MG Midget Madness (i.e. It was either this or kill it with fire)

[GySgtFrank]

Finished the mid pipe section and got paint on it. I will probably need to make up some heat shields for the pipes. They have to run pretty close to the floor pan as there is very little ground clearance on these and nowhere to tuck the pipe up and out of the way. I still have about 1/2" of clearance, but didn't dare tuck it up any higher due to the rotary's high exhaust temperatures.


mid pipe 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


The end of this will connect to an X pipe section that passes underneath the transmission. It will bolt to the exhaust on either side of the tunnel opening. This will give me a section that I can drop out to remove the transmission, without having to take out the entire exhaust system each time. The downside to this approach is that there are more gasketed joints (and possible leak points) in the system. Once out of the X pipe section, I plan to 90 the dual pipes toward the rear of the car (putting in another flange just before it turns up to go over the axle) and all the way over the axle before I run it into a 3" collector at the back of the axle tunnel. At that point it will go to a 3" Racing Beat pre-silencer, make a 90 into a 3" RB muffler, then make another 90 out the back on the passenger side. The reason for this is more so space considerations than for the long primary. Space is so tight over the axle that the 2" pipe is going to be a tight squeeze, anything bigger would be sure to hit on suspension compression. That's the plan anyway.


mid pipe 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


and a shot of where it connects to the upper section of the header/manifold.


mid pipe 3 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


Probably not going to get a lot done for a couple more weeks as I have to make a trip up to Montana.

[WE3RX7]

What paint are you using on them? I assume its all MIG'd...

[GySgtFrank]

VHT 1500 - 2000 degree header paint and yes it's all Mig'ed. I'm not baller enough for TIG. I'm not the world's greatest welder, but my welds don't break and they don't leak. Usually anyhow.

[WE3RX7]

The VHT stuff is decent - used on the RX3 headers but in black. DId you "bake" the aint at all?

The first time I fired my headers up they smoked for a while burning in the paint..after a while it was all good and still black so I'll be curious to see how the silver looks.

Welds look fine too!

[GySgtFrank]

No, I didn't bother to bake it. Once it gets fired up it'll get "baked" on. I used the same paint on a previous header I had sand blasted, then painted. Worked well. Not as tough as Ceramic coatings in that it will chip more easily if you drop stuff on it, but a lot cheaper and easier to touch up when you have to. Mainly I just want to keep them from rusting.

If anyone is looking for a show quality build, then my builds aren't it. They will have to look elsewhere for that kind of eye candy. I just want the damn thing to work, and work well. The information I present is for others to see what my solutions were to the build so they can plan accordingly if they choose to try something similar.

A picture of the other header, it didn't discolor and held up under use, admittedly not a lot of miles, but it didn't burn off with the four cylinder. How well that holds true for a rotary we'll have to see.

header2.jpg

[WE3RX7]

Thats why I use it too, protect the rust and pipes from weld. Good for cheaper builds that get driven (I don't build many show cars, lol).

[infernosg]

I'm relaying all your progress to a co-worker. In 15 years he hasn't made as much progress as you have in the last few months. I like what you're doing with the exhaust. The fact that you're thinking ahead and planning for disassembly is something few people (even shops) do.

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by infernosg

I'm relaying all your progress to a co-worker. In 15 years he hasn't made as much progress as you have in the last few months. I like what you're doing with the exhaust. The fact that you're thinking ahead and planning for disassembly is something few people (even shops) do.

It's a Little British Car, not planning for future breakage would not work out so well.


... and for what I accomplished today. I made a somewhat complicated bracket and mounted my AFM up at the front of the engine. I wanted to use the stock 13B intake piping and the radiator would be in the way to mount it in the same place as the RX7. I plan to run the intake across the front of the engine (up high and behind the radiator shroud) and plumb in a cold air intake and filter box on the driver's side. I'm trying to figure out a way to tuck the filter box high in the wheel well, directly behind the headlight, as this is the only reasonably clear unused space up front. Still puzzling over that one.


AFM bracket by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


AFM placement 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


AFM placement 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


AFM placement 3 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

[chibikougan]

Does that pipe clear with the hood closed? Looks close...

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by chibikougan

Does that pipe clear with the hood closed? Looks close...

It is close (just like everything else in this 5 lb. sack ), but yes, it should. The hood bulges upward toward the middle with no inner structure, which is the only reason that my manifold clears. I'll see for absolute sure next time I trial fit the hood. It wouldn't be the first time I had to go back and re-think something.

edit: damn it Ransom, you got me worried and I had to go out and reinstall the hood to check it. There was a clearance issue. Not with the hood per se, but with the mounting tab for the hood prop. Chopped off the tab and it closes just fine.

Wheww! Good eye.

I do have another clearance issue with the thermostat housing pipe. It touches on the inner curve of the bend. I was planning to cut and swivel that to a more forward angle anyway. The outward angle is a bit extreme for this car and now that I know it touches the intake piping I'll definitely need to modify it to face further toward the front of the car.

[chibikougan]

Originally Posted by GySgtFrank

It is close (just like everything else in this 5 lb. sack ), but yes, it should. The hood bulges upward toward the middle with no inner structure, which is the only reason that my manifold clears. I'll see for absolute sure next time I trial fit the hood. It wouldn't be the first time I had to go back and re-think something.

edit: damn it Ransom, you got me worried and I had to go out and reinstall the hood to check it. There was a clearance issue. Not with the hood per se, but with the mounting tab for the hood prop. Chopped off the tab and it closes just fine.

Wheww! Good eye.

I do have another clearance issue with the coolant inlet pipe. It touches on the inner curve of the bend. I was planning to cut and swivel that to a more forward angle anyway. The outward angle is a bit extreme for this car and now that I know it touches the intake piping I'll definitely need to modify it to face further toward the front of the car.

Good deal..

My OCD kicks in I would be fucking with the hood on and off constantly. Like checking the door lock even though I fucking know its locked I just checked it 8 times but I am still going to check it however many more times...

[GySgtFrank]

In order to get accurate measurements for the intake system I need to get a few other things situated. I had to make a new battery box and mounts from scratch to relocate it. It was originally mounted up by the windshield cowl, but that area is no longer there..

battery box by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

[GySgtFrank]

Trailing coil and main FC fuse panel mounted.


trailing coil by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

I screwed up on the paint. I was going to do some touch up on the box and mounts. Bought the wrong paint and it's now lifting. I'll need to sandblast it all off and start over on the paint when I get to it.

[GySgtFrank]

... and leading coil is mounted.

built a bracket to bolt where the original coil went ...


leading coil bracket by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


mounted the coil ...


leading coil mounted by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


and a picture of the whole ensemble.


coils and battery by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

[chibikougan]

Can you pull the plugs with it in the engine bay..