589 replies to this topic

[76lxhatch]

Crank trigger wheel, this is basically just a piece of 1/4" mild steel with the requisite features to mount behind the pulley. Note the additional countersunk screw hole, this ensures exact placement.

 

 

Because the wheel mounts behind the pulley, the pulley needed to be altered. I carefully cut the back off the old steel pulley in the lathe and tig welded a new piece in - but must have got carried away with the heat as it pulled out of round in one spot. Found this in the spares pile which has plenty of material in the right places.

 

 

Looked up the specs for a K profile belt and ground a 40 degree tool out of an old broken end mill. The belt seems to fit well enough.

 

 

Will be interesting to see how it lasts as it obviously no longer has the anodizing, we'll see.

 

[76lxhatch]

Holden was good enough to provide a convenient mounting position for the sensor, but had to make the bracket myself. A bit of prototyping with the 3D printer, got it right on the third try.

 

 

And in position - the plastic piece is surprisingly solid and works great for mockup.

 

 

I figure the plastic may not be up to handling engine bay temperatures though so cast and machined a chunk of aluminium for a more permanent solution.

 

 

For some reason this casting was quite porous and painting it didn't hide everything either. Never mind, it's more than solid enough and will do the job.

 

 

In position. Now that everything is fixed in position, next step is to mark where the sensor sits at top dead centre. Then I can machine the teeth on the trigger wheel, with the missing reference teeth as close to 60 degrees BTDC as I can get.

 

[76lxhatch]

I'd been looking for a suitable set of plug leads but couldn't seem to find anything off-the-shelf. In the end I bought two sets of V6 leads which have the extended nearly-90 degree plug ends with heat shields. These fit around the Torana chassis rails much nicer while still keeping things off the headers. I think a similar style used to be available for V8s but couldn't find any.

 

Cut to length and installed suitable ends for the LS2 coils. No crossed wires, neat and relatively short.

 

[UCSLE]

would be interesting to know what caused that porosity , been trying to learn about casting stuff myself 

[76lxhatch]

Yeah, the weird thing about it is how evenly spread it is and there are no big inclusions. Two main differences this time:

• Used a homemade sand mixture - not a proper mold, but made a quick overall shape to pour into rather than casting a big square chunk
• I re-used material from a previous pour, it looked good in the crucible but perhaps it was full of impurities

[Rockoz]

Mate of mine is a jeweler.

He does lots of casting, but with gold and silver.

His process included vacuum and still got some holes in the castings.

But the addition of the vacuum did help the process.

Probably too expensive for hobby work though.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[76lxhatch]

People talk about adding flux powder to de-gas aluminium. The first few castings I had almost zero problem (the throttle body adapter has a really nice surface finish) so figured it wasn't a big deal, but this one is quite different. I'm reasonably careful about removing as much dross as possible before pouring, there's usually a fair bit (although that's getting worse as I get lazier, almost everything burns off so why bother cleaning it first!)

[76lxhatch]

The trigger wheel needed some teeth, time to break out one of the newer toys.

 

Hacked away at it with my little milling machine. The rotary table/indexer actually worked fairly well for a cheapie.

 

After cleanup, I think that should do the job. 36-2 teeth for those who can't be bothered counting them!

[claysummers]

Very handy work!

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[jeffblanco]

WOW

 

Regards Mando.

[SmacT]

I would take soooo many fingers off trying to use that thing - nice work!

[Rockoz]

Just make sure there is enough clearance in the gapped part that the sensor doesnt give erratic trigger pulses

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[76lxhatch]

The cam sensor is hall effect, but the crank trigger is magnetic reluctor. The gap is "half depth" to avoid excessive amplitude at high rpm that can cause the following tooth to be missed. It probably doesn't matter too much with a 36-2 trigger but may as well try to do it right.

[Rockoz]

I used to work on container cranes at a rail depot.

The company I worked for built a new lifting rig and used magnetic reluctors on the twist lock mechanisms.

Used to have lots of trouble with them. I worked nights and had to adjust them almost every night.

The bloke on dayshift did the same.

It was in the colder months so the idea was that it might have been the expansion rate of the steel.

Never got to the bottom of it before I left.

But have had some issues with magnetic reluctors on other jobs as well.

Usually adjustment related.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[76lxhatch]

Installed the wheel and new pulley and took it for a test drive, everything runs straight and true so happy with that.

 

Decided to re-make the wheel for the cam sensor so it was properly balanced. Do it twice, do it right.

[76lxhatch]

Bought a late model Corvette pedal, looked about the right size and shape. Yep, don't think it could have been much closer.

 

With the Holden pad fitted no-one will even know.

 

Started pulling things apart. Looks like I may have been a little slack on the distributor maintenance! Both screws securing the pickup fell off when I touched it.

 

Couldn't resist a quick preview.

[LXCHEV]

Love the Corvette pedal - I'd leave the Corvette pad on too, reckon it looks pretty cool and just something a bit different.

 

It's amazing how distributors can rust internally. I had a similar experience with mine after only around 10-15 years of use since purchased brand new. Was perfect on the outside, and terrible on the inside. Had to go to town on the thing to bring it back to life.

 

Anyway - looking great!

[76lxhatch]

Yeah in hindsight the cap probably needed some ventilation, the high energy ignition doesn't help things either.

 

Made more holes in the fuel rail, this time for a pressure sensor.

 

Trying to do the wiring properly, made up a fuse/relay box for the engine bay. Standard relay holders with a custom 3D-printed fuse holder that takes the GM style terminals and provides a spot for the main circuit breaker. The original headlight relay is hiding beside the relays on the back side.

 

And a cover. Kind-of mirrors the windscreen washer bottle on the other side for a little engine bay symmetry.

[Heath]

Great work as always. 

[Bigfella237]

If you wanted to really confuse people, you could put a screw-on cap on that fuse box cover (similar to a washer bottle) so you can stick your finger in and reset the main breaker!

[76lxhatch]

^ Haha, I've already re-designed it once so I think this will have to do

[76lxhatch]

Made some new standoffs for the air cleaner mounts to suit the different height now required. Can only use three studs due to the position of the throttle body actuator.

 

 

The throttle body also requires a little extra clearance in the base of the bird bath. Will make something up to cover it and seal around the throttle body. Still plenty of room for the air filter element.

 

[355LX]

Have been loving this thread, going above and beyond with the hands on way of modernising the old girl. 

 

Can I ask, who did you buy your corvette pedal through? I have been trying to find one for a while and all the places I have tried have them on back order and the ones that are available are asking drug money. 

 

Bought a late model Corvette pedal, looked about the right size and shape. Yep, don't think it could have been much closer.

 

 

With the Holden pad fitted no-one will even know.

[76lxhatch]

I know what you mean, they were everywhere then suddenly dried up - I regretted not buying mine earlier so jumped on one when I found it on eBay. Unfortunately you get screwed on the freight these days too if you want it to actually get through Customs.

 

The one I bought was actually labelled as being a Holley part but they looked the same and sure enough it has a GM part number on it. Maybe that helps?

[355LX]

Legend, yep that helps heaps as I've seen the Holley ones. I'll just bend over and take it for what is available as I'm finding the ones labelled genuine Delco are just not stocked anywhere.