Jason in Texas - ext. track - 09 SS/TC

[Lonny]

I think they could be installed inside of the engine cover and a hole drilled for whatever fastener you send forward to the seat.
Make sure you use a large thick washer at the seat mount so if you are ever in an accident it doesn't send a bolt through the back of your head.
The weak link needs to be the bracket.

 

[JBINTX]

Got the harnesses all wrapped up per the instructions, and the tail ends rolled neatly and zip-tied. Thanks all for the input.

I trimmed the side panels a little shorter at the rear to clear the parking brake cables. Scuffed them up nicely and painted them with truck bed liner material inside and out. And - I did NOT drill any rivets into the lower tube....... Every hole I drilled, I checked three times to make sure I was not near it! Whew! the nightmares after hearing someone had done that...

I had to go back and fix a small weep at the brake reservoir remote mount block. The brass NPT fittings are not the easiest to get tight AND pointed in the correct direction. And, the brass is soft - of course. I HIGHLY suggest you use some proper sealant on these four (other two on the master cylinder top) fittings so you avoid any leaks. You only want to mess with them once.

I put the hood on for a moment just to see how it looked. Can't wait to get started sanding on it to prep it for paint.

 

[Zoom Zoom]

So when I was disassembling the donor, the video said to remove the little sensors on the pedals to make it easier to paint them. DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THEM!!!!!! The screws are very little and very soft. Just tape them up to paint. I twisted one off and struggled to remove it from the plastic sensor. They are cheap, so I replaced it with a new one. Well, the new sensor was my problem above. Today, I worked to get the broken screw out of the old one, reinstalled it and the issue went away. Not sure why the new sensor was constantly sending a signal.

I wish I would have listened to you, of course I broke one. How the hell does Lonny take everything apart so easy . I’ve never broke so many bolts on a project.

 

[JBINTX]

I wish I would have listened to you, of course I broke one. How the hell does Lonny take everything apart so easy . I’ve never broke so many bolts on a project.

Those little bolts are M4-0.7 when you replace them.

 

[Lonny]

You can take a clean soldering iron and place it on the threads long enough for it to soften the lock-tight and they come out easier.

You may even be able to hold a lighter flame over the threads to soften the lock-tight.

Just don't melt anything.

 

[JBINTX]

Got my new CV axle today. Replaced it fairly easily avoiding changing any of the alignment settings. Ready to fire the Goblin up and move it under its own power for a few 10 mph shake down laps around the neighborhood. And - it is raining all day - of course! Yesterday was three weeks working on assembly. Maiden voyage will have to wait another day, I guess.

So, I worked on the hood today. I heard some others talk about the two fasteners under the front of the hood with less than excited words. Well, I am with their group too, now. The little twist head with just a slot is not good. I hate slots. They are the exact opposite of Torx heads. And, the little wire it is supposed to grab on to? It didn't engage easily. So, I took a different approach. I ground down the head of the twist lock to remove it. I ground off the mating twist lock wires as well. I attached the top of the hood to make sure it was in the proper place. I re-used some donor hardware to attach the end of the bracket to the lower radiator frame, and some more bolts to the bottom lip of the hood. It is a tight fit and all heads and nuts can be reached. I plan on using some locTite on the 5 little bolts since they will not need to be removed. The two larger bolts will easily come off to remove the hood. I assume after everything is verified functional and not leaking under the hood, it will not need to be removed very often. The fun stuff is now in the back of the vehicle.

Some on the forum have done some amazing things integrating the NACA scoops into the hood. A few look factory new after they were done. I guess there are two schools of thought when fitting things up. Hide all the hardware and smooth things perfectly making it look like factory. Or, use some nice hardware cleanly installed in plain sight. I am taking the second approach. I plan on using some nice little button head bolts (very small!) to attach the ducts to the side of the hood. Not sure how easy it is to install the hood while trying to get the NACA ducts inserted back into their respective duct work. Might be easier than I think. But, I will be able to remove the ducts easily first - leaving only four bolts holding the hood in place (two at front, and the two at the rear). I think Home Depot Racing Department will have some appropriate hardware.

 

[Briann1177]

You're absolutely right about not having to remove your hood very often. BUT, the DZUS fasteners sure make it a LOT easier when you do.

Hope you don't regret it later. I am a huge chicken when it comes to cutting things like that off.

 

[JBINTX]

You're absolutely right about not having to remove your hood very often. BUT, the DZUS fasteners sure make it a LOT easier when you do.

Hope you don't regret it later. I am a huge chicken when it comes to cutting things like that off.

Nah. No biggie.
I think if the DF factory would weld a nut there, a donor bolt would easily secure it. We have plenty of left over donor nuts and bolts!

 

[Karter2026]

You're absolutely right about not having to remove your hood very often. BUT, the DZUS fasteners sure make it a LOT easier when you do.

Hope you don't regret it later.

I hate the DZUS fasteners if they are not exposed where you can see them for easy alignment. Like on side panels or top of a hood.

That's why I used those push buttons. I have became a fan of them. I'm trying to figure out a way to use them for the engine cover.

 

[JBINTX]

First trip around the block today. Stayed in first gear for the first lap or two. Brakes - check. Clutch - check. Gas peddle - Oh crap yes! CHECK!!

Sure feels light and highly responsive. Gonna have to start with a small operating envelope and slowly expand it with comfort and confidence. Turbo sound is awesome!!!!

And no that is not a "real" license plate. Just used it for fitment. Texas just officially passed the regs so I will have to work through the registration process in the next few weeks.

The empty garage seemed weird.

 

[JBINTX]

and of course the youngest son needed to go too......
The one who drives the J32 swapped Miata. After driving the Goblin, he said" dang it is quick!".... mission accomplished....

 

[Parson Green]

First trip around the block today. Stayed in first gear for the first lap or two. Brakes - check. Clutch - check. Gas peddle - Oh crap yes! CHECK!!

Sure feels light and highly responsive. Gonna have to start with a small operating envelope and slowly expand it with comfort and confidence. Turbo sound is awesome!!!!

And no that is not a "real" license plate. Just used it for fitment. Texas just officially passed the regs so I will have to work through the registration process in the next few weeks.

View attachment 12720

The empty garage seemed weird.

View attachment 12721

The ears that that dog has just don't seem natural ...

(Regarding neighborhood drives in an unregistered vehicle: They tend to get longer and longer as the days go by. **** the sheriff and full speed ahead!)

Congrats on a job well done!

 

[Rttoys]

We are gonna

and of course the youngest son needed to go too......
The one who drives the J32 swapped Miata. After driving the Goblin, he said" dang it is quick!".... mission accomplished....

View attachment 12722

We are gonna teach him a lesson on the track.

 

[JBINTX]

We all take good notes, maybe some pictures along the way when disassembling things. One can never do enough of that. And, with the time lapse of weeks to months between disassembly and reassembly, the mind might forget a detail or two. And, even the smallest details matter. Like the little white plastic round retainer that snaps on to the shifter linkage ball. The picture below shows the PROPER way it assembles and SNAPS to retain the ball. If you were to install the little white retainer with the snap fingers the opposite way you might go to shift and find that the linkage is no longer attached. Just sayin'. Don't be THAT guy..............too...........

 

[JBINTX]

Once you get driving, you notice some small things. The kind of things you might change if easy to rectify. Or, things you might do a little differently the next time around.

When you attach the outside of your seat harnesses, the side panels are probably not installed yet. So, everything is nice and open. Once the side panels are riveted in place, the seat belt anchor bolts are very tight. And unfortunately, if you install the bolt from the outside, it will be too long if you need to remove it hitting on the inside of the side panel. If and when the time comes, I will address that issue.



When the side panels go on, they have rivet holes already drilled. Lining them up and down with the equator of the horizontal tube seems logical - which I did. However, this creates a little trough for debris to collect in. Might be able to lower the panels a little to mitigate this. I put silicone to reduce any rattles. Minus the silicone, maybe the debris would work its way out on its own.



Got the TPMS sensors talking to the BCM. All good there, now.

Started sanding the hood to prep for painting. Hopefully that goes well and is easy. Will post pics soon.

Talked to Lonny shortly today. He has all the answers running around his head. The Goblin Factory is definitely busting their butts trying to get everything done these days with everything going on.

 

[Karter2026]

When you attach the outside of your seat harnesses, the side panels are probably not installed yet. So, everything is nice and open. Once the side panels are riveted in place, the seat belt anchor bolts are very tight. And unfortunately, if you install the bolt from the outside, it will be too long if you need to remove it hitting on the inside of the side panel. If and when the time comes, I will address that issue.

View attachment 12963

I ran in to this the other day also. I put my harness hardware on the inside of that bracket. I wanted to move it to the outside of it. But like you pointed out once the side panels are on that bolt will not come out.

 

[Briann1177]

Adding the side panels makes getting to a few things quite a bit harder. That's why I absolutely refused to silicone my panels on. I had some rivnuts installed and used some rubber washer on the screws between the tubes and the panels. They still rattle a bit, but I don't mind that one bit knowing that I can remove a few screws and have the panels come right off with no effort whatsoever.

 

[JBINTX]

Primer....sand......primer......sand.......
Actually it is not too bad. Only about 15 ft^2 of surface to prep.



And in the meantime - my boys decided the oil needed to be warmed up in the engine. So.........another "test" drive around the neighborhood for them. Come on June 22 for Texas registration!

 

[Zoom Zoom]

I was dreading (a little bit) mating the transmission back to the engine again after getting the LSD installed and replacing the clutch and flywheel. Started on it tonight. It is never easy wrestling around 125 lbs and trying to precisely get the transmission male spline into the female spline of the 300 lb. engine. I am sure some expensive transmission lift would have made it a little easier. Got it lined up anyway and wiggled for an hour with my son helping. No luck. Took a break. Watched a few internet videos about this process and then it hit me. I went back out to the garage (by myself) and slipped in the mid-shaft. Now, with the transmission seemingly in the right position, I slowly rotated the mid-shaft which of course rotated the male spline. Boom! Two minutes later the bell housing bolts were all lined up and bolts started. This was only the second time I have performed this mating task. Novice/rookie/beginner still. I know. The real "trick" after aligning everything perfectly is getting those dastardly splines to rotate into alignment. Mid-shaft to the rescue!!!! Wahoooooo!!

View attachment 12269

Thanks for the tip of turning half shaft to line up clutch

 

[Zoom Zoom]

Been on a roll today. Rainy day. Theoretically quarantined kind of. So kept on working on the Goblin.

Hooked up the ECM and all the electrical computer connections.

Took a good pic of the mounting hardware under the fuse box. This little spacer change is not in the part 20 video.

Not sure if anyone else was a bonehead like me and tore the little tab connector on the back of the plastic expansion tank. I tried reinforcing it with a metal strap and two part epoxy. The epoxy did not stick to the plastic tank. So, I just drilled two small holes on the underside of the tab bracket and used two zip ties. A little crude, but will do the job.

I’m a bone head also, This is what I did to mine, I don’t have a goblin yet to see if I need to squeeze metal together more