Boben

The clearance between the valve cover and the brake booster was tight to begin with and the situation got worse when I lifted the engine. However, this did not come as a surprise and yesterday it was time to execute my plan to increase the clearance. Here is how things looked after rising the engine with the brake booster in the original position. Here is the unmodified pedal box with the brake booster and clutch master cylinder inplace. I forgot to take pictures during the modification, but basically all I did was drill some new holes 15mm aside the original ones and cut some more space to the center to enable assembly of the booster 15mm aside from its original location. The displacement is big enough for the fork to clear the pedal axle and at the same time small enough for the booster to not hit the clutch master cylinder. Here is how things looked like inside the cabin before cutting the fire wall. This is how I marked where to make the cuts and drills on the fire wall. And finally the end result with increased clearance. Sweet!

Thanks, I am quite pleased with the little more modern appearance that the diffuser brings to the rear. As for the design of the exhaust manifold. The primary for each cylinder is a separate piece which connects to the detachable collector by slipping under a sleeve on the collector. Each primary is then secured to the collector with a retaining spring and holder. Even with this arrangement, the assembly of the exhaust manifold is a real pain, but what can you do. When I finally get to the full seam welding part, I'll probably try and TIG weld as much as possible on the engine stand with the collector jig in place and then finnish off with the rest of the welding with primaries separated from the stand and jig.

I cut the custom steering axle extension rod to the correct length along with shortening the original steering axle and preparing a new fitting for the joint on the lathe. After test fitment, welded the stuff back together. I am quite happy with the outcome since the angles of the joints did not increase too much. The steering seems to be turning smoothly. I still need to modify the primary from cylinder number 5 to clear the rubber booth on the steering axle and also make a bracket for the support bearing, but I guess I am on the winning side regarding the steering.