Nlc - Lister Bell Stratos Build Thread

[IAN G]

ive not read all of this build but looks epic , did the 350R go ???? 

i could nt have parted with that ! are you still in ravenstone ? 

[Chris_edeson]

just caught up on all the latest on this - it looks mega! Really excited to see the finished article!

[Dr H]

On 10/19/2017 at 10:14, IAN G said:

ive not read all of this build but looks epic , did the 350R go ???? 

i could nt have parted with that ! are you still in ravenstone ? 

Yep, parted with the 340R. Maybe I should have kept it the way prices went after I sold mine.........but it's done now.

And still in Ravenstone.

[Dr H]

A bit more progress this weekend. Collected the new suspension setup on Friday.

Old rear setup:






New setup. Much heftier hub, slightly shorter shock and new hub / shock interface all CNC ally (excuse the non-mloc footwear in the second picture. They are my 'nip out to the garage / garden slippers )







Need to fit the springs, topmounts and bearings into the hubs and then get them back on the chassis with the new lower rear wishbones and toe links.


Dash plate collected and clocks / switches / warning lights fitted.




Fitted into binnacle and engine start/stop button added:





Spaghetti of wires to be sorted out behind.....





Chap doing the wiring was around this weekend and checked all the front circuits and they seem to be OK. He started to wire the dash up and that was going well too. However, He fell ill towards the end of the day, collapsed whilst I was talking to him and is currently in hospital fighting for his life .

So progress will be slow on the electrical front now but at the moment I couldn't car less to be honest. When all is said and done this is just a lump of metal and plastic, the well being of the guy is what is important. I hope to god he's OK and pulls through but whatever happens he will be in recovery and therapy for many months (this is information from his sister).

[Dr H]

Bit of progress on the fuel system.

Firstly - fuel filter choice. I was going to use an in-line billet type one. However, recently Gav removed my billet one form the Honda to replace with a standard OEM Bosch one (as used on the rover k-series Elise) and mounting it with one of Dan Webster's lovely CNC machined clamps:




I was shocked at how tiny the filter was in the billet one. About a 1/4 of the length of the housing. Far too small! So I needed another option for the Stratos. It was either an OEM one or a billet 'canister' type filter. I went for the latter as it also allow me a neat (to my eyes) mounting option. It also has a decent size filter. Mine has a 10 micron paper element, which again is very close to OEM spec stuff.




So I came up with a routing system that keeps everything as short as possible.

From fuel pump outlet using Goodridge hard line. Into the filter, out of the filter using a nifty swivel banjo joint, then into a hose through a one-way check valve, down rial one, round another hose at the end into rial 2, out of an FPR at the end of that rail and then back to the tank.








Will be fitting this extra abrasion resistance with a bit of heat shrink where the hose passes under the DBW actuator bracket. Nothing touches and there is loads of clearance but better safe than sorry.



I have tapped the head of the filter to take 8mm heli coils as it was imperial (being American) and had drawn up a bracket to attach it to the top of the rear bulkhead. Will be on rubber mounts to allow for vibration and will be gusseted to make sure it doesn't bend (as it need to be quite long). Dropping drawings off with the laser cutting place tomorrow.

Also went to see another wiring place about an engine loom etc. They are the main UK agent for the ECU I'm using so know it well and the guy is also an ex-Lotus employee.

Plan is now to get the engine properly plumbed in and get ready to be send for loom making and ECU wiring.
 

[Phil S1]

Great work as ever Leigh.

Looking at the hose from the fuel filter outlet, will it have enough excess to cater for engine movement?

[Dr H]

4 minutes ago, Phil S1 said:

Great work as ever Leigh.

Looking at the hose from the fuel filter outlet, will it have enough excess to cater for engine movement?

Cheers Phil.

I will admit to wondering about that.

The banjo fitting does swivel (even when fully tightened) which would allow for a little bit of movement.

However, I have loads of hose and some spare olives for the hose ends so may well cut it a bit longer and redo it. The hose is quite stiff and it's difficult to get slack into a small length.

I have been trying to work out how much the engine will rock backwards and forward. There will be an engine steady bar from the sliver casting at the end of the engine to the chassis (you can see the 2 welded tabs on the left of the pic. This should mean little engine movement but better safe than sorry.

 

I'm going through the same process with the oil cooler hoses and trying to work out how to introduce some slack.

[Phil S1]

Yes, I see what you're saying Leigh, that top mounted steady bar should limit any movement significantly....Carry on 

[Dr H]

3 minutes ago, Phil S1 said:

Yes, I see what you're saying Leigh, that top mounted steady bar should limit any movement significantly....Carry on 

But you do make a valid point and I had already been considering it!

[jonnyfox]

Nice Leigh, impressive as ever. I have Dan doing the same with my fuel & oil lines.  

[Dr H]

Not much of an update really as not too much happening.

I've worked out how to route the oil cooler hoses and allow for some slack, just waiting for some 45 degree fittings for the oil cooler. Bought some hose sleeve to protect against heat. Fits nice and tight, will fit it properly when the hose ends arrive.




Fitted the new rocker cover with the screw oil cap





Had the head of the fuel filter stripped of it red anodizing and redone clear.





Collected the bracket for the fuel filter and got it fitted. It's mounted on rubber mounts and is 3mm stainless so very stiff. The filter is partly supported by the hard line and the flexible fuel line so this bracket just adds that final bit of secure support. The rubber mounts give it just enough isolation and anti vibration. Will be sent for powder coating - black.





Added some AN type outlets for breathers on the can covers. Drilled and threaded straight into the side of the cover. Seals with an o-ring.





Have contacted another wiring place and the car is booked in for the third week in Jan for a custom engine loom and to finish of the rest of the dash wiring etc.

Nothing back from the trimmer yet either.

Had some templates made for the rear window as I want to do a double glazed unit bonded in rather than a single glass unit out in with a rubber seal as per the standard kit. Templates need a little alteration and then they will be off to be cut in glass - needs to be 'E' marked for IVA so only a few places do it.

Also having a bit of a nightmare on the ITB kit. Trying to sort the linkages. I realised that I need to somehow get an idle adjusted on each ITB to allow them to be balanced. There is one but only on a single ITB. So I've had to come up with a design for some throttle levers and a way of setting the idle opening. Mixture of laser cut stuff and custom machined bits.......... I never learn! . Hopefully I will have them sorted for testing in a couple of weeks.

So as I've been a bit bored I needed something to do. I had a spare gearbox that I decided to get fully rebuilt. Only places that can do this are in Europe. Found a place in Germany that wanted just over £2k to do it. But of research and I found the place that the German company send them to in Italy. 900 Euro! So that went away to be done.

Came back but I didn't like the finish on the casing. Nowhere near as nice as the vapour blasting Dan did on my other gearbox. So I decided to dismantle it and get the casings sorted. Helped me learn about gearbox rebuilding too

Cracked it open, dismantled it. Managed to remove all the bearing races in the casings by putting it the oven at 150 degrees for 20 mins - they fell out or just needed a tap on the casing and they came away.

Sent the casings to be blasted and powder coated.

Then built it back up.









Turned out quite nice - and not as difficult as I thought it would be.







Next job is to make all the final connections on the cooling and oil system. Then fill with fluids and check for leaks.

Then sort out the ITB setup and it's ready for the engine wiring.
 

[KurtB]

I'm so in awe of your work Leigh. The dedication you're showing toward this project is amazing, AND you manage to hold down a day job. Your attention to detail is extreme, I can see there's no cutting of corners. I'm willing you to finish it, but at the same time I'll lament the loss of a wonderful thread. Well done. 

[Dr H]

Cheers Kurt - I hold down a day job because I'm self-employed to be honest. I can shuffle my work round and make space for spending time on the he car. Ive not done that much during weekends as I get grief from the OH if I do! Today I spent the day at home and managed to get 5 hours in - not sure what I achieved though

Plenty to do yet so a few more posts guaranteed.

Update on ITBs soon - bit of 3d printing action been going on

[Dr H]

I forgot to add, the fact I have no social life and no friends (as my son reminds me quite often) means I haven't go much else to do!

[Dr H]

Right, another small (but hopefully interesting) update.

The ITBs I'm using cam with a standard set of 'wheels' for levers as Jenvey didn't have anything that met my exact requirements.




I thought about trying to have some stuff machined but they are quite complicated. The I had the bright idea of 3D printing! So I sketched up what I needed and sent it over to fellow SELOCer (sorry MLOC!) Karl - karluk00.

He's much cleverer than I am and modeled it up in 3D then sent it over to me to check. All looked OK so he set about printing a couple of test pieces in nice red ABS






It needed something to locate the spring (the small slot) and someway of being able to adjust each individual ITB to balance them at tick-over. This is what the small arm is for and it will have an eccentric adjusted fitted into the ITB with a spring so it can be adjusted and the spring will stop it from moving.

There is also a hole for a grub screw that i will thread and the screw will locate against the flat of the ITB shaft.

Received them from Karl today and did a trial . Quick test fit tonight:









Pretty much work perfectly!




Massive thanks to Karl for his help, I love doing stuff like this! Plan now is to make a tiny modification to the model and get six of them printed in steel (about £20-25 each) and they should be good to go.