Strut tower brace - Part 3

Angus returned with the two arms for the strut tower brace freshly welded (and painted a fetching maroon/brown colour over the welded area).

And would you believe, they actually still fit!!  (Sometimes welding can warp metal a little.)

Off with the bonnet so that holes can be drilled...

After drilling the first hole, Damian told Angus that the seam they were attaching the top part of the brace to was almost 10mm thick!!  Angus couldn't believe it, but had a look, and sure enough it was pretty darn thick back there...

Damian felt better about having a bolt-on strut tower brace after seeing how thick the area was - it's far stronger than the original welded brace was!!

Still a gap up the top though...  Once these are bolted on, Booger Mobile will be driveable again, and Damian will be able to take it to Angus' workshop to have the two halves reconnected!!

Bonnet back on...

Beautiful!!  Fits like a bought one!!

So, with Booger Mobile now driveable again, the next step is to head to Angus' workshop to reconnect the two halves...  also, Damian is going to source a piece of steam pipe (extruded metal pipe that is much stronger than regular water pipe) to make a cross brace for added esCarpade structural support!!

Stay tuned for the exciting finale!!

Strut tower brace - Part 2

Damian borrowed a gas axe from his brother (an oxy-acetylene torch to heat and cut metal) and arranged for Angus to come around to lend a hand.

First up, the driver's side brace was removed.

After some demonstration of the gap to be closed, Angus set to work adjusting the top part of the brace.

Bending...

Bending...

After the top part and the bottom part of the brace were adjusted, they lined up beautifully on the passenger side!!

Unfortunately, it didn't line up on the driver's side at the same time, so the three piece brace was cut again to make four pieces!!  (Note the gap at the top of the picture.)

Using tek screws (yes esCarpade scrutineers, the boys know these aren't permitted for the event!!), the four pieces were held together in the correct location...

Driver's side lines up beautifully now...

As does the passenger side!!

Of course, Booger Mobile isn't driveable without the strut tower braces attached, so Angus took the pieces away with him, to return with two welded up braces!!

Things were starting to look up again.

Silver Sponsor - Special K from WA

Team Booger Mobile would like to welcome back their long time supporter Special K from WA!!

Kaye and her husband John have been following the Team Booger Mobile journey from the very early days, and have even visited to Team Booger Mobile HQ in person all the way from Western Australia!!

Welcome back Kaye - great to have your support as always!!

Strut tower brace - Part 1

Well, now that the infamous strut tower brace has arrived, and doesn't bolt straight in (what does?), Damian figured it was time to get cracking seeing how to make it fit.

But first, might as well paint some stuff green and let it dry while working on the brace!!  Action shot of Damian shaking the spray paint (is that a euphemism?) courtesy of the lovely Tricia!

Damian was joking that he always worries that when he opens the roller door a snake might fall onto him that was lying on top of the roller...  Instead, when he closed the roller door (to keep the paint out of the shed), THIS was waiting for him!!

Outside painting the rooftop pod...

Painting, painting, painting...

Damian in a cloud of green paint...  Maybe a mask was in order?

Whoa... shiny!!

The cross brace... looking pretty.

The underside...

And angle grinder cutting it into three pieces!!

The engine bay...

Looks a bit like a samurai warrior helmet, or maybe a space invader!!

First, remove the claxton and musical air horns...

Next, sit the three pieces of the brace in place... looks like it will be pretty close!!

Next up... removing the old brace...

Very careful and gentle cutting of the top mount...

And through!!

The bottom end of the brace was easier, and voila!!  Is gone!!

Yep, there it is... pretty flimsy looking piece of metal, really!!

Bolting the bottom piece in place...

Uh oh...  At this point, Damian thought "OMG... what have I done!!"

Houston... we have a problem!!  For those who can't see - the issue is that the two pieces, while being fairly much in line with each other, have about a 5cm gap vertically...

This is going to need input from Angus!!

Wiring Tidy Up aka the wiring doesn't reach the new strobe mount positions!!

Another day, another blog post...

Regular blog readers will remember that the new strobe mounting positions mean that the wires don't quite reach any longer...  Damian unwrapped the wires all the way back to the firewall and brought through some spare wire from under the dash (that's why you don't cut wires off at just the right length, kids)!!

Time to rewrap...  how long will this take?

Through the magic of the interwebs, not very long at all!!  In reality, quite a while!!

Nice and neat...

Damian took Booger Mobile for a trip to the shops and back, then left it idling in the shed...  The temperature stayed around 90 while idling for about 10 minutes!!

Next up, Damian figured he would see how close to fitting the new strut tower brace he bought was...

Hmmm... too long, and too wide!!

Fits nicely at the tower...

Doesn't fit on the other tower...  Yet!!

That will be a blog post all on its own...  Damian will make it fit, then perhaps get Angus to do some welding magic!!

Booger Mobile's wheels were looking a little tired after 5 years - maybe a touch-up would be nice!!

First a nice grey undercoat...

While the undercoat dried, time to throw a top coat on the roof pod!!

Whoa!!  That's better!!  Neon green FTW!!

And some neon green on the wheel too...  looks awesome!!

So that will be Damian's next job - repainting the six wheels (four on the car and two spares as per esCarpade requirements), and putting another coat or two on the roof pod...

Then installing the amber rotator, maybe some lights, perhaps some other stuff... who knows?

Stay tuned, groovers!!