Preparing For Honda K24a3/AST5 6spd Conversion

wait... how did you weld this up without melting the rubber? did you pop out the rubber bushings first?

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Hello Darin. Yes, I have mad weld-skillz :D.

I removed the bushings & popped them back in with some silicone spray after. Couldn't find any 10-32 threaded barrels here. I tried drilling the original metal rod & tapping it, but between the wall ending up too thin after drilling for me to feel comfortable using it and the 10-32 tap snapping, I said f-it & chopped the heim heads off.
 
CV's came (comes with additional pieces like the cover, not used for X1/9).

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Sun came out after snowing all day yesterday, and got up to 50ºF, so I got the MWB kit pieces painted to keep surface rust at bay.

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More of the scope-creep part of the build. "Had" to buy a bandsaw & bench (SWAG V3.0) to take care of cutting the angle iron - needed to make the Sheet Metal Brake - needed to make the replacement panels for the frame cuts :D I did buy an economical bandsaw (WEN 9436), since it will not see high demand use.

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set it up in the basement, no room for it in my small garage

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Great work. I like your band saw set up. Wish I would have thought of that...I have a hand held band saw. Curious to see your fitment with the engine bay cuts.
 
Great work. I like your band saw set up. Wish I would have thought of that...I have a hand held band saw. Curious to see your fitment with the engine bay cuts.

Thank you. Unfortunately, chances are I won't be cutting into the X1/9 until the late spring/ early summer. I have to get the AWD conversion out of the way first, so I can junk the S40 parts car now taking up half my front driveway :D

Also, no space in the garage now to work on the K24/frame setup

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Got to work on the sheet metal brake. Followed this YT DIY.

sectioned the angle iron following his guide, just changed the proportions since I only had 2" AI. Made the hinges. Welded the hinges here:

For the life of me, I don't know how he cut the sleeves so cleanly, I couldn't get one that actually had a 90º cut, so I made sure they were close as possible after cutting to avoid binding the hinges.
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Base plate & hinge panel, with nuts welded for the hold downs

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The clamping plate is spring loaded, as he did. Added wings to the bolts to make it easier to hand tighten. These bolts are from my wife's 500 motor swap - they secured the aluminum adapter flange for the auto trans off the new motor

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in place. The idea is that the top plate can be removed & stowed. I need that, since I have zero extra bench space to locate this.

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1" black pipe will be welded to the pivot plate, 3/4 black pipe will slide in (after some cleanup of 1" pipe ID) hitch pins will hold the lever handles in place

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Finshed off the brake (or so I thought)

Drilled & mounted to bench

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Handle bases welded (just flux-core MIG'd them, it was quicker) Handles drilled for hitch pins

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Can bend .125" aluminum, if you put it close to the hinge

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Even just 22ga steel sheet causes the brake to flex in the center.

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This is as crisp a fold as I get. It's straight, just looks wonky in the pic. Close enough for what I'm doing, I think. If I'd made it (the brake) narrower maybe it wouldn't flex, but I wanted at least 34" length. That's about the span of the rear crossmember, if I recall correctly.

2" box section would be smallest I can make, based on tool flange depth
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The underside of the brake plate is hollow, following the video.

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I'm considering a plate to prevent flex, or maybe just 1.25" angle iron, to create a flat for narrow strips & reinforcement.

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As it stands. It is usable, so I'm happy. Top plate will be stowed when I need the bench edge

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My brake is made very similar to yours, with the moving plate made of angle iron. It has a section of 1" square tubing and a couple of heavy gussets welded into the hollow of the angle to reduce the flexing. I will try to dig up a photo. Just a thought.
 
My brake is made very similar to yours, with the moving plate made of angle iron. It has a section of 1" square tubing and a couple of heavy gussets welded into the hollow of the angle to reduce the flexing. I will try to dig up a photo. Just a thought.

That sounds like a better idea, otherwise it's gonna get really heavy.
 
This is what my plan was:

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I ended up only putting in the gussets, and two angle iron sections at either end

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added angle at each end to reinforce the end plates

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Tested it, and didn't see any appreciable flex. Problem is, the whole plate distorted (bowed upward) from the heat. I was using the wrong tungsten, and the welds got hotter than they should. Killed a torch head & cup before I realized what was going on. I beat the bar flat again with a sledge hammer, but it then bowed inward in the middle. That doesn't seem to really impact bends though.

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The final problem was that I never welded the fixed hinge barrels to both sides of the angle iron base, so the hinges lifted from the little bending I did do. I realized it as the gap between the plates was excessive, and the last practise bend had a wide curve.

Pressed the fixed hinge plates back in line with the other side, and welded each end.

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The mid radius in this pic was when the hinges lifted, the leftside bend radius was after I fixed the hinge, not really that obvious in the pic.

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I cut a 12" wide section of 18ga SS sheet today to experiment with the brake. It really doesn't like to bend this gauge. I think it's gonna be tricky making the wider sections with this. Not sure what I could do to reinforce the top plate . I guess I'll have to use a combination of this & the old beat-the-panel-over-a-block-of-wood routine. Think I'll order some 20ga to use for the outer skins, and just use the 18ga for the frame sections.

It's so cold & wet out, I don't have much desire to work outside or in the garage. The only other thing I did was finish the expansion tank branch pipe that goes into the T/stat extension housing.

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I cut a 12" wide section of 18ga SS sheet today to experiment with the brake. It really doesn't like to bend this gauge. I think it's gonna be tricky making the wider sections with this. Not sure what I could do to reinforce the top plate . I guess I'll have to use a combination of this & the old beat-the-panel-over-a-block-of-wood routine. Think I'll order some 20ga to use for the outer skins, and just use the 18ga for the frame sections.

It's so cold & wet out, I don't have much desire to work outside or in the garage. The only other thing I did was finish the expansion tank branch pipe that goes into the T/stat extension housing.

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I dont know why exactly but I have found that stainless behaves very differently. Bends I can make easily in mild steel just dont work as easily in stainless.
 
I dont know why exactly but I have found that stainless behaves very differently. Bends I can make easily in mild steel just dont work as easily in stainless.

It does have different properties, I understand. It's also actually thicker for any given gauge specification than mild steel. I'd still rather use it & not worry about rust inside the sections so much, and I find it much easier to get a clean weld with it.

Perhaps if I had sourced 3" angle iron, it would have been more rigid, I dunno. I don't want to add more weight. As it is, I'm tempted to remake the top plate as I deformed the crap out of it welding the gussets with the wrong tungsten, it got way too hot. :(

I'll see how it goes with the 20ga. It does 22ga with no problem.
 
Been mulling over AC layout. I'm going to mount the AC compressor following Rodgers' layout

I have a brand new Sanden compressor I bought years ago for my V70, same form factor, swing mount. Comes with 7176 line fitting rear cover, so I sourced adaptor fittings that converts to standard line fittings.

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SInce I'm revamping the AC, I think I'll convert to later orifice tube/accumulator style & get rid of the expansion valve.

Sketches of layout:

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revised

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Accumulator placement - I'm planning on removing the vented panel that the coil used to attach to, so accumulator will likely go there.

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Planning out fittings based on LarryC's excellent reference thread (edit - with Larry's corrected schematic)

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Got an AC Delco Accumulator with ports in the right place

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Having trouble locating a #12 MOR to #10 hose fitting.

Found the female varieties

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I'll have to call a couple places. Nostalgic AC include the female adaptor in a couple VIR Eliminator kits, so someone makes it.

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Got an AC Delco Accumulator with ports in the right place

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Having trouble locating a #12 MOR to #10 hose fitting.

Found the female varieties

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I'll have to call a couple places. They include the female adaptor in a couple VIR Eliminator kits, so someone makes it.

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Hussein, I get into these weird size problems when converting from an old car to a new car with ifferent hose systems. I finally came to the conclusion that I am going to hack off what I need and weld it with my TIG welder to make it work. Something that you should consider. It is not like you are making 10 of the fittings only the odd one. The Bertone fittings are all steel and I just TIG welded the ends to a section of Stainless Steel tubing and it worked well.

Just a thought.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Hussein, I get into these weird size problems when converting from an old car to a new car with ifferent hose systems. I finally came to the conclusion that I am going to hack off what I need and weld it with my TIG welder to make it work. Something that you should consider. It is not like you are making 10 of the fittings only the odd one. The Bertone fittings are all steel and I just TIG welded the ends to a section of Stainless Steel tubing and it worked well.

Just a thought.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.

Hey Tony. Yes, that's pretty much where I'm at - I was looking at basic #12 steel fittings so I could make my own for the oddball suction side I will be creating.
 
Worked on placement of the compressor on the motor. Using Rodger's as a guide. Mine sits a tad higher, with the different intake. I'm still going to have to delete the integrated crankcase breather, and just add that to the plenum like other versions.

Had to switch back to the stock fuel rail, the aftermarket one sits too high.
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Sits around the same height as Rodger's, as far as I can tell.
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I'm going to weld an ear to the intake for the outer rear mount. I need to either make a cover plate, or plug the breather ports, at a glance looks like 3/8 NPT would fit.
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Looking at another of Rodger's pics -

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...with the additional height I will need to brace the two forward brackets as an "H" to prevent flex (second not made yet, it's going to be about 5.5" on center )

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