500+bhp Mk3 Fiesta Project

[dom9]

mwstewart said:

I work in Canary Wharf and live nearby, but the car is in the Midlands in a rural place where I grew up. I'm a country boy really I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping everything around London, so I have to travel 2 hrs/130 miles to get to the project, but I like driving and feel the need escape the city now and then. Actually I have this week off to work on the Fiesta.

The Ka was a runner and has MOT etc. but thieves had stolen its catalytic converter. The original owners didn't want to pay for the repair so they let the car go cheap. It'll be scrap when I've finished with it.

I'm harbouring thoughts of doing something similar when I move back to London... Get a place out of town for the weekends as well!

My Lab puppy would far prefer the countryside to the city, I am sure! She's spoiled, here in Houston - so much space!

Come on - there must be something interetsing YOU could do with that Ka! You know it makes sense!

[mwstewart]

dom9 said:

I'm harbouring thoughts of doing something similar when I move back to London... Get a place out of town for the weekends as well!

My Lab puppy would far prefer the countryside to the city, I am sure! She's spoiled, here in Houston - so much space!

Come on - there must be something interetsing YOU could do with that Ka! You know it makes sense!

Two Hyabusa engines on a common crank. 400HP @ 10,000 rpm

[Ponk]

mwstewart said:

Ponk said:

I don't know about you but welding up a fuel gives me the willies. I'm sure ATL or pro alloy can fab you up something which has the added bonus of being to MSA specs?

Fantastic project btw, I've been following it since the start.

Thank you The tank in the photo is brand new but I will be cutting up my used one for some sections.

There are a couple of methods to make welding a used tank safe; one is to route exhaust fumes from a running car through it to purge, and the second - which I will use - is to ignite the tank using a fuse on a long rod. Used tanks are only an explosion risk if they are sealed.

I hadn't thought of that actually. I was thinking more of structural integrity once chopped and re welded to be honest.

When are you expecting the engine back? Can't wait to see how you route the pipework, coolant, intercooler, fuel etc.

[dom9]

mwstewart said:

Two Hyabusa engines on a common crank. 400HP @ 10,000 rpm

I've been following the development of the Hartley engine (and other manufacturer's versions) since 1997... One day I'll have a use for one!

[SteellFJ]

mwstewart said:

Actually I have this week off to work on the Fiesta.

Best News Ever!!!!

[pthelazyjourno]

dom9 said:

I've been following the development of the Hartley engine (and other manufacturer's versions) since 1997... One day I'll have a use for one!

It goes well in a VX220. And an Evora...

[dom9]

pthelazyjourno said:

It goes well in a VX220. And an Evora...

Sorry for the OT, but surely it would be cheaper (and probably quicker with all that torque) to build a 4.0 Evora motor for the Evora, no?

I also hear the gearbox is very expensive and it's not easily adaptable to other boxes!

I do feel like it would be a lovely motor in an early Elise though... Maybe Motorsport bodied etc!

Or in the back of an original mini with a Z Cars subframe etc...

[NateWM]

I love this car so much!

Do you have a diagram of your stereo install?

[mwstewart]

NateWM said:

I love this car so much!

Do you have a diagram of your stereo install?

Thank you! No Diagram, but system is below:

Headunit
- Undeiced but likely to be McIntosh MX5000.
- Two pairs of Audison Sonus RCA's run to the boot.
- Toslink Optical lead run to the boot.

Processor
- Audison Bit One
- Van Damme RCA's to each Amp
- Seperate channel for Sub, Midbass, Tweeters, and Rear Fill

Tweeters & Amp
- Seas Lotus Reference series tweeters - silk dome version
- Sinfoni 90.2
- Van Damme speaker cable - 2 x 1.5 mm

Midbass & Amp
- Seas Lotus Reference series speakers
- Sinfoni 120.4x (two channels of)
- Van Damme speaker cable - 2 x 2.5 mm

Rear Fill
- Sinfoni S100M speakers
- Sinfoni 45.2x
- Van Damme speaker cable - 2 x 1.5 mm

Sub
- Seas Lotus 12", sealed box
- Sinfoni 120.4x (two channels of - bridged)
- Van Damme speaker cable - 2 x 4 mm

I don't go in for huge power cables and fancy gold plated battery terminals etc. - marketing nonsense in my opinion - just good oxygen free cables sized accordingly


Fuel tank - part 2
As a rough estimate I will double the tanks' capacity, so from 42 litres/9.23 gallons to 84 litres/18.46 gallons. Assuming 18MPG average I should have a 332 mile range. This should make life a lot more convenient!

Today I found that there was unused space at the O/S end of the fuel tank, so I slotted the standard mount holes to liberate an additional 10-12mm of length still leaving clearance space around the tank periphery.


My Dad had a look at the tank today and suggested that rather than 'band' the new tank to increase its length, I should use another spare Fiesta tank and cut it in a different place to end up with two long sections of tank joined together with one new seam, rather than the two I would end up with using my approach. It is a good idea and I had a spare tank lying around.

I used this method to first purge the spare tank before starting work.


Here are the two tank sections tacked together. I'm going to cut out the scallops in the bottom left hand corner, so there's quite bit of infill work to do tomorrow.

[Ponk]

That is a brilliant idea. Is it worth adding some baffling or foam whilst it's accessible?

Seem to remember that you are using a swirl pot but it couldn't hurt.

[pthelazyjourno]

dom9 said:

Sorry for the OT, but surely it would be cheaper (and probably quicker with all that torque) to build a 4.0 Evora motor for the Evora, no?

I also hear the gearbox is very expensive and it's not easily adaptable to other boxes!

I do feel like it would be a lovely motor in an early Elise though... Maybe Motorsport bodied etc!

Or in the back of an original mini with a Z Cars subframe etc...

Judging from the build I don't think they had cost in mind... Evora V6 weighs an absolute ton, doesn't rev particularly high, and they seem to have a lot of trouble with cooling for high powered ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbOchti_5UA

Here's one (the same?) in action, looks epic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVG0YKco03Y

The rear subframe on an Evora weighs a lot - that's all been ditched, would be interested to know what it weighs overall.

Here's the VX - believe it was owned by the same people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnvKCJia9jQ

Agree about an S1 Elise, but isn't feasible without an entire new rear end (unless you could get a FWD gearbox to fit, but even then bet there wouldn't be space with the original subframe).

Sorry for derailing your thread OP. Still loving it - keep up the good work!

Edited by pthelazyjourno on Tuesday 18th February 23:16

[mwstewart]

pthelazyjourno said:

Judging from the build I don't think they had cost in mind... Evora V6 weighs an absolute ton, doesn't rev particularly high, and they seem to have a lot of trouble with cooling for high powered ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbOchti_5UA

Here's one (the same?) in action, looks epic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVG0YKco03Y

The rear subframe on an Evora weighs a lot - that's all been ditched, would be interested to know what it weighs overall.

Here's the VX - believe it was owned by the same people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnvKCJia9jQ

Agree about an S1 Elise, but isn't feasible without an entire new rear end (unless you could get a FWD gearbox to fit, but even then bet there wouldn't be space with the original subframe).

Sorry for derailing your thread OP. Still loving it - keep up the good work!

Edited by pthelazyjourno on Tuesday 18th February 23:16

The S1 Exige would be my choice. It wouldn't be a big job to make a jig from the standard subframe and make one out of T45. Presumably the V8's use the original bike 'box? I think I'd want something a bit stronger.

A bellhousing adapter shouldn't be the end of the world to make; in a previous project I mated an Audi/VW Haldex Quattro gearbox to a dry sumped Ford Focus engine (I didn't perform the machining work):

[pthelazyjourno]

mwstewart said:

The S1 Exige would be my choice. It wouldn't be a big job to make a jig from the standard subframe and make one out of T45. Presumably the V8's use the original bike 'box? I think I'd want something a bit stronger.

A bellhousing adapter shouldn't be the end of the world to make; in a previous project I mated an Audi/VW Haldex Quattro gearbox to a dry sumped Ford Focus engine (I didn't perform the machining work):

Dunno what gearbox Arial use in their super Atom, but looks like the whole lot could possibly fit with the subframe in place. It'd be tight though, especially trying to route the exhaust from the front bank of cylinders. Still, Arial swapped a Honda out for the V8, and the Honda will fit in an Elise...



Be curious to see how much space there'd be, I think you'd need a bit more room where the front/top of the subframe sits. Could be completely wrong though.

Would be one heck of a weapon. In the back of something like this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...


Would love to see you attempt it!

Edited by pthelazyjourno on Wednesday 19th February 21:50

[dom9]

mwstewart said:

The S1 Exige would be my choice. It wouldn't be a big job to make a jig from the standard subframe and make one out of T45. Presumably the V8's use the original bike 'box? I think I'd want something a bit stronger.

A bellhousing adapter shouldn't be the end of the world to make; in a previous project I mated an Audi/VW Haldex Quattro gearbox to a dry sumped Ford Focus engine (I didn't perform the machining work):

The V8 needs a bespoke 'box, sadly (though it would probably need one with double the torque, regardless).

Would be interested to see/ hear more about the Audi/ Ford project!

[HughG]

pthelazyjourno said:

Dunno what gearbox Arial use in their super Atom, but looks like the whole lot could possibly fit with the subframe in place. It'd be tight though, especially trying to route the exhaust from the front bank of cylinders. Still, Arial swapped a Honda out for the V8, and the Honda will fit in an Elise...



Be curious to see how much space they'd be, I think you'd need a bit more room where the front/top of the subframe sits. Could be completely wrong though.

Would be one heck of a weapon. In the back of something like this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...


Would love to see you attempt it!

Edited by pthelazyjourno on Wednesday 19th February 12:32

Too sorted a base car though isn't it? There's little benefit to starting with something like that when a stock Elise/Exige would be just as good once finished fettling engine, suspension, brakes and so on.

MWStewart, fantastic attention to detail, looking forward to seeing the finished result. Thank you for sharing the project.

[pthelazyjourno]

HughG said:

Too sorted a base car though isn't it? There's little benefit to starting with something like that when a stock Elise/Exige would be just as good once finished fettling engine, suspension, brakes and so on.

MWStewart, fantastic attention to detail, looking forward to seeing the finished result. Thank you for sharing the project.

Oh yeah, I wasn't suggesting he buy that. More that would be a great finished result. Lovely car!

[Galliano]

I personally feel the headlamp washer issue is well thought out my MW. It is something that needs to be done, and though not the tidiest looking, the exterior is 99.9% looking like a Mk3 Fiesta, and thus so do the washer jets. Yes a tidier design would be a much better option, but it wouldn't be do-able due to the issues which lay in the front metalwork.

On another note MW, how do you propose wiring this in? I have been looking at adding washers to my Paseo, being taken from a similar aged Celica. I note they have the button based beneith the steering wheel on the cowling, so they are wired to a seperate button but what loom do you splice into?

[k-ink]

Very nice kit. I'll have a spare mint Sinfoni 90.2 amplifier available shortly if you need another. Mind you, I think you have enough! I used mine to run a full set of component speakers to wonderful effect.

[Petrol_fumes]

pthelazyjourno said:

Dunno what gearbox Arial use in their super Atom, but looks like the whole lot could possibly fit with the subframe in place. It'd be tight though, especially trying to route the exhaust from the front bank of cylinders. Still, Arial swapped a Honda out for the V8, and the Honda will fit in an Elise...



Be curious to see how much space they'd be, I think you'd need a bit more room where the front/top of the subframe sits. Could be completely wrong though.

Would be one heck of a weapon. In the back of something like this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...


Would love to see you attempt it!

Edited by pthelazyjourno on Wednesday 19th February 12:32

This is my future project when i have a garage and the engines don't cost a small bloody fortune! saying that 330hp Exiges are feckin' terrifying, a 500hp v8 would be madness!

[mwstewart]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Galliano said:

On another note MW, how do you propose wiring this in? I have been looking at adding washers to my Paseo, being taken from a similar aged Celica. I note they have the button based beneith the steering wheel on the cowling, so they are wired to a separate button but what loom do you splice into?

Mine will operate on main beam only and with the wipers. I'm using a time delay relay so that they operate every two minutes - it really is a token 'gesture' to remain legal. They are a waste of water really

k-ink said:

Very nice kit. I'll have a spare mint Sinfoni 90.2 amplifier available shortly if you need another. Mind you, I think you have enough! I used mine to run a full set of component speakers to wonderful effect.

Thank you. If the 45.2x proves insufficient I'll drop you a PM.

Fuel tank - part 3
On the new tank extension I have been working to to add a second fuel pump to ensure that fuel is pumped equally from either side of the tank after a new exhaust recess is added to the bottom edge.


I picked up another new tank this morning from Derby, as the spare tanks I had were OEM versions which have plastic swirl pots. The after market version shave pressed steel pots which I can readily utilise/weld. I drilled out the spot welds and liberated another metal pot for use under the second fuel pump.


Second swirl pot/baffle in position. I had to consider the exhaust routing, and the height of the fuel pump assembly; there needs to be room above the tank for the fuel connections.


Next I cut a fuel pump/sender assembly mount from a spare tank. The mount had to be sunk into the tank to provide adequate space above it for the connections, so I mocked up the mount and added a flange around it so it could be recessed into the top of the tank.


The tip of the tank has some swage lines pressed in, so the new piece was folded and cut to match the profile exactly.


Tacked into place and tested as OK with a spare sender assembly. I need to get a bit better with TIG tomorrow before I start to seam weld these new additions!