Took a break for a bit, and now Covid has closed our office so maybe I'll get more done! Anyway, plumbing the brakes and laughed at how tight the foot box is:
Good thing I won't need the clutch for most shifts!
Took a break for a bit, and now Covid has closed our office so maybe I'll get more done! Anyway, plumbing the brakes and laughed at how tight the foot box is:
Good thing I won't need the clutch for most shifts!
Got tired of the Miata being spread around taking up more space than it deserved so I went to work buttoning it up. Still need to reinstall the seats and adjust the softtop back a hair.
I took care of a front-of-engine refresh, including timing belt, water pump, cam seals etc. Also added a fresh radiator and hoses. "While I was in there" I cleaned things up to make them less grungy looking.
Before:
After:
Still need to do the intake manifold, but it's low on the list.
Busa Grande action - brake plumbing continues. Turns out these are some kind of GM brake caliper, which means the banjo bolts at 10mm x 1.5. Almost exactly a 3/8" coarse bolt pattern. A little head scratching and a summit order and bam, these are ready to go back on the rear axle.
I pulled the pedals back out to finish their setup and add in the nylon washers I procured to produce a buttery smooth action. Then realized I have to install the accelerator pedal with the rest of the box already in the car because there's simply no way to get everything in as one unit. Annoying.
I mocked up the rear brake lines ( no photos) and have to measure for the -3AN PTFE hoses that will go to each caliper and additional PTFE hoses to go from the masters to their respective hard lines. I'd go hard line all the way to the masters, but I'd like some flexibility if I need to remove the box without making a mess of brake fluid in the car.
Got an important piece of the puzzle in the mail:
That little fella is my air shifter, which means I can have flappy paddle shifters (dream come true). I still have to clutch for downshifts, but the brain box will handle ignition kill on upshifts for no-lift shifting.
More plumbing. Trying to keep things as neat as possible so I've got nice mounts all over the place. Waiting on a fitting for the clutch line before everything gets really tied together and filled with fluid. Then the fuel system needs attention.
In reply to DaveEstey :
I've got the no lift shift thing working on mine (no air shifter, just pull the handle) and it is indeed awesome. You will like it.
In regards to the air shifter, I thought SCCA frowned on those things? I could be mistaken. I just seem to remember that at least Solo2 doesnt allow them and I think I also recall the F500 motorcycle power guys in RR have to be linkage activated.
DaveEstey said:Got an important piece of the puzzle in the mail:
That little fella is my air shifter, which means I can have flappy paddle shifters (dream come true). I still have to clutch for downshifts, but the brain box will handle ignition kill on upshifts for no-lift shifting.
No need to use the clutch on downshifts. Just blip the throttle. At least one of the flappy paddle shifter kits comes with a solenoid that will do the throttle blip for you, although in my limited experience with a data point of one, that adjustment was finicky.
Apexcarver said:In regards to the air shifter, I thought SCCA frowned on those things? I could be mistaken. I just seem to remember that at least Solo2 doesnt allow them and I think I also recall the F500 motorcycle power guys in RR have to be linkage activated.
Hillclimb doesn't care and neither does NASA TT. I will have a push-pull cable shifter as well though.
In reply to APEowner :
The manufacturer of the unit specifically said the clutch should be used with this. With no neutral between gears and the speed of the shift I don't know how you'd blip the throttle in between without the clutch anyway.
You don't actually have to "Blip" the throttle as in raise the revs. You have to Blip the throttle to unload the dogs. This let's the trans come out of gear. The dogs will smash together on whatever overrun you manage to get. You just apply the brakes and put pressure on the throttle then select the gear. Once the dogs are meshed the rear will drive the engine to the revs it needs. You can also get a slipper clutch and then not worry about it. Will still need a bit of throttle to unload the dogs.
It's probably hard on the shift forks and over time will wear the dogs out.
That's at least how it worked on the airshift FSAE car I drove.
Use of clutch is clearly better.
This is exciting to see come together
Have used the air shifters, and after numerous false shifts, prefer the feel (and lack of guessing) of a mechanical shifter. I see the appeal of the paddle shifter, but unless it is mechancial I prefer a standard hand shifter.
That said, hope this works for you!
DaveEstey said:Apexcarver said:In regards to the air shifter, I thought SCCA frowned on those things? I could be mistaken. I just seem to remember that at least Solo2 doesnt allow them and I think I also recall the F500 motorcycle power guys in RR have to be linkage activated.
Hillclimb doesn't care and neither does NASA TT. I will have a push-pull cable shifter as well though.
In reply to APEowner :
The manufacturer of the unit specifically said the clutch should be used with this. With no neutral between gears and the speed of the shift I don't know how you'd blip the throttle in between without the clutch anyway.
I never used the clutch in the Pro Challenge or Formula 1000 cars that I've driven although weirdly I use the clutch on motorcycles unless my arthritisis bothering me. As NoCones said it's really just unloading the dogs. I'll sometimes keep a little trailing throttle to keep the chassis settled if I'm trail braking during the downshift. I left foot brake in cars that don't need the clutch to shift.
In reply to nocones :
I got the decel side of the gears undercut more than is the norm since the car runs such wide rubber. I think it would be a little harsher than normal then to disengage things and not make my very expensive gearset bear the brunt of it. A slipper clutch is an interesting idea though. Had one on my Ducati and it was excellent.
In reply to camaroz1985 :
The gearset is machined for an air shifter - bigger circlips etc. Hillclimbs can be hairy so I like a solution that keeps both my hands on the wheel.
The dogs on this gearset got "healed" and then undercut more aggressively as they were showing some decent wear from the previous owner.
DaveEstey said:In reply to nocones :
I got the decel side of the gears undercut more than is the norm since the car runs such wide rubber. I think it would be a little harsher than normal then to disengage things and not make my very expensive gearset bear the brunt of it. A slipper clutch is an interesting idea though. Had one on my Ducati and it was excellent.
In reply to camaroz1985 :The gearset is machined for an air shifter - bigger circlips etc. Hillclimbs can be hairy so I like a solution that keeps both my hands on the wheel.
I missed the fact that the dogs had been modified. That may very well make using the clutch on downshifts a requirement. I haven't looked closely at how the dog geometry effects clutchless shifting. All the dog boxes I've driven have either been stock motorcycle gear boxes which shift fine without the clutch or dedicated race boxes that were designed or modified deliberately for clutchless shifts.
I'm running brake lines and fuel lines and REALLY trying to do a nice job, but I'll be damned if these coils of Nicopp and Aluminum don't look kinky.
*Googles tubing straighteners*
Those seem great and also seem like double the price they should be...
A few quick clicks of the mouse and a trip to Tractor supply and BAM. Home brew tubing straightener. Works great on 3/8 aluminum and also on 3/16 Nicopp.
Suck it Eastwood. I spent like $35.
Now I'm just waiting on my tubing bender so I can make the beautiful bends my brain wants so badly while the racer side of me says "Duct tape that sum bitch to the chassis and lets fire this thing up!"
I guess it's cold in places where it hasn't been cold normally and those places aren't dealing well with the cold, which is why things originating in Ohio can't make it to New Hampshire. Was expecting to have a bunch of stuff here for a full weekend of plumbing hardlines and none of it even has an approximate date for delivery now. I do feel bad about the people down South getting royally screwed for the past few weeks while I'm mildly delayed from building a race car.
My problems are of the first world variety.
Anywho. Without my normal plans available I did a couple other things.
One: I bought a motorcycle lift because it was cheap and right down the street. It will be useful for tinkering on all kinds of things, not least of which SWMBO's 1977 Honda CJ360t that I assured would get a carb rebuild before summer.
Two: I rebuilt the Busa Grande lift which needed some tinkering and a fresh winch (Harbor Freight FTW)
That's levitation, homes. Now I just need the ability to kill a yak from 200 yards away with mind bullets.
Nice work on the straightener, can you post up the parts list?
Sean
6 of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZH2C219/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Hardware to taste
Some 2"x2" aluminum angle
A couple 5" long springs on 3/4" bolts holding the pieces apart and yet together at the same time
Still waiting on packages, but I gotta keep some forward momentum so I made some fuel line brackets to keep things nice and neat as opposed to P clips.
These will mount to rivnuts.
Front brakes and brake switch are finally plumbed in after MUCH deliberation.
Rear next.
Feeling like Mario with all this plumbing. Brakes are now complete and ready for fluid.
I'm reasonably happy with how they came out. The joys of a small chassis are many, but when it comes time to running tubes there are inherent challenges with packaging. Especially when I've made some fundamental changes from what the chassis had before and I'm more picky about placement than circle track guys.
Yes, the clutch master on the left doesn't have the cap on straight.
Since I have WHOA covered it's time to get some GO.
When I bought it the fuel system on the car was... sketchy.
That's the battery, 2 gallon swirl pot and the exhaust right next to eachother. No me gusta.
Now in that space there's some aluminum fuel lines, the radiator and the exhaust spaced from everything and likely to get walled off from the rest.
Nevermind the paint drips... The chassis paint goes on really thick. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I was feeling pretty happy so I tinkered on the coolant system also, installed some bulkhead fittings to keep things neat and put together one -16AN hose.
I got rid of the engine's water pump and plugged the hole (it's not an uncommon thing) and will be running a Davies Craig 115 water pump.
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