Website updates
Discussion
To save people the bother of checking for updates on my site, I'll post a quick note here for anyone who's interested with a brief descrption of what's new:
Today: extinguisher system, brake vent kit, sidepod final fit and wheelarch covers.
www.ultima-gtr.info
Today: extinguisher system, brake vent kit, sidepod final fit and wheelarch covers.
www.ultima-gtr.info
Great update. How do you prevent water from entering the gap between the rear of the vent and the front edge of the scoop?
I'm waiting on the kit to open my wheel arch vents. How hard do you think it would be to do this on a completed car?
I've used your idea for insulating the side pods with mylar covered fiberglass also. I don't have A/C and have plenty of room to route the heater hoses in the channel below the luggage bin. Also insulated the cabin walls with the same material.
Thanks very much for taking the time to work on a detailed website.
Ken
GTR215236
I'm waiting on the kit to open my wheel arch vents. How hard do you think it would be to do this on a completed car?
I've used your idea for insulating the side pods with mylar covered fiberglass also. I don't have A/C and have plenty of room to route the heater hoses in the channel below the luggage bin. Also insulated the cabin walls with the same material.
Thanks very much for taking the time to work on a detailed website.
Ken
GTR215236
Ken - I ran a bead of sikaflex at the junction between the scoop and the vent both inside the pod and from outside too. When you file/fill the two you effectively seal it up anyway.
To fit the vents with the sidepod in place wouldn't be that much harder, just more fiddly as you don't have the space to work in with that bloody great brake caliper in the way
You won't be able to seal it up from the 'inside' either.
To fit the vents with the sidepod in place wouldn't be that much harder, just more fiddly as you don't have the space to work in with that bloody great brake caliper in the way
You won't be able to seal it up from the 'inside' either.
K Wright
I don't have A/C and have plenty of room to route the heater hoses in the channel below the luggage bin.
GTR without AC, brave man. Guarantee you will fitt it to the next car you build. Even Can-Am owners have said to me that they should have fitted AC.
>> Edited by GTRCLIVE on Saturday 14th December 12:03
>> Edited by GTRCLIVE on Saturday 14th December 12:05
I don't have A/C and have plenty of room to route the heater hoses in the channel below the luggage bin.
GTR without AC, brave man. Guarantee you will fitt it to the next car you build. Even Can-Am owners have said to me that they should have fitted AC.
>> Edited by GTRCLIVE on Saturday 14th December 12:03
>> Edited by GTRCLIVE on Saturday 14th December 12:05
GTRCLIVE said: K Wright
I don't have A/C and have plenty of room to route the heater hoses in the channel below the luggage bin.
GTR without AC, brave man. Guarantee you will fitt it to the next car you build. Even Can-Am owners have said to me that they should have fitted AC.
>> Edited by GTRCLIVE on Saturday 14th December 12:03
>> Edited by GTRCLIVE on Saturday 14th December 12:05
We have have also decided to not have AC...
Alan 2 said: IMHO, anyone building a GTR as a road car without fitting aircon is making a big mistake. Cockpit ventilation (or lack of it) is the car's weakest point.
I have had cars that I have hade the heat on the warmest in the hotest summer,it will go but it will be hot....but no Ac for me...only a bunch of more trubles
( GT40 replica has similar heat problems ) No brainer realy, AC or no Wife.
I think the issue of aircon also has a lot to do with where you live. Living in the southern part of the U.S. (Texas), I find it unbearable to drive without aircon in my sports. At night during the summer, it is very muggy and warm, and the windscreen and sidescreens fog up terribly. You quickly become drenched with sweat as the engine and coolant pipe heat cook the cockpit. I can't stay in my car for more than 15 minutes at night in 85 deg. F weather. Forget those wimpy little sidescreen vents. Aircon can be fit after the bodywork is fixed, but its a real pain. The underdash evaporator/blower must be dissassembled to install. Best to fit it before final fixing of the bodywork. It was the best investment I've made for my car. A little pricey though. All the power in the world is useless if you can't stay in the car for more than 10 minutes. Unless you just take your car to the strip for 1/4 mile sprints. Sure the added belt and additional weight robs some power, but with 450+hp its not that big of a deal. It still spanks most everything out there.
Cheers!
-Mack
Cheers!
-Mack
My windows are removable. I really don't want A/C, I don't have it on the other cars that I've got. In addition to removable windows I've got fresh air ducted in the car directly to the inlets on the heater fan. In addition I've routed the heater pipes outside the storage bins and both are wrapped in the best insulation that I can find. My firewall will be similarly insulated. Also planning to have two heater control valves to prevent any hot water flow into the heater core.
Anyway this is what I'm planning. I'll measure the temp in the car when finished, hopefully soon!
Ken
Anyway this is what I'm planning. I'll measure the temp in the car when finished, hopefully soon!
Ken
Ken
You really have taken some trouble over this. Removable windows are an interesting idea. How have you achieved this and are they easily refitted/closed?
The two water control valves are a good one. Mine lets by so there is always a small amount of hot water in the heater coils.
The flow and return pipes in the cills are a major source of cockpit heat. Originally l had failed to insulate these so tried closed cell domestic insulation but this melted on the flow side.
Instead l used 2 layers of self adhesive reflective mat, using my rubber arms to apply it to the pipes way down in the cills.
Where did you take in your fresh air to the heater matrix? l fitted a duct pipe to the brake air inlet and routed it through to foot level which is quite effective.
At the end of the day though l have to agree with Clive, no A/C, no wife.
Finally, l have a temperature guage in the car and the highest l have recorded is 70 centigrade. At least if l get fed up with the car l know l can use it as a greenhouse.
I used two circular flanges (aircraft spuce, USA) made to attach brake duct hose to sheet metal and fixed the flat portion of the flange to each side of the heater blower. Thereafter routed brake duct hose from the front of the car (likely the same area that you have sourced for fresh air) through the fiberglass panel over the battery. The idea is to provide fresh air to the heater blower and eliminate any hot water from flowing through it when I don't want it. With this setup I hope to get fresh air circulated while stopped.
Had I bought a Canam I would have left it parked with no top during stops. I took the same approach when thinking about how to make the windows removable, that is during short stops I'll leave the windows out. As a result my windows are not a pop in and out arrangement. I have fixed them with nylon screws as was standard on the Sport. It will take some time to remove them but I think it will be worth while. The screws anchor in a threaded insert that is permanently glued to the inner flange in the door. I've used 3/8 wide by 1/16 thick single sided self adhesive closed cell foam to seal the windows and the front light clusters. It is definately water proof in the shop, I'll let you know it there are any leaks at speed.
Ken
Had I bought a Canam I would have left it parked with no top during stops. I took the same approach when thinking about how to make the windows removable, that is during short stops I'll leave the windows out. As a result my windows are not a pop in and out arrangement. I have fixed them with nylon screws as was standard on the Sport. It will take some time to remove them but I think it will be worth while. The screws anchor in a threaded insert that is permanently glued to the inner flange in the door. I've used 3/8 wide by 1/16 thick single sided self adhesive closed cell foam to seal the windows and the front light clusters. It is definately water proof in the shop, I'll let you know it there are any leaks at speed.
Ken
Back in July, I took my Sports to the "Supercar Day" held at the Heritage Motor Museum, near Warwick. There were about 6 or 7 Ultimas there and weatherwise it was a lovely day, temperature in the mid 20's and very sunny. I have a sensor in my car which measures the cockpit temperature and with the car being parked in the sun, this was showing 60 C+, (the sensor won't read beyond 60). I expect that most other cars there, closed up as mine was, were just as hot inside but when I set off to drive home, it was clear that the factory aircon system simply couldn't cope and it was an uncomfortable ride home. Having had my car on the road now for more than 3 years, there have been many instances like this which leads me to the point of this posting. Has anyone fitted an uprated aircon system (compared with the factory spec) which really works in conditions of high ambient temperature? I am putting a GTR together at the moment and would much appreciate some guidance on this subject.
Interesting question. I've got the factory aircon fitted into my sports, and the biggest hurdle to uprating the system is the small evaporator/blower under the dash (IMO). There's just not much room to mount a serious evaporator in there. I wonder what the possibility of dual evaporators is? There's got to be a creative solution. I'll check around. You might also double check to be sure enough refrigerant is in the system and that you don't have any leaks. Do you have a set of aircon gauges? Was the system evacuated before being filled? All moisture in the system must be evacuated. You've probably had all of this done though. The compressor size, condensor size, and drier size all look adequate. I don't think adding a larger compressor will do the trick. I think the evaporator is the bottle neck, but I'll check around with a few specialists.
Cheers!
-Mack
Cheers!
-Mack
Alan 2 said: ...Has anyone fitted an uprated aircon system (compared with the factory spec) which really works in conditions of high ambient temperature? I am putting a GTR together at the moment and would much appreciate some guidance on this subject.
As you know, I['ve gone for a 'prevention better than cure' approach. My luggage pods, cockpit sides and heater pipes are all lagged as will be the engine bulkhead once it's in place (this week I hope). I do have aircon - even in the UK - as excessive heatwash can spoil an enjoyable drive.
Having spent 4 hours in traffic on the M25 a couple of years back on the way to Le Mans, I know how important this can be!!!
Insulate against the problem (the extra weight is nothing compared to the driving comfort) and get aircon if you EVER experience a hot day
PS. Next update tomorrow!
Having spent 4 hours in traffic on the M25 a couple of years back on the way to Le Mans, I know how important this can be!!!
Insulate against the problem (the extra weight is nothing compared to the driving comfort) and get aircon if you EVER experience a hot day
PS. Next update tomorrow!
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