ChaosMotorSport MKII Buggy Engine Swap

ChaosMS

Active member
So been busy stripping and checking the engine out, have had a few issues like the previous owner snapping a manifold stud off in the block then putting the end of the stud back in on a couple of threads!! so had to deal with that (took all the remaining studs out and replaced them) it looks like there has been work done to the engine in the past - some good some not so good, but nothing that cannot be fixed - ive had the sump off and checked the shell bearings then cleaned sump and block ready for paint (sump is staying as is)
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Frame has been finished at the powder coaters (Northcoat) and looks great:
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Chassis is being delivered back home tomorrow where I can then start the re-assembly!!

Rich
 

ChaosMS

Active member
so rebuild well underway, - got around to sorting the floor in the buggy the tread plate was looking pretty rough on top so need a clean up and prep for paint. Wasnt sure how the Raptor stuff was going to go but ran the gun at around 55-60psi and the finish is fantastic!
Heres the rear half of the floor after a wire brush cleanup
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then a good coat of acid etch to give the raptor a good base, this is the half of the floor and ive dropped rivnuts into the floor to fasten down the new brake and electrics cabling
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then sprayed the Raptor, which went on a treat, really impressed with it - heres the front floor section again with Raptor applied
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and a close up view
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And this is what it looks like in the chassis complete with new rubber edging and foam underneath to protect the frame
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I'm also wrapping the front and rear bulkheads - they were just anodised alloy plate and have not stood up to the weather too well and looked a little manky :( so ive wrapped them in the same wrap I used to protect the side panels you can see the rear bulkhead in the pictures and the front one will follow soon!

Gotta get the engine build finished and the engine loom re-fitted soon too so I can get it back in

Rich
 

ChaosMS

Active member
So a quick update, ive decided to wrap a few more of the panels mainly due to the alloy looking a bit crap, stripped cleaned the front bulkhead
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Then sent the rocker cover off for a textured powder coating finish
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And ive also been doing some more 3d printing and made a distribution box for the lighting at the rear using more wago connectors
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and here it is fitted on the rear bulkhead - this has only the signal wires installed in this image i have all the other lighting cables to add back in yet
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and then with the printed lid
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I am hoping to get the rest of the existing loom sorted soon then i can get the engine back in !!
 

250buggys

Well-known member
Good work Rich. Will be a shame to get it dirty!

My buggy is looking a little tatty where I have been off road. Have been putting a gallon of fuel through it each evening. Great fun to give it a blast around the B roads after work. You are missing out on all of this!

Will you need an MOT now when it is back together?

Hope to see it finished soon 🙂
Great to see your updates.
Chris
 

ChaosMS

Active member
Cheers Chris, I cant wait to get it on the road again!! and yeah it will just need an MOT and were sorted!!
 

250buggys

Well-known member
Cheers Chris, I cant wait to get it on the road again!! and yeah it will just need an MOT and were sorted!!
Rich I was going to say that you need a buggy to have some fun in while you are building your current but I found with my 7 build it has taken a back seat and while I have been out in the Freestyle almost every day it doesn't leave much time for anything else and all I want and seem to do is maintain and modify the buggy. 🙂
 

ChaosMS

Active member
Rich,

Who did the crinkle, was it local or sent away, do they do other colours?
Hi Alan, it was the same team that did the rest of the chassis, they are called NorthCoat and are just up the road from me - as for colours they can get just about anything - they have a few variations on the finish too, mine is very fine texture but they also have a leatherette kind of finish plus metallic etc
 

250buggys

Well-known member
Hi Rich your attention to detail is superb. I painted my roll cage in Elise toxic green to begin with (looked awesome) and now with over 1k on the clock and many green lanes, farm tracks etc it is looking pretty shabby and not the show piece it was once. Ended up painting everything hamerite black. Not so good for other drivers approaching but the halos help to make me stand out and very easy to touch up etc.

On the other the buggy does get used almost every day and being a muddy buggy is all part of the fun. I took it through a flooded farm road last year and muddy water comming in everywhere... I really didn't think it was that deep but once you start you can't really go back....

Hope your buggy goes straight through the MOT and looking forward to hearing your updates with you using your buggy in anger.

Also looking forward to hearing about your updates on the MK3 buggy project 😀
 

ChaosMS

Active member
Hi Chris, know what you mean, only time will tell how well it will stand up to abuse (hopefully it will) - before the engine mod when she was on the road (in the distant past) I took her through the offroad setup near me, awesome laugh, like you said water coming in everywhere mud and crap all the way up the sides, grass wrapped around the drive shafts and rear suspension, but it was a lot of fun - on one such outing i cracked one front lower suspension arm and bent the 12mm rose joints (though i didnt know they were bent till i stripped it down for the engine swap) - fingers crossed on the MOT - only issue may be emissions but if ive built it right we should be ok

As for the MK3 - yeah thats still only a very basic cad model at the moment, if I get round to it at some point (and lets be honest it could be a while) there will need to be a lot of changes on the design!
 

ChaosMS

Active member
So update time, and things are moving again (apart from the buggy under its own steam anyway) - so three things have happened since last time, I've re-plumbed all the brakes and this time done away with all hard lines and gone with braided PTFE lines with compression fittings, same stuff I used for all the flexi's to the hubs last time, here's a few pics
engine-swap-web448-1600-1000-100.jpg

found Torques on ebay had the correct adaptor to convert my master cylinders over to use AN fittings - image shows the adaptor in the output ports
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New lines in and the fluid supply in too!!

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all sorted, including the brake pressure switch and you can also see the full length lines going to the back for rear brakes and clutch

Next thing was sort the Fuel tank / filler and the wiring to the pump:
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pump, filter and feed and return hoses fitted to tank and the filler neck re-connected

the last bit and by far the most painful was building the replacement loom - the original intention was to modify the existing lighting loom I built to work with the Suzuki switch gear and column, however on closer inspection, I decided it would be quicker to start again with a clean loom built from scratch - there were so many changes it just wasnt worth the effort to pull the old one apart. main reason being the suzuki switchgear was designed to switch earths for everything including headlights which was a pain in the arse last time around - now with the vw light switch / column stalk and column everything went back to normal with switched positive side (like everyone else) - anyway after much frustration and scribbling of wiring diagrams I finished the loom that controls everything APART from the engine (thats still stock) and it works like a charm:
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Sidelights with Dip on
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main beam with optional roof spots on
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Side and dip on with Indicators flashing - might not of caught these at full intensity they are really bright yellow!

So all the lighting front and rear is working now, as is power to the intercom for the helmets / rear camera etc - I can now drop the engine loom into place (im not changing that its already sorted) - then finish the engine and gearbox service and drop that back in, plan is to drop the engine in whilst its still on the buggy lift, plumb it and fire it up before putting the rest of the suspension back on (As when the suspension goes back on there is no space in garage to work around the buggy), so when I'm happy the engine is right I can button it all up and last job is putting the suspension back on and aligning it!!
 

ChaosMS

Active member
Hi All, another update! - so had chance to complete the wiring and get the engine loom in and fired up!! and after a few minor issues chasing wiring faults that were not actually there I got the Dashboard and ECU to fire up:
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Now granted its not the easiest to read with no dials (some thieving git pinched them the morning I picked up the engine from the breakers!) but most of the important bits are lighting up now and the couple that are not have been sorted since this image. thats about as far as I can go now without the engine installed and wired up as the ECU is going mental as it cant see the sensors on the engine - I chased a power fault for hours worried I'd cut a wire I should not of done to power the fuel pump, only to discover the reason I could not see power going to the pump was becouse the ECU could not see the crank sensor!! and therfore had shut down the pump relay!!!, so I moved back to the engine and set to, cleaning up the manifolds / fitting the new gaskets etc, this is what the engine looks like at the moment:
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both manifolds are back on, fuel rail and injectors are back on, need to flip the engine tonight and fit a new oil pickup, then do the timing belt and pump and then i can button it back up, fit the turbo and pipework, put it on the hoist and fit the mainbearing seal, new flywheel and clutch - then its just the gearbox to clean up and sort the seals.. getting there slowly ;)
 
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ChaosMS

Active member
Hello all, apologies for being on the quiet side - I have been slowly chipping away at the engine to get it to fire, which it finally has !! that’s the good news, the bad news is it sounds bloody awful L

So I borrowed a diagnostic computer plugged it in and took a look at what was going wrong, firstly I was missing the MAP (Mass Air Pressure) sensor – turns out the little bugger was mounted in the old intercooler, so a little digging located the missing sensor and the purchase of an adaptor boss to mount it inline between the intercooler outlet and inlet manifold inlet and hey ho that’s one error gone – but its still running rough and sounds horrific – and run of the diagnostic computer tells me I also have a cam timing issue linked to code P0011 – N205 valve issue – this is the one that controls the variable valve timing and forms part of a complex little chain tensioner!!

So I have now managed to address all errors apart from the N205 valve (I need to order a new one) – I will get one ordered next week and get it fitted and hopefully that will address the error and the god awful racket it makes at the moment!!

Video to follow and pics – im not recording the engine running as it is as frankly it sounds like a diesel ha ha ha

Rich
 

ChaosMS

Active member
So thought id post a few pics on the buggy, still got the N205 issue as not had chance to fit the new valve as yet and also want to check oil pressure in case thats an issue too! so the MAP mounting was a really nice bit of kit heres a couple of pics of it mounted in the elbow that connects to the Intake manifold:
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And in the elbow with the MAP sensor fitted:
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And here is what the back of the buggy looks like at the moment, cooling system all re-fitted etc, just need to wire the fans to the controller and that bits done, will hopefully test the oil pressure this weekend and swap out the N205 valve if need be.

engine-swap-web466-1600-1000-100.jpg


with a bit of luck i can sort this noisey engine death rattle problem and get her back on her wheels again soon!!!
 

ChaosMS

Active member
Hello All, well managed to get a little done on the buggy recently, got the rear cage re-installed and all the heat barrier applied, suspension back on hubs disks and driveshafts in plus the seats harnesses and got all the center tunnel bolted back down;
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so got everything back on as per above and then had issues with the lift - basically it wanted to slide off the lift rather than move!! eventually got it back in the garage and the following weekend decided to get it back on its wheels (even though I dont have the calipers on just yet) - which also meant the lift had to be stripped down to go into storage - in the end my mate asked if he could use the lift at his place so its gone on extended loan! (good news too as the buggy sits too low as the springs are at the wrong rating due to the extra engine weight )

Heres what she looks like now:
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Next job is to get the calipers on, and brakes re-connected, got to sort some more wiring out next too - Slowly getting there.....
 
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