Saturday 31 October 2009

Stripping the XD and finishing engine stuff!

With the 2009 esCarpade done and dusted for the year (with the teams raising a staggering $1.15 MILLION), Team Booger Mobile thought that they had best get down to business in preparing Booger Mobile for the 2010 esCarpade.

First job was to get the XD up on blocks (well, old rims/tyres) and strip the useful bits off it!!



Here's one of those useful bits now!! (Disc brake front end for Booger Mobile!!)



Sadly, the rotor on the second stub axle and brake assembly was completely shot, so a new set of rotors is on the agenda... Here's the hole where the first one came from!


Scottie began fabricating some lower mounts for the VS Commodore radiator that was being fitted. (It's the silver bit on the right hand side of the photo!)


Meanwhile, Damian continued to strip the XD.


And a short time later, Damian's yard began to look even MORE like a car wrecking yard!!


The VS Commodore radiator was selected for it's shallow depth (only 25mm in depth), however it is far wider than the original XM radiator, so the battery tray was moved backwards a couple of inches, and some nifty new mounting brackets were made. The radiator basically slots into a couple of rubber mounts that press into a hole in the bracket. Scottie can be seen here drilling...


And here's the finished hole, minus the rubber bush.

And of course, no blog post is complete without a gratuitous plug for the blog itself, along with a shot of one of the Camp Quality stickers...



Damian stacked up the six XD rims that are going onto Booger Mobile once the new front suspension set up and the XP ute diff are installed.

Once the radiator was installed (well, sitting in the bushes of the lower mounts), the boys worked out that there was plenty of room for a flex-fan to be attached to the front of the engine.



The following shot shows the width of the VS Commodore radiator compared to the original XM radiator (which bolted onto the edges of the visible opening at the front).


After adjusting the centre hole (which was slightly too small), the flex-fan was fitted to the engine (after replacing some bolts as per usual).


Preparing for the moment of truth - filling the radiator with water. (Naturally the boys will use coolant for the esCarpade itself, but the radiator will be in and out several times between now and then, so no point wasting it!!)



After several fires and brief running of the engine, it was time to work out why no petrol seemed to be being pumped. First stop, is the pump working? After connecting the fuel pump into a bottle of fuel and turning on the engine, it was safe to say the pump was working fine!!

Second step - remove the vapour lock in the fuel line... Firstly, Scottie attempted to draw the fuel through the old fashioned way... ewwwwwwwww...


After not having much success, it was decided to check for blockages in the fuel line... a blower was connected to the fuel line, and whoosh the air blew through into the tank no worries... Time to try the reverse!! After fashioning a bung to block the opening at the tank filler point, Scottie slowly used the air blower to pressurise the fuel tank... a short time later, Damian was yelling WHOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAA as fuel spurted out of the fuel line... Blocking the end, the extra hose was removed and the fuel line reconnected onto the fuel pump.

The engine sprang to life and idled under its own steam... suddenly, WHOA WHOA WHOAAAAAA yelled Scottie... Damian turned the engine off, and poked his head under the bonnet to find fuel absolutely pouring out of the carby and filling up the inlet manifold (where it joins to the engine). Something was terribly wrong...

After pulling the top off the carby, Scottie worked out where the fuel was coming from, but why??? Putting the top back on, Scottie found a screw that had been stripped, coincidentally in the same area the fuel leak was... could this be the source of the problem????

With the carby put back together, the engine was cranked for a second time, and roared into life... After a short time, a somewhat flustered Scottie yelled out WHOOO STOP STOP... There was just as much fuel as ever pouring out of the carby.

Having worked on a few carby's in his time (believe it or not), Damian suggested to Scottie that either the needle and seat were grungy and weren't closing properly, or the float level was too high, thereby letting fuel flow over the top and out the breather hole. Damian found an old XW carby among the spare parts (that was coincidentally the same model as the new one on the 250 pre-crossflow engine), and pulled the top off it. A visual inspection showed that the float level was set much lower on the XW one, so Damian removed the top of the new carby, adjusted the float level, and reassembled it.

Kicking the engine into life, not only was it idling beautifully, but the adjusted float level resolved the fuel-pouring-out-the-carby issue... The engine was left idling for about 10 minutes to check for leaks etc, and apart from a minor fuel leak near the pump (requiring nothing more than a new hose clamp to fix it), the engine was working beautifully, with no leaks to speak of!!



Another day was spent working on Booger Mobile, with much achieved... With only 11.5 months to go, the boys are really going to have to knuckle down to get Booger Mobile finished on time!

Stay tuned for the official fundraising launch for Team Booger Mobile in the near future!!

Sunday 25 October 2009

Father and Son Camp - 2009

Again, no work on Booger Mobile as Damian headed off to the 2009 Camp Quality Father and Son Camp on the banks of the beautiful Noosa River, Qld.



Staying at the Noosa River Caravan Park at Munna Point, the tents are on one side of the public boat ramp,

while on the other side are the marquees...


The father's and their sons all have a great time fishing, boating, having a water fight with the Firies (seems unfair - they have big hoses!!) and generally letting their hair down.

The highlight of the weekend is always the Saturday night pig on the spit and movie night! Great times, great people.

Again, this is why the boys are fundraising, so keep those donations rolling in!!

Thursday 22 October 2009

Cops and Robbers Golf Day

The 2009 Qld Police Golf Club "Cops and Robbers" Golf Day was held again at the Redcliffe Golf Course, with the beneficiaries of this event being Qld Police Legacy and Camp Quality.

For the second year in a row, Damian attended to cook the BBQ, however this year, he also put up some pictures of Booger Mobile, and shook the tin a little to collect some more donations!


There were far fewer participants at this year's event, however the sausages on bread with onion and sauce still went down a treat!


Damian made himself at home, stringing up a Camp Quality Sign near his Booger Mobile pictures...


Hey, where did those donation tins come from???


Booger Mobile, driving down the fairway! (Bonus points for those who spotted the golf joke there!)



After the golf had been played, Julie (CQ South Qld's Fundraising Coordinator) said a few words... Damian had strategically placed the Booger Mobile signage in subtle locations!!


A great day was had by all. Sadly, Damian didn't manage to win any raffle prizes, however, a good few donations were made, and he also received phone numbers from a couple of potential new sponsors!

Damian is off to Father and Son Camp for the weekend, so talk amongst yourselves until he returns to update the blog!!

Monday 19 October 2009

Bench Bucket Seat

To improve the comfort and safety of Booger Mobile, the boys decided to install a Bench Bucket front seat... It's basically a bench seat that is comprised of two bucket seats with individual tilt adjustments and a fold down middle seat section that becomes an armrest...

Importantly, it also has headrests!


Here's the one that was purchased... pretty good condition, but a horrible colour!! Thankfully Scottie's wife (foolishly) offered to make a seat cover for it! Good on you Katie!!

Sunday 18 October 2009

Cruise 'n' Cooroy Car Show

Sunday morning rolled around, and having loaded Booger Mobile onto the trailer the evening before, all that was left was for Scottie and Damian to load the supplies into the Patrol, snap a quick morning photo of Booger Mobile and head off to sunny Cooroy.



Arriving early, the boys were directed to what appeared to be a lonely spot over near the fence. It didn't remain that way, with cars soon all around Booger Mobile.




The boys decided to have the bonnet open for a while to show off the newly installed 250 pre-crossflow engine...


See, it really is in there!!


An artistic shot of the bonnet, with competitors cars in the background.


This is Damian's new favourite shot of Booger Mobile... Ford flag flying proudly in the background!!


As the afternoon drew to a close, a few spots of rain started to disperse the crowd. The boys packed up the gear and headed back down to Brisbane, happy with the turnout and number of donations in the tin (especially given the small size of the crowd compared to some other events!!)

Saturday 17 October 2009

Booger Mobile hits Cooroy

Come and see Booger Mobile in the flesh (well, in the metal I suppose) at the Cruise'n'Cooroy Car Show from 9am on Sunday 18 October 2009 at Johnson Park, Mary River Road Cooroy, Qld.

This car show is held by the Combined Coastal Car Club, which Scottie used to be a member of...

Also, the boys have a new video showing the outside of Booger Mobile, along with a sponsor rundown, check it out!!

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Platinum Sponsor - Acreage Driveways

With much fanfare and excitement, Team Booger Mobile are proud to announce their second Platinum Sponsor - Acreage Driveways!!




Acreage Driveways specialise in driveways (road base, bitumen, asphalt, etc), drainage & water control, earthworks & machine hire, landscaping and soil & gravel supplies, but they can handle just about every job you can think of (outside your front door)!

Acreage Driveways can handle all your landscaping, earthworks, materials and cartage needs, so why not give Angus a call on 3298 5436, or visit their website at http://www.acreagedriveways.com.au/

Team Booger Mobile thank Angus and his team for their support, and look forward to having their signage on Booger Mobile!

Saturday 10 October 2009

Booger Mobile LIVES!! (Oh, and we got a 5 stud ute diff too!)

And so day two began... the boys were up early and back into it with two goals in mind... goal number one, get Booger Mobile's engine started, and goal number two, collect an XP Ute Diff (5 stud of course) from Ipswich.

First job was to get the extractors bolted up... thankfully Damian's long arms came in handy for something, reaching under to get the tricky bolts in...



Meanwhile, Scottie decided that the top bolts required a bit of leverage...

After much straining and cursing, the extractors were all bolted up and it was time to get some supplies from Super Cheap... As you can see on the front of the engine, the water pump is off, as there was a stripped bolt-hole that needed repairing.


After loading up the bolt hole with special bolt-hole repair compound (gold plated judging by the price of it) it was time to head to sunny Ipswich to purchase an elusive ute diff!

The agreed price was $150, however upon hearing why Booger Mobile was being built, the seller gave the boys a $50 discount bringing the price down to $100!!!!! Thanks very much!


As you can see, there are five, yes five studs on each drum.



Upon returning from Ipswich, Damian's brother and his wife turned up to watch the starting of the engine. After fueling up, filling up the transmission fluid etc, the engine was cranked... cranking, cranking, cranking...

The points were cleaned and the engine cranked again (with some fuel down the carby), and she fired into life, quickly swallowing the drop of fuel.

Sensing that there was an issue with the fuel pump, but not having the time to work through it, Damian's brother made a temporary fuel tank from an empty cola bottle and... Well, the video speaks for itself really!!

As you can see, Booger Mobile is starting to really take shape, and sounds awesome!! Pity an exhaust needs to be fitted - it's really going to muffle the sound!!

Friday 9 October 2009

Mounting the Gearbox, and other fun stuff!!

Well, the boys decided to have a two-day Boogerfest, however since they both have families to spend time with, they decided to make it Friday and Saturday (rather than Saturday and Sunday like they occasionally do!)

Scottie arrived bright and early, and the task of getting the gearbox mounted was the first order of the day. After much cursing and thinking and shoving of the gearbox, it was decided that a custom mount was in order.

After a trip to the shops to collect various items (bolts, nuts, steel etc), the boys got down to creating their custom gearbox mount. Here's Scottie measuring for the first cut!!


And using the magic of the interwebs, here's the finished product!!

After the gearbox was securely mounted, Scottie had to create a bracket for the transmission dipstick.

Many hours later, this is what the engine bay looked like!!


And after throwing a few more bits and pieces on, the engine almost looked complete!!

The battery was hooked up, and the engine turned over... good progress was made!! On Saturday, hopefully the boys will get the engine actually STARTED!!

Oh, there's also a rumour about a trip to collect the ever-elusive 5-stud ute diff!! More on that on Saturday!

Monday 5 October 2009

Silver Sponsor - Special K from WA

Well, if it doesn't rain, it pours!! As if it wasn't enough with a new Silver Sponsor last week, Team Booger Mobile are pleased to announce their next Silver Sponsor - Special K from WA!

Special K from WA is an individual sponsor - she is getting nothing more from her sponsorship of Team Booger Mobile than the sticker spot and a warm feeling in her heart!

Team Booger Mobile are eternally grateful for Special K from WA's sponsorship, and hopes she inspires others to contribute something to this worthy cause!!

Friday 2 October 2009

Silver Sponsor - CMK Financial Solutions

Team Booger Mobile are proud to announce their next Silver Sponsor - CMK Financial Solutions!

If you are in the market for a property or investment loan, why not give CMK Financial Solutions a call on 1300 882 910, or visit their website at http://www.cmkfs.com.au/

Camp Quality Res Camp 2009

Damian returned home from the Camp Quality Res Camp 2009 experience - a space odyssey was the theme!! Here's a snapshot of what he got up to on camp!

He visited Australia Zoo and watched crocodiles being fed... (He also saw young Robert Irwin attempt to give his minder the slip running off through the park, and Bindi walking with her minder.)



Car 309 visited the kids, bringing their prepped esCarpade car ready for the 2009 esCarpade!




Car 309 was signed by campers and companions, and Team Booger Mobile made their mark towards the front of the guard!!

Natalie Cook came along to play some volleyball with the kids and be a special guest judge on Universe Idol!


The 501st Division were special guests at the space themed disco!!


As you can see, a top week was had by all concerned. This is what your donations are going towards - bringing smiles to the faces of children living with cancer or leukaemia! (CQ privacy rules prevent the showing of any campers, however you can rest assured that they had a FABULOUS time!!)