HaydnH Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 a garage (for the sake of argument) I'm sure Darren and Adrian saw that and thought "you cheeky bugger" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 a garage (for the sake of argument) I'm sure Darren and Adrian saw that and thought "you cheeky bugger" What I meant was, they're not a professional garage who only work on cars, but the number of FI installs they've done for Z's they might as well be a garage. Not meaning anything bitchy or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 a garage (for the sake of argument) I'm sure Darren and Adrian saw that and thought "you cheeky bugger" What I meant was, they're not a professional garage who only work on cars, but the number of FI installs they've done for Z's they might as well be a garage. Not meaning anything bitchy or anything Well I'm going to take it completely the wrong way That's only because you are doing and awesome engine swap as well though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 2016 update time.............. come on, its a tractor engine, how hard could it be? I remember a drift guy doing it in his shed with his missus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I remember a drift guy doing it in his shed with his missus Oooh Matron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted August 8, 2016 Author Share Posted August 8, 2016 It's been a while to say the least. From around May of last year up until Feb of this year tools were downed, which was related to family matters and the construction of Zed Shed 2. There’s no rush with this project, and rightly so as it’s by far one hell of a project. The initial plan was for a couple of 3rd party companies to assist with the build, that being headers, down-pipes, fluids and electrics etc. A number of disappointments later, work has pretty much been done by Chris, with the assistance of Bobster when he feels in a good mood to face my complications! We took stock of how much had been done, and where we needed to be. The plan is to get the car in a position to ship off for ECU and Loom Installation (Emerald in Norfolk). The task list was/is as follows: Evaluation of down-pipes, potential heat issues, line routing for fuel return system Installation of complete fuel return system Install Clutch Master Cylinder and lines with remote bleed system Install Oil Filter Relocation System Measure and fit coolant pipes Rebuild Down-pipes *Start again (you will see why during the update) Some taster pics We started with combatting potential heat issues based on Version 1 of the down pipes. Chris felt the Power Steering pipes are far too close to the down pipes, and set to work in extending the pipes away from the down-pipes. Although, Chris being Chris, and the fact *Start again is clearly listed in the “task listâ€, he set about making 4 new versions of the down pipes until totally satisfied. New downpipes (manufacture and install) Drivers Side Passenger Side Chris felt the Motordyne TDX2 sat too low in the middle and set about creating a new support. Y Pipe “modification†Now in position with rubber exhaust support and additional fixing point on the transmission bracket. This is looking to the rear of the car. We then move onto the fuel return system. This entailed ripping out the oem fuel lines and replacing with the upgraded fuel return. Out with the old! Yes that is a cache of nuts stored by some squirrel(s), although never claimed by said squirrel(s). Although, fuel bucket replaced with uprated Walbro once the nuts had been removed!! New lines installed. We set to work and install custom hoses including extensions to marry up the input and output of the coolant system with the Mishimoto radiator. Continued >>>>>> 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted August 8, 2016 Author Share Posted August 8, 2016 We then head onto the Oil Filter relocation. This is a pretty simple process, or so you would think. The line fitment location isn’t the easiest to deal with, especially when they’re so close together. Not only do we fabricate parts, we fabricate tools, herewith below the SIKKY Spanner!! Anyway, lines are installed. Below is the custom fabricated bracket to mount on the chasis within the engine bay and within easy reach for maintenance. With oil filter fitted to the car. Notice at this point, the lines are heading upward, with a slight tension as they're heading into the bay. We shall re-visit this section with the usual *Start again procedure. Next step is to sort out the clutch. This resulted in approaching the *Start again topic on quite a few occasions, and still not complete – we shall call it work in progress. For this to work, we need to install a Wilwood 0.75 master cylinder. So we utilise the supplied Wilwood unit from Sikky. This goes swimmingly well, although I’m afraid everything else is a complete and utter ball ache. We found that when the engine was first installed, we had accidently damaged the remote bleed line on the side of the gearbox. A visit to “Thread and Pipe†to have another one made. Although this means engine out! (*start again) New remote line installed and the engine is back in. The process of bleeding the clutch commences! At the point clutch resistance was obtained after bleeding the system, a yell from beneath the car was heard “FECK!†implying there’s a problem. Clutch fluid is spewing out onto the floor. It turns out the clutch slave cylinder is knackered! Sorry poor pic time. What you see is a black rubber seal blown out of the slave (centre of pic). So, Chris makes some enquiries, which result in some negative feedback. The email goes like this “Wasso! The part number to your slave cylinder relates to a Cadillac CTS-V†The next few emails reiterate my denial and then horror to find out via the gearbox VIN number that I do in fact have a Cadillac CTS-V gearbox. This wasn't part of the original sale some 2 years ago. We have no way of going back to them now. Okay this is not a big drama, the TR6060 is the preferred transmission. It's just from a different vehicle. Question is; why has the slave blown? It’s blown potentially for two reasons. It’s either the wrong slave, because of the miss-match in gearbox and engine, or it’s just blown through age? We need to source a replacement, in which I now have a great source for ancillary/service parts. We also find out the Wilwood provided by Sikky is likely over pressuring the system and we therefore order a replacement 0.75 from Demon Tweaks. In the meantime whilst we are waiting on delivery Chris deals with tidying the Fuel lines and installation of fuel pressure reg in the engine bay whilst the engine is on the deck! Apologies, Chris still hasn’t sat his “how to take a picture†exam, hence his skillset is clearly mechanical based rather than photography. He then decides he's not happy with the oil filter relocation lines. Previously heading north and bending round with tension, back down to "Thread and Pipe" to get some custom ends fabricated. Looking real nice now! (The benefit of *Start again means we perfect the process) We are now at last weekend within our timeline. We have taken delivery of the replacement clutch slave cylinder, and master cylinder in she goes. Connect back the gearbox and engine, lift the engine back into place with the aid of Mr Bobster. She's looking sweet. The clutch bleeding commences once more. We lift the car, Chris is loading fluids, releasing pressure as we pump the clutch. Here we go again!!!!!!!!!! FECK!!!!! We once more have clutch fluid spewed across the floor as it drips and continues to drip from the gearbox!!! This is now a problem. We make further investigations via Mr Bizz and the recommendations come in for a LS7 clutch slave. Clearly the clutch slave that we had originally and replaced was not fit for purpose with the LS3. It would appear there's a distance issue from the slave to the clutch, whereby pumping the clutch pedal just fills the slave with fluid and subsequently explodes. GREAT! That's it WE QUIT!! Bob is in the neighbourhood and sniffs out some bargains, starts selecting parts as we decide this is becoming such a difficult project. So we tally up the parts including a rolling shell and head out for a curry and a few drinks. After a decent sleep but a fuzzy head in the morning we (me and Chris) sit next to the car pondering if this is the right decision! We shouldn't be quitting on such a small issue, yes it's complicated, yes we have a lack of GM parts available at our disposal, we lack high level knowledge of these engines..... But the show MUST go on LS7 Clutch slave is on order, additionally other parts for the next stages. Oh and an apology to Bob to disappoint him regarding those parts which are no longer available. Don't worry Bob the project isn't finished yet, there still maybe another opportunity yet! We have therefore finished the exhaust system, all that's needed is some heat wrap. We will also heat wrap any item which is likely to be exposed to high temps to protect from melting or causing a fire. The down-pipes will go through a further stage later down the line to be re-built by an external company that specialises in headers. Fuel return is done, oil relocation, coolant is complete. That leaves us the clutch and power steering installation. We are not out the woods just yet, there's still a few more weekends to go before we are ready to ship her out for electrics, ECU mapping and custom dash installation. The car will be returned after the visit to Emerald in a state whereby she's running. Not moving, but running, as we have a large number of other items to start such as differential, installation of big brake kit, plus some other bits and pieces. So this is where we are at...... it's been a monumental challenge, as you will have seen "Start again" appears a number of times. Frustrating, but we want to get it right. A big thanks so far to Chris and Kim for not just their facilities to work on the car, but the option to stay over as well. It's been great so far, and such a learning curve. Bob, cheers also for your help and vulture skills perfectly timed when a man is down and out (nearly!). Buzz man, for being linked into our daily drivel of confused and stressful communications. Updates to follow as they happen..... thanks for reading. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Glad to hear its still going 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Great reading some of the progress happening again on the Zed Wasso. Sounds like it's going to be a hard slog getting it all sorted but fingers crossed it's all worth it in the end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Sounds like a nice relaxing project....... Kudos to the zed shedders for sure! Getting somewhere though Ian, please don't finish the project and sell like everyone else does on here 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Yippee, great to see updates on this build 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy james Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Yet more evidence of the steely determination of the Zed Shed crew in the face of adversity. Keep going Ian!! 👠4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 No more please I beg you no more, I can't take any more failures or that isn't going to work no more I say. on the other hand if we try solving that problem in a different way it might just work???? Tell ya what lets START AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still going for now just waiting for the next few parts to arrive so we can have another bash See you down here again soon mate 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Wow! What an update! Fair play to you all and it definitely will be worth it when its done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Well done chaps. Your stoicism is legendary 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 It's great to see progress again, and ultimately, this is what carlife is all about. being with likeminded people that tinker on a vehicle, regardless what it is. Hope this all ends up being done sometime, but have a great time along the way. #startagain 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 . Fair play lads, sounds like a mare. I've got some new wheels and a bumper if you want them Wasso ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilscorp Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Sounds like too much hassle, should have done the same as me and buy a v8 in a separate car and keep the VQ in the Z But honestly, very well done guys a good build you have here and tackling all the issues is part of the fun when you look back on the finished project. P.S. you need these, so might have to do the exhaust again. (Just noticed the sound is pants on my phone, need to get the gopro later.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 Thanks for the supporting comments guys, it's a super tough project as the plan is always start again. But what we gain from start again is an improvement to the original spec, or we can re-visit elements later down the line to tidy bits up. Yes it's costly, but to be brutally honest, it's the passion to do something like this which is totally off the cuff. It's paying off as we progress, and to be honest I don't regret in any way, no mater what the news, to continue unless the greatest monumental brick wall appears. Although, we have some good contacts, a Facebook page dedicated to Zed and G LS swaps of every nature. Trust me some of the builds I've seen are totally off the wall 1,000bhp builds etc. I won't be such a stranger to this thread as we move forward, especially as we are so very close to shipping her out for electrics. . Fair play lads, sounds like a mare. I've got some new wheels and a bumper if you want them Wasso ? As per my message, just don't store them at the back of your warehouse! Sounds like too much hassle, should have done the same as me and buy a v8 in a separate car and keep the VQ in the Z But honestly, very well done guys a good build you have here and tackling all the issues is part of the fun when you look back on the finished project. P.S. you need these, so might have to do the exhaust again. (Just noticed the sound is pants on my phone, need to get the gopro later.) It's not hassle, just a learning curve. A challenge, a story, a journey which identifies each every part of this build, so that when something goes wrong, we know exactly where to look. Secondly, there are no other V8's with a wrapper that take my fancy, apart from TVR and the Ultima GTR. Although I know firmly what my next project will be, and it won't involve building a vehicle but thrashing one round a track. I've decided after going out in Chris' Radical and equally that of Jetpilot's VX220, that track days are a blast. Even more so when you're in a Radical, bloody thing is amazing, without any shadow of doubt, NEXT LEVEL! Keep you posted folks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 A day off from the build Can't be all work and no play 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy james Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 A day off from the build Can't be all work and no play Looks like you and the Doris were having fun mate. It's Sunny so I'm guessing Laguna Seca? Lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Well, all updates are now complete for stage 1. Clutch slave delivered this week and fitted before I had even arrived on Friday (cheers Chris and Bob). Clutch is working good now rather than blowing slave cylinders. All pipes wrapped, fuel lines and anything that needed protection. Exhaust is all on, engine and gear box fluids filled. Fuel return all plumbed, oil relocation all done. Car put back together and is now ready for stage 2! ELECTRICS!!!! Stage 3 will be dependant on stage 2 but ultimately final fix and cosmetics. So... I shall leave this little picture here as Chris opens up his champagne and chocolate to celebrate no more work on the car for a while. Thanks to Chris, Kim and kids for your hospitality, see you soon to collect Suzi for her journey to Norfolk. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mctwistuk Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Wowww Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Awesome sauce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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