jason_l

Another manic week at work, however i have stayed late a few nights so there is an update. Decided this week to crack on with the brake lines. After getting the new brake line and fittings at Autosport International and finding the time to get to my mates house to collect the brake falring tool and bender i had a few tests and got to it. This is the first time i have done brake lines with copper so was a bit slow at first but soon got the hang of it and now have some very nice brake lines sorted. Decided to start with the front lines first as these where quite straight forward, First thing to do was get the wiring front panel, suspension, radiator and fan removed. Everything seems to be in the way now so always takes longer than it should. I decided to use the old copper pipe i had from way back as a template and bent them up by hand to a rough shape and use the new stuff to make the proper lines. This seemed the most logical way to do it and actually apart from a few little tweeks here and there has resulted in some very good brake lines. roughly bent the front lines to shape..... Then following this as a guide i transfered it to the new copper lines, added the fittings and flared the end.... and the new line next to the template version.... and fitted to the buggy...... Then was time to start the rear lines. Decided to mount the brake bias valve behind the drivers seat. Its still accessible from the seat but is out of the way enough that it can't accidentally be changed. Will eventually box it in i think to make it look alot neater. was just clamped in place for the moment but i will weld the bracket on later when i strip the frame back down for powdercoating. Decided to run the rear brake lines along the drivers side chassis rail rather than down the middle of the buggy. The coolant lines take up most of the room down the middle so was best running them another way. Looks like its in the way but all will be explained later. So firstly made a rough template again, this time alot longer than the fronts.... Then made the proper line.... all held in place with automec brake pipe clips.... and then from the bias valve to the T piece.... and then each side on the rear. Bit fiddly doing the lines from the T piece to the rear calipers but got there in the end. The lines are set slightly in from the edge of the rear compartment as im adding some large air ducts to the side so the brake lines will be sectioned off from this later. Very happy with the brake lines though and now all i have to do is finish off painting the rear caliper on the left and put that on and once bled i have brakes Then started looking at covering the brake lines and wiring along the chassis rail. I know some people have had problems with radius edges along the top of the chassis as well so made sense to house it all in. So went to screwfix and got a 3m length of abs waste pipe. Cut a small section out to allow it to fit over the chassis rail and did a little test to see how it will work. Looks good i think.... So then went for the full length. I used a Japanese pull saw and it was actually very easy and the results are spot on. After a quick scrape along the cut edge its actually finished really well. So started by masking up the section i want to cut out..... Then literally just carefully followed the line and removed the small section with the saw.... and the other one..... I have shaped the ends so they run the full length of the chassis rails and the fit is very good. Still need to make some small end caps but its getting there. Its amazing how a small part can clean up the look of the buggy so much. Will keep all the wiring protected and will actually hide the fixings along the frame when i add the sides. Im thinking im going to make the sides from ABS plastic as its alot cheaper than carbon fibre and its going to be plastered with vinyl anyway so doesn't really matter. I only have a small piece of ABS but you get the idea of how it will go.... I then also removed a small section at the front to allow the nosecone to slot into it. Thinking i can hide the fixings for the nosecone under the tube as well. Paul (Legend) from work has also helped a bit this week to sand the nosecone down some more and we couldn't resist seeing what the green looks like that the body parts will be sprayed in. Still a long way to go on the nosecone but its a start. Well as you can see its been a busy week, hopefully going to try and continue at this pace as its houldn't be long and after cleaning up the wiring a little, adding the driveshafts and sorting the coolant lines i won' t be far off of a few video'sof it driving around the carpark at work Jason

Ha. Thanks. Sometimes i think i should just get it built as quick as possible just to get it finished but i just cant resist doing stuff over the top. Too much of a perfectionist. Not always a good thing i guess, always takes twice as long, or in my case about 20 times longer

Well thats over 1000 posts now, so that means i have been building this for FLIPPIN AGES!!!!!!! Well not really a big update but an update none the less! Last weekend me and Sarah went up to Autosport International and had a fantastic time, so much stuff on show and some amazing cars. Always good to look around these sort of shows as it always gives me idea's for parts and ways of doing things. Also while i was there i picked up some parts. Got all the brake unions i need (all in brass not the cheaper alloy ones) and a new roll of copper brake line as the stuff i have has seen better days. Also got a few fuel washers and other random bits. I also managed to pick up a few more random carbon fibre Formula 1 parts. There was a guy selling all sorts of Formula 1 stuff and he had some good stuff. I had to really stop myself from buying one of the wheels. I don't need it for anything but i just want one! Anyway i got a few more little parts. These are good to cut up and use as small mounting brackets and as they are carbon they are mega light. Been looking at continuing with the brake lines and coolant pipes and i have started to solder the coolant pipes together. Had a little test to see if the brake line clips fix ok to ABS plastic sheet and they seem to fix ok and are pretty secure. Think im going to run the brake lines along the top of the drivers side frame bar. I wanted to run them down the middle but its going to get tight with the coolant lines down the middle and is easier to look for another route. They will then be covered with a plastic tube along each side that will hide the wiring, brake lines etc. I had a go with taking a template for the front brake line but it didn't go to plan. Bit of a nightmare, i may have to remove the wiring loom and front panel so i can get better access as its a bit restrictive. Will have another go at some point, when i find time. I also added a small piece of fibreglass along the top of the nosecone piece. Looks ok and it means the wiring is now a little more protected, just need to spend AGES sanding the nosecone now and getting it all smooth and then look at fixing it to the car. Been dying to do more this week but its just been manic at work and i haven't wanted to stay late either. Im not really sure what to do with the buggy now. The workshop is getting very tight for space and im getting little done on my lunch breaks. I spend more time faffing about moving stuff and working out where to start than actually working on it so im considering moving the thing back to my parents house. Problem with that is i need to clean out the garage as its messy as anything and also im not sure how happy my brother is going to be with me as his jetski is in the garage as well and i know he won't be keen to share the space. My thoughts are that i will get more done with it at home as i can crack on in the evenings and if i need to take parts to work i can take individual parts in when i need to. Although it may be better leaving it at work, i just don't know?!?!? This snow is stopping me do anything on it now but not really much i can do about that, but i will crack on as usual when i can. Jason

Thanks guys. Its the great comments i get from you lot that keeps me going on it. On day it will be done. I keep saying 2014 but it wont take long and it will come round. I will just keep chipping away at it.

Haha. Well sort of, i still think of it as bodging on parts from other cars. Its just those parts are from VERY expensive cars.

Hi All, Time for some pictures i guess. Well been all over the place over Christmas and working on a few projects here and there but got a few hours put in on the buggy. Thought its about time i get it to a moving state so have started looking at the brake lines and coolant routing. First thing was to get a brake bias valve so i can install this when i sort the brake lines. This will be mounted in the centre tunnel behind the passengers seat, out of the way. I specifically bought it as it stated it was 3/8 fittment so would keep everything the same but it turns out its m10, not a huge problem but bit of a bugger. Also got the other caliper cleaned up and have begun painting it up. Just waiting till i can get over to my mates house now so i can borrow his brake pipe tools so i can get the brake lines bent up. Going to go for copper for the remaining lines i think, might upgrade to braided after iva but probably won't bother.... Then it was on with routing some coolant lines. I want to make sure that there are no joins inside the main cabin area in case a hose splits or leaks as its going to get messy. Been looking at using 28mm copper pipe and simply soldering the joins so everything is solid within the cabin area. Now i originally thought i was going to have to remove the engine to get the pipes in the cabin but if i jack the rear up i can just about get them in. Started running the hoses from the engine and down into the rear section and im happy with the results. I have started running the copper pipes down the middle and im just waiting on a new blow torch so i can solder the joins. started routing from engine..... pipes down to centre section, the copper pipes will be covered with high temp sleeving so you won't see the copper at all. side view.... and down the middle...... Got some hylomar on the thermohousing after a good clean and its now bolted up to the engine with a new thermostat in place. Also while working on the engine area i went off on a slight tangent and decided to knock up a heat shield for the manifold area. Plan is to make another one to defelct some heat from the coolant pipes as well. This was made from a side panel from a 2008 Honda F1 car. Bought a pair of these a while ago and have been thinking what i can use them for and it worked out pretty well. I have a few carbon F1 parts lying about that im going to use here and there. Firstly got it trimmed down to shape..... added some expensive heat shield material to the underside.... and then fitted in place....looks rather good if i do say so. Now im just waiting on a few more connections and the blow torch and i can hopefully find the time to finish off the coolant pipes and be a tiny bit closer. I have also been working on the nosecone and have re-enforced the inside and started sanding it down but its going to take ages before its done. Work continues! Looks like this thread has almsot reached 1000 replies also, flippin heck its been going on forever Ha Jason

This was made from a solid piece of billet, not made from another gearknob, i should know i made it . It has the correct toyota thread on the inside as well so simply screws into place. Good luck with sale buddy.