The "Build" - Final Keyway Design - Part 2 (Final)

Today was a very good day !  At the previous initial build attempt it was found that the Warp 11 being used in the build had an obsolete motor end plate.  This older design end plate prevented the hub adapter from fully inserting into the face plate as required.  After the end plate was replaced and the hub adapter correctly installed, the critical dimension was no longer valid and John Emde at Pioneer Conversions had to precisely reduce the thickness of the spacer ring with his lathe.  After reduction of  the thickness of the spacer, and reassembly of the adapters, the critical dimension was restored.

Picture DSC05031 showing the now thinner spacer located between the end plate of the Warp 11 and the transmission adapter plate.  Note that the hub adapter shaft is now nearly fully inserted into the adapters.

Picture DSC05030 showing 35.9 amps current draw when bench top tested with a 12 V shop battery.  The motor just purrs and you can hardly tell it is even running.  Essentially no vibration!

 

 

Picture DSC05032 demonstrating the insertion of the plastic clutch plate centering tool into the bronze bearing for the  proper positioning of the clutch plate.

 

 

Picture DSC05033 showing the full clutch assembly with the clutch plate internal and the pressure plate externally secured with 6 socket head bolts.  When running the full clutch  assembly with a shop battery there is a very slight vibration.  John indicates that this will disappear when the transmission is installed in the car and the floor clutch pedal is pushed in.  The clutch pedal will at that moment dislodge the clutch plate from the pressure plate and allow it to precisely center itself on the flywheel.

 

Picture DSC05037 showing the fully assembled drive train weighing in at 343 pounds.  The drive train includes the Warp 11, hub and transmission face plate adapters, flywheel, clutch plate, pressure plate, and the Getrag transmission.

The next step is to lower the unit into the motor compartment and take measurements for the design of the motor mounting adapter that will stand on the recently replaced rubber engine mounts.

 

Brake Systems 1.0 / Motor Mounts 1.0

Brake Systems 1.0

The 1992 BMW 325i has four wheel disk brakes in addition to a parking brake.  The parking brake is internal to the rear rotors which have an integrated parking brake drum.  The 325i was placed on jack stands, the wheels removed, the brake lines drained, and all of the brake calipers/pads removed for inspection.  Next time a small flat head screwdriver should be used to separate the rear right pad sensor wire from the pad. Attempting to instead remove the sensor by pulling on the wire lead now requires that the part be replaced.  The left front wheel does not rotate freely and it has a grinding noise. All of the wheels must rotate freely to minimize the load on the future battery pack.

The front brakes look good, but the rear pads are to bare metal..  The rear rotor thickness ranged between 9.12 mm and 9.20 mm and Bentley suggests a minimum thickness of 8.4 mm, so these are good to go.  The front vented rotors are slightly above the minimum suggested by Bentley of 20.4 mm, so these will need to be replaced in the near future.  Mounting screws on the rear brakes were then removed and the rotor/drum loosened with a mallet and pulled from the drive flange.  Internally the passenger side parking brake shoes were worn out and all the parts completely rusted, but interestingly, on the driver’s side there were no shoes or internal mechanism !!  Only the parking brake actuator was hanging from the backing plate !! Apparently, in a previous “brake job” the technician elected not to return or replace any of the parts inside the drum !!   Instinct has been to check out each system, and now it is clear that this strategy is a must as the build moves forward.  A hardware rebuild kit and replacement brake shoes will be ordered next week along with backing plates since they both show damage at the spring retainer bolt holes.
 

Motor Mounts 1.0

The replacement OEM rubber engine mounts arrived this last week from RM European (http://www.rmeuropean.com/search.aspx?keyword=603820).  The damaged and old ones are out and the new ones are in. 

 

                         Picture DSC04988 showing top (left) and bottom (right) mounting points.

 

 

Picture DSC04989 showing side view of Corteco 603820

 

The original engine mounting brackets have been cleaned and painted, and an attempt to install them will be made after the drive train is lowered into the motor compartment and bolted to the drive shaft.  On that topic, a phone conversation with Pioneer Conversions last Friday suggested that the assembled motor/adapter/transmission may be ready for pick up on 9/18/2012.  A true milestone when it arrives! 

The "Build" - Final Keyway Design - Part 1

 

I made a morning appointment and today took all of the parts and adapters to Pioneer Conversions for the official “build” of the drive train.   As in all projects, there are speed bumps.  Initially, the hub adapter would not slide fully onto the shaft, but Pioneer expertly pressed the bronze bushing a little further into the hub and it seated perfectly.  Then it was realized that the end plate on the Warp 11 motor that I purchased was an older design with a smaller 1.400 inch center opening.  This compares to the newer versions of the Warp 11 that have a 2.300 center opening.  Since the hub adapter as received has a diameter of 2.00 inches and it was designed to be recessed into the face of the newer version of the Warp 11, the build thus screeched to a halt in less than 45 minutes!!

 
It is frequently true that a man’s luck is proportional to the number of people that they have the privilege of knowing.  In my case, George Hamstra of NetGain Motors (the creator of the Warp  motors), had agreed to meet with me at Pioneer Conversions to watch the build.  He immediately got on the phone and confirmed that the modern style motor end plate was in stock at the factory, which was just a short drive from Pioneer Conversions.  We got in the car, drove to the factory and picked up the replacement end plate, a quick lunch, but, by the time we returned to Pioneer Conversions, it was too late to continue work.  So, I needed to reschedule.
                    

                               Final Design of the 1992 BMW 325i Drive Train Assembly

Moving from left to right:  the armature shaft passes thru the bearing, then thru the 2.300 inch opening of the Warp 11, followed by insertion into the hub adapter.  The hub adapter flange is drilled to accommodate the flywheel.  Located on the spline and sandwiched between the flywheel and the pressure plate is the clutch disk.  To the immediate left of the spline, the pilot of the transmission rests within the bronze bushing.  The critical dimension is marked and labeled at 0.795 inches.  To the far right is a crude rendition of the outline of the Getrag transmission housing.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the drawing.