Performing Honda K24a3/AST5 6spd Conversion

Tidied up the new wiring (constant feeds) to the fuse box, wired the two headlamp relays & the cooling fan supply relay, and added 2 switched feeds .
Plenty of spare fused circuits should I need them. So far, every time I thought I was done, I needed more circuits.

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Added 2 M6 rivnuts for relays, cooling fan/sensor grounds - one for power (fan) grounds the other for sensor/relay coil

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Started wrapping the harness where it is resolved

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Fuse panel will go under here, eventually. I have to fix the inner fender / strut reinforcement behind it first - I was going to leave that until next year

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Weather-proof connectors finally came so I got the body-side fan connections in place

Yazaki 58 X series

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harness wrapped

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VW fan switch connector & boot in place (related fan switch thread) (another) connector 893906231 boot 867972525B, 6mm Faston (female spade) terminals

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VW # 251959481K 75/82c

For the larger ground connections I had to buy yet another tool - I have a hydraulic crimp tool, but that is only for closed barrel type, not 'open barrel'

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Cut holes for tub vents / brake ducts I was revisting Rachaeljf's thread for ideas, and used Brayden's approach as my guide .

I'm keeping it non-structural, so no cutting of the frame rail. Using readily available ducting.

2.5x3.75" rectangle fits between the frame.
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4" holesaw

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Flange has to face inward - at full lock, the tire comes really close to the inner fender.

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May make this wider towards the rear - I have another duct with a wider outlet

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Have to figure out how I will seal the duct to the flange. The flange will be bonded to the inner fender. There is a crease in that membrane that angles outward at the rear edge of my cut so the flange won't sit flat if it straddles the crease, which is my reason for not moving the opening rearward at this point. Might use a duct that maintains the full ID into the rectangle. Have to look again at the flange modding that that would require to make it work.

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some sort of funnel/ tube will be bonded to the tub to attach the duct to

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considering whether to modify the tub, to have some 'funneling' of the tub, vs. the existing "flat".

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Back on the ducts today - had my first COVID shot Friday, and didn't feel great all weekend.

Got the right side holes cut

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Got the tub wall adapter pieces cut to length & lip rolled. The metal sleeve (Coffee can) is an interference fit in the duct end, and I sealed the insert lips with caulk. These are now an interference fit in the rubber lip seal I added to the duct orifices.

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Got the inner fender openings cleaned up, and drilled for fitting the flanges

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flange will be bonded & riveted

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Back on the ducts today - had my first COVID shot Friday, and didn't feel great all weekend.

Got the right side holes cut

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Got the tub wall adapter pieces cut to length & lip rolled

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Got the inner fender openings cleaned up, and drilled for fitting the flanges

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flange will be bonded & riveted

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Congrats on getting your first shot. My wife had few side effects. Still waiting on mine. Not old enough or sick enough :)

Glad you are feeling better.
 
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Back on the ducts today - had my first COVID shot Friday, and didn't feel great all weekend.

Got the right side holes cut



Got the tub wall adapter pieces cut to length & lip rolled



Got the inner fender openings cleaned up, and drilled for fitting the flanges





flange will be bonded & riveted
I got my first COVID shot on Thursday. I had slight soreness at the injection site two days later for a few hours, and felt a bit lethargic over the weekend but no big deal.
 
Just got the vent flanges bonded today, and a little cleanup of surface rust (just paint peeled) I found in the steering rack tub - below the battery tray.

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Put the rad back in, to check the new bleed valve access point - had to enlarge it a little towards the left.

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While I had the rad back in, I checked & modded the rad hoses to fit - lower hose with Pegasus Racing 1 3/8" barb splice (intended for silicone hose, so had to lube the crap out of the EDPM hoses to get it in place ).

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Upper hose - I cut 1" off each end, nice relaxed fit now. AC line has to come back through along the outer side of the header tank, with junction right about where the upper hose sits over the right side pod wiring - so I'm not going to reinstall the rad until I'm done with all the frunk repair work & have the modded AC line routing around the new fusebox sorted.

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Checked the VW fan switch wiring - that's all good

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After that I started chipping away the rust scale from the inner strut wall. I think I will use a single thicker plate rather than rebuild in layers to match the original inner skin & outer support.

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Starting cutting away the rot on the driver's side. Removed the brake line bracket also, as that was rusted behind it as seen. The bitch on this side is that the rust went all the way back to the seam with the tub - welding that seam is going to mean I have to strip the backside in the tub & make sure nothing catches fire...

The lower inner frame section will have to be repaired & welded to the outer skin before I lay a plate over the opening. I can't weld any of this from inside the frunk, just no practical way (for me) to do that.

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I'll start on the PS tomorrow banged it out form the inside here, just to see where it separates

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I'll see your leaky battery induced corrosion and raise you mine, plus leaky hydraulic fluid reservoir poorly patched and continued to corrode down thru to the front rail...

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I've got a whole new thread to start on this process. Sandblasting helped a lot. (Last pic) But also reveals more holes! Lots and lots.

A lesson kids - when your battery is leaking, STOP whatever you are doing, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, do not put the ice cream in the freezer, do not sleep, do not take a potty break, until you remove the battery and neutralize the acid or hydraulic fluid. There is no waiting.
 
I'll see your leaky battery induced corrosion and raise you mine, plus leaky hydraulic fluid reservoir poorly patched and continued to corrode down thru to the front rail...
YUK! Makes me fell much better about mine. What kinda sucks is that the parts car was actually solid in this area & I chopped the nose off right through the middle of this :(
 
Going through my metals stash for pieces to repair the tower. Old stock seat floor reinforcement/carpet retainers, various odds & ends. The seat/carpet pieces are the appropriate gauge to match the existing outer plate, but not wide enough, however I was thinking if I left it with the raised sides it would be more rigid anyway. I decided I will replace the 'skin' first, then weld the reinforcement on top, so having the gap would be fine - easier to wash out any dirt, and no plate-to-plate contact besides the weld flange.

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Remembered I had the bumper bars from the Volvo S40 parts car - so I sectioned that

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Would go along these lines, cut to align top & bottom, after skin is added. welded nut would be for brake line retention.

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My only concern is that since it's not flat like the stock plate, there may be a interference issue with the strut - checking on the parts car , it seems OK - but my spring seat is lower. I forgot to take any measurements prior to removing the struts. Don't really feel like putting it back together right now.

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cleaned up the rotted sheet metal off the backside of the brake line angle brackets

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Going through my metals stash for pieces to repair the tower. Old stock seat floor reinforcement/carpet retainers, various odds & ends. The seat/carpet pieces are the appropriate gauge to match the existing outer plate, but not wide enough, however I was thinking if I left it with the raised sides it would be more rigid anyway. I decided I will replace the 'skin' first, then weld the reinforcement on top, so having the gap would be fine - easier to wash out any dirt, and no plate-to-plate contact.

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Remembered I had the bumper bars from the Volvo S40 parts car - so I sectioned that

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Would go along these lines, cut to align top & bottom, after skin is added. welded nut would be for brake line retention.

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My only concern is that since it's not flat, there may be a interface issue with the strut - checking on the parts car , it seems OK - but my spring seat is lower. I forgot to take any measurements prior to removing the struts. Don't really feel like putting it back together right now.
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I would think that would only be an issue when the strut comes down on full extension, maybe. Like when you jack up the front end or get some good "airtime" flying over a short hill too fast.... 🤪

Are you at all concerned about that thicker steel piece being a part of the strut tower reinforcement? It appears to connect the strut top to the upper and lower frame rails that run from the nose to bulkhead. The skin steel is rusted (gone actually on the battery side) on mine but the thicker strut reinforcement plate is OK.

I've had nice steel pieces sent to me from BobCo Metals. They have 14ga. cold rolled sheets, 1ft x 1ft for $10.15. That would be more than enough to cover that area. https://www.bobcometal.com/metals/steel/cold-rolled/cold-rolled-sheets.html Also hot rolled and galvanized too.
I've purchased 4"x4" 10 gauge, box of 10 from their store on Amazon too. https://www.amazon.com/Rolled-Steel-Plate-Rounded-Corner/dp/B07L6NSQ6B Great for backing plates or end plates to weld a post or tube to. Anyway, it may be easier than trying to make a found piece work for this application. Although I do love using up stuff from my scrap steel piles too...
 
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I would think that would only be an issue when the strut comes down on full extension, maybe. Like when you jack up the front end or get some good "airtime" flying over a short hill too fast.... 🤪

Are you at all concerned about that thicker steel piece being a part of the strut tower reinforcement? It appears to connect the strut top to the upper and lower frame rails that run from the nose to bulkhead. The skin steel is rusted (gone actually on the battery side) on mine but the thicker strut reinforcement plate is OK.

I've had nice steel pieces sent to me from BobCo Metals. They have 14ga. cold rolled sheets, 1ft x 1ft for $10.15. That would be more than enough to cover that area. https://www.bobcometal.com/metals/steel/cold-rolled/cold-rolled-sheets.html Also hot rolled and galvanized too.
I've purchased 4"x4" 10 gauge, box of 10 from their store on Amazon too. https://www.amazon.com/Rolled-Steel-Plate-Rounded-Corner/dp/B07L6NSQ6B Great for backing plates or end plates to weld a post or tube to. Anyway, it may be easier than trying to make a found piece work for this application. Although I do love using up stuff from my scrap steel piles too...

The thicker stock plate is what I would replace with the Volvo plate - similar (heavier) gauge. Did you mean am I concerned because the raised plate would not make full contact with the existing tower reinforcement? My idea is that the new plate will overlap the existing and span the frame sections as the stock plate did. The issue is that I need to repair the skin first to reunite the frame sections with that skin, so adding a new plate on top will bring back the issue of the stock setup - potential for rot between the skin/plate.

I'll use regular 1mm stock for the skin repair - I have the roof section I cut out of my wife's 500 when I did the sunroof, I need approx 6x7" sections for each side to go under the plate section.

I think it will have to be almost flat - judging from other pics - I can't find any where I was actually focused on capturing clearance. Going to have to play around with this some.

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The thicker stock plate is what I would replace with the Volvo plate - similar gauge. Did you mean am I concerned because the raised plate would not make full contact with the existing tower reinforcement? My idea is that the new plate will overlap the existing and span the frame sections as the stock plate did. The issue is that I need to repair the skin first to reunite the frame sections with that skin, so adding a new plate on top will bring back the issue of the stock setup - potential for rot between the skin/plate.

I'll use regular 1mm stock for the skin repair - I have the roof section I cut out of my wife's 500 when I did the sunroof, I need approx 6x7" sections for each side to go under the plate section.

I think it will have to be almost flat - judging from other pics - I can't find any where I was actually focused on capturing clearance. Going to have to play around with this some.

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Oh, so you do have coilovers in the front. The first pics show what looks like a standard strut, larger coil base diameter, and the possibility of the coil base plate rubbing the new raised steel structure. Now I see what you have with the smaller diameter coilover setup. That looks like lots of clearance and should not rub. The raised plate version should not be an issue for strength. I realize you are connecting the entire sides to the new skin steel and the old support steel. That should tie it together nicely. Being able to clear out the moisture holding dirt would be a benefit for sure. BTW I did not know your X is a featured car on Ceika's web site! You get any royalties for that? 😬
 
Got the skin repair sections made today, and worked on installing the driver's side. I'm making these a butt-seam, so no overlap area to potentially collect moisture/dirt, and it's going to get a reinforcement on too, so I want this flat as possible.

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Passenger side test fitting

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Driver's side I made a small patch first that reunites the inner frame skin with the outer

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Driver's repair sections test fitting

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After that I welded (mostly) the main repair skin. Have to do the top seam. Only a few minor fires. Spot welded it in a bunch of places before seaming, didn't get too much distortion - except for along the bottom seam, it seems. Due to the awkward weld angles, I had to clean/sharpen the tungsten many times as I kept picking up the puddle :(

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This is how I have to sit to weld here. Sitting on a 8" tub upside down, using my right knee to operate the foot pedal

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Oh, so you do have coilovers in the front. The first pics show what looks like a standard strut, larger coil base diameter, and the possibility of the coil base plate rubbing the new raised steel structure. Now I see what you have with the smaller diameter coilover setup. That looks like lots of clearance and should not rub. The raised plate version should not be an issue for strength. I realize you are connecting the entire sides to the new skin steel and the old support steel. That should tie it together nicely. Being able to clear out the moisture holding dirt would be a benefit for sure. BTW I did not know your X is a featured car on Ceika's web site! You get any royalties for that? 😬

Yeah - the reference pic of the stock setup is my chopped up parts car :)

I'll put one of the struts back in to confirm - if I bump it out 1/2" or so, the brake line may be too close to the coil, I'll check that.

I believe a formed plate is structurally more rigid than the plain flat plate, so I'd actually prefer to use the bumper section if possible.

Yeah - I think that's because I'm the ONLY X1/9 they have made a kit for - I had to provide all the standard measurements for them to develop the kit 🤪
 
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