Two Tonne Bully

[SMed08]

Just realised my rear fenders have been rolled. Probably why the 285/35/18 tyres don't rub. Can't believe I didn't notice that before. They did a good job though, no paint cracking at all, fender lip is smooth. Nice.

 

[french]

Not an expert. Haven't done anything for handling, it turns like a boat.

It definitely looks a bit taxi-ish. I'm going to stick a decorative tissue box in the rear window and a mini-cab light/sign on the roof next time I go to Santa Pod.

Fitting wider rear tyres has increased your understeering as its more grip so pushing it straight

Great project & car looks great.

 

[SMed08]

Fitting wider rear tyres has increased your understeering as its more grip so pushing it straight

Great project & car looks great.

It won't be an issue. The only track this car will go on, is Santa Pod. And I won't be pushing this boat hard in the corners on the street anyway.

 

[SMed08]

Waiting time. Hopefully done tomorrow afternoon/evening.

 

[SMed08]

Struggling with RHD steering column... won't be finished today.

 

[SMed08]

So the steering column is definitely in the way, and the runner would need to be moved at least an inch, which is too much to just hammer and bash in.

Needs to some slight cut and welding to one of the runners, or the entire runner needs bending, but over a very long arch. So it would need some heat a good 10" fore and aft of the column and have it bent away. It's a little more than my mechanic is happy to do without damaging the headers so he's taking it to a guy in the morning.

Apart from that, the rest of the exhaust seems to line up perfectly. I didn't realise before purchasing that these headers come with an X-pipe too. And this measures up well all the way to the rear axles nearly. Passenger side header should be absolutely fine.

I made a good call going for preventive replacements of the motor mounts... in fact it wasn't even preventive, the old ones were shot. Cracked and compressed a good inch at least. Putting new ones makes for even easier clearance. Highly recommended.

Update tomorrow with lots of pics hopefully.

 

[SMed08]

It's going to take this guy a few days to get it done, he's back-logged until Tuesday. Estimates it will add another £100-200 to the install cost. I'm sure there are faster/cheaper/dirtier ways to get it done, but I'd like it done well.

 

[Alps]

Same problem on all headers from the US, some you get away with a little bashing, long tubes need to be re-worked.

car making good progress

 

[SMed08]

Waiting

 

[SMed08]

Tomorrow

Hopefully

 

[Alex]

It's going to take this guy a few days to get it done, he's back-logged until Tuesday. Estimates it will add another £100-200 to the install cost. I'm sure there are faster/cheaper/dirtier ways to get it done, but I'd like it done well.

Given that there's not a lot of room, do you know what exactly is being done to the header? I take it the fabricator has access to the car?

 

[SMed08]

The fabricator does not have the car unfortunately, but my mechanic made measurements and given to the fabricator. Just one runner needs proper cutting and welding to be moved. Another runner just needs a tiny bit of heat and pushing to give enough clearance.

If all goes well, I'll ask my guy what exactly needs modifying, including measurements, so I can hopefully share with other Project B5 customers.

Can't stress enough, motor mounts should be done at the time if yours are old, or worse, original. There's easily an inch or more drop with old mounts. Much easier to do with exhaust out of the way.

 

[Alex]

Sounds promising. I hope the steering column doesn't rub on the collector. Ours is off centered and follows an oval when it rotates.

 

[SMed08]

Don't think the steering column was anywhere near the collector, from what I remember, as the collector is completely under the car behind the firewall.

 

[SMed08]

Also picked up a new AIT sensor. Lots of chatter on the American sites about these sensors degrading quite significantly over time, but not so bad that they throw a cold. But apparently they're reading hotter than normal it seams. Everyone that's put a new one has said the car has smoothed out significantly and has really woken the car up. They're also doing the sneaky ECU reset at the same time and cleaning out the throttle body.

Difficult to say which of those is accounting for the improvement. But it seems worth it to try. I've done the sneaky ECU reset after about 11,000 miles and definitely noticed an improvement. I'll do it again after driving around with the new headers for a while, then try the new AIT sensor. It's really cheap, about £15 I think, and very simple to install. Worth a shot.

Air Intake Temperature Sensor 37142 Febi Sender 04862635AA 05149209AA 05174042AA | eBay

 

[Alex]

Don't think the steering column was anywhere near the collector, from what I remember, as the collector is completely under the car behind the firewall.

Yeah, I meant runner not collector.

 

[SMed08]

Yeah, I meant runner not collector.

Yeah steering column definitely in the way of the runner. We're having to cut, move and re-weld it in a different route to go around with enough clearance. Mechanic reckon at least half an inch should do it.

Also, header still not finished from fabricator. It's looking like Friday at the earliest.

I'll stop these stupid non-updates until it's done. Just getting anxious to get this beast back. They've let me use an '06 C180 Kompressor which is pretty comfortable, but I miss the Bully.

 

[Alex]

Don't be daft, you're making good progress. Some things take longer to materialise as you depend on other people. Perfectly normal and understandable. I'm enjoying the read so keep us in the loop.

 

[merc85]

Awesome, I've got a new IAT sensor coming, Should be with me tomorrow, I will report back on any improvements

Were abouts is the sensor? obviously i know its on the intake somewhere

 

[Alex]

Behind the supercharger in the V of the manifold.