Forward Parking Assist - Circuit 3/9 (optional component)

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Major System Category: Electronics
Task: Run cables for forward parking assist sensors
Parts: Optional part (parking assist sensors)
Power Cell: 3
Circuit: 9 - ORANGE
Master cell: TAN/GREEN
Prerequisite Tasks: Mount the body
Additional Costs: $50
Time Requirement: 1 hour
Date Started: September 1, 2012
Date Completed: September 1, 2012
The forward parking sensors are an identical setup to the rear parking sensors. They came in the same kit. The differences are as follows:

• Wired into the brake switch.
• Mounted on the inside of the hood.

Forward parking sensors staged on the radiator aluminum box. There should be enough slack to route easily to the hood once it is mounted. Orientation: front of the car.

I currently, do not have the hood mounted on the chassis. I decided to stage the sensors inside the radiator aluminum. This is an area I reinforced for strength earlier in the build. I enclosed the sensor cables in wire loom, and ran the loom under the radiator aluminum wall through the steering rack mounts. I snaked the loom around the battery tray and behind the lower rear mount for the front control arms on the driver's side. I believe I can mount the control box to the inside of the body shell below the hinges for the hood. I have temporarily mounted the control box here.

Sensor control box mounted inside the body shell behind the front tire on the driver's side. There is  plenty of room to run the speaker cable up the pillar and into the headliner. Orientation: driver's side wheel well, taken from beneath the car.

I can route the speaker cable up the pillar and mount forward on roof under the head liner. There is a vendor that has created additional fiber glass pieces that for mounting gauges on the driver's side pillar and over head   parallel to the center tunnel. Even if I do not mount additional gauges, I can see the utility for these pieces.

Permanent home for the front parking sensor. The master cylinder are at the bottom of the photo. The red is part of the  body shell and the black angle piece is the wiper motor arm.

Update April 10, 2013: I got around to finding a permanent home for this module.I cut a 5 x 5 inch acrylic square (I have been working with acrylic to mold some pieces for a center console compartment.) I mounted the sensor module on the acrylic using 3M double sided tape, then I mounted the acrylic ahead of the wind shield next tot he master cylinders. I had to be careful not to cause interference with the wiper rocker arm. Once I am certain I have handle all the other issues related to the hood, I will mount these sensors on the hood. Right now they are on the reinforced section below the radiator.

Fabricated mount for parking sensor. This sits above the front grille on the ledge/ This is a great place to run wires/

Update August 10, 2013: Most of the summer was spent working on the body. The hood and body shell are at the point where I finished up most of the wiring associated with Power Cell #1. The front parking assist sensors are designed to attach to a surface using 3M automotive tape. This works fine for the outer sensors, but not for the two middle sensors. I entered up fabricating a mount from angle aluminum and 3M tape. I used the Loctite Epoxy designed for fiberglass and aluminum.

AC “Blower Relocate” Plenum

<< GTM AC Evaporator Kit                            GTM Blower Motor  >>

Major System Category: AC & Cooling System
Task: Optional Upgrade for blower motor relocation
Parts:  AC Plenum supplied by Vraptor Speedworks
Prerequisite Tasks: Dismantle the passenger foor well
Additional Costs: Plenum Box ($45)
Time Requirement: 6 - 8 hours
Date Started: August 4, 2012
Date Completed: August 6, 2012
The AC Plenum box is used to relocate the blower motor. The standard location for the blower motor is in the front equipment bay between the radiator aluminum and the beginning of the tunnel. These are the items already living in this section of the car:

1. Battery
2. Steering column
3. Master Cylinders
4. Passenger side front brake line
5. AC Condenser
6. AC Compressor
7. Surge Tank (Moved to rear)
8. AC Blower Motor (Moved to Passenger foot well)
9. Coolant lines (soft and hard)

It seems a tad crowded to me. There are electrical lines to run for the lights, fan motors, radar detectors, signals and probably things I have forgotten about.

This is the triangular piece that fits intot he front wall of the foot well. This needs to be cut so  an opening exists for the  air to flow through to the blower motor. The blower motor will connect tot he this piece.

The new home for the blower motor is the passenger foot well. The basic design connects the blower motor to the evaporator via a rigid plastic sleeve. This pushes the blower motor into this crowded space. The AC plenum relocates the sleeve with a two piece aluminum box, creating two right angles for the air to flow through.

AC Plenum view from the top. I still need to trim the top bracket holding the evaporator unit. The hard coolant lines are visible. This is taken from the top of the car. The top of photo is towards the front of the car.

The front footwell needs to be modified to handle the the AC plenum and the accommodate an opening for the blower motor air flow. These pieces still need to be riveted back into place. However, I would leave the panel between the evaporator and the blower motor off until everything is hooked up and tested. This is going to be a while, because duct work needs to be run into the dash panel.

This is a second shot of the plenum from the other direction. The clamp on the  upper left of the photo holds the plenum tab that needs to be riveted to the chassis cross member.

I made the plenum as air tight as possible. I used plenty of black silicone to fill in an holes/cracks. I also plan to use Eastwood's contour filler as an additional body sealer before I put down the sound proofing.

Radiator Aluminum

<< Inner Wheel Wells                                       Radiator Install  >>

Major System Category: AC & Cooling System
Task: Install aluminum panels
Parts:

• Radiator Undertray
• Radiator Rear Duct

Prerequisite Tasks: Inner Wheel Wells
Additional Costs: N/A
Time Requirement: 4 hours
Date Started: July 2, 2012
Date Completed: July 7, 2012
I started working on this half way through the Inner Wheel Well assembly. The reason being these pieces need to fit together. The other reason has to do with a couple of threads I read on the forums. I have spoken of the importance of the forums, and this is a case in point.

One of the pieces for side reinforcement of the undertray. This involves riveting three pieces of metal together.

The aluminum undertray and the inner wheel wells form a three sided box around the radiator. Unlike the rear duct piece, the undertray is riveted to other pieces of aluminum. More than one builder reported that the first time the car was taken up to speed, this piece gets bent all out of shape. There is not enough strength (simply in the panel) to maintain structural integrity. The solution is very simple - a 3/4 inch angle aluminum bar riveted inside the lip. I went the extra step of running two additional pieces to reinforce the rivet points between the inner wheel wells and the understray.

Stabilize the piece with clamps.

Consideration: Reinforce the undertray lip and sides.

The undertray installed. The main reinforcement piece runs the length of the tray just inside the front lip. It is a thicker piece (1/4 inch) than the side pieces (1/8 inch).

This is piece behind the radiator duct panel. The cross members makes it difficult to get a drill  in there.

I have additional steps of coating the metal prior to installation. The other thing I have done is lay other aluminum pieces in place on the chassis. As I worked with the rear duct piece, I noted the next piece in line was going to be a bear to drill holes for once the radiator aluminum was in place. I went the extra step and pre-drilled the aluminum and the chassis. I am wondering if some of these things are easier to see, because I have the luxury of changing the height of the car via the lift.