BUILD ~ MAY 2003

06 to 09/05/2003

Been having trouble with various bolts requirements for the engine, mainly bell housing and engine mount bolts.  V8 Developments came to the rescue and have promised to include them with the engine which is being delivered tomorrow.

More cutting of the scuttle, this time to allow the new recessed dish behind the master cylinders to fit down over the steering column support brackets.  I have done this with two small cut outs, rather than just 2" across the whole bottom edge, as should be easier to waterproof it all.  That done just trying to clear some space ready for the engine.

Well the engine arrived today in a big crate, two people can just lift it, left work dead on time and rushed home.  As soon as the lid was off the crate the phone rang, it was Shaun from V8 Developments checking to see if it had arrived.  Once the crate was fully opened, the following pictures were taken.  There has been some damage in transit, but Shaun was apologetic and promised to get it sorted, also the alternator, starter and coil are missing, but he will put these in the post shortly.

We then worked out how to attach the clutch slave cylinder pushrod and clip and bolted the gearbox to the engine (6x 7/16" UNC [14pitch] 27mm thread length + split washers).  To get them level we tried different sized scraps of wood.  Unsure of the torque setting to use I emailed the Dax list, Tim kindly reminded me its an alloy block, so just go careful.  Did 40lbft in the end.  Still have to fit half moon plate and clutch slave cylinder, but ended the evening with it looking like this.

Also loosely bolted the engine mounts into the chassis, ready to receive the engine one evening.

The plan for this evening (Thursday) was a trial fit of engine, so plumbing routes, gearbox mount position, pedal box and steering column, and so forth could all be decided.  Therefore first job was to lower the car off its trestles and onto axle stands.  I did this with the engine hoist attached to the dedion tube (it seemed the strongest bit).  It took half an hour just to assemble the hoist, perhaps I should of bought a folding one!

Once M&D got back from their day out, the difficult bit began.  The engine/gearbox lift.  This also needed to be manoeuvred into position, but as our drive is gravel, the now dissembled engine crate came in useful as floor boards.  To cut a very long story short, after many this way an inch, that way and inch, we were virtually there and almost level.  Three things stopped us, two lugs on the rear of the gearbox kept clashing with the chassis rails and the oil filter meant we could not quite drop it into position.  So near (well 3"), but so far.  Tried taking the oil filter off in situ, but too tight, so now had to reverse the procedure and extract the engine.  By the time the engine was back on the floor, this had taken 3 hours and whilst we have learnt the technique and what to remove to make it fit, it was nearly midnight and no real progress, so retired somewhat hurt.  As you can see from the before and after pictures, not much difference.....

As I will be using a electronic speedo I need to blank off the mechanical drive.  Ray leant me his vernier and I took the following measurements for a plug to be made.

10 & 11/05/2003

I would like to fit the half moon plate (aka crud plate) to the gearbox, but first I need some UNC bolts.  So off to Gloucester.  Later found that the R380 is metric threads and the V8 are UNC, so actually only need two of the bolts I bought.  However, when trying to fit plate it catches on the rear lip of the sump.  So had to file a couple of mm off the edge, then painted it.  Should be ok to fit in a day or two.

I need to increase the room for the seats on the tunnel, so I intend making a couple of dishes to fit into holes in the back of the tunnel.  Dad made a mould a while ago so I had my first attempt today.  The release agent (PVA) was applied and then the gelcoat.  Will have to wait until tomorrow to try the fibreglass.

Also painted clutch cylinder with chrome effect paint.

Sunday ~ added the resin and fibreglass mat to yesterdays gel coat.  This was much than I expected and within an hour I managed to crack it out of the mould.  Quite pleased with the result as it is my first attempt at this sort of thing.  So then started making one for the passenger side.

Took the distributor cap and HT leads off so as not to snag them, but noted position first, as the diagram shows.  Fitted the clutch cylinder to pedal box.  Had a good sort out in the garage.  Also spent a while scanning and adding March and April photos to this build diary, I really must get a digital camera.

When Dad got home from teaching sailing we had dinner and then tackled the engine.  This time all went much smoother, it took about an hour and a half to get it in (Mum was also gainfully employed during this process), but with some time at either end sorting out bits and bobs.  Now need to work out plumbing routings, pedal box, column etc.  But a very satisfying end to the weekend.  The picture shows current state of play.

ENGINE IS IN !

12 to 15/05/2003

This evening I elected to decide the position of the pedal box.  The obvious interactions are the steering column and distance from driver.  I had been careful when doing seat mountings to be straight onto pedal box so that was OK.  To do all this I also assembled the steering column, as I have the later column clearance to the brake pedal is very tight.  Hence the pedal has been tweaked with a g-clamp so as to improve the gap.  In the end the build manual measurement of 85mm from CL on forward bolt to front of pedal box rail is correct, any less and there is insufficient pedal travel, any more and my knees hit the steering wheel (shorter drivers may well need it closer).  I have had to put it (pedal box) as close to the offside of the car as possible to clear the column.  But the final column position is a problem for another night.

Not much to show for this evening, spent some time refining the column position and working out where to trim the dish on scuttle so it clears.  Also bashed ideas around for the multitude of fittings and pipes in front of engine, namely;

	Steering column
	Radiator
	Electric Water Pump
	Water pipe work
	Oil Cooler
	Remote Oil Filter
	Oil pipe work and take off plate
	Ignition coil
	Air Horns and compressor.

Another evening on the steering has got all the positioning fixed, left/right, up/down, in/out, steep/shallow.  The holes have been drilled for the lower bracket, although I forgot to measure for the hole in the front foot well panel.  One of these checks on position was that hazard switch and stalks cleared Dash, so scuttle back on and bit of plywood to act as a dash.  It all felt pretty damn good, sat there dreaming for a while.

Also turned out another fibreglass tunnel adaptation, similar to that shown above (last weekend).

Now off on another weekends sailing, so no Dax stuff for a few days.

24 to 26/05/2003

Great, Bank Holiday weekend, time to make some progress.  Sadly the rest of the engine components, such as alternator, starter, coil, etc. have not arrived, so the location of some components will have to wait.  Anyway, first job was an easy one, the half moon plate and clutch slave cylinder, metric bolts into the gearbox and UNC into the engine block.  Ended up looking like this.

Spent a long time sorting positioning and fixings for radiator and oil cooler.  To make room for the oil cooler brackets had to re-bend the brake pipe to add some clearance.  

Basically, the two long brackets are for the bottom of the oil cooler, they are made out of some thick steel plate and should be more than enough to take all the weight of the cooler.  However, I will need make some small brackets for the top to keep it still.  The two small brackets in the picture are for the top of the radiator and will be riveted to chassis and then have a rivnut inserted to bolt up the radiator.

Ended the day, cutting holes in the pedal box cover for the brake and clutch pedals.

The picture shows the oil cooler in position, along with a sticky foam to stop air avoiding the cooler and to cushion the contact with the radiator.  The brackets are attached with two large self tapping bolts.  My description of the brackets hopefully makes more sense now.

Also installed the radiator on its new upper brackets.  Firstly the little sections of angle were wurthed and riveted to the chassis.  Then the rivnuts were added, it had to be in this order to make it all assemble.  Then a simple case of bolting on the radiator, which all feels good and firm.  The nosecone was held in place to check clearances and help work out the optimum position for the air horns, although typically I have left this at the thinking stage for now.

I have opted to fit an Electric Water Pump (EWP) rather than the mechanical pump in the engines front cover.  The reasoning is for better cooling if ever stuck in traffic, as the EWP can run fast even when the engine is idling, the standard pump is proportionate to rpm.  However, this brings the complication of where to fit it.  It needs to be a particular way up, as low as possible, but also needs to fit in the hose run from the bottom of the radiator to the engine water intake.  Sounds simple, but there is not much room for pipework.  I have elected for just above the steering rack on the offside.  This leaves the outlet only a 90º turn away from the inlet, the pump the correct way up, but not quite as low as would be ideal.  Should be OK, after all its a glorified impeller pump, not that different to what we use on the yachts, those self prime with over a metre of lift to the pump.  

To mount the pump, I tried a ali plate covering in the area around the upper wishbone mountings.  But it did not seem rigid enough, so have made the strip of metal shown in the photo.  Once painted this will fit to the chassis in the vertical plane just behind the steering rack.

I also re-installed the steering column, so I could cut the hole in the drivers footwell end panel.  Ended up looking a bit like this.

We then moved onto the position of the gearbox mount and potential routing of fuel and brake pipes through this area.  One thing is for sure, there is NO spare SPACE!  Need some very clever position of clips to ensure no trapped pipes, or chafe.  As for the gearbox mount, the plate on the bottom of the gearbox (R380) has a hole and a captive nut.  Surprisingly this is a different size to the bolt on the mount supplied by Dax.  Frustrated by this, I took the weight on the trolley jack and removed the mount plate from the gearbox.  It appears that if I rotate the plate 180º, then drill a new hole behind the original captive nut there should be room to fit the Dax mount.  This will then line up fairly central on the chassis plate.  So that is tomorrow's challenge, I am off to watch Top Gear.

Fitted the take off plate for the remote filter and cooler system.  The now painted EWP bracket has been fitted and the corresponding pump.  Now need to get round to ordering the pipes.

Modified the plate on the gearbox as described yesterday.  The photo should indicate the effect.  This was then bolted back onto the engine and the position in the chassis plate marked.  Then translated this to the underside of the chassis plate and drilled up from underneath.  Spot on, lowered the trolley jack and it when straight through the hole.  Now that it is all in the correct place, spent yet more time working out how to fit fuel, brake and electrics through these small gaps.  Have marked positions for key fixings, such as p-clips.  So when the engine comes out it is simple a case of drill and rivet.

Also have decided the probable location of the remote oil filter and started making a suitable bracket.  Basic intention is to be between steering rack and front pulley.  This means it is as low as possible and also gives the shortest possible pipe runs.

Next was back to the tunnel and with a small hole for the gear lever, it was re-positioned.  My high back seats just contact the tunnel preventing them from being bolted home.  This is partly as I put the seats as low as possible.  I had previously moulded a couple of small inserts to use in modifying the tunnel.  So now with some trepidation started to cut the transmission tunnel, this was a slow process as I did not want to cut to much away.  Also had to keep telling myself that whatever happens it will get covered by the carpet.  After a few hours I ended up with the hole shown in the photo.  The moulding also needed a little trimming, before being fibre glassed on behind the cut out, will see how it turns out tomorrow.

27 to 30/05/2003

Yesterday's fibre glassing, seems to have taken well, will need gelcoat on the edges and a little filling, but that can be done when I finish the cut out on the other side.

This evening Dad and I worked out the layout of items on the battery shelf.  Doesn't sound much but tried a few permutations and then tried to position it all squarely.  Anyway ended up with the position shown in the picture, including the fixing holes drilled in the shelf.

No physical work this evening, but spent an hour sorting out the orders for the coolant pipework.  Including a custom bit of pipe to fit between the radiator and the electric water pump.  I believe this to be a neat solution as it also includes the connection to the header tank in such a way as air locks will be avoided.  A rough diagram of the current plan is attached.  Now need to find out how much it will cost to have this fabricated.

After a strange day at work (enough said), all I got round to this evening was half and hour more positioning bits and marking out for rivets on battery shelf and pedal box cover.  Still every bit counts.

Friday at last and some parcels have arrived, throttle and choke cables from RPI and alternator, starter, replacement leads, coil from V8 Developments.  As well as loosely bolting these components in place I tried to work out how to fit the throttle cable, considering this was £30 for a supposedly Weber 500 cable, it was not that obvious.  It has a nice ali bracket, but I can find nowhere to fit, were both the cable and return spring have a clear path.  Retired annoyed.

31/05/2003

Figured out how the cable should attach, with the help of the Dax list and RPI website.  The reason it is not obvious, is the return spring which is fitted to the included bracket, must be removed and fitted separately.  I ended up with solution shown in the picture.

Next job was to route the cable to the pedal box, I did not want to cut the cable shorter, as it had a nice end connection.  So a large 'S' bend allows unrestricted movement.  I will also use a single P-clip to hold it down.  Once at the pedal box, it is necessary to fix the cable to the loud pedal.  But if you want maximum pedal travel (i.e. smooth, rather than off on throttle response), it is necessary to shorten the pedals upper arm.  This involves a few calculations, the simplest way is to measure required cable movement for full throttle (40mm), add 25% (=50mm), then stick a ruler beside the pedal and decide where the cable needs to be to achieve this 50mm of cable movement.  For me it meant the cable entering the pedal box just forward of the rear pedal box fixing bolt.  The cable was shortened and drilled per the build manual and it all slotted together fine.  I am leaving the choke cable for now, because some people believe it is not necessary.

To gain access to the gearbox oil filler, I have made a large hole in the triangular transmission tunnel panel, this will later be filled with a blanking grommet.  Better than an engine out just to check oil levels!

Also worked out the most practical route for the clutch pipe between the cylinders, a few final attachment points and brackets.  We were then ready to take the engine out, which meant Mum & Dad were both roped in.  This time we were much quicker, mainly because we had shortened the chain and hook on the hoist, meaning we could get the engine 5" higher.

After dinner, started drilling rivet holes in battery shelf and footwell end panel.  However, broke the 3.5mm drill, so piloted with the 3mm and will need to open them out tomorrow. 

Go to June

Go to Build Index

Last Updated 01/06/2003