Tuesday 29 September 2015

Ugly Duckling Lake

To explain the title of this post; a swan looks very serene but underneath,  it's paddling like mad. I seem to be doing the paddling but not making anything like the same progress :-(.  Like an ugly duckling,  in fact. OK,  tenuous....

Like I mentioned before,  I'm running out of parts so I've been trying to get stuff. First of,  I want to fit the petrol tank but I need the fuel sender,  assuming it will be easier to install with the tank off. But fuel senders tend to be specific to the fuel gauge you plan to use and I want a fuel gauge as part of a set. GBS do a reasonable set for £400 or so but I'm not overly keen on them and everyone will have them. However,  everything else is just too expensive. I have found a nice set from VDO but they're only available in the US (VDO are now American-owned). I've mailed a couple of places asking how much for delivery here (they offer international delivery according to their website) but no response - so much for American service!  My brother lives in the US so I may ask him to get them for me - hopefully,  he can package them so I don't have to pay import duty,  as well.

After many days of research I have managed to order wheels and tyres. Again,  I wasn't overly keen on what GBS offer (also very common on Zero's) so I've found some others which I prefer and work out almost £200 cheaper. Not a huge choice because of the 15mm offset needed but enough.  Should arrive in a week or so - I'll put a pic up then,  so be patient!

All I've actually built since last time is the mounting plate for the swirl pot. I didn't get the GBS pot or their plate,  so I had to make my own,  which took longer than expected but it's done now:


I wish I'd got a smaller swirl pot now (this is 1.5 litres) as I'd have more space to play with - to make sure the top pipe doesn't touch the steering column,  I've had to leave the pot sticking about 5mm over the far chassis rail - I really hope I don't live to regret that when the engine and gearbox have to go in.

I've got the fuel pipes to complete the LP circuit but (JNIT again) I need some Jubilee clips to attach them and I can't do final attachment until the tank is on,  which needs the fuel sender,  gauges etc,  etc. It's a logistical nightmare - I really wish I had more space to have bought the entire kit in one go.

I'm also close to the point when I have to break out the infamous black gunk and fix some panels and the tank - scary stuff.

Sunday 20 September 2015

Comedy of Errors

Well,  the 42mm socket arrived - great! It's got a 3/4" drive and my torque wrench has a 1/2" drive! Cue many swear words. Back online to order a converter - one of the things I'm finding is that the normal high Street culprits (Halfords, Screwfix etc) do not do the larger size items like this.

The converter finally arrived and on went the hub nuts. My problem now is how tight to go. It is supposed to be done up to 250nm - my torque wrench only goes to 210nm. Worse,  I can't even get to that figure because I'm tightening a nut on a driveshaft which is designed to...  er... turn. I had a metal pole through the hole in the hub and against the chassis which got it on enough that I could lift the entire chassis on the torque wrench,  before the pole started to bend!

I'm not sure how much more to try - it's difficult to believe it could work loose (it's a nyloc as well) and some on the RHOCAR forum have said they just tightened as best as they could and didn't even use a torque wrench and haven't had any problems since.

I'll think on it - the nut is always accessible to tighten later.... in fact,  thinking about it,  I could probably tighten it once the car is on the ground and the other wheel and handbrake is on?

In the meantime,  I've got the discs,  calipers,  handbrake and brake lines all connected up:





I need to ask about the copper brake lines - everyone else seems to have P-clipped them to the chassis but they seem very sturdy the way I have them and because they aren't clipped on,  they're much further away from that handbrake cable than the others. Yup,  all OK -  IVA rules state they only have to be supported every 300mm.

You may notice that I have one solid rear brake disc whereas most people have twin ventilated discs. I bought mine before I realised I had the choice but there has been an unforeseen advantage -  there is much more space in the caliper for the disc,  with a good 2-3mm each side. This has meant it has been much easier to file the caliper carrier ends down (they're a couple of mm too long,  even after the powder coat is off). That one disc was enough to stop a 1600kg Sierra so I'm sure I won't be under-braked. And they were cheaper.

I've also filled the diff with oil,  properly attached the breather tube and fitted the rear stability bolt,  which was a bit tricky.

After the 93rd time of hitting my head on the roll bar supports,  I fashioned some protection for my head :-)





Monday 14 September 2015

Action at the Front

Finally had something delivered that I could actually use - tap for the front wishbones and tie-rod extensions. Finally able to complete the front suspension:


I've torqued up the parts that won't need to come off again,  which is everything except the 4 wishbone bolts and tie-rod ends. Like others have done,  I plan to get the wheels on,  lower the car onto them,  shove the engine and gearbox in and then get all the engine bay done while the side panels are not in the way. When done,  the front suspension will all come off to get the side panels on and then I can finally fully torque up the front wishbones.

Sounds almost organised,  hey? Obviously,  it will never happen like that...

Should hopefully get the damn 42mm socket in the next day or two and I can crack on with the rear brakes etc.


Thursday 10 September 2015

Crawling on

Starting to get really annoyed with this hub nut socket. I thought I'd measured it to be 40mm and so ordered that size socket. Arrived today - too damn small! Aaarrrgggghhhhh! Now have to go through the hassle of trying to return it and exchange for a 42mm socket. Yet more delay...

Steering ball joints arrived (hurrah) but can't fit them because I need a M18 tap to get the powder coat out of the wishbone thread (boo) - more delay.

Loosely fitted the steering rack to get a feel for it:



The steering column was a bit close to the brake pedal,  so moved the spacers round so there is a whole 3mm between the pedal and column - hope that's enough. As always,  I'm missing bits - this time tie rod extensions. Never heard of them before but pretty essential. Ordered from GBS,  along with some IVA covers for these parts.

Moved the 4-way brake splitter up 5mm or so - much better:


Yet another extra hole in my chassis 😊

The front calipers are finally done - not quite as good as the rears but OK from a distance:


I'm actually starting to run out of parts,  although frustratingly,  most of the parts on the car are not finalised; just loosely attached awaiting other bits. Actually quite impressive for me,  I'm normally very impulsive and would just throw everything on. I'm consciously trying to think ahead but not sure if I'm overdoing it at the moment.


Monday 7 September 2015

Pumped up

Well,  finally managed to get something done - LP pump and filter as a Jubilee clip and fuel pipe arrived:


But that's about it....i tried to get a 40mm socket at the weekend to do the hub nuts but no-one has them in stock.  Guy in Halfords persuaded me that a 38mm socket would do (the largest they had in stock) but no - returned it this evening. Will have to order one - another 3 days...!

The ball joints for the suspension  (there's a bottom one as well) are NOT part of the suspension kit from GBS - why the heck not? They're pretty darn essential... I've ordered them (£65) and they should arrive tomorrow.

Friday 4 September 2015

JNIT

JIT is the commonly used industrial system which stands for Just In Time, meaning you ensure that you order parts so they arrive just as they are needed. This ensures that you don't have to waste space storing stuff and you don't lose valuable building time waiting.

I am using the less common Just Not In Time (JNIT) system,  whereby you start something and then realise you are missing a fundamental part,  stop,  go indoors,  order the part and wait 3 days for it to arrive!

GBS are,  I'm afraid to say,  partly to blame here. I ordered brake caliper carriers and rear hubs from them,  for example - is it too much to ask to at least tell me when ordering which nuts and bolts I need for these,  rather than letting me find out when I come to put them on? Also a bit sneaky that I had to pay for them as well - why not include them in the hub costs?  They also forgot to send the main hub nuts but at least they sent them promptly when I called. Now I find that I don't seem to have the top front wishbone ball joints anywhere.  I've got the bottom tie rod ends,  so why not the top? I'm going to be pretty hacked if they try to charge me for them. And I seem to be missing 2 bolts for the front suspension...

As you can tell,  I tried to start on the front suspension this evening but because of these problems,  I could only get this far:


All just loosely in place before I consider how to continue.

I've vaguely done the rear brake lines:


Pretty much everyone else has re-sited that 4-way brake splitter as it is too low and I may do the same.


.... but I can't go any further until I get (yes,  JNIT again) a 40mm socket to tighten the hub nut,  then I can get the calipers on,  then the flexible brake lines...

I've been a bit remiss with the front caliper painting - I still need to do the other side. Did a coat tonight...