Sunday 7 February 2010

Lights, Sump, ACTION!!!

An interesting week it has been at Team Booger Mobile headquarters (aka Damian's house). A bunch of LED lights that Damian bought off eBay turned up...



So naturally Damian felt obliged to test them... here's the green flexible strip light... The image doesn't really do it justice, but you get the drift...



And the flashing amber ultra bright LED's...


Not shown, are the ultra-bright white LED's that are going to become the reverse lights...

In addition to that, Damian submitted his application for the Vodafone World of Difference. You can read all about it at Damian's World of Difference blog http://damiansworldofdifference.blogspot.com/

As part of his application, Damian wrote and produced a video to support his application. Feel free to check it out, and forward it to your friends!!


Scottie got started on adjusting the sump to make it a little more respectable - it had had quite a tough life by the look of it... To quote Scottie "Sheesh, this sump has had more hits than Elvis!"


Meanwhile, Damian was busy attaching the amber flashing LED's to the roof rack - but first, painting the world's smallest set of nuts and bolts!! (You may need to lean closer to see them...)



Outside, the rain kept on coming!!




Here are the rear facing LED's... they appear white/clear when off, but flash very bright amber when going!! They have three patterns on the controler - alternating 8 quick flashes between front left and rear right (then front right and rear left), alternating single flashes (same pattern), and hazard lights (all flashing single flashes at once).

Damian and Scottie think that the 8 quick flash version is the most visually appealing...



Once the amber flashing LED's had been attached (and tested), Damian moved on to the bright white LED's that were to be used for reverse lights.

Damian made the world's smallest bracket to attach the LED's (by adjusting the provided bracket with a hacksaw and file), but didn't bother taking a photo of it...

Afterwards, Tonka decided to look after the hacksaw by having a little snooze on it... It's a dog's life!!



Scottie refitted the sump to Booger Mobile, then painted up the cross member ready to be reattached.



And here it is, hanging up drying - all fresh and new!!



Once dry, the cross member was reattached, and the boys were both impressed with the clearance between the sump and the cross member... finally something was going right!!



In the meantime, Damian had finished attaching the LED's to the rear bumper to be reverse lights, and hooked them up directly to the battery to test them!



Scottie continued under the front of Booger Mobile, attaching the various bits and pieces back on, and attaching the transmission cover plate (the black semi-circle bit you can see towards the left of this photo) for the first time!

This photo shows a much better view of both the clearance between teh sump and cross member, but also of the transmission cover plate!!


During lunch, Scottie was working on a design for a bracket to hold the brake booster. After coming up to the shed, he found his design was almost to scale, with just a few minor adjustments required before getting out the grinder and cutting away!!



All Scottie's brackets take the same form - cut, mark out using eye-chrometer, bend, recut...


This brake booster is so cool, it has it's own hat!!



And this is where the brake booster will be fitted - on the driver's side in front of the strut tower. The air filter will be moved, either to the other side, or be replaced by a different type!



You may be wondering about the angle that the brake booster is on. The brake booster connects to the dual circuit master cylinder (the shiny silver bit from a few weeks back) into the red mark on the top of the brake booster. (The red bit is just a cap to keep the dust out.)



The end of the "pointy bit" on the brake booster connects to the front disc brakes. (Highly technical terminology around here!!)



As you can see below, there are many items that need to be avoided with the location of the brake booster - the radiator hoses, alternator, fuel hoses, extractors etc...



And one more angle for the home crowd!!


While Scottie completed the bracket and bolted it on, Damian run the wiring from the reverse switch, through the fuse box and down the back of the car to the new LED reverse lights. The reverse lights now switch on when the transmission is put into reverse!! Of course, this only works when the engine is switched on (or is switched to Accessories). No photos were taken of this part, as you probably don't really want to see a photo of some grey wire running along the channel near the doors!!

Here's the completed and painted bracket for the brake booster...



And from another angle (mainly for people who may be considering the same modifications for their car).



Before going home, Scottie wanted to hear Booger Mobile roar into life... After checking the oil and water, the key was turned...

Vroom!! Booger Mobile was ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!

Tick tick tick tick tick tick... "What the heck is that noise???" asked Damian...

Scottie climbed under Booger Mobile to check the newly installed sump... and what he discovered, nearly caused two grown men to cry...

The noise was coming from the SUMP! How could this have happened again?????

Scottie deftly (but gently) pressed on the underside of the sump to work out precisely where was hitting - it was right at the very back of the sump (coincidentally in an area that wasn't adjusted by the boys).

Damian switched off the engine, and after a few minutes of quiet contemplation (yeah right), the way forward was realised... Belt the sump on the sides (at the back), which will cause the middle of the sump to be lowered (the laws of physics dictate this - the boys aren't making stuff up!!)

After some gentle persuasion with a variety of objects (hammers, lumps of wood, cold chisel etc), the engine was restarted...

SUCCESS!!

The sump was now not being tickled by the inside of the engine!! Even with Scottie lying under the car pressing up on the sump, there was still no issue... Finally the sump was finished!!

SUMP-THING FINALLY WENT RIGHT!!!!!!!

The engine was left running for a reasonable time, so that Scottie could check out the gauges (he'd been too busy other times, and then the sump was gone).

As you can see below, the gauges are all working!!


So there you have it, another exciting episode in the life and times of Team Booger Mobile. The boys are seeing some excellent progress now, and over the coming weeks will hopefully have the bulk of the parts required to get Booger Mobile back on its wheels (even if not driveable).

After that, the painful, fiddly bits will continue, such as completing the interior (roof lining, carpet, seats, seat belts etc), more lights and sirens (can never have too many sirens), and the biggy - Booger's head!!

If anyone is awesome at fibreglassing and would like to give the boys a hand with Booger's head, feel free to contact Damian or Scottie on the numbers above!!

Stay safe people! And watch Damian's youtube video... and email it to all your friends and family too!!

2 comments:

  1. hey mate thats awesome nrws about the "sump-thing" and love the vid I hope they choose you damien.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. LIGHTS SUMP ACTION and don t forget the CAMERA because with out it we wouldn t have all the fantastic pictures that really do help to tell the story of what you are doing with the BOOGER MOBILE
    Wonder what other surprises Damian has brought off ebay for completing BOOGER, we will just have to wait and see.
    Wow a green flexible strip light,Booger will look impressive,it doesn t matter what colour green it is as do come in a range af greens.
    "Damians World of Difference"
    You have already made a world of difference and touched many peoples lives with your caring ways and just a smile and many many other things.
    But what a wonderful way to put yourself out there for the great cause of "CAMP QUALITY" and I know that if your application for the Vodafone World of Difference get the nod, there will be no stopping you from doing bigger and better things for "CAMP QUALITY".
    The poor old sump-thing looks as though it had a real hard life.Heres hoping things start looking up for it,with a bang and a crash Scottie gets on with the task of making the sump a work of art,
    Booger Mobile is going to look real flash with all her lights flashing bright amber.(not forgetting the green strip lights)
    Great job Damian, and I agree with the 8 quick flashs being the best choise for the Booger and its stand out ways.
    Ah tonka is a mighty dog always helping in his own doggy way.
    Scottie how did you ever manage to get the painting task away from Damian?
    Finally the clearence between the sump and the cross-membeer is perfect YAY.
    You never know just how many things there are under a car body until you see it in a picture like that.Fantastic pictures as uaual Damian thanking for giving everyone a better understanding of all the work you and Scottie have completed.
    Surprise surprise another bracket for Scottie to work his magic on.Booger Mobiles engine bay is looking a real treat with everything fitting in, thanks to Scotties bracket making.
    Well thank goodness the sump-thing wasn t back to an epic fail and Scottie was quickly on to it.
    Now with the Boogers engine purring and all the gauges working perfectly I can see two very proud guys with smiles of satisfaction on their faces
    What a lot you s have acheived well done many thanks

    ReplyDelete