Sunday 12 December 2010

Engine levelling

I started to consider air filter options to fit onto the throttle bodies. I like the look of the ITG sausage filters that fit through a slot in the side of the bonnet. To check whether I could actually fit one these filters, I made up a cardboard template to the same dimensions as the filter's backing plate and then mounted it onto the rubber trumpets. Looking at the throttle body assembly, I noticed they are angled downwards towards the front of the car and the panel filter wouldn't fit over the top chassis rail. Based on the advice in this thread on locost builders, I made the decision to try change the engine's position to 1) be able to fit the panel filter and 2) try and level up the engine as much as possible.

I started by cutting up different thickness mild steel plate to act as packing under the engine mounts. These were then sprayed with hammerite and left to dry over night. Using the engine crane, I lifted the engine just enough to slot the plates under each engine mount. The right side has been raised by approx 13mm and the left by 7mm.

Engine mount with new spacers in place:

Throttle body position before:

And position after:


When I went to connect up the steering column link, I found the previous modification I made now collided with the oil filter so, out with the hack saw and welder again! I've made the necessary changes to the link section so it clears the oil filter, it just needs painting again.

The panel filter should now clear the top chassis rail without any problems. The engine still appears to be angled down though. I'm wondering whether the gearbox mount is too high at the back. I'm using the Caterham mount as the donor's mount was past it's best and very sloppy. The Caterham mount is taller than the standard sierra mount so this could be why the gearbox is high as the back although I wouldn't have expected this much angle since the difference between the heights of the two types of gearbox mounts isn't that much. Whether this angle will any issues in the long run, I'm not sure....

Since the engine is now slightly higher on the left hand side, it may mean that the side panel will need some more dremel drill action where the exhaust passes through.

Saturday 27 November 2010

a bit more loom & start of cooling circuit

The Sierra's original wiring for the indicator stalks has been labelled up for reference. The stalks have been re-attached to the column but not yet soldered to the premier loom as I'm still looking at how best to support the bulk of the loom under the scuttle area.


The rear loom has been wrapped in split conduit and attached along the inside of the transmission tunnel using cable ties and bases.


I've made a start on the cooling circuit using the silicon hoses and aluminium tubing. On the ends of the tubing I put a few indentations using a plumbing tool which should prevent the hoses from slipping off. (another tip I picked up from locostbuilders!)




Sunday 21 November 2010

A couple more jobs

Silicon hoses for the cooling system have been ordered from Auto Performance. Once again, I've commissioned mate James to make and weld up a T-piece pipe to fit in the bottom cooling circuit. I'm using up holiday and have the week off work so I'm planning to get the most of the cooling pipe work finished within the next few days.

Engine fitted with a new thermostat today.


The wire for the speed sensor pickup has been lengthened today. The speed sensor came with the Koso digital instrument and I found the connector plug would end up half way along the transmission tunnel as the sensor's pickup point is on the driveshaft. Now, the connector plug will end up behind the dash making it easier to connect up later on.

I've been looking at the wiring loom again today and have figured out where to route most of it. The rear loom, front loom and engine spur seem relatively easy to route, amongst other wires, I'm still left with the wiring that connects to the steering column for the stalks and ignition barrel. I'm mainly concerned about keeping it looking neat so I can identify the various coloured wires at a later date. I bought a mini label printer a few weeks ago which has made wire identification easier and a lot neater than hand written labels on bits of masking tape!

Tuesday 16 November 2010

gearbox panels

I've finished the remaining aluminium trim piece for the passenger side gearbox panel. Both trim pieces are fixed down with a few M4 stainless domed screws. I now need to make a hole in the top panel for the various looms to pass through and also to make a surround for the gear lever gaiter. The gear lever itself will need to be bent back and possibly shortened to clear the dash but I'll sort this later on once I've got the dash mounted.

I'm not 100% happy with the job I did on aluminium trim pieces where they meet the rear panel and I'm not sure whether the small gaps will be an issue at IVA stage. I'll try and find some flexible trim of some sort that will tidy the join.


Next job will be figuring out the best way to route and mount the loom and then to start connecting it all up!


Monday 15 November 2010

more work in interior and start of loom

I'm stopping further work on the bodywork in case it gets scratched during other parts of the build. Instead, I'm concentrating on connecting up the wiring loom. It took quite a while to label up the Premier loom to identify the different coloured wires but it has helped figure out what goes where. The relay bases and the two fuse boxes have been bolted to the underside of the dash area to allow easier access when needed.


The rear light sub-loom needs to pass through the top transmission tunnel panel. This panel hasn't been fixed down as yet but I have already cut the holes needed for the gear lever and handbrake lever. The transmission tunnel side panels were fitted over the weekend using some countersunk rivets and the lengths of aluminium hockey trim have been bent by hand with a little heat to match the angle in the trans tunnel. I used some P-trim along the join between the back panel and the side panel to neaten up the appearance of the join.
I want to finish these three panels off so I can see where the hole needs to go for the rear light sub-loom





Saturday 16 October 2010

Body work

The transmission panels have been cut, creased and are now ready to be fixed on. I still need to do the top transmission panel with holes for the handbrake lever and gear lever.

I've had to fettle the nose cone a little so that it sits lower as I was struggling to get a decent shut line between the bonnet and the side panels. I've also filed down the inside of the bonnet along the front edge to help. The scuttle is now fixed on with 2 M6 bolts into rivnuts on either side and lined up with the edge in the side panels. Bonnet just resting on in the pictures below.


There is still a bit of a gap in the shut line but the new bonnet latches I've recently purchased from CBS should pull the bonnet flush.

Sunday 22 August 2010

engine out again

The engine came out again today so I could get the sump off and look at the dipstick issue.

It turns out the hole I drilled in the top of the sump tray to allow the dipstick to pass through was in the right place and it was actually the pick up pipe that was wiping against the dipstick. The zetec pick up pipe runs along the centre line whereas the cvh pick up runs along the exhaust side. I did consider trying to modify the zetec pickup but given I needed to get the engine back the car this afternoon (no space to store engine seperately in the garage) I took the option of adjusting the bends in the cvh pick up to give more clearance.

The engine is now back in the car and I'll fill it with oil tomorrow once the sump sealant has had a chance to set. I'll also need to reconnect the clutch and throttle cables. Hopefully this is the last time the engine will need to come out (famous last words......)


Thursday 12 August 2010

Throttle return

The throttle return is working and there doesn't seem to be any need to attach another spring to the pedal

Throttle off:
Throttle on

General update

Fuel lines:

The height of the fuel lines in the transmission tunnel meant they were very close to the universal joint on the prop shaft (approx 20mm). In theory, the UJ wouldn’t have touched the fuel lines and the gearbox mount is very stiff which eliminates movement but I was never happy with this so the fuel lines have now been moved down by approx 50mm giving much more clearance between the lines and the prop. To give me clear access to work on the transmission tunnel area, it meant removing the engine and gearbox and the rear suspension had to come off in order to remove the diff. I had to make new fuel lines from kunifer pipe as the bends in the pipe which took the route underneath the diff wouldn’t suit the new height position.

pic showing clearance since pipe layout changed:


And from the other side:



Whilst I had access to the tunnel, I also changed the plastic P-clips for rubber lined metal P clips for supporting the brake pipes.

I’ll be needing to take the engine out again (hopefully for the last time!) to sort out an issue with the dipstick. I drilled a hole in the top of the modified CVH sump to allow the dipstick to pass through to measure the oil level. It seems the dipstick is rubbing along the edge of this hole which then drags the oil level mark off. (Maybe its me who is the dipstick for drilling the hole in the wrong place)


Bodywork:

Offering up the bonnet, I’m finding it doesn’t sit flush with the top of the side panels. This is partially due to the side panels being bolted on so part of the bonnet is resting on the top of these bolts. I’m planning to drill some recess holes into the bonnet so that it slots over the top of these bolts.

The other area where the bonnet seems high is where it meets the nose cone. I have used the dremel to file down the underside of the bonnet as far as I dare. It may mean the nose cone is slightly high as it is sitting on top of the side panels. Other cars I have seen don’t have side panels that go all the way to the front of the car (like mine do) which means that the nosecone sits directly on top of the chassis rail and doesn’t have the extra height of the side panel included.


Throttle bodies:

A new throttle cable has been made to connect the pedal to the throttle body linkage. As I’ve seen before, the spring on the TB isn’t quite strong enough to return the throttle pedal to rest so I’ve started making a return mechanism to give the TB spring some extra power. The first off return mechanism I made gets jammed on itself so I need to re-think this.


Another quick job done - Some anti-slip sheet has been applied to clutch and brake pedals



Wednesday 14 July 2010

A bit more bodywork

Two notches have been cut into the scuttle on either side to clear the steering rack support bar.

Rivnut threaded inserts have been fixed onto the offside top chassis rail, underside still to do and then I can start the near side panel. Something that became apparent whilst working on the side panel is that I'd struggle to do the underside as there isn't enough space for my pistol drill so I've invested in an angle drill made by ryobi so I can use the same batteries as the pistol drill. I've started mounting the nosecone on hinges along the lower edge. The hinges are in the right position and I'll need to put a threaded insert on each top chassis rail to bolt the nose cone down from the inside.

Couple of images showing how the hinges are mounted from the underside:


and from the inside:

How the nosecone looks, scuttle and side panels clamped on for the moment

Once I'm happy with the nosecone position, I'll offer up the bonnet to finalise the position of the scuttle

Sunday 4 July 2010

Few more jobs

Hole drilled in exhaust collector for the lambda sensor boss ready for welding.


I've also made new front brake lines so that they terminate and screw into the front flexi hoses through the side panel. I'd originally terminated the lines at a bracket on the chassis which meant the flexis would have to pass though the side panel. I'd planned to use a rubber gromet to stop the flexis hoses rubbing against the side panel but I'm sure I read somewhere that this could fail IVA.

I used a piece of fibreglass offcut left over from the exhaust hole to give a bit of extra support where the flexi meets each front brake line. These offcuts were stuck to the inside of the panels using a little sikaflex. The lines look a lot neater this time as I used a proper pipe bender, the original brake lines were simply bent by hand as I didn't have a pipe bender back then.


Also today, I fixed four magnets to one of the drive shafts for the speedo pickup. This was done using araldite adhesive. I've read that taping over the magnets with some duck tape gives some extra support and helps stop them from flying off. Duck tape added to shopping list......

I need to re-look at the throttle cable and get this working (I cut the first one too short) then I can start thinking about putting the side panels on.

Another item on the shopping list is a engine mount for a fiesta which I've ordered from ebay. The plan is to use this mount to support the end of silencer. I may need to weld a piece of plate between some of the chassis rails to act as a brace to bolt the engine mount to. Will see how it could work when it gets here.

Saturday 3 July 2010

Few jobs

Nose cone mesh fitted. A few blocks of wood were fixed inside the nose using some sikaflex. The mesh is then screwed onto to these bits of wood.


White stripe applied to the side panels


The position has been marked onto the exhaust collector for the lambda sensor boss.

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Exhaust hole

I've finished the hole in the side panel for the exhaust which required a little fettling on the lower edge to clear the downpipes. Here is how it looks now with the side panel on. The lambda sensor system also arrived this week. The sensor can be seen resting on the collector as I'm looking where best to position it.



I've started to consider how best to fix the side panels onto the chassis - rivets, sikaflex, rivnut inserts....
The exhaust can't be removed with the side panel permanently on and I don't want to make the exhaust hole any bigger in order to remove it in the future. Sikaflex may be the easiest method to fix the panels on but perhaps more permanent than rivets which can be easily drilled out although there'd be the rivet ends rattling about inside the chassis! Requires more thought....

There are some gaps where the panels fit to the top of the chassis in the cockpit area. I've tried using clamps to close the gap but it felt like too much force was needed and I don't want to stress the panels if there is another way. A possible solution round this would be to pack the gaps with something such as washers which were used by another Locostbuilder who encountered the same issue.

Sunday 27 June 2010

Exhaust system arrives

The exhaust system ordered from MK turned up this week. Minor annoyance that the lambda sensor boss I specifically requested wasn't present. In hindsight, this means I can locate the boss wherever I want, I'm thinking angled towards the car rather than straight up. I've not welded stainless before so I think this is another job for mate James!

I've offered up the manifold and made a template for the side panel cut-out. The side panel was then cut. I'll now need to figure out a how to make a suitable bracket for the silencer.


I've also ordered a Techedge 2J1 wideband system plus a stainless boss and bung from trigger wheels.



Wednesday 16 June 2010

under dash

I've fixed a section of aluminium onto the chassis in the area that will be underneath the scuttle. The fuse boxes and megasquirt will be mounted onto this.

I've already mounted the Megasquirt which arrived early this week from Extra EFI.



Saturday 5 June 2010

Steering Mod

I finished the steering modification to clear the oil filter a while ago and realised I've not published any pictures of the results so here goes:

oil leak continued...

The engine came out again today. The gearbox had to come off to find out where the oil leak was coming from. It turns out the sump was the culprit so I applied a little sump sealant in the joint and put the sump back on. The engine and gearbox are now back in the car. I'll put the oil back in next week to check that the leak has stopped.

I ordered a sheet of aluminium earlier this week to make a surface to mount the megasquirt and fuses to but this hasn't arrived yet.

Thursday 27 May 2010

oil leak

I was talking about the engine leak at work today and figured out it shouldn't be leaking from the sump seal or the crank oil seal as the oil level shouldn't reach that high. In my usual eagerness, I'd filled the engine with 4.5 litres of oil as indicated in the Haynes Mondeo manual. However, since I'm using a shortened CVH sump, the actual oil volume will be less than this and I'll need to use the level mark on the dipstick as a guide. Looking on LCB again, the volume should be somewhere around three litres.

Looking at this from another angle, I now know there is a leak somewhere and I'd rather deal with it this stage than further on in the build when there more to remove to get the engine out!

I also spoke to Phil at Extra EFI today about purchasing a Megasquirt system.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

crank position sensor continued...

The crank position sensor bracket I made fouled the alternator belt so I've started to modify this to move the bracket's position. I'd previously fixed the trigger wheel onto the pulley so this will need to be moved round so that its 90 degrees before the new position of the modified bracket. I took advantage of the machine mart's vat free day at the weekend and invested in a small drill press as it makes the job easier as I'm less likely to snap drill bits if I was using the pistol drill instead.

I've ordered an exhaust system from MK and I'm hoping this will be delivered before the bank holiday so I can spend the time getting this fixed on and cutting the hole in the side panel. Photo of the car as it looks now, side panels just clamped on temporarily.


I've filled the engine with oil and they appears to be a leak where the engine and gearbox meet. This could either be from the back of the sump or from the crank shaft oil seal. Either way it'll mean I have to drain the oil, take the engine out and remove the gearbox.



Friday 21 May 2010

Trigger wheel

The trigger wheel needs to be mounted to the crank pulley for the crank position sensor. I had a small recess machined off the pulley in order to center the trigger wheel. Based on helpful advice from locostbuilders again, I'm going to drill, tap and bolt the trigger wheel onto the pulley rather than mig weld.


I started making a bracket for the crank position sensor. Once I'm happy with the bracket, I start the job of fixing the trigger wheel.


Monday 3 May 2010

Stoneleigh kit car show

Just got back from the Stoneleigh kit car show having spent a small fortune:

36-1 Trigger wheel
Front headlights
Rear LED stop/tail light & indicators with mountings
Resistors for LED indicators
A pair of rear reflectors
P-trim for the rear wheel arches
Tubes of PU adhesive
Sabelt seat belts
MK Carbon fibre dashboard
Oil catch tank
Barrel nipple for throttle cable
Black mesh for nose cone
Thread lock
Shock spanner

Was a good show and met a couple of fellow locostbuilders

Saturday 24 April 2010

Alternator Bracket

The height of the alternator bracket needed to be reduced, moving the alternator up slightly, to get any sort of tension adjustment on the belt. After trying four different belts for length, I'm happy I've got one which gives a good tension (880mm). Dayco 6PK880 from Camskill. Moving the alternator up has also freed up some extra room for the steering link mod. I have all the parts needed to carry out the mod and plan to get this done over the next few days.



Sunday 18 April 2010

Manifold & Alternator

The inlet manifold went on today and then I set to making brackets to mount the alternator

I needed to make two brackets, one for the top and another for the bottom of the alternator. The top bracket just bolts onto the end of two manifold studs and the lower bracket is bolted into two spare M10 holes in the side of the block.



The alternator brackets will be taken off again during the week to be given a coat of paint. I'll also replace the standard nuts with nylocs. I need to find a belt now, approx 870mm in length should do it.

Looking at the space underneath the alternator, there is enough room for the steering link to pass through above the oil filter.

Wednesday 14 April 2010

Inlet Manifold

The aluminium inlet manifold from Bogg Brothers arrived today and it looks fantastic! It came with an inlet gasket to suit the zetec, fuel resistant hoses and stainless clips to mount the throttle bodies.



I'm planning to fit this over the weekend and then move on to making brackets for the alternator.
I've also ordered a pair of adjustable runners for the Triton seats. These will hopefully arrive before the end of the week.

Friday 9 April 2010

Wheels

New wheels today, couple of pics: