jimhammer
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:16 AM |
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Pee'd off
Sorry guys had to tell someone. MK indy R1 SVA'd couple of months ago main points of failure being speedo calbration and emmissions which I
expected. Trailered it down so until then never driven it apart from few yards. Just round the test centre drove like a pig all over the place, had to
rev the nutsack off it to get it moving and keep getting a continual problem of not finding gears or of getting into neutral, so then won't
start.
Anyway thought the problem with the gearbox may have been not had a run since build started. And wasn't a problem during test Purchased the
engine from MK and they assured me it was a 'good un'. As for the steering set the wheels as near to parallel as I could get, tyre
pressures 18 psi. Mushrooms pointing forward and no discernable camber.
Intention was to take the car and get the emmissions sorted locally and adjust the speedo then.
Took the car on the road and it's just not safe, wanders all over the road. Anyways got about 500yds went to turn right stalled it and
couldn't get it into neutrel so stuck in middle of road busy junction and the tooting begun. Sat there trying to find neutral but didn't
want to know. Panic set in then, to make matters worse whose waiting at the junction but the old bill. Expecting the third degree they were really
helpful pushed the car off the road and helped try and rock the car. After about 5 minutes of trying eventually got the car in neutral and took it
back in first gear!.
Sorry for the long post, but have just lost confidence in the build now and where do I go from here? 
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clockwork
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:23 AM |
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Cheer up dude.
While I can't help on your problems have some motivational video's (off to the garage now)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdQ6bqRDFA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kynfsaZaVVo&feature=related
No doubt some-one will be along to help shortly
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin.
"Well if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" Morons the world over.
Locost/Kit builders info and FAQ website:- www.carbuilders.info
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:23 AM |
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You should take it to get the wheels aligned but don’t let the clowns at the garage drive it on to the ramps as they will most likely have never
driven one and smash it.
Bike gearbox, pain in butt though doesn't sound to me anyway like there is anything other than the clutch needs adjusting. I'd suggest you
get a bit of practice in an empty car park to get use to the set up.
It's not a ford shopping trolley so don't be too surprised if it takes a while to get use to it.
[Edited on 20/6/08 by Mr Whippy]
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BenB
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:30 AM |
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Yup. Sounds like a tracking issue and an unbled clutch (hopefully).
Don't get disheartned, they're pretty sortable problems.
Changing gear in a BEC when stationary can be tricky to impossible at the best of times. A dodge clutch won't help.
I thought my tracking was alright until I measured it (the mk1 eyeball is not the most sensitive pieces of equipment it appears!!).... Huge amounts of
toe-in and camber...
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fesycresy
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:34 AM |
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One thing most people miss is the ride height.
If you've got the front higher than the back, at speed it will feel like aqua planing.
Set mine to about 95mm at the front and 115 at the back.
HTH
Lyn
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
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graememk
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:36 AM |
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chear up dude, get down to newark at the weekend and have a chat with us all there.
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BenB
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:39 AM |
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ps- it might be worth disabling the neutral interlock on the ECU so you can start the engine in any gear. It's normally just a case of shorting
out a wire... Helps no end on failed hill starts  No need to find neutral, just blip the starter and give it a bit more gas second time around....
Sure does feel bizarre with a nose-high attitude. I'm going to raise the back up a bit on mine. I've got a 40mm difference (nose high) and
it feels rather scary at speed. Didn't stop me getting to Newlands quite rapidly last weekend (even if my kidneys were pumping quicker than my
fuel pump!!!)....
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Guinness
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:49 AM |
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I'm sorry to hear about your problems. I'm sure most of them can be pretty quickly sorted using the collective knowledge that is
Locostbuilders.
I'd take comfort from the fact that there are hundreds of completed MK's out there that do handle brilliantly and can be made to progress
at pace So it's not down to an inherant design flaw, like a the "leathal swing rear axle on a beetle!".
(Setting aside the lengthy discussions about MK's rear suspension geometry at the limit for another day).
When I wired my Indy up, I specifically altered the wiring so I could overide the "won't start in neutral" relay. This means if I
have a spin, or stall, I can get started again really quickly.
As for it being tricky to find / select gears, it sounds a lot like a clutch adjustment problem. Is there any way you can try to get a bit more
travel on the pedal / more action on the cable?
As for the handling, Kurt had really bad problems with his MK after his SVA. Turned out that he hadn't torqued up the long bolts through the
bottom rear wishbone / hub carrier. Dead simple to overlook, took 5 minutes to sort, but it wasn't picked up at SVA or when he took it to a
garage to get the tracking sorted.
This meant that the rear hubs were free to go wander at part throttle. Under braking or hard acceleration they tended to settle into either extreme
position making for a very odd ride!
So, check all your nuts are tight
HTH
Mike
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 11:51 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BenB
(even if my kidneys were pumping quicker than my fuel pump!!!)....
what a horrible image 
quote:
Originally posted by Guinness
So it's not down to an inherent design flaw, like a the "lethal swing rear axle on a beetle!".
Mike
[Edited on 20/6/08 by Mr Whippy]
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mackei23b
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 12:32 PM |
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It will all work out, keep the pecker up!
I drove mine to the SVA a couple of days ago (50 miles, most on the motorway) and it felt stable.
The initial set up I had for the SVA:
- 5 clicks front and rear on the shocks
- Ride Hight approx 10cm front, 13cm rear from the lowest part of the body (If the rear is lower it can lead to interesting handling I believe)
- 1 Degree negative camber front and rear wheels
- Tyres 18 PSI
- 1 Degree tow out on the front wheels (SVA set up only, but would go for 0 degrees or 1 degree tow in)
Yes, the clutch does take a bit of getting used to (again I second the opinions on the clutch sticking / not fully disengaging as the potential fault
here, but nothing major), I've also had a few interesting starts, just a case of practice.
I also took out the bike safety circuit to allow the car be started in gear for the reasons mentioned earlier.
Cheers
Ian
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gingerprince
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 12:53 PM |
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Couple of things re the gearchange (apart from the clutch issues already mentioned): -
- Make sure your levers are setup such that you can fully move the gear selector spline. i.e. your gearstick isn't getting to the limit (too
small a hole in centre console), or your pivots getting to the end if their throw. The only thing stopping your gearstick going from one end to the
other should be the gearbox itself. if you're not getting full throw it can be hard to get gears.
- Also, if you're in neutral and find you can't select first, release the clutch then press it in again. This respins the gearbox up
and usually it works next time. Many a time I've been in neutral at traffic lights then can't get 1st when they go green. have to
release and dip clutch again and it goes in fine.
Good luck and chin up! Have a beer and all will be well 
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jimhammer
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 12:58 PM |
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Thanks so much for all your (quick) support. It's really appreciated.
Lot of really good points. Never thought about ride height. Or overriding Neutral switch. And def needs setting toe with right equipment.
Just checked ride height seems backs about 16 cms from lowest point of bodywork and front 14. Although it's lower at front does appear a fair
bit heigher than Mackie23b's 13 and 10.
Would either of the guys who re-wired their neutral switch be kind enough to share the wiring alterations. Mines a carb model by the way.
Thanks again and regards
jim
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richardh
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 12:59 PM |
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start with the ride height
get it corner weighted
set the camber, castor and toe in as per instructions
fro rear drive you ned to toe out the fronts(think i got that right way round) and toe in rears
my r1 clutch is cable and is still a bit snatchy into neutral - typical with r1's though.
hope this adds to the other comments
stick with it
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stevebubs
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 01:02 PM |
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If you wire a clutch pedal switch in parallel to the neutral switch, then you've got the option of finding neutral or pressing the clutch
pedal...
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mackei23b
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| posted on 20/6/08 at 01:06 PM |
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Yes, mine probably sits a little lower than it could be.
Cheers
Ian
quote:
Originally posted by jimhammer
Thanks so much for all your (quick) support. It's really appreciated.
Lot of really good points. Never thought about ride height. Or overriding Neutral switch. And def needs setting toe with right equipment.
Just checked ride height seems backs about 16 cms from lowest point of bodywork and front 14. Although it's lower at front does appear a fair
bit heigher than Mackie23b's 13 and 10.
Would either of the guys who re-wired their neutral switch be kind enough to share the wiring alterations. Mines a carb model by the way.
Thanks again and regards
jim
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