Moderators PB260Z Posted September 18, 2012 Moderators Posted September 18, 2012 Yep still in Hornsby, Took me 12 months, and a small pile of cash, to excavate then underpin the house with a steel girder skeleton. Well worth the trouble. Quote
acf321 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Posted October 26, 2012 Actually did something about the Hornet this week... Called James Flett at M.I.A Engine Services, who built my engine and asked about the right exhaust to put on the car. He suggested 2.5" straight through. Got on the phone and called Castle Hill Exhaust and then Liverpool Exhaust for two quotes. Circa $800-900 for a mandrel bent 2.5" stainless system from Extractor back, with mid resonator, and rear 'straight through' sports muffler. Not sure, but sounds OK to me from a pricing perspective. Out of interest, they did say the mild steel equivalent would be $400-$450, ie half. Now just on another question Aaron has a 'tig welded' exhaust on his masterpiece, and I have just read Gareth's bit about Tig welded trumpets. Can anyone tell me what is Tig welding, and why would I specifically ask for this? Is it lighter / neater, or just more exxy? Cheers Adam. Quote
Agno Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 TIG welding is completely different from conventional MIG welding. For your application TIG welding will be neater and stronger but will most likely make no real difference to overall weight: Quote
PeterAllen Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 Adam - Best Mufflers at Carlton made my exhaust (LS1) and I was happy with the outcome. http://www.bestmufflers.com/ You might want to try them for another quote but I've also heard good things about Liverpool Exhaust. I've added a Goodwood photo just to make you envious! Quote
Roberto Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 Adam, I cannot tell you how happy I am with the PMC magnaflow exhaust. There is no drone / boom / resonance at all and not too loud, but a straight through system with proper mandrel bends so free flowing. Quote
acf321 Posted October 27, 2012 Author Posted October 27, 2012 Great advise Gents, thanks very much. By the look of that, I will ask for PMC and Tig. I know there are certain grades of stainless too, ie the one you can polish and see yourself in (frankly totally unnecessary) and the less glossy one that I will liekly use. Thanks Peter for the photos, yes I am very jealous looking there at those pricesless porsche powered beauties (yes, Ferdinand did the engines!) Will keep you posted, but think i'll get this exhaust fitted in the next month or so. Also going to buy an Odyssey dry cell car battery too .. light weight and importantly sealed for life !! Cheers Adam. Quote
PZG302 Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 Adam, Also see Andy out at penrith muffler man. I will say it again, he is arguably the best exhaust bloke in the greater Sydney area, he also has/had most of the motorsport work in NSW. I'm still suprised you didn't go with his extractors when you were looking about 18 months ago. My extractors lasted 15 years and were passed on to Zedevan when he bought my motorand gearbox. IIf Evan does anymore than repair the damaged section from the prang he will lose power. They were the only 6-3-1 , ie 6 pipes to 3 pipes to one pipe, extractors i have seen and gave the car a unique note and plenty of torque. Quote
benny Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 Great advise Gents, thanks very much. By the look of that, I will ask for PMC and Tig. I know there are certain grades of stainless too, ie the one you can polish and see yourself in (frankly totally unnecessary) and the less glossy one that I will liekly use. Thanks Peter for the photos, yes I am very jealous looking there at those pricesless porsche powered beauties (yes, Ferdinand did the engines!) Will keep you posted, but think i'll get this exhaust fitted in the next month or so. Also going to buy an Odyssey dry cell car battery too .. light weight and importantly sealed for life !! Cheers Adam. PMC stands for peter mac (engine builder on this forum not a type or method of exhaust construction ) Quote
Riceburner Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 I think there's pics of Peter Mac's sytem on Roberto's build Adam. Sounds great and looks to be show car quality. Did James say anything about a 3" system? From what I've read and recommendations 3" can be beneficial depending on engine/intended use. From my experience MIG would do the job and be more cost effective than TIG, but I'm just a plumber! I can't wait to hear this and as the club saying goes........ 'Video or it didn't happen' Lol. Quote
acf321 Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 Yes Gareth .. there WILL BE video evidence!! Remember the Hornet has been hibernating under a plastic sheet for about two years, and i've been to see it only once this year. It's like this awesome christmas present just sitting there ready to be unwrapped! On the question of the 3" system, James was pretty clear that the car only needed a 2.5" system, and the two chaps i spoke to at Liverpool and Castle Hill both suggested 2.5" as the biggest needed. At the end of the day, the SWR extractor collector is only 2.5", so making the exhaust any bigger than that would be surplus to requirements. Not to mention, bigger pipes are heavier! I'll be using the car for perhaps the odd track day, and fast (did i write that) Sunday morning fun. I should also mention here that I have a perfect 'as new' rear windscreen with vertical demister in a foam box ready to install in coming months. James' car has this and it looks the goods, just finishes off that old school look perfectly in my view. I need to get another oil catch can too, as i sold the last one I had given it was not deemed good enough for the job. Actually thought a period (1971) Castrol oil can / bottle with a tube coming out the top of it might actually be the right look to go for. Yet another small detail to get resolved. Anyway, thoughts and recommendations are always appreciated. Cheers Adam. Quote
peter mc Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Up to 280hp the 2.5 is all that's needed , but if you are chasing 300+ 3 all the way , on a good race engine there is 15hp from 4000 all the way to 8000 with a much better torque reading . on a 2.4 or 2.6 id never fit a 3in its just not needed , and as for welding tig is more expensive because the time factor , i can do the job in half the time with a MiG , and it would do a good job , but if you want a SS exhaust that looks good and is a quality thing it has to be tig Quote
acf321 Posted November 23, 2012 Author Posted November 23, 2012 Actually did something this week i've been wanting to do for over 10yrs, that is bought a set of Panasport Racing 8 spoke wheels for my car. Dimension is 15X7 with zero offset. I bought the track wheels, given they're the only variant now made, but more importantly, they're ONLY 5.5kg a piece, versus the road variant at ~6.5 kg, and say mini-lites or Compomotives at say ~8kg a corner! Know what they say about unsprung weight! Straight silver wheel with polished lip is the colour scheme. Will be running 205/60 series rubber, perhaps Advans or some form of sticky Dunlop / Bridgestones. James is running the exact same wheel and tyre combo, and I'm struggling to find a better looking wheel / tyre combo than this hands down. Interestingly, the green car here also runs the same Panasport, but to my eye, these 16" wheels are just that bit too big. My Charcoal 15" watanabe F8's with Dunlop Formula R tyres are now in the for sale section. So am I right, is this not just the best old school (ex JDM) look?!? (perhaps showing my years these days!) Cheers Adam. p.s oh yeah, wondering why I went for 15"? smaller and lighter, inspired by the other orange car here! Gotta love a good bit of fat old sidewall! Quote
Riceburner Posted November 23, 2012 Posted November 23, 2012 Nice one Adam, are you going to increase the tyre width too? 215's maybe.... Quote
acf321 Posted November 23, 2012 Author Posted November 23, 2012 Hi Gareth, No mate, will be sticking with the 205 width I think. Suspect that 215/60 will be just that bit too fat in the sidewall, and with the quality of modern treads, I think the 205 will be fine. Lets see how it goes, but that orange car of James goes like stink in a straight line, and around the corners from what i've heard. Don't think i'll need more than that. Cheers Adam. Quote
Riceburner Posted November 23, 2012 Posted November 23, 2012 I've got the Aus classic car mag with James' orange car, the 'stance' looks great with plenty of travel. Wow 5.5kg's is damn light, Awesome! Quote
acf321 Posted December 18, 2012 Author Posted December 18, 2012 Bit of an update but more a question. Called up Steve about the Panasports, and they will be arriving here in Sydney early to mid Jan, Yipee!! Also have sourced the right rubber that is sure to do the job. Thought about Bridgestone RE11's, Yokohama A-something's, but have stuck with my earlier decision to buy 205/60/15 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. Price is right too. After these are on, car will be trailered to Castle Hill Exhaust for completion. A battery and a tank of fuel will then be all that is stopping me from starting it. On another note, as the hornet gets ever so close to finally coming home, I really think I've made a massive error with the Jap style fender mirrors. I think the best look is perhaps just a single OEM driver side mirror and am questioning if I should just call Nat and have him change it back now!?!? (I keep looking at Jim's 71Z and can't help thinking that's the best one I've seen) The only think making me pause on this is I've not actually tried the car as is, and on looking at the Toyota 2000GT on the Top Gear James Bond cars special last night, I noted that it has those front wing mirrors, that for it are absoluteluy sublime. What do you think, should I change back to single door mirror, or stick with the OEM Jap versions? The other think weighing on my mind is the double digit racing number.. I feel as though this car needs one on the door and off centre on the bonnet! Quote
MaygZ Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 What do you think, should I change back to single door mirror, or stick with the OEM Jap versions? I think it will be awesome with the two guard mirrors. The other think weighing on my mind is the double digit racing number.. I feel as though this car needs one on the door and off centre on the bonnet! NO I reckon it will detract from what is a truely beautiful car you have built. On that subject I reckon it's time to change the title of your build thread from 'The Brown Hornet' to 'The Awesome Hornet with an Eye Catching Colour and Beautiful Lines!' Quote
luvemfast Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Only a few weeks off and it'll be a driver! Check date as to when you said this Looking fowards to seeing it hit the streets....................... Youtube! Quote
Riceburner Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Numbers might be a bit too much, what about some white or black circles, the type that are usually a background for racing numbers? Get them made in vinyl test fit and if you don't like throw away Quote
SS30RR Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Adam look wise your car looks great. I a fan of the watanabe's and fender mirrors. You've worked so hard to get it looking JDM .......don't get itchy and go the AUDM or USDM way. I should be back on the road in a fortnight......would love to catch up with you sometime. I'm just over the bridge. Quote
acf321 Posted December 19, 2012 Author Posted December 19, 2012 Mmmm, could be a slight disappointment in store for you. I have SOLD the watanabes, as I did not think they were the proper fit and for some reason I just love panasports, which are even lighter than the Watanabes. Have decided to give the car a go with the bullet mirrors, and move on if need be later on. Can't wait to get the 'zorst done. That will be a real turning point, as that is the last mechanical part I need to have the car working. Quote
acf321 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Posted January 30, 2013 BIG development ... Panasport Ultra light wheels arrived yesterday and I think they look absolutely fantastic. I can't explain why, but I actually prefer these wheels to Watanabes. Weight is very minimal at ~5.2kg as I stuck with 15*7", and UL takes about 1kg off per corner over standard. This means I need to buy tyres very soon (Dunlop Direzza Star Spec - yep silly name I know, but excellent intermediate tarmac rally / road tyre), and then its off to the exhaust shop to have that 2.5" mandrel system installed. At that point, we're about 98% the way done save for one or five little tid bits. I've gone back to Jim's car with the exact same wheel and tyre size, and the red car, with slimmer rubber on Panasports. Quote
SS30RR Posted February 3, 2013 Posted February 3, 2013 ETA on it being registered? must be dam close now ; ). Quote
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