Hks 700t

[Geowitz]

I like your motor mount a lot more than I do mine. Want to make another?


BTW, where are you going to mount the oil cooler and oil tank? Will you use the HKS tank or make one of your own to fit?

Fitting the muffler would be your biggest problem. I suppose if you got rid of the big canister muffler and went to a smaller muffler you could pipe it parallel to one side of the two lower supports down to the lower center allowing you to use this design. Probably stick out of the bottom a little near the back. If you put the muffler parallel to the firewall it would have to stick out of the bottom of the cowl a little too.

The oil tank will be stock HKS and go on the right side of the engine just below the tubes. With the engine lowered to the correct thrust line though this forces the oil tank lower which could get in the way of the muffler depending on how it is arranged.

Oil cooler will have to go below the engine and some slight cowling modification will be required. Inter cooler fits and will hopefully work in the back on top with ducting. Otherwise it would easily go where the Rotax radiator usually goes.

[rawheels]

Geowitz,

Any new updates on your project?

[Geowitz]

Holidays have slowed things down. Mostly just thinking how to work things out and trying to mock up different scenarios.

Latest thoughts and changes...

1 - To fit the oil tank on the passenger side I had to make the foot well shallower by 1 inch moving the tank closer to the firewall so as not to interfere with the right side fuel injector(don't have brakes on the passenger side anyways). This also allowed me place the tank high enough to put the cooler up front, but not too high. It's still technically out of spec for drain back issues, but I'll just have to hand prop it before each start up to make sure there's no hydraulic lock like everyone else. This also required eliminating the right side tube brace, but I reinforced the area with a .050 inch plate gusset. Not a big deal.

2 - Oil cooler fits fine up front since I moved the cowling 2 inches forward. I had to do this so the IVOPROP and spinner setup would fit correctly to the cowling. Took some pain in the butt fiberglass work, but worth it for the spinner fit and extra room.

3 - Placing the inter cooler on top works as far as space availability, but makes ducting very complex. I'm concerned about the hot air contaminating the rest of the engine compartment so the inlet and outlet sides would have to be ducted. That's too much for me to want to mess with so I'm probably gonna put it underneath the engine and do some fiberglass work on the bottom of the cowling to create its own simpler inlet and exhaust. Worst case scenario, I put it where the Rotax's have the radiator.

[Geowitz]

Making some progress. Just had a baby girl so things are crazy, but still managing to put in a few hours a week.

I have the oil cooler mocked up and satisfactorily placed. I will replace the adele clamps by the exhaust pipe with a welded on tab and the aluminum angle will be trimmed to save some weight. I had to extend the cowling by about 2.5 inches so the UHS spinner and the IVO prop would line up with the cowling. That was a pain, but worth it for the looks. The ignition coils, map sensors, boost control valve, and regulator fit nicely above the engine on the firewall with aluminum angle brackets. I had to remove the right side brace and replace it with a gusset so the oil tank would fit better. Tank mounts easily with adele clamps with supplied brackets. I will be adding 2 more braces at the adjoining joints to stiffen up the mount. They are probably overkill, but better safe than sorry. Engine monitor wires and other electrical stuff will go through the firewall on the sides without any problems. Last thing to mount and figure out is the intercooler which will go under the engine with modifications to the lower cowling to make a scoop.

[DesertFox4]

Just had a baby girl so things are crazy

First off Geowitz, mega congrats on the new family members arrival. We hope mom and daughter are doing very well. A future co-pilot maybe?

Nice progress on the firewall forward.
Lots of hours in those cowlings no doubt.

Hope you can still find a little time now and then to work on your Kitfox. We know Papa duties take priority. Congrats again on your little girl. Enjoy every minute with her.

[inzersv]

Geowitz, congratulation on that baby girl. The spice of life. Oh, and your firewall forward is looking great.

[Geowitz]

Thanks guys! Everyone is healthy and doing well. Luckily I have a VERY understanding wife who is looking forward to the Kitfox getting done so while daddy duty comes first, we won't let this project fall by the wayside.

[Geowitz]

Making a lot of progress. Most is not really noticeable as it's a lot of small details with various mounting issues and wiring, but I'm getting closer. Here is a few pics of the finished mount and firewall. Hopefully motor will bolt on permanently next weekend.

[DesertFox4]

Back at it Geowitz. With the new baby sleep is probably at a premium right now. Keep after it. Progress is sometimes hard to measure at points in a build but you are progressing. Wiring, not my favorite thing.

[Geowitz]

Perhaps the last time I have to muscle the engine into place?

Going together well. Finally working on the intercooler mounting. Will update with pics soon.