Plan B has Landed

Work counted on our little project today.  In the morning, we worked on several subsystem for the Z.  And yes, there was some porting of the exhaust header, even after several threats of cutting the drill cords and strange parts run demands.    

Some of these items come to us from the under fortunate demise of the Pistalo Alto team.   Their car nosed into a K-rail at Arse-Freeze Apalooza and did not survive.  We are sorry, to see a good team end on such a note.  Thank you, Pistalo Alto, for the fun racing.  We appreaiate your donation and will run with power steering and transmission cooling in Sonoma.

For lunch we enjoy some pulled pork sandwich.  Man was that good.  During lunch a package arrived on the doorstep .  Its contents, flywheel bolts, dictated the afternoon.  After lunch we got back at it, by added the exhaust manifolds and installing the transmission.

All this went fairly smoothly, so with the motor transmission together we moved to the next step.  Landing the motor into the car.  After some wigging and fiddling, we ended the day with the motor mounted. 

  

Next up, we now we need to finish the engine hookups and electrical work.

Plan B

Welcome to Plan B

We acquired another VQ35DE.  The motor came with an Automatic, so we have some work to convert it over to a Manual Transmission.  Mechanically this switch seems straight forward.  The only true change is the change out of the pilot converter to a pilot bushing.  From there it all bolts on.  Electrical, issues are another matter.  Reviewing the system, there are some unknowns, so some quality time is needed by Sparky to figure that out.

Before we can install the motor we have a list of items to do.  This work includes:

• Removing the Air Condition Compressor
• Removing the power steering pump
• Removing the tension and direction pulleys
• Pulling the Starter from the left side and replacing with with one on the old motor.
• Pulling and Replacing the transmission, pressure plate, clutch, and flywheel
• Rerouting the engine cooling lines
• Capping the vent lines
• Rerouting the fuel lines
• and ah yes, the porting heads to name a few

Some work has already been completed.  In addition to motor some new system, like power steering and transmission cooling system will be added.  This required us to spent some time cleaning up the engine bay last week.

For this weekend, work will continue with engine, prep and installation.  So, we will see how far we get.  Hopefully, in about two weeks we will have the prep work completed, engine installed, and looking to get onto the punch list to get ready for the March 24-25 race in Sonoma.

Exhaust Port Hole Patching

Over the holidays, we found a friend, Ken, who has the skill, equipment, and willing to help us.  Reviewing the trouble, Ken thinks it is possible to TIG weld the aluminium if it is cleaned really well.  So, after some scrubbing and washing the port, we got it cleaned and ready.  (This also make for a good picture to see the hole into the cylinder's water jacket.)

With everything set I load the motor into the back of Daws headed to Ken's.  After some test runs, Ken got going welding to close the hole.

It started well, as Ken laid down some welds in front of the hole.  As he moved back problems started.  The edges were thin and the heat needed to weld would vaporize the aluminum.  This made the hole bigger, and more material was needed to be laid down to fill the ever enlarging hole.  As he worked, I could do nothing.   At first I listened and could hear the weld arc ebb and flow.  This got me anxious, so I began to pace like an expectant parent.  After an interminable period of time (really about 20 minutes) Ken announced he had finished.

To test this patch we devised a pressure test.  The coolant return line was tapped off, a cap with a valve stem was placed on the coolant feed line.  I then used a bike pump and Ken would look and listen to see if the patch held.  After some amusing start that only jury rigging brings, we found the patch was leaking.  So, Ken went at it with the welder again to see if he could fix it.  This time the welding did not go well.  The pneumatic test had pushed enough containment into the patch that the second attempt to weld did not stick and mostly balled up.  After a lot of effort, little could be done.  So, with a brief Hail Mary test, it was determined that the patch will not work.

sigh...

Thank you Ken for your efforts, sorry I did not give you much to work with.

Alrighty then, on to plan B.