This ain't no build thread!

[chiefmg]

I'm just glad we got to speak for the amount of time we did. Plus, I have a picture of it for proof!

Went to Ace last night and picked up some bolts. They are M10 X 1.25, I got 30mm in length. No flanged bolts so I got a couple of large washers in SAE size that fit nicely. I installed the mat brackets this morning, everything looks great. Worked on getting the rust stains out of the mats I bought, made some headway but more cleaning is required.

Received my new bypass actuator so swapped that in. I tested it next to the old one with my MityVac, what I found is the old one was leaking by. When I pulled a vacuum on it and held it, after about 3 seconds it would slowly start to extend. By contrast the new actuator held fully pulled in. One thing to note (mentioned on the Track Dog Racing site) is the vacuum nipple on the new actuator is situated at a different angle from the old one like so:



New one is on the right. This meant I had to use a longer piece of hose and the routing doesn’t look as nice as the old one. I had to wait for a test drive due to rain, but finally got out to do that. Unfortunately, while it did need to be replaced the bypass actuator wasn’t the cause of my low boost. I’ll be changing out injectors in the next few days so will take a hard look at the rest of the intake system to see if I can find the culprit.

[chiefmg]

Received what I was waiting for to install my mystery purchase from MATG. SNS Parts had a Project-G bikini top in maroon for sale that he posted in his pre-MATG teaser. I dithered about it but once I saw it on the first day for vendors I said screw it and bought it. As it turned out I was actually lucky that it fits. If you have never looked into one of these, you have to measure the distance from your windshield header to the back of your rollbar and provide that to Project-G so they can make your top the correct size. I should have done some research prior to purchasing it but it worked out.

The latches on the bow were well used (both had the screw fix for broken locks), I went ahead and ordered new factory ones off eBay. Those won’t be here for another week or so. The part I was waiting on was a 3-D printed adjusting piece that fits on the front of the center brace for the top. Project-G used to make one in metal but that is NLA. I was reading one of my friend’s build thread and saw where he had found the 3-D printed one so I ordered it up (thanks Bryan). Here is the product link: https://vernie.shop/products/center-...ata-bikini-top It’s well made and functions as advertised.

The installation of these tops is pretty well documented (see RevLimiter’s blog) so I won’t go into the whole thing. I cut the center brace to length for the adjuster. It was a little fiddly getting the top bow to stay in place while getting the center brace tight. I then put on the rear straps to the Frankenstein bolts. The straps are very short once tightened, probably due to my Harddog Ace rollbar being installed more to the rear and being shorter compared to other bars. It also isn’t as wide which creates a curved effect at the rear. I was missing the screws to attach the side straps to so looked at what I would need and made a trip to Ace. Ended up with Allen head screws in M6 X 1.0 that were 50mm in length, along with a couple of flange nuts, fender washers and metal spacers. After thinking about it, I decided to first try using some silicone hose pieces as spacers since that is what Project-G does. Here are all those parts:



I used the nut as I attach my windblocker to the car and it gives me a good stop to hold that in place. Here is a picture of the screw installed:



Pulling those side straps tight served to pull the back sides of the top around the rollbar accentuating the curvature due to the HD Ace bar.

Here’s how the finished product looks:





You can see how the rollbar drives the shape of the top. I can see out of the sides with no problem, my head does lightly touch the top though. I’ll get some distance shots from outside when the rain stops.

[—Bryan—]

Ahhh, so you did buy it! I love mine but I need to get a little lower in the car, too.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

I think I still have a set of the chromed strap hooks for the Frankenstein bolts. If you're interested, I can dig through some boxes.

[—Bryan—]

Not gonna lie: if Gene (may he rest in peace) had figured out how to do the KeeniTop without requiring me to drill into the windshield header, I'd have bought it instead of the ProjectG. It's very nice, but it's also very expensive!

Mike, how are you doing your center brace? Check my build for how I did mine if you want some info.

[chiefmg]

I think I still have a set of the chromed strap hooks for the Frankenstein bolts. If you're interested, I can dig through some boxes.

Thanks for the offer. If you are talking about what I think you are, mine came with the bikini buckles so I'm good.

Not gonna lie: if Gene (may he rest in peace) had figured out how to do the KeeniTop without requiring me to drill into the windshield header, I'd have bought it instead of the ProjectG. It's very nice, but it's also very expensive!

Mike, how are you doing your center brace? Check my build for how I did mine if you want some info.

I already looked at yours and that is what I did. Bought that same adjuster and cut down my brace. I had to clean up the notch at the back for the rollbar from whoever had it previously.

[chiefmg]

Found my boost leak! Started removing stuff this morning to change the injectors, found this on the outlet of the intercooler:


When I removed it, I saw what appeared to be damage to the intercooler spigot from the boost pipe hitting it. I sanded off the roughness so the boost tube wouldn’t get cut.

Swapped out my FiveO Motorsports 550cc EV14s for Deatschwerks 700cc injectors. Side by side comparison of the two (DW on the right):



The DWs appear to be slightly shorter which I feel will provide a better fit. While I had everything off I removed one of the isolators for the fuel rail to make sure I didn’t have them in backwards. Measured the extension on both sides of the center part, both were the same dimension. DW thoughtfully included some lube for the O-rings which helps them go together without issue. Buttoned everything back up, taking extra care to get all the boost tubes nice and tight. While pulling around I noticed the passenger side intercooler mounting bolt was a little loose so I tightened that up (thank heaven for pivoting ratcheting wrenches or I would have had to pull a bunch of stuff out).

Test drive afterwards showed good drivability and no discernable fuel smell. Based on past experience I will withholding calling it good until I get more miles on her, but for now I’m happy. She's back to screaming under full boost.

While out I took some more pictures of the bikini top:

[chiefmg]

I put some cogitation into how I could raise the rear of the bikini top. Paid a visit to Home Depot and bought a piece of 1 ½” PVC pipe and a couple of 45 degree ells. First step was to decide how much of a strip to cut out. First try was 1”, after seeing how that would set on top of the rollbar I decided to cut an additional ¼” off. I did this using my Dremel with a cut-off wheel:



Next step was to cut to length and glue the 45s on. That ended up looking like this:



Finally I needed some slits so I could use the Velcro strips I have (used for things like extension cords and the like). I tried a couple of ways but ended up using a small drill bit to punch holes, then use the bit to connect them all. That looks like this:



It’s been tested and works well. I’ve got some semi-gloss paint on it, once that dries and I install it for the final fitment I’ll post a picture of that.

When I was picking up grandkids from school yesterday, she was getting hot. I kept that in check but noticed there was a lot of heat coming into the cockpit despite the temperature being full cold. All signs suggest that the thermostat is bad so I ordered a new one of those.

At some point I’ll get through all these little niggling problems.

Finally, today I received the new top latches I purchased off eBay to replace the ones on the bikini top. Those are installed and work wonderfully well. I need to check into the screw sizes for those as one of the ones on the driver’s side was shorted than the rest.

[—Bryan—]

You going to Cars and Coffee tomorrow? Love to see what this looks like!

[chiefmg]

You going to Cars and Coffee tomorrow? Love to see what this looks like!

I was planning on it, but unfortunately until the new thermostat shows up and is installed she isn't going anywhere.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

I must get a cordless Dremmel now.

[chiefmg]

They're definitely nice. Honestly I'd probably still be using my old corded one, but the chuck stopped working and I couldn't find a new one to fit (they upsized the shafts). So, I went cordless.

[chiefmg]

Here is how the PVC pipe looks in place:



You can see the two Velcro strips I used to hold in in place. They aren’t tight enough on their own, but once the top fabric is laid across and cinched down everything stays in place. Here is a close-up shot of the finished product:



I’ll get an outside shot of that once my new thermostat shows up and is installed so I don’t have to worry about overheating things.

[chiefmg]

Didn’t get an early start in the thermostat replacement today due to rain. Finally dove into it this afternoon. Here is the thermostat I bought from Supermiata:



Their site states that you can use a Motorad/Stant 45849 (for 195 degrees) but as you can see I was sent a Gates. Not sure if they changed this or what. Had I seen that information (towards the bottom of the parts list for the reroute) I would have bought one locally. In any case I now have a couple of numbers to use for the next one.

Here is the sealant they use, I got this from AutoZone:



I removed the thermostat housing after gaining access by removing my shock tower brace. Cleaned the old sealant off using a putty knife, brass wire brush and some alcohol. Getting the snap ring that holds the thermostat in place out/back in was just as much of a PITA as I remembered. The old one didn’t appear to be stuck but I can’t say that it wasn’t when it was hot. Got the new thermostat in place, gooped up the sealing surfaces and assembled the housing. That’s all done now and waiting 24 hours for curing so I can fill the coolant.

[chiefmg]

Put the hose back onto the thermostat housing and filled her up using my Lisle spill-free funnel (if you don’t have one, it’s a great tool). Started her up to bleed the system, once that was done I shut her down and removed the funnel. Had a little coolant spill from that. Put the radiator cap back on and started her up again as I wanted to make sure the cooling fan was coming on. While waiting for that to happen I noticed some vapor coming off the radiator in back. At first I thought it was from the spillage, but a closer inspection showed the radiator cap was leaking. That explains a lot. New cap has been ordered so just have to wait for that to arrive.

While I had everything removed I went ahead and pulled all the plugs to inspect the cylinders and make sure I didn’t have any coolant inside. Gapped the plugs to 0.035 before installing. There was some corrosion in the plug wells from water ingress so I used a round brass wire brush to clean that up, then blew out the wells with compressed air. Wiped down the outside casing of the COPs before putting them back in too.