Motion For Continuance

24 Feb Motion For Continuance

Not everything on the blog can be done in a day. As a matter of fact, almost everything continues into a second blog post, if not three or four.

Part of the reason we’re doing more “check what’s happening today” blog posts and less “see the last week’s worth of progress on this” is simple — we’re always moving at Fluid, and we want our fellow blog-crawlers to share in that constant sense of action and movement. Our staff of 12 aren’t all on one project at the same time, so occasionally things will slip through the journalistic cracks, and wanted to put the kibosh on that. That being said, pretty much everything we’ve covered this week is still ongoing, so let’s check out what we’ve continued to delve into this week.

First up is the E46 S54 saloon swap. Last we saw, fabrication was working on modifying the transmission case to change it from SMG to full manual. Well, we’ve finished one of the many tasks that lie in front of us, and we’re excited to knock a few more off the list in the coming days. In the meantime, we’ve cleaned up the case and the bearings, and done multiple test-fits to make sure everything is functional and ready for the next step. So far, so good.

In S2000 news, as we type this we’re reinstalling the interior as the weld-in roll bar has been successfully welded in. With the sheet metal prepped for the weld, we tacked the bar into place while we prepared to do a little bit of MIG welding to finish off the job. As anybody who’s used a MIG can attest, they may or may not have the ability to light nearby things on fire, or ruin them in other ways. As a result, we had to cover pretty much the entire interior of the car (and part of the exterior) with heavy-duty blankets to keep everything safe. Since this isn’t our first rodeo, everything went off without a hitch. After the welds were put down, we covered the bare sheet metal with paint to protect it from the elements, and that’s that. As we reinstall the interior, we’ll make any small adjustments necessary (such as a light shave to make room for the new bars), but it’s the home stretch and we’re almost there!

Finally, we have the RS6. If you’ve had a conversation with us, you know we’re not fans of the plastic cladding that covers up the majority of new engine bays. It prevents you from seeing the beauty of the motor. However, not all motors are beautiful. As a matter of fact, some are so focused on being engineered into tight spaces that they lack aesthetic value entirely. BMW managed to avoid the ugliness with the S54 and S62, the latter of which doesn’t have a whole ton of space underhood. But if we can think of one manufacturer where they looked at the motor after installing it and said, “Well, where the hell else are we going to fit all this unsightly crap?”, it would be the over-engineers at Audi. The RS6, once you take the plastic cover off, is a mess of wires and tubing and things put in places that don’t look like they can be relocated.

Either way, we did our best to put some lipstick on this pig through our black powdercoated FMU intake, contrasted against the polished (and fingerprint-hungry) aluminum of the oil catch can. However, there was one spot left where we didn’t have anything. In that space between the radiator support and the catch can, we decided to match the carbon fiber motif of the BMC filters with what is essentially an aesthetic torque dampener. Using the heim joints at the ends, we fashioned a spot to bolt it to the front of the engine bay, and connected that to the same nut that keeps the catch can tightened down. The result? Something that pulls your eyes away from the mess underneath. We had all sorts of grandiose plans to complement the damper, but since this was more of an aside project just for kicks, we didn’t want to get too wacky with it.

Have a great weekend!