Newbie Gremlins

Newbie Gremlins

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Discussion

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Friday 11th April 2014
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Greetings - Today I picked up my 'New Car' (03' build) Can-Am. And now want to throw myself at the mercy of fellow Ultima owners.

Having tentativly driven the car home - the battery wasn't charging. I suspected the alternator, but now having read a bit about the old Red Top 60 batteries, think that's the problem. When I pulled it out of the car it was date stamped 2/10/02. Have ordered a new battery just now…. using one of the links under a battery discussion.

So 2 initial questions.

1) What is the solution to cabin heat (using the perspex 'fly screens'? Man alive. It wasn't hot today but after 12 or so miles I was starting to cook up nicely. Am I right in thinking that the air passes thru' the rad, up the bonnet, over the fly screen to tumble into the cab and bake it's occupants? Or am I being singled out for 'special attention' http://www.pistonheads.com/GASSING/imgs/2.gif Of course the other option would be that I have the heater fully 'on'…. is the knob supposed to be pushed in or out?

2) Once warm I couldn't find 1st of 2 gear - I suspect the gear linkage (R/Hand) needs some adjustment as it was fine again once cold - is there a standard 'tune your gear linkage ' procedure?

Not withstanding the initial 12 miles were pretty exciting!!!!

MarkWebb

983 posts

216 months

Friday 11th April 2014
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Usual problem with canam (I have one) is the hole in the air created by the windscreen causes low pressure in cockpit. Hot air from hole in front of engine hood gets drawn into cockpit.
It is great when cold outside but like being sat in an oven when its warmer. Block vent in front of engine cover! Some people have fitted perspex screens inside the roll cage to try to prevent this.
Other options (not tried yet) put floor in engine bay and try to create suction through engine vents rather than positive pressure. Should improve down force as well!
Or remove windscreen and fit small one (factory option) prepare to eats wasps flies rocks etc!

356Speedster

2,293 posts

230 months

Friday 11th April 2014
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Welcome fellow Can Am owner! Good to hear of another owner mad enough to have an aeroscreened car in the UK smile (I presume that's what you mean by "fly scree"?!)

Swapping your old batter out is certainly a good first step given it's age, so hopefully that's a quick fix for you. I have a centre cable change myself, but folks on here do make comment on issues with the RHS rod change needing to be properly adjusted, so it's worth looking into that before looking at the 'box / clutch itself.

Heat is a perennial issue with all Ults! Do you have AC in the car? Even with the aeroscreen it's a necessity. Do you know what other heat proofing the car has? Were the radiator alloy pipes that run thru' the side pods wrapped at all? Were the ally skin panels lagged? Do you have any additional bulkheads at the front of the car (internal footwell & behind the radiator specifically)?

Contrary to others, I do use the air intake in the rear clam, so it's fully open in my car. It's feeding my custom airbox, so doesn't suffer the heat wash problem some people seem to get (see Mark W's post above) from the rear.

Have a look at my build site and look at the areas I added heat proofing (silver & gold) as well as additional bulkheads.... www.facebook.com/ultima.can.am.build My car is a lot cooler in the cabin that other Ults I've been in without the extra heat proofing, but on a warm day AC is still required. I find I don't get too much hot air in the face coming over the aeroscreen, it's really a combination of all the heat sources from around the car that culminate in a "cosy" driving experience, which you want to address wink

Edited by 356Speedster on Friday 11th April 21:14

5paulmv

1,250 posts

170 months

Friday 11th April 2014
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Welcome . Fellow can am owner the heat seems to be all part off the xperiance off ownership I run both screens dependant how I feel and were I'm going . Some pics off your new pride and joy would be good . I'm just comming up on a year off ownership and loving the experience . Would be good to outnumber the gtrs at stoneleigh on the Monday with crazy can am s

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Friday 11th April 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies. Will post some pictures in due course (it's the orange car that was up for sale (with iffy pictures) in the classified very recently). Simon (the guy I bought it from) did very little mileage in it during his 7 year ownership - 300 or so - so suspect that there's an amount of fettling needed (and one of the reasons I bought one in the first place).

Based on the replies I suspect the perspex between the tool bar will be the solution as my rear clam has been 'modified' to accommodate the worlds largest air filter….. once it's running again i'll jury rig some ply in there to see if it makes it any better.

As for additional heat insulation - I suspect VERY little was done (but the quality of the build is good), so I may be restricted to 'post build' solutions. I haven't ruled our retrofitting AC, but does seem perverse in a (very) open top car!

MarkWebb

983 posts

216 months

Saturday 12th April 2014
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AC makes some but not much difference with roof down. V good with roof up though.

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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Have any of you guys experimented with a 'wind break' behind the roll bar - and if so did it improve things much? Was going to fashion something out of ply before putting into perspex.

HOWEVER, before I do that I need to tear down the alternator as it's not charging and the starter motor threw it's guts over the drive when I returned home :-(



v8yes

1,250 posts

170 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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Hi there car looks great on pictures . Does it struggle with heat in engine bay . Any fans . Just curious

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Monday 14th April 2014
quotequote all
Fans in the engine bay? Nope - other than the two up front that's all we have. Is it hot? Blooming heck YES - sorting out cabin heat to a manageable level is very high on the priority list!

Storer

5,024 posts

214 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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Give the Factory a call regarding the starter. You will need to know what gearbox you are using and Richard should be able to help with the starter. Different Porsche boxes require different starters!

BTW the Factory are very supportive of customers that buy used vehicles and can often help solve an issue over the phone.


Paul

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
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Thanks Paul - good advice and i've already put myself on their radar with some gelcoat repair. I actually ordered the spares from a US firm as the spur gear from the starter was found on my drive (so it's only the spacer, lock ring, spring etc..), cross my fingers it works out :-)

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Wednesday 16th April 2014
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So OK you lovely Ultima people - which way is this heater valve open or closed? When I found it, the cable wasn't attached, so I suspect that the heater was left fully open, with one of the heater pipes (that should have been attached to the dash vent) hanging under the dash filling the cab with lots and lots of warm air..... My guess is the 2nd picture is the valve fully open - think I can see the word 'ON' partially obscured by the cable....

<a href="http://s1175.photobucket.com/user/nigeljabbott01/media/2014-04-15201828_zpscf4c01c6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r627/nigeljabbott01/2014-04-15201828_zpscf4c01c6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2014-04-15201828_zpscf4c01c6.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1175.photobucket.com/user/nigeljabbott01/media/2014-04-15202018_zpsf6d7093a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r627/nigeljabbott01/2014-04-15202018_zpsf6d7093a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2014-04-15202018_zpsf6d7093a.jpg"/></a>

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Wednesday 16th April 2014
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mt308

438 posts

142 months

Wednesday 16th April 2014
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Nabbott said:


Bottom photo is fully closed. To open (get heat) you pull the cable from inside.

UltimaCH

3,155 posts

188 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
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Get an electronically controlled valve and be done with the cable contraption and cheapo valve wink


Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
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Thanks chaps. It's fair to say I have a long list to get through before I have to start to get to replacing mechanical heater controls smile

Nabbott

Original Poster:

294 posts

135 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Any of you SBC powered chaps know the spec of your starter motor? After getting the car home I found the starter motor pinion on the drive (the starter appears to have chucked a strop and 'thrown up' it's pinion assembly). I ordered a new SBC pinion assembly that I fitted last night but still no joy - spins up nicely but doesn't engage the flywheel. I'm currently suspecting the solenoid being stuck..... But will investigate tonight with (another) strip down.

So my question is whether you know the spec of the starter installed in SBC cars? The one I'm wrestling with is a IMI 101 - which appears to be an upgraded part most commonly used in VW applications. Are there other options available or is this another call to the factory on Tuesday morning?

Thanks nabbott

philcerb

101 posts

206 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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I have a sbc starter in my garage(bosch used) email if you need it

V8Dom

3,546 posts

201 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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UltimaCH said:
Get an electronically controlled valve and be done with the cable contraption and cheapo valve wink

oo where did you get this and how is it controlled?

UltimaCH

3,155 posts

188 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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Ask our friends up north ;-)