noobalert's WIP stuff

thanks LOZ ill put everytyhing in here regarding my car.

hi peeps this is where ill keep everyone updated on how to turn a 98 ford escort estate into either a pile of scrap or something worthy of being on a road.

ill try and get some photos done asap of what im starting with so you can all see it come together or fall apart lol.

only things i can say about "plans" so far is TRON...keep watching this thread.

 

[obi_waynne]

Will do matey!

 

[noobalert]

not sure how many pics u can post at once here so ill start out minimal.

this is her

i like to call her shedula

just doing some sketchwork on one of the doors to give me a real rough idea of what im doing (or attempting to do)

things wont move fast as i have to learn stuff then try an implement it on the car,
its either going to train wreck spectacularly or blow peoples minds (including mine)

keep watchin...

 

[Loz]

Hey noob, you post went in the mod queue because you need to have contributed 10 before you can add pics. I approved it but there was a problem with your image shack links so I've put them up through photobucket, hope that was OK.

 

[T9 man]

That was really nice of you to do that for him Loz! I hope this project goes the full distance

 

[noobalert]

thanks loz most gracious of you.
and T9 yeah its gonna go the distance all the way to the scrapyard or showground.
dont know which yet but its gonna be a hella ride.

keep watching

 

[noobalert]

nothing new (car work wise) to post most stuff is research, usually ending up in dead ends (or mega expensive ones).
some questions for the good users here,
is anyone an electronics expert here?, im asking because i want a very specific "control" system for the car.
can i move the handbrake to somewhere else in the car and change it from a "pull up" ratchet system to a pull out system (like you used to pull out the "old style" choke's.

if someone is an electronics expert and is willing to sign an NDA i can discuss the interface plans further. if i can pull off (with aid of course) what i want to pull off the interface will blow people away.

keep watching

 

[gingerbrother]

good luck with the project,the hand brake would be a bit of a faff but not to hard to do.the only problems i can see is getting hold of the pull out mechanism,i seem to remember the izuzu 5-6ton mini lorry i used to drive had one,so maybe commercial vehicle breakers might be an area to research.
hope this helps.
also,dont think think of it as an estate car think of it as a fast tourer.

 

[obi_waynne]

Not sure what the MOT regs are surrounding the operation of handbrakes. I'd check this out first or you might end up with an off road use only car.

 

[noobalert]

thanks guys like i said theres alot of research needing doing with this project.
ill keep plodding forward and keep y'all posted.
as a kind of bonus i thought i would give y'all a bit of history on the car.

she was bought from a scrapyard for a lowly £300
she was an mot failure and heres the list she failed on.

rear registration plate lamp bulb not working (replaced the bulb still not working , nothings ever easy is it)
nearside rear brake pipe inadequately supported (needs a spot weld)
brake hydraulic resevior fluid level below minimum level (done and done)
parking brake lever has no reserve travel (on the list)
nearside front shock absorber has negligible damping effect
nearside front shock absorber has serious fluid leak (bot another shock from same scrappy not fitted yet)
offside rear (to inner sill) subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (more welding)
offside front (to floor) subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (more welding)
nearside front (tie rod area) steering system has excessive free play detected at the steering wheel (steering rack fitted) (dont know about this one but im hopeing that it has something to do with there being 3 wheels with a 60 profile and one of the front wheels having a 65 profile) (he prays ).

a bit about me and my skills.

im 43 years old medically retired (sounds good dunnit) with asperger syndrome, live in an oap complex in wales, hobbies are puters games and lately thinking i can be the next chip foose (yeah right)
about my skills, well basically they dont exist lol but i learn fast when it matters and i got nothing to lose by trying to do this right!?.

 

[noobalert]

ok little update for all of ya watchin.

bought the first of 6 subs, a vibe slick s12 (400w rms), was going to go with edge 10's @ 200w rms as i loved the look of them (big fat rubber surround) but they were like £55 quid each, the slick 12's are currently on clearance at halfords for £30 quid each and i thought i gotta have them at that price, so went online checked my local store, nada, nearby stores had 1 each (display models (finger pokes anyone)) so i went into my local store and explained that i wanted 6 of em so he gathered up phone numbers called several stores and managed to get me 6, result!.

All i need now is 6 slick a7 amps to run em all and oo lookit that they are on clearance too, think ill have to speak nice to the manageress see if she can obtain 6 for me and hold em till i get the readys.
also sourced some replacement sills to be welded on, the sills are gonna cost me £18 quid each and £25 quid to have em welded on (not even bought a welder yet that can wait).

found out i have the skills to put window tint on properly (who hoo) if only i didnt cut the wrong window side out of the tint lol.

so gonna hafta buy some more tint to re-do it for the right window, still look at the bright side ive already cut one window out :embarrest:.

now regarding window tint it is my understanding from what i have read it is legal to have the front window tinted (some factory built cars have it already) BUT it has to allow 75% of light through it (for a car with 98 reg)
and 70% for the immediate side windows, all other windows have no testing (so they can be limo black (can i say that without being called racist?)), anyway that is to say there is no stipulation about light passing through them.

can someone tell me if this is indeed correct or am i mis interpreting?.

one thing i have learnt real fast, this modding stuff is way expensive, oh and ill need better stronger tools.

keep watching.

 

[obi_waynne]

Cars look odd when the tints are different shades front to rear. Bear this in mind we've had loads of people on here who have done it then ripped it all off and gone with a lighter tint all round to match the front side windows.

 

[jarrus]

on estates it's best to tint gradually,

for example, have the front windows fairly light, then the middle ones darker and then back ones darker still like a fade almost...

 

[noobalert]

well im in 2 minds about the whole tinting thing...
not sure wether to go with mirrored film all round or like you say light smoke at front dark smoke in rear doors and limo black at all the rears.

on a side note been learning alot like
never try and cut a circle with a cheap azzed jigsaw whos blade dosnt even line up with the notch at the front.
however i had to learn to cover the mdf in leatherette and found i have the skills for that (thank you youtube).
just gotta take the plunge with my router next see if i can learn to use that but i think circles are gonna be a problem coz im a bit cack handed.

more of the subs have come in and some of the amps too mmmmm(drifts away to bass tones)
worked it out the cars gonna be pushing about 2Kw into 6 slick s12 subs and i might add my old faithfull space 12 (running 600w@2ohm).
still need to find an electronics expert so holla at me if ur the shiz with electronics.

will post my learning pic when i get it done.

 

[noobalert]

not much has changed with the car as i have no space to do work in.
did the first bit of experimenting at making a sub box.
didn't turn out too bad all things considered but there was one problem...
it was FAR too big lol
i had no reference for size as i made it in my flat (dont do this at home folks sawdust gets EVERYWHERE literally) and the car was some 5 miles away.
ive corrected that now by ripping the boot carpet out and using that for reference as to boot space.
new sub box is in progress and is alot smaller.
its all guesswork tbh as i just cannot contemplate all those theile small parameter things they baffle the crap outta me. will post pics when i can get em on here.