Thread: Stirlsilver's Disco Ute Project

Hey mate

Not to sure how much you plan on spending on this thing but with regards to your exhausts have you considered ceramic coating?

Apparently reduces ambient temps etc, I had just my dump pipe done. Mainly because the rest of the exhaust is stainless and the dump pipe was mild steel but also to help reduce the temperatures around the alternator and starter motor

Thread is awesome by the way, I often drop in to see where your up to

Originally Posted by Jock The Rock

Hey mate

Not to sure how much you plan on spending on this thing but with regards to your exhausts have you considered ceramic coating?

Apparently reduces ambient temps etc, I had just my dump pipe done. Mainly because the rest of the exhaust is stainless and the dump pipe was mild steel but also to help reduce the temperatures around the alternator and starter motor

Thread is awesome by the way, I often drop in to see where your up to

Hi Jock, thanks for your comment and suggestion. I hadn't actually thought about the ceramic coating. I'm guessing it is fairly expensive? I can see how the ceramic coating would reduce heat losses as the ceramic would have a lower thermal conductivity, but I'm assuming the thickness is say only 50-100microns?? I was originally thinking of wrapping the exhaust system in fibreglass possibly held in place with aluminium cladding... But that would be so fiddley to do!! Anyway, too early to be thinking of that. Need to see if the engine will run!!

A bit more time was spent in the workshop, this time my Girlfriend decided to come along and help which was a bit of a change! There is promise in making her a petrol head yet!

Anyway, for the actual progress. I've now got one of two blow off valves, I've opted to go for the OEM Bosch blow off valve. I don't need anything fancy and these valves supposedly never fail. I just need to hope I'll win the next Ebay bid for the second one!


The injectors were all plumbed back up and connected.


Then in addition to making up some gaskets for the throttle bodies and what not, we moved on to the wiring of the rear tail lights since the plenum isn't ready yet. In sticking with the OEM appearance I disassembled a connector I plucked out of a car from the wrecker and used it. Thanks to all the wire I ripped out of the discovery I tore apart in Melbourne I was able to stick with the original OEM wire colour codes.






That makes the RH tail lights and the trailer plug nearly complete, I might move on to the LH tail lights next week, but I suspect I will be having a lot more fun with the motor. Maybe even starting it with the turbos plumbed up!! To do nothing more than make lots of noise in the shed!

Till next time.

By the way, does anyone have the crimper that suits the hose clamps which are on the LPG injector outlet nozzles? I've just got the hose clamps sitting loosely on the tubes since I don't have the crimper. Anyone with the tool willing to lend it would be a great help!!

The intake manifold heat insulators are ready. Just need to trial them to see how close my measurements are Get in touch if you would like a set.

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

The intake manifold heat insulators are ready. Just need to trial them to see how close my measurements are Get in touch if you would like a set.

What are they made off? And where did you get them made - or did you make them yourselves?

Originally Posted by crash

What are they made off? And where did you get them made - or did you make them yourselves?

They are made from Phenolic Laminate, after looking through some material data I found it had the best thermal resistivity with high compressive strength. I had a look at Polyethylene & Polypropylene but they didn't quite have the compressive strength necessary. Also a pretty low melting temperature. I get them CNC cut, I wish I had such a machine!!

Anyway, on with the update from the long weekend. The intake manifold heat insulators were trialled and fit perfectly






To prepare for the assembly of the engine loom I needed extra connectors. So I went to the local Pick A Part and raided a number of old cars for connectors which I know can be easily disassembled.



The wiring of the rear tail lights was completed on both sides. Below is a photo of the LH loom which includes the lines for the LPG tank solenoids and fuel level sender.






The car starting to come to life! The Indicator, Brake, Tail & Indicators all working.



The temporary exhaust system was welded onto the test engine. While it would have been nice to hear it without the silencer, I really need the wide band sensor in the exhaust system when I start the engine. As for the welding... I used the opportunity to do some more stick welding, oh man I have a long way to go with my stick welding skills.




I wired up and tested the pulse width modulation on the boost control solenoid with the ECU and compressed air, all working well.



In a similar way I tested the Idle Control Valves, though these valves need a vacuum present so I won't fully know until I have them on the engine and running.




The plenum assembly is all welded up as well and was ready on Friday, but I didn't have a chance to collect. I'll try to do so tomorrow before flying to to Singapore tomorrow night.

And that's about it!

The plenum-intercooler assembly is now in my hands. Can't wait to bolt it all together with the throttle bodies and crank the test engine over when I get back

The weekly update.

Trial fitted the intercooler-plenum assembly on the car to make sure there weren't any surprises. Thankfully everything fit together the way it should have




Derrick paid a visit and lent a helping hand which was greatly appreciated. The intercooler-plenum was bolted in place on the test engine along with the throttle bodies. I discovered that it was near impossible for me to reach the bolts connecting the plenum to the plenum base in the middle. There was simply too much in the way. Anyway, I think the assembly being bolted down in the corners will be fine.





Here are a couple of other shots, not a whole lot of gap between the intercooler core and the turbo! I planned it to be that way though! You can see the stud in the middle which is missing the nut. That's the one I couldn't reach... Design flaw...



The engine was started with the turbos and intake system, and everything appeared to be fine. The idle control valves on the throttle bodies work, but more work is needed to set the controller to prevent oscillation.

After a few hours of testing, I moved on to making a start on the engine loom. I managed to finish the injector wiring loom with the length necessary to reach under the driver's side seat, which is where I plan to place the ECU.



And in other news, the new engine is now on order from Triumph Rover Spares. When it arrives it will be a case of transferring all the parts over and fitting it into the car!!

That's it for now.