Brando's Newbie 818R Build Thread

[Brando]

I'm trying to mount the front panel. Page 360 (rev G) of the directions make it seem like they have the bottom front edge all the way up against the very front rail. I notched out for the radiator rail at least 2" deep. It still wont make contact on the front. How are you getting that front panel to lay against the bottom of the front rail? I am having trouble finding a post that addresses this




Side note:
My office today. 818 motivation and baby pictures (and an actual baby on Fridays). What more do you need in a workspace!

[FFRSpec72]

http://www.hrpworld.com/store/defaul...st-series.html

This is the same mirror that we use on the challenge car, there is a convex and a non-convex version, I would suggest the convex for racing. Also I used flush rivnuts to install in my challenge car and they hold up great and expect to do same with the 818.

Mirror.jpg

[FFRSpec72]

What pads are you running? Bedding pads isn't such a big deal for street pads, 50 miles of normal street driving will do it fine (don't get on them hard until then). Race pads are another story. You need to bed these or they will not perform up to their potential.

I use Carbotech XP10 and XP12 on my challenge car and while I don't do a lot of street driving they seem just fine when I do, they also bite very well on first lap out for the day on teh track, I really don't notice any warm up. Also the Carbotech can be had pre-bedded and thus I don't have anything to worry about.

[RM1SepEx]

I can't get mine to meet the lower radiator frame either. According to Erik's directions you should loosen the bolts holding that together and pull/adjust to get the frame where you need it. I'm guessing that we may need to make some sort of bracket...

[Brando]

I don't understand that one. All the bolts holding that together have no slop for adjusting. I just picked up some angled aluminum...taking the bracket route

[Mechie3]

Mike everson has pics of the bracket he made.

[metalmaker12]

I used an 2x1.5 aluminum angle that attaches to the lower of the radiator bracket and than to the front cover. You will have to shape it to fit inside the cover to match its radius. I did the same as Mike Everson and it works out to be about an inch out and lower than the bracket allows. The lip of the cover is thin

[Doowop]

Hey Tony,

will it be tall enough to clear whatever id behind it?

This is the same mirror that we use on the challenge car, there is a convex and a non-convex version, I would suggest the convex for racing. Also I used flush rivnuts to install in my challenge car and they hold up great and expect to do same with the 818.

Mirror.jpg

[FFRSpec72]

Hey Tony,

will it be tall enough to clear whatever id behind it?

Yes as the measurements are about the same as the challenge car (roll cage dimensions, height, etc.), and this mirror works just fine if you get the convex

[Jaime]

I'm trying to mount the front panel. Page 360 (rev G) of the directions make it seem like they have the bottom front edge all the way up against the very front rail. I notched out for the radiator rail at least 2" deep. It still wont make contact on the front. How are you getting that front panel to lay against the bottom of the front rail? I am having trouble finding a post that addresses this

I was at the Factory Five showroom yesterday and checked this out on the red car. They used tubular spacers.

[Brando]

I went with the angled Aluminum and shaped it to contour to the inside lower front rail of the front panel. The bottom of the front panel its flush with the bottom radiator rail.


I ended up running 2 strips of thin black rubber weatherstripping, both ran the entire length of where to the door meets the side panel, each of the 1” from the inside/outside rail of the door. It gave the door good lateral support and a perfect reveal. I used 3 rivnuts and one L bracket to mount the door


I was playing with different depths and in the end took a little more material then needed. The door feels very solid







On the hood I used sheet metal screws that fit into the rivet hole. I fitted all the panels and for the most part was pleased with the initial fit. This picture is with minimal initial sanding. I still need to remove panels and fine tune. The front right hood is ¼” further from the nose then I would like. The very tip of the hood hooks down more than I would like. I will have to make a landing bracket to give it some resistance at the tip. I think I stored it on the nose side for too long.

[C.Plavan]

Looking good Brando. My only suggestion is to use big fender washers on the bolts/screws. The fiberglass can become brittle and break.

Did you trim the windshield surround?

[Brando]

I did trim it yes. I realize after trimming it that is needs to be shifted forward which ended up a butchered cutting job. I have so much cut out the front wheels could possibly kick things into the dashboard on the outside edges. As an alternative to a new surround I'm considering a piece of aluminum sheet covering the upper void between the firewall and roll bar. I have an email into FFR to check a replacement cost for the surround.

[C.Plavan]

I did trim it yes. I realize after trimming it that is needs to be shifted forward which ended up a butchered cutting job. I have so much cut out the front wheels could possibly kick things into the dashboard on the outside edges. As an alternative to a new surround I'm considering a piece of aluminum sheet covering the upper void between the firewall and roll bar. I have an email into FFR to check a replacement cost for the surround.

That is what I am scared of the most. I knew that was not going to be easy. Aluminum might be easier- then rivet shorty windshield on.

[longislandwrx]

take some pictures of the hack job so I know what not to do.... Six Star had to take a serious amount off theirs as well.

I wish a template was included to get you close.

[Brando]

I thought Six Star's looked pretty good. I didn't hack up the top of the surround because i wanted to keep it tilting forward to kick the windscreen as vertical as possible.
I will take a picture of the hack job, but be nice....it's pretty bad!

[Doowop]

Hey Brandon, what are you thinking for the inside of the doors?Are you gonna close them up somehow?

[Brando]

No I will be keeping them as is

[Brando]

I just confirmed my appointment with Highway Patrol at 2:00 P.M. Friday!
That's pushing the envelope. I was impressed this guy knew all about the 818, he was a fan of it. That might be my saving grace because i'm trying to get a VIN with the mini windshield on.

[metros]

The more pictures you can post documenting the adjustments you made the more it'll help the rest of us out.

That can't hurt to have an inspector that is following the 818 development.

[Brando]

I will post the surround pictures tonight. I didn't get to it last night.

I have been looking at the R review mirror pictures (center mirror). They have it mounted directly on the dash. I noticed on some of the earlier builds they had a fiberglass dashboard and I think the blue R does as well. My dash is a flimsy plastic. I think it will be too far forward and difficult to mount on the roll bar. Any suggestions?

[ehansen007]

I will post the surround pictures tonight. I didn't get to it last night.

I have been looking at the R review mirror pictures (center mirror). They have it mounted directly on the dash. I noticed on some of the earlier builds they had a fiberglass dashboard and I think the blue R does as well. My dash is a flimsy plastic. I think it will be too far forward and difficult to mount on the roll bar. Any suggestions?

5168-201.JPG

If it's light enough, just put some starboard (eurethane plastic) on the underside of the dash to spread the load and mount this.

[Brando]

Edit: Nevermind I found that mirror

What's up Eric. Do you have a model or link I am having trouble finding it.
I was considering This mirror

[longislandwrx]

http://www.hrpworld.com/store/defaul...st-series.html

convex version.

[Brando]

http://www.hrpworld.com/store/defaul...st-series.html

convex version.

Edit: I was mistaken. The link you supplied was for convex and mine was for the flat. I'm glad you pointed this out, I just made a change order for it just before it was shipped.
Thanks for the catch!


Yes, you supplied that link last week. I included it on my post above. "This Mirror" is a live link to the same convex mirror which I ended up ordering due to price, having 3 mounting points and being convex. I get it tomorrow. Thanks for the link bro

[Scargo]

Seems to me it would be good for this mirror discussion to be moved to the "R" forum. That's why we wanted the dedicated forum and I hate to see it somewhat obscured in a build thread. I'm very interested in the topic.

[FFRSpec72]

If it's light enough, just put some starboard (eurethane plastic) on the underside of the dash to spread the load and mount this.

I have the non-carbon fiber one (plastic) and its light as mine is just rivnuts to fiberglass, the shaft is aluminum and the mirror either plastic or carbon fiber

[Brando]

I am not worried about the weight as much as the wind resistance at speed.
So it doesn't flex towards you on those 1 mile straights?

Created thread in R discussion

[Doowop]

If you are going that fast you don't need to look behind anymore!!

[Brando]

I took my 818 to work yesterday. The Santa Ana winds had the outside temp over 100 degrees by the coastline. A perfect day to drive the 818 and yesterday the last 6 months of hard work climaxed on this short 5 mile drive. It was bitter sweet however as on my way home the compressor wheel shifted and started scraping the side of the turbo housing. I limped it home and sadly will have to trailer the 818 to my CHP appointment today.
I purchased my turbo from a private party but plan to have it rebuilt by a pro, probably turbocity.com

This car draws so much attention its borderline embarrassing. Its only a matter of time before this car causes an accident from a rubber necker. My only gripe (besides turbo) is the cars tracking. I am constantly finding myself correcting the driving line. I have not yet installed a bump steer kit and I am driving at the R height so I am hoping this rectifies the bobby nature of an attempted straight line. My clutch also makes a tapping noise as its engaging. A friend told me that would go away if I installed that spring that held clutch fork forward. I removed it ignorantly. Any thoughts on that?

Besides those 2 minor & fixable ticks I absolutely LOVE driving this car! I still haven't pushed it even close to its limit and will wait until i'm on a track to do so. I can't wait to see how far this car will let me take it. I am planning on ordering a spoiler from Eric (ehanson) and plan to get this car on a track June 14th. I will be running with a club I have never run with before, extreme speedtrack events at a track I know VERY well Streets of Willow. The only hitch is they will be running the track counter clockwise and I have always run it clockwise. So in the end I will be a virgin to the track after all.

So on the topic of windshields and cowlings:
Don't mount anything permanently because it wasn't until everything was mounted, fenders and hood included, that I was able to correctly readjust the cowling for a nice fit.

Here are the pictures after my first attempt before refining the cowling. I know the inside of the car is dirty! I get tired of cleaning fiberglass dust after a while. I now sleep in it, no joke.



Here is the right side. It was a good 2-3" from the end of the hood






Here is the left side. The windshield was flush with hood but protruded up 1" and looked very unfinished.





This is my butchered cowling. This picture doesn’t capture the cuts very well. I will shoot a close-up shot over the weekend of each side.





After adjusting the end of the windscreen is almost identical on both sides and the ends are not exposed with the hood on

[Brando]

I still have not riveted the passenger panels. I'm waiting to get the belts and seat before doing so.






Of all the panels the hood and fenders still needs more work. The left fender needs to be pushed over a tid, so does the hood. I will figure it out but I rushed this part to get it ready for today's appointment. I have only used 1/8" sheet metal screws so I can adjust easily and rivet down when I am happy.
I also need to trim the hood on the right side so it sits down over the windshield. The windshield kicks up the corner a bit. Easy fix.
For now this works and when looking at the car in its entirety it doesn't show as much as this picture makes it seem.

[longislandwrx]

fingers crossed for you.. GL!

[wleehendrick]

Bummer on the turbo, Brandon. Did you follow Wayne's tip on the rear suspension alignment? That could be contributing to the tracking issues.

[Brando]

I had it professional aligned to specs. What was Waynes tip?

[Rasmus]

What size wheels you running Brando? Also, what are the offsets?

[Brando]

Wheels:
Enkei Kojin
17x8 + 45 Front
18x8.5 + 45 Rear

Tires:
Hoosiers R6
225/40-17 Front
255/35-18 Rear

Currently running 12mm spacers front and back. Plan on removing the front and using 5mm on the back

[wleehendrick]

I had it professional aligned to specs. What was Waynes tip?

Tom Wallace had the issue; I'm not sure where it was discussed.... All the adjust-ability in the rear suspension creates an under-constrained system; just setting camber, toe and thrust angle doesn't insure the geometry is right. IIRC, you need to adjust the long upper link so that the two lateral links are parallel to the ground; otherwise there will be excessive toe changes with compression; even if all the specs are correct. I'll see if I can find the thread.

Here's the thread on rear alignment.

[FFRSpec72]

I see you have the mirror mounted, how did that go ?

[Doowop]

Brandon, it's just looks so cool to see the car all together on the street like that!! so exciting. congrats on all the work!! good luck with the cops. Hope they passe you with racing seat belt (non DOT). I am worried about that. Do you have working turn signals? I called Colorado State patrols here to ask if they had a check list of required things, and their stupid answer was: "has to be with everything that comes on factory built cars", which is totally dumb, as we don't have ABS, air bags, etc...... I hope the inspector is better than that. very excited to see that car on the street. sucks about the turbo, but i'll get fixed easily.

[Brando]

Thanks bro. It does feel good seeing on the street.
Yes on the turn signals, backup lights and license plate lights. The CHP guys were super cool. The officer builds LS1's in his spare time so he was very familiar with GTM and factory five. We had common interests and the conversations were 50% as a friend the other 50% all business. Worked out perfectly and I now have a VIN number riveted to my chassis.

The CHP check in CA seems mostly concerned with checking the VIN on the engine/trans donor to verify it's not from a stolen car. To complete my registration process I still have my last step which is an appointment with the CA Refs. They will be the ones I have to contend with on DOT related requirements. I don't see why the belts would be an issue...that's something I wasn't even considering. Time will tell.

The mirrors:
The side mirrors went on without a hitch and they don't vibrate. The center mirror however is difficult to use over 45mph due to vibration. The dash ended up being plenty strong for mounting it, the shaking is the issue.
As it stands now, the mirror is good enough to pass inspections and I can tell if someone is behind me, but I don't foresee my girl using it to apply her make-up that's for sure.