"taking Oval To Blue Horizon" Lenny's Build Thread 2010-2015

[Lenny]

Aluminium Strips arrived from RICE International on eBay

Link:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281354092811

Diameter: 1/2" (12.7mm) x 1/4" (6.35mm) Length: 500mm

2 strips purchased,

Here's the plan:

To fit the Mono Amp on to these strips using M6 nut and bolts

Next step in this process is to have the strips bent in a gradual "C" bend elbow while positioning the amp at 45 degrees

This keeps the amp facing upwards while allowing the brackets to be bolted in to the boot panel

The reason for the brackets is because the amp cant be mounted upside down because it will soak heat instead of venting.

More progress on this section of the build soon.

[Lenny]

Done some preperation work on the "Connects2 CTPCAP-1"

1.0 Fared Digital Capacitor today,

As you are aware from reading previous posts on this build thread; ive orderd a custom vinyl print of a RedBull can to fit the capacitor,

In order to get a smooth finish with the vinyl i needed to remove the stock label:

It sure wasn't coming off without a fight,

It is attached to a heat shrunk plastic casing which is much like a Lucozade bottle label.

I could have just peeled this off but i preferred to leave it on and use some nail polish remover to take off the paper label,

I masked up the plastic top with PVC tape encase the solvent in the nail polish caused any staining.

When removing the label i noticed the "nail polish remover" was also removing the matt black paint and white undercoat from the heat shrunk cover

I kept polishing with kitchen towel and nail polish remover until all traces of paint and label were removed:

The next challenge was to remove the plastic cap covering,

Because I've ordered the vinyl in a size that is designed to fill the space under the cap aswell.

Discovered the securing nut is 17mm so i manually loosened them by hand using only a socket no wrench

They screwed up a certain height before i had to use the supplied Allen key to remove the inner securing screws

Baring in mind Positive Post is to the left of the Digital display when returning these posts.

With this inner screw removed it was then possible to completely remove the 17mm Nut

Repeat process on opposite side

And off comes the plastic cover :)

Can see the line of primer where the paint was still intact,

I since cleaned off all paint as this section will to be covered by the vinyl print

Masked up the electronics

Wiped off the paint and temporally refitted the parts now awaiting arrival of the vinyl wrap. :)

[Lenny]

Seeking an International Finger Crossing tomorrow guys between the hours of 08:00 and 13:00

Got talking to a guy called David whom works in maintenance at work,

I explained my plan to have the aluminium strips bent,

He provided me with a Stainless Steel welding rod,

Told me to trial fit the welding rod in to the car with the amplifier,

Then bring in the aluminium strips along with the bent rod tomorrow,

Says he will bend the aluminium strips to match the shape of the rod :)

Here's the rod bent to shape

Need the top section cut where the arrow is:

So fingers crossed the aluminium strips don't snap during the bending process.

If sucessful with the bends; 6mm holes will be drilled in the aluminium strips where the blue arrows are in the image below,

The 7" Mono Amp will be bolted to the bottom two arrows using M6 bolts with Nylon lock nuts,

Upper two will also be M6 bolts going through the plastic panel aswell as a section of 9mm MDF followed by Penny washers and Nylon Lock nuts to spread the weight of the amp although its around 1.7kg in weight being a Class D amp

[Hassen]

Fingers and toes crossed that it all works out. It would look awesome with the aluminium :)

[Lenny]

Fingers and toes crossed that it all works out. It would look awesome with the aluminium :)

Thanks mate,

It will be 3mm Strips of T305 Stainless if they snap,

Ok bit of a shocker today at Tyre Shop,

I have been experiencing heavy vibrations in the front passenger seat of the car since Christmas,

Ive felt this sensation last time i had a buckled 16" alloy and i assumed this was the case again on the 18" rim,

So today,

I went to my good reliable tyre shop to have the alloy removed for repair,

However he took the wheel off and checked balance:

100% no buckle :o

I was like WTF!

So he put it back on the car,

Checked the rear wheel and to my all out shock guys,

Here is the results of negative camber, im very lucky to be alive as this blow out would throw the car sideways and flip,

Check it out:

Outside of tyre looks ok but inside was driving on the wire yo!!

Feel like Kayne West "shot down through the wire"

The Best news is:

Both rear tyres are like this,

I'm rolling three 18's and one 16" at present,

They don't have any 225/35/18 AVON ZZ5 in stock there a special order at 135.00 each!!

Didn't plan on this news this month but there's no point building on loose foundations,

Its gotta be sorted and safe.

In aluminium news,

He was very busy in work today as a few mechanical problems arose so hopefully he can bend them tomorrow.

Overall moral today wasn't great after seeing the cause of my bad MPG and vibrations.

Until i got home and found DMB Graphics Delivery had arrived :)

And things went pretty awesome from there yo! :)

Also ordered a few items on eBay for February's update :)

Special thanks to Dave at DMB Graphics for taking the time to perfect the print for me,

&

Ben at Connects2 for supplying me with a top quality capacitor aswell as support during this modification via Twitter.

[JC600]

Capacitor looks cool! :D

And naughty you lol......Should always check across the full width of the tyre. :)

[Lenny]

Capacitor looks cool! :D

And naughty you lol......Should always check across the full width of the tyre. :)

Thanks Jamie mate,

lol i never feel my tyres obviously replaced two front last September surly getting value out of tge rears,

Might swap left to right while the negative camber is in play; get another 6,000 miles on them

[Hassen]

Lenny man, lucky escape there buddy! The tyres wouldn't have lasted any longer I reckon. Do you know how many miles/km you got on that set?

So, excuse my ignorance, but does it mean that running negative camber wears out one side of the tyre quicker? Just wondering for myself now if/when I do lower the car with rear camber.

The Red Bull graphics turned out really well. Looks totally oem. Can't wait to see it all in the car :)

[jgriff]

Yes thats what happens Hassen, i have the same problem with my tyres at the moment and my car isnt lowered yet. Im not too fussed though as the tyres are on the car over two years now.

Does the camber bolts not eliminate your camber issues Lenny?

[Lenny]

Lenny man, lucky escape there buddy! The tyres wouldn't have lasted any longer I reckon. Do you know how many miles/km you got on that set?

So, excuse my ignorance, but does it mean that running negative camber wears out one side of the tyre quicker? Just wondering for myself now if/when I do lower the car with rear camber.

The Red Bull graphics turned out really well. Looks totally OEM. Can't wait to see it all in the car :)

Thanks mate,

Not sure exactly what milage i got on them mate but its between 50-60,000km fitted them in May 2012 ill be sued for Neglect but they looked alright from the outside.

Any sort of negative camber presses down on the inside wall of the tyre causing excessive wear of that area compared to the rest of the tyre,

After lowering your car it is strongly advised that your car is laser aligned to correct camber,

One would assume when a Ford garage prints "laser tracking alignment" on an Invoice after lowering your car on ford supplied springs.

This ment that they had carried out some physical work to correctly align the camber.

However the images above prove they never did,

Yes thats what happens Hassen, i have the same problem with my tyres at the moment and my car isnt lowered yet. Im not too fussed though as the tyres are on the car over two years now.

Does the camber bolts not eliminate your camber issues Lenny?

They were supposed to have been correctly aligned by Ford well the guy with the spur boots billed me for it anyways

But ive made arrangements to have it laser aligned at the local tyre place after they fit the new tyres.

But yeah mate the adjustable bolts give more presicion on adjusting the camber which makes it even more annoying that this has happend since it was ford themselves whom fitted the Eibach adjustable camber bolts and lowering springs.

[Hassen]

Hope it's sorted with the alignment Lenny and it doesn't happen again as that doesn't look safe.

You decided on what tyres you getting? Sticking with the same or a different set?

[jgriff]

Shower of feckers, I wouldnt let ford do anything like that for me. Theres only one place in town that i will only ever buy tyres and get the alignment done as i know they do a top job. You know theyre good when the local BMW dealer sends their cars over to be done.

Just on a side note, did you fit front camber bolts?

[VickiW]

I defo won't be getting valentines pressie now

[Lenny]

Hope it's sorted with the alignment Lenny and it doesn't happen again as that doesn't look safe.

You decided on what tyres you getting? Sticking with the same or a different set?

Sticking with AVON ZV5 cant fault them at all excellent grip especially in wet conditions.

Shower of feckers, I wouldnt let ford do anything like that for me. Theres only one place in town that i will only ever buy tyres and get the alignment done as i know they do a top job. You know theyre good when the local BMW dealer sends their cars over to be done.

Just on a side note, did you fit front camber bolts?

no mate i read up on adjustable camber kits at the time and the advice was you only need a front caster kit if fitting coilovers where the shock becomes more angled.

The Eibach springs raise the front of the car by 20mm and drop the rear by 40mm so only rear wheel camber becomes excessive.

Id never go back to ford again,

Tried to charge me 28 euro for a rear wiper blade that time too.

I had just completed the guide on wiper change a few months previous so the wiper was 100%

Saw him try to charge an elderly couple 90 euro for new discs and pads on an SMax because they were rusty lol

Quick burst on the motorway would clean that.

I once thought because I'm an enthusiast my local ford dealer will see me rite lol no he will ride you even harder while admiring the modifications.

I defo won't be getting valentines pressie now

Cant be gettin a baby every year thankfully im working nights that week.

Dont worry theres always the EuroSaver menu in McDonnalds luv ;) ill have a BigMac Meal cheers :)

[GingerFlame]

I was offered an apprenticeship with ford before I got my current job... I've gotta be honest. After learning what everybody thinks of them I'm glad I didn't bother! Haha

[Lenny]

I was offered an apprenticeship with ford before I got my current job... I've gotta be honest. After learning what everybody thinks of them I'm glad I didn't bother! Haha

I suppose in there defence to be fair;

Every business is out to make money, they have a certain level of income to achieve every month or there overheads will pull the plug,

Also if your an apprentice and you need to be trained on replacing brake discs,

The next car that comes in that door is getting new discs and this guys gonna train you

You may ask " what car is it"

Response "we dont know yet but its getting them anyway"

Love for the game soon goes out the window when the emphasis is on achieving monthly finances to guarantee yourself a bonus in your wages for achieving targets.

[Lenny]

Update:

My mate Dave in work tried bending an excess section of the aluminium this morning in a vice with hammer and it snapped,

So he give me back both strips with the template wire and told me to stop off at LMH Engineering on the way home from work,

They have a 2 Ton pneumatic press which would bend the aluminium,

So i called in on route home,

They put it in the press, got down to 80 degree bend and SNAP!!

The lad apologized for it breaking i was like dude its cool i wanted it that shape no big deal it broke,

So he then went back to the workshop and made me up two brackets in 3mm mild steel the exact shape I'm looking for and refused to charge me a cent,

So i give him the price of a Pint.

Here they are:

Its gonna sit under the panel above the drivers side wheel arch like this:

Next step,

Mark it up and drill the holes,

Meanwhile I'm on two minds as to coating it,

Powder coating or hammerite spray it in an aluminium grey colour.

Im gonna cut two slits in the plastic boot panel so as the top section of these brackets are inside the panel,

Four bolts up through the plastic panel through 9mm MDF then the steel brackets followed by penny washers and lock nuts,

I've ordered some black Allen head M6 x 20 bolts to secure the amp, these bolts look the same as those fitted to the amps by JL Audio,

Also ordered some M6 plastic caps to cover the nut&bolt at rear of the brackets :)

[GingerFlame]

Looking good Lenny!!! Nice of the lad not to charge you! Even nicer of you to buy him a pint! Haha :)

If it was me I'd just spray it with hammerite :)

[Lenny]

Looking good Lenny!!! Nice of the lad not to charge you! Even nicer of you to buy him a pint! Haha :)

If it was me I'd just spray it with hammerite :)

+1 i knew him to see from being in and out of work, couldnt take them for nothing either,

I was just about to agree with you on the hammerite until i found this place: http://www.ecoblast.ie/

Since the brackets are going to be half hidden inside the panel and under the amp; last thing i want is them to start rusting so i think powder coating would be the ultimate protection alsong as the M6 bolts go through the holes after being coated.

Shouldnt cost that much to have them coated perhaps much the same cost as a can of hammerite.

[GingerFlame]

Is it really that cheap? :O

I thought it'd cost a fortune!

[Lenny]

Is it really that cheap? :O

I thought it'd cost a fortune!

depends on the size of the item i suppose,

Got the brackets drilled now, didnt realise the mounting holes for the amp are only 5mm

I orderd M6 yesterday and i need M5 now

For some reason photobucket is playing up too all images showing in a negative red tint form

[Hassen]

That was very nice of them to do that for you. Maybe just to name their business to get them some good advertising for free. It's always nice to see good people in trades.

I didn't get what you were trying to do until I saw the bracket shape. Powder coated, they will look ace and will not rust. Colour match the mdf panels as well.

[JC600]

Getting there Lenny, my photobucket is doing that too....had to just attach my pics. :)

[Hassen]

I just thought Lenny was trying to be arty

[Lenny]

That was very nice of them to do that for you. Maybe just to name their business to get them some good advertising for free. It's always nice to see good people in trades.

I didn't get what you were trying to do until I saw the bracket shape. Powder coated, they will look ace and will not rust. Colour match the mdf panels as well.

Thank_ mate, the MDF for this will be sitting inside the boot panel to add some thickness to the plastic,

Its not going to be visible when fitted, its just somthing for th3 bolts to grip on the opposite side of the plastic and spread the weight of the amp.

Getting there Lenny, my photobucket is doing that too....had to just attach my pics. :)

Thanks mate,

Raging about photobucket, ill edit them tomorrow when they sort it out.