Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT CNCs and Hot Rods, a Sydney Garage

[hewey]

That pipe looks amazing. Will you need to run some kind of shield or protector for rego?

 

[Beelzeboss]

That pipe looks amazing. Will you need to run some kind of shield or protector for rego?

Thanks Hewey, the engineer definitely wants some sort of heat shield covering all exposed pipe down the side. I was hoping to get away with just the portion inline with where the passenger gets in, but it really has to all be covered. I have a plan for the horizontal section but I'm still not 100% sure on how I'll cover the downpipe and still have it look OK. Maybe some 4" tube cut in half? But that sounds like a lot of work to get it spot-on.

 

[Beelzeboss]

I had some time after work yesterday to speed through some more exhaust fab.



I found that the 3" cat I'm using had about a 3mm gap all the way round when I put a 3" tube in it, so I flared out the end of some 3" tube to fit better.



Very low tech, I just smashed the edge with the ball end of a hammer while rotating it sitting on a vice, but it worked!



Just the wastegate merge left and I can tick exhaust off the list





I also buzzed the ring gear off my spare 1UZ flex plate so I can measure it accurately for designing the custom flywheel.

 

[Beelzeboss]

Yesterday I folded out the lower edge of the bodywork on the exhaust side.



Then I used the shearing rolls on the bead roller for the first time, what an awesome tool!





Ideally this lip will form the attachment point for the heat shield for the exhaust, then the downpipe will get it's own separate heat shield attached to the pipe itself. If the clearance around the cat is too tight I'll cut back the lip further and make it a separate cover with a bit more clearance but I think it'll be OK as-is.

 

[Beelzeboss]

I didn't get a chance to post what I did on Sunday. but I trimmed the rear floor and added a lip to either side that meets up with the side pieces.





This side piece needs more work, but at least it can be installed now.





Next up I made the wastegate merge piece of the exhaust, cut out the hole in the main tube and welded it together.





Then today after work I quickly knocked up a heat shield using the piece of aluminium I cut out for the windscreen.







I don't want to hide the downpipe behind a solid heat shield so I'm thinking of making one using 2.4mm TIG welding rods, like a sort of cage around the pipes. Once painted black I think it would look pretty cool.

 

[Geoff289]

Great work as usual. I like the see through heat shield idea.

 

[hewey]

Great progress. Heat shield sounds good too.

 

[Beelzeboss]

Great work as usual. I like the see through heat shield idea.

Great progress. Heat shield sounds good too.

Thanks! I tried the heat shield idea with 2.4mm welding rods and I think it looks good but it feels too flimsy. I might try again with 3.2mm rods, though I am very tempted to just buy some perforated heat shielding and be done with it.





The 2.4 rods are also very hard to weld, I blasted through one of the rings just before I stopped

 

[Geoff289]

Thanks! I tried the heat shield idea with 2.4mm welding rods and I think it looks good but it feels too flimsy. I might try again with 3.2mm rods, though I am very tempted to just buy some perforated heat shielding and be done with it.





The 2.4 rods are also very hard to weld, I blasted through one of the rings just before I stopped

I guess it needs to be robust enough not only for a casual leg brush against it but someone actually tripping or falling against it and crushing it enough to make contact with the pipe itself.

 

[Beelzeboss]

I guess it needs to be robust enough not only for a casual leg brush against it but someone actually tripping or falling against it and crushing it enough to make contact with the pipe itself.

Absolutely, the last thing I want is for someone to get seriously injured from the car.

I did some further CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) finished off the infill panels in the rear.







Then this one made from an offcut with a small step rolled in the edge to sit flush



I also test fit the hydroboost assembly...







Not ideal, I think I'm going to make an adapter to mount the throttle body on a bit of an angle so it all clears.

 

[hewey]

Yeh I agree that heat shield is far too thin. I think the concept is good, but maybe it needs something more like 5mm rod?

 

[Beelzeboss]

Yeh I agree that heat shield is far too thin. I think the concept is good, but maybe it needs something more like 5mm rod?

I think 5mm would definitely do the job, though I'm not sure how hard it would be to bend it.

A little update on the CNC that I've been plugging away on after work this week.





The mag drill and impact rated M6 tap have really sped up this step I've been putting off for ages.



I did have to clear the area to get the crane in so I could lift the gantry out of the way of the mag drill. Everything went well until the little M6 tap gave up the ghost on the 6th last hole.



The machine will work fine with one bolt missing from the rails so I'm going to leave the tap in there. It's more work than it's worth to fix it at this point.



So once I get some more M6x20 SHCS bolts I can call the rails mounted!

Next up will be using the mag drill and some clamps to drill the rail and ballscrew mounting holes into the new aluminium table.

 

[Beelzeboss]

Well I'm waiting on a couple of counterbore drill bits so it's back on to the hot rod!

I had this morning out in the garage as compensation for having the kids alone all tomorrow afternoon/evening. First I made a cover which will be hinged off the floor to provide access to change/charge/install the battery.



Then I checked the parts I've ordered for the fuel filler will work together.





They connect to this stub so I'm thinking I'll run it basically straight up through that panel above.



Next up I continued work on the fuel tank straps







This rectangular slot fits over this 6mm tab that I welded to the chassis





Last thing was I finished off the windscreen latches

 

[Geoff289]

Those tank straps look plenty beefy.

Re the fuel filler - vent tube? little flap doohickey where the pump nozzle goes in? Reason i ask is early Mustangs come with neither and no matter what you do they spit fuel over your shoes when you fully fill it before the pump shuts off. A guy in the States makes a replacement neck for them that includes the above and solves this problem. I had one in my previous Mustang and now have one in the current one.

 

[Coolabah]

Well I'm waiting on a couple of counterbore drill bits so it's back on to the hot rod!

I had this morning out in the garage as compensation for having the kids alone all tomorrow afternoon/evening. First I made a cover which will be hinged off the floor to provide access to change/charge/install the battery.



Then I checked the parts I've ordered for the fuel filler will work together.





They connect to this stub so I'm thinking I'll run it basically straight up through that panel above.



Next up I continued work on the fuel tank straps







This rectangular slot fits over this 6mm tab that I welded to the chassis





Last thing was I finished off the windscreen latches

Looking at your fantastic welds reminds me , no matter how much I am tempted , not to post mine !!!!
Great progress and enjoying your build - I would bet almost as much as you !!

 

[Beelzeboss]

Those tank straps look plenty beefy.

Re the fuel filler - vent tube? little flap doohickey where the pump nozzle goes in? Reason i ask is early Mustangs come with neither and no matter what you do they spit fuel over your shoes when you fully fill it before the pump shuts off. A guy in the States makes a replacement neck for them that includes the above and solves this problem. I had one in my previous Mustang and now have one in the current one.

Thanks Geoff, could some of that be because of how flat the filler tube is on those Mustangs? I'm hoping with this one having a big drop to the tank it won't be as much of an issue... But in terms of vents I'll be running two from the top of the tank to near the top of the filler neck, then another from the neck to the engine through a charcoal cannister and solenoid, similar to the OEM Toyota Soarer setup.

Looking at your fantastic welds reminds me , no matter how much I am tempted , not to post mine !!!!
Great progress and enjoying your build - I would bet almost as much as you !!

Thanks mate, the secret is to only take close ups of the welds that come out looking good

I spent yesterday evening finishing off the most complex fuel filler neck I've ever seen. Only tacked together so far and needs a mount welded to it near the top, but the hard part is done.





I also managed some arts and crafts



I sprayed the cardboard mould with spray adhesive and stuck some plastic wrap to it so the foam wouldn't stick



After carving and trimming in vinyl this is going to be the dashboard crash protector the engineer specified... I may have gone overboard with the amount of foam

 

[Geoff289]

Re the fuel filler - vent tube? little flap doohickey where the pump nozzle goes in? Reason i ask is early Mustangs come with neither and no matter what you do they spit fuel over your shoes when you fully fill it before the pump shuts off. A guy in the States makes a replacement neck for them that includes the above and solves this problem. I had one in my previous Mustang and now have one in the current one.

Thanks Geoff, could some of that be because of how flat the filler tube is on those Mustangs? I'm hoping with this one having a big drop to the tank it won't be as much of an issue... But in terms of vents I'll be running two from the top of the tank to near the top of the filler neck, then another from the neck to the engine through a charcoal cannister and solenoid, similar to the OEM Toyota Soarer setup.

Could be but really the geometry of the fuel filling arrangements isn't much different to any modern car. You insert the pump into an opening that is sitting in a more or less vertical panel, and the path into the tank takes a more or less 90 degree turn to enter the tank at the top. The issue is more the width of the opening in the absence of a flap and the fact that modern bowsers for unleaded and ethanol blends, not that I'd ever put the latter in my car, operate at higher pressures than was the case back in the '60's.

One thing that is great about filling my old girl is that the filler is centrally located in the back taillight panel above the number plate, so you don't have to remember what side of the car it's on or wait for a free pump on the correct side. Like an HQ Holden was. Why isn't this a feature of modern cars?

Not that it's of any relevance to your car, but I'll include this link anyway.

https://onemanandhismustang.com/fuel-filler-pipe-replacement-upgrade/

I can see how your vertical entry point will present less of a risk of it spitting fuel at you.

 

[Beelzeboss]

Could be but really the geometry of the fuel filling arrangements isn't much different to any modern car. You insert the pump into an opening that is sitting in a more or less vertical panel, and the path into the tank takes a more or less 90 degree turn to enter the tank at the top. The issue is more the width of the opening in the absence of a flap and the fact that modern bowsers for unleaded and ethanol blends, not that I'd ever put the latter in my car, operate at higher pressures than was the case back in the '60's.

One thing that is great about filling my old girl is that the filler is centrally located in the back taillight panel above the number plate, so you don't have to remember what side of the car it's on or wait for a free pump on the correct side. Like an HQ Holden was. Why isn't this a feature of modern cars?

Not that it's of any relevance to your car, but I'll include this link anyway.

https://onemanandhismustang.com/fuel-filler-pipe-replacement-upgrade/

I can see how your vertical entry point will present less of a risk of it spitting fuel at you.

Thanks Geoff, I might see if I can laser cut a small disc to go into the top of the filler. It won't have the flap, but when you're filling up I can't imagine the flap actually does anything.

I had a little time after work yesterday to get started on the flywheel.



I'm drilling and tapping 8 x M10 holes into an area of the flywheel that will be machined away so it can be bolted to the lathe faceplate.







Once I get some appropriate bolts I should be able to start machining the flywheel. I'm really glad this setup occurred to me because I had all sorts of complex and difficult methods in my head for how i was going to hold the flywheel for initial machining. This setup on the faceplate will allow me to do all machining on the clutch side.



Then once that's done I will flip it around and hold it by the large bore in the centre to machine the other side.

 

[Beelzeboss]

A small update as I've been on holidays the past 2 weeks, I got the charcoal cannister mounted by the fuel filler



I'm expecting my 300mm digital verniers to arrive shortly so once they're here I'll be able to finish off the adapter plate and start on the flywheel.

 

[Beelzeboss]

After work I tack welded the fuel filler mounting bracket on. It bolts into M6 rivnuts in the body frame.



Then I got setup for drilling the mounting holes in the CNC's new 32mm aluminium table

 

[Beelzeboss]

The adapter plate has been lathed down to thickness and the central locating boss created at the same time.



My 300mm digital calipers finally arrived so I checked the diameter that I'd roughly machined and measured using a ruler as ~215mm... 215.02mm, I actually couldn't believe it The central bore of the bellhousing is 215.2mm so that will work perfectly.

Then I got the faceplate on and started attaching the flywheel.



I loosely bolted it down and then used a rubber mallet to adjust it to run as true as possible.

Here's the less-than-ideal setup for machining the diameter which is at the upper limits of what the lathe can hold.



It's a boring bar mounted upside down and the lathe runs in reverse



The surface finish so far is pretty awful but I can't tell if it's because of the lack of rigidity in the setup or because the insert is toast.



Coolant helped but I was getting peppered by super hot strings of steel, so I fashioned a shield out of scrap which helped.



If I have some time tomorrow after work I'll continue taking down the external diameter, 4mm left to go and then I'll machine the clutch face

 

[Geoff289]

Am I the only one blown away that he's making his own flywheel?

Gobsmacking!

 

[Beelzeboss]

Am I the only one blown away that he's making his own flywheel?

Gobsmacking!

*attempting to* Thanks mate, we'll see how it comes out in the end!

I drilled and tapped the remaining holes in the adapter plate, now I just need the correct size bolts to bolt it all up



Then, because I'm not using the locating dowels on the gearbox I printed this locating jig



It sits around the input shaft and then that outer lip locates on the locating feature for the bellhousing. The split middle part is needed to fit over the splines on the input shaft.

 

[Geoff289]

*attempting to* Thanks mate, we'll see how it comes out in the end!

I have faith in you.

Is the crank in that Toyota donk internally or neutrally balanced, i.e. you don't need to counterweight the flywheel to match a weighted harmonic balancer on the other end?

 

[Beelzeboss]

I have faith in you.

Is the crank in that Toyota donk internally or neutrally balanced, i.e. you don't need to counterweight the flywheel to match a weighted harmonic balancer on the other end?

As far as I'm aware the engine is all balanced internally, the flywheels don't have any sort of key to make sure they're installed in a particular orientation, but that's a good thing to check.

I put a new insert in the boring bar and that gave a much better finish on the OD of the flywheel. Next up I did a skim across the face with a carbide tool, then a very slow, light cut with a sharp, large radius HSS cutter to get a decent finish on the steel.



It came out pretty smooth, you can't really feel anything with your fingernail but I still think I might hit it with some light emery paper before taking it off the lathe.



I've read it's not good to have a polished finish or the clutch won't bite, but you also don't want grooves in the face which will wear out the clutch prematurely... I think it's probably OK.



The finishing pass was taking ages so I didn't go all the way to the center, as that gets machined away anyway, then I drilled the first hole through the middle of the piece. I'll follow that up with a much larger drill so the boring bar can fit through, then I'll take it out almost to finished diameter. I think I want to finish the ID and OD when I machine the step for the ring gear on the other side, so it's all guaranteed to be perfectly concentric.

 

[Geoff289]

As far as I'm aware the engine is all balanced internally, the flywheels don't have any sort of key to make sure they're installed in a particular orientation, but that's a good thing to check.

The flywheels I'm familiar with, on old dinosaur Ford Windsors, are externally balanced at either 28 or 50 ounces. Orientation is dictated not by a key but by the bolt holes to the crank not being evenly spaced around the circumference of the circle they create. They will only go on one way.

How have you determined the optimum overall weight for the one you're making? I'm not sure if those engines were ever in front of a manual trans in any Toyota but if they were it was likely to be a Landcruiser or something that is way heavier than your car is going to be. As I'm sure you know, flywheel weight will impact on how the car performs. I reckon you'll need something quite a bit lighter than something like a Landcruiser would run.

Back when I was involved in Super Stock drag racing racers would typically use different weight flywheels for different engine combos in the same car and carry a few different ones in the trailer and swap them in the pits to optimise the set up in different track conditions such as weather, available traction etc.

 

[Beelzeboss]

The flywheels I'm familiar with, on old dinosaur Ford Windsors, are externally balanced at either 28 or 50 ounces. Orientation is dictated not by a key but by the bolt holes to the crank not being evenly spaced around the circumference of the circle they create. They will only go on one way.

How have you determined the optimum overall weight for the one you're making? I'm not sure if those engines were ever in front of a manual trans in any Toyota but if they were it was likely to be a Landcruiser or something that is way heavier than your car is going to be. As I'm sure you know, flywheel weight will impact on how the car performs. I reckon you'll need something quite a bit lighter than something like a Landcruiser would run.

Back when I was involved in Super Stock drag racing racers would typically use different weight flywheels for different engine combos in the same car and carry a few different ones in the trailer and swap them in the pits to optimise the set up in different track conditions such as weather, available traction etc.

This one is definitely not externally balanced then, the bolt holes are equally spaced and identical.

In terms of weight I've basically made it as light as I can while maintaining an 11mm thick face for bolting to the crank and a 12mm thickness behind the pressure plate, solely based on rules of thumb I found online. I've tried to remove as much weight as possible from the outer perimeter and according to the CAD model it's about 8.5kg + ring gear.

I usually prefer a pretty light flywheel, they feel much more alive to drive, but I'm limited by not wanting to make an aluminium one and not wanting to do any extensive milling to remove material from the outer edge... We'll see, I guess

I test fit the adapter plate locating jig today, it seems to fit well



Then had some time to continue with the flywheel. Next up, the biggest drill I own.



Then boring out to 0.5mm under the finished diameter



Then the final op on this side is a 110mm diameter x 23mm deep pocket.



I'm out to about 65mm diameter so far, it's a lot of material to remove on my little (for this size job) lathe.

 

[Beelzeboss]

I just realised I didn't put up an update of what I did last weekend!

I started on the bonnet hinges



I decided rather than a complicated linkage I'm just going for a couple of hinges just forward of the grill support



The hinges will go under the grill so they're not visible, and bolt down through the top of the bonnet and bonnet bracing with countersunk screws.



Next up I noticed this intercooler pipe interfered with the bonnet, so a little modification was in order.









It all clears now



Next I dealt with the interference between the brake master/lines and the intake piping.



I cut a tiny sliver out behind the firewall section where the booster mounts and tilted it back ever so slightly. This minor angle change shouldn't cause any issues with the pushrods but because the hydroboost/master combo is so long it did give significant movement at the outboard end where the issue was.



Fixed! And with a little tweaking the original brake lines will also fit.

Some fasteners arrived so I attached the gearbox bellhousing, using my 3D printed jig to keep it all aligned





I also fitted an AN adapter to the LS1 concentric slave cylinder. Both parts are leftovers from when I swapped an LS1 V8 into my Nissan Silvia. I stupidly threw away the slave cylinder that came with the gearbox which I suspect would have actually fit perfectly in this new setup... oh well, I'll make this work.



Then some minor bits and pieces - I replaced the wiper motor mount with one that doesn't interfere with the scuttle



I remade this infill panel on the passenger side and tacked it in



And I test fit the LS400 radiator hoses that arrived. The top one fit as-is but the lower had to be shortened.



I guess the S14 Silvia radiator is much shorter than the LS400 one



I'm really hoping to get my CNC up and running over Easter so I'll document that and put it here as well.

 

[Beelzeboss]

Some CNC progress today, first I cut a spacer for the table ballscrew mount



Then I mocked up the Z axis pneumatic assist but one of the brackets I made is slightly wrong - I'll revisit later





The Z axis ballscrew mount didn't quite work and needed shimming. I tried using a dismantled thickness gauge but it just wasn't working, so I tried to make a custom spacer using epoxy putty. First I put a sheet of aluminium foil on the ballscrew so it wouldn't stick to it.



Then I put some putty onto the foil and tightened down the Z axis to squish the putty to the right thickness. Once it's set and pulled apart, with a little trimming of the excess it looked like this:



I'm genuinely impressed with how well this worked, with all the bolts tightened down on the Z axis it still moves smoothly - a sign it's all aligned properly.

Finally I started assembling the X and Z axis plates onto the gantry





With an indicator running on the table surface I'm getting 0.015" deviation across the gantry so I'll shim one end of it up 15 thou and that should get it perfect.

Next up reconnecting the stepper motors and refitting the spindle so I can machine the table for flatness and mounting holes.

 

[Beelzeboss]

Happy Easter! A little update - I shortened the top radiator hose to fit better and finished the lathe work on the clutch side of the flywheel.





Pictured is before I finished the 3mm internal radius with a form tool

 

[Beelzeboss]

I tried attaching the Z-axis stepper motor last night but it seems I drilled the stepper motor hole pattern at 50mm centres (which I googled should be the NEMA24 pattern), but it looks like the Z axis stepper motor uses 47mm centres (NEMA23 pattern).

Ah well, I marked out the correct pattern directly from the stepper motor using a transfer punch and it's now attached.





Don't mind the zip ties, they'll be tidied up once I get some M8 threaded rod to attach the e-chain which carries the cables and hoses.

 

[Geoff289]

Pictured is before I finished the 3mm internal radius with a form tool

So back to my earlier question about the weight of this flywheel - how thick is that? Presumably it won't be that chunky when finished? Are you going to make the ring gear yourself too?

I have no idea about what you're doing with that lathe or mill or whatever it is, but nice work I'm sure. It reminded me of when I was fitting the T5 trans to my previous Mustang. Those trans are very sensitive to concentricity with the crank and parallelism to the engine block, the acceptable tolerances are 5 and 2 thou respectively. I stuffed around for about 3 weeks with eccentric bellhousing dowels and shims to get it within these specs. Fortunately, I was doing this with the engine out of the car which made it a bit easier.

 

[Beelzeboss]

So back to my earlier question about the weight of this flywheel - how thick is that? Presumably it won't be that chunky when finished? Are you going to make the ring gear yourself too?

I have no idea about what you're doing with that lathe or mill or whatever it is, but nice work I'm sure. It reminded me of when I was fitting the T5 trans to my previous Mustang. Those trans are very sensitive to concentricity with the crank and parallelism to the engine block, the acceptable tolerances are 5 and 2 thou respectively. I stuffed around for about 3 weeks with eccentric bellhousing dowels and shims to get it within these specs. Fortunately, I was doing this with the engine out of the car which made it a bit easier.

Hi Geoff, the piece is currently 36mm thick and will have a final overall width of 35mm but that really doesn't tell the whole story.



The version on the left is what I'm going with as that's what I can make with the equipment I have available. You can see it's basically as light as i can make it while maintaining an 11mm thick surface for the flywheel to attach to the engine, a 12mm surface behind the friction surface of the clutch, and a small lip for the ring gear to mount on. The ring gear is harvested from the automatic flex plate from the engine:



It will hopefully be a shrink fit over the flywheel, but I'll also put a few TIG welds around the outside to make sure it stays put. While 1045 steel is suitable for making a ring gear it would need to be hardened, and cutting gears is not something I've tried before, so I'm taking the easy way out.

That alignment sounds like a nightmare! I'm hoping that as the bellhousing has precision dowels to locate it to the engine, and I used my 3D printed jig to align the bellhousing to the gearbox, that it all just works... wishful thinking

 

[Geoff289]

It will hopefully be a shrink fit over the flywheel, but I'll also put a few TIG welds around the outside to make sure it stays put. While 1045 steel is suitable for making a ring gear it would need to be hardened, and cutting gears is not something I've tried before, so I'm taking the easy way out.

I can see you lighting a fire in your back yard, heating up the ring gear on the coals, slipping it on the flywheel and pouring a bucket of cold water over it like they made old cartwheels. A few spot welds won't upset the balance?

 

[Ralf99]

I’m guessing fusion tig welds on the ring gear so as not to upset balance?

 

[Coolabah]

I did some further CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) finished off the infill panels in the rear.

Ha- I ask you , who would have known that all those hours spent as kids making cubbies, fortresses and racecars out of old cardboard boxes would come so much in handy now ?
Looking great , love the progress !!

 

[Geoff289]

Your engine will be just like this, right?

 

[Beelzeboss]

I can see you lighting a fire in your back yard, heating up the ring gear on the coals, slipping it on the flywheel and pouring a bucket of cold water over it like they made old cartwheels. A few spot welds won't upset the balance?

One day I'd love to be able to do that for the moment it's more likely to be in the oven haha

I’m guessing fusion tig welds on the ring gear so as not to upset balance?

I think I'll need to get it balanced once it's all finished, better safe than sorry.

Ha- I ask you , who would have known that all those hours spent as kids making cubbies, fortresses and racecars out of old cardboard boxes would come so much in handy now ?
Looking great , love the progress !!

Exactly right!

Your engine will be just like this, right?

I wish! Haha, I do have a small supercharger under the house I was considering using, but nothing as awesome as that!

I did manage some slow progress over the weekend

 

[Beelzeboss]

Well the recess in the middle is machined to depth and I've nearly finished the ID. Next I'll need to finish off the OD and round the internal corners. After that it's just finishing the center bore to size and taking down the outer section where the ring gear attaches and it can come off the lathe!



Mount Swarfmore is getting bigger

 

[Beelzeboss]

So far so good, just the centre bore to finish and then move onto drilling the holes.

I have 2 options for the holes - either I can try mount the flywheel to my dividing head using the 3 jaw chuck and drill the holes with the mill, or I can use the CNC (once it's up and running shortly) to center drill the holes in the right spots and then finish drilling on the mill or mag drill... I'm honestly not sure which method would be more accurate.