Latest EntrySep 1, 2010 Site News Leave a comment
After another long hiatus (sorry guys) Driftopia is coming back online with regular updates. I’m going to begin an update of our hosting services in the morning so we can all enjoy the latest technology that web 3.0 has to offer (:rolleyes) But really just to fix a few bugs the site has been experiencing. In the meantime, here is a nice teaser pic of the new project car, a 2006 Lotus Elise.
Dec 10, 2008 240sx Build Journals Leave a comment
Welcome to the chassis build of project 240sx. The following photos document the complete gutting and restoration of project 240sx to include roll cage installatio0n as well as painting of the inside, outside and underside of the chassis. Simply scroll down to view the images or jump straight to the Gallery.
The bare s13 chassis sitting on the garage floor.
In order to separate the sheet metal, the spot welds must be drilled out.
After drilling, the panels begin to separate.
Another image showing the sheet metal separation.
The front of the s13 after cutting the front of the wheel wells out.
After stitch welding, the new welds are ground down to present a cleaner finish.
The fuel cell is mounted in the trunk by attaching to two structural steel cross members that span the rear frame rails.
The cross members are attached by first welding a 1/8\” steel plate to the rail and then attaching the tube to the plate.
A permanent strut tower brace has been weld in place between the rear strut towers.
Another image showing the mounted fuel cell as well as the strut tower brace.
The center roof beam has been removed to allow more head room.
The main roll cage mounts will be placed in these four locations where they will tie into the factory structural rails.
The corners are thoroughly sandblasted. This makes quite a mess but is the easiest way to prep the hard to reach corners for welding.
After vacuuming the blast media you can see the clean corner (highlighted).
The four mount points now look like this.
Using 3″ x 3″ pieces of 1/8″ thick steel, I began to shape the rear mounts with a table grinder
The finished driver’s side rear mount
The less complex driver’s side front mount. This will be reinforced underneath after the roll cage is mounted.
JD2 Model 3 tube bender mounted to the custom stand.
3/8″ copper pipe is used as a rough template for the main hoop.
“The main hoop is marked by laying the tube template and the copper template over the straight piece. Marks are made to indicate where the bends will start.
After installing the main hoop, it is then triangulated with the chassis.
The main door bars added to the cage.
The door bars pass through the “A” pillar and into the door sill to maximize interior space.
The chassis now rests on 2 wooden platforms as I prepare to replace the 2 crimped portions of the frame rails.
Oct 29, 2008 Project CA18DET 240SX, S13, Tech (MR2 Spyder) Leave a comment
Introduction
This is the final iteration of the MR2 Spyder power steering removal series. In this part I want to cover a lot of ground, tie everything together and show the final version of the surge box that I installed on my car. I also want to discuss several topics that led to the conclusion that the current setup is indeed the best.
How Power Steering Works
As shown in the image below, pressurized power steering fluid enters the rack where the rack and steering column join. In this compartment, there is a rotating valve assembly (arrow in picture) that directs the pressurized fluid to the rack through one of two lines or back to the fluid reservoir through the return line. The valve sends fluid to one side of the rack when the wheel is turned. This moves a piston in the rack and in turn assists in moving the wheels. The side of the rack not receiving the pressure has fluid forced back into the valve compartment and ultimately to the return as the piston moves. In this manner, the fluid is recirculated to the pump. (Check out this article for a more detailed explanation: How Car Steering Works)
Hose Choices
I have found a lot of false information regarding the use of fuel line for the non pressurized power steering fluid. In my tests, fuel line works just fine, does not swell and does not burst. I believe people using heater hose for return lines are the ones that spread this fallacy assuming that since the heater hose doesn’t hold, anything not labeled for P/S use will fail also. So you can use hose designed for fuel, oil or steering without issue. Just avoid vacuum and heater hose variants.
Hard Lines
Some of you may have noticed the previous guide labeled part 4 for the power steering removal which demonstrated the use of modified brake lines for the steering fluid path. This guide has been moved to an appendix as the brake lines proved more of a hassle than necessary.
Vent Box (Reservoir)
Although I began these guides using a modified oil catch can as the vent box, over time, the cans I used would become leaky due to the fill level indicator. As such, this final install includes the construction of a custom, leak proof vent/surge reservoir that will offer years of service.
Background
Based on the description in part 1, I am left to the task of creating a custom vent/surge reservoir that utilizes flexible fluid lines. And through the many iterations of the power steering delete system, I have determined that a system where all four of the original pressurized lines, running independently to the vent box, yields the lightest and most consistent steering feel. Finally, since the main (3/8″) in and out lines in the stock system are not the highest points, they become redundant and will be plugged to reduce complexity.
Building the Reservoir (Supplies / Tools)
Home Depot
(Note: The air compressor fittings you want will be attracted to a magnet (steel))
Autozone
Tools
If you don’t have access to the aforementioned tools, you can always change the materials and supplies to items you can comfortably work with. However, this guide details the way I built and installed my final system using joined metals to create a permanent solution.
Building the Reservoir (Cutting the Metal)
First, with the chop saw, I cut a 5″ length piece of the 2 1/4″ exhaust pipe.
Then, using the diameter of the pipe as a guide, I cut two round pieces out of the 1/4″ steel plate with the plasma cutter.
After cutting the pipe and the circles, you will need to grind down all of the left over jagged edges on the pieces. The circles where then shaped with the grinder to fit just inside of the pipe’s diameter. Note that all surfaces of the circles were ground to reveal fresh metal surfaces.
Take the bottom circle and drill 4 small concentric pilot holes. Then enlarge the holes until the narrow half of the 4 x 1/4″ female adapters fit through them.
Once the adapters are in place, weld the 4 tapered portions to the back of the circle. Then cut off the excess above the welds.
Grind the welds so that the surface is flat and clean. (Note: If you look closely, you can see that ground a little too much material off near my welds which may result in leaks down the road. To fix this I added 4 small circular welds (shown below) and then refinished the surface.)
Flip the piece over and notice that the circle now has 4 1/4″ female ports securely attached.
Slide the finished circle into the pipe and weld the pieces together as shown to create the bottom of the reservoir. Clean things up by grinding the excess from the welds.
Cut a 1″ x 4 1/2″ plate from the 1/4″ steel to be used as a mounting bracket. Grind and clean all of the bracket’s edges and then weld the plate to the reservoir. To finish the plate, drill two small holes in the plate to be used for mounting points.
(Note: I forgot to record the process for attaching the larger fitting to the top plate. Needless to say, the steps are almost identical to the bottom. Grind and fit the top circle and then weld the 1/2″ to 3/8″ adapter to the top. Once in place, drill a hole to create a breather and fill hole through plate (through the center of the adapter) and then weld the top circle to the top of the pipe. I will add pics as I build more of these.)
Optional: Powder coat the piece if desired.
The finished product with 4 x 1/4″ barb fittings thread into the female ports.
Installing the Reservoir
coming soon …
Oct 22, 2008 Tech(S2000), Uncategorized Leave a comment
This is a follow up post to the original (CA18DET Inline Oil Cooler (UK Factory Oil Cooler)) guide which describes how to install a US market (UK style) oil cooler onto the CA18DET.
Filling in the Blanks
As promised, I traveled back to the salvage yard to get the VIN number from the car and as luck would have it, it was gone. Fortunately, after a brief search, I spotted another Nissan Maxima of the same year that also sported the inline oil cooler. The VIN of this particular car is: JN1HT21S7KT222397 and an initial CarFax search listed the car as a 1989 Nissan Stanza with a CA20E motor. The CA20E motor is in the same family as the CA18DET and thus explains the compatibility of the oil filter adapters between the two motors. Although CarFax lists the car as a Stanza, the wikipedia page states that the car is indeed labeled a Maxima in the US market and came as such between the years of 1987 to 1989. However, during this time, the Maxima came with both a 6 and 4 cylinder engine and in this case, you will be looking for the 4-cylinder variant that came with the CA20E. So there you have it, if you are looking for this oil cooler to add to your CA18DET block, you will need to get the unit from a 1987 to 1989 US market Nissan Maxima with the Stanza engine (CA20E).
(Note: The CA20E was also available in the Nissan 200sx (s12 chassis silvia) from 1984 to 1988. The S12 FSM shows the oil cooler in several diagrams but I am unsure if the US market received the oil cooler so you may or may not be able to locate the cooler on these chassis.)
Oct 10, 2008 Project MR2 Spyder (DD), Tech (MR2 Spyder), Uncategorized Leave a comment
The ScanGaugeII is a small automotive computer that interfaces with the OBDII port of the MR2 Spyder. It contains a small LCD screen that can be used to display the motor’s factory sensors in realtime. Although the ScanGaugeII is a multipurpose device that can display a wide variety of values ranging from MPG to cost per mile most enthusiasts will use this gauge to measure up to four factory gauge parameters at one time. In my case, i am using the ScanGaugeII to simultaneously measure coolant temp, inatke air temp, volts and timing. The following is the method I used to cleanly and permanently mount the ScanGaugeII to the upper center console panel of project MR2 Spyder.
