Project "little monster"

I was seriously considering strengthening the steering rack area but it was in really good condition already, so I didn't want to unnecessarily weld in that area. If it had a little corrosion, I'd have seen to it though. Unsure how the heavier engine will put that bit a load through the steering, I guess time will tell though.

Anyway, took advantage of the good weather today. I wire brushed the main rusty areas and make a few corrections with the grinder too. Then used the pressure washer on it, then dried it, then scrubbed with degreaser (some areas using a toothbrush). Finally it was ready for painting. I have applied stonechip, I'll be applying silver topcoat then lacquer once its dry:

I did a few corrections of the stonechip early yesterday, and with its 2 hour drying time, meant I could put the silver topcoat on last night too. Then this morning, I've sprayed 3 coats of clear lacquer:




I wanted a break from cleaning and bodywork, so I looked at the rev counter issue. Obviously, with 6 cylinders the impulse for the rev counter signal is 1.5x what it would be for a 4 cylinder engine, at a given rpm. Now, its a little-known fact that the rpm reading is adjustable. So I took apart the instrument cluster:







And once the rev counter was out, found the variable resister which does this adjustment (see arrow):



I was able to trace the circuit path on the backing flexible circuit board and look at the terminal connections, in conjuction with a wiring diagram, to figure out the 3x connections on the back of the rev counter:



Then I made up a little loom, and connected it to another car (+12V, earth, impulse from terminal 1 on coil):



I adjusted the rev counter down so it reads more/less correctly, by also connecting a multimeter and putting it into 6 cylinder mode. In fact, I ran out of adjustment so its still a little high, but it will do for initial starting and checking. Later if needs be, I can program the ECU to output a revs/2 signal and there's loads of adjustment upwards on the variable pot.

paul theres a little trick with the rev counter if your using a coilpack ?

Its been a slowish week, but I've now painted the front panel too:

I think you may have killed the grass  :mrgreen:

Looking forward to seeing this finished , this year ?

I could bang it all together in around a week, but I'm going to take my time, cleaning and getting new parts etc if appropriate. Also there's still a bunch of bodywork to do, in various locations of the car. So I'm not going to set a particular deadline for myself, just plug away at it until its all done and nice.

is the temptation not there to bang it all together blast it up and down the street for a day and then take it to bits to finish properly??

Take your time Paul and get the job done right. I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Keep up the good work.

Nice work Paul, looks like you've been busy the last few weeks!! Engine bay is looking shiny, what size compressor have you used to paint the bay?

aren't we due an update paul??

I've not done an awful lot recently, also the work now is really boring stuff and doesn't make good pics. I've been cleaning all the small parts removed off the car, and scraping them down and painting them.

Here are some parts which are getting repainted:



Here is the inlet manifold, being wire brushed clean:

good work though fella,
it's a boring old job cleaning and painting but well worth the results.

keep up the good work

get some degreaser on it!

you gna give it a good polish or have it like brushed metal?

Progress has been very slow recently, due to it being the 4th car I have and other tasks needing doing on all the others. Plus, being busy at work. Anyway, I have cleaned and painted up most of the parts now. There is still a lot of bodywork to sort out on the car, before its up to a reasonable standard.

Here is the steering rack all cleaned up, painted, and fitted. Also note the fuel lines roughly in place:


The fuel lines now have their rubber spacers on and I have also replaced the brake pipe which will be inaccessible when the engine is in, and the heater hoses and grommet:

Nice work 8)

Good work paul, look forward to seeing this up and running, as im sure you are!

Its getting through all those other jobs that keep on turning up, just as you think you've finished something  8O

Pete

One of the wings was too far gone to repair, so I've bought a non-genuine replacement:





as can be seen, the fit 'out of the box' isn't too great (not that bad either) so I'll do a little fettling before its painted.

Nice work, been fitting hadrian panels to mine, actual shape wasnt too bad a good match with body lines etc. Just needed a little taken off the inside door shut edge and fixing holes filing out.

Wow, transformation! Looks really clean now in the bay. I might have asked you before, but are you using tins to spray or compressor? If the latter, what setup you using and what paint?

Good luck with getting the wing straight!

Simply put effing WOW!! 8O  I thought the TT transplant i was planning was gonna be hard but you have just taken "hard" to a new level. Keep up the work Paul your doing great things.
 :clap:
Mike