Project: Midnight Panic

[WaterH]

The buggy runs 2 P-pumps, one for the front, the second for the rear,

I have installed this electric pump on a couple rigs.
here is a video testing the same pump I’m running on this project.

https://youtu.be/dsTnjYtqXPY

in this vid it is running on a 16 volt system,
I have also helped setup the same pump using a series parallel relay for the pump & run it at 24 volts, (fast & powerful)
I have a series parallel relay here for this project I may use as well.

That's really impressive. So if you run it at 12 volts, does it run at 12/16's of that speed? Have they proven to be very reliable?

 

[Grendel]

So you want this fawking thing? Wife aggro from it on the kitchen counter...

 

[Skipped_Link]

So you want this fawking thing? Wife aggro from it on the kitchen counter...

Yeah I’ll message you my shipping address

 

[Skipped_Link]

Apparently I need to stay off Craigslist, After a bit of a communication fiasco & 2 trips to the Reno area throughout the week, I'm the proud owner of two more late 40's early 50's dirt moving machines,

And for project updates, I mostly continued on "little things" for the engine, I think the most time consuming part this week was the upper water neck (T-stat housing of it had a thermostat)
With the short distributor, & especially the big cap, clearance was a little tricky,
I started with another 1.5" chunk of aluminum plate to build the main part of the housing, it's pretty strait forward, just has to direct water, not leak, & clear a few other items on the engine,

"strait forward" & "basic" can be two completely different things,

Going into this project I knew I wanted a JIC / AN connection for the upper radiator hose. I also knew that room would be limited to adapt a housing to this fitting, On top of that I have pretty much decided I hate pipe threads,

So slip fit O-ring it is,

To keep the fitting from pushing out under pressure, a pocket was machined for a threaded retainer screw, (10-32)

The fitting was turned down to match the bore in the housing for a nice slip fit, then an O-ring groove was added to seal everything up, here you can see the notch for the retainer screw, this also keeps the fitting from spinning on the housing when installing or removing the upper coolant hose.

Here you can kind of see the retainer screw doing it's job, & just how far back I was able to pull the fitting back into the housing,

 

[Skipped_Link]

In the pics it looks like that O-ring is really sticking out there, way bigger than the OD of the fitting, that's because it kind of is, working with what I had on hand for fittings & O-rings, this O-ring would be better suited to a 1" bore, but my fitting only allowed for a .950" outside diameter, therefore a .9505 bore in the housing, to make this work I made the receiver groove in the fitting a little deeper than normal, so the O-ring could be compressed in the bore, I did end up putting a better smoother radius at the start of the bore to assist fitting install as well,
Not exactly a proper O-ring attachment, but plenty good enough for a cooling system, & still leaps & bounds better than a pipe to AN adapter fitting cobbled in there,

This was test fitting for clearance, & shows the retainer bolt a little better,

Obviously the radius top & flange transition are for style, but the 45* cut, counter sunk bolts, & heavy chamfer on the back of the flange/mounting edge is all about clearance,

Just sneaking that hose fitting back behind the blower belt,

This part got finished off with a Wilwood bleeder, & stainless mounting hardware,

I also build a 3/8 to 1/8 pipe adapter bushing to put the temp sending unit in right below this housing replacing the plug in the pics,
I did not get any pics of that process, but you will see the sending unit installed in the next post,

 

[Skipped_Link]

I decided to dial things back a bit & move on to something a little more simple, Plug wires should be pretty easy, right,

Right out of the gate I needed brackets to mount a couple of the wire separators,

The wire separators are basically two halves clamping the wires between them, & have 6-32 screws holding the two halves together, so these brackets were drilled/tapped to that thread omitting the nut in the separators/claps, then one 3/16 mounting hole was drilled for a 10-32 machine screw to hold the bracket to a threaded hole in the front motor plate,

A second pair of brackets were made to hold another set clamps to a couple unused holes in the front of the heads,

After that it was just a matter of getting the wires from the plugs to the correct terminal on the distributor,

The Plug wires are Taylor 10.4mm, the wires separators came from the same company,
Here you can see the coil was also mounted on the front motor plate,

 

[Skipped_Link]

Back to making aluminum chips in the machine room, a pair of separators were built, except these are for the fuel lines running from the distribution block to the port nozzles,

Earlier in the thread I talked about drilling/tapping a couple holes in the blower set back plate, that's where these clamps were installed,

These hold the longer hoses from flopping around, & should keep them out of the way while doing stuff like valve adjustments spring or rocker changes etc. with the valve covers off,

That's about as far as I got this week,
I think I'm down to a dip stick, & a mount for the port distribution block, then the engine will be ready to go in the chassis for wiring & plumbing,

 

[Skipped_Link]

That's really impressive. So if you run it at 12 volts, does it run at 12/16's of that speed? Have they proven to be very reliable?

I do not know if the speed is exactly proportionate to the voltage, probably yes to some degree, I know 16v is a little faster than 12, & 24 is really pretty fast, but I'm not sure its, twice as fast as 12v,

There are several guys out there running this pump now & I have not heard about any failures yet.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

That is one sexy looking engine.

Your attention to detail on the small stuff is over the top.

 

[WaterH]

That thermostat housing is beautiful. But I have to ask, is there a reason you didn't make it one piece. (Eliminating the o-ring completely)

 

[Skipped_Link]

That thermostat housing is beautiful. But I have to ask, is there a reason you didn't make it one piece. (Eliminating the o-ring completely)

That might be beyond my skill level, I know I would have to buy some tooling to do it at the minimum,

Plus, then I would have aluminum AN threads on the housing, I can wreck many hose ends before having an issue with the steel fitting I used,

 

[WaterH]

That might be beyond my skill level,

That is hard to conceive.

 

[ConwayMuddy]

You building a mega truck, or a mega show truck? The attention to detail and the craftsmanship are ridiculous.

what's the pipe plug in the valve cover for? Keeping junk out for eventual breather?

 

[Hooligan]

Ok, I don’t memorize people on here, but I thought this was a mud truck and figured you were in the south. You’re in Cali? Where will this beauty be used?

 

[Skipped_Link]

what's the pipe plug in the valve cover for? Keeping junk out for eventual breather?

Correct, that's just the way the valve covers came, I'll be doing provisions for breathers at some point, & the pipe plug is just filling the hole for now,

Ok, I don’t memorize people on here, but I thought this was a mud truck and figured you were in the south. You’re in Cali? Where will this beauty be used?

I'm actually in northern Nevada,
There's still plenty of mud events of some sort all over the north west, bounty holes play days, etc, There was actually an event just last weekend I think in Oregon,
It's not a big as the mud stuff in Florida, or Michigan but I'm sure a guy can burn plenty of gas & have a good time,

 

[Sterlingfire]

Correct, that's just the way the valve covers came, I'll be doing provisions for breathers at some point, & the pipe plug is just filling the hole for now,




I'm actually in northern Nevada,
There's still plenty of mud events of some sort all over the north west, bounty holes play days, etc, There was actually an event just last weekend I think in Oregon,
It's not a big as the mud stuff in Florida, or Michigan but I'm sure a guy can burn plenty of gas & have a good time,

Come to Michigan and play when it's done! I'll buy you some

 

[WaterH]

If and when you take that to a mud event, will you have some kind of guard on the engine scoop? Ervybody loves seeing the butterflies working, but it seems like chunks of mud might get sucked in. I'm thinking you will make some kind of cool screen that can snap or bolt on. We want to see some more "skipped link" touch. Lol.

 

[Skipped_Link]

If and when you take that to a mud event, will you have some kind of guard on the engine scoop? Ervybody loves seeing the butterflies working, but it seems like chunks of mud might get sucked in. I'm thinking you will make some kind of cool screen that can snap or bolt on. We want to see some more "skipped link" touch. Lol.

I do have a filter for it, basically a K&N or knock off with billet end plates,

K&N also actually makes a filter specifically for the different Enderle hats, but they are a little nuts on the pricing,

Pretty sure the one I have was less than $300 when I bought it.
..

 

[ArTi54N]

I'm just wondering out loud.. every inch of your build is sooo clean and shiny.. yet I saw a pic where you have some mud paddle tires.. I really want to see the video, from when you first take her into a pit, never to have her clean again.. no matter how much you try to detail her..

did I miss where you explained the coating you were gonna put almost all over.. or something? I saw you sorta referencing it..

 

[WaterH]

I'm just wondering out loud.. every inch of your build is sooo clean and shiny.. yet I saw a pic where you have some mud paddle tires.. I really want to see the video, from when you first take her into a pit, never to have her clean again.. no matter how much you try to detail her..

did I miss where you explained the coating you were gonna put almost all over.. or something? I saw you sorta referencing it..

Yea, I was thinking he needs to take it to some car shows before any actual events that include mud.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

I'm actually in northern Nevada,
There's still plenty of mud events of some sort all over the north west, bounty holes play days, etc, There was actually an event just last weekend I think in Oregon,
It's not a big as the mud stuff in Florida, or Michigan but I'm sure a guy can burn plenty of gas & have a good time,

Bring this bad ass truck to Texas when its finished. We have lots of mega-truck and mud comps around these parts. Id love to see that truck in person when its finished.

 

[CarterKraft]

Bring this bad ass truck to Texas when its finished. We have lots of mega-truck and mud comps around these parts. Id love to see that truck in person when its finished.

That might make me finally go to RWP...

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

That might make me finally go to RWP...

I can't bring myself to do it either. Not sure I'm inbred redneck enough for that crowd.

 

[Austin]

That is one sexy looking engine.

Your attention to detail on the small stuff is over the top.

You can say that again ... the stuff you are machining is awesome

K&N also actually makes a filter specifically for the different Enderle hats, but they are a little nuts on the pricing

That Red Skull has more power than just no ads and unlimited pic storage ... make it work for ya

 

[ArTi54N]

That might make me finally go to RWP...

wish I could go there for spring break..

 

[surpip]

Looks like this weeks faster with finnegan is playing with your sorta truck.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

That Red Skull has more power than just no ads and unlimited pic storage ... make it work for ya

I just noticed this post...... That is one hell of a good price!

 

[Skipped_Link]

This weeks updates is actually a couple weeks worth, My co-driver for most Havoc type events, & his wife came down for the holiday weekend, since they traveled from out of town & the holiday landed on my work week, I took a rotation off from work giving me a full 2 weeks off to tinker with the project,

The goal was to set the engine in the chassis while help was here, so leading up to them arriving I focused on getting the little engine stuff finished up,

A new high flow oil filter/accumulator adapter was put together using parts from an EFI 460 & a universal filter relocation kit,
New adapter on the left & what the stock one looks like on the right,

Then I needed a mount to hold the port line distribution block to the mid-plate once everything was installed,

I did not intentionally make this piece look like cock-n-balls, but it sure turned out that way,
Fortunately once in place it's pretty well covered up,

It was asked earlier what the pipe plug in the valve cover was all about, the threaded hole in the cap is intended for a breather, or PCV valve. On this project I am going to run a header evac system, & need a way to plumb from each valve cover to the headers, So 2 of the oil fill/ valve cover caps were turned down keeping only the threads & a small shoulder to seat the o-ring into the valve cover, Then the center was bored as large as possible without making the part to weak or interfering with the threads, Next a #16 AN fitting was machined to be a press fit into this bore,

After a few minutes on the wood stove with a good fire going, the aluminum parts would easily slid over the steel fitting, which got a small bead of loc-tite before sliding the parts together,

Now there is a good positive way to attach common plumbing to the valve covers,

And since I was making a mess in the machine room anyway, I figured I would build a manifold/flange which will weld to the fuel tank & provide a good place to run any return hoses from the mechanical injection system.
#8 ORB is so much better than pipe thread.

 

[Skipped_Link]

I figured with wiring coming up pretty soon, & needing a place for the batteries to sit, I should probably at least get a chunk of aluminum, & a DXF file to the water jet guy so he could cut the skid plate out whenever he had a chance, & hopefully I would not be waiting on that later on,

A few changes were made to the original plasma cam pattern I had drawn for the belly plate, & a trip into town to drop off the material,
That evening he shot me a text saying my parts were done, Guess I wouldn't be waiting on him, so the next morning I ran back into town & picked up the part,

The material is just an old chunk of 1/2" 6061 I've been moving around the yard for honestly close to 20 years, not something I would use on a rock rig, but prefect for a mud truck if mud trucks needed skid plates, I had been keeping my eye out for something a little better suited, maybe some 7075, but no deals popped up, I also looked at titanium just for grins, but turns out,
that's not in my budget, If there is ever a need to actually slide over rocks, I'll just get a piece of plastic, have it WJ & use 8 or 10 of the mounting holes to hold it in place over the aluminum.

With a little time to kill & while the truck was still on the lift I figured I better just get this thing installed,
Both the leading & trailing edge got a 45* angle so there was just a 1/2" abrupt edge hanging down there,

The sides got a slightly smally 45* chamfer to clear the welds on the chassis tubes & belly plate,

There were only two openings transferred from the belly plate to the skid plate, these were radiused just because,

Then all of the bolt holes were countersunk,

Only thing left to do was bolt it in place,

 

[Wisconsinite]

You are the only builder I know who can make a skid plate look sexy.