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Post by perthwa on Dec 22, 2021 7:17:33 GMT
just used a cutting blade to make a decision. I guess I better purchase a piano hinge! I saw in the rocket build manual this version... So I bought a hinge. and from the inside. and then I made a ledge for the tilting bit to sit on. And then I remember what a motor trimmer friend said to me one day. If you want perfection then stay away from Fibre glass. I have some work to do to get the gaps to fit. More to come... and stop avoiding doing the seats....!!! a few 40C days coming so not a lot of work to be done... Saturday 25 December Min 23 Max 42 Very hot and sunny. Sunday 26 December Min 27 Max 42 Very hot and sunny. Monday 27 December Min 26 Max 40 Very hot and mostly sunny.
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Post by perthwa on Dec 24, 2021 6:17:51 GMT
No snow this year!
Today Max 38 Very hot and sunny.
Saturday 25 December Min 22 Max 43 Very hot and sunny.
Sunday 26 December Min 28 Max 44 Very hot and sunny.
Monday 27 December Min 27 Max 40 Very hot and mostly sunny.
Tuesday 28 December Min 26 Max 39 Very hot and sunny.
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Post by perthwa on Dec 28, 2021 13:18:12 GMT
update. Added some heat protection from the Focus. It is snug, but does allow an extra layer and some shiny stuff. Also added another separate section that I attached to the header heat shield. I riveted this on so probably regret that one day! This is there to protect the lower section where the wires and pipes come through the fire wall. Spent some time in the shed cleaning as I have arranged a Shed Visit from the members of the Sports car builder's club that I am the secretary of this Thursday. Motivation.... I did do a drive way drive this evening and there are a couple of dash lights not working and the parking lights. Probably did something silly whilst trying to clean up the under dash stuff. Also converted two hand held LED torches into a couple of under dash footwell lights. These will be switch on manually when we get into the cabin if required. Just have to add a power wire to the switch run the wiring and decided where they are going to be fitted. Also re-attached an extra return spring to the accelerator body. I had one mounted before but it was ugly and fouled the body when I properly attached the body to the frame.
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Post by snowbird1 on Dec 28, 2021 14:25:13 GMT
update. Added some heat protection from the Focus. You will need it, took my Sonic out for a run @ 44°C to check cooling, ran a couple of miles over 160 KPH - engine cooled fine, driver was being cooked, recorded 68° cabin temp, it felt hotter!
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Post by perthwa on Jan 1, 2022 8:25:33 GMT
"I did do a drive way drive this evening and there are a couple of dash lights not working and the parking lights. Probably did something silly whilst trying to clean up the under dash stuff." When I drove the car the other day, I forgot to put a ball joint nut on the left hand upper ball joint... It is a long story... suffice to say that when I went over a small bump a very low speed, it dislodged, fell free and stretched the wire going to my relatively newly fitted front clearance, aka parking lights on the front guard. It snapped both of the wires going to the light. When the club members arrived at my SHED visit, I turned on the lights to find that only one was working... I wiggled the wire and then none worked. Diagnosis, accident caused the wires to snap, wiggling connected live to earth, dead short caused fuse to blow and lights went out. Fixed wires and fuse fixed today and lights now work again... wiser me. THEN Cooling Fan stopped working a while ago... Today, my son and I thought we would do a diagnostic... We found a blown fuse which we replaced. Then we smelled some electrical smell... then we felt the non rotating fan and it was HOT. VERY HOT.. We disconnected everything and removed the fan... Voila! a broken blade. Probably picked up a stick from my driving on the lawn... blade then jammed the fan etc etc. the fuse blew. Replaced the fuse. fan spins... Now just need to identify brand so I can get a replacement.. Probably will add some form of underbody protection to stop further fan damage. Side Issue: Engine was running a bit messy just before the fan smell. then it wouldn't start.. so about to embark on a discovery mission. I was actually testing the relocation of the PATS detection and seeing what the proximity to the old key was required. We were also adding the Firewall section back in to get closer to DOT inspection. Had to make a 'cutout' to allow for the fuel filler and breather hoses and I needed to make that acceptable to DOT standards. So, the going forward plan: shift Pats system to the location of the current alternative non PATS key. Look at changing to original focus key mechanism and getting two new PATS consistent keys. Replace fan blade, get engine to restart. Complete side wall cutouts and fit and the seats still to be fitted etc ... Two steps forward and one backward... At least I know that two of the fuses work...
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Post by perthwa on Jan 1, 2022 8:50:04 GMT
You will need it, took my Sonic out for a run @ 44°C to check cooling, ran a couple of miles over 160 KPH - engine cooled fine, driver was being cooked, recorded 68° cabin temp, it felt hotter! Not sure that I would be out if cabin temp was 68!!! that is about what the V8 supercar drivers put up with!!! Good on you for testing the thermal system... I look forward to that day soon... BW
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Post by snowbird1 on Jan 1, 2022 14:03:09 GMT
Realistically you are not going to be driving and open car with a hot radiator in front and a even hotter engine behind when the temp is over 40°! But on a chilly morning it's nice to feel the warm air when the thermostat opens.
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Post by perthwa on Jan 3, 2022 11:59:56 GMT
Firewall Part two: Because I relocated the fuel filler, I had to patch up the hole on the driver's side wher the filler was going to be. This is a better snap of the filler side... Here is the patched driver's side. Seat and console update. Decided to look at the seats. Basically, I have added a 3mm Al plate to the base of the Fibreglass Seat and two 5cm Wide strips to reinforce the seats. I have also reinforced by 'boxing in' the support structures for the seats. When I went to refit them I had issues with the mounting and the runners caused the seats to foul with the body and console. So, I retested all of the combinations of runners, cross braces and seats. Now I two seats that fit and runners that run.. I had to add a couple of strips of 5mm steel to the rear of the runners on the drivers side. I welded this in place and then bolted the whole lot together, install the driver's side seat and did up all the bolts. So far so good. Then I noticed that the centre console was not fitting as good as it should be. I spent all day getting it to locate correctly, re drilled and tapped the locating bolts and riveted to whole front section together. and here it is in position. the four bolts are all that is required for it to be firmly fixed. The battery box also supports the front section. You can see the Driver's seat in its final location. Runners work and no clash with body work. Passenger seat and rear console fitment and attachment tomorrow. Two steps backward as the eBay bonnet locks (keyed) turned up but are not keyed!!!! I am waiting for the supplier to provide some details.
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Post by perthwa on Jan 4, 2022 12:39:41 GMT
Update: Seats and console. Done - just needs a coat of paint on the brackets, some correct length bolts and and a bit of polishing of the Aluminium. Rear section of the console. Used rivnuts to secure to fire wall. The unit joined together Spent another 7 hours getting to this stage... Here are the seats both in location with the console Now just have to make or get some covers for the seats with just a bit of padding... Seats both slide and clear the console and the body work. I will get bolts tomorrow. Still have to run 4 wires for the PATS sensor all the way to the front, so console will need to be coming out to add them to one of the harnesses. Probably will try some spray in foam to fill up some of the smaller gaps in the fire wall. More to come. Whoops: need to fit boots around the handbrake and the shifter.
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Post by perthwa on Jan 5, 2022 4:04:58 GMT
mid day update: Seats have been removed again. Sika Flexed the AL Base to the Fibreglass seat. Spray painted the runners. Cleaned up a few welds. Here are the painted and completed brackets While I had the Sika Flex gun going I bonded the heat shield to the engine cover as planned. Bricks are applying a bit of pressure. Pm update. The gift that keeps on giving aka My Locost project, had 4 spare radiator fan assemblies. I pinched one to replace the one I damaged. I need to do something with the wiring.. The fan works but I need to finish bolting it in. Then work out why it doesn't work with thermostat. I decided that I could 'Blind Rivnut' the boot housing to the centre console. I use a screw driver down the boot opening to screw the three bolts into the rivnuts underneath. It is staggered a bit to the right but that is due to the offset of the reverse gear and 5th gear slot. Has been a good day but still hot working outside at 34 celsius. Wiring the PATS and seat install and polish some AL tomorrow.
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Post by perthwa on Jan 6, 2022 13:01:07 GMT
Update: Here is the heat shield installed. Bought some bolts to mount the seats. and bought some seat covers. Cut out some foam that I was gifted. And here is the seat cover just placed over the top. I will be glueing the foam to the seat and the cover to the foam and then doing some trimming etc to make it look like a purchased seat. Also need to add EYE holes for the seat belts etc. Trying not to make them too comfortable for a couple of reasons; the seats will make my legs hit the steering wheel if there is too much height increase. The amount of bolstering for holding you still in corners is reduced if the height is increased. Happy that the seats are now very securely attached to the car and the sliders still work and now just trying to make it a bit more road and DOT worthy. Spent some time setting up the head lights. Checking level and direction etc. I noticed that the left hand side High beam was not working. Removed the cover and the sealed beam unit. Filaments looked fine. Tested the wiring with a multimeter and could not get a high beam current. Looked closely at the plastic fitting and noticed that the brass contact on the highbeam side was not in its proper position. No idea why or how that could happen. Used a flat head screwdriver to re-fit it and lights now work. PATS not done yet. Added the remaining two bolts through the radiator and added washers and tightened it all together. The fan now comes on when the ignition is turned on. Started looking at the two fan relays and need to test the ECU outputs.. tracing the wires back to the ECU. I believe that the ECU simple grounds the respective relay when the temperature limit is reached.. Tonights internet search!!!
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Post by perthwa on Jan 7, 2022 7:32:21 GMT
More seats and handbrake boot. Spent far too long making a boot support and getting it mounted. Then cut up the new seat covers and test fitted them to the newly bolted in driver's seat. Need some velcro etc and make some upholstery decisions. ditto for cutting out the seat belt access points.. and the passenger bolted and waiting.
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Post by perthwa on Jan 11, 2022 12:14:08 GMT
Engine cover flush mount pins: Installed I was going to mount these to the frame, however, I decided to just make the unit self contained. I made a cross brace to keep the shape of the cover and then used some box channel to fix the retaining bolts. These need to be trimmed to length as they interfere with the alternator and the reservoir bottle. Just need to reattach the engine cover to the frame and we should be good. Now doing the same for the bonnet. Not sure if I will do one or two at the front...
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Post by perthwa on Jan 12, 2022 11:10:21 GMT
An now for the front bonnet mounts. Getting closer... I still actually need to make the bracket to hold the pins... I also put a bit of polish on the bonnet...
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Post by perthwa on Jan 13, 2022 11:23:38 GMT
Extended the PATS through the wiring harness to the key area in the cabin.
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