REsuper7のブログ一覧

Leading up to every weekend i tell myself this is the weekend i fire up the car, and every Monday i find myself disappointed, feeling like i'm still not even close. That basically sums up this past weekend as well. I didn't realize how long it would take me to make a few brackets to hold the radiator in place, but that's all i got done over the weekend.



They don't look like much, but these small little brackets took hours to make. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly what sizes i would need in order to get the radiator at just the right angle. To be honest, i'm not still 100% sure the radiator fitment is perfect because i have yet to fully install my front bumper and undersweep (that's my plan for this coming weekend). It's possible i may still need to readjust the angle if i have too much trouble fitting the bumper and undersweep. But anyway, at least i got most of the work needed for the vmount kit done this weekend, including the radiator hoses. Luckily i was able to reuse my old ones so i could return the $85 hose kit i bought off of amazon.



Here's what it looks like with the lower brackets mounted up. The only reason i painted the brackets is to prevent the steel plates from rusting. At this point, i'm trying to cut as many corners as possible just so i can get the car running again. And here's a top view:



As you can tell, i was too lazy to tape up the core so a lot of the fins got bent during the install process. Like i said, i'm in the "do whatever it takes, as quickly as possible" mode right now so didn't really care if i got a few bent fins. Another view of the radiator from the top with the intercooler mounting bracket in place as well:



I used to think the intercooler bracket was pretty cool, but now i feel like it's a nuisance and adds unnecessary complication to the vmount setup. Although, it's possible that the bracket did save me from having to buy a new intercooler after the crash. Either way, if i were to do it over again, i think i'd get rid of the bracket and just have the core mounted directly to the frame without the stupid bracket. Here's a view from the "mouth":



And finally, here's a view of the kit installed:



The intercooler is not quite mounted yet because as i mentioned earlier, i still need to do a final fit test with the bumper and undersweep. If it all lines up without the need to hack up the bodywork to fit then i'll go ahead and bolt down the intercooler and get ready to fill up the fluids. But with my luck, i'll probably need to take everything off and realign it again.

Quick Update (8/18)

So i got a chance to fit the front bumper last night and i'm pleased to report that i don't think i need to make anymore adjustments to the vmount.



I really love how the radiator tucks nicely right underneath the front lip, especially in comparison to my old setup where the radiator stuck out so much. Although the bottom bracket of fan does protrude out underneath slightly, i think i should be able to adjust the undersweep enough to get it all to fit.



Since i didn't plan to make any more adjustments, i bolted up the intercooler and attached all the pipes. My engine bay is really starting to look like it used to again!



There's still a couple of more things i need to do before firing up the car, including, installing the AST, the oil catch can, the fuel pump, and the slew of underbody braces. From there i just need to add oil, coolant, and fuel and i should be able to fire it up. Slowly but surely...