Post by perthwa on Dec 18, 2017 9:45:52 GMT
Dec 18 2017
Went and visited the WA distributor. shook hands, agreed on a price and pick up the bits tomorrow. A bit worried as this is a workshop prototype that has had a few frame variations and engine test fits... discount price so willing to take the risk. When he asks if you have a welder... the mind races a bit... Bite the bullet... have now stopped talking about building a kit car... now just have to spend a proportion of time in the garden to offset the time in the shed... I am working on 10 : 1... I know that is generous...
Bruce... PerthWA
This is not my car - but hopefully it should look like mine....
Piggy-backing my photos on a local athletics website that I run... Hopefully that is good for everyone.
the Focus before dismantling!
Dec 19 collection day
Unload and compare the drivable one and the new un-drivable one. Always a challenge.
about to compare the difference between the UK compliant frame and the Oz compliant one.
It is sitting on a black framed trolley.
Hopefully I can weigh it soon not sure it will be that light!
Probably 5 hours today and nothing done! Will start the demolition of the Focus as soon as my copy of the Manual comes from the Distributor and as soon as I get a Focus Manual for Christmas.
Dec 20
1 decayed Wisdom tooth removed, 2 hours in the garden... and 6 hours wrecking the Focus...Who needs a manual?
Will get aircondition degased tomorrow. then remove a few more bits.
I can not believe how big the airbox system on the focus is.
Dec 21
A warm 34 C, possibly more in my drive way. 4 hours before lunch. Overflow tank, seats, seat belt mounts centre console, handbrake and gear selector all apart. A bit more trim, and the carpets this afternoon. Air bag controller and the G sensors in the Passenger area removed.
3 more hours this afternoon and have now remove carpets, headliner, all interior trim work, Yaw controller for Stability control, loosened most the clips on the internal harness'.
Degas the air conditioning tomorrow - quick 65$. Reading up on air bag removal tonight, and also the dashboard and all the associated things. Steering column hopefully. Then start on getting the engine out.
Dec 22
A beautiful 31C... Degas was 2.5 hrs late but at least rang - $65 spent. Dashboard out whilst waiting.
All 4 airbags removed. Then aircon removed. with help from son...
Then got started on the brakes and the exhaust.
looking up engine hoist on the internet to buy tomorrow (Saturday) morning... Tomorrow will be engine out... that is a plan.
Here is the overall view of the Focus... 4 days in.
Around 8 hours today.
Dec 23 Day 5. 8am to 5pm - a quick 9 hours.
Engine crane bought and home by 8.30am, an hour to build.
Removed rear seat backs. Removed the rest of the seatbelts.
Got the support frame and all the rest of the plastic from the dashboard area out.
Dropped the lower Strut support and removed the front hubs etc.
Managed to get the cat removed from the first Muffler with a big extension on the socket and a bit of spray.
My son came over at lunchtime and we cracked on with getting the engine out.
new crane and engine test fit in the sonic frame.
Air con pump still attached. Bonus I think because my donor had electric power steering and the air con is driven from a separate pump there should be no need to modify the serpentine belt.
Not sure that this cat will meet DOT rules the way it fits at the moment...
Are we sure that this will fit in here?
not sure that there is enough space between the gearbox and the upright and not sure that the cross braces visible below the engine will not foul something.
Enough for today. Tomorrow - harness out. Power steering and rack out. Clutch and Brake booster out. Maybe fuel tank and rear brakes etc.
got bored, had a look at the rear wishbones on the kit and measured the location of the engine. Then pulled the Air con pump off. more weight gone.. and more room on the RHS. I still recon the gearbox will hit the downward brace.
Add 1 more hour for today so that makes 10.
Christmas Eve.
a quick 4 hours before noon. Everything gone from the front end. dropped crossmember, exhaust, heat shielding, steering rack, brake lines, brake booster and power steering gear, ABS system.
Ditto for the Front Interior; Harness out etc.
Started on rear; wheel well liners, Brake callipers.
This mornings bounty!
Too hot in the sun.. time for a break.
Cooled down about 3pm so another 3.5 hours. Rear axle out, Fuel tank out, exhaust out.
Only Handbrake cable and rear quarter electrics to remove.
Christmas eve . Family Dinner. Midnight mass and my mothers anniversary of passing!
Merry Christmas to all.
Christmas day. Day 7
Technically I did all the family things... then my son and I spent a few hours looking at Dash position for speedo etc, Steering wheel, seats, pedal box etc etc.
Boxing day. Day 8
Put on RHS wing and took some photos of the interior gaps as I have no idea how much space is there...
Spent some time measuring the possible space available for a radiator so I can start looking. Made up a wood template just to convince my self.
Ignore the holes, they were already in the scrap piece of plywood.
Spent 4 hours designing testing and making a steering column support bracket. Focus sliding aluminium think was bulky and bolts at all the wrong angles... so I made one from steel. May still weld the top bracket onto the frame, but bolts fine at the moment. just needs a couple of locating screws in the recycled positioning bracket thing... otherwise it is strong and rigid and the adjustable positioning things all work. Small amount of tweaking required with the leather flexible flap that covers up the gap to the dash... but that can wait. (Keep in mind that my frame did not come directly out of an MEV, RTR or Equilibrium crate. It was constructed in Australia by the licenced importer and has had a number of different test fits etc.)
Dropped the engine down a bit further and took a few more snaps... still not convinced that the vertical stays aren't located right where the gearbox and front pulley go. I need to find a pulley that doesn't have the Air conditioner section on the front; I thought that it may be just an extra pulley added in but looks like one piece. I will read the manual tonight!
About a seven or eight hour day. and one lousy bracket completed, well except for cleaning it, painting it , re-installing it ...
and this is with the engine on an angle.
The supplier did ask me if I had a welder... (and a hacksaw!)
Good evening from Perth. Time for Dr Who Christmas special!!!
Day 9 27th Dec
Spent ages looking at the shifter arrangements. If my donor shifter is reversed and the cables attached to the shifting mechanism from the other side by making a new bracket then it will all work. I assume that the pivoting Mondeo shifters achieve the same goal but there is nothing that I can see written about how the cables are run and their length etc...
I have read one blog where two much longer cables were simply run through the front firewall, around the perimeter of the frame and connected to the existing brackets via the rear of the engine.
I mocked up a design BUT then realised that I have to weld up some engine mounts as they have not been done on my frame... and the bracket was to be almost exactly where the engine mounts are supposedly being built.
I have mounted the shifted, well clamped it to the top of the frame, to test the theory. all good. I have an issue with the cables as they only need about 4 cm of movement to actuate the gear selection, and this should allow me to bend it around the engine mount BUT there is about 15 cm of straight steel in the cable that stops it being bent... more research coming..
Then spent a large amount of time thinking about the pedal box; has anyone re-used any Donor parts? I was looking at the fact that most people use aftermarket split units.. more research here as well.
The fitting of the engine. well i raised it another 15cm higher and it now fits between the vertical section of the upright as it was made in my frame. Here is the topview showing how much space. I know that my pulley is double width and that will give me a few cm, but you can see the direction of the upright below the vertical section and it will interfere.
Ditto for the gearbox side. (excuse the house brick). The importer said that he was supplying me with a cad drawing that I would need to use to get it to fit. Hope that comes soon...
In the end, I then laid out the entire loom on the driveway, reconnected most of the small bits and the fuse box etc. I started removing the many plastic frame clips that was used in the Donor. Now I will start to look at what i can realistically leave out and start removing some of those things. I am guessing that there are a few things that must be kept or else the system will not fire the engine...a bit more research...
About 7 hours and not a lot to show for it.
Day 10 28th Dec 2017.
Took a bit of a break.. In reverse order; spent 2 hours taking clips and stuff off the wiring loom to start removing redundant bits.
Spent 1 hour looking at pedal box arrangement options.
I spent 2 hours looking at options of fuel location. I made up a 'cardboard' tank to see how much I can fit in front end compartment. It has to squeeze in sideways between the wishbone attachment points because of the extra cross braces on the top and bottom of the compartment. Look at my radiator mockup picture above for the issue. Problem I have trying to get a bit more mass to the front is that the available space would only allow about 18 litres even with some creative additions. So I have gone back to the original thought of locating this behind the seats. I currently have two Jerry cans lying sideways as a mockup so I can get my head around all the other issues: the handbrake cables, the gearshift cables, the seat choice. At least I know I can get about 40 L in the space now. Just have to get some dimensions and get a tank made that is relatively narrow, but still allows use of donor wiring and pump etc.
Also need to have a permanent manufacturing stamp on fuel tanks used here; not sure that this is required in UK:
"9.7.3 Fuel tanks must be manufactured from corrosion resisting material to a thickness appropriate for the capacity of the tank with baffles or other methods fitted to prevent unnecessary movement of fuel. Fuel-proof plastic may be used. Aluminium tanks must have a minimum radius of 6mm on any bends, and must have a stamp that identifies the manufacturer with the fuel tank must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications."
So Day 10 decisions: Battery now likely to move to the front and buy some long cables to suit to assist mass distribution, run the ABS, look at adopting the Donor pedal box, locate some seats that are narrow enough but comfortable enough to fit (I have placed the split back seat from the donor in position just so I can be more comfortable when practicing my driving position). Now time to do some more searching for a suitable 'fuel cell' or tank before I have one 'custom' made. ( around 5 hours today and a few more on the couch surfing fuel tank manufactures.)
Day 11 Dec 29 2017
Pedal box adapting. Spent 5 hours making the Focus donor pedals (yep, I am on a serious budget) fit into the available space. Happy with position and need to make up bracket for the brake, decide what to do about the master cylinder and location of reservoir. I will also need to get the clutch pedal heated and straighten so it is a bit better located for left foot. Hung left and right side panels to check pedal clearances. Even dropped the hood on for a check.
Day 12 Dec 30 2017
Brake and accelerator bracket construction and location. Clutch bracket fitment and backing plate construction.
Voila, all welding and grinding and cutting done. Both clutch and brake pedals are now bolted in, albeit temporarily, and as they are the Donor parts all of the wiring sensors should fit. I know DOT here are pedantic about structural strength so I over engineered both brackets.
As the brake unit was very tall allowing only a cm or so below the bonnet, I also trimmed about 3 cm from the top of the original bracket. I then had to make that look as close to original as I could. I am still using an old stick welder and it takes a couple or three passes with grinding in between to make it a secure and nice looking weld. The accelerator pedal bolts up on the three bolts at the bottom of the structure.
Got the clutch pedal heated and then I straightened it. Then I had to grind down the welds on the foot pedal plate as it was now at an odd angle. Ground down the welds and cut through one side. The put the pedal plate in the vice and rotated the pedal assembly, effectively making the plate move to a better position. i.e. more perpendicular to the pedal. Put the original rubber over the plate and it looks as if it was made that way from the factory. Now all three pedals are parallel and at about the same level. I am happy.
Now just need a new master cylinder for the brakes and I can get onto the ABS connections. I will make up the brackets for the ABS tomorrow.
My son had a good idea last week; borrow a tent from Little Athletics. He was right it is a good idea. Should have done it 10 days ago...
Now it is shady and hot... so at least i can wear a T-shirt... I hope you like the creative use of a disk rotor for the tent peg!
By the way 10 hours elapsed today...
btw: How many of you out there just spent the odd 20 minutes or so sitting in the "car" during the construction phase contemplating something? or dreaming about driving it? I know I do!
Day 13 31 Dec New Year's Eve 2017
Slow start... was a bit lethargic till about 11am..
Eventually, I hung both wings and engine cover and bonnet and grill just so I could get an idea that all panels were going to be reasonably aligned and get a better idea of under bonnet area.
In order for the body to fit properly I had to cut out the holes for the upper wishbone mounting brackets. Not sure that the mounting suggestions made by the person who cast the panels were correct. I only cut barely the required amount of the panel to get the bracket to peep through and already I have had to move outside the suggested lines!
I will post photos tomorrow. This sort of decision makes my heart beat a bit too fast... The bottom of the wing panel can not meet the frame support without this hole. Tomorrow I will bravely make the hole a bit larger so it can fit even better... a few more deep breathes.
I put the ABS unit in situ and looked at a bracket design; I decided that I could flatten all of the rubber mount lugs on the OEM bracket and weld in an extra piece of metal to reinforce where I 'un-bent' the brackets. This allowed me to mount the unit directly on top of the front end frame. Added three rivnuts and reused the rubber mounts and now have a rubber mounted ABS unit. Very pleased. Paint tomorrow and cross that off the list.
Removed my previously made steering column bracket and decided to paint that.
Removed the clutch bracket and painted that. Ditto for the modified original clutch unit.
Removed the brake bracket and painted that.
Painted the modified clutch pedal so now it looks original.
Sat in the car for 25 minutes contemplating the next sequence of tasks.. Actually, if any one asks, I was making sure the pedals were in the correct spot!
A quick 6 hours for the day.
Running total of hours +- 94 hours.
Day 14 New year's Day 2018
8am til 5pm - 9 hours
Was planning on adapting my Donor master cylinder.. Plan B, go and buy one that will be easier to do. One hour wasted...
Battery mount: got all the donor bits together, trimmed off extra bits and then decided that I could not actually get the battery into the holder if it was installed in the front! Plan next: over-engineer a bracket to hold the battery and install it.
Cut out a plate, made sure that one side had a lip for extra strength. Added a small lip on the other side to stop the battery going sideways in corners. Rivnuts for the bracket to the frame and welded some bolts underneath to attach the newly made strap that I built. I am contemplating getting out the 'hole saw' to lighten it a bit. Once again, very happy with outcome. Should keep DOT happy as long as I put covers over the terminals.
Here is a front view snap. I have not painted it yet.
Painted my clutch bracket to match the OEM colour. Reinstalled the clutch master cylinder and switch.
So here is an overall shot of the front end where I have been busy. Also painted the ABS bracket, hence the 3 lonely bolts.
Went and visited the WA distributor. shook hands, agreed on a price and pick up the bits tomorrow. A bit worried as this is a workshop prototype that has had a few frame variations and engine test fits... discount price so willing to take the risk. When he asks if you have a welder... the mind races a bit... Bite the bullet... have now stopped talking about building a kit car... now just have to spend a proportion of time in the garden to offset the time in the shed... I am working on 10 : 1... I know that is generous...
Bruce... PerthWA
This is not my car - but hopefully it should look like mine....
Piggy-backing my photos on a local athletics website that I run... Hopefully that is good for everyone.
the Focus before dismantling!
Dec 19 collection day
Unload and compare the drivable one and the new un-drivable one. Always a challenge.
about to compare the difference between the UK compliant frame and the Oz compliant one.
It is sitting on a black framed trolley.
Hopefully I can weigh it soon not sure it will be that light!
Probably 5 hours today and nothing done! Will start the demolition of the Focus as soon as my copy of the Manual comes from the Distributor and as soon as I get a Focus Manual for Christmas.
Dec 20
1 decayed Wisdom tooth removed, 2 hours in the garden... and 6 hours wrecking the Focus...Who needs a manual?
Will get aircondition degased tomorrow. then remove a few more bits.
I can not believe how big the airbox system on the focus is.
Dec 21
A warm 34 C, possibly more in my drive way. 4 hours before lunch. Overflow tank, seats, seat belt mounts centre console, handbrake and gear selector all apart. A bit more trim, and the carpets this afternoon. Air bag controller and the G sensors in the Passenger area removed.
3 more hours this afternoon and have now remove carpets, headliner, all interior trim work, Yaw controller for Stability control, loosened most the clips on the internal harness'.
Degas the air conditioning tomorrow - quick 65$. Reading up on air bag removal tonight, and also the dashboard and all the associated things. Steering column hopefully. Then start on getting the engine out.
Dec 22
A beautiful 31C... Degas was 2.5 hrs late but at least rang - $65 spent. Dashboard out whilst waiting.
All 4 airbags removed. Then aircon removed. with help from son...
Then got started on the brakes and the exhaust.
looking up engine hoist on the internet to buy tomorrow (Saturday) morning... Tomorrow will be engine out... that is a plan.
Here is the overall view of the Focus... 4 days in.
Around 8 hours today.
Dec 23 Day 5. 8am to 5pm - a quick 9 hours.
Engine crane bought and home by 8.30am, an hour to build.
Removed rear seat backs. Removed the rest of the seatbelts.
Got the support frame and all the rest of the plastic from the dashboard area out.
Dropped the lower Strut support and removed the front hubs etc.
Managed to get the cat removed from the first Muffler with a big extension on the socket and a bit of spray.
My son came over at lunchtime and we cracked on with getting the engine out.
new crane and engine test fit in the sonic frame.
Air con pump still attached. Bonus I think because my donor had electric power steering and the air con is driven from a separate pump there should be no need to modify the serpentine belt.
Not sure that this cat will meet DOT rules the way it fits at the moment...
Are we sure that this will fit in here?
not sure that there is enough space between the gearbox and the upright and not sure that the cross braces visible below the engine will not foul something.
Enough for today. Tomorrow - harness out. Power steering and rack out. Clutch and Brake booster out. Maybe fuel tank and rear brakes etc.
got bored, had a look at the rear wishbones on the kit and measured the location of the engine. Then pulled the Air con pump off. more weight gone.. and more room on the RHS. I still recon the gearbox will hit the downward brace.
Add 1 more hour for today so that makes 10.
Christmas Eve.
a quick 4 hours before noon. Everything gone from the front end. dropped crossmember, exhaust, heat shielding, steering rack, brake lines, brake booster and power steering gear, ABS system.
Ditto for the Front Interior; Harness out etc.
Started on rear; wheel well liners, Brake callipers.
This mornings bounty!
Too hot in the sun.. time for a break.
Cooled down about 3pm so another 3.5 hours. Rear axle out, Fuel tank out, exhaust out.
Only Handbrake cable and rear quarter electrics to remove.
Christmas eve . Family Dinner. Midnight mass and my mothers anniversary of passing!
Merry Christmas to all.
Christmas day. Day 7
Technically I did all the family things... then my son and I spent a few hours looking at Dash position for speedo etc, Steering wheel, seats, pedal box etc etc.
Boxing day. Day 8
Put on RHS wing and took some photos of the interior gaps as I have no idea how much space is there...
Spent some time measuring the possible space available for a radiator so I can start looking. Made up a wood template just to convince my self.
Ignore the holes, they were already in the scrap piece of plywood.
Spent 4 hours designing testing and making a steering column support bracket. Focus sliding aluminium think was bulky and bolts at all the wrong angles... so I made one from steel. May still weld the top bracket onto the frame, but bolts fine at the moment. just needs a couple of locating screws in the recycled positioning bracket thing... otherwise it is strong and rigid and the adjustable positioning things all work. Small amount of tweaking required with the leather flexible flap that covers up the gap to the dash... but that can wait. (Keep in mind that my frame did not come directly out of an MEV, RTR or Equilibrium crate. It was constructed in Australia by the licenced importer and has had a number of different test fits etc.)
Dropped the engine down a bit further and took a few more snaps... still not convinced that the vertical stays aren't located right where the gearbox and front pulley go. I need to find a pulley that doesn't have the Air conditioner section on the front; I thought that it may be just an extra pulley added in but looks like one piece. I will read the manual tonight!
About a seven or eight hour day. and one lousy bracket completed, well except for cleaning it, painting it , re-installing it ...
and this is with the engine on an angle.
The supplier did ask me if I had a welder... (and a hacksaw!)
Good evening from Perth. Time for Dr Who Christmas special!!!
Day 9 27th Dec
Spent ages looking at the shifter arrangements. If my donor shifter is reversed and the cables attached to the shifting mechanism from the other side by making a new bracket then it will all work. I assume that the pivoting Mondeo shifters achieve the same goal but there is nothing that I can see written about how the cables are run and their length etc...
I have read one blog where two much longer cables were simply run through the front firewall, around the perimeter of the frame and connected to the existing brackets via the rear of the engine.
I mocked up a design BUT then realised that I have to weld up some engine mounts as they have not been done on my frame... and the bracket was to be almost exactly where the engine mounts are supposedly being built.
I have mounted the shifted, well clamped it to the top of the frame, to test the theory. all good. I have an issue with the cables as they only need about 4 cm of movement to actuate the gear selection, and this should allow me to bend it around the engine mount BUT there is about 15 cm of straight steel in the cable that stops it being bent... more research coming..
Then spent a large amount of time thinking about the pedal box; has anyone re-used any Donor parts? I was looking at the fact that most people use aftermarket split units.. more research here as well.
The fitting of the engine. well i raised it another 15cm higher and it now fits between the vertical section of the upright as it was made in my frame. Here is the topview showing how much space. I know that my pulley is double width and that will give me a few cm, but you can see the direction of the upright below the vertical section and it will interfere.
Ditto for the gearbox side. (excuse the house brick). The importer said that he was supplying me with a cad drawing that I would need to use to get it to fit. Hope that comes soon...
In the end, I then laid out the entire loom on the driveway, reconnected most of the small bits and the fuse box etc. I started removing the many plastic frame clips that was used in the Donor. Now I will start to look at what i can realistically leave out and start removing some of those things. I am guessing that there are a few things that must be kept or else the system will not fire the engine...a bit more research...
About 7 hours and not a lot to show for it.
Day 10 28th Dec 2017.
Took a bit of a break.. In reverse order; spent 2 hours taking clips and stuff off the wiring loom to start removing redundant bits.
Spent 1 hour looking at pedal box arrangement options.
I spent 2 hours looking at options of fuel location. I made up a 'cardboard' tank to see how much I can fit in front end compartment. It has to squeeze in sideways between the wishbone attachment points because of the extra cross braces on the top and bottom of the compartment. Look at my radiator mockup picture above for the issue. Problem I have trying to get a bit more mass to the front is that the available space would only allow about 18 litres even with some creative additions. So I have gone back to the original thought of locating this behind the seats. I currently have two Jerry cans lying sideways as a mockup so I can get my head around all the other issues: the handbrake cables, the gearshift cables, the seat choice. At least I know I can get about 40 L in the space now. Just have to get some dimensions and get a tank made that is relatively narrow, but still allows use of donor wiring and pump etc.
Also need to have a permanent manufacturing stamp on fuel tanks used here; not sure that this is required in UK:
"9.7.3 Fuel tanks must be manufactured from corrosion resisting material to a thickness appropriate for the capacity of the tank with baffles or other methods fitted to prevent unnecessary movement of fuel. Fuel-proof plastic may be used. Aluminium tanks must have a minimum radius of 6mm on any bends, and must have a stamp that identifies the manufacturer with the fuel tank must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications."
So Day 10 decisions: Battery now likely to move to the front and buy some long cables to suit to assist mass distribution, run the ABS, look at adopting the Donor pedal box, locate some seats that are narrow enough but comfortable enough to fit (I have placed the split back seat from the donor in position just so I can be more comfortable when practicing my driving position). Now time to do some more searching for a suitable 'fuel cell' or tank before I have one 'custom' made. ( around 5 hours today and a few more on the couch surfing fuel tank manufactures.)
Day 11 Dec 29 2017
Pedal box adapting. Spent 5 hours making the Focus donor pedals (yep, I am on a serious budget) fit into the available space. Happy with position and need to make up bracket for the brake, decide what to do about the master cylinder and location of reservoir. I will also need to get the clutch pedal heated and straighten so it is a bit better located for left foot. Hung left and right side panels to check pedal clearances. Even dropped the hood on for a check.
Day 12 Dec 30 2017
Brake and accelerator bracket construction and location. Clutch bracket fitment and backing plate construction.
Voila, all welding and grinding and cutting done. Both clutch and brake pedals are now bolted in, albeit temporarily, and as they are the Donor parts all of the wiring sensors should fit. I know DOT here are pedantic about structural strength so I over engineered both brackets.
As the brake unit was very tall allowing only a cm or so below the bonnet, I also trimmed about 3 cm from the top of the original bracket. I then had to make that look as close to original as I could. I am still using an old stick welder and it takes a couple or three passes with grinding in between to make it a secure and nice looking weld. The accelerator pedal bolts up on the three bolts at the bottom of the structure.
Got the clutch pedal heated and then I straightened it. Then I had to grind down the welds on the foot pedal plate as it was now at an odd angle. Ground down the welds and cut through one side. The put the pedal plate in the vice and rotated the pedal assembly, effectively making the plate move to a better position. i.e. more perpendicular to the pedal. Put the original rubber over the plate and it looks as if it was made that way from the factory. Now all three pedals are parallel and at about the same level. I am happy.
Now just need a new master cylinder for the brakes and I can get onto the ABS connections. I will make up the brackets for the ABS tomorrow.
My son had a good idea last week; borrow a tent from Little Athletics. He was right it is a good idea. Should have done it 10 days ago...
Now it is shady and hot... so at least i can wear a T-shirt... I hope you like the creative use of a disk rotor for the tent peg!
By the way 10 hours elapsed today...
btw: How many of you out there just spent the odd 20 minutes or so sitting in the "car" during the construction phase contemplating something? or dreaming about driving it? I know I do!
Day 13 31 Dec New Year's Eve 2017
Slow start... was a bit lethargic till about 11am..
Eventually, I hung both wings and engine cover and bonnet and grill just so I could get an idea that all panels were going to be reasonably aligned and get a better idea of under bonnet area.
In order for the body to fit properly I had to cut out the holes for the upper wishbone mounting brackets. Not sure that the mounting suggestions made by the person who cast the panels were correct. I only cut barely the required amount of the panel to get the bracket to peep through and already I have had to move outside the suggested lines!
I will post photos tomorrow. This sort of decision makes my heart beat a bit too fast... The bottom of the wing panel can not meet the frame support without this hole. Tomorrow I will bravely make the hole a bit larger so it can fit even better... a few more deep breathes.
I put the ABS unit in situ and looked at a bracket design; I decided that I could flatten all of the rubber mount lugs on the OEM bracket and weld in an extra piece of metal to reinforce where I 'un-bent' the brackets. This allowed me to mount the unit directly on top of the front end frame. Added three rivnuts and reused the rubber mounts and now have a rubber mounted ABS unit. Very pleased. Paint tomorrow and cross that off the list.
Removed my previously made steering column bracket and decided to paint that.
Removed the clutch bracket and painted that. Ditto for the modified original clutch unit.
Removed the brake bracket and painted that.
Painted the modified clutch pedal so now it looks original.
Sat in the car for 25 minutes contemplating the next sequence of tasks.. Actually, if any one asks, I was making sure the pedals were in the correct spot!
A quick 6 hours for the day.
Running total of hours +- 94 hours.
Day 14 New year's Day 2018
8am til 5pm - 9 hours
Was planning on adapting my Donor master cylinder.. Plan B, go and buy one that will be easier to do. One hour wasted...
Battery mount: got all the donor bits together, trimmed off extra bits and then decided that I could not actually get the battery into the holder if it was installed in the front! Plan next: over-engineer a bracket to hold the battery and install it.
Cut out a plate, made sure that one side had a lip for extra strength. Added a small lip on the other side to stop the battery going sideways in corners. Rivnuts for the bracket to the frame and welded some bolts underneath to attach the newly made strap that I built. I am contemplating getting out the 'hole saw' to lighten it a bit. Once again, very happy with outcome. Should keep DOT happy as long as I put covers over the terminals.
Here is a front view snap. I have not painted it yet.
Painted my clutch bracket to match the OEM colour. Reinstalled the clutch master cylinder and switch.
So here is an overall shot of the front end where I have been busy. Also painted the ABS bracket, hence the 3 lonely bolts.