Category Archives: 1. bowtie6

ECOTEC in a TR6

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Today was  a milestone.

bowtie6 had a trial fit of body, new frame and ECOTEC engine.  The following pictures show what this all looks like.

Yes, there has been some “shaping” done to the body.  The area past the firewall was in need of change to make room for the oil filter (on the driver’s side) and the thermostat housing (on the passenger’s side).  For anyone thinking about doing this to a “stock” TR6:  beware.  There will be some work required on the firewall as well as the battery box tray on the stock TR6.  Since bowtie6’s firewall had already been modified, this was a small change.  Under the experts hands of my cousin Jim Thompson, there was some welding involved and voilà – the engine fits.

Once all that work was completed, I mixed up some of DuPont ChomaOne single stage urethane red paint and the bare areas were re-painted.  This took some doing but the result is awesome.  Tonight the new areas are drying and the plan is to bolt the new frame to the body permanently tomorrow.

Well… Here is what an ECOTEC looks like in a TR6 with a custom frame underneath it.  Note how far back the new engine sits.  This change is highly desirable in moving the weight back.  This is indeed a great day!

 

ECOTEC, Meet Gearbox; Gearbox, Meet ECOTEC…

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bowtie6‘s ECOTEC permanently met the new AISIN 5 speed Solstice gearbox.  It took some doing to get the right bolts because they were not supplied with the Mallett “take out” engine.  But, after some searching, I found the nine metric bolts that hold the two together.  Here are some pictures (and a little extra) of the event.  The clutch actuator has been installed, the only thing missing is the special metal pipe that fits on the side of the hydraulic actuator.  This pipe will be modified so I can use my Camaro clutch master cylinder.  I’ll pics on that later.

BTW, the header you see has all been hand made from stainless tubing.  The bung for the O2 sensor will be on the other side of the flange.  Take a look:

bowtie6‘s New Frame – Check It!

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The new custom frame is done.

After much anticipation, the new custom frame is finished.  It has taken a lot of work by my cousin Jim and I could not be happier.  There are plenty of pictures – they are at the bottom of today’s entry in a gallery, but first here is what we have:

The frame looks different from the original setup.  This was done for several reasons, but mainly for strength.  The next was the ability to mount the rear solid axle.  One of the main concerns I always had in the back of my mind was whether the hubs/halfshafts would fail.  This time, the new axle will handle all the power on tap with no reservations.  This time, the diff is posi-traction with a 3.80 to 1 ratio.

The rear calipers I had on the old frame have been adapted to work with the new axle.  As you will see, the front calipers are the same Wilwood’s from the original build.  The original mounts were retained.  All brake lines going to the calipers are the ones used in the past build – braided teflon lined.  And, there is also a picture below showing the location of the Wilwood proportioning valve.  All brake lines have been scratch made from stainless tubing fitted by hand.  They look killer!

Coilovers have been used on all four corners.  This part took a bit of research and the spring rates took some careful consideration.  These are the same settings used on my cousin Jim’s TR4.  Not only do they look awesome but they perform equally well.  They are quite pricey but just the fact there will not be any more spring compressors involved makes it worth the trouble.

The ECOTEC 2.4 engine is now mounted using the original Solstice mounts.  Special pads were made to go on the frame and this is where the mounts anchor.  Ditto for the transmission mount.  This is all done with a very specific purpose:  to make room for the exhaust and have nothing ‘hanging’ below the frame.

There is a ton of more subtle details – I am sure you will find them.  If you have any questions/comments drop me a line.  Here is the new frame gallery.  Enjoy!

bowtie6‘s New Differential and Rear Suspension

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bowtie6’s new frame gets a new differential.  In order to handle the power of the ECOTEC – remember boost is in the plans – we needed something that would not break.  Furthermore, one of my requirements for the new drivetrain is to have full posi-traction (and by this I mean the real deal and not viscous).

In the following gallery, you will see the following:

  • The rear axle is a narrowed 9″ Ford.  Yes, it might be a little overkill but again, this is all being built so we don’t have any unexpected “failures”.  The solid axle in this application will by far surpass the IRS as originally implemented.
  • The diff is a Motive full posi-traction unit.  It is set up with a 3.80 to 1 ratio – it is a bit tall in first gear with the Solstice’s AISIN gearbox but you have to remember this:  I am not building this to be a drag car.  With this ratio, the car is extremely quick and nimble at speed.  From the setup in my cousin Jim’s TR4, we have determined this rear axle ratio works fantastic with the engine in second, third and fourth gear; with fifth being even more fun at speed.
  • You can see in the pictures the special order Moser axles.  These were custom made with the correct length in order to handle the narrowed housing.
  • The rear axle is held in place as a four point suspension.  The control arms are fitted the special Heim ends.  These were quite pricey and come with special seals to keep dust and grit out.  Why Heim ends?  I’ll have an article about this later…
  • Finally, take a close look at the driver’s side axle:  the rear brake rotor is fitted.  Yes, we will be re-using the disc brakes we had previously used.
  • Not shown in the pictures is the all new, custom made brake lines.  We are using stainless tubing this time and it has all been hand made, and bent just special for this frame.  I’ll have a future article about this because the mounts that Jim made are real special.

Replacing bowtie6‘s Front Suspension Bushings

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With the new custom frame finished, it is time to start putting things back together. Yesterday, the front suspension was fully disassembled and I found some interesting surprises. When I first put bowtie6 together, the front suspension was completely overhauled and of course, the a-arm bushings were replaced with what I thought to be high-quality state-of-the-art  components. Well, after 15,000 miles I have found the bushings deteriorated and they did so severely.

The bushings mounted on the lower a-arms survived fairly well. I did not take any pictures of them, since they damage there was not as dramatic as the top a-arm bushings.  Suffice to say there was a bit of slop and the bottom bolt did not fit tight.  The top bushings though, were in very bad shape.

Take a look at the images in the following gallery.  Basically these were taken before we removed the worn bushings and as you can tell, there is significant wear.  In addition to the bushings actually coming apart, there is quite a bit of deformation in the overall shape of the bushing.  Not what I have expected from these bushings, but then again such is life.

For replacements, I have sourced a different brand this time.  The new ones come from a high-performance supplier in the UK.  The new set was actually quite pricey but the design is far superior.  The bushings I replaced were of a two-piece design.  The new ones are basically one piece, but they are a bitch to put on.  It took two of us, a good vise and a bit of cursing to coerce the new bushings in place.  The new bushings are polyurethane and have a little bit more “give”.  I’m hoping this might help prevent them from breaking apart as severely as the others did.

The point of all this is for you folks thinking that these type bushings are the final solution – think again!  These things do wear out and in my case they did in only 15,000 miles.  Of course the high load that the compressed front spring puts on the front suspension is in part responsible for the wear, but nevertheless these bushings do wear out.  For you folks running V8’s (LT1, Fords or whatever) keep this in mind:  the V8’s weight is much higher than the original TR6 tractor engine or (in my case) the V6.