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Thread: Confused's Long-Term Legnum Project

  1. #1
    Confused's Avatar

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    Confused's Long-Term Legnum Project

    Whilst I was working on Confused's Long Term Anglia Project, my Legnum has been rather rejected over the last 2-3 years.

    As such, it's starting to get a little tired.

    I have been debating for a years or so now what I am going to do - whether to replace it with something else, or repair it.

    On the 'replace it' front, I had considered a more modern replacement - estate, fast, full-time 4wd, and that lead me towards the likes of the Audi RS6 - but even for a 2005 model, they are currently (at time of writing in early 2017) still around £10k, for an 11-12 year old car.

    To put that into perspective, I paid £2400 for my Legnum 8 years ago - when it was 11-12 years old itself... Is an RS6 4x better than a VR-4? Performance - yeah, it's got a bigger engine and more horsepower, but the 4WD system isn't as sophisticated. But, not only will the purchase price be 4x bigger, it's likely that any parts and repairs will be 4x too! Bigger wheels, tyres and brakes. A more "premium" brand, and therefore more expensive parts.

    I then thought - well, I have the Anglia for fun, so I don't need a replacement to be as fun. But it still needs to be practical, it needs to be good at towing (caravan and car trailer with Anglia), and I like 4WD, so I started thinking about stuff like the Volvo V70 (2007 onwards). But these are still fairly expensive - £7.5k-£10k for one with the D5 engine and AWD.


    Then, I hosted a garage weekend where a load of people turned up, and we had an absolutely fantastic time, not only was the company excellent, an experience I've not had with any other club, but the knowledge base we have between us, and the willingness to help, and the fact that any job can be done at home - made me realise that, actually, I want to keep the Legnum and restore it to its former glory.


    There's a lot to do - it won't be a 5 minute task, as I need to balance time and money, and I need the car to stay usable throughout the process - any individual task probably has to be completed within a weekend - and the odd week here and there for anything too big for a weekend.


    I'll be making a list of the tasks that need doing (I love lists, by the way, they're really useful to both keep you on track, as well as motivated - crossing something off the list can give you a great sense of achievement), and then tackling them bit by bit.


    So, the first few things on the list...

    LPG

    I've been thinking about it for years, and any replacement car was going to have needed to be more fuel efficient than the Legnum. Well, by fitting LPG, I can get those cost-saving advantages I've been missing out on, and it will probably end up paying for the rest of the work! I'm thinking that every time I fill up with LPG, I'll also transfer the same amount into a separate account - I'll still be "spending" roughly the same per month, but I'll also be saving it up for any parts or tools I need!


    Rust repair

    This has been the main sticking point with my thoughts regarding the car - it's not a simple job to fix the rust (and certainly not to a good standard where it won't come back within a year).

    Rear arches - where the wider wheels and arch extensions were fitted by a previous owner, the actual arches themselves have been cut away under the extensions - this has (I believe) helped to accelerate the ingress of water, and therefore the formation of rust. So - I'll need to cut out the rotten stuff and replace with new.

    But, whilst I'm at it, I'm thinking about doing a widebody conversion on the car to cater for the wider wheels! They're not extremely wide - so any wide body kit will likely not be excessive (and I don't really want to go down the route of adding spacers, as that will affect the geometry) - but it should give it an extra bit of aggression!

    Front arches are also rusted, so they'll need replacing - same applies - why not wide-body it at the same time!?

    Strut tops - as with many, the front strut tops are rusting through. These have been patched a couple of times, but it would be nice to do this properly and remove the patchwork quilt effect currently going on!

    The underneath is also not in great shape - I think the plan here will be to attack this in small sections.


    Rattles & squeaks

    There's more than a room full of snakes and mice! I'm going to go round the car, bit-by-bit, and replace any broken trim & clips, as well as add sound deadening to make it more refined than it currently is.


    Engine

    It's due a full service in 12 months or 18k miles - whilst a full isn't anything that wouldn't be done, it will also be a good opportunity to fix the smoking on idle (valve stem seals) and noisy lash adjusters.


    Drivetrain

    The front suspension arms were replaced 3 years ago, but the rears haven't been touched, so they're still on their original rubber bushes. Shocks & springs are still original - and this is how I plan on keeping them. I don't want to compromise the ability to go anywhere, or drive over anything, by fitting suspension which is not right for the car. It's a comfortable cruiser which can go quickly, rather than an out-and-out car set up for handling. I've got the Anglia if I want to drive something more uncomfortable! (However, if someone can show me an aftermarket suspension setup which hasn't changed the ride quality away from what I get with stock, then I might consider it...)

    I'm more than happy with the performance of my brakes (Carbotech XP-8 pads with standard discs/calipers), but the dust level is difficult to manage and keep on top of. So, either a change of braking system, which will keep the excellence of the Carbotech pads), or some better protection for the wheels and more regular cleaning schedule once they've been refurbished!


    Audio

    When I fit LPG, I'll lose my 2x 8" subs which are currently mounted in a custom-made box, replacing the boot floor (but leaving it looking completely standard!). This will leave just the Focal Polyglass component speakers in the front doors - which won't provide a suitable level of bass, as they're fairly bright speakers! I'll need to figure out a way to get some bass back.

    I'm also currently just using a bluetooth audio receiver which has no interface - paired to my phone. I might consider an Android-based headunit, which can pull my library from Google Play Music, or use a service such as Spotify.


    Other exterior

    Dents, scrapes, knocks and bumps - the car's had many over the years whilst it's been a workhorse. Both bumpers need attention (and might need modding as part of the widebody idea), as do most of the doors, and the bonnet, and the rear spoiler, and the sideskirts, and the roof... I think the only panels which don't need anything are the front grille, and the tailgate. Oh, no, I want to replace the tailgate for one with tinted glass, as mine isn't tinted (but the side windows are). So, just the front grille, then, that's going to be left untouched...


    Lighting

    A few years ago, I made DRL (Daytime Running Lights) from some Philips Superflux LEDs, and a couple of lengths of wire. These have done the job well, but they're not super bright during the day, and they don't match the colour of the HIDs I have in projectors - so I would like to change these for a more modern approach, the dots of LEDs looks a little outdated now...


    Finishing touches

    The rust repair and other fixes to the exterior (arches, dents etc) will leave the outside looking in quite a sorry state (apart from the front grill!), so once all is done, I plan on giving the whole thing a fresh coat of paint - undecided yet whether this will be Trigger Mauve, or another colour!


    So, that's the objectives as it stands right now!


    It's been a good car to me over the last (nearly) 8 years, I've had a lot of fun with it, and met some wonderful people - I'm happy to have made a decision, and that that decision is to keep it!

    IMGP4938_zps5409e7ad.jpgIMG_4335.jpgIMG_2773.jpgIMG_2764.jpg

  2. #2
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    This is an interesting thread Garry.

    I've been considering the long term future of my Legnum for a little while. I would be interested in what you expect to budget for the work. I guess there will be no labour costs as you will do all the work yourself.
    Will it cost you as much as the cost of a newer daily runabout?

    Good luck
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    My first VR4 - '97 Legnum Dark Green & mean ...it was love at first sight - now sold

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    I'll need to split the above list multiple times - there's some items which are essentials (rust repair), and some which are wishes (audio).

    Labour is indeed a huge factor in this - almost everything will be done without any labour costs, it would not be viable to do so if had to pay for it to be done.

    I've no set budget, but it certainly will not be "no expense spared", more of being sensible (but whilst not skimping on items if it's necessary to spend). It certainly won't cost as much as buying a replacement of similar capabilities... (I hope!)

    The time frame is also going to be in terms of years, rate than months!

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    Good to see you stay with us and TBH we cant afford to loose more members like you are. Been on searching for interesting replacement of VR4 for ages and just give up, there's no better bang for buck and now they become even rarer so it have life sentence with me. Im still believe there's interesting years ahead of us, just that annoying wait when someone eventually bite the bullet and start making TD04s conversions (not mention names here @Davezj) but when it actually happen it will be another chapter.
    Seems like you eventually convert yourself to dark side of magic dust called LPG, well I don't want to sound like broken record but without possibility to run on gas I would be loooong gone away from VR4, just to keep it plain and simple, since conversion I did about 30k miles so about 150 fill ups @£30 instead of usual £60 so its about £4.5k savings and I only use my VR4 occasionally.
    Looking forward to see lots of updates with even more photos of your progress, good luck.
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    If you are removing the valve stem seals, bloody good opportunity to put some better springs and cams in...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam.Findlay View Post
    If you are removing the valve stem seals, bloody good opportunity to put some better springs and cams in...
    October 2023 fleet status: 100% operational


    | Legnum VR-4S | Fiat Panda 100HP !! | a blue one! | Avensis T-180 | VR-4 parts van! |

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    Stop spending my money!

    All this talk of turbo upgrades, cams & springs...

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    Weekend 1 - LPG Preparation / Audio Part 1

    I'm having LPG fitted in a couple of weeks. This means a toroidal tank in the boot, in place of the spare wheel.

    All well and good, but I also had a custom-made subwoofer box taking up the space above the spare wheel.

    [insert some photos from the making process]

    IMG_2585.jpgIMG_2597.jpgIMG_2647.jpg

    So, I'm going to have to remove this wonderful piece of engineering. And the amplifier that was sitting in the spare wheel.

    I also had a CarPC in the car in the past, but technology has caught up with my requirements (my whole music library accessible at once) by simply using my mobile phone, Google Play Music, and a bluetooth receiver, so all the remnants of the CarPC will be removed - mostly excess wiring, and the 7" touchscreen in the dash.

    So, I put the car in the garage, turned the heater on, and started to strip out the wiring.

    The main bulk of the wires run under the rear seat, and down the centre of the car to the dashboard. Other than the power cable, and the phono cable, and the control cable for the old 6-disc CD changer which was in the car when I bought it, which run down the passenger side.

    Out comes the rear seat base to allow me to get to the mess of wires (2x VGA, 1x serial, 2x USB, 5x power, 8x speaker):

    IMG_6459.jpgIMG_6461.jpg

    The CarPC itself was built into the passenger side rear boot cover (inside the little pop-down access panel), so some of the wiring went up behind this side panel, so it too had to come out. You can also see here the frame that the sub box/false floor sits on.

    IMG_6456.jpgIMG_6457.jpg

    So far, so simple.

    IMG_6465.jpg

    Then I decided it would be easier to take the seats out...

    My reasoning was that I needed to lift the carpet slightly to get the wires out - and rather than battle against the carpet, I'd just remove the seats! It's only 4 bolts per seat, no big deal!

    Then, the centre console can be removed to gain access to the rest of the wiring (as well as the glovebox, to get behind the stereo surround to push it off).

    IMG_6469.jpg

    As I'm replacing the basic bluetooth receiver I've been using for the last couple of years with a headunit with bluetooth, I decided I didn't need my Parrot kit, so I could remove this too. The cable for the display for this runs across to the TCL switch panel, so I took off the panel under the steering wheel.

    IMG_6475.jpg

    Oh dear, what an absolute mess of wiring!

    In the past, I've been a little guilty of getting a job 95% completed, and then not tidying up after myself - the state of that wiring shows that quite well! Under there is wiring for the Parrot bluetooth kit, the boost controller, turbo timer, a MAP-ECU, USB cables for charging my phone...

    Not my best work, and occasionally I've needed to reach up under there and push some of the cables out of the way...

    Along with removing the Parrot kit, I've also decided to remove the turbo timer, because I almost never use it, and it is responsible for a large bundle of those errant wires!



    I wanted to keep the amplifier, but there wouldn't be room for it in the boot any more. It now lives under the passenger seat:

    IMG_6477.jpg

    The stereo has been put into its cage, and mounted in position, with a phone cable running to the amp, and the 4 pairs of speaker cable running back to the dash to plug into the standard loom out to the doors.

    IMG_6483.jpg

    As I previously mentioned, the "new" stereo does bluetooth, and it has a microphone, which I positioned up on the ceiling, between the sun visors and in front of the interior light. It should pick up people in both front seats, useful if a passenger needs to talk to the caller.

    IMG_6480.jpg

    A low-tech mounting solution of a cable-tie ran through the headlining!


    With that done and working, I started to put the car back into a usable state, putting back all the interior trim pieces and seats. Everything got a good clean down with some foaming interior cleaner - so the interior is the cleanest it's been for a while!

    When the boot went back together, I reinstalled the standard boot floor tray - it'll be cut up slightly when the LPG goes in, but I'll have a little bit of storage available again.

    IMG_6485.jpgIMG_6486.jpgIMG_6491.jpg


    And finally, a 'POV' shot of what I'll see when I'm sat in the driver's seat!

    IMG_6494.jpg

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    One of ther rarest view on this planet

























    VR4 with fuel gauge on full.



    Btw 95% jobs done, tell me about it, over 8 years of adding bits under dash its in a sorry state now, worst thing is I can't remember which cable doing what. On to do list is take dash apart and clean the wiring.

  10. #10
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    Weekend 2 - LPG Preparation Part 2 / Exterior Styling Part 1

    The next thing I wanted before fitting the LPG was to fit a Wideband O2 sensor. Along with a boost gauge, this is one of the most important diagnostic tools you can possibly have in a car, as it allows you to make sure that the engine is running properly, and has just the right amount of fuel - both too little AND too much fuel can damage the engine!

    As the LPG will be run instead of petrol, the potential for the fuelling to be incorrect is increased over running a standard car. Modern LPG systems are very good, and take a lot of the guess-work out of it, but for fine-tuning - both for maximum fuel efficiency as well as maximum power, knowing the Air Fuel Ratio (AFR) is critical.

    I picked up a second hand Innovate LC-1 last year, and tried fitting this - this would have been nice because it is a standalone unit, without a gauge, and I could have viewed the AFR via a laptop hooked up to either the LPG ECU or the MAP-ECU. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to fire up into life properly, so this was removed again, and a new Innovate MTX-L purchased, where all the logic is built into the gauge itself.

    As I already had a boost gauge on the A pillar (which didn't look great, as wires & the pipework were visible), I also purchased a universal RHD dual 52mm gauge pod from eBay.

    I trimmed it to better fit the pillar (although, I think with the profile of our A-pillar trims, the same item but in LHD might have been a more snug fit to the pillar), and fitted both gauges.

    The Innovate MTX-L comes with both black and white faces, and black and silver bezels. I considered the silver bezel to match the boost gauge, but it is a fair bit larger, so I felt it looked out of place slightly, so stuck with the black/black combo.

    IMG_6544.jpg IMG_6543.jpg IMG_6552.jpg

    From sitting in the car on the driveway, it doesn't look to block much of the view of the road - but time will tell once I actually drive it!



    To fit the LPG, the front bumper needs to come off (more on that in a subsequent post), so whilst it was off, I am taking the opportunity to make some styling changes to the car.

    I picked up another front bumper (thanks Rikki @Erni902) which is in better overall condition than mine, and set about fitting to it a set of Super VR-4 replica fibreglass canards.

    IMG_6546.jpg IMG_6548.jpg IMG_6549.jpg IMG_6551.jpg

    They are a snug fit, and require pushing on with a little force, then securing in place - I used some nice large self-tapping screws and penny washers to spread the load to help prevent cracking of the fibreglass.

    Around the rest of the edges, I have put some rubber roofer's sealant, which is both flexible and paintable - this should allow a blended look but minimise the chances of paint cracking along the seam once it has been resprayed and looking terrible!

    The rear of the bumper has also been cleaned of oil and dirt.


    The bumper crash bar, and mounting bar, were both in quite a bad state, with lots of surface rust.

    With the bumper off, it was another good opportunity to clean these up ready to be re-fitted at a later date.

    I first removed the worst of the loose rust with a wire wheel on a grinder, and then applied a coating of Bilt Hamber De-Ox Gel to the rusted areas.

    IMG_6504.jpg IMG_6505.jpg

    The instructions say that you can cover the part in cling film (to prevent drying out of the gel) and leave up to 24 hours... so I did!

    IMG_6511.jpg

    After covering this (giving me some free time), I did the same to parts of the front of the car that had some surface rust which would not be accessible again once the bumper goes back on:

    IMG_6509.jpg IMG_6508.jpg IMG_6510.jpg

    (I didn't take a photo of every bit!)


    Whilst the car was looking more like a packed lunch box, I moved round to the side of the car, and removed one of the sideskirts.


    The exposed areas underneath the car aren't in great condition - lots of surface rust, which I'm well aware of, and is on 'ze list' of things to sort out as I work my way around the car, and I was expecting the area underneath the skirt to be in quite a bad condition.

    However, when I removed the sideskirt, I was pleasantly surprised!

    IMG_6512.jpg IMG_6514.jpg

    Other than the very back corner, it is almost pristine! I was expecting to find nasty, requires-welding horrors under there!!


    After that happy surprise, I got on with fitting the replica Super sideskirt.

    This came with brackets to attach to the original mountings on the car (the rectangular holes in the photos above - there's a square plastic bit that sits into it, and the skirt screws into that), and there's also brackets to pop it to the side of the car behind the bottom edge of the doors (the round holes seen above).

    These brackets for underneath, however, seemed to be the wrong length and angle for the bottom edge of the skirt to sit without being pulled in underneath the car - and I have wider wheels, so I wanted to provide a little extra width to the bottom of the car, too.

    So - I added some extensions to the brackets, to allow the skirt to sit at a nicer angle, and it flares out a little as it heads towards the rear wheel.

    IMG_6515.jpg IMG_6517.jpg

    I will probably make up some more brackets at a later date to affix it using all of the original fixings in the body - the skirt only came with 6 per side.



    24 (or so, more like 70) hours later, I removed the cling film, and rinsed down the areas where I had applied the gel, with the help of a wire brush.

    IMG_6534.jpg IMG_6533.jpg IMG_6535.jpg

    Not 100% of the rust has been removed, but it's certainly a lot better, and will stop the bulk of it spreading for now).

    These areas have had a coat of Bilt Hamber Electrox, which is a Zinc-rich paint, which should protect and prevent subsequent rust.


    The bumper bars and foglight brackets have had a coat of stonechip paint, which also contains protective properties, and gives them a nice satin black finish.

    IMG_6531.jpg IMG_6532.jpg


    Up next... some LPG related photos!
    Last edited by Confused; 14-03-2017 at 06:44 PM.

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    Weekend 3 - LPG Installation Part 1

    So comes the big day! The sun is out...

    Out also comes part of the boot (again) to begin fitting the tank.

    The tank will replace the spare wheel, and will come up to just underneath the boot floor, which gives as big as a capacity that you can fit in these cars without doing anything drastic!

    With the tank in place, a hole is drilled through the floor to take the gas pipes and wiring outside of the car, so that when it's all fitted, there is a gas-tight seal internally.

    IMG_6539.jpg IMG_6540.jpg

    Running into the centre of the tank are two gas pipes - one from the filler, and the other which goes to the front of the car. Also are some wires for - fuel level gauge, and a safety shut-off solenoid.

    Usually, when people fit LPG, they drill a 70mm or so hole in the bodywork, and fit a filler complete with cap, which looks pretty ugly. However, there is enough space on the VR-4 to squeeze it behind the filler cap - it means you need to screw the adapter in place to fill, but it also means that it's easy to connect other fittings if I take the car abroad!

    IMG_6542.jpg IMG_6541.jpg


    Moving forwards, the intake manifold, including lower manifold, are removed, and the lower manifold has the gas injectors fitted:

    IMG_6519.jpg IMG_6528.jpg

    Behind the bumper, a filter, and a twin vapouriser are fitted:

    IMG_6536.jpg IMG_6537.jpg

    The feed pipe from the tank will go into the filter/shut-off valve, which is mounted under the headlight, which splits the output into the two chambers of the vapouriser - with the flow of gas required for the VR-4 under full throttle, a single vapouriser is not sufficient.

    The output from the vapouriser then goes through another filter (a grey canister just seen in the picture above), and up to both sets of injectors.

    The vapouriser works by heating the liquidified fuel, turning it into gas, the gas then flows to the injectors and is put into the engine. So, the two coolant pipes going into the heater matrix are cut into and T'd off from, providing a loop for coolant to flow through.

    IMG_6530.jpg

    Back on top of the engine, a gas temperature and pressure sensor, and engine manifold pressure sensor are installed into the pipe linking the two banks of injectors, and a vacuum pipe also flows down to the vapouriser.


    With all the "plumbing" done for gas and coolant on the engine end, we can move onto electricals.

    The ECU will be located beside the battery (I don't have a full width battery, so there is adequate space)

    IMG_6545.jpg

    The ECU connects to each of the gas injectors, and also intercepts the signal from the standard engine ECU to the petrol injectors - it uses this to know when to fire each cylinder, as well as the pulse width (duration) the engine ECU is requesting from the petrol injectors, so it can provide the necessary equivalent signal to the gas injectors.

    It also needs permanent power, a switched power feed, a signal from one of the coils (to read RPM), and going into the car will be the wires for the switch/fuel level gauge, and for signal from the Wideband O2 sensor.


    Unfortunately, the valve that goes into the tank which was delivered was not the correct one, so there was no chance of getting it up and running on the day we set aside. Once we realised this, I kind of relaxed a little, and didn't progress as quickly as I might have otherwise! So, the pipes running from back to front haven't been run from back to front, and none of the wiring has been done! So the car is currently in an undriveable state, awaiting the correct valve, and another weekend to continue working on it.


    More to come next weekend!

  12. #12
    Confused's Avatar

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    Of course, how can I forget to say a huge thank you to Adam @adaxo for not only supplying the LPG stuff, but also coming over on his day off to help me fit it!

    (I say "help", to be honest, he did most of the work while I mostly stood around, watched, and made some coffee!)

    If the valve had not been the incorrect one, I would have been stuck in doing wiring or running pipes underneath the car, but I was in the mood for learning rather than doing!

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    Weekend 4 - LPG Installation Part 2

    This weekend I have pretty much finished off the LPG installation! Yay!

    The bundle of wires needed splicing into the main engine loom, which I decided to do on the section that goes across the top of the gearbox, under the air filter. The 6 signal wires to the petrol injectors needed finding within this bundle of wires, cut, and then soldered to two wires coming from the LPG ECU, as this will intercept the signals coming from the engine ECU and use this to know when to fire off each LPG injector (as well as cutting the feed to the petrol injectors).

    Additionally, there is a ignition switched 12v feed required, as well as a feed for an RPM signal. I tried the signal wires to one of the coils, but didn't get a result (oddly), so instead went into the signal from the Ignition Failure Sensor (white and green, for anyone's future reference!)

    The LPG ECU also needed permanent 12v from the battery, and a solid ground connector.


    A wire runs inside the car - this has the wideband O2 inputs, as well as the level gauge/switch-over button. I fed this with my other wires into the cabin, through the large grommet into the passenger side inner wing, then into the cabin up in the top corner of the dash. I had to extend all of these wires so that I could put the switch where I wanted - up on the dash dial surround.


    The fuel pipe and wires from the tank were run under the car, secured to the chassis using plastic-coated P-clips - I ran these over the rear subframe, around the petrol tank, down one of the chassis rails on the passenger side, then over the steering rack/driveshafts, and along the side of the gearbox, to the filter at the front - securing at regular intervals and keeping away from any moving parts!

    2017-03-18 17.08.jpg

    With all that done, and the engine put back together, it was time to fire up the laptop and connect to the LPG ECU - all the pressures, temperatures, and other readings expected were shown.

    I ran out of time, and I've still not got a front bumper or headlights, so I've yet to fill up the tank and try running it on LPG - that's hopefully a task for next weekend!

  14. #14
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    Weekend 5 - LPG Installation Part 3 / Exterior Styling Part 2

    Soon after I purchased the car, I fitted an oil cooler to the gearbox, and fitted it behind the passenger side foglight. However, as you'll now notice, there is a vapouriser for the LPG there now, and the oil cooler has been dangling, getting pushed out of the way.

    I am now doing more towing - both of a caravan, and car trailer with the Anglia. This adds extra stress to the gearbox, heating the fluid more than general driving. As I need to move the cooler, I figured I would also upgrade it.

    The existing cooler is essentially 7 rows 115mm width - and my new one is 13 rows and 235mm width.

    IMG_6558.jpg

    This is from JJC Race and Rally and consists of an APS (Automotive Plumbing Solutions) cooler, JIC-6 to 8mm 90 degree adapters, 2m of 8mm pipe, and 2x 8mm hose joiners.

    The existing gearbox coolant pipes are 8mm, so this is just right

    So, I started off by taking the standard intercooler off.

    IMG_6555.jpg

    I decided to mount it behind the front grill on the passenger side - this will be in the air flow when moving, not behind any other components.

    IMG_6559.jpg IMG_6560.jpg

    However, it didn't go all the way up into the space

    So, mark:

    IMG_6561.jpg

    And cut:

    IMG_6562.jpg

    And up it goes

    IMG_6563.jpg


    To affix, I drilled two holes in the slam panel, and used some 75mm bolts.

    IMG_6565.jpg IMG_6566.jpg

    To secure the bottom, a pair of brackets were made up.

    IMG_6570.jpg

    With all the mounting points decided, it was time to fit properly. I filled it up with fresh ATF, then properly secured the 90 degree unions, and fitted the full 2m of hose.

    IMG_6564.jpg IMG_6568.jpg

    I then mounted it in place fully, and ran the pipes. 2m of pipe is just enough to take one onto the vertical run down to the radiator, and the other to the pipe coming from the gearbox.

    This left one of the solid pipes open and unused, but prevents any very tight turns - another 1/2m of pipe might have allowed a slightly different routing and not leaving any standard bits of pipe unused.

    I didn't need the joiners - I'll save those for another project

    With that all done, it was time to put the intercooler back, and think about getting the car driveable again!

    IMG_6573.jpg

    Back to the bumper, I fitted the grill and foglights.

    IMG_6574.jpg IMG_6575.jpg

    Reattached the freshly painted crash bar to the car:

    IMG_6576.jpg

    Then bumper, and headlights:

    IMG_6580.jpg

    Then grill, secured the bottom of the bumper, and fitted the towing eye cover, dropped it to the floor, and admired my work!

    IMG_6582.jpg IMG_6584.jpg IMG_6586.jpg IMG_6585.jpg


    Went out for a spin to the nearest petrol station with LPG, and put 63 litres into the tank. Tomorrow's task is to do the setup of the LPG, so I can finally start running on gas, as well as fit the sideskirt on the driver's side.

  15. #15

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    Garry, do you have a thermostat on that transmission cooler line? Supposedly the fluid can't be too cool either for correct gearbox operation (ie. when you are just cruising and not towing anything)
    The more you know, the faster you can go. And I still don't know enough.

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    No i don't. It took about 10 minutes to get up to temp this morning, then the torque converter locked up and did motorway speeds for 3 hours

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    Weekend 5.5 - Exterior Styling Part 2.5

    After filling with gas, ran through the calibration process, and got it up and running

    Following this, I threw the second side-skirt on (revealing a huge amount of rust on the driver's front wing!) and also fitted the de-cat pipe. Now running on LPG, it doesn't need to go through the cat test come MOT time

    IMG_6589.jpg IMG_6591.jpg

    In order to make the car usable again, I had to cut out a big hole in the boot floor tray! The final hole had a diameter about 1.5" larger than what's drawn here!

    IMG_6592.jpg IMG_6593.jpg

  18. #18
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    Weekend 6 - Intercooler

    I hadn't originally planned on changing the intercooler, but I figured that with the bumper off, I'd swap it for a bigger one.

    Unfortunately, not everything arrived in time, so I had to put the car back together to use it.

    So - off came off the bumper (again)...

    IMG_6595.jpg

    Ready to fit this beauty

    IMG_6597.jpg IMG_6598.jpg

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381726056331/


    The fitting of this was made very easy due to this fitting kit ( courtesy of @Grid ) - two laser cut/CNC folded brackets, spacers, and bolts

    IMG_6596.jpg

    The top bracket simply bolts up to the two original top mounting holes for the standard intercooler, and the bottom bracket requires 2 holes drilling in the bumper stays.

    IMG_6601.jpg

    The new intercooler is then bolted on, and the crash bar re-fitted, using the spacers and longer bolts supplied:

    IMG_6605.jpg IMG_6602.jpg IMG_6600.jpg

    It is a tight fit - the crash bar is spaced out the minimum possible to allow the intercooler to fit, without leaving too much of a gap!

    IMG_6603.jpg IMG_6604.jpg IMG_6606.jpg


    I got new silicone hoses and good clamps, in black again to keep with the stealth look.

    IMG_6608.jpg

    They were offered up, and needed trimming - some masking tape to mark, then cut round with a sharp knife.

    IMG_6609.jpg IMG_6610.jpg IMG_6611.jpg IMG_6613.jpg IMG_6614.jpg

    Final piece of the puzzle was the power steering cooling loop - I decided to trim, reshape, and mount behind the intercooler. It won't get the fresh air it did before, but it'll still get decent airflow, and better than nothing for now!

    IMG_6615.jpg IMG_6617.jpg IMG_6618.jpg IMG_6619.jpg


    And finally, all put back together!

    IMG_6621.jpg

    The bumper doesn't obviously look like it sits any further out than it did before, other than under the grill, where it does sit more flush - and it looks a little better there actually!

    So I now have a nice big intercooler, a better autobox cooler, and a working LPG installation, all of which are virtually invisible unless you look very closely!
    Last edited by Confused; 02-04-2017 at 10:20 PM.

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    Looking good! Glad you liked the kit

    Quote Originally Posted by Confused View Post
    It is a tiht fit - the crash bar is spaced out the minimum possible to allow the intercooler to fit, without leaving too much of a gap!
    Reason for this is that I couldn't bolt up the bumper any more if the spacer was any wider So it's a compromise, doesn't seem to hurt anything though

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    Having done a few early starts, when it's a bit cooler outside, it's noticeable that the gearbox is taking longer to warm up to operating temperature (not unsurprising when the new cooler is nearly 4x the size of the old one), so I've just purchased a 75 degree thermostat bypass valve with 8mm fittings.

    I'll plumb this in so the cooler only activates above this temperature, which hopefully will greatly aid in getting up to temperature quicker.

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