Uncategorized Archives - Lawson's 818C https://www.818coupe.com/category/uncategorized/ The Complete 818 Coupe Documentation Mon, 28 Feb 2022 03:09:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.818coupe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-818Logo-3-32x32.png Uncategorized Archives - Lawson's 818C https://www.818coupe.com/category/uncategorized/ 32 32 Feb 2022 Update!: Transmission Failure https://www.818coupe.com/2022/02/28/elementor-2272/ https://www.818coupe.com/2022/02/28/elementor-2272/#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2022 03:07:18 +0000 https://www.818coupe.com/?p=2272 Elementor #2272 It been a long time since my last update! Some general info here: The car now lives my startup’s headquarters in Dawsonville, GA. Way more space, just no more time! I’ve put about 5,000 miles on the car including a couple track days and autocrosses. Pretty much nothing else has changed (besides what’s […]

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Category: Uncategorized

  • It been a long time since my last update! Some general info here:
    • The car now lives my startup’s headquarters in Dawsonville, GA. Way more space, just no more time!
    • I’ve put about 5,000 miles on the car including a couple track days and autocrosses.
    • Pretty much nothing else has changed (besides what’s below…)! I’ve just been driving it on occasion.
  • Transmission Failure 🙁
    • While cruising around in North Georgia with some friends, I suddenly lost any drive after a downshift. 5 hours, and one tow, later I was able to easily diagnose the issue. The output of my OBX differential had sheared off on the drivers side – meaning the diff was free to spin as it pleased without providing any torque to the other wheel.
    • Some background here: The transmission in my car is a frankenstein monster that I put together because I was on a college budget and wanted an LSD. Due to a series of unfortunate events I had two separate broken tranmissions (thankfully in different ways). I cobbled the gearset from one with the case, ring, and pinion from the other to make one transmission. I added to this an Ebay-special OBX helical limited slip differential because I could not afford the Cusco unit at the time and honestly I preferred to have a helical anyways. I had initially expected that something with my rebuild had failed but this turned out not to be the case.
    • What this means for me:
      • Replacing the differential requires fully removing the transmission and taking it apart – not a quick job.
      • My “ideal” fix would be to find one of the rare JDM 5-speeds with a front LSD from the factory. These go for about $700-$800 dollars and would drop right in. They have a helical differential in them but I’m not sure from who.
      • If I cannot find a unicorn transmission I can either spend $900 on a Cusco clutch-type differential or I can throw a cheap/free open diff in a call it a day while I wait for the time or money to have something better.
  • I will certainly fix it eventually, but tbd on when and how it will get fixed. There are numerous other things on the car I need to fix or finish such as the door sealing, bodywork edges, and fuel tank venting. These may or may not get wrapped into a “Phase 2” of the build.

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]]> https://www.818coupe.com/2022/02/28/elementor-2272/feed/ 3 Resuming Work and Interior Finishing https://www.818coupe.com/2021/05/27/resuming-work-and-interior-finishing/ https://www.818coupe.com/2021/05/27/resuming-work-and-interior-finishing/#comments Thu, 27 May 2021 15:49:00 +0000 https://www.818coupe.com/?p=2248 Resuming Work and Interior Finishing Previous Next After a very long drought of any meaningful work on the car I have resumed getting the list of to-dos done. I’ve been quite busy lately with my startup, but I want to use the car some this Summer and prepare it for not being a shed-kept project, […]

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Category: Uncategorized

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  • After a very long drought of any meaningful work on the car I have resumed getting the list of to-dos done. I’ve been quite busy lately with my startup, but I want to use the car some this Summer and prepare it for not being a shed-kept project, but rather something that is good enough to keep with me as a not-daily but regular driver.
  • Interior
    • I left the interior extremely basic for the last year. No carpet, no finishings, questionable water-tightness. These made the car a bit difficult to live with on a longer-term basis so I am seeking to remedy them. Plus a headliner and carpet will make the inside of this car look so much better!
    • I have wrapped the center console in my headliner materal to get practice on a smaller piece. I’m pretty bad a uphostering it seems but I think I do it “good enough”.
    • Finishing adding Killmat insulation in preparation for carpeting.
    • Headliner hopefully being glued in next weekend!
  • Body
    • I have finished sanding the passenger side A-pillar area. It’s definitely a 6/10 finishing job but it’s better than before!
    • Planning to continue fixing the really rough areas and leaving the car as a 10-footer until I decide to get serious about making it look good.
    • Doing the first real fiberglass repair at the front edge of the hood – hoping I can make it presentable.
  • Bug Fixes
    • Doors locks appear to be non-functional due to a bad chinesium module. Spent another $25 to replace from Amazon hoping the second unit works for longer – we’ll see.
    • I’ve had an issue with fuel coming out the vent when the tank is full. I’m going to reroute the line and add a rollover valve to the end to prevent this issue.
    • I am adding cutouts to the rear windows to increase engine bay ventilation and reduce circulation inside there. This should help with my fumes in the cabin at speed.

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]]> https://www.818coupe.com/2021/05/27/resuming-work-and-interior-finishing/feed/ 2 New Year, New Job, New Website! https://www.818coupe.com/2021/01/05/new-year-new-job-new-website/ https://www.818coupe.com/2021/01/05/new-year-new-job-new-website/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2021 23:18:16 +0000 http://10.0.1.100/?p=1083 New Year, New Job, New Website! New Job! I have just graduated Georgia Tech with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a concentration in Automotive Engineering. Now, I am cofounding a company, Ampere EV, with a couple others. Our company is creating integrated solutions for the DIY EV market, including safer modular battery assemblies and […]

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New 818coupe.com webpage
  • New Job!
    • I have just graduated Georgia Tech with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a concentration in Automotive Engineering. Now, I am cofounding a company, Ampere EV, with a couple others. Our company is creating integrated solutions for the DIY EV market, including safer modular battery assemblies and integrated control electronics. Super early in the project timeline right now, but it’s entirely possible some of our companies products ends up in an 818 while we’re developing it and I’d certainly share that on here if that becomes the case.
  • New Website! (Coming Soon)
    • I have been working on completely rebuilding my website from the ground up. I assume if you’re subscribed to this list, you’ve seen my current site. It’s built entirely on Google Sites and has been super easy to setup and maintain. Great option for a low-maintenance site! But now, between work and driving the car, the build is slowing down (not stopping though) and the documentation of my car becomes more useful than the ability for people to follow along. Google sites has been great from a simplicity standpoint, but it’s really limited in the format I can present the information and integrations are pretty basic. Above all, it’s very poorly optimized for search engines (funny because Google…). My new website is being built with WordPress, and the customization options are endless! Honestly too much, and the nerd in me keeps messing with all the fancy plugins, but in the end this is going to make my site way better for organizing a large quantity of information and advertising that info to people on search engines. I’d gotten to the point where the things I was trying to add were outgrowing what Google Sites was really built to support so my workarounds got increasingly complex.
    • Old setup: Google Sites + Blogger + Disqus + Feedburner 
    • New Setup: WordPress
      • Self hosted – I have my own Linux server I’m running the site off of so I still won’t be paying hosting fees. Meaning all I pay for this is $12/year for the domain.
      • Plus tons and tons of plugins
        • Elementor – drag and drop webpage builder for WordPress. I don’t care to code.
        • Mail chimp – new email subscription manager
        • Yoast SEO – search engine optimizer
        • AutoOptimizer – shrinks down content to make pages load faster
        • Smush – Shrinks images on upload to web-friendly size formats
        • Enviry Gallery – Let’s me build really nice photo galleries
      • Still fleshing it out and figuring out how I want to organize things. It’s easy to get stuck to the old format, but in many cases there is now much better ways for me to organize things. I’m sure the new site will continue to change a lot even after it goes 

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]]> https://www.818coupe.com/2021/01/05/new-year-new-job-new-website/feed/ 1 February 2019 Update: Seat brackets, clutch, and shifter https://www.818coupe.com/2019/02/11/february-2019-update-seat-brackets-clutch-and-shifter/ https://www.818coupe.com/2019/02/11/february-2019-update-seat-brackets-clutch-and-shifter/#respond Mon, 11 Feb 2019 03:10:00 +0000 http://10.0.1.100/index.php/2019/02/11/february-2019-update-seat-brackets-clutch-and-shifter/ Engine: Still working through the little issues. Finding new leaks every time I start it so far…Fixed a small coolant leak from a hose clamp this time. Throttle cable installed I’ll have to change my throttle pedal mounting solution because right now there is too much angle on the cable firewall connection and it’s causing […]

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  • Engine:
    • Still working through the little issues. Finding new leaks every time I start it so far…Fixed a small coolant leak from a hose clamp this time.
    • Throttle cable installed
      • I’ll have to change my throttle pedal mounting solution because right now there is too much angle on the cable firewall connection and it’s causing some resistance.
  • Clutch:
    • I plumbed the clutch line and bled the system. It is surprisingly difficult to bend the lines in a way that is clean, install-able, and correct! I’d give myself a 7/10 for the clutch line but hopefully the practice will help be do better with the brake lines (which I have 4 of because of ABS).
    • Clutch works now though! I think there’s still a little air in the system but it was the best I could do with only a vacuum pump. I’ve always found the 2-person pedal pumping method to work best.
  • Seats:
    • I created a custom seat mount design in Solidworks CAD. I made the bracket so that it would work for both sides without requiring unique designs. I cut the pieces with a waterjet I have access to at Georgia Tech.
    • I should have them painted and installed in a couple weeks.
    • Small issues: 
      • My sparco seat sliders I got for cheap are not compatible with the Corbeau seats
      • The passenger-side fit is VERY tight (see photo). Installing the seat on that side is going to be very fun. I didn’t realize the space in the cockpit was so small.
      • The rear underside of my seats hits the bracket about 4 in back from the bolt holes and prevents the seat from bolting down all the way. I will have to add a 1/2 in spacer in the back to solve this.
  • Shifter:
    • After painting the linkage parts, I began to assemble and install the k-tuned aluminum shifter. The shifter looks awesome and the k-tuned parts are very well made! The FFR parts left a little to be desired.
      • Issues with the FFR parts:
        • The aluminum shifter mounting plate had incorrectly cut bolt holes so I could not bolt the shifter to it.
        • Tons of rough edges that will require filing.
        • The mount will need a polish so it looks as good a the k-tuned parts.
        • The piece that goes onto the shift fork of the transmission was bent slightly incorrectly and made fitment a pain.
    • Install isn’t quite done but should be wrapped up next time I work on the car.
  • Part arrivals:
    • Vintage Air A/C Parts!
    • My exhaust system

  • Assembled Shifter


  • Vintage Air Parts 🙂


  • The misaligned holes of the FFR mount


  • Clutch line rear connection


  • Clutch line front plumbing


  • The seat still kinda doesn’t fit even pushed up this far 😬


  • Cable bracket for the shifter


  • Shifter transmission connection


  • Seat fitment on the passenger side


  • Seat bracket pieces before bending


  • Freshly cut brackets


  • Seat bracket orientation in the car

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]]> https://www.818coupe.com/2019/02/11/february-2019-update-seat-brackets-clutch-and-shifter/feed/ 0 December 2018: Engine Issue Update https://www.818coupe.com/2018/12/29/december-2018-engine-issue-update/ https://www.818coupe.com/2018/12/29/december-2018-engine-issue-update/#respond Sat, 29 Dec 2018 16:37:00 +0000 http://10.0.1.100/index.php/2018/12/29/december-2018-engine-issue-update/ Engine Issues So I’ve diagnosed the root cause of the issue with my passenger cylinder head. I made a bit of an error when reassembling the heads…by switching up which side the cam caps went on. Each of the caps is labelled with the cylinder number and whether it is intake or exhaust. For some […]

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  • Engine Issues
    • So I’ve diagnosed the root cause of the issue with my passenger cylinder head. I made a bit of an error when reassembling the heads…by switching up which side the cam caps went on. Each of the caps is labelled with the cylinder number and whether it is intake or exhaust. For some reason I had a lapse in thinking and put the even cylinders on the passenger side and odd on the driver side. Turns out this is a pretty big deal and can in fact destroy a cam and head just by cranking over. Luckily, only the passenger side head suffered significant damage so I am going to replace it with another rebuilt head I’ve recently purchased.
    • Passenger head should be delivered in about a week. $250 lesson learned…
  • Other stuff
    • While I’m waiting on the head, I’ll probably tackle a couple small things like mounting the ABS pump and installing the wheel speed sensors.

  • Damage on the exhaust camshaft


  • Damage to the cam journals


  • Severe journal damage that blocked the oil port

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]]> https://www.818coupe.com/2018/12/29/december-2018-engine-issue-update/feed/ 0 Thanksgiving 2018 Update: Wheels and Parts Arrivals https://www.818coupe.com/2018/11/26/thanksgiving-2018-update-wheels-and-parts-arrivals/ https://www.818coupe.com/2018/11/26/thanksgiving-2018-update-wheels-and-parts-arrivals/#respond Mon, 26 Nov 2018 03:00:00 +0000 http://10.0.1.100/index.php/2018/11/26/thanksgiving-2018-update-wheels-and-parts-arrivals/ Visited the 818 for a little bit while I was home for Thanksgiving. I wasn’t able to spend a whole ton of time working on the car, but I was able to knock out a few little jobs that I was waiting on parts for. Wheels and tires installed! Advanti Storm S1 Hyper Silver wheels. […]

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  • Visited the 818 for a little bit while I was home for Thanksgiving. I wasn’t able to spend a whole ton of time working on the car, but I was able to knock out a few little jobs that I was waiting on parts for.
  • Wheels and tires installed!
    • Advanti Storm S1 Hyper Silver wheels. 17×8-40 and 17×9-45
    • These did not fit perfectly (see pictures). The rear wheels had a offset of +45mm instead o the recommended 40mm. Even with a 5mm spacer, they hit the upper trailing link. So, I created a low-tech solution with washers to move the upper link inboard about 1/4 inch.
    • The wheels required spline-drive lugnuts and of course TireRack sent normal ones. Otherwise the experience with TireRack was pretty flawless. 
    • Interesting thing to note, it appears I didn’t have the steering rack as centered as I thought when attaching the column because the rack itself is not centered in the car. The front wheels hit the frame full right, but not full left. However, the travel is almost perfect to the left so perhaps I should just add a steering stop for the right turns and then everything will be the right amount of travel.
  • Little items taken care of:
    • Transmission rear cover installed and filled with fluid. I forgot to tighten the drain plug entirely before filling…but a few drops of oil on the floor later everything is good. I filled with 3.7L of fluid per the recommendations on the forum. This will show about 2in over full on the dip stick.
    • Rear axle pins installed.
    • Clutch slave cylinder installed.
    • Clutch fork boot installed.
  • I ordered Corbeau A4 seats:
    • I chose the A4s because they’re small, affordable, from a reputable brand, have several configurable options, and have the ability to work safely with both a 3 point and 5/6 point harness. They seem to be a good compromise between street comfort and track capability.
    • Mine were ordered in black cloth, sub-harness hole, driver seat lumbar bladder, and driver seat shaved base (for more headroom with a helmet).

  • Transmission rear cover installed


  • Rear wheels fitted


  • Here is the clearance AFTER I modified the trailing arm spacers


  • Another view of the *after* clearance


  • My low tech solution to moving the upper trailing arm


  • Front driver’s side wheel at full lock. It clears the frame by 1/4 in


  • Front passenger side wheel hitting the frame at almost full lock


  • Front driver’s side wheel clearance


  • New wheels vs the old


  • Clutch slave cylinder installed

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]]> https://www.818coupe.com/2018/11/26/thanksgiving-2018-update-wheels-and-parts-arrivals/feed/ 0 November 2018 Update #1: Items on order and vinyl designs https://www.818coupe.com/2018/11/18/november-2018-update-1-items-on-order-and-vinyl-designs/ https://www.818coupe.com/2018/11/18/november-2018-update-1-items-on-order-and-vinyl-designs/#respond Sun, 18 Nov 2018 01:46:00 +0000 http://10.0.1.100/index.php/2018/11/18/november-2018-update-1-items-on-order-and-vinyl-designs/ Just a few small updates on the build: Ordered a few more components: Avanti Storm S1 17×8-40 and 17×9-45 wheels (they’re on sale at TireRack right now!) Dunlop Direzza Star Spec ZIII tires 215/40 front and 255/40 rear iWire Wiring harness arriving next week I’ll be back working on the kit a few weeks and […]

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]]> Just a few small updates on the build:

  • Ordered a few more components:
    • Avanti Storm S1 17×8-40 and 17×9-45 wheels (they’re on sale at TireRack right now!)
    • Dunlop Direzza Star Spec ZIII tires 215/40 front and 255/40 rear
    • iWire Wiring harness arriving next week
  • I’ll be back working on the kit a few weeks and I’ll visit it briefly next week and maybe knock out a couple small things.
  • I also got bored and decided to work on the car virtually…I like how they came out despite my mediocre Photoshop abilities!

  • White Martini


  • Black Martini


  • Blue 


  • Dark Grey Martini


  • Grey Martini

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