uppydatey

[JakeH]

been a while since i posted any progress on the car,

first of all got the sierra stripped down to the bare shell which will be going to scrap in a week or two, may have also found a buyer for all the bits i didn't use which is money back in the build fund! a pic below the removal of the engine, gearbox and all the front suspension and steering at the same time which was, surprisingly easier than it looks.



then last thursday had a trip to saturn to pick up some bits and have a ride out in the demonstrator (AndyH's car) which was awesome fun and has spurred me on to get some serious progress made. spent that entire afternoon pressing the poly bushes in and having a 'trail' fit of the wishbones. still need the suspension bolts though (used some i had lying around for now) got the diff bolts and the bottom of the rear upright bolts from BAPP for bolts for £3 (didn't have the cash for the others but they stock them at around 0.35p per bolt with washers and nylocks.

the car is now rolling all be it with the wrong suspension bolts. i ended up borrowing a reamer from the garage i used to work at which was the right size. and yes i did have a Flintstones moment (YABBADABBADOO) which got a few laughs have "bodged" the steering column for now until i get some decent tube to make the extension. as you can see the wheel alignment is a tad out. but the chassis appears straight which is a relief. also what distance have people used between the holes of the dummy shocks? have done the ones you see here at 13inches.



started work on the pedal box on sunday which is coming along nicely, because im quite short but have stupidly long legs iv had to modify the pedal box slightly bringing it forward or backwards (whichever way you look at it) by about 40mm which puts it in the right place. (will post how and what i did when its finished for others to use if they so wish)

garage is a bit of a mess at the moment, sierra and classic mini parts everywhere... (also have loads of classic mini bits for sale if anyone is interested?)

thats all for now folks, as usual any constructive criticism is very welcome, learning by mistakes and all that.

Ta very much

Jake

[Bonzo]

Nice to see that you are making some progress there Jake

I would imagine that 12.5" - 13" is more or less ideal for a dummy shock length.

One observation & being as you mention the front wheel tracking, are you using the original book length steering rack extensions ?
I believe that most folk find them too long ( I certainly did )

Looking at the picture, I can't see how much adjustment is left on the steering rack arms.

Looks as if you are making some great progress with your build

[JakeH]

Originally Posted by Bonzo

One observation & being as you mention the front wheel tracking, are you using the original book length steering rack extensions ?
I believe that most folk find them too long ( I certainly did )

Looking at the picture, I can't see how much adjustment is left on the steering rack arms.

erm im using the ones from saturn, havnt done anything in regards to setting up the suspension or steering as of yet, as you can see im working on a stone slabbed floor which is about as level as a banana! so will have to wait till i can get it somewhere flat before i do that bit, at the moment all the suspension adjusters are screwed as far in to the top arms as they will go.

should be taking the car to college in a week or 3 so will hijack the laser alignment gauges and do a proper set up job (will let me see how straight the chassis is after welding too

Ta Very Much

Jake

[Bonzo]

If you are using steering rack extensions from Saturn Jake, I am sure they will be just fine

Spud would have certainly supplied you the right ones for the job

How lucky are you having the use of the college wheel alignment kit

[HandyAndy]

Looking great there Jake, nice progress indeed

Is that the back wheel of a Moto X bike in the background? Looks very clean tho

Keep the build pics coming, & well done on getting to the rolling stage...a major milestone of the build

cheers
andy

[JakeH]

Originally Posted by Bonzo

How lucky are you having the use of the college wheel alignment kit

tis quite cool will be able to check offset, castor, camber, kpi, tracking and more importantly how straight the chassis is!

is that the back wheel of a Moto X bike in the background? Looks very clean tho

Keep the build pics coming, & well done on getting to the rolling stage...a major milestone of the build

the wheel is from my dads trials bike, not been ridden in years! what a waste starts near enough first time every time, if your legs are strong enough to turn the damn thing over!

yeah getting to the rolling stage makes it seem like iv done something, when the chassis was on the bench it seemed like it was just a pile of metal, it makes it seem like iv done loads now and has spurred me on a bit more

Ta Very Much for the comments and advice

JakeH

EDIT: has anyone got a drawing or dimensions for the GRP rear tub i can steal? was originally planning on using aluminium but have since changed my mind!

Ta Very Much

JakeH