The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

[Magic Beans]

What have I got myself into

[pistol pete]

good luck......

[Ben]

Have fun with that

[dawesy]

plates look much better

remember measure 50 times and cut once

[Moo]

Plates look great. Good luck with the under tray fabrication!

[Magic Beans]

Thanks

So far so good

I'll be glad when it's done though, as I've done nothing but think about it for the last week! Both in terms of planning and execution. My head's These things haunt me until they're done and to a suitable standard

[Magic Beans]

And so to turning a give sheet or aly and a concept into a fitted and functional flat undertray. To say this thing has haunted my mind is an understatement. I'm found myself sat day dreaming of the logistics of the whole project for the last few days. Something which has been picked up on in management meetings, when I've been quoted as having a face which says "Phil's not here right now. Please call back next week"

We last this story with me having taken delivery of a massive parcel and wondering what the hell I'd got myself into Well let's have a look see



2mm thick, which in theory means less flexing when the car's moving.



Thankfully the packaging was thin fibre board, which actually turned out to be a blessing, as it was the same size as the sheet and could be used to make the template This was a test to see how the proposed lines might work



Time to draw the outline and a rough guide



So this is the basic outline, although it was set to be heavily refined



First cut of the template



Cut to a few hours later, lots of tweaking and refining



Which was enough for the day.

Woke up this morning to see the great supplier of vitamin D in the sky So cracked on with the job in hand



Measurements checked, double checked and triple checked, it was time to put the first holes in



I wanted to reduce the flared edges by 25mm, so marked up a 25mm reduction on the board. Giving me a line to mark the holes to



All holes done it's time for a test fit





Deja vu



Well would you look at that





I'm planning on using the stock undertray plastics to hold the inner edge (line running along the edge of the tyres) in place, avoiding resonance. OS piece was fine



The NS piece wasn't so hot and had a split along the edge which needs to take the load. Nothing a couple of holes, a plastic tie and some evil strong glue over the whole area won't fix though



Onto the main event I guess



One of the observations made during the test fit was that the extra material I'd left for the speed flaps was too much in reality. I did leave 60mm across the whole edge, however in reality 35mm is much more suitable and reduces the risk of it rubbing on speed bumps etc. So the template was shifted to compensate



Everything in the right place I thought it easier to drill a couple of the holes needed out in advance, so the two pieces could be held together, making the marking out easier and more accurate



Marked up and ready for cutting. The inner edge (which meets the inside of the bumper) isn't perfect, however it's not going to be seen, so as long as the out edges and holes are spot on it works for me



Cut to many minutes later, ringing ears, lots of mess and a sore back.... The metal is cut, ready for de-burring. That however will need to wait for another day, as now it's time for BBQ food and maybe a drop or two of wobbly legs juice



As with any Mule based job there's always some sort of sacrifice of blood required. This time the grinder decided it would do the business Oh well, the dirt and metal particles will help it heal



So all that's left now is bolting it to the bumper, mounting and attaching it to the underside of the car. Oh, the speed flaps need marking out and bending too. The main thing is my brain gets to take a break from calculating and pondering

Toodle pip. Hope you're all making the most of this rare blessing from the skies

[Magic Beans]

Oh, I also now have a template which should work for Border bumpers made by the same manufacturer. So if anyone needs one..

[Ben]

And to think, earlier today I was please with myself for being able to fit an alternator belt without destroying the car

Fantastic work, looking forward to the finshed article

[ashley]

Good effort Phil

How rigid is the 2mm ali sheet?

[matt-mr2]

Nice work does it need any holes for the air coming out the rad to exit or does it not go that far back

[synXero]

It will be interesting to see how this affects things.

[craig]

Good work Phil!

I wouldn't mind something similar for my Bomex bumper, however I've done ok so far with original trays tie wrapped/bolted to the bumper.

[Magic Beans]

Good effort Phil

How rigid is the 2mm ali sheet?

I'd say it's about spot on, as it's pretty rigid but not so much as you can't manipulate it into the arc needed. When I got the parcel originally I felt the weight and thought "Sh*t, this is going to pull on the bumper mounts massively!". In reality the ali weighs the same as each of the two bits of board it comes with, so the actual weight is about 1/3 at around 3-4 kg

It's too much for the arch liners though, but they don't need to be so rigid I guess.

[Magic Beans]

Nice work does it need any holes for the air coming out the rad to exit or does it not go that far back

It doesn't go back that far, there's a good amount of room for the air to flow out the rad(s) and under the car. I'd imagine it will actually improve cooling because the air is channeled through the rads, instead of basically going where the hell it wants with no undertrays

[Magic Beans]

It will be interesting to see how this affects things.

Me too. Reading suggests it should help significantly with the front end. I think once the liners are done too (after Le Mans now I think though) the package should really make a difference. In theory at least

[Magic Beans]

Good work Phil!

I wouldn't mind something similar for my Bomex bumper, however I've done ok so far with original trays tie wrapped/bolted to the bumper.

Could be something you (well, Peter most likely ) could do during the swap over Although if it makes no difference you might as well save your money

[craig]

Good work Phil!

I wouldn't mind something similar for my Bomex bumper, however I've done ok so far with original trays tie wrapped/bolted to the bumper.

Could be something you (well, Peter most likely ) could do during the swap over Although if it makes no difference you might as well save your money

I'll keep it in mind mate, as it would be a lot better than the standard 2 part 20 year old undertrays.

Pete's done something similar for Kong if memory serves.

*Added to the list of bits to do.

[Magic Beans]

He has indeed. In fact I've looked at that one photo in his profile more than a few times, trying to figure out it's secrets

[dawesy]

nice job
remeber if blood isnt spilt working on an MR2 the job hasnt been done correctly