rads out, how to do tunnel mod
rads out, how to do tunnel mod
Author
Discussion

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
rads finally out after splitting, what a nightmare that was to get out. while it out i want to do the tunnel mod, how do you get the plate off. ive got 4 screws off but there is 2 more that seem to be behinf the brackets that hold steering rack on, do i need to undo these brackets also or is there a simpler way. i will be repalcing some of the hoses and also some aero mods curtesy of tuxman while its in pieces also repaint the chasis and reseal the front floor. is there anything else i should do.

a few pics of the massacre that i have caused







Edited by jdearden on Saturday 4th September 11:16

R0162

2,435 posts

193 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
You have to remove the steering rack bolts to get access to the screws holding the tunnel blanking plate, even when the screws are out there can be a fair bit of wangling trying to get the plate out, this is why many choose to cut the holes insitu.


TuxMan

9,011 posts

267 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
looks about right mate ,i undid the brackets at the bulkhead end and turned them out the way , you need to open up your front scoops to allow more air in , i fitted 2 pipes from the front onto the alloy plate ,you will need to blank off the 2 inlets on the heater box .

Rad and plates are on the van ready to be delivered on monday !!!


jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
just started opening up the vents. givin chasis a lil paint to protect it from rust and corrosion and started painting the panels. ive had enough for one day. cheers for sorting rad and plates. how do the plates attache to the car

Edited by jdearden on Saturday 4th September 16:34

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
simon your red hose did you run it full lenght of car or did you use a connector so the bit showing was red and not black.

TuxMan

9,011 posts

267 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
used a connector so it matched but the end was all chewed up so it made sense to replace it .
Plates bolt and screw through chasis rails if you look underneath you can see the edge of the front floor plate they but up to them , have supplied all the fixings so you should be ok ,holding them up in place is the hardest bit , also sent new dome head stainless bolts for the splitter ,mine rubbed at the ends so i had to chage the outer 3 !!

R0162

2,435 posts

193 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
I am liking those air scoops and orange ducting Tuxman, where did you source the ducting and how did the modify the front air scoops?

TuxMan

9,011 posts

267 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
Pipe came from a uk company SFS Speak to Lee , just cut out the front flat plate on the scoop used a 1mm cutting disc in a disc cutter .

Jim O.

486 posts

226 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
I was able to slide a knife blade between the scoop and the plate - if you look closely at the edge, you can see where the two pieces are glued together. Easy to do, and if you want, you can always glue the plate back in place.

Looking at the first pics in this thread - I have to admit, supporting the car on stands at the very front of the clam/radiator support kind of worries me. That's where all the tubing is thinner. I usually use the bar where the front of the suspension arms are attached - much beefier. But, I guess the other position works, and the front isn't too heavy...

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
the picture is decieving as they are actualy on the cross section of the frame. i new when i saw how the pic came out some1 would comment. also your right it pretty light at the front especially now, lol

R0162

2,435 posts

193 months

Saturday 4th September 2010
quotequote all
When the front is stripped down and you have stands under the jacking points at the back of the car, the car is virtually balanced over the rear stands, i had my car doing a seesaw on the back axle stands until i realised the jacking points were quite unsafe for balancing the cars weight when the front is stripped down, you can literally lift the front end using your finger, needless to say there is virtually no weight on the front stands when the back stands are under the recommended jacking points and i would always recommend moving the rear stands further back on the chassis, any point on the main chassis bars under the engine bay or behind the jacking point are adequate, but when you do this remember that you are transfering more load onto the front stands and in this case the ideal point for the stands is under the front jackin points or on the main chassis bar just infront of the cabin floor pan.
I think this is an important point for people to take into consideration, because when removing floor pans the stands need to be moved around and alternative support points are needed.
It is all too easy for the car to seesaw off the back stands and have a topple, i almost learned the hard way myself.
In Summary, rear recommended jacking points = not good.

david.mt

1,173 posts

212 months

Sunday 5th September 2010
quotequote all
Jim O. said:
I was able to slide a knife blade between the scoop and the plate - if you look closely at the edge, you can see where the two pieces are glued together. Easy to do, and if you want, you can always glue the plate back in place.

Looking at the first pics in this thread - I have to admit, supporting the car on stands at the very front of the clam/radiator support kind of worries me. That's where all the tubing is thinner. I usually use the bar where the front of the suspension arms are attached - much beefier. But, I guess the other position works, and the front isn't too heavy...
I managed to get a blade in between the 2 parts too but wasn't careful enough to remove the inner section intact but it did come out relatively easy and with a bit of sanding and black paint looked fine.



Also I am a bit of a perfectionist so insisted on removing the tunnel plate and fastening a couple of flanges for the cooling mod.



Not the easiest job to do but very satisfying once complete smile

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Sunday 5th September 2010
quotequote all
I think il cut some holes whilst it's still on car as I'm lazy. Should get it all back together next weekend as long as weather is good.

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Monday 6th September 2010
quotequote all
tuxman - what size is the ducting pipe as need some new stuff

TuxMan

9,011 posts

267 months

Monday 6th September 2010
quotequote all
Think it was 63mm ........ But I might be wrong !!:-)

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Thursday 16th September 2010
quotequote all
another pic .of progress. tunnel mod complete ready for rad to go back in along with tuxmans aero plates.


mgbond

6,749 posts

261 months

Thursday 16th September 2010
quotequote all
I know my car is slightly different under there but are those outside duct pipes not going to rub on the wheel at full loaded lock?

Martin

R0162

2,435 posts

193 months

Thursday 16th September 2010
quotequote all
Looks like a good job, i also see you have gone for the one windscreen wiper blade, i did the same but i put on a 28" blade, covers the screen quite well, the blade was also asymetric which meant it sticks out more at top than bottom.

GC1

908 posts

209 months

Thursday 16th September 2010
quotequote all
That looks like a good job,where did the pipes come from ? size and price ?

jdearden

Original Poster:

1,746 posts

206 months

Thursday 16th September 2010
quotequote all
bondy i havnt tiewrapped them down yet incase have to move them whilst fitting the rad back in. but they do move out the way of the wheels.

urb i prefere the one windscreen wiper now but was not by choice the other went flying over the top of the car on m25 one day. does a 28" not go over the windscreen on drivers side and rub on the pillar