DIYEFI.org Forum

In a word "WOW!!!"

Den

Thanks Den! :-)

Some updates:

ARP stuff ordered: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3691971584
Head gasket carnage: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0163429377
More hg carnage: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3873614848
Even more hg carnage: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2897019904
Block cleaning trash: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 6246471680
Block cleaning result: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9949523968
Block to head restrictor: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0908672000

More on this soon. Hopefully ordering the MLS gasket within the next 24 hours or so.

Fred.

Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials for the ute? I think so, by December with luck.

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/stri ... reetRadial

Material# Part# Size Size Equivalent Appx. Weight Compound Approved Rims Measuring Rim Section Width Tread Width Overall Diameter Circ.
90000000996 3793R P255/50R16 26 X 10.50R16 29 R2 7.0-9.0 8 10.5 9.6 26.1 82

255/50R16 with rolling diameter of 662.94mm on 16x7 6-stud steelies for now (7x9 range), and 16x8 FD RX7 5-stud alloys later.

Apparently they run about 350nzd each, but that could be a lot worse with current exchange rates.

Pics if/when they happen.

Fred.

Which friendly American wants to ship these to me one at a time marked down in value? :-D

225USD each on the MT website. Shipping + goods needs to come in under about 150USD or so, per shipment, right now. What would shipping a lonely tyre cost me? Might get unrealistic if there's too much shipping and not enough value in the box.

Chased up the MLS head gasket design for the beast tonight! Now I need to pack my bag, load my car, and get to bed! Hopefully I can place the order soon and it'll be with me around the same time as the stud kit. Lots of work to do to the truck itself before then, and I need to send the head off for a skim, too.

No such luck! The American gasket man I was *trying* to deal with was extremely unhelpful, much like conversing with a block of wood. There is a local guy who does gaskets who I will approach, get a quote from, and order from. I'll have to engage quickly, and there is only 8 weeks left, so he'll have to not screw me around like the yank gasket man, but this should be able to be pulled off. Worst case I'll throw another cheapy in there, torque it down harder and run like that for the time being. Grrrr.

I've ordered a random gasket from BNT as a template for the NZ MLS man, and if not possible, then to use short-term.

Wanted to note down my major dependencies so I can check them off as I make progress:

• ORDERED Head stud kit (can get away without for now)
• DONE Normal head gasket (as pattern/fallback)
• REPLIED MLS head gasket (can get away without for now)
• Head ground flat to ~15 RA (Only required with MLS)
• DONE 16x7 wheels for drag tyres
• MT ET Street Radial 255/50R16 tyres (optional, but strongly preferred)
• Clean out bottom end ready for reassembly (100% required)
• Modify a few parts for better fitment (can wait, but stupid not to)
• Modify head for better oil drainage (can wait, but eager to test)

Sigh, will have to work hard to get this organised and done! Especially with multiple external parties involved (tyres, head skim, MLS).

Got banned from the drag event before even showing up. Talented man I am, at pissing people off, anyway. And writing code. Some sort of saving grace, I suppose. Nevertheless, the ARP stud kit package arrived! :-D Some photos:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 8837603329
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 5143904256
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0532979712
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 6315929600
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2994810884

Trying it for fit to ensure I have enough spacing in the washers I ordered will have to wait a few days, sadly.

Fred.

I've been plotting the 5 stud setup for this thing and done a bit of gathering and thinking and measuring.

1) I have a spare hub here now to measure up without disabling the truck completely. These are not suitable for redrilling.
2) Hyundai H100 vans have 5x114 but use an M14 stud!
3) Mitsubishi and Toyota vans use 5x114 with an M12 stud! One of these may be suitable with just a different set of bearings.
4) Both of the above utilise a rear-mounted brake rotor. I can also rear mount a bigger rotor using an adaptor disk of some type.
5) This will place calipers and rotors further into the wheel arch and into a larger part of the wheel = larger possible rotor size, perhaps.

Looking forward to getting into this at some point. Now's a bad time, though, sadly.

Fred.