J400 GED Chimaera Chassis refurb

[J400GED]

67Fox said:

Well done Jed that looks great.

It's great to see the chassis in this condition, a credit to yourself and the work you have put in.

Thanks mate.

Ged

[J400GED]

Chuffmeister said:

Well done mate, getting that body back on must feel like a major milestone. Keep the pics coming from this point too!

Thanks mate.
Jobs for Friday are:
Seal round the seat belt mounts where they pass through the body.
Finish off fitting the body bolts
Then follow my strip down record in reverse order (refitting is the reverse of removal!)

Top Tip:
Regarding the handbrake, to allow the handbrake to sit vertical enough to get the centre console and body off/on, don't slacken the cable by altering the adjuster or disconnecting the pivot pin at the back of the handbrake lever, disconnect the cable each side at the caliper - it can be done with the wheels on and you don't alter the handbrake adjustment.

[J400GED]

J400GED said:

Top Tip:
Regarding the handbrake, to allow the handbrake to sit vertical enough to get the centre console and body off/on, don't slacken the cable by altering the adjuster or disconnecting the pivot pin at the back of the handbrake lever, disconnect the cable each side at the caliper - it can be done with the wheels on and you don't alter the handbrake adjustment.

First of all, ignore this "Top Tip". It's not!!

This weekend I got the fuel and brake systems all connected up.
Next weekend's job is to connect the electrics.

[J400GED]

67Fox said:

WOW it's flying along. well done.

Keep the hard work going!
P.S. GED YGM

Thanks Simon, you also have mail.

[J400GED]

Today I decided to find the cause of a rattle at idle come clunk when shaking the exhaust.
I had a pretty good idea of what the cause was because the silencer had already been cut and shut at some point.
So, I cut a door in the silencer to allow easy access....



and, as I suspected, I found this.....





Obviously it had been sleeved at some point by cutting the rear end of the silencer off, welding the two sleeves to that end and then pushing the flared ends over the front internal pipe stubs before welding it up again.

[J400GED]

Chuffmeister said:

I don't think the sleeves are welded, they're just pushed on, hence the wider diameter at the ends. Get yourself some stainless sleeves or perf if you choose to go that way.

Tbh, cutting the end off is a more simplistic way of doing things, as there is no need to cut and weld the sleeves again in the middle.

No Chuffy, the sleeves were definitely welded at the rear end - the 3rd pic up shows what's left of them.
the front ends were flared, hence the split at the tube seam.

[J400GED]

Chuffmeister said:

I guess it's all down to who did the conversion. I cut the end off mine and the sleeves just came out. In fact, I have them in the garage. You're welcome to them if you want them.

Chuffy, if you took the sleeves out, what did you convert yours to then?

[J400GED]

Chuffmeister said:

Went back to standard. No cat, no precats and sleeved sounded great over 3k but too loud for every other occasion. You can see the new stainless perf pushed into the left silencer intake in the image I posted.

I'm not decided about whether to keep it sleeved yet.
Mine has the all the cats still in place, so that will deaden the sound compared to a de-catted sleeved system.

Did you use any wadding, or did you just have the perf pipes?
Where did you get the perf pipes from?

Whereabouts in Kent are you? I've got family down that way, so could possibly pop in to collect those sleeves if that's ok.

[J400GED]

mbe?

[J400GED]

ChilliWhizz said:

Bingo, found some photies I took when they did my Lambda boss and put the box back to standard... Company was called SCA.. Owners retired but the business lives on! Doesn't say if they still offer the bespoke exhaust service though... details here..

http://www.ap-tuning.co.uk/SCA.html

I'm a knob, just re-read John's post and he's already explained it... Sorry John

Ged, mbe?

Edited by ChilliWhizz on Sunday 7th June 06:57

Cheers Chilli and John. I know APT well. What is the mbe to which John refers though?

Ged

[J400GED]

Dunno Chuffy.

I wish people wouldn't put obscure acronyms in their posts! HTFAISTKWIM....

[J400GED]

Tyre Tread said:

I think you mean: HTFAISTKWYM

TWIMTS!

[J400GED]

Tyre Tread said:

GWGTSO

????

[J400GED]

Today's update:

All finished barring the exhaust and Rear Anti-Roll Bar.
The exhaust will be ready this week, so next weekend's jobs are to fit the exhaust and Rear Anti-Roll bar and then......... FIRE HER UP!

[J400GED]

67Fox said:

Well done GED, looking really nice, not long now.

P.S. I was great to meet you Monday evening. thanks for all the advise.

Simon, the pleasure was all mine.

Let me know when you are next over. In the meantime I will look into the bonnet issue.

[J400GED]

It runs!

New cam run in and leak checks carried out.

Jobs left to do are:
Refit rear Anti-Roll Bar
Refit Clutch Master Cylinder Cover
Fit a couple of clips to help keep the exhaust wraps in place
Refit bonnet
Replace front tyres
Set up the geometry
Road Tax
Drive!

[J400GED]

67Fox said:

Top work, well done. You should be very proud of yourself!!

Thanks mate.

[J400GED]

Mr Supercharged said:

Ged, what is impressive is the speed in which you have turned this project around! Have you had an army of helpers, lots of spare time or can just work 10 times faster than me?

Just had a mate to help with the body lift and fit, cam timing and then first run this afternoon.
I started off doing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays whilst stripping down but then reduced it to Fridays, bits of Saturdays and bits of Sundays for refurbing and most of the rebuild, but the last jobs to get to the start up today seem to have taken an age. Not because of difficulty but because of other family demands.

[J400GED]

Right, today's update:
Re-set the base idle, re-bled the brakes and coolant systems. Brake, fuel and coolant leak checks carried out. I have driven about 50 miles yesterday and today.
Did a final leak and spanner check this evening.
Hope to get the geometry set up next week.
Apart from an inability to hold idle on cold start for about 30 seconds (I will be buying a replacement ECU coolant sensor on Monday to see if this cures it - £15 and a 5 minute job to replace), there are no other faults that I know of.

Off to Snetterton tomorrow, to meet up with Chilli and ClassiChimi.

[J400GED]

Alexdaredevils said:

See you there as well.