1975 LA Lancer Buildup - First Build - Page 6
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12th July 2006 - Rollcage details
No work has been completed on the car since the last update due to other commitments, however I have had some requests for details on the rollcage so rather then sending out different emails, I am putting the info here. If there is anything that is not covered off, please email me for the info. I have deliberately not included pricing as it has been a substantial amount of time since I purchased the cage and do not want to give anyone any false information.
As can be seen in the pictures (click on each photo for a larger image to open in a new window) Majority of the cage is in place. Fitting the cage was not overly difficult once I had worked out exactly where each bar should go (and the front legs were fixed...) however it is not a job you can rush or do on your own. You will also need access to the following tools:
Without going in to a lot of detail, here are the basic steps. The first task when fitting the cage is to position the main hoop and front legs, this is the most critical part as the fitting of the other parts relies on it being correct. You need to ensure that the hoop does not interfere with the seats and that it is square in the body of the car. Also, the front legs need to hard up against the roof and dash to ensure that they do not move around when driving which would cause a lot of unwanted noise and reduce the effectiveness of the cage in stiffening up the body.
Once the main hop is in place, the rear legs can be fitted. The supplied plates go on the wheel arches, one inside the car and one outside. Once the position is correct, you will need to trim the legs to fit. As this requires an angled cut, I would suggest that you use a piece of plastic drain pipe to get the appropriate angle before cutting the steel. Also, cut the angle first and then trim the remainder of the leg to fit inside the clamp. Once it has been cut to suit, tack weld the leg to the plate, then fit it again to ensure it hasn't moved when being welded. Once the final weld has been completed, the task of securing the cage and drilling the bolt holes for each join can begin. It is important to follow the order in the supplied instructions otherwise you may end up with the cage not sitting correctly.
Here are some quick pointers from my experience:
My original intention with this cage was to have the front half easily removable so that it would be legal on the street and safe on the track, but there is more effort involved in fitting/removing the front legs then I though there would be (the main hoop needs to be unbolted from the floor to allow them to move out of the clamps), so I am exploring other options to avoid removing the entire cage every time I have to change anything.
Please keep in mind that these details are for my car, my roll cage and my circumstances. There are hundreds of possible variations that would effect what I have written above, so please contact your cage maker and local authorities before fitting a roll cage.
30th August 2006 - Looking for parts
There has been very little progress completed on the car since the last update, however, I have been searching for some parts so that some key work (such as fitting the windows) can be completed. The only part I have been able to successfully find is a new-old-stock clutch cable. I have been offered an ex-rally LA Lancer for parts and should be collecting it in a couple of weeks time, I don't know the condition of the parts I am after but hopefully it will provide some useful parts for now and some spares for later on. The part that is causing me the most concern is a rear window rubber, if you have a good condition rubber or know where I can get one, please email me.
I have been in contact with an engineer in regards to registering the car with the complete roll cage, they could not give me a clear answer until the car has been inspected. Before I can get it inspected, the windows need to be fitted so I don't have to wait for a rain-free day to get it there and back.
The only physical work that has been completed is the cleaning of the side window channels, these were suffering from varying amounts of rust. In one case the rust was so bad that I have to make a new channel using parts from two spare doors, the remaining three channels will be ready for fitment once the glass has been cleaned. Once I get the windows in the doors, I will be able to fit the door trims, window winders and internal door handles, which should make a significant difference to the look of the interior of the car.
16th October 2006 - More excuses
The progress on the Lancer in the last couple of months extends to having installed the side glass on three out of the four doors along with the door trims on the front doors. I have had very little spare time to work on the car and the garage is also doubling as a temporary storage area which makes getting any work done very difficult.
However, I did manage to obtain an ex-rally LA Lancer to use for parts, it had been left on a car club property for several years after sustaining substantial front end damage and whilst it was fitted with a 2 litre Sigma motor, it did not run. After pulling the car apart it was fairly obvious as to why the engine didn't work, there was a hole in both the sump and the block! The hole in the block was big enough to show that the number 4 rod was no longer connected to the crankshaft. The front end damage is fairly significant, with all of the suspension components damaged in some way, which is a shame as I was hoping to be able to obtain a spare cross member , control arms and radius rods. Needless to say, majority of the car and the engine are going to the metal recyclers. The good news is that I now have front and rear window rubbers that can be used for templates for new ones and I also have some interior parts that I had previously been unable to obtain. The diff and rear suspension has also been kept for spare parts, the diff centre has been locked, but I do not know what method was used, given the largely standard nature of the remainder of the car, I can only assume that it has been welded solid.
My main task now is to match up the window rubbers so that the remainder of the glass and interior can be fitted to the car.
6th February 2007 - Major problems
Nothing much had occurred on the Lancer over the past few months until last weekend. One of the reasons for this was a rather loud rattling noise that the engine had developed after its initial drive. I had hoped it was something minor and started looking for the cause, it ended up with the engine out of the car and dismantled to find the following (click on each photo for a larger image to open in a new window) damage:
As you can see, the bearings, pistons and rods are all damaged. The oil squirter circled in the head picture was in the sump and would of caused a drop in oil pressure to the engine causing the damage. The entire bottom end will now need to be rebuilt and a suitable method of retaining the oil squirters found.
The upside of this damage is that I now have a greater understanding of the engine and the additional parts used to make the twin cam head fit.
The block has an adapter plate on the front (seen on the left of this picture) that mounts all of the timing gear, water pump and oil pump.
The pistons are domed and flycut, from all the measurements and comparisons taken, they are 4G37 pistons with the crown machined down. They are 80.3mm, so they are oversized for this engine. Fortunately these pistons are readily available in standard and other sizes. The second picture shows some of the damage to the pistons caused by the lack of oil.
The sump appears to be a very good design, the alloy upper section will add some strength to the block and the baffled lower section will help avoid oil surge issues during hard cornering.
I am currently investigating options around the rebuild and hope to have it underway in the next few weeks.
27th May 2007 - Engine rebuild in progress
After some time, I have gathered most of the parts required to rebuild the engine and started putting it together. The block, crank and rods have been cleaned up by an engine rebuilder to solve the issues that were encountered. Whilst I was going there for the work, I also got them to balance the bottom end and lighten the flywheel.
Initial assembly of the engine has been promising, although the piston rings I have do not fit properly, so I will need another set before the final assembly. When cleaning and checking the front end of the engine, I noticed that there is a crack in the main pulley, this will need to be sent of to be repaired as it appears to be different to the single cam pulley and replacement is not an option. Due to the bore size being used, I had to use a 4G37 head gasket, not a 4G32 gasket, fortunately it fits the 4G32 without any issues.
I am also getting a crank-scraper made up for the engine whilst it is apart, with the good design of the standard sump and the addition of the crank-scraper, hopefully I will not have any control issues once it is running.
Whilst I never manage to make deadlines, I hope to have the engine in and running again in the next month.
9th July 2007 - Engine rebuilt
The engine has now been rebuilt with new piston rings, big end and main bearings and gaskets. The crank-scraper has arrived and been fitted, I was relieved that there was no major issues in fitting the scraper as it was made in the US from a 4G37 design with the front half modified using a scan of the sump. The crank pulley has been repaired, the crack was substantial enough that they had to machine it down and fit a collar to ensure that it was strong enough.
Before the engine is put back in the car, I am modifying the inlet manifold as I was not entirely happy with the initial design and have some thoughts on how to make it look and work better. I have also made some temporary changes (a fancy way of saying putting dents in the pipes) to the exhaust system as there are signs on the exhaust gaskets that it was not sealing properly. This is most likely due to the down pipe resting against the bell housing. Once the car is running, this section of the exhaust will be replaced with a custom set of extractors and the rest of the exhaust issues fixed at the same time.
Another part that had to be repaired was the thermostat housing, there was a minor water leak which was not looked at due to the noise in the engine and this turned out to be a cracked thermostat housing. Unfortunately this is different to the single cam versions and I had to repair and reinforce the broken housing.
I have always wanted to have a car with Nitrous, so after some investigations and given the dismantled state of the engine and in particular the inlet manifold, I decided that now was the time to add Nitrous to the Lancer. I have purchased a NOS kit and spoken to a tuner about the changes needed to not only fit the kit, but ensure that it will work properly. This will be fitted to the car before the engine goes in as the jets need to sit under the inlet manifold and it would be extremely difficult to see what is being done with the engine in the car. An extra fuel line and fuel pump will be needed for the nitrous system and this will also be fitted with the nitrous supply before final fitment of the engine.
The nitrous fitment will also have an impact on the heater hoses and these will need to be modified and re-routed during the engine fitment. I have also changed to a Sigma starter motor for some extra clearance around the nozzles and will need to ensure that none of the metal components come in to contact with it's power cables. Hopefully there won't be too many more modifications required once the engine goes in!