CR3171 Finally going back together!

[Aussie Mike]

Installed the aluminum mesh today and got most of the plumbing sorted.

Really happy with how the mesh turned out.



Placed a board across the top of the chassis to seal it up as if the body was installed. Checked the airflow with the fan running and it seems to be good. plenty of air being drawn through the cooler.



Cheers

[gjkrv8]

Well done Mike.

Will the pump/fan etc be thermo switch etc controlled or switch on dash?

cheers Gregg

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by gjkrv8

Well done Mike.

Will the pump/fan etc be thermo switch etc controlled or switch on dash?

cheers Gregg

Still thinking about that Greg. Davies Craig do a programmable controller for their electric water pumps that will control both the pump and the fan. Not sure if it'll be suitable for this setup so am going to try to talk to their tech department.

It may be easiest just to put a couple of switches on the dash.

Cheers

[gjkrv8]

Yes I think switches are cooler. Pardon the pun :-)

[Aussie Mike]

Bolted it all back together after blasting and repainting the tail shaft loop. Swapped the hose fittings for black ones to match the rest of the plumbing.

I was concerned with the braided hoses chafing against the chassis paint and each other so I wrapped them in spira-wrap. This should give them a little extra protection from abrasion too.

One more job to mark off the white board. It's been a fun project that's required some thought.





Cheers

[SVO 050]

Be a shame to cover up all the neat engineering with a body, all this will make the difference between a professionally finished ride and one that has been thrown together and is bound to have failures.
Never ceases to amaze me how so called pro shops only do what they have to and get the job out the door, Mike's workmanship is better than a lot of big dollar vehicles I have seen at shows over the years.
My cobra was a classic example, previous owner paid out ten of thousands of dollars for sub standard workmanship , especially the finishing details with mounting wiring, ignition leads, fuel reg and rails, cheap fuel hoses that were down right dangerous and just slack workmanship.
I have spent months going from one end of the car to the other tidying up and re-working to make it reliable and well engineered, at least I know whats underneath me when I leave the shed.
Congrats Mike

[Aussie Mike]

I find all the detail work fun. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle. I guess I'll be sad when it's all done but I'll be enjoying driving it and I'm sure I'll find things to tinker with.

I've got another project to tackle when the Cobra is finished and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it.

I'm sure you have been having a blast sorting out your own car SVO. All that work makes it truly your own.

Cheers

[SVO 050]

Mike ,
I enjoy the challenge of sound engineering, takes patience and time but , as you say, very rewarding.
The Cobra is now at a stage that I am confident to drive it anywhere , still waiting for the new wheels, but mechanically and engineering wise it's all good .
I usually build my own projects but this one was great value for money and had SA rego, which is becoming harder to achieve without compromising the build to satisfy legal BS.
Cheers
SVO

[Aussie Mike]

Here's the next project. I was working on this mess on the weekend.



Stripped the engine loom out of the body and pulled all the wrapping off it. I've change the location of a few things so need to lay the loom out a bit differently. It's also an opportunity the tidy things up and terminate everything nicely.

After hearing Andrews difficulties with melted wires in the loom I reckon I'll add some thermal protection in places where it's vulnerable.

Cheers

[Tenrocca]

Mike - Can I recommend Techflex braided wrap. It is brilliant - (your probably already onto it)

Comes in various colours and styles that you need to slide over and a style with a split side. They also do a thermal one for up to 650degC for those hot areas.

Cheers

[Aussie Mike]

Thanks for the heads up Andrew, I just started looking at heat proof wrappings. I'll check Techflex out.

One thing I have been using is this really nice cloth tape to wrap the loom. It's much more heat, abrasion and oil resistant than the regular insulation tape. The loom stays flexible and it has a much nicer tactile feels. I've bought a couple of different ones to try but this is the best so far. It's a bit pricey at about $10 a roll plus postage but worth it.

tesa_51036 Automotive tape

Found it on eBay
Tesa 51036 19mm X 25M High Temp Adhesive Cloth Tape Cable Looms Wiring Harness | eBay

Cheers

[SVO 050]

Mike,
M&M electrical sell a thermal sleeve that looks a bit like heat shrink but is braided, comes in a number of colours. I have used it around starter wiring , thermo fans and any area where high temp and abrasion may occur, Just seal the ends with heat shrink sleeve or self vulcanising tape.

Cheers
SVO

[Tenrocca]

Thanks for the heads up on the tape Mike - Just ordered some.

The high temp Techflex Ive got in this week is insultherm:

Techflex Australia Braided Sleeving Products - Insultherm Resin Saturated Fiberglass Sleeving | techflex.com.au Expandable Braided Cable Wire Harness Hose Sleeving and Accessories

It expands enough for install over smaller connectors.

Looks great and a lot neater than the silver sleeves Ive seen.

[leroy17]

I have ordered and received two rolls of tape as well, I see an array of connectors, sleeves, and everything in between.

Thanks for the heads up as well Mike.

[Aussie Mike]

As part of my re-wiring project I've sourced some really nice connectors to tidy the whole thing up. They are made by Deutsch and are OEM on some vehicles. They are dust proof and waterproof and have silicone seals inside them.

I bought a kit of the DTM series. They are rated to 7.5 Amps per pin
Deutsch DTM Series Connectors
I also bought a kit of the DT series with pins rated to 13 Amps.
Deutsch DT Series Connectors

I'm quite impressed with them. They are easy to terminate and you can remove the pins if you need to change the layout or modify anything.

Here's a video on how to terminate them. Pretty straightforward and a really neat finish.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIR9-ZdG958[/ame]

Cheers

[Aussie Mike]

The wiring loom is starting to take shape. A lot of messing around with routing wires to where I want them. Tedious work but actually quite satisfying.

At this stage I've tried to hide as much of the wiring as possible in the gap under the manifold. It was one of the reasons for painting the valley plate black.







It should all be pretty stealthy when it's done.

Much of the loom is wrapped with the cloth tape I mentioned previously. Where it runs in areas exposed to high heat like under the manifold or near the exhaust it'll get an extra wrapping of techflex braid or something similar.

Here's the wiring down to the starter, coils and O2 sensor.



Where it runs across the back of the cylinder heads it's secured in place. I machined up some standoffs from 10mm stainless bolts that thread into the accessory holes in the heads. Rubber lined P-clamps then bolt to these with 6mm bolts and hold the loom securely away from the head.



What's left to do is cut and shorten the rest of the loom where it connects to the ECU. That will mean splicing the loom back together with solder joints and heat shrink.



Cheers

[LoBelly]

Fantastic Work Mike

I'm getting quite an education and some great tips and ideas. Thanks for sharing all this detail.

LoBelly

[LoBelly]

dooble oop

[Tenrocca]

I'm not sure if it's said enough mike, but I love the work you put into your car but then taking the time to document so thoroughly. I don't think there is a person on this site that hasn't learnt a thing or two from reading your posts.

Cheers

[stephen low]

+3 for Teacher Mike too.

Did exactly the same thing with the P clamps for my O2 sensor cables too.