Monday 21 December 2009

Fuel Filter

The fuel filter I ordered arrived today. This has been fitted the chassis and connected to the fuel pump with 12mm I/D braided hose. The brackets are fixed to the chassis with two 3.2mm rivets each side and then the filter just clips in.

Photo from underneath with the fuel tank in place. Tank not connected yet.


I previously drained the old oil from the diff. The differential has now been filled with 1 litre of new oil, Comma EP38W-90 GL-5, which came from Wilco. Whilst there, I also picked up a new clutch kit for a 1.8 cvh sierra, part ref QKT742AF.

Sunday 20 December 2009

Brief Update

A few more purchases made this week.

  • VW polo radiator from Advanced Radiators , part ref VW302
  • Neodymium Disc Magnets for the speedo sensor pick up
  • And I finally found a pre-pump fuel filter with 12mm in and outlets via ebay.

My purchases are getting ahead of the build at the moment....

The plan was to tackle the side panels and cut the holes for top and bottom wishbones but it's been a tad cold this weekend!


Saturday 12 December 2009

Fuel sender

The CBR1000 sender gives approx 5 ohms for empty and 100 for full on the multimeter. I connected the speedo to the sender and found that when the sender is on full, the speedo's fuel gauge reads empty and vice versa. Bending the arm through 180 degrees means the gauge will now read the correct way round. The arm needed to be extended slightly so I used two electrical terminal connectors minus their plastic covers which would probably dissolve when immersed in fuel.


The sender has been bolted through from the inside of the tank. To stop the M6 bolts from spinning, I used a length of U-shaped aluminium section which was just the right width for the bolt heads to fit in.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Digital Speedo

The speedometer that I ordered from Digital Speedos arrived today. Its a Koso RX2n+ with a 10k rpm range. I want to power it up on a car battery so I can check that the fuel sender I bought previously works correctly with the speedo's fuel gauge. If all ok, the sender can be attached to the tank, the tank can then be fixed down to the chassis and the hose connected to the pump.


I've also purchased a dremel drill in order to cut holes in the fibreglass side panels for the front wishbones. The holes need to be wide enough to let the wishbones and polybushes to pass through and also tall enough to allow for any suspension movement whilst the car is moving. I first need to make some cardboard templates to check that the holes are in the correct position, then the template can be transferred to the panels which will then be cut. Only one chance to get it right! Once cut, I plan to store the panels away again so that they don't get scratched whilst the car is still in it's early build stage.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Zetec shortened sump

A new camshaft oil seal has been fitted to the engine. The oil seal housing was drilled and tapped ready for the M6 sump bolts. The oil seal housing isn't quite flush with the lower edge of the engine block but still within tolerance according to the haynes manual. I used a little loctite 5910 in these areas to seal the gap.

Engine and sump plus new sump gasket together

Thursday 19 November 2009

Handbrake finished

The handbrake cable has now been shortened and the clamp on ends have been fitted. The cable has been attached through the handbrake lever and seems to work fine.


Both brake drums installed:

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Handbrake Cable & general update

From what I have learnt so far, U-shaped cable clamps and end clamp blocks will pass IVA but sometimes fail, seemingly dependant on the individual IVA centre.

Seeing as the IVA test centre in Norwich isn't far from me, I took a drive over to ask for advice on what they would consider to be an acceptable method of shortening the cable. In a nutshell, either clamp type will pass the IVA test provided that when the handbrake is tested, the clamps don't slip.

Shown below, the u-shaped clamps which are used to join two sections of cable together and the other type which were supplied by MK for replacing the original handbrake nipple end. I'm going to use the MK clamps as I think they look neater (and also because I've already chopped the end off my sierra handbrake cable!)


The rear brakes have been assembled with a new fitting kit from Wilco. I just need to finish the handbrake cable and fit this, then the brake drums can go on.



Getting closer to having the car up on its own wheels.......

I've also recently purchased a fuel tank sender for a 1998 Honda CBR1000F and some nitrile bonded cork gasket sheet from Gaskets Direct which will be needed when the sender is mounted inside the fuel tank.


The main reason behind this fuel sender choice is that the digital speedo I'd like to use is designed to work with bike sensors and gauges. Fuel senders work by different resistances for full and empty and these resistances need to match those specified by the fuel gauge. In this case, the fuel gauge is incorporated into the digital speedo shown below. I'll check that the fuel sender resistances match exactly with a multimeter when it arrives.

Saturday 17 October 2009

Fuel pump


Fuel pump mounted just below where the fuel tank sits. I used a pipe clamp to hold the pump itself which is then bolted to the chassis with rivnut inserts and two spacers.

Some new seals for the differential have been purchased from BearingKits.

Sunday 11 October 2009

Fuel lines

Previously, I'd rivetted a 40mm wide strip of aluminium along the right hand side of the transmission tunnel in order to mount the fuel lines. As I'm planning to use fuel injection, I need a second section of fuel pipe to act as a return back to the tank. Photo below of the new fuel lines taken from the front of the car (differential can be seen at the back)


The kunifer fuel lines were mounted using 8mm rubber lined P-clips at intervals of 15-20mm.


A new CVH sump gasket has been purchased from EngineStuff which cost a lot less than my local ford dealer were quoting! The only other mod made to the cvh sump is a hole drilled in the correct position to allow access for the dipstick.

A new crankshaft oil seal has been purchased for the engine. The old seal has been removed from its housing but I require a new gasket before the housing can be re-assembled to the block.

Monday 28 September 2009

Engine progress

The standard 2.0L sump has been removed. Shortened oil pick up pipe fitted along with a new gasket.


The modified sierra CVH sump requires a little more fettling to fit properly but this should be relatively straight forward. It also needs a hole drilled to allow the dipstick to fit through. Shortened sump in place but not fully tightened

No luck with sourcing an audi pre-pump filter over the weekend. The plan is to visit Wilco one evening this week to see if they have one.

A couple of months ago, an opportunity arose to buy another sierra which I took as there were a couple of bits I forgot to remove from my first donor (fuel sender, alternator bracket...) Sierras are starting to get thin on the ground so I figured I may as well take the offer in case I need any spare parts in the future. This particular sierra has the same 1.8 CVH engine as the first but a suspected bent valve or two, it makes some interesting noises! Sunday afternoon was spent taking some parts off.

A couple of before and after pics......

The car was broken into in the past so unfortunately, the much sought after steering column cowling is broken. Blinkin' tea leaves!

Friday 25 September 2009

More car parts

Another month and another collection of parts!

The two-part loom from Premier Wiring arrived today


Having decided not to use the sierra hand brake cable, some alternative Allegro cables have been purchased instead.

The shortened sump has been painted using POR15, the plan being to fit this and the modified oil pickup pipe to the engine over the weekend

I've found a suitable bracket for mounting the fuel pump. Its actually a pipe clamp but its a perfect fit for the pump and the clamping bolts can be used to fix the assembly to the chassis as the same time.

A suitable fuel filter will also be needed to sit in between the tank and the pump. A filter designed for an Audi Coupe should do the job as the inlet and outlet diameters are both 12mm so match my tank & pump. Hopefully GSF have one in stock!

Monday 24 August 2009

Fuel Tank

I sent the tank back to MK a couple of weeks back to get a swirl pot added to the underside. At the same time, I'd also requested a 12mm fuel outlet (instead of the 8mm previously fitted) and a breather. The fuel pump I bought has a 12mm inlet so the tank's 12mm outlet now matches this and means I don't need to worry about using a reducing joiner to mate 12mm hose to 8mm hose.

Pic from underside of tank showing the new swirl pot


I'd spent some time over the weekend measuring up and bending some stainless lengths to act as straps to hold the tank down. These were lined with some sticky-backed foam as were the two chassis supports. I'd also removed the diff in order to give me some room to work around at the back of the chassis and will be left off until I've routed the fuel lines

I used a rivnut either side to bolt the tank down on the front and couple of 6mm bolts & nyloc nuts at the back.

Photo of the tank held down with the new tank straps:


The tank can still be removed at this stage as it will need to be taken off again to fit a fuel sender for the fuel gauge. I may decide to use sikaflex to stick the underside of the tank down as suggested by MK although the tank feels very secure at present.

No drill bits were harmed during the making of these tank straps!

One of the next jobs is to make or find a bracket to mount the fuel pump, route the fuel pipes along the transmission tunnel and then connect the hoses.

I received an update from Premier Wiring and the new two-piece loom should be here this week. I asked advice on whether to route the loom underneath the diff or over the top. Alan recommended routing over the top of the diff which makes sense as this keeps the loom away from the fuel lines.

Tuesday 4 August 2009

CVH sump modified!

I just received a message to say my sierra donor's original cvh sump has been modified! The sump has been chopped and shortened by approx 30mm to give some extra ground clearance underneath and is now at same level as the lower edge of the type 9 gearbox bellhousing. Although I can weld (in a fashion), a friend of mine, James, is a professional welder so the job was duly delegated to him!


I'm really chuffed with the job and I think James deserves a few beers from me!

Fuel Tank has arrived

The fuel tank I ordered from MK has arrived. Not fixed down as yet. I need to cut some 2mm thick stainless in 40mm wide sections to use as tank straps.
The new fuel pump arrived last week too so can start work making a bracket to mount the pump and routing the fuel lines. Fuel pump is for a Cavalier SRi, part number
OEM 0580464008

I'm also considering best method to shorten the handbrake cable by roughly 800mm as advised in the build manual. Based on locostbuilders advice, I'm going to use bulldog cable clamps to rejoin the cable.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

A little bit of brakes....

Yesterday, I took the rear hubs into work and vapour blasted them. I think they've cleaned up pretty well, ignoring my dirty finger prints.


Then I set to work removing the gearbox mount from the sierra cross member. Although I'd ground the rivet heads off, the rivet bodies required drilling through before they would losen and eventually be removed.
I then gave the brake shoe adjusters a going over with a wire brush then a coat of jenolite. I'd not used this Jenolite stuff before but they look cleaner now than when I started.


I'd made few purchases on ebay this week, some of which have started to arrive:
  • 8mm Kunifer to use for fuel pipe
  • some 6mm I/D split conduit for protecting brake pipes
  • mini pipe cutter
  • spiral wrap
  • sticky backed foam to use when mounting the fuel tank
Still on the shopping list is some fuel hose. I've also started to think about a fuel pump and quinton hazel part QFP603 seems to have a varied application and oftens turn up when I'm searching for info. I've also seen recommendations for using the fuel pump from a cavalier SRI which ties in with the QH part number.

Tonight I connected the rear flexi hoses to the rear wheel cylinders via a short piece of copper brake pipe on each side. These were mounted via an aluminium bracket I'd made using metal from the scrap bin at work. The brackets were riveted to the rear hub carriers

I also matched my existing record of snapping two drill bits in one evening!

Sunday 12 July 2009

Brake lines finished




Some sections need to be covered with something such as conduit to protect the pipes in a couple of places just to be on the safe side.

shopping list

I'm going to need some more bits and pieces soon

  • Split conduit and possibly some heat shrink tubing to protect brake pipes in exposed areas
  • Larger diameter conduit to protect the fuel pipes
  • Fuel pipe and fuel hose
  • Sticky back foam padding to go under the fuel tank
  • Aluminium for making the straps to attach and support the fuel tank
I think I'll be spending an hour or two on ebay this afternoon.......

Saturday 11 July 2009

More brakes

Started to mount the brake pipe through the transmission tunnel to the back of the chassis. Mounted the T piece and the switch



The zetec engine's fuel/air inlet is on the right hand side of the engine so I've decided to route the fuel pipe along same side as the brake pipe so the fuel pipe route won't have to switch from one side to the other nearer the front of the car.

The original rivets which hold the gearbox mount to the sierra gearbox mounting have been ground off today but it needs a good thump to separate one piece from the other


Fuel tank ordered from MK on friday

Rear bearing carriers fitted with new wheel bearings during the week

Tuesday 30 June 2009

Brakes cont....

The new brake clips arrived from www.rallydesign.co.uk

Probably not the neatest installation but the pipes feel more secure with these type of clip over the P clips, and I only snapped two drill bits in the process


Next job, rear brake pipes.....

Saturday 27 June 2009

Brakes again

The new p clips arrived today but these don't clasp the brake pipes particularly well either.

Turned attention to the rear camber adjuster again and filed down the steel polybush inserts as advised to fit the hub carrier. The offside rear corner is now assembled. I started to assemble the nearside but seem to be missing a M12 x 75 bolt!




drive shafts and prop shaft painted with POR15 and ready for fitting


Thursday 25 June 2009

Brakes & p clips

Goal for this evening was to fix the front brake pipes down with rubber lined p-clips. However, although the p-clips are stated as 5mm, they don't seem to support the pipes and feel very loose so I've not fixed anything down. I've ordered some more p clips stated as 4.7mm or 3/16 so hopefully these will sort this issue and I'll be able to get the pipes done over the coming weekend.

The prop shaft, drives shafts, steering rack extensions, U/J extension, rear camber adjusters and cycle wing stays all look good now that they've been painted in black POR15.

The camber adjusters have been fitted with polybushes and steel liner. These have now been fitted to the upper rear wishbone with lock nuts in order to be offered up to the rear hub carrier.
I physically can't get the camber adjuster within the hub carrier which seems much narrower. Perhaps the steel liners could be filed down a bit to get round this. Need to check locostbuilders to see if anyone has had this before and what the best solution is

Since I can't get on with the brake lines or rear suspension, I started to re-assemble the steering column adjustment mechanism (in other words -can't remember how it goes back together)

not much change visually on the car, too many scratchy head moments


Tuesday 23 June 2009

Progress to date:

1st post and I've already started the build!


Inspired to build a seven type kit car some time during 2005 after seeing a colleague's freshly SVA'd black MNR Vortx blade

House purchased late 2005 hence slow progress to date

Sierra donor vehicle purchased from eBay and stripped for parts 2007

Joined the Locost Builders website and started reading......

Started cleaning up donor parts

Spent the rest of 2007 deciding whether I wanted BEC or CEC

Sept 2008 won a 1994 2.0L silvertop Zetec engine from eBay


Escort water pump purchased and fitted along with a new cam belt and tensioners


Late 2008 engine cleaned up and cam cover sprayed met blue. Block painted with black enamel.



Early 2009, got some GSXR600 throttle bodies

MK Indy ordered on May 3rd 2009 at Stoneleigh Kit Car Show. The options I went for are:
  • Standard Indy chassis
  • Rear drum brakes,
  • Powder coated chassis
  • Ultramarine blue bodywork (RAL5002)
  • Roll bar with extra bracing

May 4th realised build area/garage was full of fencing and misc other tat.

The following two weekends spent putting up a fence

Garage then given fresh coat of floor paint


Collected Kit from MK on June 4th 2009

Resumed cleaning up donor parts....

6th June spent cutting out the aluminium floor and drilling holes ready for 4.8mm large flange rivets @ 60mm spacing. A bead of sikaflex was sandwiched between the floor and the chassis rails before inserting rivets


Chassis turned upright.

Polybushes inserted into wishbones with a generous amount of copper grease.

Wishbones trial fitted to chassis to check fit

Bought some POR15 paint from Frost for the drive shafts, prop, steering rack extensions , extended steering rack UJ etc...

CVH sump which was removed from the donor vehicle given to a friend to shorten the sump height.

Steering rack fitted with new gaiters, painted then fitted to the chassis

Drive shafts taken into work and shot blasted. CV boots then replaced using slide-a-boot stretchy boots which were purchased via eBay


Master cylinder fitted, reservoir turned through 180° so not to foul the firewall

23rd June started routing the copper brake pipes


Discover that POR15 doesn't wash off very easily

3.92 Differential fitted