Originally Posted by schnellmann (Post 3656642)

[I had a bit of free time tonight, so I wrote another installment. And it's actually Part IV. Here goes...]

Before I resume with the really important and exiting build-up episodes, I’d like to talk about tools for just a bit.

I’m not a mechanic, but I have a lot of tools. You pretty much have to in order to undertake this kind of project. My wife says there’s not one thing at Sears or HF I don’t already own. Not quite. I have 3 or 4 of some things they sell there. :)

Now I suppose I consider myself of an something of advanced tool user. I’ve been using them since I was a teenager. After a few successful projects, you understand where things are how things actually work. Though once you get the hang of using your tools like you’re supposed to, the relationship with your tools that was once so thrilling and fulfilling can start to become dull… even perfunctory.

Every now and then you need to spice things up a bit. So when the urge strikes me I like to try using tools in unorthodox and/or in ways their makers never intended. For example...

Lesson #1: You’ll always forget to buy a flywheel lock. Or if you managed to get one for a previous project, you’ll use it so infrequently that you’ll forget where you put it. If you’re anything like me – which means you’re irrational enough to sink hundreds of hours and 10s of thousands into a car like this – the thought of plunking down 20 clams for silly piece of toothed metal with a couple holes drilled in it is totally and completely wrong, immoral and possibly even unpatriotic.

Bottom Line: You totally don’t need it. Sure, you could do as Wayne suggests in the rebuild book and go to the hardware store, buy a piece of flat stock for 3 bucks, cut it down and drill holes in it. But the hardware store is like 5 minutes away. And that would also mean I’d have to dig the drill out of the drawer all the way across the room. Why not just walk up to your tool cabinet and see what you already have? So that’s what I did, here’s what I found and this is how I used it:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198127229.jpg

1/2” on one end, 9/16” on the other. M6 allen head bolt in the flywheel. Works like a champ. ;)

Now as you can obviously see, I truly believe in using the right tool for the job, which is why I love my Dremel so much. No matter what the job is, with a bit of fiddling and a HF mondo rotary tool accessory box, it’s always the right tool.

Have Dremel, will travel.

Seriously… there is no mechanical conundrum this thing can't solve for you. If it’s too big, grind it down. If it’s too long, use a cutoff wheel. If it’s rough, polish it. If it’s too heavy, put some holes in it. ;)

But the real beauty of the Dremel is that it’s the tool you can use to make the right tool. As you’ll see in a later episode, I bought a set of 98mm JE pistons for my build and those that have JEs probably already know where I am going here.

Lesson #2: While pretty much everything about JE’s pistons is really nice, the circlips used to keep the wrist pins centered were obviously made by the devil. They are twice as thick as the stock ones and 100 times as springy. There seems to be two ways to approach getting those things into the pin bore. The first way requires 1 hour each, absolutely no children within earshot, a large box of band-aids and a six-pack (at least).

Bottom Line: There is another, much easier way. While it does require a trip to the hardware store, that pain is more than offset by the pleasure of using the Dremel to fabricate a new tool. Oh yeah...

And, like the flywheel lock, you could buy the Porsche tool. I have no idea what they sell it for, but as you’ll see in a moment, it’s too much.

What you need to do is find yourself a 7/8 ID bronze bushing. Grab the Dremel like you mean it, slap a cutoff wheel on there, make revolutions for warp speed and trim out a section like so:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198127312.jpg

Note: I wish I could take credit for this, but I saw it on another post a while back. What I never saw anyone post, though, was the technique I used for actually inserting the circlip into the bore. Before attempting, put on your safety glasses. The ends of the clips are sharp and when these things pop out, they really pop. I kid you not – on one of my first attempts the clip flew out and actually stuck in the ceiling.

OK, so the process is as follows - first, you’ll have to go to the trusty tool cabinet with your newly crafted masterpiece in hand and find yourself a socket with an OD that closely matches the ID of the bushing. While you’re at it, get a small hammer too. A plastic faced one works nicely.

Next, go back to the workbench, place the socket and hammer within reach and insert the clip with your thumb. The split end needs to be pointing upward. It takes some pressure - no need to be gentle:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198127475.jpg


Now we arrive at the "finesse" part. Gently rotate the clip about 20 degrees from vertical, so the split is more or less centered in the notch of the bushing:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198127531.jpg

This is the part where the clip is most likely to go supersonic, so approach the piston slowly with the bushing in hand. The cutout and the split end of the clip should be topside, as shown. Now carefully insert the clip in the pin bore, setting the clip ends into the ring recess. Grab that socket and hammer you just put down a minute ago and insert the socket into the bushing until it butts up against the clip.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198127618.jpg

Give the end of the socket a nice, firm tap:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198127644.jpg

Voilà!

Total time to insert each clip: 45 seconds. Number of profane words used: 0. Total cost: $1.26. Making your own tool that actually works? Priceless.

To be continued…

Originally Posted by schnellmann (Post 3682629)

I can be found at Pacific Raceways on lapping days fairly often. Probably even more than usual this coming season. :)

Stop by and say hello...