V6 mk3 project thread ( vid added Page 8 + page 10)

[loadswine]

Cool stuff, that engine bay is going to be a work of art in itself!
Looked on the webcam today a few times and some interesting bits occurring I reckon.  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  
(If anyone hasn't spotted the webcam, the link for it is on the top of Page2 of this thread.)

[paul Woods]

you're not wrong nigel!

well today the plan was to make just the drivers side engine mount work.....it didnt go to plan.....

I ended up getting all FOUR mounts done! never done as much in one day but the swap gods were smiling down on me and everything just seemed to click into place,not often i get days like that.

Anyway heres todays progress....i modified the stock v6 engine bracket to take a mk2 engine mount



Then i made two cardboard templates of the side mounts for the chassis... and cut these out of 5mm steel with the plasma cutter....



These plates have been designed in such a way that they can be braced together at the top without impeding the engine mount,i learned this lesson building mk1 turbos and if you bridge the mount together without thinking it means you can never remove the engine mount to do timing belts....not good!

Here are the plates drilled and fitted to the mount and bolted ready for welding....



With the brackets welded it was time to take away the engine crane and all jacks and stands supporting it and the engine is now free hanging on its new mounts in the bay....hooray! Its MM perfect in the left/right location,sits 100% level to the car,i checked many times! and its height is perfect,im very happy.

So with that out of the way i thought lets have a crack at the rear torque mount,i expected it to be a nightmare but it was pretty straightforward.

First i took the original mk3 bracket and cut a little off it so it cleared the subframe,would you believe the mk3 mount bolted to the mk2 box in the right place? as i said it was a good day and the swap gods smiled! Here is the bracket fitted and i also cut the mounting bracket off the subframe side and reattached that....



Next i offered up the mounting block into its normal position,as you can see the bolt hole is miles away....



However,turn said block upside down and the bolt hole suddenly appears in exactly the right place! you wouldnt credit it would you!



More gods smiling down on woodsy..... this was all then tack welded in situ.

After that i added a side arm onto the gearbox bracket that catches a bolt hole,this is present on the mk2 mount so why not include it now....



Here is the whole rear torque mount finished off the car....



Again it needs tidying and painting but it works and fits perfectly.

So going for the full set of four i set about making the front mount.....now this fella was not as simple as the rest.

For a start the stock mk3 mount rubber was a pathetic piece of shite that no way was going to hold the torque of a bucking v6 under nigels heavy right foot! here is said mount....weedy!



Ive had stronger farts than that..... so i definately had to get a mk2 mount on there so i could fit a prothane bush kit.... so here is all three mount sections that i had to play with,mk3,mk2 and mk2 gearbox bracket....



You can see how much bigger the mk2 mount is (rubber missing but using prothane anyway)

So the plan was to cut all the component parts off these mounts....heres the mk3 mount with its brackets chopped off....



And the mk2 mount with its ring savaged...oer....obviously.



So the brackets were attached to the chassis as per normal....



And the mk2 ring inserted between the brackets and tack welded.....



Cor! much better,i do like a big ring....

Then the plate that bolts to the gearbox was chopped up and the plate bolted to the gearbox,also i used an NA rubber insert to get the hole centre right in the mount....



then i used what was left of the mounts to bridge between the two...



This still needs seam welding but its a working mount....im rather chuffed with the amount i got done today.

[paul Woods]

oh you can also see why we need the filter relocation kit.....



No way thats coming off in situ!

Also heres the space ive got for the AC pump....nigels given me an extra challenge to retain the AC! im game!

[markiii]

very very nice Paul  :-) :-) :-)

[loadswine]

Truly outstanding!  s8) s8)    Unbelievable progress, and the swap Gods were on your side for sure mate, though I think the fact that you know what you're doing might help.  s:D s:D  
The aircon will be a bonus, or maybe swap the aircon unit for a Rotrex in the future!! Same place , different fun.  s:P s:P  
Nice meaty mounts , are they all going to be prothane?
There's me thinking that not a lot will be going on this week and wow! engine mounts are sorted.
Ace!  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[aaronjb]

or maybe swap the aircon unit for a Rotrex

Nigel.. you are a bad, bad man.

That's all I have to say..  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:   s:) s:)

[loadswine]

Ss funny Aaron, I've been told that before! It must be the company I keep on here!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[paul Woods]

cheers chaps,try to ignore the grottyness of everything,this is merely the bull by the horns stage,like me it will all look pretty eventually!   s:D s:D  

Nige i am using prothane on the front torque mount only,see how it goes,if the engine moves too much i will polyurethane fill the rear torque mount.

The side mounts just hold the weight of the engine/box so no need for poly mounts here,just the torques that need addressing.

[loadswine]

Cool! Lets see what happens today.
Probably Whoozy's bits will turn up and that will need sorting, no probs, looking forward to his V6 turbo being completed. You'll have fun testing that one!!

[paul Woods]

today i thought id have a go at the big air con challenge nigel threw down! paul i want to retain the AC on my mk3!! no ifs buts or maybes!

So i decided to see how big an effort it was going to be.....i started by removing the mk3 AC pump.....its a small unit,i dont think we have room to fit the big camry AC pump and its hoses are totally different to the mk3 body hoses on the AC,so getting the mk3 pump to run would be a massive bonus.

Here it is....nice n compact....



And here is the v6 AC bracket that normally holds the camry AC pump onto the engine....



its a completely different unit to the mk3 pump so the very last thing i was expecting was this....



This swap just keeps getting better and better! the mk3 pump only bloody bolts straight onto the v6 bracket! god i love toyota! woohoo! do a little dance,make a little love...get down tonight!

Although i got too carried away....when i bolted the AC bracket onto a v6 block this is the pulley alignment....



Oof! nowhere near lining up with the outside 6 rib pulley....it did however line up with the 4 rib pulley on the inside but this would have no means of tensioning the belt,unless i made a tensioner....which would be a ballache and im not sure we have space for one anyway....bugger!

So only one thing for it,move the whole AC bracket outboard to meet the outer pulley (its tensioned off the alternator so thats why it would be good)

I fitted longer bolts to the bracket sides....



And chopped away part of the alternator bracket that the pump would foul as it was moved outboard



Then i rechecked alignment....



cock on! how d'ya like them apples?

However the AC bracket bolt holes on the block face no longer lined up....so i chopped them out and welded these new bolt holes into the correct place....



So now the whole bracket is relocated about 25mm further outboard,the pump pulley lines up with the outer pulley,its got a tensioner (alternator),the pipes will plug straight onto the car and the cheerleader is saved (save the cheerleader,save the world!)

Not such a big deal after all,just a little lateral thinking....AC sorted.

[loadswine]

Genius Paul , hero indeed! ( another popular TV reference)  s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:    
How good is that! Can't believe how the a/c bolts up to the camry bracket, and it is a nice compact compressor , the V6 won't even feel its on board!
Pipework justs hooks up as before. Carol (my missus) will be very pleased too, though I have to say she is cheering you on as well mate.
You make me sound like a right git, with the challenge, but only laid it down cos I knew that you'll always be up for it! Not wrong eh?  s8) s8)  
So is this still the scrap block we are looking at, or is this actually my engine?
For my next challenge, its a super porting job, so I can get 240 horses at the dyno day!! ( Pushing my luck I think. )  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[kanujunkie]

bugger, i wanted your condensor  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

nice work Paul, following this one with interest, i think that when my engine blows i'll be knocking on your door for something like this

[loadswine]

Sorry Stu.  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:   The compressor fits so well though!  s8) s8)

[kanujunkie]

you'll have to take me out in it then Nige, to test out the AC of course  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[loadswine]

Okay mate, that's a deal then!  s:) s:)

[paul Woods]

this is anths v6 hes prepping for another customers car,it was easier for me to make the aircon fit his engine than on yours as his was on the engine stand and could be wheeled around.

[loadswine]

I thought I'd help Paul out here with copying over Fiday's action update:
(Pauls words from here on)


"not much done today as i was finishing off whoozys car.....but we have more good news.... here is the clearance betwen the cam cover and parcel shelf....



It was previously thought we would need an access panel chopped in the parcel shelf to change the spark plugs.....not so! with a 3" extension,a wobble joint and a ratchet i was able to change them quite easily....so i will be supplying all mk3 v6 swaps with this exact piece of equipment so its not an issue,and no chopping of the parcel shelf....see you're now getting free tools with my swaps

Also we took a final look at the dummy v6 sat in the bay....



Everything looks absolutely spot on..... so we pulled it out for final engine mount welding....


This needs seam welding,then seam sealing and we are repainting the whole engine bay.


Also ive found a solution to the dipstick issue,more on that as it happens."

[loadswine]

Look what Paul did today! Wow, stuff going in now!  s8) s8)  

today i concentrated on welding all of the support bracing back in that we chopped out,but this time its 40mm box section going in,lots of strength!

Starting with braces going rearward from the strut to the rear panel,these divert around the engine plenum and generally tidy up where we cut the rear panel....



Then the next brace to add was a side to side one,this one just skirts around the back of the plenum chamber and it will also hold the repositioned engine lid catch....its important to try and retain that or we would need bonnet pins....



Then i welded in two supports running from the chassis upward to the top crossbrace,basically copying toyotas original design except beefed up by 400%!


Also above you will notice i welded in an extra crossbrace at the bottom of the bay,this one isnt in toyotas orginal design but i figured a bit of extra strength wont hurt....im sure if toyota had put a v6 in they would agree!

Next was the engine lid catch....i ended up chopping the original mounting bracket off the original slam panel,its purpose built for the job after all..... this was then welded into the correct position although the engine lid catch itself will need a little modifying to hit this....no biggy,i think this looks totally meant to be.



below you can see everything seam welded and then i applied seam sealer to all the joints...also i braced the drivers chassis mount and seam sealed that too....



So at the end of play today shes all braced up,seam sealed,engine lid catch done and bay stripped and prepped ready for painting tomorrow....that will involve celly primer and lots of red!

[Anonymous]

awesome work !!!

Can't wait to see next steps.

GRATZ !!   s:D s:D

[loadswine]

Here's today's instalment of conversiony goodness!  s:D s:D  
( words below are Paul's not mine)

Todays update then,i started by priming the bay and new steel with high build....




Just needs a thin coat of this to prevent paint reactions.

Then i sprayed the whole thing red....seems a slightly different shade to the car but thats red for you,its a total nightmare to match up even going armed to the paintshop with the correct code.....mind you its tons better than the "brown" bay they normally have.





Next up i boxed up the subframe notch with nice thick seam welded plates...


Then the whole thing got metal primed....


Followed by a liberal coating of 2k black....




So thats engine bay ready and subframe ready... the rest of the week will be devoted to the engine and then it all gets brought together....

Oh i also made a mk3 v6 jig today,this fella will make future v6 mk3's a lot easier....

[kanujunkie]

ok most i followed but how the hell does the V6 stick jig work then?  s:? :? s:?

[loadswine]

I don't know Stu, as I've never used one. I'll have to refer that one back to Paul.  s:) s:)

[northernalex]

This is looking fantastic... id love to come down someday and see it when its all put together. If thats possible.

[loadswine]

Great stuff Alex, we'll have to sort that one out.   s:) s:)

[evileye_wrx]

I'm going tomorrow to look and go ooooooh. Taking a change of undercrackers, just in case I have an accident!   s:roll: :roll: s:roll: