Awesome updates, what type of paint are you using to get the radiators/intercoolers black?

 

I used this for all parts sprayed up black (brackets, alternator, Intercooler body etc)



And used this for the intercooler fins




The Koyo rad was already supplied painted.

 

Had another delivery last week, Takata Camera strap but more importantly a pair of Takata tow straps which will be used as door pulls to be fitted to to carbon door cards. Hopefully they will look the part and do a good job.



Pretty much there now (I believe just the hose needs fitting to the in car heater(waiting on a Samco fitting)). Hopefully that will be delivered this week, if not I might blank it off and fill with fluids so I can try to start it up.

 

Love the engine bay. One of the cleanest I've seen. Have you used that paint before? Does it hold up over time?

So far I've powder coated my strut bar but want to do everything else. I can go this route as it's cheaper

 

Thanks!

Not used the paint before so I have no idea how well it last or stands up to spills etc. Sorry.

 

Very nice, always look forward to photo updates

 

The titanium engine dress up bolt kit is a nice touch.

 

Thanks guys appreciate your comments, glad you like whats going on!

Not much happening this weekend though, still waiting on final hose fitting (hopefully will arrive tomorrow). Had planned on testing the fuel system today but need to borrow a couple of hose blanks to carry out my checks (test that flow return are correct way round, clear lines and check for leaks etc then set pressure).




Test fit of brace bar and car lowered off axle stands onto dollies ready for testing next weekend.

 

Been busy at work as usual but last week had its rewards and made it all worthwhile. Last Sunday in Suzuka Mercedes managed to secure F1 constructors championship. I was luck enough to watch the race at work in the restaurant and then help position signs and banners to help celebrate 3 years in a row of winning as constructors. Monday morning was amazing being waved in across the finish line into the company car park followed by a race debrief with champagne. On Tuesday the celebrations continued with the 2014, 2015 and 2016 cars arriving onsite along with Nico, Lewis, Toto, Nikki, Paddy and Andy to give a few speeches and have some promo pics taken.








Was a brilliant week and really made me appreciate how lucky I am to be part of it.

 

Moving back to my FD, I have managed to move a little further forward this morning. I disconnected the pipes to my fuel regulator and connected valves up. Primed pump and system (eventually as I had 2 cables connected incorrectly to fuel pump relay), all pipes flushed through and reconnected.

Fuel pump pressure was then set to 40PSI.



Next up was to remove trailing plugs and add a little oil to each housing, then remove ignition coil and fuel pump fuse before cranking the car over to get the oil moving round.
So i cranked the car for around 5 seconds then check oil level allow starter to cool a little then repeat until oil pressure came up a little (just one small problem with this as I hadn't secured the oil filter correctly so I had a small leak).


The high RPM starter really cranks it over well, hopefully I will be in a position to start her up next weekend.

 

Well it has been a little while and you are due an update, the last part (I hope) arrived last Friday. This meant I could fit it and finally fill the cooling system with coolant. Had a slight leak (drip) from the Koyo radiator bleed screw so the coolant was drained and the screw removed/cleaned and wrapped in a bit of PTFE tape. Screw was refitted and system refilled, pesky thing was still dripping. Again system drained and this time a dab of sealant was added, allowed to dry before filling back up. At last it sealed!

I connected my EWP to a battery and ran the pump, no sign of air/bubbles in filler neck. I could not see any flow although I could feel the pump running. So just to be sure the system was drained again, pump removed and bench tested with a watering can full of water. It worked a treat so was refitted and refilled. Ran the pump again and still no bubbles but you could see the level drop a couple of mm as the pump kicked in.

Takata door pulls and carbon door cards have now been fitted:-



Just enough room to turn the car round ready for start up (wouldn't have gone if i had fitted the bumper.



The Apexi has been adjusted to suit my 850 primaries and also adjusted the secondaries upto max (1500). The EWP controller has been set to 85deg so we are pretty much ready to fire up.

So this could be my view soon!

 

Well yesterday was a big day for me, I had to man up enough to turn the key and try to start all my hard work and dreams over the last year!

So I nervously went down to the garage and started to clear space around the car (amazing how 2 FD's and all the other junk squeezes into there really). Trailing plugs were once again removed along with fuel pump and ignition fuses. Ran on starter for 5 secs then rested before running again (oil pressure was now upto 4). The plugs and fuses were refitted. 5 litres of fuel and some premix were added, checks to fluid level made (Oil, Power Steering and coolant). Right we are ready!

I got in the car and put in the key, a couple of deep breaths and here we go a turn of the key, around she spins but no fire up in about 5 seconds so off she goes. Left it for a min and then another go, this time it tried to go but not quite (fingers crossed for the next go). Another deep breath and a turn of the key, oh man it is running, a big smile on my face and then I hear a squeaking! I lean forward a bit while keeping my foot lightly on the throttle, I think the power steering tank is empty (sure enough it was, guess it filed the Setrab cooler and was now running empty). I decided to keep it running a while longer to get it upto temp, it was soon able to keep running without my support on the throttle. So I filled the power steering tank and tightened a coolant hose that had a slight leak. Water temps were now upto 60deg and believe it or not the Koyo drain/bleed screw was dripping again (nothing major though). Temps now at 80 degree's quick check and the EWP controller was not showing any temp, at 85 degrees I panicked and forced the pump on full and the fans came on (controlled from Apexi). At this point the car cut out (guessing it had come off warm up!

So all in all a good run and I am so pleased with myself and the car! I got in touch with Sakebomb Garage (they are great, brilliant customer service from these guys), and they offered advice and to send me a replacement temp sensor (free of charge).



Hopefully things will soon get sorted, plan to drain coolant today and test the sensor resistance in ambient and boiling water. Also I hope to fit both wings/bonnet and side skirts.

 

Awesome project! and what a cool place to work!

Do you know what that blue paint is called?

 

Sorry, no idea what the paint is called or its code, it has annoyed me for a few years now. If you are looking you can see I had the front bumper and boot lid resprayed (slightly different shade).

 

A few weeks have passed since my last update, managed to get a couple of things sorted out with the car over this period.

Sakebomb Garage have been a great help in sorting out my EWP system and have been quick to reply with advice. The sensor tested out ok, pump removed and tested which pushed plenty of water through it. My only conclusion was the pump was getting an airlock due to its orientation in its location. I tried to find an alternative place to fit the pump to suit the V mount setup but it just wouldn't sit right anywhere else. My only option was to drill and tap an M4 hole in the top of the pump to aid bleeding the system. This worked a treat and the system really started pushing a serious amount of water round the system.

It was time to start it up again and check fans etc are controlled correctly when upto temp, away the engine ran and soon got to 60 degrees, at around this point the engine cut out (guessing it was throttle setup as engine got to warm idle). It would not start again so I thought it had flooded so I went through the deflood procedure.

My back then gave me trouble for a couple of weeks so it was about 3 weeks before I got back on the car. It still wouldn't start (didn't even sound like it was trying to ignite). Carried out some basic checks (spark from all leads, fuel pressure at 40psi, etc). All seemed ok so I cranked it over a few times eventually it ran. Again it tried to drop out at temp but this time I adjusted the screw under the throttle body (it was wound right in (now backed off a turn)). It now idle a little high at around 1800 so i need to adjust this and set TPS but it ran for over half hour controlling the temp within about 5 degrees.


Just got a slight oil leak to sort out from the sump, setup throttle body then fit the front bumper and lights.

Happy days!

I cannot wait to get it out of the garage again!!!

 

Nice update, I love seeing the RB catback exhaust all the way across the pond in the UK

 

Good stuff, keep it up.

 

Awesome build, keep up the work and pumped to see how it does on track.

How has nobody else brought up that you work for Merc F1?!! Can you share more about what you do for them or is that top secret?