Many questions...

[Josh]

Hi Guys

Its been a while since I posted here, I'm now in my second year of Uni and have had to put the project to the side for a while. I'm picking it back up now for a couple of months before I start my year-out placement in industry and I have quite a few questions... sorry!

Firstly, I'm having some issues with my front uprights and the suspension brackets. I've checked and re-checked my jigs and they are correct by my book (494mm center-center lower and 670mm upper?). When I offer it all up there is a gap of about 4-5mm between the upright and bracket on both sides; on the front and rear uprights.
With the U1 & U2 uprights I imagine I could just grind them out and shift them out a bit till they meet the brackets? However the front frame was built by-the-book on the wooden jig so I'm confused why there's a gap... Has anyone else come across this problem? Could I add a 'bulking plate' to make up the gap rather than move the FF2 & FF3 uprights out?

I'm thinking that I'll go with a Zetec engine, has anyone already taken this path? If so did you use the alternative mounting plate as shown in the book and what did you build the engine mounts from?

Headlights - what are people going for, where’s the best place to buy from and what fixing hole size shall I drill (ie is there an industry standard or shall I wait till I have my 'lights?)

Can I buy a fabricated roll-bar unit? I can't find any local companies willing to help me bend up the tube and I don't have the facilities to do it myself, thinking it may just be easier to buy it as a whole.

I'm pretty short :rolleyes: (about 5'7") and it feels like I'm having to move way forward in the car to reach where the pedal box will be, maybe to close for the steering wheel. I'll be putting the seat on runners but has anyone made the pedal box adjustable, or mounted it further back in the car? I'm using a MT75 'box so I've made the adjustments to the TT meaning a smaller footwell - does this mean the pedal box will have to move backwards anyway?

Steering rack and mounts - best place to buy them? what ratio seems to be best?

Are there any pedal rubbers that work well with the book-built pedals?

What brake master cylinder are people using, and what size hole needs drilling in the pedal plate?

Finally, my local shop doesn’t stock bolts with un-threaded shanks for my wishbones, where have you brought yours from?!

That’s it (for now!) - quite a lot in one go I know but any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers
Josh

[Tatey]

I haven't reached the stage of putting the suspension brackets on, however from what I read, you need to add some packing behind some of the brackets to bring them out further. Someone will be able to confirm this shortly.

Quite a few people are going via the zetec route, i know that Spud69 changed from a 1.8 CVH to a brand new 2.0l zetec, so he should be able to advice you on that.

Personally I would wait until you have your lights as you might find a perfect pair , to then find the hole you have drilled is too big. You can purchase 7" headlights from ebay for about £46 delivered i think, Handy Andy has some on his car at the moment and they do look good.

In regards to the roll bar, AshG tends to do bulk buys for people looking to get a prebent roll bar, you then just need to add the plates onto the end of it, the rear stay bars and the seatbelt mounting. Due to my height (6'6") the standard roll bar is too short for me, however I only found this out after buying one and putting it on my car, so if you'd be interested in buying it then feel free to send me a PM.

I'm not sure how tall HandyAndy is, be he is pretty short :p :D, however I think he fits fine in his car, although im sure he'll be along shortly to advise you.

Steering rack and mounts can be bought from saturn sports cars (link (http://saturnsportscars.co.uk)), the company is ran by Spud69 and HandyAndy, and if you ask anyone on here, they will happily recommend them. You can also buy them used on the Locost Builders forum, as they pop up from time to time.

Im unsure about the pedal bushes, but I think 3GE components can sell them if you email them.

I think people are just using the standard Sierra master cylinder, im unsure of the hole size though.

[HandyAndy]

Hi Josh,

Firstly, its nice to hear that your build is still making progress, keep at it :cool:

As for being a "shorty" ( everyones a shorty stood next to Tatey :p ),
I,m 5ft 8 in tall & the standard roll bar as supplied by Ash G seems the perfect height for me, & i,m having my seats set a little higher than other builders, basically I like to be able to see the top of the front cycle wings from the drivers seat, and I,ll be wearing a helmet when driving & the roll bar still has enough height to offer me protection.

As for headlights, ( as Tatey has said ) I got mine from Kitpartsdirect for £35 plus £7 delivery, they are at the cheaper end of the scale but will pass IVA & do look good on the car, the only downside is the side lights in them are not wired in , so a little work wiring them in is required.
Have a look at the photos on my "Big Day " thread in the Chassis section, the photos in the most recent postings show the headlights & the roll bar fitted.

I,ve used the sierra master cylinder, tho some are 22mm dia & some are 40mm dia for the hole required in the pedal box plate so its best to wait till you have the M/C before drilling the hole.

As for pedal rubbers, most folk seem to glue "Grip Tape" available from "Car builder Solutions", .

hope this info helps .

cheers
andy:)

[Josh]

Thanks for the replies its helped get it all moving again! Spent the day welding as much of the chassis as possible, leaving the bits that may have to be modified further down the line... Would have done more but the gas ran out :mad: !

I'll be out first thing tomorrow to get my hands on some threaded rod and spacers so should have the wishbones attached to to car by the end of tomorrow - I'll experiment with adding plates behind the brackets/moving the uprights out a tad, I'll let you know how it goes...

I'll be at the Stoneleigh show on the monday so I'll have a nose around there for some of the bits before going online (eg headlights), may just save myself a bob or two.

Next on the shopping list is the Maxi ball joints, Transit drag links, Steering rack and mounts. Andy I noticed you sell these on the SSC website, would it be possible to buy them and pick them up at the Stoneleigh show to save on the postage?

Cheers :)
Josh

[HandyAndy]

Next on the shopping list is the Maxi ball joints, Transit drag links, Steering rack and mounts. Andy I noticed you sell these on the SSC website, would it be possible to buy them and pick them up at the Stoneleigh show to save on the postage?

Cheers :)
Josh

Hi Josh,

No problem at all, contact Spud( the tall Andy :o ) via the Saturn website to confirm your order, and we,ll bring your parts to Stoneleigh,

Any other questions that we can help with just shout.

cheers
andy

[martin62]

Hi Josh,

No problem at all, contact Spud( the tall Andy :o ) via the Saturn website to confirm your order, and we,ll bring your parts to Stoneleigh,

Any other questions that we can help with just shout.

cheers
andy

Hi Andy just tacked up front frame today and the suspension brackets still seem to have a 3mm gap alround and the book measurment seem to be spot on.I was thinking of making my jigs 6mm shorter instead of packing the 6 brackets out 3mm would this make much difference Thanks Aidan

[Josh]

Well they're on at last, there was a gap of 5mm between all the front brackets and chassis tubes (bar the lower rear of corse) dispite my chassis and jigs seemingly being correct! Oh well, spacer plates in place and the welds are nice and strong so it shouldn't be an issue.

I now have many more questions...!!!! :D

Where can I source the bolts to hold the wishbones on? Am I right in thinking I'll need a 50mm unthreaded shank... they seem to be very hard to track down.

What have people used to bolt the lower rear upright joint to the lower rear wishbone? I can't use studding or make my own rods as the 12mm round bar I have access to is soft as s**t :eek: !

I've managed to get my hands on a Granada steering colomn, will this work in place of the siera one? Also when extending the steering colomn what thickness tube should I use - the book says 'thick' but how thick?!!

Whats the best way to ream my front uprights in order to take the maxi ball joint, and am I best waiting until I have the joint before doing this?

Roll bar - Where can I source seemless tube from, also seems to be pretty rare to the public.

Has anyone used ali for the chassis floor? If so how did you fix it to the chassis and what thickness did you use? Did you use treadplate of just plain sheet?

Shocks - what dimensions should I be looking for? What shocks are people using? I'm leaning towards getting a set from dampertech, they seem to have the upper hand on protech? Does 13" open, 9" closed, 14" center to center sound right?

Finally !!! Have any shorter members of the human race had problems reaching the pedal box?! :p shall I fix it 'by the book' right up against the plate cp16 or experiment with positioning it once I've got my seat and steering wheel positions sorted?

Thanks for all the help guys, its really coming on now!! :D

Josh

[twinturbo]

I am using 2mm ally tread for the floor rivited and sealed.

search reamer and get the "village bike" sent on so you can do your hubs.

there was a guy on ebay selling bolt sets...

TT

[geeman]

For the holes for the balls joints use the 19mm tapered reamer from axminister tools.

Floor ,I and others used 2mm 5251 aluminuim, much stronger grade. I got it from Parkers steel as it was the cheapest at the time. for fixing it use a sealant, and then pop rivet it. Its a pain to drill so many holes though.

For the roll bar most people on here havnt used seamless tubing, partly due to cost an the fact Ashg had previously done group buys for roll bars. Not sure if he'll be doing another

For the steering column extensions I used 2.5 mm tubbing, don't remember inner dia. Not sure what others have done..

[gingea1pom]

I have finished with my reamer now and will bring it to Stoneleigh free to someone who buys me a burger.:D

Cheers Ginge

[twinturbo]

Stoneligh burgurs must be cheap then, it would be cheaper to buy a new one if you went on FordFair prices... But that is Silverstone!

TT

[Josh]

Hi Andy just tacked up front frame today and the suspension brackets still seem to have a 3mm gap alround and the book measurment seem to be spot on.I was thinking of making my jigs 6mm shorter instead of packing the 6 brackets out 3mm would this make much difference Thanks Aidan

Hi Aidan

Personally I'd put the brackets where they're supposed to be, I ended up putting 5mm spacer plates in behind all my front brackets. If you do bring them in then you'd have to play around with the steering rack extensions and get them the right length, or you'd end up with horrible toe-out. Seems a lot of hassel for the sake of some 3mm plates?

Josh

[Josh]

I have finished with my reamer now and will bring it to Stoneleigh free to someone who buys me a burger.:D

Cheers Ginge

Hi Ginge - if I brought my uprights with me could I ream them on location?! :D

[SeriesLandy]

What have people used to bolt the lower rear upright joint to the lower rear wishbone? I can't use studding or make my own rods as the 12mm round bar I have access to is soft as s**t !

You need to find a local bolt shop and buy a length of HT studding. I think mine cost about 6quid. That was after spending £5 a piece on bolts that were too short for the job.

[gingea1pom]

Hi Ginge - if I brought my uprights with me could I ream them on location?! :D

If you have a spare two hours (that’s how long it took me by hand) and some sort of vice.

I’m not sure what the studding is for!

Cheers Ginge

[SeriesLandy]

Quoted the wrong bit....whoops. :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Also just found these on eBay. (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Haynes-Roadster-rear-suspension-bolt-kit_W0QQitemZ150426193084QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Car sParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item2306198cbc)

[HandyAndy]

If you have a spare two hours (that’s how long it took me by hand) and some sort of vice.

I’m not sure what the studding is for!

Cheers Ginge

2 hrs Ginge ????? blimey :eek:

I must,ve had my 3 shredded wheat the day i did mine, about 20 mins per upright :D

cheers
andy

[HandyAndy]

Hi Andy just tacked up front frame today and the suspension brackets still seem to have a 3mm gap alround and the book measurment seem to be spot on.I was thinking of making my jigs 6mm shorter instead of packing the 6 brackets out 3mm would this make much difference Thanks Aidan

my apologies Aiden , I missed this post :o

As Josh has said, its better to pack out the gap with spacers, its a common situation that most builders come across ( me included ).

If you altered the jigs you may well create a problem for the setup of the suspension / ackerman angle , which has been designed into the Roadster at the given measurements by Chris Gibbs,

sorry for late reply to your question.

cheers
andy

[martin62]

Thanks for the help will atack it on sunday.Aidan

[Josh]

Ordered my bolts from ebay, cheers for the link SeriesLandy! The build is coming on nicely now, front uprights have been dismantled from the shock units and the diff' bracketry is all welded up. I'm now on a big hunt for a pre Aug '95 mondeo for the engine and ECU so I don't have to run a cat. I've got 4 weeks to find one - just as I was getting going on the build again I've now got to go back to uni! :o

Some more questions... I'm going to use 2mm ali sheet for my floor - how would you suggest I mount my seats? Would it be enough to bolt them straight to the ali plate or would I be better off welding some steel support tubes in between the lower rails and transmision tunnel rails? I'll be using seat runners nicked off my 5door metro as it'll almost cirtainly fail its next MOT in a few months beyond economic repair :eek:

I'm struggeling to find a source of seamless tube for my roll bar, id really rather not make it from seammed tube if I can help it. Anyone got any suggestions for the south London/Kent area?

I've been thinking about the exhaust and purely from an astetics point of view id quite like to have 4 seperate tubes come out down the length of the bonnet, slope down to the base of the chassis parralel where they'd meet a single horizontal tube running along the car back to the scilencer. kind of like this:
http://www.tsra-va.com/ClubInfo/RidesProjects/1948FiatTotalinoRonBoddy_files/image002.jpg
Then add the horizontal tube in along the bottom...

Will this work from a performance point of view or would I be better off sticking to a more conventional 4-1 or 4-2-1 system?

Cheers
Josh

[geeman]

Some more questions... I'm going to use 2mm ali sheet for my floor - how would you suggest I mount my seats? Would it be enough to bolt them straight to the ali plate or would I be better off welding some steel support tubes in between the lower rails and transmision tunnel rails? I'll be using seat runners nicked off my 5door metro as it'll almost cirtainly fail its next MOT in a few months beyond economic repair :eek:


I think most people including myself will weld 2 strips of some steel(im using 40x3mm), and put the runners on those. I think some people have used some 25mm box instead of strip as well.

[gingea1pom]

Some more questions... I'm going to use 2mm ali sheet for my floor - how would you suggest I mount my seats? Would it be enough to bolt them straight to the ali plate or would I be better off welding some steel support tubes in between the lower rails and transmision tunnel rails? I'll be using seat runners nicked off my 5door metro as it'll almost cirtainly fail its next MOT in a few months beyond economic repair :eek:

Josh

Josh,

You really don’t want to fix your seats straight to the aluminium they would probably rip out on hard cornering.

Weld some steal strip or box section as Geeman has said, should keep the IVA man happy.

Cheers Ginge

[HandyAndy]

My car has an ali floor, so i,ve welded in some 25mm box tube between the bottom rails/ transmission tunnel,

apart from the strength of the seat anchorage it also raises the seats up to a nice level, i can now see the top of the headlights & front wings :o , when i,m in spuds car I can only just see over the top of the aero screen :o

cheers
andy

[SeriesLandy]

My car has an ali floor, so i,ve welded in some 25mm box tube between the bottom rails/ transmission tunnel,

apart from the strength of the seat anchorage it also raises the seats up to a nice level, i can now see the top of the headlights & front wings :o , when i,m in spuds car I can only just see over the top of the aero screen :o

cheers
andy
What you can see all depends on your height mate :D . Although your not that short.

[Josh]

Today was the last days building for 4 weeks, back off to Uni tomorrow. Got started on removing the rust from my front uprights via electrolysis and played around with the seat heights with the nose cone in place.

I think I'll weld in some angle strips across the bottom rails with some captive nuts welded to the underside for me to bolt my runners too - I too think that the slighty higher seat position will help with my view out the car!!:o

Me in my chassis (day dreaming :D !)

http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t329/Joshy_1-1/Haynes%20Roadster/P100410_1521.jpg

Cheers
Josh

[HandyAndy]

looking great there Josh , :cool:
I,m sure we can all admit to sitting in the chassis & dreaming / longing for the day we get to drive it :D

May I ask which gearbox you plan to install?

Have fun at uni ( which uni by the way? my lad is at Lancashire Uni.)

cheers
andy

[Josh]

I was going to use the type9 and built the car acordingly, then changed my mind :rolleyes: did a straight swap for an MT75 with a guy after a type9 (lucky!) and made the trans tunnel mods accordingly.

I'm at Bath in my second year studying Mechanical Engineering, although will be taking a year out in industry starting June '10 working for Williams F1 - can't wait!!:D

Cheers
Josh

[HandyAndy]

wow, a fantastic Industry placement :cool: & your Roadster build will I,m sure be a great talking point of your time with Williams.

Your chassis is looking great, you,ll soon have it on wheels , then sitting in it saying Brum Brum :D

My lad is studying to be a teacher......( teaching English & History in Japan :eek: )

cheers
andy

[twinturbo]

My lad is studying to be a teacher......( teaching English & History in Japan :eek: )

cheers
andy


I can 200% say I would not want to be a teacher. I have worked in a school for 12 years and realy can't work out how they cope with some of the crap they have to put up with... But then again, I am just plain poor at teaching people stuff.. Give me a computer network issue and I am quite happy though ;)

TT

[twinturbo]

year out in industry starting June '10 working for Williams F1 - can't wait!!:D

Cheers
Josh

Remember, your earnings do not have to have a ££££ value. 30 minuets with your chassis in the care of one of the chassis dynamics boys could be worth a shed load..

Just don't push ya luck ;)

Should be a briliant placement :)

TT

[Bonzo]

Nice work Josh .... looks like you have made some good progress :cool: :)

Funny old world isn't it ? , My Nephew completes his last year at Bath in a few weeks.

Chemical Engineering .... Mark Hammond in the unlikely event the two of you have met :D

Enjoy your placement with Williams F1 :cool: