What else "needs" doing?
Replace the mechanically driven radiator fan with electric.
Over christmas the car overheated. The cause? The fan had somehow taken
a nosedive into the radiator and jammed. No real damage to the radiator,
but not good. It was cured with a hot air paint stripper to soften the
fan and bend it back into shape.However the fan is now well out of balance,
and I'd like to replace it. An electric fan not tied to engine speed should
help cooling in traffic jams and free a little power by not being an inertial
load on the engine. It should also be possible to get a closer fit between
the fan and the radiator to make is more effective.
Radiator grill - work in progress.
Not content with the bend coat hanger that RH provides for the Exmo, I'm
building a replacement. The chosen material is aluminium extrusion in a
crescent/aerofoil section, about 4mm thick and 30 wide. Cut this to length,
drill angles holes and thread the slats onto 9mm carbon fiber rods. Glue
into position and you have a grill. I'll mount this by cutting the grill
to a close fit, and cutting slots for the slats in the nosecone round the
opening so the grill slots into place from the inside. More glue or fibreglass
to hold it in place and a coat of black paint and it should look much better.
Heating.
Having spent last winter driving a beetle with no heat, I'm not really
prepared to go through that again. The Exmo is a warmer car, with the engine
in front heating the footwell, and the driver sitting quite close to the
gearbox. The problem so far is to mount the heater matrix such that it
is below the top of the radiator so I dont get an airlock. Then worry about
the routing for the hot air etc, especially for demist.
More dials
I need to apply the RH noodle pots technique to my existing speedo setup
(the rims of the pots, sanded and painted black make good fake dials for
the sierra display). I'd also like to install oil pressure gauge, oil temp
gauge etc. A combination of paranoia, technophilia, and having already
cut the holes in the dash.
Hardtop
On the more extreme side of the future, I'd like to build a fiberglass
roof for the car for the winter - a hardtop. Heated rear window - better
view than you get through the current roof, better soundproofing, and perhaps
better access. I'll probabaly start with better sidescreens, and perhaps
a (removable) frame round the door. In strong winds the roof billows and
creates a gap above the door that is less than wind/rain proof.
Nose cone infill panels.
I've never got round to these either. I've cut them to shape, and hopefully
when the grill gets replaced these will find their way on. I've cut them
down from the suppplied version since the front "bumper" wasn't compatible
with them.
Rear wing piping
RH makes a big fuss about gluing a piece of coax cable the the rear wings
to make it look like two mouldings. I guess I might as well comply.
Engine upgrade.
The expensive side of the coin. Anywhere from replacing the engine with
a 160 bhp version of the Pinto or trying to crowbar in a Zetec unit, to
just replacing the camshaft, exhaust manifold, perhaps carbs, and remodelling
the head. Money and time needed, but more power is in the future.
The next project.
I don't have the money, my girlfriend would leave me, and I'm not sure
I want to go through this again kust yet, but.....
Back to the Exmo page.