I've spent the past few weeks on a side project...but it's going to help with the build! I made a roller bender so now i can get the box
section lengths bend to shape (rear, scuttle, bonnet, etc). Think i spent as long on the paint job as i did making it! and the colour is a giveaway
for the car
Original build from YouTube if anyone's interested:
So with the metal bender built I've started to put it to use, making the bottom support for the rear tub (the top support bend was too tight so
had to make a 90° curve out of sheet steel cut and welded up to make the right shape):
It's a really tight fit putting the rear tub on/off when testing it! Once it's on again it's never coming off thats for sure (if I
don't break it putting it back on that is).
With that done I've now put in the fuel tank and swirl tank supports:
Next on the list more brackets, for the low pressure fuel pump and filters. Gotta think about how best to fix the fuel lines in this rear section too
A few more jobs done this weekend, with more ticked off the list before powder coating.
I made the bracket for the fuel pump (the one that pumps from the fuel tank to the swirl tank):
With that done i could then work out where to put the fuel lines, and fixed in the rivnuts.
Next was the handbrake cable support bracket. A bit of fiddling about with the hubs and diff to work out the best placement, settled on putting them
towards the back at the top, ensuring they wouldn't foul against the wishbones:
And finally the bendy bits...
Putting in the side arches.
Also an extra support for the rear tub. I'm taking advantage of the extra length in the Equinox side panel bodywork to create a longer rear, any
extra luggage space is a bonus as i'm planning some big trips once she's built! I get about an extra 150mm this way. Not much but it all
counts
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
Guys we have a problem. Same problem as on Stot's thread (great build...thread on Haynesforum) the clam wings won't cover the tyre fully
so won't get through IVA. The problem's made worse by the bigger wheels, which now just poke out a midge too far.
Solution will also be the same as Stot's, and the part was ordered last night - 4x4 stainless steel spare wheel cover!
Rushing to get the chassis finished, (hoping I can still get it powder coated with all the disruption going on at the moment)! So only a few tasks
left to do...
I'm carrying on with the welding, and grinding down the welds where they get in the way of the floor and bodywork, hoping to finish in a couple
of days (before Easter)
The headlight mounts are now made and on the chassis (used a section of exhaust pipe for the round! and drilled through to the frame for the wiring to
go through):
And made sure there was space for the clamshell wing if/when I decide to fit it after IVA:
Also thinking of the clamshell wings, I've added an extra mounting point to the chassis, for any wing framework to attach to:
And finally I've added some rivnuts to hold the exhaust mounting bracket:
So the good news is the chassis is now finished and ready for powder coating. But not surprising with the current situation they're on minimal
staff and not taking on jobs at the moment. I guess I'll crack on with other jobs until then....plenty to be getting on with!
Getting the chassis finished meant finishing up the seatbelt fixing points - welding in captive nuts and strengthening the mounting points. I also
built the back mount into a box so it's protected from the elements, seeing as it's otherwise exposed right by the rear running gear:
I also finishing any welding, and grinding back welds that would get in the way of panels. Lastly I got CP17 fitted, made from 3mm plate and an extra
length of 20mm box:
So with the chassis not going anywhere for a bit I've added a couple of 'nice-to-haves'....fitting a lip along the front of the
engine bay floor and some brackets for Dzus fasteners, to hold a tray...keeping it nice and clean in the engine bay once the rest of the floor is
riveted in:
Also fitted a plate to cover a bit of the rear that'll be exposed with the tub set further back:
Then on to a solution for fitting the nosecone and bonnet. I'm making this a single piece that lifts up from the front, so I built up a frame
that i'll glue (PU adhesive?) the GRP pieces on to. (I'm going have gas struts towards the front and add the bonnet catch to the bulkhead,
though wont add these until the bulkhead is riveted in and secure)
It took a bit of trial and error getting the final shape, and i'm glad I've got the metal bender to hand. The first design had straight
lengths at the front where it's hinged, but they clashed with the wishbone and radiator mounts, so remade the front with it curving round those
parts.
Also it took a fair bit of straightening and re-bending to get the final shape for the bonnet but i'm pleased with the final outcome, it's
really solid.
The only thing is the strength of the hinges, they look ok but i don't want anything breaking at speed, so I've got the bonnet locating
pins near the bulkhead, but looking at it in place I think i'll also add some horizontally at the front, either side of the radiator I think.
Cheers Jay, I'm hoping maybe...possibly...end of the year to finish. We'll see
Last week it was finally time, we took the chassis to be powder coated! Along with all the other bits - wishbones etc.
(I can definitely recommend Castle Powder Coating in Castleford, they did a mint job, even sent a couple of pics of the blasting and coating)
Had to get it to them first so it's on to the trailer:
And just like that it's job done:
Now she's back home and all tucked up:
So I can now get to work on the running gear, starting with the engine and gearbox:
Thanks! Progress slowed up slightly but still plugging away at it
So just a small update as i'm working on cleaning up each individual part, pretty boring stuff so just a summary:
Another side project to help with the build, I built a blast cabinet to help with bringing some of the parts up to scratch:
I'm on with blasting the back plates at the moment.
Also cleaning up the parts that don't need blasting, it's amazing what a bit of vinegar and a brush can achieve!
I'm finding some parts aren't worth restoring, either too far gone (e.g. the rear drive shafts) or cheap enough to buy anyway (e.g. the
front calipers as part ex.)
The master cylinder's good enough, but this particular one seems like a part you can't get any more so i've bought a new one in case
in future it needs changing/fixing i can at least find a part for it - again they're cheap enough at £26
I also splashed out on a new steering rack, and glad i did the part that arrived from RallyDesign is awesome quality.
So i'll probably sell on the cylinder and rack I'd already got when i get round to it.
Getting fewer parts to clean up before i have to tackle the gearbox and engine! I'm building up to it
.....Oh also, big shout out to Gaz Suspension. I got their dampers from Rally Design but they have 1/2" bushes as standard rather than 12mm.
Since my chassis' now powder-coated i didn't really want to drill the suspension brackets up to the 1/2".
One phone call, sent them in, they changed the bushes and sent straight back. Can't fault their customer service, amazing.
I got the gearbox finished!
Been working on it for the past couple of weekends and the odd evening. It was pretty filthy so first job was to get the degreaser on it and give it a
proper clean. Then a complete stripdown and put in new/uprated bearings, seals, and gaskets. Put it all together again and a lick of paint....good as
new
A few pics from start to finish:
I'm half way through the engine rebuild, would have liked to have got it done by now but welding up the shortened sump has been a pain...a few
pinholes, a few re-welds, then re-testing for leaks, re-weld again, etc.
Sorted now though, so here's a few pics of progress so far:
Started with mounting onto the stand:
Then everything stripped off and put aside:
Now for the first bit of work on the engine itself. I've cut up the crankcase so the starter motor will fit the type 9 bellhousing, and cut off
a chunk that would otherwise be sticking out the bottom of the engine bay:
Next on to the sump. I cut up the new standard one I bought:
Then made some templates, cut the sheet steel to the shapes neeed, and welded them in:
Then as mentioned spent the next few days finding and fixing leaks. Finally all watertight so drilled a hole for the plug, welded the nut in, and out
with the paint:
I also shortened the oil pickup and made sure it fit nicely...and a magnetic sump plug is ordered and on its way
So now everything's stripped and ready for a clean, new parts where needed, and rebuild:
Am seriously impressed with your engineering there Chris, even within this community, there aren’t many that would even consider stripping down and
rebuilding the gearbox, so you engine sounds like it’ll be easy for you to do and achieve a very reliable kit car once on the road.
Cheers Jason! Either that or it's all going to go very wrong, haha.
tbh it's been the best part so far...I love taking things apart and seeing how they work
So engine rebuild part 2...reassembly is the reversal of removal
These are just a few pics of the build, I didn't photo all stages there's just too many steps
First job, painting the cylinder block (brg of course it's gotta be)
Then deglazing the bores
Next time to clean out the galleries of all the rusty gunk...that's the last time they'll ever see H2O!
And then on to cleaning the pistons...before and after pic:
Now on to the head. First job taking the valves out
Then time to give the valves a good clean...before and after pic (ones on the left aren't black holes...they were just that black with soot
lol):
And then lapping the valves getting them nice and snug
All clearances and tolerances were checked and parts replaced where needed...including the shells which although were mostly still good, there were a
few score marks on some so I thought best to get a new set
Finally all the parts got a good clean, paint, and put back together
So that's (nearly) it! Here's all the parts restored...time to start putting it all together I think
The engine and gearbox rebuilds have been the best part so far...really enjoyed getting right into the detail. And fully rebuilding now will hopefully
mean fewer problems in the future
So I may be getting a little trigger happy with the paint!
I'm reversing the injector rail inlet/outlet so they point to the back of the engine, and figure the rail would look good painted...I do like it
though tbh:
I may have even painted a few bolts here and there too
Update time!....Mostly I have been waiting for rivets to arrive. Ordered before Christmas, had two cancelled orders, and final order delayed in the
snow but we got there, so finally the floor could be finished.
While I was waiting I made some bushes for the pedals. Acetal rod turned down on the lathe and pressed into the pedals. They're not going
anywhere now and a nice snug fit with the bolt on too:
Also I took advantage of easy access to the tunnel to put all the lines in; brake, fuel, electric:
So to the floor. Started off with delivery of a massive sheet of steel:
Then cut to shape:
Next the bead roller came out to stiffen up the sheet, so no noisy 'dinks' when getting in etc:
On to drilling the rivet holes...264 in total for the floor, with 75mm spacing, 4mm stainless countersunk
Tiger seal everywhere the floor touches the chassis, then on with the floor for the last time and rivets in place. I'm so glad for the air rivet
gun!
Last job on the floor itself, I added plenty of Waxoyl undercoating:
With that done i made up a hatch for the engine bay floor...This is held in with a lip at the front and Dzus fasteners (more to be added at the back
of the hatch). It'll get a liberal coating of Waxoyl too:
And now it's back the right way up for the last time!! Really looking forward to putting things in it now!
...Oh and the round hole right in the middle of the floor? Access to the bolt for the gearbox mount I realised half way through there's
absolutely no way I'll get to the bolt from the inside once the floor's in place and the gearbox is in. I'll put a blind grommet in
or something to seal it off
Mine took me 4 years although I knew nothing about how cars worked which didn't help!
Just one thing, on the Locost design (I know yours is a Chris Gibbs), the threaded ball-joint of the front wishbones should point upwards at the outer
end so as to prevent run-out/binding of the BJ on full bump/droop. I couldn't tell from the photos if yours had that?
Also, I don't know the Gibbs suspension design well enough to know if that's still required. I thought you'd rather know now than on
first drive of the car!
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
James yep the top wishbones are angled up all good there (Though every time I've put them on I have to look up which way round they go!)
There's a reason for the sudden pick up in pace...a baby's on it's way! (our first), and the body panels and all other items
I've amassed for the build are no longer welcome in the spare room
Cheers Dave, time for another update then! Diff and interior panels...
The diff's in for the last time so all the bolts are fully tightened and not going anywhere. It may be overkill but once they were in I then
drilled through and added split pins:
I'm also happy the brake lines clear the small gap between the diff mount and the chassis! With the chassis back the right way around I can
check the clearance down the tunnel for the gearbox. Test fitted the gearbox and really annoying but both the fuel line and electric conduit got in
the way:
So they've been rerouted now and there's a good enough gap:
Then on to the panels. Only remembered to take a few pics after the back panel was done - it's hard to do bead rolling with only two hands! and
that's some pretty intricate work I reckon, testing my skills and trying for brownie points with the wife:
Sure it'll be covered up when the carpet goes in but we'll know it's there
The rest of the panels were cut, bent, sprayed on their undersides with anti rust primer, then rivetted:
The tunnel top isn't rivetted, just on for show for now...still deciding how best to fix it so it's removable with the trim I'm
planning on.
Also annoyed now that I didn't spray the top side of the floor panel with anti rust but I suppose it'll do...I may paint some on later.
Next I think will be the fuel system, then front brake lines. But first a couple of extra dzus fasteners on the engine bay hatch. It's coming
along!
)
