Roberts Exocet Build - Central Scotland

[ciaoberto]

Hello Good people. This is my first post.

I've been an avid follower of the builds on this forum for a while now, slowly building my knowledge on the project I am about to begin!! I'm going to be building in fair weather spare time right outside in my drive way, so who knows how long this may take. I've got my 30th birthday at the beginning of next year as a tentative date.

I've been driving my donor round for a year now and I'm happy with the components I'm keeping. It's got goodies like original wheels and aftermarket wheels, L.S.D, Mazdaspeed adjustable suspension (which is likely to be replaced as it's now 22 years old!!) Mazdaspeed exhaust, a new roof to sell (hopefully), Momo steering wheel (I.V.A issue?) and the power steering and air conditioning were already gone. 

I'm usually tearing apart motorcycles but have none left now....

I'd been day dreaming of building my own Exocet ever since I sold my them, lusting over all of your photos and wishing I had something to wrench on. So...today I began the strip down of the interior. I wasn't planning on starting the whole process, I had another small project in mind but got so enthusiastic and decided the job had started itself. So...let's do this...



As I'm short of storage space, I plan on getting the 'skate' as far on as I can before placing an order on my kit. In thinking I'd like to at least get the body and PPF apart and then use the time to tidy it up whilst my kit is being manufactured.

Thanks for reading.

[ciaoberto]

20170327_133807 by Robert McClure, on Flickr
well it seems imgur doesn't work for me....but photobucket does. 

EDIT: since photoshop took a s**t on 3rd party hosting I've migrated everything over to flickr.

[browno]

Excellent stuff - looks like I am in a similar position to you, as I am just about to lift the body and went to visit Stuart and Julie on Friday to make final plans for ordering my kit! I will be watching with interest, and look forward to comparing notes along the way!
Agree about the space comment - these cars do take up a lot more space in bits than complete don't they! Thankfully I have managed to sell off quite a few bits that has got them out of the way!

[browno]

Sorry - ignore this, double post

[tojeiro]

Hi and welcome.

Your plan to get the rollerskate prepped before you order the kit is spot on as it always seems to take longer than planned.

If you are going to get subframes and suspension arms shotblasted then I can recommend Possil Park shot-blasting. They did all my MX5 parts for £90 bucks and did a great job.

Sent you a separate PM as I am also in central Scotland.

[ciaoberto]

Mar 29, 2017 0:42:42 GMT tojeiro said:

They did all my MX5 parts for £90 bucks and did a great job.

That's a great price!! Was that for all of your sub-frames, wishbones, sway bars etc?

Did you remove/replace bushings?

I was planning on wire brushing and painting because my bushings are in reasonable order and I'm trying to stick to a pretty strict budget. Though I've seen others have had blasting done with bushings in situ, can anybody share their experience of this with me?

I'm optimistic about the time it'll take me to separate the the body and PPF. But my experience with rusty old bikes tells me it'll be more work than I imagine it is during my frequent tea breaks. 

[tojeiro]

It was for everything less the sway bars which were easy to do with a wire cup on grinder or a flap wheel. They would probably do them for a few extra bucks if you want to save time.

You can mask off the bushes to avoid damage, I taped up the various threads on the subframes and the masking tape survived, were I had been a bit light with masking they added some extra tape.

I also painted rather than Powder Coat so that I could repair chips or damage in the future, however, mine is a Replicar so parts are not on daily display as they are on an Exocet. Suppose it depends if you are aiming for show car or track toy.

mevowners.proboards.com/thread/7875/east-kilbride-build?page=2

[ciaoberto]

Sunday Fun Day!!

Progress today with the strip down. The interior is now bare (with exception to the hand brake as it's still holding the car secure ATM)...



20170402_163908 by Robert McClure, on Flickr
Labelled and removed the engine side of the wiring loom...




20170402_164231 by Robert McClure, on Flickr



Not much contrast with the gravel but it's there.

and removed lots from the engine bay whilst I was there. 



20170402_163934 by Robert McClure, on Flickr



So now I'm considering my next moves. 
Likely to be sliding myself under the car to remove exhaust, fuel, fuel and brake lines.

The build guide says "Remove the throttle cable and clutch master cylinder leaving it attached to the gearbox via the pipe." So can i assume, provided the pipe is separate from the body of the car, The system doesn't need to be interrupted?

Also, should I remove the lower part of the  steering column? Between the two U-joints? The upper joint is only just inside the car, which I imagine will clear when the body and PPF become two. Eye-balling it, lifting the body and shifting it backwards a little will allow more clearance at the back of the block, and allow the column to slip out nicely. Thoughts and opinions please good people?!!

The car had fancy blue brake fluid in it. Apparently that's good for when the brakes are used good and proper (with a higher boiling point). Wonder what drove that choice? 

Really enjoying myself so far, probably about 10 hours in, fantasising about progress of another 10...watch this space!!

[miket]

Good progress. Yes that's right - the clutch system doesn't need to be disturbed if you don't want/need to.
As for the column, one of the various challenges of the build is positioning pedals and column and i suspect having the column as 'flexible' as possible is a good thing.

[gwnwar]

While you still have the hand brake in place loosen the rear center axle nuts and front while you still have weigh of car to stop wheels from spinning.. Just remove lower joint from rack and pull whole thing out from inside car. Take off the front sway bar from body..

[ciaoberto]

Good call gwnwar, I'd not thought of that despite reading it several times. I had a go at them but was defeated by the caps on the front (apparently they knock off with encouragement from a flat head screwdriver and a hammer? I need a bigger hammer!! ) the nearside rear broke free relatively easily, but the offside spun the wheel. Even with the car weight, chock and handbrake, it turned until eventually

*crack*
Hurrah...or so i thought.......
20170403_160017 by Robert McClure, on Flickr

I was surprised for a second before remembering this was part of a cheapo socket set I bought when I was a teenager. A shoulder shrug and a more appropriate tool for my second attempt and....
20170403_182459 by Robert McClure, on Flickr
Yep...from the same cheapo/ancient set. My better set only goes to 19mm, so I've ordered an impact bit in the hope that it survives the challenge.

So, in search of some success, having fallen hard at the axle nut hurdle, I had a little tweak at the rear sub-frame bolts, all six broke free with little effort (and an 18 inch breaker). I just have to hope they don't seize on their way out. I'd been drenching them in WD-40 for four days once a day before I heard about Plus Gas ...

(Thank you Shane mevowners.proboards.com/thread/8192/fin-lukes-exocet-build-log?page=2)
...which I used to douse them twice. It seems to be doing the trick!!

Here's hoping I have the same experience up front. Six of the eight of those have had the same preparation, I couldn't easily identify the other two. The four near the front of the frame in two sets of two at either side, and the two single smaller bolts at the back of the frame, one either side were obvious. I assume there are two others somewhere in between those? 

Lastly today, before biting the bullet on this project I debated just getting a fresh M.O.T and running the car for another year. To my decisions credit, whilst crawling around under the there I noticed a bad rust spot in the sill just behind the offside front wheel, upon gentle investigation ... my finger poked right through it. The smile was back on my face!! I felt ahead of the game.  

[gwnwar]

Before pulling body make up 4 wood 2x4 8" long OR pipes to place between the upper control arm inner mount side and the lower shock mount to keep skate off the ground and be able to roll it..
On the front sub the missing 2 are forward of the rear 2 and up some. Using 6 point sockets will help to not round the heads of bolts and nuts.. 1/2" drive 6 point impact will work great on axle nuts..
Also don't forget the ground strap under exhaust manifold, engine to body.. 10mm head bolt on body.. and speedo cable loose from firewall bracket
If you don't have the battery harness out push it through the hole in the flood and check for clamps on under body holding it..
To drain the fuel tank the is a drain on bottom of tank left front. Watch your eyes with gas..
Unbolt fuel tank after removing fill and vent hoses in boot and hoses and filter secured to body by filter..
Let tank rear on rear sub or remove after skate is removed from body..
All brake rubber hoses loose from hard lines at joint or caliper.
Rear shock mount bolts to body.
If you loosen the center shock bolt 1 full turn only it will be easier to take them apart later with a spring compressor.. or take nuts off center and springs and top hats will come off springs when body removed..
Don't forget to keep the shock top hat and nuts if you do it that way..
Having at least 2 people helps it is safer..

[gbob]

Hey, where in central Scotland are you? I'm in Livingston.
I'm almost at the point where I'm ready to lift the frame onto the rollerskate. Just got a few more pieces to piece together first.

[ciaoberto]

Well...a slow and steady day. My new socket arrived, and it performed!! the three remaining axle nuts yielded promptly. 

Underneath I've freed off all the sub frame mounting bolts, unhooked the exhaust and detached the fuel lines, unbolted the fuel tank and filter (I'm hoping this will drop out while lifting the body? care to dampen my anticipation with your experience? ).

Now I notice that the fuel tank is dribbling the last few drops of fuel from the drain bolt. I dare not tighten it any more, am i likely to need a new crush washer?

The clips for the two handbrake cables and the front flex brake hoses were proving a challenge. I was attempting to remove them towards the end of my session, when my enthusiasm dipped. I'll have another wrestle tomorrow. Has anybody any tricks to get a tool/hand up behind the PPF/prop shaft to get to them? you know, other than practising to become a contortionist.

I've started tearing down body parts to shave weight from what needs to be hoisted off my skate, so the front end is bare leaving two doors, a boot lid, rear bumper and a soft top (which could have a new owner early next week...fingers crossed) still to remove. 

I've got my 8" blocks to support my sub frames post separation ready and a hoist is in transit with a courier for the milestone moment!!

gbob, I'm in Perthshire, on the A85. 

[ciaoberto]

Some significant progress:



20170413_172224 by Robert McClure, on Flickr



Yes the body and PPF are separate at last!! It was a surprisingly pleasant experience, I was expecting it to defeat me. Although I had to use some effort and a breaker bar for the entire thread of a few of the nuts (half turn at a time...UGH!!). 
I regret not taking a moment to photograph their parting of ways, I was much to excited, and it started to rain!!
I used a lifting chain bolted to the seat mounting holes in the back of the transmission tunnel. This worked really well, although the weight was towards the front of the load and I ended up having to use some ratchet straps on the rear tow hooks, anchored to the floor to level it so we could roll out the skate.

I've been struggling to find a willing party to relieve me of the body without having to pay them, so I've prepared it to fit in the van...



20170419_142004 by Robert McClure, on Flickr



Having seen inside the sills, I'm sure I could've broken a far worse donor...



20170418_143026 by Robert McClure, on Flickr



Four inch grinder and a cold chisel for the tight corners made for 2.5 hours of hard work. Planning to sell it to a scrap metal merchant in town. 

Made a start at loosening all the nuts and bolts in the sub-frames with a view to dismantling for their makeover. So far only one sheered alignment bolt. 

I have enquired about beginning the process or ordering my own kit (I just couldn't wait any longer), and the excitement builds....