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Post by dgibson on Dec 25, 2013 0:08:30 GMT
Been working outside of town for a week, and then a week of vacation out of town also, so not much done the last couple of weeks!. Today, perfect South Texas weather, so back into it. Starting to work on the brake lines and such. Using the mounting tab from the JEGS brake line kit, welded it to a washer on the outside of the suspension, to provide a firm mount for the flexible brake line on the rear. While looking at the rear suspension, I thought I could make a first pass at aligning the rear suspension. Using an Aluminium angle clamped to the rear bearing mount allowed me to measure from the only parallel surfaces of the frame (where the engine is mounted) to give me a first pass at the rear alignment. in my case 12 9/16 in (31.91cm) front and back. Adjusting the bolt inside the circle gives a very fine adjustment. Dr Brian (Sonic Build) came by to help out. He had bought a length of solid 3/4 (19mm) rod. Measuring out and cutting the 3/4 in solid steel steering shaft was easier than I thought. Dr Brian had already done his so I had a good guide. Marking out the hex shape on the shaft was simple, it is 6cm circumference, so marked out the six faces and gently ground it down, face by face, so it did not get too hot., and the "D" on the top was done using some careful hacksaw work. I had used a piece of lighter pipe to make a model for the location of the spherical bearing. Next Step is straightening out the brake lines and start bending them again! The best possible Christmas present, working on the Rocket.
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Post by dgibson on Dec 27, 2013 23:54:03 GMT
A roll of 25 ft of 3/16 brake line was straightened out using this simple method found on the net. Four sliding glass door rollers from my local home improvement store, bolted to a piece of steel. Run the brake line back and forth a couple of times, turning it slightly each time gives a pretty nice straight pipe for me to screw up. After watching the experts on the net, and a lot of experimenting and several practice flairs using a cheap flaring tool, and taking my time with prepping the end of each flare. (and making sure the nut was on the right way around!) I go the front and back roughly plumbed up. Be a few more weeks before I can see how well I did, but one more thing out of the way!. and the front. The rear brake pipe is quite a snake with several bends to go over the seat rails, followed by the vertical turn, a right angle, and another very tight turn for the brake cylinder. I will not secure it to the floor of the Rocket until all the rest of the lines are run and the tunnel is ready to install. I plan to use the aluminium angle method, so may use the hold down for the angle to hold the brake and clutch line rubber mounts. The JEGS brake kit is quite good, but I realize the 25ft of 3/16 line is just not quite enough to run my clutch line as well, so it is off to the local auto parts store who have it in stock for a reasonable price. What an awesome way to spend Christmas and Boxing day!
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Post by Paul (madeye) on Dec 28, 2013 18:12:53 GMT
That looks very neat and tidy :-) I like it
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Post by dgibson on Dec 31, 2013 21:04:11 GMT
Front left panel installed. Adding the rubber trim meant the U Joint bolt holding the steering shaft now interfered with the panel. So the whole thing comes off, and trimmed by about 12mm(1/2 inch) Right Front Panel installed Possible Fuse box location. Comments welcome! I have seen a number of options on where the front fuse panel is located. Any comments on this location, just above the steering shaft?
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Post by dgibson on Jan 7, 2014 14:11:05 GMT
Too cold to get much done in the garage, -3C (some 32F) so unwinding some of the donor harness wiring to give me a source of multicolored control wires. Worked up a mount for the front electrics. Even the fountains in Sugar Land were frozen yesterday. (it happens about every 8 years or so)
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Post by Paul (madeye) on Jan 7, 2014 21:55:17 GMT
been on the news over here about your crazy polar weather front your having at the moment. Looks a bit nippy..
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Post by dgibson on Jan 20, 2014 1:21:46 GMT
Started to play with some wiring. I want to use the Focus wiper/washer controls to drive as many things as possible. so we started by pinning out the wiper switch in all it's positions, and came up with this diagram, with what I think might work and then to make the Hazard flasher work, using a couple of diodes (IN4004) to make sure the water all flows in the right direction and then the lights, with the first position being the side lights, second position Main (with High beam on the left stalk) third position with the addition of the rear fog lamp. of course, until I put a battery to it, this is just theory... So started on the front fuse box, using a small waterproof case with a lexan board. I want to put a couple of extra relays in the front for the indicators.
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Post by dgibson on Jan 27, 2014 15:03:59 GMT
Just got the timing belt and water pump in the mail, so thought I should get that out of the way with the engine out of the car. There are a lot of good videos on focus timing belt change, most of them spend all the time getting to the parts, so it seems to make sense to do it while the engine is out of the vehicle. found a nice step by step instruction on timing belt change here for Zetec in general and for the SVT/ST170 specifically. the only special tools I needed where the Torx 55 and the timing kit (a bolt and a machined steel bar) This is the result, cleaning the parts and covers as I went, it took me about 3 hours. The only tricky bit is breaking loose the Crank Shaft bolt on the lower pulley/harmonic dampner. This is how I did it, using a bolt in one of the holes in the dampner and a flat steel bar. A moderate blow with a rubber mallet on the breaker bar popped it loose. Now, just double check the cam alignment as per the instructions, and retighten the Cam Bolts, with new plugs and gaskets, should be ready to go!
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Post by dgibson on Feb 2, 2014 0:21:55 GMT
I went ahead and bought new front and rear hubs. Sent the rear hubs and bearings out to a local mechanics shop to press them in. With the rear hubs back, it felt like the right time to put a few things together. Not on the ground yet, it is a good feeling to get all four wheels on the frame!. Next step was to finish cleaning and timing the engine. Keeping the cam still and tightening the nut on the cam wheel is a real PITA. While I have the valve cover off, it was looking a little ratty, so used some Aircraft Remover (paint stripper - some VERY nasty stuff - so take precautions!) and a couple of rounds with that and the valve cover is completely stripped. cleaned out all the little grooves for the gasket, so will throw on some hi temp engine paint to see how it comes out. Just have to chase down the other idler pulley and mount to replace the power steering. Next, made a silicon base for the radiator, and with DrBrian (Sonic builder nearby) temporarily installed it so we could measure some water pipe lengths. Next step, back to some wiring. It was a good day!
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Post by drbrian on Feb 2, 2014 5:01:52 GMT
Me and Dave Playing with his nice SVT wheels
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Post by drbrian on Feb 2, 2014 5:03:35 GMT
David getting my rear suspension on was a pain in the butt, my upper a-arms were welded wrong and I had to really work those into the correct configuration, all seems good now, check out my post in the sonic section. FYI everyone, we live down the street from each other, it is sure nice to have a fellow builder near by.
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Post by kiwicanfly on Feb 2, 2014 5:22:40 GMT
Three weeks ago everything was frozen, now you are in shorts and a tee with the door open, weird weather you guys get! Glorious over here at the moment, think summer is here
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Post by Paul (madeye) on Feb 2, 2014 18:23:52 GMT
that radiator is not going to be very efficient at that angle I don't think
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Post by dgibson on Feb 2, 2014 21:41:10 GMT
Weather has been up and down like the proverbial. Today started at 67F at 8am and by 11am was 44F. Texans call it a blue northerner.
Thanks Paul, I think I can stand it up a bit more vertical. I will wait until the hood is in place and make adjustments then.
What are you doing for hood hinges? Or pins? How about something hidden?
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Post by petik on Feb 2, 2014 21:48:36 GMT
A standard piano hinge works very well. I got mine off amazon: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005J0J8WCThere are many ways to pin the front. You can use standard pins and I've seen folks epoxy in a pin from the bottom, but I didn't want to have to reach underneath every time. I used a single AeroCatch pin - a bit pricey but worked extremely well.
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