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Post by perthwa on Feb 2, 2018 12:34:40 GMT
Days 41 -45 29th Jan - 2 Feb. zero input into project -
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Post by buildityourself on Feb 2, 2018 19:58:09 GMT
Yep, It's frustrating when back at work :-(. You don't have the excuse of cold dark evenings though ;-)
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Post by perthwa on Feb 23, 2018 1:48:10 GMT
Day 46 - day 68 zip Day 69 23 Feb 2018. Permit to build has arrived. Now just have to get back in the shed...  |
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Post by perthwa on Mar 11, 2018 10:37:08 GMT
11 March 2018 Days 70 - 94 zip.... Day 95 spent 4 hours in the shed... Finished off the welding for the passenger seat runners. Now must test fit and make a decision on the bolt tabs to hold them in.  |
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Post by drbrian on Apr 13, 2018 3:27:15 GMT
Hang in there, any problems at the moment?
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Post by perthwa on Jul 4, 2018 13:58:07 GMT
4 months later... back in the shed...
so many half-finished bits and the psychological juggling is doing my head in... There is so little documented data...All I want is someone to actually tell me what make model and year that all these bits were either modelled on… which is probably fine for a regular kit builder who pretty much follows the instructions...
MEVltd has done this a few times and I am trying to get it all together:
Steering rack Ford Sierra ??,
Top ball joints (drag links from a Transit van)??.
Bottom ball joints, Austin Maxi ??.
Shocks are 13" bolt centre to bolt centre when fully open, holes are 12mmx30
Springs are 8"x 1.9" 300 lbs rear 200 front or similar to individual pref. Or higher but not lower rates i.e 350 and 225.
Track rod ends are RS2000 ?? and you will need their rack extenders too.
Lots of firms sell wishbone bushes. You will need to advise them of the length of crush tube and the diameter of the bone hole and that you are using 12mm bolts.
The following list is my cathartic attempt to get motivated... I know that everyone else has a list so please do not worry about what I have written down.. I have not made it long for sympathy... just the opposite. It may jog someone's ‘fix around’ and save me some time...
My current list:
Buy some Maxi lower Ball joints so I can fit and check the front uprights for geometry etc. I have not been supplied with any brake calliper mounting plates so need to go back to supplier to see if he has them lying around and or get some made or supplied from RD. Then I need to purchase Wilwood Powerlite 4-Pot kit.
I have been supplied with only two tapers for the Cortina uprights... so need to check that out as well...Not sure if and why they are used … But seems especially important as the conversation threads at MEV seem to harp on how critical the fit of the ball joints to the Tapers are...
as mentioned before... One of the bearing hubs on the front also has a skewed thread and needs to be straightened: I was recommended to have these steel Heli-coiled for additional strength. Looking into that...
One of the front upper wish bones has a thread that has been damaged about 2 cm in, possibly welding leak through; I ran a tap that I had in the shed, through, but it must just be a bit too small. It wound in ok BUT did not clear the damaged thread and the Ball Joint will not move past the damage.. and I am not going to force it. Now looking at the next size up TAP or checking the supplier's shed to see if I can get it cleared. It is only one thread width that is the issue... but issue it is.
Going to get the rear - nee front - bearings pressed out so I can get started on measuring and constructing the bearing carriers for the mark 2 engine. As said previously... the supplier has designed this for a 'bolt in' carrier.. I followed up pocketrocket's design as he was also from Western Australia and also used a Mk 2 focus... He posted some good pictures on his design. Unfortunately he lives 400 km away and he sold the rocket before completing it... Sat down last night with the original focus drive shafts bearings and disks and made some comparison measurements and will transfer these across to the car to see where I will need to fix the 'NEW' bearing carrier within the upright. Then I can add reinforcing braces when the carrier is located. Then I can design and construct the Brake calliper brackets as I do not think that the old rear Focus callipers have anything to attach to at the moment.
About to buy a TIG and then spend a few good hours practicing as I really want to learn and like a challenge. I figure... why not?
I have been looking for a fuel tank / fuel cell that has a reasonable dimension and will fit behind my 'yet to be attached' seats. found one that is 7 inches narrow... that is the smallest you will find unless I go to some ridiculously low volume. I believe that this is narrow enough... also considered welding up my own BUT that will be a project after I have done 50 or so hours of welding practice…
I have 2 rubber Bearing bushes… I need to source the rest… but I will probably move up to neoprene BUT I have no idea how they are measured… I know that some of the websites have calculators. I will research some more and see if I can source some domestically… I can not see why that can’t be possible… seems silly to get them from the UK… BUT I am the novice… What is the relationship between the width of the bolt tabs, the actual tube size, the bushes and then crush tube. I see that it appears to be a 12mm bolt although I don’t have any of them either…
I fitted the steering rack! Big effort I know… Now I am needing to install the front uprights so I can then measure and source the Tie rods.. There is apparently a need to use extenders on the shaft but not sure until I get the other things fitted…
Looking for a 9/16” 36 splined Steering Universal Joint with either ¾” V or DD on the other end. This will allow me to get to building a ¾” shaft to go between steering shaft and the steering rack. NOBODY in Perth… well no one that I can find in ‘so called’ steering experts actually has ever heard of a steering Universal joint! They only exist in Hot rod shops, ebay and Summit racing…I saw some listed in the UK BUT there are NO specifications listed. i.e. I can see it is 9/16” 36 splined BUT I need to know what the other end is…. I found one that was 75$ Aus delivered from Car Builder Solutions and it did have specifications clearly listed, which is $5 more than I can see on eBay, so I will just buy one for the same on ebay…
Sent an email to my local supplier asking for a floor; he asked for dimensions so I sent them. I also want to buy his M shaped roll bar that I spotted in the shed.
I also asked him for his drawings to fit my later model 2L engine into the frame to assist with my DOT and my construction.
I also asked him about the radiator pipe dimensions so I can purchase them..
I guess that is about it for now…
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Post by drbrian on Jul 4, 2018 14:24:43 GMT
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Post by perthwa on Jul 5, 2018 0:50:56 GMT
thanks, appreciate the wisdom...
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Post by drbrian on Jul 5, 2018 2:43:34 GMT
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Post by perthwa on Jul 7, 2018 12:00:57 GMT
thanks for the snaps. Have just ordered a 9/16" 36 splined x DD Universal joint from ebay. Spent 2.5 hrs making the V shaped 3/4" end of a shaft for the 2008 Focus steering shaft universal to fit.  Just waiting now until universal arrives so I can cut shaft to length and make it a Double D shape on the other end... Happy with progress. For a change!. This is what I ordered, well mine is black...       Now I can think about the design and start to make the support bearing for the shaft. Seen some good ideas on the blogs. |
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Post by kiwicanfly on Jul 7, 2018 22:39:38 GMT
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Post by perthwa on Jul 11, 2018 11:32:49 GMT
Seat brackets and a test fit. Made up some brackets to mount the seat; used 50 x 25mm rectangular box section that is identical to my frame. Front mounts are wedge shape with the rectangular box section running vertical with 10 mm at the base and 50mm where the bolts will go at the top. Will post these when I have cleaned of the rust as I have recycled some metal. These will be welded to the floor 'joists' (is that a car term?).  The rear of the seat brackets are 15 cm by about 5cm L shaped made out of the same rectangular tube. Joining the centre horizontal bar and either the centre console joist or the side frame. This will be a more than strong enough to make sure the seats do not move.  I have a feeling that the seats I have are not quite symmetrical. The brackets I made were symmetrical as the seat brackets were mirror images of each other. However, I was planning on having the right seat runner 5cm inboard from the RHS frame which gives me a cm or so of clearance as the seats slide. The same seat on the LHS has 25mm inboard to give about the same clearance.. That wont matter, but I am glad I didn't just cut the length of the L shaped brackets to the desired size without checking.  Here is the seats from the bonnet.   Please ignore the haphazard wiring... and now the reason I started to do the seats. Well, if I fit the steering wheel column to the steering rack then I have to cut the shaft to fit... If I then eventually decide to see if there is enough clearance for my legs to get DOT approval and I am wrong, then I will have to modify the Dashboard Cross member and probably change the geometry of the steering column... and I will be very annoyed if the column I cut to fit is WRONG.... Here is the snap looking forward with feet comfortably on the pedals. Seat is in a mid position about right for me. This is about 4 - 5 cm clearance.     The seats are as far back as the runners allow in these shots and I still have almost 20cm back to the rear bulkhead. This will be enough for my fuel tank so I am happy. I will clean up the brackets in preparation for my welding lesson and post the shots when done. Doing some research on welding in nuts so that I only need to access from above. |
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Post by perthwa on Jul 12, 2018 12:52:56 GMT
Brackets cleaned. Spent 4 hours playing around with the brackets. Stick welded (with the 1980's welder) one nut on the hard to reach longer bracket and then the OLD Stick welder died. spent 2 hours pulling it apart cleaning it testing with a multi meter, repaired the plug by re wiring it BUT it would not restart... damn... Back to the brackets: So I just cleaned up all of the brackets and then went looking for the NEW welder and some nuts to weld in place. 200 amp AC/DC TIG / stick welder purchased. Had to go for a bike ride to borrow the trade discount card from my son but saved $110 so it was a cheap 30 km ride. p.s. I got the nuts i needed on the way. Just need to do more than 10 hours welding and I will be in-front of the $100 per hour welder time that I saw on the internet... I figure that fuel tank and brackets and engine mounts will make the welder seem cheap... and as I said I always wanted to learn to TIG weld. Here are the brackets... The L shaped ones are yet to be bent and joined as I have to be able to reach the nuts to weld them and they are near the bend...   You can see the one nut that I did manage to weld in as I have stuck a bolt into the hole. Tomorrow get some Argon... and get welding. Not welding onto the frame yet. I need some serious practice before that happens. |
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Post by perthwa on Jul 13, 2018 11:41:31 GMT
Welding!  Voila! I decide to Stick weld the nuts in as the reach was a reasonable distance and cup from TIG would not fit inside tube too well. Then I decided to Stick weld the Mitres as they were correctly bent at 45 degrees but the gaps ranged from nil to about 2mm... so stick was better to cover the gaps. The far left bracket has a tricky nut right where the mitre was... so that looks dodgy... but it is solid. and a couple of the holes are not quite central but the runners from the Focus where the Rivets were have just a little play so should be ok. Will not be visible at all when seats are in as they screw down in the runner channel. I ran the 8mm 1.25 thread die through all of the holes just to make sure there was no slag issues... Still have 8 nuts to weld into the front brackets.. maybe TIG time for them... Then test fit and then try welding on to the frame rails...Fun... p.s. 19 degrees C for the next week in Perth.. Not bad for winter. Question: Should I spray the inside of the channel with some primer/ rust prevention stuff? I will need to leave the last inch or some clean so I do not contaminate my TIG welding to the frame rails? Suggestions? |
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Post by drbrian on Jul 13, 2018 19:15:36 GMT
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