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Hurmeez' 1977 Mk2 Escort Estate


Hurmeez

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No pic update tonight. Looking for advice and opinions. 

I've managed to locate a gearbox in Auckland which is close enough for me to be willing to drive down and pick it up. It comes with everything from yoke to bell housing including throw out bearing and clutch lever but no clutch, pressure plate, or flywheel. So I'm at a bit of a cross roads. There seem to be two different options for how people adapt the RX-8 box to the V6. They both require the use of an adapter plate because there are no RWD boxes that bolt up the the V6 but I think I'll tackle that issue later on. For now I'm thinking about the flywheel and clutch situation. At the moment the motor I have is bolted to an auto box so I'm going to need to find a flywheel of some sort. One option is to use the rotary flywheel with a spacer adapter to take it from the single nut used on the rotary motor crank to the six bolts used on the V6. This is clairetoo's flywheel she did for this conversion.59a7fb5cce5b0_RX-8flywheel.jpg.0f3ab83d722600fe4408307eeb002d50.jpg

This option has the advantage of retaining the stock rotary clutch, pressure plate, and starter motor position and I already know where I can get the whole lot with minimal effort.

The other option used by Alex in his Viva is to use a stock (or aftermarket) V6 flywheel with a machined spacer to bring it out to the correct position relative to the gearbox input shaft. I believe he used the V6 clutch and pressure plate which matched up the the rotary input splines. The complication of this method is that the starter needs machining to bring it in toward the flywheel center because the flywheel is 10mm smaller in diameter than the rotary one. Also I can't find a V6 flywheel anywhere but in a 626 in a pick-a-part in Auckland. Normally I'd be happy to go and pull it but I don't have an engine crane to pull the motor, and it's a long way to go. I'd be worried that I couldn't pull the motor in a day and then I'm stuck in Auckland overnight with a half pulled engine.

So at the moment I'm leaning more toward the rotary flywheel because it keeps things as simple as possible and keeps the most stock parts on the car which is always a good idea if I ever needed to do maintenance. But there's one thing holding me back. I've read online that the rotary flywheels have a counterweight built in to balance the effect of the dorito wobbling around in the engine. I'm thinking though that putting that on a regular piston engine it will be totally out of balance and make a mess of everything. Does anyone know if this is the case? At the moment I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be an issue simply because Claire has already done it on her project.

Finally, I'm thinking about building my own engine to gearbox adapter plate. I've looked at how much it would cost to import one from the UK and right now I'd rather have a go at making my own. I have access to a big milling machine for drilling the actual holes so I'm not too concerned with that aspect, but what I am not completely sure about is how I should go about measuring the positions of the holes as accurately as I'll need to to ensure a good mating between the two components. I have some ideas but I'd be keen to know your guys' suggestions.

Phew! That's it. If you've made it this far and actually read it all then well done. I'd be only too keen to hear everyone's opinions. Chuck it all in here: 

 

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Alright time to make up for the time I've been away. Prepare for a pic dump for the ages.

I've been working on buttoning up the bottom front corner of the driver's side inner wing. In the last post I got the outer skin of the chassis leg all finished up so now I'm working on the other side. I sprayed the inside of the rail and the back side of the bumper mount reinforcing plate before I clamped it up ready for welding. lKBR5UC.jpg 2svTrGf.jpgI tried to position the welds close to where they were originally for no reason other than neatness.  

Then I welded it all on, including some tacks to the crush tubes,. This might seem a bit on the weak side but that's what was holding the original pieces together so once again, good enough for Uncle Henry... 2doBHst.jpg

And cleaned it all up while I was there.6HHiOlP.jpg

Now it was time to start thinking about fitting up my inner wing repair panel that I made up months and months ago before I realised just how much of a mission all this front end work was going to be. This part is going to dictate where the front valence panel will mount so it's fairly critical that I get it in the right spot. Thankfully, some clever bloke thought about all of this before hand. When I went to all that trouble to make my guards bolt on, I made sure they bolted to the front valence in a way that held it tight to the inner wings while they were still there at the time. Therefore, I should be able to clamp the front panel up to the upper inner wings that I already know are in the right place, bolt them to the guards, and then clamp my lower inner wing repair panel to the valence to show me where it needs to go. If none of that made any sense, don't worry, I took photos. :)

So to start, clamping the front panel to the upper inner wings. zwsIvLC.jpgLike this. 

Then bolt the guards on... 16o6s4Q.jpg

The repair panel actually jammed in place by itself which was handy. Ah0BYMq.jpg

Then I passed some bolts through the crush tubes with some grease on the ends and spun them once they touched the new panel. This put a grease spot in the position of the hole for the crush tube which I could then center punch and drill through. Which gave me this... NNe8z2u.jpgThe holes weren't in the perfect place and the tack welds made it difficult to fit so I opened each hole out with a die grinder until it fit nicelyish. 

This photo shows what the panel was that I had to work with. bDaJmB5.jpg

It's hard to see properly from this angle but there was quite a gap between where the panels were and where they needed to be in order to butt up together nicely. i7PWgDe.jpg

I decided to bolt up the brake booster mount to try and brace everything a bit and stop myself from pulling things too far trying to make my panel fit Uncle Henry's. Goodness knows how effective it will be but at the very least it makes me feel better about myself. UvcrcE1.jpg

Then I went ahead and opened the hole out further to more closely fit my panel. jgleV81.jpg

At this point I started to go the other way and began to trim my panel to fit the hole. Once it was fairly close I started to clamp it into position. OeP1iRp.jpgATrbYEF.jpg

Once I had it all fully trimmed up and holes drilled for plug welds I sprayed everything with a good coat of weld through primer.  SJDxRB1.jpg

Once it was dry it got clamped up once again and tacked in place with the TIG. sRxNBcA.jpg

I figured now would be a good time to double check the front valance fit before I do all the plug welds. Once they're in it'll be a real prick to try and adjust. o0M2kdy.jpgLooks pretty good to me. 

So I set to and broke out the MIG to fill in all those holes. JpWJi9s.jpgTurned out well. Good penetration all round. 2anYb7u.jpg

And that's about as far as I got. I decided to clean up a bit before I did all the TIG welding fully, as well as pulling out the cross member for better access. tRI2iH4.jpg

So that's it for this week. Next plan is to finish up the welding on the driver's side inner wing then give the fab work a rest for a bit and get my ass into gear with pulling the V6 out of the Mazda. Hopefully the welding shouldn't take too long but these things always seem to for me. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted. 

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Made a fruitful trip down to Auckland last night. Picked up a couple of goodies to help move the project along. 

I finally have a gearbox to start using for mocking up making mounts and so forth. W2hkh6Z.jpg

Considering how huge it looks, it's crazy how similar in size it is to the old type 9 and yet it can handle so much more abuse. 0ORR0qo.jpg0BVgXjr.jpg

You can see I've slotted the driveshaft from the Type 9 into the RX-8 box and the splines actually match perfectly. The issue is that the outer diameter of the yoke is smaller than the RX-8 so it doesn't run in the bearings or seals correctly. So I'll have to find an RX-8 yoke and use that to get a custom driveshaft built. Oh well. You win some you lose some.

Speaking of winning some, I got my hands on a more suitable diff too, out of a Mk 4 Cortina. EiBl8Z8.jpgThey came fitted with an Atlas axle as standard, the same as those fitted to the Capri, but with different mounting points. The current tentative plan is to eventually get it shortened by a friend of my dad's and then sort myself out a six link setup that somehow retains the rear seat. That's all a long way off yet though in all probability. For now I'm just going to run with the English rear axle and be careful. Hopefully that will let it last for a little while at least. 

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Time for a weekend update. I spent all of Saturday working on my mates HZ Holden ute rebuilding his front suspension with new bushes and ball joints which only left today to work on the Estate. I started by finish welding the whole driver's side inner wing repair section. JDqOzjr.jpg AZtoY5m.jpgIt all turned out pretty good.

I went ahead and ground it all back. 90RBxCw.jpgThere are a few sections that could have been done better but at the end of the day almost every weld line will be covered by other panels so I'm not overly worried. 

So I cleaned it all down and gave it a quick lick of paint. skzhAGH.jpg VJ2c4g6.jpgI didn't put too much effort into grinding back this side since it will all be covered by stone chip so it will be invisible anyway. 

Then I spent the rest of the day trying to get the engine pulled out of the Mazda. It started out looking like this, bpMmtAr.jpg

And ended up looking like this. 0L5CC81.jpg

We pulled the intake manifold off to give ourselves a clearer view of everything, then started to unplug all the loom connections, labeling each. Ended up getting everything unplugged and moved on to thinking about how to get the motor out. The easiest option seemed to be to pull the axles out of the front hubs and drop the whole subframe out the bottom of the car. The thinking was that we wouldn't have the room to pull the engine off the gearbox so both units would have to come out as one and the easiest way to do that would be the reverse of how the factory put them in. So I set too popping the lower ball joint and tried to crack the main nut off the end of the axle. I used a breaker bar because I don't have an impact gun. This caused my half inch drive to snap off in the socket. Bugger. I called it a day there and decided to have a break for a while. 

I've had a think about it and a better way might be to crack off and pull all the torque converter bolts to the flex plates if I can get access. Then I won't need to pull the engine and box apart so much to get it out and I might be able to pull the engine out from the top. A job for tomorrow night maybe. 

On the bright side I've double checked the maximum dimensions and it definitely will fit in my engine bay. That's a relief. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

So it's been nearly a month. I suppose an update is in order. Be warned this is going to be a lot of words with not many pictures, but it's good to blow to dust off the old grey matter every now and then with a bit of reading.

Firstly a quick update on the fabrication front. I've made decent progress on the passenger side chassis leg replacement. It was much easier to do the second time round once I knew what I was doing. I made quick work of the outer skin giving it all the appropriate modifications and "crumple zones," same as the other side. Same story for the inner rail with giving it the pressed in weak zone and welding in the crush tubes for the ARB mounting brackets. I didn't take many photos of these processes because it looks very much like the first time I did it and ya'll don't want to see a bunch of repeats. I got to the stage where I was ready to weld each skin together but I ran out of weld through primer so I had to nip to the shops to pick some up. They didn't have any of the previous copper based paint I had used and what's more they don't stock it anymore so I had to take what I could get. Turns out that was this: AS010591084_@2x.png 

For anyone hoping to use it, don't. It's awful shit. I followed the directions on the can and sprayed everything down that I was going to weld in the correct way. Then I got everything mocked up ready for welding and started pouring in the amps with the TIG to plug weld in the reinforcement/locating plates just like the first time. It fizzed and farted when I struck the arc and generally made a mess initially. Then it was very difficult to get it to form a weld pool and once it finally did it would sit for a second before making a big pop and splashing up all over the electrode. I'd regrind it and try again but eventually it got so bad it got the gas cup red hot and broke a big chunk off of it which fucked it. Unsurprisingly, this pissed me off. So I tried using the MIG. It rendered similar results. Zero penetration and ugly ugly welds. I also ran out of time and had to ship off on holiday with the family so that is as far as the fabrication got. 

Meanwhile I made a bit of a start with stripping down the V6. I got rid of all the luxury equipment (power steering and AC pumps) and pulled the alternator off as well; basically getting the motor back to its bare basics. I realised that contrary to what I had been told, it is actually the lower spec 160ish hp engine with lower compression, less aggressive cams, and slightly worse flowing heads. I can't say I'm super surprised but I am still somewhat disappointed. On the upside the lower compression lends itself better to some mild boost down the road but for now I'm going to keep trying for the higher spec NA motor route. I had a look around one of the Pick a Parts in Auckland while I was down there doing other shit but didn't have a lot of time to look very hard. Although there were a few lower spec engines, I didn't find what I was looking for. Unfortunately it's a long way for me to drive to check on every new car that turns up at the wreckers so for now I'll have to soldier on with what I have. I can still use this motor for making up mounts and so forth but it means I'm still on the lookout for a KLZE engine if anyone can help me out. 

To keep moving forward I got the newly stripped motor hung up on the hoist and swung into position to have a closer look at how it would fit. I didn't take any photos for some reason but you'll have to take my word for it on the details. The engine fits really well with the front sump having a good amount of clearance to the cross member when the engine is placed as far rearwards as the distributor will allow. There are plenty of tapped holes on the side of the block just begging to be used for mounting brackets right near the stock engine mount posts on the factory cross member. This means I'll easily be able to make mounts that pick up the cross member, rather than doing a chassis mount. This lets me drop the whole front suspension and engine out as one unit if I ever want to. The only issue is that the engine is too far forward. I measured the gearbox from shifter to bellhousing and then measured the distance from the shifter hole in the trans tunnel to the bellhousing mounting holes on the engine block with it mocked up in the bay. The block to tunnel hole distance was abour 100mm longer than the same measurement on the transmission. Ironically this is about the distance I shifted the hole back to fit the old ford 5 speed. This means I have two options. 1: I could cut the tunnel again and move the shifter hole forward again to make everything fit with the engine where it currently sits. Or 2: I could shift the engine back the appropriate amount to put the shifter in the right position to line up with the hole in the trans tunnel. The first option requires me to undo more work I have already done which, while not too much work, I'd rather not in principle. The second means the engine gets set further back in the car. This means I have more room in the front for a radiator and fans, and, ultimately, room for an intercooler wouldn't go amiss. Also, race cars have their engines set way back too so...

This means I'll probably have to modify the sump to clear the cross member but that's not too much work. I'll also have to come up with a solution to making the distributor clear the firewall. As it sits now, shifting the engine back will require either the firewall to be modified, or the distributor to be removed. In the process of stripping down the engine I found points on the harmonic balancer and a factory mounting point for a crank angle sensor on the block casting. YHmC2qh.jpg

This means I have plenty of parts to convert the engine to crank triggered ignition and either remove, or severely cut down the distributor to fit the new position. All I will really need is an aftermarket ECU. And an expert wouldn't go amiss either. Luckily I have a father in law that is a very well connected, skilled, and experienced automotive sparky and he had already given me plenty of advice on moving forward down this path. Going aftermarket ECU will give me the added bonus of learning to fiddle with tunes and so forth and really get the most out of my motor. 

So there you have it. To conclude, fuck 3M zinc based weld through primer, I still want to find a KLZE engine, I have a plan for mounting the engine in the car, and I have a plan for converting the engine to crank triggered ignition. If you've slogged through all of that, thank you very much for your time. More consistent updates to come. Merry October to all, and to all a good night.

 

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Further developments for the long weekend. I started off by noticing that the brand new chassis leg was about 30mm higher than its buddy on the other side. Initially, I was going to start swinging on it to bring it back down to spec but then I realised that for all I knew the whole car was sitting skew-wiff. So for once and for all, I got the car levelised on its axle stands. I used the untouched factory sill as a datum. bRWyXQ7.jpg

So once it was all level the leg was still a little bit out relative to its offsider mate. Just a little (probably due to the crash that caused the big dent in the bumper which I mentioned in a very early post), but enough to bug me and make me want to fix it. So I looked up where it should be in the bible, 9eBbfsh.jpgthen clamped up a nice long lever arm and used the momentum of gravity to tweak it down. 0tkp3WT.jpgNow it's primo.

Then I started working on the inner guard replacement. This isn't super clear but it's a picture of the initial clamp up I did to mark it out and see where it needed trimming. d34A4V0.jpgYou can see on the right-hand side the big gap where someone got too enthusiastic with the trimming a while ago. So I had to set to and fill that gap up.  vLFC2bT.jpgAs per my normal method of adding material to fix cock-ups, I welded on way more than I need to help pull the heat away from the weld. Then I cut off the excess with the angle grinder. 

Here it is clamped up ready for welding. S8OPMsT.jpg

And here it is but a moment later... HkNVtHV.jpg he8Dr5b.jpg

Didn't quite get it cleaned up yet because I decided to finish welding the rest of the replacement panels up the front of the inner wing first. That will be tomorrow's job. 

I also whipped up a quick locating tool for the input shaft of the gearbox when I get around to making up my adapter plate. tvx6X05.jpgThe knurled end slides over the input shaft of the gearbox and the other end sits in the end of the crankshaft nicely. It will be very helpful in a few weeks I hope. 

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Time for another wee-hour tale from old Uncle Hurmeez then...

I began Monday morning with finish welding the front inner wing repair. This quickly turned into Monday afternoon but the main point was that I got the bastard finished. 
Proof of finishing said bastard: Saw9KZm.jpg 5sJo1wT.jpg TG7YTuW.jpg fwvL0WF.jpg

But it simply wouldn't do to leave it as it was. And so I set to with the grinder and brought the shiny back out of it: JsRzsdx.jpg 0nzT85b.jpg OLzqOYn.jpg I86U0KZ.jpg

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get into every spot with the flap wheel and so the back side of the big vertical weld remains unground, along with some of the welds near the bumper mount panel on the inside. However, I feel I have been a very good boy this year and I'm hoping to find a power file in my Santa sack this year. If so, that will make short work of any more cleaning up I need to do. For now though, I was happy enough to give it a quick prime to keep the rust away and call it done.

While I was in the vicinity, I noticed another hole that I made while I was butchering the battery box out. It had been there long enough so I set to filling it. bQJuz5M.jpg

 It was a nice simple patch which made a nice change of pace from the rest of the work. HKPEvdv.jpg TckdQlz.jpg yO6w6Jm.jpg c7O02lj.jpg Sweet. If you didn't know, you'd never know. 

 

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What a bummer. Got to zebra and found the car fairly quickly. Was presented with a head that looked awful for our trouble. I'll put a picture up tonight once I get home but if the head was that caked in crap then the engine was obviously abused over its lifetime and wasn't worth getting. Bit stink but such is life. There'll be more fish in the sea. 

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That is a real shame! Kicking myself for not stopping by pick a part this week to check the car was still there, I could have saved you the trip down. They actually had several of those V6 Mazda's in there when I looked a couple of weeks ago but only one of them had the engine you are after. 

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And as promised, the photos of the head.  moRBuNQ.jpg  Jp4mEQf.jpg

So as you can see, it is definitely in a bit of a state. What was left of the oil was solid as tar and the lobes were absolutely much worse for wear. I'd hate to think what the bottom end looked like. So for now, I'm still on the hunt but not overly urgently. 

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