8 May 2010 – Fitted new Support Channels, Floors and Firewall box
I must admit, I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to body work, I like the mechanical stuff, but no project will be complete with the necessary body work, especially not this one as there is still a lot of bodywork and paint that will need to be done.
Work on this particular weekend started off with the manufacturing of the Firewall box. The reason for this item is the layout of the SR20VE VVL (Variable Valve Lift) controller which is located on the rear of the motor if viewed in a rear wheel drive configuration. At the start I was very tempted to relocate this unit, but then I had to remove the distributor to and run a crank angle sensor in conjunction with a coil pack/s. All little modification I will do in the future after the whole concept is tested. My biggest fear was a broken pipe when flying down the main straight between controller and cylinder head. Luckily the classes I want to compete in the near future would be OK with the firewall modification if done properly. After manufacturing it was welded in place, this thing is so strong with all the bends and the support angle at the bottom, I'm pretty sure my firewall is now stronger than the day it left the factory.
A lot of work went into the support channels, maybe not that apparent from the photo's, but a lot of effort went into them to one day when all is done look as if it left the factory that way, especially on the edges. After the channels was done we finally started with the floors. The whole process of welding in channels and floors seemed to take ages with the amount of Tig welds that had to be done. At about 5 0'clock that particular Saturday evening I told my father that something serious is wrong with my left eye and that I suspect it to be arch eyes, after a while and a lot of washing eye with water I told him I will stick it out, let us just finish. At 7 o'clock I was weeping like a little boy, the pain was unbearable, every square mm of both eyes was on fire and scratching like mad. If you close them they scratch, if you open them, it looks like you are crying as you try to force them open and keep them there. At this stage do not fight it, your eyes was exposed to way to much bright light, you will lose the battle. That night was one of my worst rest in a while, the next morning was also hell, that evening I was able to drive home with visors down and a pair of sun glasses, only on the Monday the redness and sensitivity cleared. One word of advice: never but never get caught out with a Tig welder, personally I think it is the closest a man can come to pregnancy.
The Sunday morning since my eyes were still killing me and I could not really do very intensive work, the thought that power steering would really help in Gymkhana creep into my head. Didn't take me long to whip out the SR power steering pump and trail fit it to see if there is space available in the small 1200 engine bay, to my amusement there is amble amount of space to fit the unit. The only issue with this is the power steering rack, so little options as I had to get a unit that is made for RWD vehicles and is bolted to the rear of cross member. The search started.
Since the beginning I knew I would be running a Oil cooler on this motor as to much time is going into this thing to have it starving for oil. The Sr20VE oil filter mount is so freak-in long and ugly the idea of using a sandwich plate between it and the filter was not really a option, especially in conjunction with the cooler. The solution was a oil block mounted directly to the block, seeing that the available units for the SR20DE/T is different, it is another unit that would be custom made.
Another issue is the speedo drive, the above one is from a Datsun L-Series gearbox. This was the sort of unit I was looking for as I do not have a electronic speedo, I just need something that would lift the needle to pass Roadworthy as I intend to use a Electronic Digital Dash display in the future if this whole project is going to work. This unit is to long and I will need to search some more, I'm sure there will e one out there that will be a direct fit or I need to do some machining on this unit. Only time will tell.