Excellent work loving it!
Excellent work loving it!
Any updates?
1998 Nissan 200sx s14a , 2000 std 5 speed with nismo supercoppermix clutch bn6 Sapphire Blue
Will try and post some this evening. She runs but still lots to do.Originally Posted by Chriscooke
- Jim
lovely carwell done
Well the next job was to sort out the coolant system. I have used the Alfa radiator (it was relatively new) but had it modified so that there was sufficient room for the intercooler outlets.
On the original alfa both the speedo and tacho were cable driven so I sent the clocks off to "Speedy Cables" to put new modern components inside the cases. The water temp works off a Alfa sender in a universal 31mm inline boss. The fuel guage works off the original sender (now) in a new tank. So just oil temp and pressure to sort. Oil pressure will probably be via a sandwich plate but not much room and oil temp will either also be in the sandwich plate or tapped into the sump.
Not a lot gives them away to be anything but standard (except the small green lcd section on the speedo). All look good but I am still trying to get them to work. My understanding is that the S14 Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) gives out a rather weak analogue signal which is in turn amplified and converted to a digital signal to the ECU via the clocks. I need this digital signal for my modified Alfa clocks so I am trying to use the PCB from an s14 speedo to do this. I await the wisdom of SXOC to help me identify 12V, Ground, Input & Output.
I have just got back from the Laon Circuit Historique so not much progress on the Alfa as I had to get my Fury ready to participate.
1000cc 450kgs and 160hp, its a completely different animal to the Alfa
Next job is to modify the heater and fit the seats more on that later...........
- Jim
Last edited by Alfaholical; 27-12-2012 at 16:21.
Any further progress?
Bump
1998 Nissan 200sx s14a , 2000 std 5 speed with nismo supercoppermix clutch bn6 Sapphire Blue
Sorry no updates for a while just back from hols in the Fury. Will be back to it this week.
- Jim
I've just seen this. Awesome project
I can see the purists point of view, but balls to them, it's your car... Should have used a CA though
Amazing Project!!!!
I will follow this thread...i love it!!!
Ciao from Italy
Arian
Why? Its was already slow and unreliable before...Should have used a CA though
LOL, I know... Adding an SR is going to improve the reliability no end...
Just read all of this thread...
Mr Alfaholic, you are completely and utterly off your head
This is an awesome project. I think its the fact that you're taking a classic car with an ancient old engine and chassis, upgrading everything in sight, giving it 300bhp and leave it looking relatively standard... Always had a soft spot for alfas, especially their engines, and I can see where all the hate has came from.
But what I love is that you've picked the engine on its actual practical benefits (ie, light, compact, powerful, relatively cheap, and reliable) rather than the usual sentimental reasons most people put an engine in for.
I happen to love the SR sound when it has a good exhaust system, and I think the SR growl sounds kinda oldschool anyways. It'll certainly confuse everyone at italian car shows
Oh well I should get used to the last 5% of a car build taking 50% of the time. Lots of progress but not much worth photographing.
Three things really:-
1. After spending hours trying to get a clean feed from the Nissan VSS to feed my speedo (ie including going through the S14 speedo board pictured previously) I gave up and bought a hall sensor from Speedy Cables which works by sensing ferrous objects passing by it. In this case off the bolts holding the prop flange to the diff. Got it all set up and then found that the LCD panel on the speedo was not working. So have had to send back to Speedy Cables to repair. (they promised it would be with me yesterday but nothing and they are closed apart from a receptionist today.....grrrr)
2. Next challenge was the lights. Alfas of this age gave permanent live to lights which is not ideal as there is a risk that they could flatten the battery quite quickly. I could put them all to ignition live but that meant no side lights withought the ignition on. I tried to just give power to the sides but they were backfeeding to the headlights. Anyway the solution was a combination of switching relays and diodes.
3. Next problem was the steering arm. I was never very happy with it as it wasnt quite as sturdy as I would like (it is a little "mission critical" so I am getting a 25mm tubed version made up).
The trim is starting to go back in and will take some pics tonight to post.
- Jim
awesome project, again, i understand why people are saying you should have left the engine, but the sr is a great choice, it also can sound great,
it only sounds shit when those f***ing fanboys on driftworks and those emo's on stanceworks put shitty bargain basement chinese exhausts on them.
great choice, great project : )
As they say the last 10% of a project takes 90% of the time. This is definately the case with this project. As a result of increasing the tunnel size I had to think about how to retain a heater/demister. The tunnel now has taken up where the heater fan was! The matrix was also pretty much shot. I want to keep the car as standard looking as possible so I decided to fit a modern T7design version inside the old heater box and modify the existing controls so that they still look and operate as standard.
It wafts warm air rather than blasting it but lets see how it works.
- Jim
Last edited by Alfaholical; 27-12-2012 at 16:30.
It's a heater box and controls?
EDIT: Ignore me, not all the pics were there when I posted that.
The attention to detail here is amazing
1993 [L] RS13 200SX
2003 [53] MX-5 Angels
2004 [04] E63 645i
SXOC Member #199
Put the grille back on and was surprised how well it hides what lurks behind
Get close and things are a little clearer.
As mentioned previously as a result in my total failure in getting the Nissan VSS to talk to my speedo I needed to find a speedo take off. So I made up a bracket drill one of the webs on the diff and bolted in place. Popped it in gear and it all worked well. Just need to calibrate it next.
My fifth attempt at a steering arm seems to be sucessful. My mate Nev bent up some 25mm CDS and after lots of tacking in place this was the end result.
It now does full lock and is tough as the preverbial and is not the lowest part of the car.
Need to sort the tracking but need to get the new steering wheel on first.
- Jim
Last edited by Alfaholical; 27-12-2012 at 16:37.
Love your project - excellent progress
Two weeks away on hols in Cyprus meant no progress but a welcome bit of sunshine and R&R.
Most of the mechanicals are now done so time to sort the interior and electricals. I'll spare you all the pictures of carpeting the interior but needless to say it was not my favourite part of the job. The Alfa has lot of curves and bumps on the floor and I dont own a sewing machine and am no patchwork expert.
I bought two rolls of ebay carpet (as used in the New Mini) which is advertised and formable with heat. Lots of swearing, hot air gun moulding and paper templates I managed to have the carpet roughly to shape with less than ten pieces. It seemed a shame to cover up all that metalwork that I had carefully prepped and painted but I think it makes the car look more finished.
The old Alfa seats whilst comfortable had very little side support and were low back so offered little in the way of protection. I searched high and low for suitable highback seats but they either looked too modern, were not comfortable, too heavy or wouldn't fit. At the Autosport show some time back I tried a pair of Recaro Pole positions which were ideal but a bit pricey. I kept an eye on special offers and ebay but when they did turn up they were still priicey or very tired looking. Anyhow a few months back after a few beers I bought a secondhand set of leather alcantara pole positions for more that I care to mention and these have been sitting in the spare room awaiting a purpose in life. They are a tight fit in the little Alfa but perfect for my needs.
Lack of headroom meant I had to abandon the the idea of sliders so these are fixed items sat upon subframes that I fabricated. A pair of Sabelt 3" harnesses will help me stay in my seat on the road and track.
With the pedals moved closer and the seats further back I needed a nicely dished steering wheel. The OMP Corsica does the job. I might get a wooden one too at some point.
Update on fuses, boot floor and a few panics before MoT time in next post....
- Jim
Last edited by Alfaholical; 27-12-2012 at 16:46.
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