Freds FE3 into the ute swap COMMENTS THREAD.

[fredio54]

i'd love one please :-) i dont know if that box is available in the US, but i'd guess so. though, no ones seen one in my travels...

i think we have some naming messed up, tailshaft to me is the rear end where the driveshaft comes out, pilot bearing sits in the end of the crank, and supports the input shaft.

there were two main problems, and one lesser one that i figured out before the main ones :

input shaft too long by 10mm
guide tube for release bearing (throw out bearing?) too long 8mm
bump where bell drains in way of big pressure plate.

thanks in advance for the pic

fred.

[fredio54]

i thought the lincoln units were high quality? or is it just a light weight one?

fred.

[oddballracing]

You mentioned traction issues due to light weight. I placed the battery in the bed on the passenger side to help balance my weight left-right and put the fuel cell back behind the axle to get its weight behind the rear wheels for that reason!

I'll eventually get around to cracking the rear end open and putting an LSD in there, just not right away. I have to find one I can afford, first!

[fredio54]

i'm also putting the battery back behind the axle on the lhs, and the fuel surge tank and pumps on the rhs both behind the diff. i'm using the stock tank because A i dont have time to do anything better, and B i already tidied it up to new again, and C i believe that weight bias should stay the same with it full and empty. but i like corners, not drag strips.

its funny that lsds for them are hard to find over there. they are reasonably common here. about half have em. i mananged to find a spare, and had a diff place put an extra clutch pack or two on each side for more stiff action.

fred.

[oddballracing]

Well, I may hit you up for one at some point then, dude! :-)

I understand about your tank decisions, etc. At some point in every project you have to say to yourself, "Ok, I'm done spending money, lets get this pile of parts on the damn road!"

Well, at least I did! LOL

[fredio54]

i'm leaving the country in 9 weeks, and have a track day in 3.5 weeks. thus, its not about being done spending money, more about not having time. i'll probably go 5 stud later, and carbon front panels and different rear suspension etc. but for now, i have to make it run, run well, be legal, and soon.

the right way, not some dodgy way.

fred.

[carcenomy]

Cars sliding off the road and houses being washed away? Has been relatively dry here! *chuckle*

Deck frame is looking good, keep at it squire.

[neogenesis2004]

I hope you get it running before you leave. I really wanna see some rpm and psi numbers with that turbo. They are dirt cheap next to comparable ones.

[fredio54]

i'm trying man, i'm trying. i have a complete fuel pump with fittings, now to decide on a line upgrade or not (i know i should) and get the actual plumbing done to the front and back. off outside to do some more welding now that the weather is more sensible. for reference, on the radio today, they said its a 1 in 150 year storm by the amount of rain dumped in some areas... lindsay less than happy aquaplaning down the harbour bridge at around 80kph inches from the barrier... perhaps i shouldnt encourage her to go faster in such conditions :-)

[shwine617]

just wondering what did you make that huge metal frame for? Is it going to replace the bed? It looks like it weighs a ton.

[neogenesis2004]

Ya, I didn't realize this was going to be some big truck to haul around horse manure in.

[fredio54]

ok, heres the thing, the old engine would spin the tyres in 3rd gear. it had 79hp! as much as i love skids, i could lift the back of it and wheel it around on its front wheels without the diff. with the diff, it took two people to do the same. ie, it needed some weight. NEEDED :-) besides, its still going to be too light, i've built it all from 3mm angle mostly, i am of medium build, and i can lift it all alone in the middle, so i guess not more than 100kg or so. i've put decent steel between the uprights from side to side, and light stuff above that mostly. until i welded on the tie downs on the sides you could flex the overhanging back up and down with one hand. ie, its not as heavy as it looks, and its strong for its weight.

there will be no manure on this ute in future, but, have you ever tried to move around an engine or gearbox in a 2 door focking skyline? not a plan. i miss having the ability to just throw stuff on it and drive around. utes are great like that.

the old flat deck that it had (which i still have and may sell) was a two piece tipper. the bottom half was slightly lighter than this one in its entirety, the top half couldnt be lifted by two men! and thats without the 1" ply on it. then theres the one inch ply which was a two person job to carry, though one could probably lift it. and the steel plate sideboards which when you stacked all three together you couldnt lift...

oh and the hydraulic ram and pump and tank and small ram. :-)

so in summary, i want a practical ute, but i want the tray to weigh about 20 - 30% of what it did, and i am well on target for that.

with me in it pre touching anything, it weighed 1600kg or 3527 pounds

with the tray and sides on, even the biggest clutch drop from well in the red in first gear wouldnt spin the ordinary commercial tyres in the dry.

it had 7 leafs in the rear springs when i started, it has 3 now i think, and its sitting well off the bumps...

needless to say, i wont be carting illegal 2500kg loads of gravel around in it anymore.

i hope that answers the questions. i'll summarise :

looks like a ute (no clear lights, body drops, air bags, sound systems, soft shiney painted decks)
is strong to crash into from the rear like it should be and was
can carry my future projects around easily
fast enough to scare the [shizzle] out of me and others
powerfull enough to spin good tyres at high speeds
handling good enough to give "flash" cars a run for their money on a track.

did i miss anything, oh yes, looks plain enough to draw no attention from the pigs. seriously considering putting a pea shooter ex tip on the back for that reason, kill the engine when i get pulled over...

thanks for the comments :-)

fred.

[fredio54]

oh yeah, and i needed something to cover the wheels and hold the tail lights and plate and fuel system in place :-) i was thinking of keeping it really light with just guards, and brackets etc, but my experiences with the stock engine changed my mind...

fred.

[fredio54]

andddddd, last time i promise, how the hell would i tune it that light, you cant tune with wheel spin :-) well, not easily or well. so i needed something strong enough to hold a metric tonne of water while tuning ;-)

[neogenesis2004]

I was just giving you [shizzle] :P