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So after some measuring and some more measuring last week and a few text messages back and forth with Ron, I figured out what the problem was with the K&N filters. At some stage the opening had slightly shrunk a few mm. A few moments with a hairdryer after leaving them outside in the sun soon had them flexible enough to slip over the elbows.
Next problem, the driver's side elbow dropped a bit as there was now nothing to support it, while the passenger side one has the clip that goes around the dipstick tube for the transmission.
I had a bit of a think in the days leading up to the weekend and decided that I needed a simple bracket. Now in simple, I mean something that will do the job, but could easily be made or done better by someone who knows what they are doing, so if anyone out there wants to copy my idea or make a better mousetrap, go for it - just tell me how to get one!
Firstly, I pulled the air filter canister/muffler/housing out.
Then I wrapped the opening of the carbs with plumbers tape. I did this to make the join between the carb and the elbow a bit tighter.
Now on the passenger side, with a Borg Warner 65, there's the dipstick tube and a little bracket that holds the tube in place. This bracket screws/mounts to the elbow. On my car originally, it was held in place with a coarse threaded screw that basically looked like a little self tapping screw. It didn't screw all the way in as I think it was the wrong pitch/thread/size etc. No matter, I rummaged around through a few coffee jars of nuts and bolts etc and found this little screw.
and popped it in with a small washer.
Perfect. The bracket stops the elbow and filter from slowly drooping down and the dipstick doesn't rattle around in the engine bay. Easy, onto the next elbow
The driver's side elbow and filter have nothing to attach to. BUT the mounting point is there on the back of the elbow, complete with tapped thread. Hmmm.
What about if I make a bracket that goes from the inlet manifold to the elbow. That way, when the engine rocks or moves, the elbow moves in sync.
So I need to go from here, down to the inlet manifold
In the back of my mind, I already new what I would make the body of the bracket out of - part of an Ikea desk i bought years ago! I had to grab some Mazda parts that I had in storage a few days earlier and I grabbed two chromed flat pieces of metal as well that I had kept for a rainy day.
I also had some little brackets and bits that I bought as part of a useless "one size fits all" weber linkage kit. A bit of cutting and I had this little bracket to go onto the elbow
I wish I had of taken some photos of shaping the bracket, but it was very easy. Measure with my eye, pop the metal into a wooden table horse, bend gently with my fingers while keeping the metal covered in paper so I didn't mark it, check it on the car, bend slightly more etc.
basically I bent my metal bracket in a slight horizontal S shape. A friend of mine pointed out that I could strengthen it by putting ridges in it (ie much like the pattern you would see on a boot floor or on a radiator support panel of a new car), I might do that in the future. I used a bracket in the end because
a) I had all the bits already
b) I like making stuff
c) I didn't have to buy anything and my budget is a bit tight at the moment.
d) It was a pretty unobtrusive method and wasn't too tricky.
Result:
I used the same little screw and washer on both elbows, the one on the driver's side is a tiny bit loose, as though it won't screw all the way in, but it's past finger tight so that's fine with me.
Onto the next job.
I gave the alternator cover a good wire brushing and a lick of primer:
And bolted the alternator back in after I'd given the cover a few coats of black rocker cover "crackle" paint. I'm also pretty sure that the nut and washer that I was so annoyed at loosing aren't the original ones as the bolts all look mismatched. Nevermind...
Final result:
Very happy with how it turned out.
To do list:
- find noise and fix - wheel bearings/uni joints/mischevious gobblins stealing underpants with underpants gnomes
- tune the SU's
- fix linkage rod with grommets
- power steering filter change
- fit either polyurethane or rubber bushes to the tie rod/anti rock bar in the engine bay
- fix speedo/odometer
- keep cleaning/check with a detailer about the paint as it is foggy in a few spots
- follow up rostyle lead
- work out the HVAC controls!
- look into exhaust + exhaust tips
- dizzy options - i think there is horsepower hidden away in there.
- purchase and fit a small rocker cover K&N filter to go at the back of the engine. I took the hose off the engine air filter that goes from the air filter housing to the filter and put a longer one on that loops back and down towards the ground, but it's a bit messy looking. A little filter would tidy things up a bit.
slooooooowly getting there.
I also used some Mother's products to clean the interior door trims. Wow. All of the dirt and grime that came from people using the arm rest to close the door literally wiped away. Very pleased.
Also, my question for the day, what on earth is this tube/rubbery thing?
I touched it and it literally started to crumble. It's on the passenger side near the big venty thing on the firewall.
