Gen 2 Megabusa

[Rob]

Not a big update but got the bits back from powder coating, they look great.

Managed to throw the headlight brackets on and mount the new lights. I really like them! I cut notches out of the brackets before powder coating, which will allow me to remove the lights quickly (eg at a trackday) without having to start taking the brackets off.

Hoping to hit the garage properly tomorrow night and Saturday to make some better progress.

 

[KeithRobinson]

Getting close!!

 

[pablo]

Much prefer the shape of the new lights Rob. More fitting imo

 

[Rob]

Had a productive day in the garage yesterday; the wiring and plumbing are now completely finished. It has been a long road on the wiring end as I have a custom built loom and having changed engine, ECU, headlights and just about every connector on the car, it has taken a lot of self learning to get things right. The man who built my loom appears to have retired so I was completely on my own to sort it out and with no electrical ability it has taken me a while to self learn my way around it.

The front loom always bothered me - the fan and thermoswitch had pretty messy wiring spliced back and forth between each other, the horn, headlights and race transponder were also spliced back and forth sharing earths and various connections. So I removed the loom and stripped it down, removed a lot of wires and ran new ones direct from the fuse board with the objective of having nothing grounded to the chassis up front, and everything having independent wiring to its own DT Connector. Pretty chuffed with the result.

The finished product. How it should have been all along!

So with the new loom in place I then tested everything and am pleased to report all lights, fan etc are working as they should!

 

[Rob]

I then finished off the cable and pipe runs at the front of the car, got everything cable tied and bracketed down and put silicone hose around the braided oil pipes where they could cause any chafing. I also refitted all the newly powder coated parts and a new (non rusty!) Longacre mirror. The old rusty one will be perfect for a telescopic handler we own which is crying out for a wide angled rear view mirror!!

So the whole front end is now pretty much complete and ready to put the body panels back on. However the main priority now is firing her up - she literally just needs filled with oil and water and hit the starter button! Stand by for further updates and hopefully a video if all goes to plan!

 

[KeithRobinson]

PUSH DAT BUTTON!!!!

 

[Rob]

That's the plumbing and wiring now complete. Everything bracketed, clipped and tied into place. Nose cone fitted again too. Took a lot longer to do than you would ever imagine but I am pretty pleased with the outcome. Won't get back in the garage again until tomorrow evening, plan now is to drop the car off the lift and fire her up!

Under the scuttle panel can be like spaghetti junction in most kit cars, I am reasonably happy with how this has turned out. There are three looms (MBE management, Stack dash, and then my custom road/switchgear loom). So there are a lot of wires. The carbon scuttle top has still to be fitted, this will hide the main cable run into the transmission tunnel, and then drop the scuttle panel on to close the whole thing up so there will be very few wires visible from the engine bay. Everything is pretty much contained within the two drop down panels under the dash, which are hinged and on velcro straps for quick access when required.

 

[gixermark]

the level of detail.... is on a different level !! such a quality build/car.

i hope you enjoy driving it as much as you (seem to) have enjoyed building/fettling

 

[Rob]

the level of detail.... is on a different level !! such a quality build/car.

i hope you enjoy driving it as much as you (seem to) have enjoyed building/fettling

Cheers Mark. It has certainly been a lot of hours in the garage, I hope it all works out this time around, I would be gutted if I don’t have a bit more luck with this engine. It was a proven package for the last owner so hoping for lots of fun in 2019, topped off with our Ring trip end of August!

 

[Robin_Hood]

This is class Rob.
Thanks for sharing the pics

 

[mr_s81]

Such a tidy build. Fair play, hopefully you get plenty of miles racked up on this over the summer!

 

[S2K-Aaron]

I'd love this thing or something similar if I ever sold the bikes. Fair play mate looks great and the attention to detail makes it

 

[gixermark]

Cheers Mark. It has certainly been a lot of hours in the garage, I hope it all works out this time around, I would be gutted if I don’t have a bit more luck with this engine. It was a proven package for the last owner so hoping for lots of fun in 2019, topped off with our Ring trip end of August!

did you have issues with the old blade ? i think you built it for NI sevens originally yea ?? the busa will be awesome... they feel a lot stronger in every way than the early blades.... the gearbox feels solid etc. and it will boogy !!

i keep admiring your ramp.......... if you were to do it all over again - woudl you buy the same thing ? i keep torturing myself looking at scissors vs some single post lifts.... you can get mobile single post lifts (albeit expensive) but then they go full height too.. and you coudl store a car under etc if needed..... i'm trying to get teh impossible though - something that coudl lift a seven...... a single seater... and a motorbike is the ask... (albeit not at the same time !!)

 

[Rob]

i keep admiring your ramp.......... if you were to do it all over again - woudl you buy the same thing ? i keep torturing myself looking at scissors vs some single post lifts.... you can get mobile single post lifts (albeit expensive) but then they go full height too.. and you coudl store a car under etc if needed..... i'm trying to get teh impossible though - something that coudl lift a seven...... a single seater... and a motorbike is the ask... (albeit not at the same time !!)

100%, it’s so handy. I have reinforcing in the floor for a 2 post but never put it in because they restrict space too much. At least the mobile scissor can be pulled into a corner when it’s not needed

 

[gixermark]

yea. The mobile nature appeals. The single post looks good (expensive) but more awkward for a single seater or motorbike...

 

[svensktoppen]

Rob, do you have any issue at all getting a low car like that on or off the scissor lift?

 

[Rob]

Rob, do you have any issue at all getting a low car like that on or off the scissor lift?

You need about 120mm clearance which isn’t a lot, but the Westfield can’t get on it so I have a set of wheel skates I put under the wheels first and then just push her over the lift, dead easy

 

[Rob]

Filled the car with fluids tonight, the electric water pump is a handy job, I found that it will run continuously when the temp sensor is unplugged (open circuit) which makes bleeding the cooling system a doddle. Filled with 5 litres of deionised water with about 25% coolant and a bottle of Royal Purple Ice (same as water wetter). Hoping the small amount of coolant will keep engine from freezing in my garage, without inhibiting the coolant properties of the water too much. Purple Ice seems to get good reviews too

Then I pulled out the plugs, disconnected the injectors and filled both the oil cooler and dry sump tank with oil. Loosened the oil supply fitting into the sump to help bleed the oil through and nipped it up again when I got a dribble of oil. The advice from here forward has been to crank engine over until pressure starts to build, but unfortunately after a few short bursts of around a minute or so in total, the oil level in the tank stayed the same and no pressure will build.

So looking for a plan B, going to try to make a fitting for the tank and then pump air in by hand to force the oil through under a few psi of pressure. Unless anyone has any better ideas? Disappointed not to get her running, but reassuring all the same to hear the starter running!

 

[Rob]

Sorted! Made up an air fitting to attach to the breather outlet on the tank, and gave it a tiny amount of air, could hear oil moving, tried cranking, still nothing, bit more air and then cranked again ET VOILA! Healthy 10-15 psi now at the push of the button

 

[svensktoppen]

Edit: good job

Maybe just some weird air lock in the system.

 

[Rob]

Ladies and gentlemen, drum roll please....

 

[Dave..]

Ladies and gentlemen, drum roll please....

Sounds great, well done. All the hard work has paid off.

 

[svensktoppen]

Nothing blew up - result

I would be ****ing myself pressing that button for the first time

 

[gixermark]

that's awesome............ sitting here smiling for ya !!! roll on some vids of it out on the road/track... super job

 

[Rob]

Another few jobs off the list; scuttle panel and oil catch tank fitted, clutch pedal stop adjusted, and the big win - brake bias cable fitted thanks to some accelerator pedal modification! Now have a knob below my legs for adjusting on the fly. Detailed pics to follow

In the mean time, I rolled the car outside and shipped it off to Holeshot Racing for a remap and exhaust fabrication. First time outside in daylight in over 2 years, getting excited now, even managed a quick lap of the yard in her