I thought it was about time I posted a diary of my engine conversion on my MK Indy. Finished and IVA’d the car in October last year and enjoyed a few
months of running after making and fitting a full cage post IVA. MK Indy RB968
Intention is to use this thread to record the conversion. I have made some videos and put on Youtube with photos on Flickr but wanted to write it up
as well.
I bought the Indy as a part started project, basically a rolling chassis which already included a Kawasaki ZX9R of B3/4 vintage. Initial testing and
IVA setup was fine and the bike engine went well but took a bit of getting used to the noise, the frenetic experience, gearchange etc. This year
however the gearbox started to become temperamental, there was a vibration at certain revs that was driving me up the wall and the lack of proper
reverse eventually meant I didn’t enjoy or use the car as much as I wanted to. I got the car originally to do some fast road driving and track days
but didn’t trust the engine/gearbox enough to go on a track day. It was time to change something.....
Initial idea was keep it simple and go for an MX5 engine and box, Megasquirt and changes to go to fuel injected from carbs. Then I saw clairetoo’s V6
/MX5 combo and the idea stuck.
I knew others had done V6’s in locosts and the all alloy low weight of the KLDE and decent power output with an easily sourced MX5 gearbox plus the
bonus of the Triumph throttle body setup for noise, look etc. had me hooked.
So in July I sourced a 71k mile KLDE from a Ford Probe, pulled the ZX9, exhaust, prop and started looking to test fit the engine. Description
Keeping track of the weight difference from the beginning the ZX9 engine wet with cradle weighed in just under 80Kgs. Description
and the KL weighed in dry without ancillaries at 112kgs Description
Once we had made a few minor adjustments to get the gearbox to sit far enough back and high enough in the tunnel we could test fit the engine and it
just fit. Description Description RB gearbox test fit Description
The KL starter mounts from the gearbox side which means cutting a section of bellhousing away. Starter fitting RB
There are a few other minor mods mainly shaving bits of the inside of the bellhousing as the flywheel is set back further than normal with this
adapter so touches in a couple of spots.
The obvious issue with this setup is the starter fouls the passenger footwell so out with the cutting disc ! Footwell Mod RB
It was a bit close for comfort as the starter only just clears the bottom chassis rail but it fits and and whlst the tail of the gearbox is higher
than the tunnel top its only 1 inches so can disappear under the gaitor.
The tunnel mods included cutting and moving the horizontal cross member back a couple of inches and relocating the vertical rail as well. I also had
to mod the top right rail as the MX5 gearbox whilst not large has a cover for the spring loader on the right hand side and this fouled the rail. I cut
a section out and welded in a solid bar rather than box section. Tunnel mods RB
I ordered a propshaft rom Dunnings and Fairbank and have to say they were a pleasure to deal with and a fair bit cheaper than Bailey Morris. New DandF prop
I also cheated and bought some stainless manifolds off eBay for the Probe V6. These were never going to be any good as they were as the engine is
normally transverse in front wheel drive format but it gave me the flanges, 3-1 collectors and lambda bungs.
It was a bit sould destroying hacking them up and I think I bit off more than I could chew as my MIG welding of stainless was wee poor but they
worked out ok. Started with the nearside as there was more room.
Tape is a lot easier than welding ! Manifold Fab RB
The offside was harder as I had to clear the steering column , chassis rail and got a bit close to the brake master cylinder. Exhaust offside RB
Anyway they worked out OK. Time will tell if they are totally gas tight. Cue a load of stainless exhaust bits bought from Exhaust Uk on eBay. I went
with 2" pipes each side and 2 16" x 5" silencer each side. Exhaust complete RB
These were tig welded (I do not want my crappy welds on the outside!) and then I polished the lot on my bench grinder.
The right angle turn through the fibreglass is a bit tight so I will be adding some heat matting inside to protect the bodywork and the brake master
cylinder.
Photo Archive
Building: Rebuilding FR 2.0 which I crashed
posted on 15/10/12 at 12:47 AM
That's really coming along. I'm just finishing some body work before I go try out my new SR20DET, from the old CA18DET. Had to hack the
crap out of the nosecone and bonnet, but apart from some painting, I'm done. Of course, it's raining all week here. It is at least 20 to
30 HP more than the old engine, and makes the brakes seem weak. You might want to consider checking your brakes as part of your makeover.
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
Another update to just about catchup with where I currently stand with this conversion.
I bought a 40 Amp Denso alternator so looked to make a mount and a way to adjuster the belt. With no ancillaries I decided to run a single belt from
the front pulley of the crank pulley and drive both water pump and alternator. This meant spacing the water pump pulley. Luckily we have machine shop
at work who made me a 28mm spacer.
I modded an adjuster from the rods used for my ZX9 gearchange. Seemed to do the job. Since the photo was taken I have remade the brackets out of 3mm
steel to stop any flexing.
I test fitted the engine to ensure the alternator cleared the chassis brace and to test fit the new prop. Trial fit KL RB
This revealed a(nother) ballsup as the tunnel chassis member I moved was now exactly where the joint on the prop was and guess what.......it just
touched when rotated.....so later that was cut and moved and welded back and re-painted RB new prop test fit cockup
While we were at it we test fit the starter again and tried turning the engine over on the starter for the first time in the car. Its been turned over
by hand and briefly on the garage floor but this is the first time with everything bolted together.
Cue the chuckle brothers (my Dad and Uncle) in charge of jump leads. Dad with his head in the footwell and my Uncle next to the clattery Xantia
neither of whom could hear the other.....this was the 3rd attempt.....
Success! no horrendous noises, and the belts went round.
When the engine came back out I installed the trigger wheel and made a bracket for the VR sensor. Both from trigger-wheels.com where I also bought a
Microsquirt and EDIS kit as I am copying Claire's alpha-n EDIS setup to keep it simple.
Made an inferior version of her coilpack mount as well which sits above the bellhousing. Coilpack mount RB
Early on it was obvious the bellhousing and clutch release arm were very close to the drivers footwell bulkhead. We had to remove the old clutch
master cylinder to get the gearbox in place so it was time to think of a solution. I was going to look at a vertical mount cylinder but these were
pricey so I had a look at the MX5 and saw it has the pedal mounted above . eBay visit later and I had a complete MX5 pedal and master cylinder. Cut
the pedal up as it was miles to long and mounted it as high as possible in the footwell and drill holes for the pushrod and mounts. RB gearbox clutch arm
All pretty tight but it will work. Going to make up a custom clutch hose to the standard MX5 slave cylinder and rod. RB clutch master cylinder MX5
So thats about up to date. Been tarting bits up and spending a small fortune on eBay. Got a intake manifold temp sensor, Claire is ordering me a set
of Magnecor plug leads and sending me a set of her throttle bodies.
Spent 20 minutes in Halfords finding a smaller M20 thread oil filter as the full size one hits the chassis rail....new one is off a Nissan Note!
Hopeful it will mean I don't need to run a remote filter. Small oil filter KLDE
Got a couple of days off work to start wiring....oh joy.
Hopefully I can make it work. Can't wait to get it started. Throttle body setup should be with me by the weekend thanks to Claire so hoping for
some itb porn and making some great progress.
Hopefully I can make it work. Can't wait to get it started. Throttle body setup should be with me by the weekend thanks to Claire so hoping for
some itb porn and making some great progress.
Rich
Vee engines with downdraft throttles side by side will always look fantastic.
But the best thing about it? One BEC has seen the light of reason and converted to CEC!
If God meant cars to have bike engines, He wouldn't have called them CARS!
Keep up the good work, that man!
Luego Locost C20XE.
Build start: October 6th 2008.
IVA passed Jan 28th 2011.
First drive Feb 10th 2011.
First show: Stoneleigh 1st/2nd May 2011.
'Used up' first engine may 3rd 2011!
Back on the road with 2nd engine may 24th
First PASA mad drive 26/7/11
Sold to Mike in Methyr Tydvil 19/03/14
Photo Archive
Building: Built - V6 Fury , V6 Mx5...what next ?
posted on 19/10/12 at 07:37 AM
Looking good
One small , but important point though - I see you are running the alternator belt on the front (larger) part of the bottom pulley - this could well
cause a problem , since you will find yourself spinning the alternator well beyond its limits , probably as high as 20000 RPM..........
Good point Claire. I did change the standard alternator pulley from a larger v belt pulley to this ribbed belt pulley. But I won't pretend I had
worked out the difference compared to the main pulley size.
I guess I may need a bigger alternator pulley if it is over spinning.
Main crank pulley front pulley is 140mm dia, alternator pullley is 58mm so 1:2.42 ratio.
At 7500rpm crank speed the alternator would be turning at 18150rpm
The rear section of the crank pulley...which I guess is what the alternator on a Ford Probe normally runs of is 120mm so thats 1:2.07 ration i.e. 7500
rpm = 15525 rpm alternator speed.
Claire, what size pulley is the std alternator fitted to the KL?
Photo Archive
Building: Built - V6 Fury , V6 Mx5...what next ?
posted on 19/10/12 at 08:28 PM
I dont have the measurements to hand , but on both my Fury and Mx5 I've used the same dia as the smaller part of the pulley , and just to be
safe made slightly larger alternator pullies ( I set the rev limiter to 8000 since peak power should be at around 7300......)
Dont forget the max revs on a stock Ford Probe/Mx6 is (Ithink) less than 7000 .
I can make you a set of suitable pulleys - just as soon as I get the use of both of my hands
Looking good. It's nice to see Claire's influence and that of the KL spreading!
I'm doing very much the same thing for my Sprite, but with tarty red cam covers!
Are you going to get yours rolling roaded once done? And what ECU are you going with? I'm going the full sequential route with mine, which
isn't really needed, but I wanted to anyway!!
[Edited on 21/10/12 by DIY Si]
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
I am using a Microsquirt and EDIS trying to keep it simple as Claire seems to have done very successfully. This is my first venture into a custom ecu
so really I want to get it running and use it.
I am hoping to get some good base settings from Claire and then yes I fancy getting it rolling road setup somewhere as much to make it safe and
reliable as to get more power. I think it will have plenty!
Thinking about trumpets, have you had much thought about the air box/filters yet? I know Claire has her CF air box sealing against the bonnet, but I
would prefer to avoid going that way if possible. But equally, space is limited and it does save a bit of room. I've been toying with the idea
of a separate filter for each bank but haven't looked into it much yet due to an impending house move.
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Yeah, its going to be interesting I suspect. I haven't got my hands on the throttle bodies yet but clearance under the bonnet is going to be
tight.
My current thought is to make a smallish airbox fed via a cone filter from the rear but with a lid unlike Claires.
With my limited fabrication skills I will probably have a go with some aluminium and see what it works out like.
I have thought about individual filters or as you suggest 2 filters doing a bank each. I even started looking at if you could buy sheets of filter
foam so if desperate I could make my own. Kind of like 2 small pipercross style filters. After all they are basically a frame, a piece of mesh to give
the shape and some foam so can't be that hard !
I'll keep you posted once I receive the throttle bodies, hopefully today!
Photo Archive
Building: Built - V6 Fury , V6 Mx5...what next ?
posted on 22/10/12 at 08:46 AM
I do have a mold for an airbox which may be usefull - theres no inlet on it , and it would need modding above the rear linkage , but if you can use it
I can knock one up (as soon as I get some resin..........I normally `borrow' that from work but I'm not there at the moment )
I've bunged in a complaint at Citylink - the `bodies were due for delivery on Friday
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