DAY 10 - scrap yard

TODAY I FINALLY GOT THE PARTS I WANTED. The guys at the scrap yard removed it in a few minutes. Spent 2 hrs at the scrap yard finalizing what i wanted and the costs.

this is what i got

front uprights, brake discs, calipers, wheel hub (Isuzu front)
rear uprights, brake discs, calipers, wheel hub (nissan pulsar front)
the entire steering rack and part of the steering column (isuzu)


the total cost was $ 320 , $60 of which was for the labor. I got a free tool cabinet.

the guy offered to give me a set of 4 rims and tires for $100, i mite pick them up too.

All the parts will be ready on Monday for collection.

there are some problems though. I might swap the Isuzu calipers for another pair of Nissan pulsar calipers if they can be mounted easily on the Isuzu uprights. The Nissan's calipers are a lot better. I have to do some research on how hand brakes work cause they are required by the Australian design rules to make the car road legal. I think only the rear calipers of cars support a handbrake. I am not sure gotta check up.

Overall it was a good day, more parts after a long wait.

DAY 9 - scrap yard

Spent another morning at the scrap yard selecting parts. Very hard to get them out. Ill go back tomorrow early and get the help of the guys working at the scrap yard to remove the parts for me. they do charge, but it pretty damn worth it instead of suffering with my tools.

DAY 8 - research

Unfortunately i woke up late, and when i got to the scrap yard with all my tools, i was still unsure to which parts i need to pick. Instead of wasting time, i checked out some seats. i found 2 good looking cheap ones from a Hyundai. The problem is all these common seats are just too heavy and i ain't willing to spend around $150 for a fiberglass seat. So after i got back home, i decided ill build my own seats. It shouldn't be a problem.

I also started doing a solidworks model of the R1 engine to not waste any time. theres still a lot of work to be done on it. Most of it will be an approximation except for the engine mounts, clutch lever, gear box lever and other important parts.

heres a preview of it

DAY 7 - research

Still another day that needs to be spent on research. Went back to the same scrap yard and had another look at the wheel uprights. After some thinking, this is what ill be using.

Front uprights - from a rear wheel drive ford or an old Japanese car that has double wishbones at the front

Rear uprights - from a front wheel drive car with a McPherson's strut at the front wheels. Plenty of these are available. I will have to modify it slightly though to fit my double wishbones.

Also have to pick up a pair of axles, cv joints etc which will most probably be from the same car i picked the rear uprights from.

A steering rack and arms will be picked up from a small car. I saw some good ones from a couple of daihatsu's.

Ill see if i can get hold of some old ball joints from the scrap yard, or else ill have to get some new ones.

approximation of total cost

front uprights - $35 for a pair
back uprights - $35 for a pair
axles, cv joints etc - $ 80
ball joints - $ 50

so that sums up to a good $200. hope i can get it cheaper though. i gotta wake up at 7 am to get to the scrap yard cause the sun here is a killer. (i have to remove the parts out with my own tools). Getting up at 7am during holidays is a near death experience.

DAY 6 - research

After the hard work from the past few days, i decided to take some rest and do something lighter for today. I did some research on the wheel uprights that i would require. I checked out some scrap yards and i found a couple of old fords that have what i want. It was hard to find though because i am looking for one from a car with double wishbone suspensions and not the common mcpherson struts. they cost around $35 each, not a bad price. Also took my radiator to get it repaired, but no one could do the job because it was made from aluminum and couldn't be welded easily, also it was way too damaged and it would be more efficient to get a new one. However i found out the cost of a 2nd hand Yamaha R1 radiator and its $300. Thats extremely expensive. The good news is, i found some very good radiators from some small cars that will do the job and will only cost me around $80. I'll go pick one out in the next few days.

DAY 5 - starting the engine

Once again the goal for today was to get the engine to start. With the engine now free from the rest of the bike, i was able to bolt the carburetor assembly to the intakes with ease. I then reconnected the wiring harness. It was pretty easy as i had labeled the various wires the other day. It took a bit of time and knocking to get the exhaust pipes bolted to the engine as 2 of the pipes were misaligned due to the accident. Once all that was complete, i then pressed the ignition button and i could only hear the starter motor and the sound of the fuel pump sucking in the fuel. A couple of tries and still the engine never started. Then as i was checking to see what was wrong i had spotted the choke. I had completely forgotten about the choke. I thought ill give it a shot. I tried again and this time pulled the choke wire and FINALLY, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. The engine had started. It sounded AMAZING. I ran the engine for only a few seconds as i did not have a radiator. But for these few seconds, i was the happiest man alive. Everything was worth it, all the 4 days of work and the 1300 bucks. It was all good. I am glad there ain't any major problems with the engine. Ill have to get the engine fully serviced soon and more importantly find myself a radiator.

the engine along with the exhaust pipes



















another pic from the front














the wiring harness connecting the engine to the battery and other electrical components












the muffler fitted to the exhaust pipes. i hung the muffler to the roof to give it some support. it was easier to run the exhausts the opposite way rather than having the pipes go under the engine.

DAY 4 - engine removal

First thing i did was to get the bike laid on the floor so that it would be easier to slip out the 60kg engine. Then went ahead and removed the engine mounts. It was extremely tough to unscrew the mounts, needed all the force in the world. Spent the rest of the day removing the engine from the frame. A very very tiring day.

the bike laid on the floor














another pic of the bike on the floor













the engine slipping out of the frame. i had to move the front forks downwards to give space for the engine to come out.











left side of engine






















right side of engine






















the rolling frame