Alex's 360 build thread

ALVO360 · 2018-03-01T00:23:50+00:00

This is where it all began. only 12 days ago on the 24/02/2018. Its had all oils changed, coolant flush leads, plugs, air filter, dizzy cap and rotor, thr...

ALVO360

Broken spring cup - needs repair

Laurie

Hi Alex, are the shocks in the rebuilt strut GAZ?

I am very interested in your project. A very high quality job!

I have just put a pair of GAZ shocks in the 360. They work as expected. But I am waiting on 50mm shorter and stiffer coils to suit the GAZ shocks which are 50 mm shorter in stroke than standard shocks. But the shorter stroke with standard coils doesn't have enough length of stroke when the car drops off a bad bridge joint in the freeway, it bottoms (tops ??) out easily.
The longer and softer standard coils make the GAZ shocks operate about 50mm higher than in the middle of their operating range. This allows only about 75mm drop of the wheel and about 170mm on compression. The new shorter and stiffer coils should give an acceptable 100mm movement in both directions before hitting the bump stops. Have fun! L

ALVO360

bgpzfm142;c-155395 wroteThis is a truly awesome build.

Wondering though why you chose to go with a dog-dish LH 2.4 flywheel and not a TTV or lightweight flat one? The brand new dog-dish is a big investment.

The 360's bell housing is short and limited for space around the sides. Apparently other flywheels don't fit...I was just keen to get something which is known to work.

ALVO360

Laurie;c-155418 wroteHi Alex, are the shocks in the rebuilt strut GAZ?

I am very interested in your project. A very high quality job!

I have just put a pair of GAZ shocks in the 360. They work as expected. But I am waiting on 50mm shorter and stiffer coils to suit the GAZ shocks which are 50 mm shorter in stroke than standard shocks. But the shorter stroke with standard coils doesn't have enough length of stroke when the car drops off a bad bridge joint in the freeway, it bottoms (tops ??) out easily.
The longer and softer standard coils make the GAZ shocks operate about 50mm higher than in the middle of their operating range. This allows only about 75mm drop of the wheel and about 170mm on compression. The new shorter and stiffer coils should give an acceptable 100mm movement in both directions before hitting the bump stops. Have fun! L

I bought my shocks from classicswede, I don't believe they are GAZ, more like a Dai (classicswede's owners name) special:
https://www.classicswede.co.uk/Short_Adjustable_front_dampers_-Pair_340___360/p1733344_7988561.aspx

I also cut my bump stops down to allow more travel. I believe my upper spring cup had broken due to some violent forces from hitting the bump stop when going over some big bumps (+bridge joints), but I did see they were already spit and not as strong as they should've been. I have 40mm spax lowering springs and I'm about to go for a drive and test out the new shocks now :+1:

ALVO360

Repaired the spring cap - stronger than ever!
These new Strut top mounts didn't fit as well as I would've hoped. I had to drill slightly bigger holes in the Strut tower and they came with a grease nipple which cannot be installed without modification to the Strut tower.

ALVO360

Made the upper intercooler rail/mount. Aligns very well with the holes in the bulkhead. I need to widen the holes to accommodate the piping. It's a 2.5" intercooler and I have bought some 2.5" to 2" 90 degree reducers to make it work. Space is very tight between the headlight and the radiator.

ALVO360

New sway bar bushes

Uprated sway bar links ?

A fire extinguisher for times of need.

ALVO360

Took her for a drive tonight. Felt really good! nice and tight in the front end. These adjustable shocks front and rear are fantastic. Being able to fine tune your suspension really adds to your driving experience and the versatility means you can experience multiple versions of your car. Money well spent! Back pain?! - kinda worth it.

ALVO360

Parked at a mates house getting the lower intercooler bracket made.

Widened holes in the bulkhead for piping. I bought some edging to keep things relaxed in this area.

Test fit -
Brackets need painting tomorrow and I want to put down some of that 'rust prevention' stuff on the holes made for the intercooler pipe.

Test fit 2:
Put the bumper + grill on and took her for a drive to make sure there weren't any knocks or other noises I could hear. Not a peep.

ALVO360

Painted intercooler brackets :+1:

ALVO360

Busy day at the office.

carnut222

That flywheel is a beauty. LOL when I saw the engine on the hoist above the front of the car I was like “OMG that thing is transverse FWD!” But only for a second. ;)

ALVO360

Degreased, scrubbed down and pressure washed engine bay.

She's in, still have a lot to do.

New poly engine mounts. Wow, space Is very tight. I almost thought it wasn't going to fit but so far so good.

carnut222

Wow, so those mounts are in tension (hanging from brackets on the chassis rail?) Were the original mounts the same but rubber? Interesting...what happens if the mount separates - is there something to keep the engine from dropping? Those Dutch engineers were an odd lot! ;)

ALVO360

carnut222;c-155961 wroteWow, so those mounts are in tension (hanging from brackets on the chassis rail?) Were the original mounts the same but rubber? Interesting...what happens if the mount separates - is there something to keep the engine from dropping? Those Dutch engineers were an odd lot! ;)

@carnut222 Sorry, I didn't read your message correctly. Original mounts aren't the same as this. They have a steel casing with rubber in the middle, apparently filled with "glycol fluid" @Laurie
These aren't the original mounts. The original mounts are soft and apparently won't cope with the extra 'oomph' delivered from the b230t.

Laurie

Wow, the poly engine mounts are different to the standard ones!
Standard engine mounts can be easily modified to take extra "oomph". I have fixed the 360 engine mounts by the following method over thirty years ago. I did not like being ripped off by dealer prices for new mounts so I decided to try something a lot cheaper. I drained out the remaining glycol fluid by drilling about a 10 mm hole in both upper and lower chambers and drain out the fluid if there is any remaining. Fill both chambers with Sikaflex polyurethane (the black stuff) making sure that there is no air entrapped. Two of my 360s have such mounts, one done over 500,000 k without any engine sagging and the other 360 (120+ kw B19e) has had no problems in 300.
I have not found any increase of vibrations or noise. If anything the cars seem tighter over rough roads etc.

ALVO360

@Laurie great idea! I have 4x spare 360 mounts, so I will have a go at this in my spare time. I am keen to see how these poly mounts perform, but it's nice to know there are options.

ALVO360

I'm having a few problems, although I'm not far away from starting the beast ?
I need to test the Crank position sensor and found a good link to doing that:
https://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineSensors.htm#Crank_Postition_Sensor

I'll do that tomorrow. Right now I'm not getting spark and the injectors aren't pulsing. I have wired in and have power to the fuel pump. I can hear it prime and the rubber fuel lines are solid and full with fuel.
I know I'm getting fuel to the rail so I suspect the CPS isn't sending signal which is likely from an incorrect mounting. If I had realised the distance between the CPS and flywheel needed to be so close, I would've cut into my bellhousing to accommodate for the 940 CPS bracket. I've learnt for next time I guess ?

ALVO360

Intercooler fitted with painted mounts and two 90 degree silicone 2.5" to 2.25" reducers.

The masterpiece! My brother made a downpipe for me. He did a great job, it took about 4 hours.

Using the old 940 intercooler pipe, Two cuts and a silicone joiner makes for a perfect fit. A bead will be welded around the edges to keep things together ? I've used the same 2.25" to 2.5" 90 degree bend to affix to the throttle body. The old hose from the IAC valve can be shortened and easily adjusted to suit the new pipe-work.

Exhaust was heat wrapped and I bought a turbo blanket to try and keep the heat down further. The Turbo and exhaust are very close to the brake reservoir and....pretty much everything on that side of the engine bay.

ALVO360

Good morning people. Update:

I adjusted the CPS to near perfect but still wasn't getting spark. I decided to swap out the ignition coil, but still nothing. Then I pulled the other ignition amplifier from the 940's loom and BAM! We have fuel and spark.

Needless to say I'm chuffed. I need to sort out the intercooler piping and fill her with coolant and she is ready to start her new life. A long fulfilling life.

Also, an update on using the 940 clutch release bearing...it was a fail. The tabs on the side of the bearing where it connects to the clutch fork aren't wide enough to secure it to the clutch fork itself. Sad story as the only way to get a release bearing is to find someone selling 'New Old Stock' or get one custom made...

360's release bearing - neck width is 43.38mm

360 (bottom) vs 940 bearing

360 bearing in clutch fork - nice and snug

940's release bearing in clutch fork - wont grab

You could probably bend the tabs out on the 940's release bearing to make it fit, but its not ideal.

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