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 THE BUILD
Scroll to the bottom for my latest progress!
11/14/08
The kit was transported by container ship to New Jersey and by truck freight to New Orleans. The freight company only had a box trailer
with a lift gate, but that wouldn't help us with a 10 ft long crate would it? The solution was to drive to New Orleans and have the freight company load the cargo onto my 18 ft race trailer.
11/15/08
I spent most of the day sorting through the plethora of bolt bags and small parts that could get lost if not placed into a secure spot. Manik Technologies, LLC, the company I purchased the kit from, only gave me 3 days to inventory the parts so
I compared the 15 page packing list with the opened crate, boxes, and bags.
11/16/08
Frustration started building as I could not find the right parts to start the beginning of the kit to follow the manual. I browsed a few British Megabusa build websites and it seems the manual doesn't always lead you in the right
chronological order. To make more room in my shop I decided to put the front/rear suspension on first. The front hubs/brakes/uprights were already put together so it was a matter of connecting the top/bottom wishbones together. Next
was the steering rack. I emailed Manik and inquired as to why the steering rack was too narrow. Manik informed me of
tie rod extenders that were included in the kit. I found them after a short search.
11/21/08
I dropped off the Hayabusa engine earlier in the week to Andy Millet of Millet Motorsports (Walker, LA). Andy installed the SBD Motorsports dry sump kit which includes an external dual scavenge oil pump that replaces the mechanical water pump. The kit also included a clutch slave
cylinder to clear the pump/sump. Last on the list of modifications was to replace the factory chain sprocket with a 4-bolt hub. Andy is mostly a drag racing guru, but he said this dry sump system was definitely built by a machinist (top notch). After I got the engine home I cleaned it up
and I began bolting the engine mounts to it. Before the engine gets installed I installed the chassis wiring loom from the dashboard to the rear of the car. I still need to rivet the loom brackets on the chassis and zip tie the loom away from moving/rotating parts.
11/22/08
I labeled both fuseboxes, disassembled them, and fed the wires through the scuttle hole. I reassembled the fuseboxes and mounted them to the aluminum plate with spacers. I bought a few fasteners missing from the kit to finish the pedals. I trimmed the brake pushrods and the balance bar assembly
went together. I single-handedly maneuvered the engine into place above the chassis, lowered it into position, and I needed to step back and check things. The British websites offered a little help from the bolting information missing from the manual so I took a chance at using M8x45mm bolts
for all 9 engine bracing locations. I drilled 5/16" holes in the chassis and installed the bolts. The lower engine frame was drilled & installed as well.
11/25/08-11/26/08
I stopped by a hardware store and picked up a few washers I ran out of. The shifter assembly was completed. I'm waiting on a 30mm long bushing to complete the shifter firewall quadrant pivot. I installed the fuel tank after laying down foam tape atop the frame to prevent chafing/wear. I put off the assembly of the rear halfshafts long enough. I donned nitrile gloves and gritted my teeth for a few hours in the assembly of these little buggers. Each halfshaft consists of an inner and outer CV joint/boot assembly. A little bit of grease, 2 long screwdrivers, and jargon a sailor uses are required to get the boots over each halfshaft. I greased up the CV joints
and retained them on the shaft with circlips. After each halfshaft was fully assembled it was bolted to the differential hub and upright hub with 6 bolts and a cork gasket sandwiched between. Keen eyes of the WSCC forum members informed me that my shocks (front/rear) were upside down. It has something to do with unsprung weight and the inertia imposed on each wheel.
My guess is that by moving the heavy shock housing higher in the chassis the wheels and suspension can respond better. It makes it easier to adjust (at the bottom) and the word "Nitron" is not upside down now. =) I installed the fuel pump on the chassis below the differential. I installed the fuel tank hose barbs.
11/28/08-11/30/08
I painted 2 of the 3 steering shafts (black then clear coat). After installing the steering assembly the Racetech detachable steering wheel boss would not fit. It turns out Westfield leaves it up to the car owner to weld the boss on (liability reasons).
I installed the radiator and oil cooler. Next up was the installation of the front cycle wing brackets. I then put the front and rear stainless brake lines on. I disconnected the parking brake handle assembly in order to pull the parking brake cable
over the rear caliper pivot hooks. After reinstallation of the parking brake handle I called it a night. The next day I installed the Westfield race seats and 4-point harnesses. I can't believe the seats have sliders! I figured a racecar would have 4-bolts and call it done. The passenger side
shoulder harness eyebolts are missing their spacers. I have a package coming from Westfield next week so I had Manik Technologies, LLC add the spacers to the list. =) I tackled the rear swaybar (anti-roll bar) next. Thanksgiving Day plus a party on Saturday night at our house
took me away from MEGABUSA building this weekend. I will have to work harder this week!
12/01/08-12/05/08
Lots of little stuff to do. I mounted the front swaybar (anti-roll bar). Thank god I have a little bit of patience. It can only go in one way, and I found it after cussing and trial fitting for 5 minutes or so. At the same time, I fitted the dry sump oil reservoir tank. The oil reservoir tank was interfering with the
front bolt mount on the lower engine brace. I took a cutoff wheel and trimmed it to fit. Next, I mounted the radiator reservoir tank. I had Mad Man Racing & Co. machine & weld the Racetech steering wheel boss and lower splines on a new upper steering shaft. Top notch job at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend them.
12/06/08
Against my better judgement I decided to fit the lower body to the chassis. The top rails went in quite nicely, but when I raised the car and looked at the bottom I had a problem. It seems Westfield did a great job on the driver side, but the passenger side leaves a LOT to be desired (as far as fitment goes). My redneck ingenuity kicked in and I decided to use not 1 but 2 three inch
ratchet straps to "pull" the sides together. I put earplugs in so I wouldn't hear the fiberglass creaking. =) Once the body sucked in to my liking I drilled and riveted it in place. I'm tired of looking at the rollcage sitting on the ground all alone over in the corner of the garage. Everybody says it's a 2 person job, but hell I haven't used anybody yet so why buck the system?
I brought out my "trusty" Harbor freight engine hoist and load leveler. After the rollcage was lowered into place I marked the lower body section for drilling. Westfield helped me out by already having holes and bushings in the chassis for the rollcage. I only had to drill the fiberglass body (from the inside out). I don't know if I'm doing it right, but it seems to work best if you put
the drill in REVERSE and lay into the body at warp speed. I recommend holding your breath so you don't breathe any of the nasty white fumes that are released from the drilling chaos. Once the holes were drilled I carefully lowered the rollcage into place and secured it. Can't say it's not a racecar NOW!
12/07/08
To keep my sanity I must alternate between little odds & ends and more difficult tasks. I decided to mount the rearview mirror. It's a factory Ford item with a square patch of stickiness, but I used my Redneck Engineering degree to achieve a race-ready solution. A racecar can never have too many zipties, right? Next up were the inner door bars that tie the side of the rollcage to the chassis.
I tried my best to use ANYTHING in the shop before asking my wife for her Dremel. Hell, even a few well-placed shaped charges would have got me by, but my neighbor is out of town this week. =) I should have bought a Dremel that plugged into the wall. I had to charge it three times to finish the four chassis plate cuts necessary to fit the driver and passenger side cage braces. Once the holes were
cut I had to engineer a solution for getting a nut and washer on the backside of the front bolts for the side rollcage braces. First, I epoxied a M10 flatwasher to a nyloc nut. I made up a rigging to hold the nut/washer between the fiberglass body and chassis. I decided on scavenging two studs normally used for the exhaust manifold in the MEGABUSA kit. Once the rigging held the nut/washer in place I threaded the stud until
it was finger tight. The trusty yellow zip ties held the nut in place for me to cinch up the stud a few revolutions with my impact. I then finished the studs off with a jam nut. The rear bolts for the side rollcage bars are accessible from the rear arch locations. No rigging necessary here. Once the rollcage door bars were installed I searched the WSCC forums for guidance. I don't believe the rollcage gets
tightened against the door bars with the body simply sandwiched in between. I'm leaning towards using the oversized bushings left in the kit to span the gap between the rollcage and the door bars. The body will be drilled somewhat oversized so that I can achieve proper torque on the rollcage sidebolts without splitting the fiberglass body. My impact ate the retaining ring that holds sockets on, so I quickly made
another one out of mechanic wire. A tip when drilling is to dip the bit into a lubricant (motor oil) to prevent overheating and/or a shortening of tool life. Dip the bit, and drill until there are signs of smoke. Dip and continue.
12/12/08
I stopped by Thunder Racing and picked up braided stainless lines and fittings for the dry sump oiling system ($250). I made templates out of mechanic wire (no photos of the templates to maintain professionalism  ). I was going to run the scavenge pump discharge line AROUND the backside of the engine with a 90 degree fitting, over the oil filter, and down the side of the chassis to the oil cooler. However, the line was cut too short. D'OH! I improvised by using
the 180 degree bend I purchased for the top oil tank fitting. After connecting a 12AN-10AN reducer and 10AN 180 degree fitting to the pump I routed the braided stainless hose under the dry sump pan, over the bottom oil tank fitting, around the front swaybar assembly and I connected it to the oil cooler on the driver side with a 10AN 90 degree fitting. (What are AN fittings?) Did I mention how much of a PITA those AN fittings are to put together? I suggest wearing mechanic gloves
while putting the braided line fittings on. I soaked the male end in motor oil and it greatly helped assembly. I had Chris Carver turn the dry sump return fitting down to a barb. I did this because an AN fitting will not work on the bottom of the oil tank. I am stuck with using a barb there, so I might as well use one for the other end. Mad Man is out of town this weekend, but he returns on Monday. I will remove the bottom oil tank fitting and have him miter it
into a 90 degree fitting so that I can connect it to the dry sump pan return. Otherwise the rubber hose would kink if I connected it. It was a miracle that the 90 degree fitting I had left over worked for the top of the oil tank. I originally planned on using a 180 degree fitting here. Sweet! I ran the passenger side oil cooler line to the top of the oil tank and connected it. I braced this oil line with a wire loom fitting riveted to the chassis to keep it away
from the front swaybar assembly. Lightspeed Motorsports came through with the parts I ordered last week. Instead of having the stock fuel rail aluminum joint modified to accept a perpendicular tube for fuel return I purchased the stock Hayabusa fuel rail fitting (the original fitting connects to the pump discharge). I installed the fuel pressure regulator to the chassis after connecting 5/16" fuel hose to the tank return line and fuel rail return line. Looks tidy I might add! Thanks to Team Libell Motorsport
for the pictures of his setup.
12/13/08
I couldn't find an answer on the mighty Al Gore internet so I used by best Redneck Engineering Judgment to solve the roll cage bolting problem. I decided to use leftover metal tubing as sandwiched spacers between the outside roll cage member, the body, and the inner chassis door bars. First, I removed the cage and suspended it in air with my "trusty" engine hoist (again). I'm running low on prayers for this thing so I hope I don't need
to remove the roll cage again. Next, I enlarged the holes in the body at the roll cage support points. I cut down the metal spacers to seat against the inner chassis support bar and protrude from the body approximately 1/8". I worked quickly as my "trusty" engine hoist is becoming less reliable in suspending a light load indefinitely. I haven't tightened the roll cage bolts because Westfield still owes me the passenger side
shoulder anchor bolt spacers. Can't fit the anchor bolts with the rear of the cage bolted in. While I had the cage off I decided to remove the rear tabs of the lower body section at the roll cage mounting points. Again, if you tighten metal against fiberglass it's going to crack. I won't skimp on the proper torque for any of the roll cage bolts. Safety first, right?
12/14/08
Time to fit the rear fenders. Most chaps have the luxury of fitting the rear fenders to the lower body section when all of the body panels are off the chassis. Westfield shipped my kit with the lower body section mounted already so I've had to improvise more times than I've wanted to. Without the luxury of being able to clamp and drill from both sides freely I decided to drill the fender holes in the lower body section first. Westfield and other MEGABUSA
builders use ten (10) M6 bolts with flat washers & nyloc nuts for each fender. I'm a little conservative in Redneck Engineering calculations so I went with twelve (12) for each fender. Once the holes in the lower body section were drilled I had to find a way of transferring the hole locations to the rear fenders themselves. Short of measuring each hole I came up with the following solution. I mounted each rear fender with clamps to the lower body section. I used a small allen wrench
dipped in copper anti-seize (copper slip in Britain) to leave residue in each hole. Once I was satisified the messy transfer process was complete I removed each fender and to my amazement it worked! Well, 10 out of 12 holes ain't bad. Hell, that's passing in public schools around here. I measured the 2 remaining holes, I drilled the fenders and I bolted them in place. Next up was installing the rear tail lights. I drilled and mounted the brake/turn signal assemblies first. I then mounted the rear fog light (red) as well as the license plate light. Westfield
forgot to ship the reverse light. =(
12/15/08
I stopped by Mad Man's shop to fix my lower dry sump oil tank fitting problem (the pictures on 12/12/08 show the oil tank outlet to sump inlet are 90 degrees apart). He couldn't work with most of what Westfield supplied so he welded an AN Tee fitting onto it. (What are AN fittings?) He also turned down the dry sump oil pan entry fitting from a 12 AN fitting to a barbed fitting to accept hose. I installed both fittings followed by an oil-rated hose to complete the dry sump oiling system. I can tell this system will be fun to prime. I'm thinking about removing the lines from the oil cooler, filling
the oil cooler, filling both lines, and quickly attaching them to the oil cooler. I estimate my dry sump oiling capacity at 7 quarts. I trimmed the sides of the scuttle (dashboard top) and fitted it in place. I measured for a good 20 minutes before I took the plunge in cutting the steering shaft hole. I'm not about to show a picture of the finished hole until I can at least cover it with a piece of carbon fiber. What a mess!
12/19/08
I took my stock Hayabusa thermostat out and I drilled a 1/8" hole in the bottom. This will allow some flow past the thermostat when the engine is cold to protect the electric water pump. The thermostat already has a 1/8" air bleed hole at the 12 o'clock position. Next up was the dissection of the standard Westfield lower coolant pipe to fit my needs. I left enough length on either side of the coolant reservoir tank return line so that it doesn't slide off. If it pops off I'll clean the mess up and
find someone with a die to make a lip on both runs of the branch tee. With no access to milling equipment or the like I decided to solve the electric water pump fitting reduction with hose barbs and a plethora of jubilee (worm) clamps. I fitted the lower radiator hose to the inlet of the electric water pump. I connected the outlet of the pump to the reservoir tank tee. The 1" flexible rubber coolant hose continues in front of the engine and along the backside to the block. The final step for the cooling system
is to block off the factory air bleed at the head. I thought I bought the correct fitting today, but it will not work. I vented my frustration out on the tail light electrical connectors.
12/20/08
I dreaded what unfolded today. The end result shows my dread. Some will laugh. Some will cry. Others won't care because it's a race car, right? I haven't had a beer in quite some time, but it looks like I set the beer down long enough to butcher the side of my MEGABUSA for the exhaust manifold hole. To minimize the shower of fiberglass bits I wised up and brought my shopvac into the equation. To redeem my butchery I removed the factory Hayabusa PAIR valve and I installed blockoff plates where the original tubes
connected to the cylinder head. I'll probably end up trimming the top of the manifold hole straight across to retain some dignity. Maybe there's a reason I don't have my email address on this build site.
12/21/08
I found a flat bar all by itself under some bubblewrap in the garage. Research tells me it's a front brace for the anti-roll bar (swaybar) setup. I followed the directions sent by Manik for the installation. One of the most tedious tasks in any race car is the wiring harness. Instead of taking the easy way out and sending my engine wiring harness to Westfield for modification I have decided to tackle it myself. Well, Westfield doesn't account for the factory Hayabusa dash so my installation is custom anyway. I don't
make anything easy for myself, do I? I need to purchase an oil temperature gauge and install it in the dry sump oil tank. I also need to purchase a few plugs to close extra holes in the dry sump oil tank.
12/31/08
Between the holidays and parts not showing up when promised the completion date for the MEGABUSA is gone and forgotten. At this point I'm still excited about finishing the project, but I'm not going to set another date. Although nothing was talked about on TV the planets must have shifted into perfect unison as I was able to find not one but all THREE bung sizes for the dry sump oil tank. I originally posted on the WSCC forum and I was told the
larger male thread was a 3/8" British Standard Pipe (BSP) thread, the bottom bung was a Ford Escort oil drain plug and the bottom bung on the side was M10x1.00. The only place in the United States that had a 3/8" BSP cap was McMaster Carr. When it arrived I couldn't thread it on more than 1 thread. Sure, it was the right size but wrong threads. I purchased 2 Ford Escort oil drain plugs and they were both too small. A M10x1.00 bolt did not fit in the lower side bung.
Tom @ Manik Technologies sent me a PDF of the Westfield dry sump system. The PDF mentioned a M14x1.5 drain plug but it wasn't shown on the picture. After many trips to hardware stores that either closed early or were closed several days after the holidays (frustrating!) I finally nailed down the bung sizes. It worked! I trimmed the M14x1.5 bolt down to length, I added teflon tape for safe measure and I finished the installation off with a copper crush washer. While at
the hardware store I purchased a 3/8" National Pipe Thread (NPT) cap and it worked on the male thread side bung. The final bung (lower side) is indeed a 1/8" NPT thread. This will match the oil temperature gauge probe with no adapter. The gauges were ordered from Summit Racing and they are due the week of January 5th.
01/03/09
Happy New Year! I ordered an oil catch can for the dry sump oil system and it arrived January 2nd. I installed it today with brass fittings and hose from NAPA. One side of the catch can connects to the dry sump oil tank and the other side is the transmission vent where a SBD Motorsports plate was installed. Pardon the wiring mess. I'm still waiting on Hayabusa electrical parts from California and gauges/battery/kill switch from Summit Racing. I clamped the nose cone to the hood (bonnet). I measured the nose cone and drilled
the hole on each side for the grommet that receives a hood pin. I used my trusty copper anti-seize (slip) and allen wrench to mark the hood to be drilled for the nose cone locating pins once I clamped them both together. I trial fitted the nose cone and hood to the MEGABUSA. I trimmed the edges of the hood where it touched the engine brace and oil catch can. Westfield owes me the nose cone lower mounting bracket.
01/04/09
A little research led me to the proper fitting of the speedometer transducer. I bent the chassis bracket a bit and tightened it in place with jam nuts and washers. I then connected it to the wiring harness. For those that may have tried soldering wiring connections with those tiny, needle pointed soldering irons I have some good news. Radio Shack makes a much nicer soldering iron. This soldering iron (gun) can reach 950 degrees (F) in 8 seconds, or 1150 degrees (F) on another setting. With my trusty double barreled soldering gun I first tackeled the tip over sensor
modification. The manual calls for a 62k ohm, 0.6 watt resistor to be fitted. Best I could do was to install two 33k ohm, 0.5 watt resistors in series. It'll work. After I finished the tip over sensor I patched a few wires that were previously attached with butt connectors. I found one of the cam position sensor wires was cut almost all the way through. That would have been hard to track down later down the road! That is why I had previously decided to remove ALL of the tape and protective wiring loom from the harness. It aids in trouble shooting bad spots such as
that. Lastly, I took a few pictures of the lower nose cone bracket location for reference.
01/17/09
I've been busy working on the car and not so busy taking pictures. In this installment I'll show you what the Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels look like with the body set in place. Thanks to my buddy Billy at O'Neal Car Care for mounting/balancing. I'll definitely go back to him in the future to detail the MEGABUSA. Keep in mind the MEGABUSA is still in the air on my lift so I'm not quite sure if the rear wheels will need spacers or not. I'm not a fan of wheel spacers, but I think a 10 mm spacer would work wonders for these street wheels/tires. I went with 15x7 rims and 205/50/15 Falken Azenis RT-615 tires. Although I will not take the 15's to an autocross or lapping day I wanted a top notch tire for slightly aggressive driving. =)
I put Autometer gauges (oil pressure, oil temp, water temp), switches, warning lights and a push button starter in the dash. I then trial fitted it in place. I attached the bracket for the brake & clutch bottles to the right side motor mount per pictures from Libell Motorsport. My buddy Vic came over and helped me bleed the brakes and clutch.
01/18/09
I trial fitted the body so that I could see what it looked like with the wheels/tires mounted. The final Westfield part awaiting arrival is the nose cone lower bracket. As you can see I am propping the nose cone in place with boxes/bits. The front cycle wings don't line up with the new 15 inch wheels using the Westfield cycle wing brackets. I will have to get a set of brackets made specifically for the 15 inch wheels, and I'll use the Westfield brackets for the 13 inch wheels. I will be running a 185 front tire on the 13's. The 205 is a tad on the fat side.
01/18/09-02/06/09
I loaded up the MEGABUSA on my trailer and I took it to a local instrumentation tech to get the engine wiring completed. The alignment is all over the place, but it is real easy to push her on the trailer. I really hope she is under 1000 lb.
03/24/09
The instrumentation tech that planned to finish the engine wiring did not work out so I brought the MEGABUSA home. A good friend and fellow Mechanical Engineer, TRON, came over to the house and dedicated a TON of hours to complete the engine harness and other wiring bits over the course of several weeks. Quite a brilliant guy he is. Just give him more space after he eats fast food. :) The engine roared to life on March 24, 2009 at 8:00 pm. We pushed the MEGABUSA out into the driveway and I placed the newly purchased fire extinguisher within reach. TRON and I put some gas in the tank and turned the ignition "ON" to prime the fuel system. Following Westfield's recommendation we left the fuel system primed for 15 minutes while I added oil and coolant to the engine.
No leaks whatsoever. Time to crank it! TRON depressed the clutch switch, I turned the key in the "ON" position, I verified the kill switch to be in the "ON" position, and lastly the MEGABUSA was in neutral per the GI-PRO display. With a touch of the push-button starter in the dash the engine ticked over and sprang to life for a few seconds and died. The engine has been sitting up for almost 8 months, so I tried it again. VRROOOM! The engine sprang to life on the next crank and I immediately adjusted the idle set screw to ~1500 rpm. MAN, the engine is very loud without a muffler!
Words cannot describe what TRON and I were going through at that moment, but the looks on our faces spoke for us. I had built this car since November 14th and TRON had dedicated almost 4 days of hard labor to finish the engine harness and a few other scope changes. We let the MEGABUSA idle at 1000 rpm and the cooling system warmed up and burped air bubbles nicely into the overflow tank. Once the engine had warmed up I topped the oil level off in the dry sump tank. It took all 8 quarts that I had, and I still need another 0.5 quart to reach the bottom of the top baffle per the instructions
from members of the WSCC forum. We hung the carbon fiber Yoshimura TRS muffler off the Westfield header and it dropped the idle noise drastically. I took video of us cranking the engine a second time for the world to see. Quite a few bits left: final body fitment, install the dash wiring loom, get insurance, trailer the MEGABUSA to get certified for road use, and then remove the reverse box and replace it with a carrier bearing assembly. I will think of a reverse solution at a later date, although I have a few
options in my head.
03/24/09-03/31/09
TRON continues to come over to my house and pester me for things to work on. I came up with the scope of work in deleting all of the unused plugs and wiring for the Westfield dash harness. I also snuck in the scope of work that every single part of the factory Suzuki Hayabusa dash had to work. No problem. I didn't weigh the bits that we removed, but I will tell you something Westfield needs to make a damn Megabusa harness by itself. We deleted about 75-80% of the dash harness! I am using the Hayabusa dash for the following: turn signals, high beam indicator, oil pressure warning light, neutral light, fuel gauge,
secondary water temperature gauge, check engine light, tachometer AND speedometer! TRON is truly a brilliant engineer. Words cannot describe the detail of work he can do when he gets carried away working on something. I can put up with the side effects (flatulence, old jokes and buying him fast food 4 times a day). TRON came up with the plan of making the Westfield fuel level sending unit work with the Hayabusa dash. I measured the resistance of the Westfield fuel level sending unit at full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 and empty. I found 2 values in the Hayabusa service manual for a full tank and "E" when the low fuel light comes on for remaining reserve
fuel. After slurping down a Vanilla Dr. Pepper and a large order of tater tots TRON calculated what resistor is required to solder in parallel to the fuel sending unit in order to match the sweep of the Hayabusa fuel gauge. This man needs a raise! Pictures do not justify the blood, sweat and tears put into the engine bay harness, dash harness, and other wiring bits for the Megabusa. I will finish looming the dash wiring in a few days. While TRON was attacking the dash harness I took time to complete the fabrication and installation of mesh required for openings in the nose cone and hood (bonnet). I cringed at how much of
a mess I would be creating with the fiberglass repair kit. It really wasn't that bad. I used a small piece of aluminum sheeting to mix the fiberglass jelly and hardner on. Once it was starting to thicken during mixing I spread the mixture onto the mesh in key spots to retain the mesh against the opening. I used zip ties with various objects on the underside of the nose cone and hood (bonnet) to keep the mesh tight against the fiberglass. I let it cure for 24 hours before removing the zip ties.
04/01/09
I brought both the front cycle wings and rear fender arches to Line-X of Baton Rouge to get undercoating sprayed. The undercoating will protect them from chipping by rock hits underneath. I have heard of rocks chipping the fiberglass from underneath and the crack propogating through to the surface. I don't want that happening. The undercoating added 5 lb of weight back to the MEGABUSA. Damnit.
04/09/09-04/23/09
I brought the car over to a hot rod guru for final body work fitment. First was the chore of making the front cycle wings work with what I think is an incorrect wheel offset and 205 width tires hidden under 185 width cycle wings. Instead of snaking the entire
Westfield bracket under the cycle wings we had to fabricate a new inner bracket which attached to the outer bracket via
two (2) 5/16" bolts. The height of the fender can be adjusted with shims
(if needed), but they both sit perfect now. Next up was to fit the scuttle properly
with four (4) bolts into the chassis rivnuts. The hood (bonnet) was mated to the scuttle and taped reference marks were added to both. The scuttle was removed and the job of adding a key
lock to each side of the hood (bonnet) was completed. To keep the hood lines tight against the lower body line the scuttle had to be trimmed back somewhat. All other Westfield owners move the key lock forward, but in the end its function over form for me. Once the hood was secure it was time to tackle the nose cone. The top of the nose cone is held in place with a bolt/washer
into a chassis rivnut on each side. The bottom of the nose cone received a flat aluminum plate which mounted to the lower chassis. I held the nose cone in position tight against the hood and the holes for the aluminum plate were transferred to the nose cone. Once the nose cone was fit into
position it was time to bolt all of the pieces down again. Next we installed fender welting between the rear fenders and the lower body section. I installed three (3) temporary bolts in each fender to secure it. Next, the lower body section was secured to the rear of the car.
To get the rear arches (fenders) to sit right we installed aluminum
square tubing between the chassis and the lower body. Westfield
recommends pushing the body up to meet the lower body, but it didn't
look right at all for how my MEGABUSA lays out. The final body work step was to install the locking gas cap.
A few days later John Thomas at TNT Tint & Trim installed Clear Shield
paint protection film on the hood (bonnet), nosecone, both front cycle wings, and both headlights in trade for me building his business a website. The film is 8 mils thick and it is said to protect from road debris, pedestrians, and any liberal that might get in my way. The film has a clear coating associated with its chemical makeup so it looks like my gelcoat fiberglass has a clear coat sprayed on the front half of the
MEGABUSA. Don't worry, it doesn't look that different from the rest of the body work.
05/01/09-05/03/09
Thanks to Cody at Stang Hi Performance for setting up the alignment on the MEGABUSA a few weeks ago. Front (-2 degrees camber, 1mm toe out each side), Rear (-1 degree camber, 1mm toe in each side). I really didn't know it was going to take that long. The rear is a total pain to adjust yet the front is a snap. :( Jet-Hot Coatings took almost 3 weeks to coat the factory Westfield exhaust header, but it does look nice in black. I bolted it back in place and I slid the Yoshimura TRS muffler inside the header outlet. Does that make it a slip-on muffler or a slip-in? hehe. Jimmy Thibodeaux, a machinist/welder from Baton Rouge welded tabs on the muffler to affix springs. Madman cut the tip off the muffler and I clocked it into position to direct hot gases and unburned gasoline belches away from the driver seat/lowerbody section/rear arch (fender).
He also modified the sump at the bottom of the fuel tank. I had
Madman move the sump from the left side to below a new oval sump in the
center of the tank. Pictures may not show it, but the lowest part
of the triangular sump is STILL ABOVE the bottom of the chassis
paneling. It may interfere with a nice 5 degree curve for a rear
diffuser, however. We'll see. I ordered Helix springs from a
company in Mississippi and to my surprise they showed up the next day. I utilized the factory Yoshimura muffler hanger by connecting it to an L bracket bolted to the chassis underside. My Carbon Mods rear deck (boot) lid and dash came in last week. I cut the rear deck into 4 pieces to fit around the Caged rollcage. Velcro was used to keep the install invisible. TRON came over and installed my custom 2-wire input/3-wire output Speedohealer. After TRON left I was inspired to lengthen both of the side
repeater light harnesses to reach both sides of the scuttle. Since I had to remove the scuttle I decided to finally fit the aeroscreen. What a royal pain in the ass. After slotting all of the holes more than I should have the aeroscreen slid into place. I riveted the center bracket and it raised the aeroscreen to the proper height. It looks superb. A little bit taller than I thought it would be and what pictures on the internet show, but superb nonetheless. Next up was an alternative to the Westfield nosecone turn signal pods/lights. The local NAPA auto parts had small rectangular LED lights from Mexico. Perfect! :)
Wanting more to accomplish today I decided to fit the side repeater lights into the scuttle. Instead of making a time-consuming template I winged it and located a cross hair pattern on both side of the scuttle (4" from the scuttle front, 1-1/8" from the lower body). I dremeled the retaining clips off the back of the side repeater bracket and the hole in the scuttle was cut. I smeared a dab of clear silicone on both side repeater mounts and I installed them. Voila! All of the lights are complete.
05/04/09
A second box from Carbon Mods arrived at my home. I gently cut the box open to find a pair of rear arch (fender) protectors as well as a pair of sill protectors. I jacked the rear of the MEGABUSA in the air, I placed jackstands under the frame, and I removed both rear wheels. Since I am using fender welting from a VW Bug I had to trim it back to not interfere with the rear arch (fender) protectors. Each one of the stainless steel bolts holding the rear arches (fenders) in place was replaced with a zip tie. I want
the rear arches (fenders) to shear off in the event of an accident and not damage the lower body section (which also includes the rear of the car). After the bolts were replaced I broke out the trusty clear silicone and I spread out a maze on each rear arch (fender). I used C clamps and a pair of vice grips to hold the driver's side carbon fiber protector in place. When I ran out of clamps on the passenger side I had to resort to other means. My redneck side kicked in and I used gravity by propping a barbell weight against
the rear arch (fender) protector by letting it tilt down at an angle on top of a rear wheel. I also taped the top of each protector to make sure it bonds tightly. Larger C clamps would have worked much better. No more fun until the silicone cures. I really wanted to drive around the block again and scare children, old people, and that damn chihuahua down the street.
05/09/09
I trailered the MEGABUSA to Futral Motorsports where we strapped the MEGABUSA down to a Dynojet chassis dynamometer in order to recalibrate the speedometer using the Healtech Electronics SPEEDOHEALER unit. No time to get the rear-wheel horsepower figures today. :( The speedo was 36.4% off based on the dyno readings so I quickly adjusted the SPEEDOHEALER unit. Speed is now spot on! I also use the Healtech Electronics Gear Indicator Pro unit with the
automatic timing retard eliminator (GIPRO with ATRE). Both are beautiful units with great manuals and customer service with quick response.
11/14/09
I drove to Futral Motorsports where we strapped the MEGABUSA down to a Dynojet chassis dynamometer in order to get a baseline horsepower reading at the rear wheels using their Dynojet Chassis Dynamometer. Results: 141.20 horsepower and 89.70 ft-lb. Puzzling that the graph stops at 9900rpm and I ran the engine to the revlimiter in 6th gear which SHOULD be 11,500rpm (normally 10,500rpm in 6th but I have the GIpro unit). Although not shown here, the same graph showing HP/TQ over speed shows a maximum speed of 117mph. I guess I was wrong in thinking the Megabusa tops out around 134mph? I sent a text message to Allan, the shop owner, to see if there is a limit on the Dynojet tach signal pick-up. Checking the WSCC forum this seems on par with other stock
Hayabusa engines for rear-wheel horsepower (RWHP). Torque would be over 100 ft-lb if I put a Dynojet Power Commander module on. I want a reliable engine, so I'll leave it stock for now.
03/26/10
Something I have put off for quite some time is installing shielding inside the nose cone to direct air flow THROUGH the radiator rather than AROUND it. I decided to remove some weight off the Megabusa while I performed this modification. After all, it's a race car. If I add something to it I have to take out the same amount of weight so she don't get fatter! In order to make templates for each side of the shielding the nose cone mesh grill had to come out. In my infinite wisdom early last year I decided to permanently mount the grill into the nose cone with fiberglass putty. What a royal PITA! After cutting the grill out of the putty the only route of mounting it to the nose cone is to drill 4 small holes and zip tie it into place.
I removed a large section of the grill around the perimeter with my dremel. After the cardboard templates were made I transferred their shapes to sheet aluminum. The shielding is held in place by 3 bolts on each side.
NOTE: I sold my beautiful home with the air conditioned garage and lift as you can see by the pictures below. We are now in a rent house until we decide on our future. To build another house or not to build?
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