While we were waiting for fuel line parts from Finish Line Factory to arrive, we started fishing around for other projects we thought we could accomplish. Because of this we found ourselves contemplating where to put the air filter. The factory cars had it on the cowl with a trick ovalized Kevlar tube feeding cold air to the turbo. While we don’t envisage utilizing that level of technology that area did seem intriguing, not the least because it is a high pressure area for cold outside air and there is a hood vent right above it. We could just stick a cone filter on the end of the intake tube but then it would sit right below the hood vent for the turbo and get rained on. We therefore put this here as a sort of placeholder:





Then we turned our attention to properly fixing the radiator. The works cars used a brace rod from one corner of the radiator to the metal work near the rear corner of the engine bay. We thought we’d do something similar and scrounged up some aluminum tube that looked like a suitable size. We wanted to tap each end but couldn’t access our tap holder so made do in true storage build style:



A couple of stainless steel bolts and washers later and this thing isn’t going anywhere:





With the radiator in we test fitted the shroud and fan. We had previously determined that the shroud needed clearancing to avoid the frame rail because we added the shroud as an afterthought at the last minute. We now realized that the fan would also hit the frame rail if we mounted it on the modified shroud. DOH! Perhaps a shroud isn’t necessary after all. We don’t think we’ll use those through the core plastic ties though; unless we can’t come up with something more mechanical.



Thwarted again we really needed a victory so we turned our attention to the brake lines. We already planned the system out and had purchased almost everything we thought we’d need.



We had started this project late last year but only got as far as installing the stainless steel flex lines from the calipers before the car got invited to Radwood Detroit and we scrambled to get the engine in and put it on the ground. Now we were excited to complete the process but just needed to source some bulkhead fittings. We are trying to keep this build as metric as possible but we couldn’t find metric bulkhead fittings nor SEA versions anywhere. Then Ryan from Thompson Racing Fabrication told us he uses 3AN fittings on his rally car builds and suddenly the way forward was clear: 3AN brake line system! Again, we were stopped waiting for parts. Still, these look pretty:

Storage Unit Rally Car Build: Week 3 - Fuel System Progress

Fortunately some fuel line parts came in from Finish Line Factory so we switched our attention back to the fuel system. We received some hose end barb adapters to transition from the fuel tank to the AN lines and brackets and a sleeve for the Walbro fuel pump so we scrambled under the car and installed those:







We attached the fuel pump using an existing stud but later we will remove that and use two threaded inserts and mount it level. We just don’t have access to our grinder right now because “storage unit rally car build”.

We also received a 90* bulkhead fitting from FLF for our 6AN return line. The hose end will probably need to be a 45 degree version but, guess what, we didn’t order any DOH!



Stuck again we decided to open up the coolant hose part of the project and got busy with or calipers and started measuring up hose barbs on the radiator, coolant manifold, thermostat housing etc.





Our plan was to cobble together various bits of silicone hose to create some of the convoluted hoses we’d need as we were quite far from adapting anything stock. Fortunately Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies carries everything we seem to need. New to this whole thing we thought the best plan was to wet our feet with the main hose from the thermostat housing to the bottom of the radiator as this stuff is quite expensive and we didn’t want to waste more money on an abortive plan. We’re waiting for parts again.

Ill Fitting Downpipe and More Brake Lines - Storage Unit Rally Car Build Week 4

While we were going through our boxes of parts we came across the AAN’s down pipe so thought we’d install that as it might impact the intake system we were thinking about. Of course it didn’t fit. It fouls the subframe as it descends below the axle. We need to cut and weld it anyway so now we will be doing that just a little closer to the turbo, or making one from scratch. No welding in the storage unit though. That would be a little ambitious, don’t you think?





Some 3AN brake fittings came in so we made a brake line, our first! It was complicated (for us) as it was metric at one end and 3AN at the other. It was also tricky because we don’t have a 37* AN flare die but Ryan at TRF told us, as we are using copper nickel hard line, we could just flare them 45* and once we synch them up they will magically become 37*! Who’d have thought?





So this is what we made:



And this is what it looked like once we’d made it fit:





We were so excited we had to stop and have a cup of tea! Oh, no kettle in the storage unit DOH! On a roll now we started laying out the under hood brake lines but immediately decided that this SAE tee had to be a 3AN so the job stopped again while we wait for parts.

Storage Unit Rally Car Build: Week 6 - Odds & Ends

We installed some jewelry this week. Always nice when you bolt on some freshly zinc plated bling:





We also dug the PVC system out of the boxes.



Then the last bits for the fuel filter came in from Finish Line factory so we mounted that.



Just sheet metal screws for now but when we strip the shell for paint we’ll drill holes for threaded inserts which we’ll install after the paint has cured. That way the holes will be protected.

Storage Unit Rally Build: Week 7 - Finishing Brake Lines

This week we were determined to finish the brake lines. We had so many projects open we were determined to finish anything to be honest, but brake lines seemed the most likely candidate for success so we jumped in. Our 90 degree 3AN bulkhead fittings had arrived so we started in the rear wheel wells and created hard lines to the flex pipes.





The next obvious step was the lines from the bulkheads to the tee at the end of the transmission tunnel but instead we moved to the engine bay and plumbed in the brake master cylinders and lines to the front brakes!









Then we focused on the lines inside the car starting with locating the line lock. We think we’ll dispense with a handbrake. We’ve never been keen on handbrake turns all wheel drive cars so just need something to act as a parking brake so this should do nicely:



Now we just need to get brake lines to it.











We’ll clamp everything as a separate project as we might have to move everything later anyway. We are very happy with how the brake lines turned out but there were a few casualties along the way. This got flung across the unit in fit of frustration...



...and next time we work in the rear of the car we’ll perhaps remove the seats and climb in rather than leaning in through the window aperture. Ouch!

Storage Unit Rally Car Build, Week 8 - Coolant/Heater Lines, Power Steering & More

More coolant hose parts from Pegasus arrived. Yes, those are Dzus fasteners. More on those later. This hose worked out a lot simpler than we thought it might with just two shortened elbows, one of them being a reducer.





We also got the heater valve and pipes in:





At this point we gave up on the coolant lines as we need to locate the electric power steering pump and lines before we know where we can run lines to the coolant reservoir. So we shifted our attention to the PVC system. Getting crowded in here now.





This section needs to find its way into the intake manifold via the PCV check valve, which we don’t seem to have. It also seems to want to go through our new radiator DOH! We are hoping we can bend the steel lines just enough.