Gone gas research or a more specific type?

What made you choose an air mixer style LPG system rather than vapour or liquid injection? (out of interest)

Hey mate,

Yep just running a gas research throttle. It was a reasonably easy decision considering the state of the alternatives at the time...

Vapour injection had issues with finding suitable size injectors, and once you got past that issue, there'd be a problem with tank pressure. On a cold day, with automix, it's unlikely that the tank would have enough pressure to supply the injectors (including the additional pressure over the intake required to "inject" the vapour).

Liquid was far too expensive and in it's very early stages - there would have been issues with injector size, pumps, etc. Being in it's early stages it would have required a LOT of r&d to make it work, and I simply don't have the time/budget to do this kind of r&d for a "once off" project.

In the end, the GRA setups have been proven over and over again. It's a bit agricultural, but it's simple and it should work

 

[VN_Luke]

Progress!

- glass installed
- loom(s) finished and tested and fitted
- everything polished up and cleaned etc
- pipework & pulley machined as necessary, etc
- engine installed!!

So now I have to fit the gearbox, tailshaft, interior trims etc... and hook up all the water/fuel/vacuum/boost/intercooler/etc etc etc pipework and lines to the engine.. and kick it in the guts and hope it starts without blowing up!

 

[hakhawk]

Soooooooooooooogooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Terminal]

I gotta remember to restock tissues and lube before I come into this thread.

lol, come into..

giggity.