Hi all,
Just a quick update on what we have going on with the new motor build....
We made a few minor changes to the overall design spec, but not a lot worth talking about. The main thing is that we have the turbo and intercooler install mapped out somewhat and likely settled on a shop to do the fabrication. Looks like a good deal all the way through, but the install is going to be tight in a few places with the RS headlight doors and such.
The honorable Scott G. is working on a logo for the project and I am sure it is going to be super trick. Heh- having a CNC and all the cool goodies to make machined parts sure does come in handy sometimes.... Scott may show off the logo once done- I am not sure, but if he does, the _real_ cat will be out of the bag.
The best news is that we do not have to lend the car to a client for SEMA after all. This takes schedule pressure off me and the team; I have very little time to devote to this now and it is not going to get any easier in the next 6 months. I just hope to be able to finish this deal by the end of summer or fall.
A few things are really screwing with me here- Fuel Safe can build the dual tank cell, but how to get both fuel cells to a point where we can fill them into the proper cell from the outside of the car and it still look "right"- ?? Doing one filler in the trunk is a no-go as the car will smell like fuel and I can not have that. I am thinking about a couple of solutions, but this is a somewhat complicated project.
Another thing is the cost of mandrel bends for the headers and other things- I am thinking about putting some effort into looking for a mandrel bender or just designing one from scratch that will do the basic sizes and bend radii that we need; I hope we can find a local vendor that makes them for some of the US brands- if so, I am there.
We are going to do a digital display dash, likely LCD based with HUD for critical info. Nobody would even talk to us about doing a custom dash, so I am going to take this as an in house project. The actual circuit and display is easy, just have to settle on a display stamp and have it done. Probably end up looking something like the F1 / IRL car displays on the dash and maybe a VFD for the heads-up portion (if we do that route- that may be another project later). It will be the in thing for all cars that have 2 turbochargers and 2 fuel tanks.
Speaking of circuits- Likely going to update to LED tail lights as well. I was going to buy a set, but the vendor treated me like a complete idiot when I said that the car did not have a stock harness. That really aggravated me big time; I hate calling someone to say “sell me your product” and the response be like it was. So, I think we (Phase Design) will do a circuit as a lunch time project. Simple, cheap and cool. If we do it, I will post the schematic and prints and maybe a BOM with cost. Hopefully we are not too stupid to figure out the super complicated brake / turn and back up wiring.
To sum it up, this is the most disappointing "update" of all time. I have done nothing but research and further planning. Yikes.