Gingea1pom's Build Diary

[gingea1pom]

ROADSTER BUILD DIARY

3 Oct 09

I was actually watching paint dry! So I decided to start the build diary.

I need to go back a few weeks, I was in Halfords and saw the Bible by Chris Gibbs, I have wanted to build my own car for a few years now and Chris’s book looked like it could be in reach, financially. I stuck my CBR 600 track bike project on Ebay and also the bike lift to raise some cash as Miss Ginge, rightly so, said it was to be self funding. The bike went for £360 and the bike lift for £185. I spent £104.50 taxing the Range Rover then on Thursday the 1st of October things really got started, I took a load of rubbish from the garage down the tip and picked up an 8’ x 4’ sheet of MDF and some soft wood to brace the base board, on Friday I ordered the Steel box section from a place in Kent, 7 lengths of 25 x 25 box and 3 lengths of 19 x 19 delivered to Tidworth Wiltshire, including the VAT was £115 which I thought was really good. The only down side to the whole steel thing was they cant deliver until Monday 12th when I will be away, on the upside Nicky will be having her first day with the kids at school all day so she will be able to sit around waiting for my steel to rock up then stick it in the garage! I also got a moped through its MOT so that will go soon raising more cash.

Yesterday Friday 2nd I spent the afternoon and evening constructing the base board, at about 9pm I employed Nicky to help me flip it the right way up and I started to mark out the BR’s. I started with BR 12, 5 and 6, I measured in from the edge of the 1220mm board 51mm either side then, when I was checking my diagonals realised the board is actually 1222mm wide so BR12 was 1120mm long first lesson learnt. I sat back and had a brew and decided I need a ‘square’ as drawing 3 4 5 triangles at every 90º angle would take ages, I needed to paint the base board white and I need the longest rule I can find.

Finally I am up to today. I went to Wickes and purchased a 1m rule, 2m plasterer’s feather, a new expensive hacksaw frame and some blades, a small tin of white primer and some red oxide primer. The red oxide is for the steel when it arrives as any steel in the garage will oxidise in 2 weeks. The white primer has already been applied to the base board and I am waiting for that to dry and will apply a second coat. I couldn’t find a ‘square’ I liked! So once the second coat has dried I will make one out of some L section steel I have lying around.

It is now 8pm and the kids have gone to bed. I spent all afternoon constructing my 3,4,5 triangle to give me a true 90º, it was good practice in cutting accurately and a chance to dust of the welder, all went well. The primer on the base board has not really dried so it is not getting a second coat and I don’t think I will get to mark out tonight, I have all week as no steel, then I will be away during the week for six weeks so only work at the weekend BUT I then have the whole of December off work so I should be able to plough ahead. I have my lap top in the garage playing radio two whilst reading the forum as Strictly is on and it does my head in.

A bit of a rambling first instalment, I shall try and keep it to the point when I actually start building something. I am going to take some pictures of a white base board and a 3,4,5 triangle!

I was going to embed the pictures in the post but couldn't work it out so they are on photobucket in the link in my signature, dont get exited there is only 5 pictures!:D

[HandyAndy]

:D sounds like you have a great Mrs , don,t tell me she,ll be applying the red oxide paint whilst you,re away is she ???:D

seriously... the very best of luck with your build, :cool:

cheers
andy:)

[gingea1pom]

Cheers Andy,

I hope she sticks it in the garage. I can see this 'me working in the garage all weekend' honeymoon ending soon, especially when I am away all week and only here for the weekend.

[HandyAndy]

simple solution :D

your mrs cuts the steel , kids bring each bit to you & you weld it together :cool: quality family time together & the Roadster gets built double quick ;)

i must admit it does help to get the "other half onboard", my mrs is creating the dash panel ( covering it in vinyl etc ), she chose the material/colour/texture , just hope its not pink fluffy stuff:eek:

all the best

andy

[gingea1pom]

My misses has this miss guided idea that she will be sat in the roadster wearing a head scarf as we bumble along the lanes,:D it is not quite the image I have.:eek: She is happy at the moment because the garage and the loft got cleared out and she has total control of the TV all evening.

James my eldest (6) keeps popping in the garage with his eyes shut as I have told him I have to weld the chassis together and he knows not to look at a welding arc, then he looks at the big white board and my triangle and leaves. We will se how long the harmony lasts.

[londonsean69]

i must admit it does help to get the "other half onboard",

Mine keeps calling it 'Her car'. She raced a Caterham once upon a time, and thinks that it must be for her.

Although that does help when I explain her posh dinner went on a set of alloys:D

Sean

[HandyAndy]

:D Hey Ginge....

i,ve just looked at your build photo,s, can you come to my garage & keep all my tools that tidy please , i always lose the 17mm socket :eek:

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

Andy,

Honestly I can’t see it lasting,:( every one who has see the board of tools and knows me has laughed.:D Wait for a picture two months down the road.:eek:

[HandyAndy]

Andy,

Honestly I can’t see it lasting, every one who has see the board of tools and knows me has laughed. Wait for a picture two months down the road.

:D i didn,t want to say that but thought it :p

its a good start tho & it,ll help i,m sure, i keep telling myself to make a tool board but never seem to have time, maybe cos i,m too busy looking for my tools :o :D

andy

[gingea1pom]

4 Oct 09

It is Sunday and I am on duty at work, what with the GP to watch and a band saw I am watching on ebay ending today I can’t see me doing to much plus I have no steel to work with I might get some marking out done.

Watched the Grand Prix and had roast lunch then spent the next four hours marking out my new base board, all done now and diagonals checked (spot on). 13 days to wait until I am able to get to work on cutting and welding.

This course I am on for six weeks has a week at the start that I might not have to do so I shall ring up on Monday and see if I can get out of it then will be here when the steel turns up and will be able to work on the chassis for a week and a weekend, fingers crossed. Bit more tiding

[gingea1pom]

5 Oct 09

I have just got back from Bracknell after picking up my band saw off Ebay £155.00. I employed Nicky’s (wife) help, she was willing if no able, to get it out of the back of the Range Rover, which by the way, is 11 years old, I wouldn’t want any one to get any ideas that I am something I am not!

I have done some practice cuts using some 15mm box section I have lying around and first results are good. I scribed the angles, a 45º and a 10º, then set the vice accordingly and then measured the finished cut and they where spot on. I am going to get a new blade as I have no idea on the age of the one in the machine; I am working on the cam belt theory, piece of mind really.

I was getting weekend clearance from Nicky for the Exeter Kit Car show and she drops the bomb shell that she is away on a hen weekend in Manchester, a quick phone call to my mother and arrangements have been made for her to look after the kids for the Saturday. So I am saving my pennies now and selling anything I can so as to take advantage of the 3ge 15% of offer for orders taken at the show.

[gingea1pom]

6 Oct 09

I have modified my band saw. The nut and bolt used to adjust the angle of the cut was a slow and cumbersome way of doing the job and I had read on the forum someone complaining how slow it was when there are lots of changes of angle to be done, so, I have welded the bolt head to the guide and welded a nut into a round piece of tube that has a T handle welded to it. Much quicker to change angles now.

7 Oct 09

I have made two of the three hangers that will hold the steel from the roof of the garage when the steel arrives. They are wonderfully over engineered and are turning into a work of art IMO. All good practice for the build.

11 Oct 09

I am on a course in the sunny Medway towns, my steel turns up tomorrow (Mon 12th) and I am stuck here.

I finished the hangers for the roof to take the steel.

Marked out the base board and checked my diagonals, everything seems spot on.

When I next get home the first thing I will have to do is paint all the steel before it starts to rust in my damp garage, then finally I can start construction.




12 Oct 09

Hooray.

Firstly I am back home and don’t have to do the first week of the course, secondly me steel turned up at 9 am this morning, I got back around the M25 and in the garage by lunch time.

I have cut all the BR’s and tacked BR 5,6,11 and 12 together, BR 8 and 9 where interesting doing the 74° cut but some judicious filing and it is spot on.

I am going to attempt the FF’s after dropping the kids at school which gives Nicky a lie in and gets me right in the good books!

I will up-date the photo-bucket pictures later.

A fantastic first day.:D :D :D :D

[ACE HIGH]

Ginge,I have been happily married for nearly 40 years,my wife has allways "got stuck in" so if Nicky sees herself "bumbling along the lanes with a headscarf on" see you do it
or you will get more grief than its worth!!With my old clubman my wife burned her leg on the side exhaust,so make sure you take care of that.
We see your country lanes on programs such as Midsomer murders,looks wonderful,wouldnt mind bumbling along them with a 7 myself.
Put Nicky on a pedestal,worship her and good luck with the build.Your son will just love the car.David:D

[gingea1pom]

Cheers ACE.

I brought my son some coveralls off Ebay but now he is asking for a welding mask as I make him go out of the garage, turn around and shut his eyes at the moment!

[gingea1pom]

13 Oct 09

Prepared all the mating faces of the base rails then ‘jigged’ them in place with plastic kitchen cupboard fixers then tacked them all together.:)

I moved on to the front frame this afternoon. I am pleased with the progress so far, I only made one mistake:( which was to cut FF2 and 3 too long to start with (miss read the length in the extra tutorial and cut them both the same length as FF1!):eek: Had it not been for this little over sight I would have got the front frame finished today. At least, eventually, I worked out where I had gone wrong, and know what needs to be done to correct it.

Of to Salisbury with my good lady tomorrow so there will be no progress.

My old man is interested in the build, to the point he is coming over on Thursday and has asked for the forum address so he can keep up with what I am doing.:D

[HandyAndy]

the front frame can be a tricky little bu@@er :D

glad you got it sorted. :)

andy

[spud69]

the front frame can be a tricky little bu@@er :D

glad you got it sorted. :)

andy

Wait till you get onto the SB sections at the back, they can be really awkward to get lined up just right but is certainly worth it. You need 3 pairs of hands to hold them in the correct angles and then another to tack them.

Patience is a virtue...If it was easy it wouldn't be fun

[AshG]

looks like a good start. if your coming back to medway feel free to give me a shout and you can come and see my buid if you like.

[gingea1pom]

looks like a good start. if your coming back to medway feel free to give me a shout and you can come and see my buid if you like.

AshG.

I am back in Medway on Sunday night for five weeks and would love to come over for a quick brew and a nose at your Roadster.

I have perchased an iternet dongle today so when I get back down there I can still check the forum, told the wife it was so I could do reserch whilst on course.

I will pm you early next week if that is OK.

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

14 Oct 09

The trip to Salisbury only took up the morning so I got the front frame completed and cut some of the top rails, also brought a ‘3’ mobile broadband dongle! So I can get the ‘tinter’ web whilst on course for the next 5 weeks.

15 Oct 09

Had a full 9 to 5 day in the garage today and the chassis has risen from the base board.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/12onlytackedatthisstage.jpg
No major problems, a little fettling here and there. The seat back was interesting, got it lightly tacked then measured all the angles before adding the first diagonal which stiffened it up nicely.

Looking forward to a second 9 to 5 in the garage tomorrow, probably won’t get as much done at the weekend as the kids will be popping in the garage and I like to encourage them which slows the whole process down a touch.

A question, which I vaguely recall being raised previously, is there a definite time to start fully welding everything together? Only there seems a lot to weld and grind back down.

[HandyAndy]

Nice one Ginge, looking good, the seat back is fun as you feel you need three pairs of hands all at the same time :eek:
i hope you don,t mind me asking but has the build table dropped slightly under the nose area of the chassis? as there seems to be a small gap between the table & the bottom rails at the front end , might be the camera angle too,
as for fully welding, its best to leave it until you have all the diagonals & the "RS" parts tacked into place, also make sure you alternate where you fully weld, go from side to side/front to back etc to minimise any heat distortion from fully welding ;)
when you "think" its all fully welded i,ll bet you a pint you,ll find one you missed :D i know i did :o

nice progress, i bet the kids & Mrs are impressed.

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

Andy

I am glad you noticed the gap under the front rail. I went for the obligatory ‘sit in your Roadster’ picture:D and the legs on the sh**y plastic A frame spread and I nearly ended on the floor,:eek: also when we had all the wet weather the board wasn’t supported properly so as you said it has now got a gentle curve on it.:( On a positive note, although it has now warped the chassis (as you can see) has remained straight.

Ginge

[HandyAndy]

can just imagine the scene :D and don,t lean back as you,ll end up on the floor with your legs in the air, i know that from when i had my "sit in my Roadster "moment :D
also , just noticed you have "U7" in the wrong place, needs moving towards the passenger side a tad ;) , hope you don,t mind me saying, but wouldn,t want you to get too far before you realised it:)

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

You can imagine what I have just done. Rushed out to the garage flipped to page 39 Fig 4.9 to ascertain which upright is U7 and immediately see my mistake, I was thinking it would be a bit tight fitting three pedals in that space.

This is why the forum is indispensable; I would have carried on blissfully unaware of my mistake and probably cut BR10 out as well before realising.

Please feel free to comment any time on anything you think looks wrong, it can sometimes be the camera angle but if it is not the implications are huge. Thank you.

Ginge

[HandyAndy]

no prob Ginge ;) , like you say "this is what the forum is there for",
sometimes its easy to get carried away with the eagerness to get "something done" & miss a small dimension check without realising it, :eek: :D
like me fitting a new clutch, ended up installing the engine/gearbox back into my chassis then realised i,d not fitted the sandwich plate between engine & gearbox... result= engine out AGAIN:o

andy

[gingea1pom]

16 Oct 09

First job today was to move U7, then I tacked on D9 and 10, moved on to SB3 and 4 which where straight forward then SB 5 and 6, I couldn’t get my head around the drawing in the appendix so decided to cut them over length and then fettle to fit. Once I had the first one in the right place I could see the cut required and the drawing made sense!

Whilst fitting TR 6 and 7 I noticed that the top of U2 was in the wrong place by 8mm, glad things are only tacked at the moment, moved it into the correct position and fitted TR 5, 6 and 7.

I am going to fit the diagonals that run down the side of the car tomorrow so have flipped the chassis over to fully weld some of the joints that will get covered by the diagonals.

I have only fitted 10 pieces today but corrected some minor mistakes and the seat back diagonals took a while.

[HandyAndy]

thats the beauty of just tack welding until you,re sure everything fits as it should, nice one Ginge :)
and just think when you are driving your Roadster you,ll know every single inch of it & how it went together, a total sense of pride .

when you come to fitting the suspension brackets make sure you check & re check all the dimensions, i spent ages getting mine "just right", worth it tho ;)

all the best for the rest of your build.

andy

ps... what engine are you going to install?

[gingea1pom]

With reference to the engine.

I was going 2l pinto or nothing but after checking out a web site that gave different engine sizes, power, weights etc I am not fussed if I end up with a 2l or 1.8, anything that is straight forward to get me through the IVA.

I am watching a 2l pinto powered 1984 sierra estate on Ebay at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260491157603&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

It is in Kent which is where I will be when it ends. It will have to be cheap as my priority is chassis plates for the next big purchase, if it goes any higher than £150 I will walk away.

The ironic thing is about 9 years ago I was the proud owner of a nice 2l SOHC sierra, it only cost me £300 and lasted me for a year.

I would like to try a bike engine conversion once the IVA is out of the way.

[HandyAndy]

the reason i asked what engine you are planning was to do with you saying you have tacked the TR5 into place, i,m using the 1.8cvh engine & had to cut the TR5 tube out as it fouls the carb/manifold, not sure if it causes a prob with other engines, but as the book was written using a pinto engine then i presume it,ll be fine if you do get the pinto,d sierra, :)

i would think hard about changing from car engine to bike engine after IVA, lots of things to change, maybe go bike engine from the beginning??? speak to Slimtater & Tilly as they have bike engines in their Roadsters, Slims is already been SVA,d & Tilly,s is a current build, maybe they could give you some advice on bike engined Roadsters.

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

17 Oct 09

6th day of the build and Sophie and I are of for a drive!

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/14SophieandI.jpg

First job was to fit the six diagonals, D1 and 2 are an interesting fit so my tried and tested method of cutting a little over size and fettling for a snug fit worked a treat, also a quick look at some forum members build pictures helped.

Moved on to the transmission tunnel next instead of the rear section as you need a few chassis plates for the rear and I won’t be getting them for a while.

The TT4/5 hoop was constructed on my welding table. I have only tacked on TT 1’s and 2’s and should get the rest done tomorrow, then a 5 week gap in construction before the big 5 weeks of.

I have updated the pictures on photo bucket, it does annoy me that they appear in reverse order, ho hum.

[gingea1pom]

18 Oct 09

I have had a pretty good Sunday all in all. Got up late then straight into the garage, stopped for a Sunday roast, back in the garage until the start of the GP.

I have now completed ¾ of the transmission tunnel just the near side top rails to do (TT7, 9, 10), the cuts on either end of TT11 are compound cuts again, they should have a warning against them, took my time with the hand saw and they turned out OK, if they had been standard angles I think I would have finished the transmission tunnel, no rush, I am not setting a time limit, it will get finished.

Pictures are updated here is one of today’s work.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/20transmissiontunnel.jpg

[gingea1pom]

Evening,

Despite being stuck in a 6’ x10’ box that the Sergeants mess call a room, I have made contact with the outside world. The technology in my ‘box’ is quite impressive I think.:cool:

I have managed to bid, win and pay for a mk2 escort steering rack which was brand new and in the box for £26.66.:)

I am getting a little ahead of my self, however. I had this, slightly, and misguided may be, miss conception that Mk2 escort steering racks are rare, so I brought it.

I have been following a few Steering Rack (SR) threads and believe if I use standard Sierra track rod ends with my new Mk2 Escort SR and a set of 130mm extensions from Rally designs that that will be a working solution. Or am I way of the mark?:confused:

I am looking forward to getting home at the weekend to sit and look at my part build chassis to take my mind off this websters course. The forum is light relief at the end of the day too.

Bleating on now I’ll get my coat.

[HandyAndy]

Hi Ginge,
sounds like you got a bargain on the rack,
as for the extensions i haven,t got the info with me at the mo but i too bought the extensions/tre,s & upper & lower ball joint/drag links etc from rally design & they where spot on & look great, i also bought my rack from them too, but mine was more than 26squid.....£65 :eek: got carried away at stoneleigh show:D

andy:)

[gingea1pom]

Since my last post I have placed my order for £150 worth of chassis plates, which I will be picking up at the Exeter Kit Car Show.

31 Oct 09

First time in the garage for two weeks and it took me 5 seconds to get back in the groove. What with getting up late and having a kids Halloween party to go to at 4pm, I only got to finish the transmission tunnel.

1 Nov 09

I made a start on the RS’s and after asking a few questions on here decided to just weld up the RS1,2,3 frame and the RS4,5,6,7,7a,8,9 frame square on the welding table and wait for the chassis plates so I can get the fames in the correct position.

I don’t think it will hold me up as I won’t get in the garage next weekend and possibly not the weekend after (work load on this course is fantastically unrealistic) and the following weekend is the show and the end of this course.

Sorry bleating again

[gingea1pom]

25 Nov 09

The whole of November without an update, that’s bad!

I have managed a little work in the garage at weekends whilst on course and have now updated the pictures in my signature.

The transmission tunnel is now complete, although when I look really closely the near side TT6 is like 1 mm to long and there for pushes the corresponding TT7 up a little, so I will remove it and get it to the correct length.

I made a start on the rear suspension framework, welding up the two U shapes of RS1,2,3 and the top one of RS4,5,6,7,7a,8,9 all on the bench to ensure they were both square then spent ages attaching the two RS10’s, fully welded up, ground down and ‘dressed’ (if that is the correct word) with a flap disk they look good.

I was going to fit the frame to the Seat Back assembly but decided to wait for my chassis plates from 3GE.

So I moved on to welding the chassis up fully, took my time and rotated the chassis so I was always welding downwards, I am not that good. I must point out at this juncture that over the past 5 weeks I have put some time in on AshG’s Roadster.

Using his ‘proper’ welding machine (mine is a Clarky 150 something) I have ramped the power right up on my machine and weld faster and deeper now. Learnt load of stuff whilst working on Ashes car so a big thanks for the experience Ash.

Ash and I had a little accident whilst running his car up to temperature see the full story
here (http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3105). so I am taking it easy for a bit an hope to get back at it on the first day of leave on Monday.

I have started a car build bank account complete with debit card so now MY build money, from selling MY stuff won’t get swallowed up by the current account.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

25 Nov 09

I have started a car build bank account complete with debit card so now MY build money, from selling MY stuff won’t get swallowed up by the current account.

Cheers Ginge


Top tip there Ginge ;)

Almost my entire build costs to date have come from the sale of classic car parts, well that & clearing a mountain of scrap !!?? :)

I have lost count of the amount of times that money has been transfered to the household account, then promptly swallowed up by day to day costs. :(

Following your build progress with interest mate :cool:

[gingea1pom]

27 Nov 09

Just had to make a entry. After missing out on a sierra on Ebay that I was willing to spend £300 on I have found one in Swindon (only an hour from me) for £150. It sounds like the battery or alternator has gone as it only starts with a jump start. The woman selling it is away until Monday, we have exchanged text messages watch this space.

28 Nov 09

Spent half a day in the garage this afternoon. I started by cutting of the offending TT6 and made it 1mm shorter, it will get welded back in tomorrow hopefully. I have finally welded the rear suspension frame onto the chassis. It took a while to line up five reference points then tacked it all together; I think it had got slightly out of line when I welded it up as it required a little pull on one corner before welding.

Pictures have been up-dated

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/34RearSuspensionFrame2.jpg

[mark]

Looking good, very neat :)

Just a word of advice though, be carefull when grinding welds flush even with a flap disc as it can (in my opinion) be very easy to go a little too far without realising and take some of the strength out of the weld

Personally i would leave them alone, apart from the areas where they do need to be flat to fit panels etc

[AshG]

looking good that is mate. if you have them to hand weld on the rear suspension brackets now as its easier without the rest of the rear in the way.

[gingea1pom]

Cheers Mark, that makes sense, I will calm down with my flap disc.:D

Ash, I have all the suspension brackets, just need to make the jigs and get some threaded bar.:rolleyes:

How’s your hand? My arm feels like normal just looks odd now.:D

[AshG]

Cheers Mark, that makes sense, I will calm down with my flap disc.:D

Ash, I have all the suspension brackets, just need to make the jigs and get some threaded bar.:rolleyes:

How’s your hand? My arm feels like normal just looks odd now.:D

hand is still killing me. found it hard going fiting the fuel pump with dave the other day. the biggest problem is that its on the bloomin joint and keeps cracking open and pissing blood everywhere when i move my hand. on the plus side its not swolen any more. glad to hear your mending better than me :D

threaded bar is nice and cheep in screwfix. dont use it for anything other than doing your brackets though as its not high tensile. if you had mentioned it when you were up you could have took some of mine as it was surplus to requirements aftr i had done my sus brackets.

[gingea1pom]

Mate there was so much I should have ‘picked up’ when I was at yours, almost worth popping over again.:D

Nicky keeps plastering on the E45 cream which seems to help.:)

Have you got a job yet?:(

[gingea1pom]

threaded bar is nice and cheep in screwfix. dont use it for anything other than doing your brackets though as its not high tensile.

I know the deliver is high but would
this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/M12-Grade-8-8-Metric-Threaded-Bar-1m-BZP-Rod-Studding_W0QQitemZ200365997031QQcmdZViewItemQQptZU K_DIY_Material_Nails_Fixing_MJ?hash=item2ea6be7be7 ) be any good?

She was watching X factor so I have had some internet time on my hands!

[allterrain]

8.8 Grade Theaded rod is high tensile and suitable for rear wishbone to upright through bolt use. cheers

[gingea1pom]

30 Nov 09

No more further forward with the car however today was the day I had arranged to go over to Swindon to pick up the £150 Sierra.:D The girl text me this morning to say see left the log book in Staffordshire, that’s OK I thought I can cope with that. Then she says it is a 2l not 1.8 now it is a 93 so I know deep inside it is going to be a DOHC with an MT75 gearbox,:mad: just threders. Anyway Nicky and I made the trip over all the same, my theory being she (the girl not Nicky) has made mistakes already maybe she has got the year wrong and it is a pinto! NO as suspected it was a 2l DOHC, so I walked away.

Now I don’t know whether to keep my current £300 budget in the bank in case a car comes up or spend the money with 3GE to get all the wish bones and take advantage of the free delivery.

I am going to ponder in the garage whilst removing some weld splatter!!

[HandyAndy]

i,d go for getting your wishbones etc, you might end up waiting for ages for the right donor to come along, so gives you time to save up some more pennies ;)
plus once you have your wishbones already to assemble & a donor comes along you,ll be able to get your Roadster on wheels double quick:cool:

andy
:)

[mark]

It was the same when i was looking could only find 2lt dohc :rolleyes:

Thats why i paid over the odds for mine when i found one (£400:eek: )

But it was a 1.8cvh with only 65k all documented so i just went for it

In any other circumstances i wouldnt dream of spending that on a crusty sierra but when you think of all the parts you get from it, it is worth it especially on a low miler.

Get your wishbones now and just keep on looking, im sure if one pops up after you have spent the money on wishbones you will still find the money to buy it ;) :D

As people always say one will pop up when you least expect it

Are you looking for pinto or cvh or either?! i will keep my eyes peeled

Good luck

[gingea1pom]

Are you looking for pinto or cvh or either?! i will keep my eyes peeled



Pinto or 1.8l CVH please, tell the world:D

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

Actually cracked on a little this afternoon, I cut RS11 and 12 from 19 x 19 tube then realised they should be cut from 25 x 25 tube so took a breath and cut them from the correct size tube, and to my amassment they have another compound cut on one end, I am getting quite good at them now. Fully welded the suspension frame to CP1 and 2 as I flipped the chassis over to weld the underside of RS11 and 12.

The garage needs a good tidy up then I can start to construct CP3 and 4 on the weld table. I need to get a stock of nuts and bolts, I was thinking M8, 10 and 12 in full nut, Nylock nut complete with bolts in varying lengths, any top tips would be helpful.

[gingea1pom]

01 Dec 09
Only two hours in the garage today, it is so cold; I think it is the concrete floor so I am going to invest in some of that rubber flooring. There was a bloke selling it at Exeter I should have got a strip.

In two hours today I have managed to fabricate the driver’s side upper suspension and roll bar mount, it was a labour of love but looks the part now and just requires welding to the chassis.

I will get a picture up later.

[gingea1pom]

02 Dec 09
I managed the passenger side upper suspension and roll bar mount today, again only two hours in the garage. The suspension mount is quite a complicated piece of construction, it was quite enjoyable getting it right.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/36Shockmount.jpg
03 Dec 09
I got the two suspension and roll bar mounts welded to the chassis today and also cut the ends of an AshG roll bar and got it welded on.
I have made a start on the very rear end using the plans from Dave, Mark(Gus) from the forum and so far it all looks good, thanks men.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/38Comingon.jpg
04 Dec 09
Friday morning and up at 04.30hrs to drive around the M25 to Kent to see Ash, we had a great day and I learnt loads also picked up the steel for the up-rights for the roll bar and the oval section for the head mounts.

05 Dec 09
No really work just spent some time removing weld splatter.

06 Dec 09
Works Christmas do last night so no work today felt like poo all day. I did manage to ‘win’ a Ford Sierra on Ebay. Finally it is a 1.8 CVH, good for a Zetec conversion later. I shot over to pay for it this evening and will pick it up tomorrow. Chuffed to bits to finally have a Sierra and it only cost me £150.

07 Dec 09
What a laugh this morning. Nicky and I drove over to get the Sierra. Firstly it didn’t start but luckily it was parked on a hill so I just dropped the hand break and rolled it to bump it, no pushing required, then it ran out of petrol on the way home, so back home, back to the Sierra, then it wouldn’t start again so out with the jump leads in the pouring rain with Nicky sat in the Renault laughing at me. We did finally get it home, it runs and pulls well. The battery is now charging.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/40OneSierra.jpg
I am going to keep an eye on the weather as I will be dismantling the Sierra on the drive and I am not doing it in the rain! Air box of first then loads of pictures and loosen the rear hub nuts!

[Bonzo]

Some nice progress on your build Ginge :)

Well done on finding your donor :cool:

Just goes to show......There are still a few reasonably priced ones out there ;)

Enjoy your stripping :D

[gingea1pom]

Cheers Ronnie,

I'm really looking forward to stripping:eek:

[HandyAndy]

looking good Ginge, progress is swift :cool:

hey behave !!! £150 for your donor !!!!! you,ll get a reputation like me if your not careful ......... a tight git :o

thats what i paid for my donor too;)

cheers
andy

[AshG]

well done mate that sierra looks ok. must have been one of the last ones on a j plate. like the roll bar :D

[3GE Components]

Bargain! :D

Chassis's looking really good.

Kind regards

John

[adrianreeve]

Still reckon I win for bargain sierra doner - paid £50 for it, drove it home, then found £15 in change in the glove compartment!

Cheers

Adrian

[gingea1pom]

I have come up with what might be a hair brain scheme, so I thought I would bounce the idea around to gauge opinion.

I want to work on the Sierra at home not at work, you always need the one tool that you didn’t bring with you, obviously once you have removed the front or rear wheel stations the car becomes pretty immovable. My plan, to enable me to be able to move the car in and out of the garage and for the scrappy to be able to drag the thing up my drive, is to weld some large casters on to the sills.

Then I would be able to stick the roadster chassis on the roof of the Sierra and work in the garage on the Sierra.

I have not explained that very well but I am sure you get my drift

I have just had a look at Machine Marts
heavy duty castors (http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/range/details/heavy-duty-castors/path/castors-wheels)and they are not very ‘heavy duty’ 113kg

[3GE Components]

Shopping trolley castors are what you need, they have a huge rating, not that i'd condone pinching a shopping trolley mind.........:rolleyes: :D

Kind regards

John

[HandyAndy]

Still reckon I win for bargain sierra doner - paid £50 for it, drove it home, then found £15 in change in the glove compartment!

Cheers

Adrian

i feel like i was ripped off now :eek: :D

andy

sorry Ginge....good idea about a rolling donor :cool:

[gingea1pom]

Shopping trolley castors are what you need, they have a huge rating, not that i'd condone pinching a shopping trolley mind.........:rolleyes: :D

Kind regards

John

Cheers John,

I know where there is a stream that could do with a shopping trolley removing from it. Doing my public service and all that.

[gingea1pom]

i feel like i was ripped off now :eek: :D

andy

:

Andy,

I think the amount of stuff we got for our £150 is fantastic.:D There are people selling 1.8 CVH engines on the bay for £500!:eek:

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Still reckon I win for bargain sierra doner - paid £50 for it, drove it home, then found £15 in change in the glove compartment!

Cheers

Adrian

My first donor was free + it had 3/4 of a tank of fuel :eek: :)

On the downside...............I only found £1.15p in loose change :( :D

[mark]

That looks the same as my sierra did, same colour/engine/age

Mine ran sweet as a nut so felt guilty for the first 5mins of ripping it to pieces :D systematically ripped to bits of course ;)

If you are using the loom make a good job of labelling it and storing it for when you need it. I spent a full day carefully removing the whole thing in one piece and very neatly labelling it.

I have just recently stripped the loom down and got it in the roadster at the weekend, the labels really helped make sense of it quickly

[davidimurray]

Looking good Ginge - don't forgot to cash the tax in if there is any left - got £50 back on mine :D

[mopple]

Hi Ginge, was looking at your roll bar and suspension mount assembly and had a thought. For those nuts there and also for lower harness mounts would be very comfortable to use special weld nuts. They just need a bit larger hole but are self centering and easy to fixate. Here's a linkey with drawing and dimensional table http://www.deepri.com/din_specifications/DIN-929-Hexagon-Weld-Nuts.html. I design conveyors every day and we use them a lot. Don't know how available those are over you, but should be.

[AshG]

Hi Ginge, was looking at your roll bar and suspension mount assembly and had a thought. For those nuts there and also for lower harness mounts would be very comfortable to use special weld nuts. They just need a bit larger hole but are self centering and easy to fixate. Here's a linkey with drawing and dimensional table http://www.deepri.com/din_specifications/DIN-929-Hexagon-Weld-Nuts.html. I design conveyors every day and we use them a lot. Don't know how available those are over you, but should be.

good find that is mopple. wish i had those when i did my car.

[Bonzo]

I used weld nuts on mine .......... Mind you, only because I had them on my shelf ;) :D

They are quite usefull though, less likely to pull when being welded & keep nice n square :)

[gingea1pom]

08 Dec 09

I am not quite sure what I did today but it defiantly wasn’t work on the roadster and the strip light in the garage blew!

09 Dec 09

I finished of the modified rear end and shaped the bar that the upper seat belt inserts go into, which is what the following picture is showing, also it shows my thoughts for the roll bar stays.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/41Rollbarsetup.jpg

I am thinking of running them from roll bar right down to the bottom of the rear end. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

My 6 year old James took the picture and it doesn’t look to bad, I might employ him when it comes to documenting the Sierra strip, as my wife has already said she is not spending a day in the cold garage!

[gus]

Looking good ginge.

I did something very similar with my rollbar, except the rear stays were a bit more inboard than where you are holding them.

Have a look at the pic I put up in a previous post.
http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=574&d=1258721348

Cheers

Gus

[Bonzo]

The top of my stays are more or less in the same place

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/Rollingchassis.jpg

I have placed the bottom of the stay on the top of the rear panel hoop & will fabricate a brace to go from the bottom of the stays to tie into the rear diff mounting frame :)

[gingea1pom]

That’s still looking really RED Ronnie, thanks,

Gus, I see what you are saying, I have just realised I haven’t attached D12 and D13 yet. I think I will get them done tomorrow then decide if I am going to go to the outside edge of the rear end or butted up to D13 like yours.

Great isn’t it designing as we go, just fantastic.

Cheers Ginge

[HandyAndy]

Ginge,
the bottom of your back stays will be the same as mine but the top i am putting "in" the corner of the bend of the roll bar, don,t know why, just feels right.

chassis looking smart :cool:

got a good camera man there ;)

andy:)

[gingea1pom]

16 Dec 09

Well it has been awhile since my last update. I have been in the garage almost every day, bar weekends, which is ‘family time apparently!’ I only manage an hour or two some days and then others I get six.

I stopped messing around with the roll bar and completed the rear end welding on D12 and CP7 was OK but as I have gone for constructing the rear end to accommodate the fibre glass rear tub D13 was at a different angle and length. I used CP9 for the bottom of the roll bar stays only in a different location.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/43Rearend.jpg

The roll bar cross member required the ends re-profiling as they were not in line with each other, then I had to drill the holes for the upper seat belt mounts, as purchased from 3GE. Now I should have really used a pillar drill but as I don’t have one or have access to one I set to by hand. First a small pilot hole right through the cross member so I could see how far of I was then opened up with an angry big drill then opened up a little more with a stepped drill then finally a grinding wheel on my dremmal. The final hole was almost an interference fit which made it easier to weld up.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/42Rollbarcomplete.jpg

I then welded the cross member to the roll bar. I tightened the roll bar to the suspension mounts and held the cross member with to ratchet straps, when I took the bolts out to remove the roll bar the hole do not line up any more. They are out by about 3mm, I can pull everything back in line for re-fitting but it is just a little annoying having ensured that the roll bar was tightened down to avoid this exact problem. Ho Hum.

Steering column support, steering rack mount and all the suspension mounts to go then the Sierra is coming into the garage, from work, for its strip down.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Some good progress there Ginge :cool:

I am amazed at just how clean & bright your chassis still looks, You must be working in a dry enviroment . :)

Don't beat yourself up about the roll bar pulling a little when you welded it.

Unfortunately a weld of this type is going to pull ........... I would be more concerned if it didn't

If the mounting plates have pulled inwards by only a few mm it's nothing a small trolley jack & sturdy bit of timber wouldn't sort out.
Give it a gentle tweak, it'll not stress the weld too much.

If they have pulled outwards a sturdy ratchet strap will do the job.

Looking good mate :)

[adrianreeve]

That's how I've done my rollbar too ginge. When the chassis and suspension get back from the powdercoaters on monday (now that's what you call a good chrissie present from my wife!), I'll post some piccies. It's the same powdercoaters that Caterham use, so they know what they're up to.

Cheers

Adrian

[HandyAndy]

very smart Ginge :cool:
you,ll be finished in no time at all at this rate.

andy

[gingea1pom]

Adrian,

May I ask how much the powder coating was or is it a secret as it is a prezy

Cheers Ginge

[adrianreeve]

Ginge

Foe chassis, rollbar, wishbones, uprights, pedal box and pedals, engine mounts, engine pullies, all the little brackets from the engine, calliper brackets for all four corners and the cam cover - £200

Bargain!

Cheers

Adrian

[AshG]

ginge rather than putting a jack on the roll bar plates just drill the holes out 1mm bigger. it will give you just enough room to get all the bolts in

[twinturbo]

well done mate that sierra looks ok. must have been one of the last ones on a j plate. like the roll bar :D

Naaa, lots of K plates, a few L platers and even a couple of late registered M's!!!!

TT

[twinturbo]

Still reckon I win for bargain sierra doner - paid £50 for it, drove it home, then found £15 in change in the glove compartment!

Cheers

Adrian

I bought a 1992 2.0GT for £72 in 2007. It had 3 month MOT , 2 months tax.. Just had to fit a replacement MAP sensor off the shelf. I used it for a year with a total outlay after stripping and selling of -£185 ... I wish I had kept the engine and ECU now...


TT

[gingea1pom]

1 Jan 2010

Had a great day today, I started striping the Sierra, my hands are saw from being so cold.

Rewind a little to two days ago, I finally got back in the garage after Christmas and in two days fitted the rest of the wishbone mounts, the steering rack mount and the dif mounts CP10. I bit the bullet and decided after fitting the last wish bone mounts that I didn’t really need the build table anymore, I still have a little to do on the chassis like hand break mounts and the steering column assembly. So this morning (10ish) the chassis when outside for the second time, the build table got cut into three (I had used MDF as it is cheap and the thing had warped so would be no use to anyone) and the garage got a clear out. I enlisted the help of Nicky, my wife, and we went up to work to retrieve the Sierra, the minuet it was on the drive the stripping begun.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/46FrontXmembersremoved.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/49IgnitionTimingWheel.jpg

I now have a big pile of things to throw and only a little pile of thinks to keep. Now it is in the garage I can take my time labelling wires and getting ready to pluck the heart from the beast.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Well done Ginge

Great feeling, stripping a car, knowing that you don't have to put it all back together again.

Hope you hve not got too much spanner rash mate :eek:


Another one working on their build on new years day ..........You folks are making me feel guilty .... Just sitting here with my feet up :D :D

I am planning to make a re-start next weekend :o

[twinturbo]

offer the unwanted parts on

http://forum.fordsierraclub.co.uk/

or give me a list of whats spare and I can do it for you..


Make sure you keep the magic tree for the Roadster.

TT

[AshG]

that should be stripped in a couple more hours mate :D took my mate andy and i 6 hours to reduce mine to a pile of parts on the floor.

when you drop the motor just undo the whole subframe and leave the engine attached as it allows the engine to stand upright on the subframe and makes it easier to move around

[gingea1pom]

Top tip on the sub frame Ash, cheers.:D

Looking at the toothed wheel and the pickup do I have the start of some sort of electronic ignition?:confused:

Cheers Ginge

[twinturbo]

It has the ESC-Hybrid Ignition system.

TT

[Bonzo]

Top tip on the sub frame Ash, cheers.:D

Looking at the toothed wheel and the pickup do I have the start of some sort of electronic ignition?:confused:

Cheers Ginge

Yes Ginge

That is a trigger wheel & VR sensor, very usefull if you fancy going down the Bike carb & Megajolt route

If you feel realy brave..........Bike throttle bodies & Megasquirt :)

Not sure what either of these mods would give on the CVH engine though.

I dare say it'll give the motor a little bit more zip :)

[mark]

I have fitted bike carbs and megajolt to my cvh and as already said the trigger wheel and vr sensor are already in the correct position which makes it a very simple instalation :)

Havnt driven it yet so dont know if its made much difference, but i supspect it should once set up compared to the standard pierburg carb set up

If you are planning zetec with bike carbs after iva then you should think about fitting bike carbs, megajolt and fuel pump now so come engine swap time you have what you want/need already, and experience of how it works. Also you wont have to add any extra wires in to the loom to get it going.

If going down this route and are using the donor loom you can strip out all the wires that run the standard ignition system before its put into the car and wont have to do it later or have uneeded wiring allover the engine bay from the standard set up.

[twinturbo]

Personaly... And this is just me..

I would bypass Bike carbs and fit a set of bike throttle bodies instead.

Coupled to Megasquirt it will be a lot better in the long run.


TT

[mark]

Personaly... And this is just me..

I would bypass Bike carbs and fit a set of bike throttle bodies instead.

Coupled to Megasquirt it will be a lot better in the long run.


TT

Im sure most people would prefer to do that but the problem is it would cost more money and is more complicated, especially if the engine is gonna be swapped after IVA

I agree with you that in the long run i (and probably most people) would like to end up with a fuel injected zetec on throttle bodies but short term i wouldnt put that kind of effort/money into an 18 year old cvh that will probably only be in the car for 6 months

In my opinion the bike carbs/megajolt thing is just a tried and tested cheap way of getting a little more power and isnt a complicated thing to do, hence why its such a popular choice for many builders of this style of car

[twinturbo]

I agree , leave it stock for the IVA.

There's no gr8 difference in the difficulty of fitting efi over carbs + Jolt. Ok you need a high preasure fuel pump. But other than that it's just a few extra wires.

The bike carbs will have to be jetted correctly and tuned idealy on a rolling road. And combine that with tuning the Jolt too..

The Squirt could be started on a base map and live mapped with a WBC on the "Private" road.

So although the cost of MS over MJ ~£300 if you included the extra cost of bodies over carbs. The tuning costs could well make the price a lot closer overall.

And if you move engines you just need to live map again.


But your also right, no point spending money on a 1.8CVH.


So..

Stick with the standard carb with the standard ESC-Hybrid ( which does the job very well ). and then throw in a firebeathing monster after the IVA and funds allow :D

TT

[AshG]

i was going to use the standard carb on my pinto. the problem i had was that i didnt want it sticking through the bonnet. i got a set of bike carbs for
£36 then the mjolt, edis4, coil pack, trig wheel, tps and vr sensor for £150 all in.

made the inlet manifold from a bit of 5mm plate i pinched off my mate and left over 38mm tube from my roll bar back stays.

put it all together £186.

the carb setup i got at special rate through the mag. but usually would have cost £240

so £426 all done and sorted. the big result out if it was that my puny little 1.6 that should make 73hp at the fly wheel made near 75hp at the wheels which equates to around 90hp at the fly wheel.

thats just over 20% power increase for £400 if my maths is correct.

[twinturbo]

I think we are HiJacking GP's thread....

TT

[AshG]

yep thought that about 2 seconds after i clicked post. sorry ginge

[gingea1pom]

No no you guys carry on it is all good stuff.:)

I was idly thinking about fuel injection only the other day.:D

The carb has so many sensors and vacuum tubes attached, also the auto choke has the water system plumbed into it. So it will all get junked for bike carbs and the obligatory MJ.

Having taken the inlet manifold of today I noticed the coolant outlet from the engine runs through it. How have builders overcome this when making a manifold for the bike carbs?

[twinturbo]

You have brought back a vauge memory there that the manifold has a waterway to the head. I may be wrong though I last worked on a CVH in 2000.....

TT

[gingea1pom]

TT,

Exactly that, there is a water way right at the back of the head, inlet side, in fact it looks almost like a fifth inlet port!

Cheers Ginge

[AshG]

my pinto was the same. simple solution dont make the hole in the new manifold plate ;)

[gingea1pom]

Ash,

It is not that simple, water is sucked in to the engine from the bottom of the radiator on the right hand side of the engine quite low down, the only place the water can get out of the engine is through the aforementioned port in the head along side the rear most inlet port.

Also the thermostat housing was bolted to the inlet manifold unlike the pinto where it is cast into the front of the head I believe.

So two problems really, the first is an inlet manifold to take some bike carbs that has a take of for the water (that bit I can cope with), secondly fitting a thermostat into the system, not essential, I have run cars without them, but I would like one.

I bet if I look, CBS do some sort of inline thermostat housing, that is the trouble with typing a long post I think of the answer by the time I have got to the end. Saves me lying awake all night pondering it though.

[gingea1pom]

2 Jan

Slow and steady today.

I had to fire up the heater in the garage today, the frost outside didn’t clear all day. Exhaust manifold off with no studs sheared, inlet manifold off no studs sheared although the manifold is cracked right on the back end where the last stud goes through, not a problem as a bespoke item will be fabricated, the time consuming bit was labelling all the wires up. The car is now up on stands and the steering rack has been removed, ready to remove the prop and loosen the gearbox mounts. Should have it out tomorrow.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/65Theressomethingmissing.jpg

I took a trailer load of old Sierra bits of the drive to keep the peace and no.1 son got involved.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/57Jameshelping.jpg

Not quite sure how I am going to move the Sierra once it has no wheels!

[mark]

Ash,

It is not that simple, water is sucked in to the engine from the bottom of the radiator on the right hand side of the engine quite low down, the only place the water can get out of the engine is through the aforementioned port in the head along side the rear most inlet port.

Also the thermostat housing was bolted to the inlet manifold unlike the pinto where it is cast into the front of the head I believe.

So two problems really, the first is an inlet manifold to take some bike carbs that has a take of for the water (that bit I can cope with), secondly fitting a thermostat into the system, not essential, I have run cars without them, but I would like one.

I bet if I look, CBS do some sort of inline thermostat housing, that is the trouble with typing a long post I think of the answer by the time I have got to the end. Saves me lying awake all night pondering it though.

Just make an inlet manifold that blocks off the water ports

Then there is 3 core plugs on the back of the head that you can pop one out (the one with the m6 tapped holes either side)and the water will come out through there, then you can either fit a 1600cvh thermostat to the same point on the back of the head or just make a flange with a water oultlet and buy a by passing thermostat from car builder (this is what i have done)

If you fit the 1600 cvh thermostat housing you will have to cut the chassis rail that runs behind the engine which is also the same problem when fitting a zetec

Making your own housing will let you angle it upwards to clear the rail :)

Hope this makes sense i wil post some pics tomorow if you want?

[twinturbo]

I thought this was an 1800 CVH, that does not have the core plugs does it?


Cut the sierra up into managable chunks.

Rob

[gingea1pom]

Yes please mark, that sounds like a good fix to the problem.

Cheers Ginge

[mark]

I thought this was an 1800 CVH, that does not have the core plugs does it?


Cut the sierra up into managable chunks.

Rob

Yes the 1800 cvh does have some core plugs on the gear box end of the head

When you pop one out you can see that the water actually passes this point when going to the standard inlet manifold outlet so seems as good a place as any to take it from

Havnt seen a 1600 cvh for a few years now so cant remember what the thermostat housing looks like but i think DaddyA has used one so maybe he can post a pic so people can see the different options and how you need to modify the chassis rail that runs behind the engine

[gingea1pom]

Mark,

I went out to the garage and it is as you described, I couldn’t see the core plug but could feel it from the inside and outside.

Cheers Ginge

[AshG]

just had a look at your picts and can see what you mean. if you want i could machine you an inline thermostat housing that will take a pinto thermostat. then all you would have to do is have a take off on the new inlet manifold.

[gingea1pom]

Cheers Ash,

I am thinking of going down the 1.6 thermostat housing bolted to the back of the engine, route.

I will keep the favour;) in the bank for MJ time cheers:D

[twinturbo]

it looks so tweeee in there. I am used to trying to work round engines that only just fit in the sierra bay :)

TT

[gingea1pom]

TT,

It’s great isn’t it, especially when you can cut the front of the car of.

I am more used to working on big diesel lumps in landrovers, trucks and tanks!

[AshG]

as for moving it that's what the range is for.

[gingea1pom]

Ash,

Do you know I hadn't thought of that!!

[twinturbo]

There's no way I am cutting the front of either of my two sierras.. I just have to be trebble jointed and have see round corner vision.

TT

[mark]

The first pic are the core plugs as previously discussed

And the second are some pics of my water outlet, im mounting the dash temp gauge sender in the same pipe as the original was mounted to the donor inlet manifold, you can also see the by passing thermostat from car builder solutions

The pipe is angled upwards so there is approximately 15mm of clearance between the pipe and chassis rail. I decided to take the plumbing under the inlet manifold instead of running on the hotter exhaust manifold side

Although my outlet will be smoothed out and powder coated, using a 1600cvh thermostat housing would probably look a better job but after some thought i didnt want to chop the chassis above the gearbox to gain enough clearance to fit one as they are quite bulky and to me (just my opinion;) ) that looks like the weakest part of the chassis as it has to be open with no support underneath for the gearbox to fit in so i thought best to leave it alone :)

[gingea1pom]

Cheers Mark

Those pictures really helped, is the thermostat in the new pipe coming of the back of the engine?

[mark]

Cheers Mark

Those pictures really helped, is the thermostat in the new pipe coming of the back of the engine?

The thermostat is on the end of the new pipe connected with a piece of blue silicone hose, the thermostat outlet points under the carbs and has a black hose on it

The bypass is pointing over the top of the engine and has nothing connected to it yet, it will be reduced down to about 12mm and routed around the edge of the rocker cover to feed the standard cvh bypass which is a hose tail located just to the right of the timing cover at the top

Hope this info is of some use!

[gingea1pom]

That makes sense:D

Thanks

[gingea1pom]

30 Jan

Wow one update at the start of Jan and one right at the end, it might seem like nothing has happened but things have moved on a little.

Weekends have been busy with family and a great trip to Saturn Sports Cars to swap my band saw for some fibreglass. Now I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, as I can imagine if you are out of work it must be hell, BUT after having five weeks off before Christmas, going back to work was a shock. It also gets in the way, as I tend to have to prepare things over the weekend for Monday. Excuses over, the story so far.......

Engine and gearbox came out together and are staying that way to mock up engine mounts; I have kept every brake pipe union and every bolt that I removed.

Today I removed the drive shafts and rear hubs (the fronts came off weeks ago) finally got the diff off and the hand break.

My concern now is the wiring. Every plug within the engine bay is labelled and I was planning on removing the wiring loom complete, however, where the loom goes through the bulkhead there is no connector. So, I plan to lop the loom off at the bulk head so I have an ‘engine loom’, then cut the connectors for the steering column off leaving long tails. Also I can’t seem to disconnect the clutch cable from the pedal.

I hope to have the Sierra picked up next weekend.

One other thing, I will be removing the VIN number from by the driver’s seat and I have got the whole slam panel, but I was under the impression that cars had the VIN number stamped on the car in two places. Well, I’m bu****ed if I can find a second VIN number stamp. Any ideas?

Cheers Ginge

[tkpm]

The wiring loom will come out in one go, when you take out the fuse/ relay box the the loom will come out with it.


673

[gingea1pom]

Tkpm,

You absolute star. I would never have found it and the tip about the fuse box thanks. A picture as well, paints a thousand words. Thanks again.

Ginge

[alga]

Also, it's easier to enlarge the hole and drop the fusebox inside, rather than pull the whole loom out through it.

[twinturbo]

engine loom is seperate anyway.. either the three plugs behind the battery, or near the glovebox depending on year.


The front lighting loom will need withdrawing through the drivers bulkhead gromet into the car. then unbolt the fuse box and pull everything through into the engine bay.


for the cluthch cable, its easier with two peeps. pull the pedal right up hard, this releases the tensioner lock. then rotate the quadrant round to release tension in the cable. now 3 options.

1) try and unhook the slack cable from the quadrant.
2) get helper to unhook cable from fork.
3) gently release quadrant, and unhook from fork yourself.

TT

[Bonzo]

Almost certain that the Vin number is only stamped on the floor next to the drivers seat on the Sierra.
The only other one is on the Vin plate riveted to the slam pannel.

Will you need the clutch cable ?? ..... You may find it a tad to long for the Roadster.

I bought an early Capri one for mine ... looks to be an ideal length & as a bonus, has an adjustable section at the gearbox end . ;)

[gingea1pom]

All great news men thanks.

If the Capri clutch cable is a better option I think I will cut my losses and leave the Sierra one where it is.

I have got the slam panel and am going to cut the VIN plate from by the driver’s seat so no more VIN plates to find?

As to the wiring (my nemesis at the moment) I have found the grommet that takes a yellow relay and a fuse into the car under the battery box and pulled them through but as yet can’t find a plug that separates the ‘engine’ loom from the rest of the wiring.

I am going to undo the fuse box and try to remove as much wiring complete as I can but will probably end up cutting it somehow.

The important thing here I think is I will have all the connectors, which are labelled.

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

31 Jan

I wasn’t going to go in the garage but the mind of information from the forum about removing the Sierra wiring spurred me on, and it only took an hour.

I managed to work out how to separate the ‘engine’ loom, just three plugs and a bolt holding some positives onto the battery connector, which thinned the spaghetti out a lot.

Then I started cutting some wires inside the car. Two big cuts really, one was where a bunch goes into the driver’s foot well, and the second being the lump that runs across the dash to the passenger side of the car.

It is all out now complete with fuse box in a heap in the corner of the garage. At last, it weighs a few Kg’s too!

SWMBO is on a fitness drive so we are all of out for a walk this afternoon, but I hope to cut the VIN out later, remove the rear number plate (which I forgot all about) and lower the Sierra onto the trolley I borrowed from SteveS, Then I need to phone the scrappies to collect it on Wednesday (the Army only works half a day on Wednesday!).

Then back to building not dismantling, I can’t wait.

[alga]

engine loom is seperate anyway.. either the three plugs behind the battery, or near the glovebox depending on year.


I think it wasn't on my continental Sierra. There were two plugs behind the glovebox (on the right side), but on the driver's side there are no plugs, just a thick loom going through the firewall joining with the inside loom. If there was a connector, it was very well hidden beneath insulation tape or in the firewall grommet.

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs140.snc3/18762_297086588331_722473331_4780684_1447214_n.jpg

[gingea1pom]

Alga,

That is exactly how mine looks only not in the kitchen, my Mrs would do back flips! :eek:

[alga]

Mine was gone shopping and I used the time to untangle the mess, neatly roll each loose end, and sweep the floor afterwards. ;)

[gingea1pom]

Just cut the VIN plate out from by the driver’s seat, the Sierra is good to go now.:) I will lower it onto the trolley tonight or tomorrow ready for collection Wednesday or early on the 8th.

[alga]

I'm also planning to cut out 4 of the seatbelt mounting 7/16" UNF captive nuts and use them on the lower harness mounts.

[John.W]

Ginge I don't know if it's just me but when I klick your "build pictures" link nothing happens. Is it me or is the link u/s. On the old DII I could get onto the bay but not on the new one it's Shiiiiiiiit.

[gingea1pom]

The link is fixed now.

I don't know why that stopped working, do they have a 'life span'?

John.W

Im not in work for two weeks now but you can find me at
26ENGR-38HQSqn-PlantSgt

Cheers Ginge

[John.W]

The Build is looking good, I wish I could get started but i'm still trying to get ready for the new Rally X season, starts middle of next month and I need to fit a roll cage and change the engine in my Golf.

WWW.rallyx.de

3REME-CIV-TSC

keep up the good work

John

[gingea1pom]

1 Feb

Well I got me self into gear this week.

I had some cash in the build account and a week off coming up so I decided to spread the love and ordered stuff from several companies.

Three sheets of 8’ x 4’ ally from parkers,

Some suspension components from 3GE,

Some build components (Maxi ball joints, engine mounts etc)

Now I am skint until I sell a scooter or sell some more pictures.

3 Feb

I popped down to see the scrappy after work (12.30pm I know, I know, Wednesday is recce afternoon in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and I went and recced the scrappys) I only went to inquire when he would be able to collect and he said we will be around this afternoon.

So I shot home and removed the last brake pipe connectors, number plate and tax disc. Then gingerly (stop sniggering at the back) lowered the Sierra onto the trolley borrowed from fellow forum member SteveS. One good shove and the Sierra is now outside on the drive awaiting collection. Nicky returned from the school run and had a fit until I explained it is getting picked up in an hour and a half. He best turn up now!

9 pm and it is a no show by the srappy. I am right pi**ed off, but what can you do, he is picking it up for nothing. I will ring at 9 am ish tomorrow. The thing is I only pushed it out of the garage because he said he was coming tonight and now I can’t push it back in so it will be sat on the drive all night and tomorrow until he collects.

I promised Nicky that I wouldn’t do s**t like this and now she is p***d.

Tomorrows another day.

6 Feb

Would you believe the Sierra is still on the drive, I am getting some savage ear ache! Apparently he is having problems with his Hi-Ab, he best not bump into Nicky as he will have more than a problem with his Hi-Ab!

I have a little confession which I can now reveal, as the issue is fixed. Always remove the rear drive shaft nut whilst the car is on the ground! I can hear Handy Andy saying it now! Well, Ginge knows best and I didn’t undo them. I thought after studying the Haynes Manual that the break back plate would come off the inboard end of the drive shaft.... it doesn’t!

The upshot being, I had two driveshafts off the car with break back plates flapping about. I didn’t mention anything on here as I had a plan. Off to REME workshops on Thursday, I walked up to the stores counter and asked for a 42mm socket, the store man didn’t even bat an eyelid, just asked what it was in old money (1 and 5/8”) and produced the socket. Happy days! Off I trot home and here is where I’m lucky, I used my air gun and after a while both nuts are off. The one that is reverse threaded was a lot harder to remove but they are both of now.

Next week should see some proper progress as I have a week off, I will update pictures as I go and the Sierra best get picked up!!

[gingea1pom]

7 Feb

I got some time in the garage yesterday and constructed a frame for the roadster to sit on. My theory being I still need to turn the chassis upside down as there are some welds to do on the underside.

I had a look back through the build diary and noticed a gap in the pictorial history so went into the garage this morning and took some pics.

The chassis so far, all the suspension mounts are on, diff mount on and one side welded and the steering rack mount done, only one picture here, there are more on photo bucket. You can see the frame I made as well. It is bespoke to my garage as the floor slopes two ways. So the chassis is dead level now when it is on the frame.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/67Chassissofar5.jpg

A pile of goodies.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/72goodies.jpg

This lot requires cleaning and overhauling.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/73cleaningpile.jpg

I am off to my father’s on Tuesday and we are going to draw all the ally panels on Autocad and print them so I can modify paper templates before cutting the ally.

Once we have done them if anyone wants a copy of the file just let me know. Thanks to Pete (sorry I don’t know your forum name) who sent through the three he had done already.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Looking good there Ginge :cool:

In the same boat as you mate ..... Now in the process of dragging a mountain of stuff out, all in need of a good clean & refurb :eek:

It'll be interesting to see how you get on with the side panels.

I almost attempted to do them when I fabricated & fitted the rear tub, unfortunately my mind & body wern't in a good place at that time :o :rolleyes:

Keep up the great work.

[HandyAndy]

looking nice Ginge :cool:

lots of cleaning in the coming weeks :eek:

don,t forget you might need to remove TR5 , i had to as was keeping the standard carb set up, tho not sure if its ok to stay there with bike carbs.

We ( spud & me, Saturn ) will be making ali panels too, so will watch your progress with the drawings etc.

like the chassis frame/stand :cool:

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

Andy,

The cleaning will happen slowly as this coming week is for building.

I have done a few measurements and hope to keep TR5, you watch I will be cutting it out be Wednesday, The bike carbs I got are well spaced to the head so I should be able to get them quite close, watch this space.

Once I have all the ally panels drawn on Autocad you are more than welcome to them, as is anyone.

The frame is working a treat, I can step in and out of the chassis and once I have clamped the frame to the chassis I can drag the whole thing around the garage.

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

A little more to add today.

I started by adding the handbrake chassis plates CP12 &13 then avoided the steering wheel support frame and fitted CP16 & 17 instead.

I spent a good hour messing about with the Steering Column Supports (SCS). I bolted them to the steering column and tried sitting in the car but I think I am sitting to low because I can’t see over the steering wheel! Will crack on with it tomorrow

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/75CP16CP17.jpg

[John.W]

Ginge did you use the green string to lift the engine out or is it just proping it up and where can you get those handy big green boxes?

Chassis is looking good

[Tatey]

I see someone else has found a good use for government issue ear defenders :D. They've come in so handy for me when grinding, and i see you're taking advantage of more government issue green boxes :p.

The progress is looking really good. May I ask why you haven't gone for the steering column support that in the book (using 25x25mm box), or are you and I'm just being silly?

[gingea1pom]

Tatey,

I will be using the standard steering column support in the picture the steering column is just resting there it is tomorrows job.:confused:

Those green boxes have been salvaged by legitimate means and are not on anyone’s UET,:D the ear defenders are my current issue ones I really must get another set.

[Tatey]

Legitimate means my arse :p. Although the saying does say 'There's only one thief in the army, everyone else is just trying to get their stuff back' :p.

Who decided to paint the rocker cover that ghastly shade of gold? :eek:.

Will you be stripping down the engine or just giving it a lick of paint?

[gingea1pom]

Tatey,

I intend to strip the engine down and replace bearings etc. As I have found out it has done 186000 miles not 86000 miles.

The rocker cover is my first ‘engine’ project.

The boxes where in a hanger that was just about to get knocked down, and I mean JUST. The wrecking ball was about to be lifted and the QM said just have one last check in there, I ran around found them and through them out of the window!

[TSM Locost]

Before you spend a lot of cash on a cvh ,( i priced mine and was looking at over £500 ) check this LCB smithwrecker has 65k cvh + type 9 for £ 150.

[gingea1pom]

Mike,

It’s the old, ‘slightly newer engine that’s unknown’ verses ‘the old engine that I have driven’ debate. I must confess that I have not priced anything up but how much can some bearings cost? Oh and piston rings...and a gasket set....yeh that’s about it.

In my defence, your honour, the Sierra only cost me £150 and it pulled really well with no smoke, I know that doesn’t qualify it as a good engine, but it’s a start, also I currently have no money as I have just spent £900 on roadster parts!:eek:

I see your reasoning though.

[Tatey]

I'll be completely rebuilding my CVH, including getting a head skim due to a blown head gasket, i've priced up all of the parts and it's come to a total of £150:

• Engine degreaser - £5
• Engine paint - £6
o Black enamel for block
o Print red spray paint for rocker cover
• Piston rings - £32.50
o http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-SIERRA-SAPPHIRE-1-8-CVH-PISTON-RINGS-STD_W0QQitemZ180406531800QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Car sParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item2a011136d8#ht _1306wt_939
• Big end bearings - £17.50
o http://www.enginestuff.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/66593
• Head gasket set - £30.50
o http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-1-8-CVH-HEAD-GASKET-SET-VDX-480B_W0QQitemZ350213888939QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Ca rsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item518a5fdbab#h t_1357wt_1165
• Head skim - £20
• Oil - £20
• Spark Plugs - £10
• Thermostat - £5
• Oil filter - £5
• Timing Belt - £10
• Sump Gasket - £8.46
• Core Plug Set - £7.50
• Air Filter - £10
• HT Leads - £12
o http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-SIERRA-1-8-CVH-NEW-IGNITION-LEAD-SET_W0QQitemZ260495959959QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Car sParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item3ca6c4e797#ht _643wt_939
• Water Pump - £10
o http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Sierra-Sapphire-1-8-CVH-89-93-Brand-New-Water-Pump_W0QQitemZ190371021866QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Ca rsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item2c52ff442a#h t_840wt_939

Total = £150

Which to me seems like a bargain, since I'll have a completely rebuilt engine which i know should last a good while + I get the joys of getting it started for the first time as I got the engine for free with the rest of my bits. I have however contemplated just scrapping this engine and buying one which should be a runner, but then i'll be wanting to strip it down and replace bits it in anyway, so why pay money for a new engine and rebuild it a few months down the line, when i can just rebuilt this one now and get more satisfaction from doing so, or possibly waste my time and money and go for the second option anyway :p.

[gingea1pom]

Tatey,

That list is awesome; if I had the cash I would click every link now.

Thanks for posting it, it has saved me an evening looking it all up.

Cheers Ginge

[Tatey]

You're welcome Ginge, it took me ages to find all of the parts I needed for a complete rebuild, so it's always good to know i can save someone some agro.

The parts which haven't got links for are either easy to find or easily available on ebay.

Hopefully i'll be rebuilding my engine in a few months.

[gingea1pom]

8 Feb

I managed all day in the garage today and cleared up some outstanding jobs.

Steering column support. Done. (just needs the open ends of the top tube plating)

Lower seat belt anchorages. Done.

Foot well plates CP16 & 17. Done.

Plate up the ten open ends on chassis tubes. Done (they took ages)

Flip the chassis over and fully weld up suspension mounts. Done.

I thought most of my welding was done but I have now realised I still need to fabricate some headlight mounts and I forgot to fit CP14 the hand break guide plate. Of to my old mans tomorrow so probably no work on the roadster.

9 Feb

I managed to get all the aluminium panels drawn at my father’s place on Autocad and printed out, once home and collected the kids from school I cut the passenger side transmission tunnel and the two transmission tunnel top pieces and stuck them on with masking tape.

I had to modify the forward top of transmission tunnel as my steering wheel support frame encroaches a little, but it is easier doing it with paper rather than ally.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/77Paperpanels.jpg

I have created some tabs / flaps so I can secure the transmission side pieces and the transmission tunnel top to the seat back, just to give them a little more support / rigidity.

No work tomorrow I am of on a school trip to the Southampton Maritime Museum with James and his class, Nicky volunteered herself ages ago and now has tonsillitis, so as I am off work I get to go on a school trip!

Pigging Sierra is still on the drive, I forgot to ring them today.

[twinturbo]

Have a nice time at on the trip ;)

I spend all day surrounded by 1500 little darlings, fortunatly in the last year and a half my office has moved from a major through corridor to a secluded little know of limits stair well.

Got any pics of the chassis closing caps?

TT

[gingea1pom]

Have a nice time at on the trip ;)

I spend all day surrounded by 1500 little darlings, fortunatly in the last year and a half my office has moved from a major through corridor to a secluded little know of limits stair well.

Got any pics of the chassis closing caps?

TT

Bare with me caller, I will pop into the garage and take one, SWMBO is watching some Webster’s cookery thing,

[gingea1pom]

Not a lot to see really, I cut a piece of sheet steel so it fitted snugly in the end of the tube, held it in with a magnetic welding clamp then welded all the way around and finished as always be going berserk with a flap disk.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/79Upperleft.jpg

and the other side of the front frame.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/78Upperright.jpg

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

"........(just needs the open ends of the top tube plating)"

That just sounds so wrong!

D.:D

[HandyAndy]

you been busy:D

i see an ali clamp on the steering rack, you only got them today :D

nice tranny tunnel template :cool:

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

you been busy:D

i see an ali clamp on the steering rack, you only got them today :D

nice tranny tunnel template :cool:

cheers
andy

The big one dosn't fit or is very tight, might I need to fettle.

[Bonzo]

Hi Ginge

Things are moving on nicely there :cool: :)

Green with envy mate ........ Another few days of tidying up, then it will be full steam ahead for me ;)

I am very highly motivated at the moment & full of beans ..... Long may it last :D

[HandyAndy]

The big one dosn't fit or is very tight, might I need to fettle.

i imagine you mean it doesn,t fit over the 3mm steering rack mounting plate? or do you mean over the rack itself?

if its the former, i had the same prob, the flap disc sorted it ( on the rack 3mm plate).

and don,t forget the packer underneath the clamp.

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

Sorry Andy,

What I meant was the large ally clamp doesn’t fit over the steering rack the small one is tight but the big one needs some taking of the edges.

Just re-read that and it still doesn’t sound much clearer.

A picture tomorrow may be.

Cheers Ginge

[AshG]

the clamp will fit its meant to be tight. the packer under the bigger bracket only needs to be 1.5-2mm on your front upper suspension brackets i welded a little bit of 3mm plate on to brace them as they are not central.

[gingea1pom]

Ash,

That makes perfect sense about the upper suspension bracket. I’m thinking two triangular gussets (stop sniggering at the back) would do the trick.

I have just had another bash at the steering clamp and it went on a little further. My rack is brand new and there might be an excess of paint on it!

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

11 Feb

I spent quite a bit of the day fabrication a bespoke engine stand to enable me to manoeuvre the engine and gearbox around the garage on a trolley jack without it falling over, also it will allow to fine adjust the position of the engine and gearbox in the car.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/80Bespokeenginestand.jpg

I managed to get the engine and box ‘into’ the chassis, it was a little nightmare as I had already fitted the diff which made the back end really heavy, so to get the gearbox up the transmission tunnel I had to raise the front of the chassis and lower the rear. The opposite of how you would do it if you had an engine lift..

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/81Firstfit.jpg

It is roughly in position now and needs some measuring to get it perfect, I am going to be stuck if the 5mm steel I ordered doesn’t turn up soon because engine mounts are next.

Sierra is still on the drive!

12 Feb

Only had a couple of hours in the garage after going to ‘sharing assembly’ and before school pick up.

I concentrated on getting the output shaft of the gearbox bang in line with the input of the diff, ensuring the gear stick still goes in reverse and the reverse light switch connecters are still accessible, then I welded on the gearbox mounts (I added some ‘gussets’ to them just to beef things up a little) with the gearbox attached. As for the engine mounts, the steel hadn’t turned up so I sacked it at 1pm and watched CSI.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/82Finalposition.jpg

The steel turned up at 2.30pm so tomorrow (I know Saturday and I get to go into the garage I think it is only because it is half term) I am going to mock up the complete steering system to make sure the driver’s side engine mount doesn’t encroach. I have finally admitted defeat and TR5 has got to go, I offered up the bike carbs and there is no way they will go on with it in place. Another example of Ginge thinking he knows better, rear hub nuts and now TR5, you would think I would have learnt by now.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/83Enginemountsstilltodo.jpg

Sierra is still here.

Pictures arent working pop back later

Picture still not working properly dam it

I think I have got it now

[Tatey]

Looking really good Ginge. Although you've missed a weld on one of the uprights, look to the right of the engine in the last pic :p.

[gingea1pom]

Mate,

You must have eyes like a Hawk! I thought I had found the last missed weld the other day, thanks.

Cheers Ginge

[HandyAndy]

looking great Ginge, nice work

did you have the .........."looks like a car now" feeling? ;)

cos i know i did when put the engine / box in :D


Tatey........ i dropped a needle at the unit today....fancy coming over & finding it for me ????:p :D


cheers
andy

[Bonzo]

Brilliant stuff Ginge :cool:

I am pleased you posted those pictures of the gearbox position ...... It has certainly made things a lot clearer for my Zetec install :)

As I have said before ..... Those pesky Pixies sneak in the garage overnight & steal those welds :D :D

[gingea1pom]

Andy,

It defiantly feels more like I am building a car now and not just cutting and welding steel together, although I seem to have to weld something every day it is interspersed with engines and steering columns.

Ronnie,

I was really convinced I had got the last of the Chassis tube welding done, can’t believe I missed it.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

If it's any consolation ...... I missed that exact same weld .... Twice :rolleyes: :o :o

I wonder if anyone has counted how many welds there are on the Roadster chassis tubes !! :eek:

[HandyAndy]

I wonder if anyone has counted how many welds there are on the Roadster chassis tubes !! :eek:

Hmmmmm........... now there,s a question :D NO i don,t know that answer :p as i spend more time cutting the chassis,s than welding them ;)

Ginge....

yeah , know what you mean.....its no longer a climbing frame for the kids or a "chinese puzzle"........its a CAR .

nice work mate .

cheers
andy

[Tatey]

Ginge i have to say im glad you made this build diary. Otherwise i would have welded the other roll bar mount on the wrong side of the car as well :eek:. I welded the first one on, put all of the other chassis plates around it to complete the box, then thought 'hmm, that space looks a bit tight to get a bolt for the suspension bracket in....bugger it is', quickly came on here and realised my mistake, 10 mins of grinding and a few welds later its all sorted :D.

[flyerncle]

Didn't listen to what I said did you. :p

Put the roll bar and plates on where they sit and make sure that if fits well before welding together just in case you need to alter it.

Will save you loads of hassle and grinding.

[gingea1pom]

13 Feb

I cracked on and cut out some 5mm plate for the engine mounts, two large pieces to sit flat on the chassis and two pieces to bolt to the engine. Nothing outstanding here I just traced around the old engine mount and cut it out.

Then decided the lack of pillar drill will be a big hold up, so because I am an impatient when it comes to buying stuff (I want to hand my money over and walk off with the item) I went to Wicks and purchased said item.

Now I like a good bit of engineering, and would rather pay a little more for the same item if it is better made and will last longer. I am under no illusion that my new £55 pillar drill is not at the height of pillar drill engineering HOWEVER after 8, 10mm holes through 5mm steel it is performing well, I am keeping the drill bit well cooled with oil.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/84Enginemount1.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/85Enginemount2.jpg

Should have the mounts finished tomorrow. Anyone else working on the roadster on valentines day?

[Tatey]

Looking good Ginge. I have to say my £40 pillar drill has been working a treat since I bought it last month, it's amazing how many uses you find for a bit of equipment you have done without for years.

I'll be working on my Roadster tomorrow, and even driving to Carlisle to help TwinTurbo get the chassis off his roof and collecting mine and HandyAndy's roadster bits.

[GraemeWebb]

Its Sunday tomorrow so I'll be working. By the way when is this valentines day thing?? :) :D

[twinturbo]

Looking good Ginge. I have to say my £40 pillar drill has been working a treat since I bought it last month, it's amazing how many uses you find for a bit of equipment you have done without for years.

I'll be working on my Roadster tomorrow, and even driving to Carlisle to help TwinTurbo get the chassis off his roof and collecting mine and HandyAndy's roadster bits.


Makes it sound like its on my house :)

TT

[gingea1pom]

14 Feb

5hrs in the garage today and I still haven’t finished both engine mounts, the driver’s side is done and I am chuffed with how it has turned out.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/86OSMountfinished.jpg

The passenger side is a little trickier, simply because, the three bolts that go into the engine block are closer together so the strut, as it were, needs some cut-outs to allow you, or rather me, to get a socket on the bolts.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/86NSMountstilltodo.jpg

I will be doing half term type stuff next week so no building but it should be full steam ahead next weekend.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Awwww Ginge

Your engine mounting arm looks soooo much neater than my Ugly but stong AF ( Gorilla ones )

Going to have to re-make them now :o :D :D

Good work there mate :cool:

[gingea1pom]

Cheers Ronnie,

I am pleased that it has turned out as I wanted.

There is more to this, making engine mounts, than meets the eye.;)

Things like the bolts that go into the block need to be shortened, takes time to do properly, the strut needs to be marked up whilst in mid air before cutting angles, cutting out the big hole in 5mm steel.

I think I might get another angle grinder as I spend an inordinate amount of time swapping between cutting disc and flap disc.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Definately agree with all of that ..... Certainly takes a little head work sometimes :)

Sometimes I have days when I can't see a clear way to solve a problem .... next day it just jumps straight out at you, hope it is just not me that has this afliction !!?? :confused: :rolleyes:

Not a bad idea to have a spare grinder .... Saves a fair bit of time ..... I just use several cheapies nowadays.
I'll kill a Makita or Bosch ( Not the quality of days gone by ) one in a couple of years.
Better value in a £14 B&Q one that'll last a year.

So far my build has seen the demise of 3 sub £20 grinders :D ( A lot cheaper than killing one, £100+ Makita !! )

[twinturbo]

B&Q Do their own Brand one with variable speed for £25ish.. I have the older version and it's the best grinder I have had ( Bosch, B&D, Clarke not as good)

TT

[gingea1pom]

I might invest in another one soon.

My problem at the moment is I have £1.58 in my build account.

I need to sell a scooter I have to inject some cash.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Yes the B&Q Power Pro range is a lot better quality than their old Power Devil stuff ;)

The flap disk does put quite a load on the poor angle grinder .... Poor buggers don't stand a chance :D

-------------------------------------------------------------

Know how it feels Ginge .... Very, very soon my build pot will be empty once more ( Paying for my last major purchace ) ;)

Been spending quite a bit this year .... Just keen to give the build a boost this year.

Besides the IVA, I have no more major spending to do, it's all here :cool:

[Davey]

For anyone contemplating getting a new 4.5" grinder check out Aldi tomorrow. They have one in at £14.99 and don't forget that all Aldi electrical equipment has a 3 year guarantee on it:D . i was going to my local B&Q today for one but now I'll hang fire till tomorrow and get the Aldi unit.

D.

[twinturbo]

I have given up buying Aldi stuff. It just does not last.

Hand Files.. Droped one and it shatterd!
DVD Player. #1 did not work , #2 lasted 40 days.
Compressor. Worked for 30 seconds then burnt out!
Jumper Pack. Lasted 18 months and would never start a car properly.

Think there have been a couple of other failures or underperformance issues..

TT

[dogwood]

I bet I hold the record for the most grinders burnt out during the build......:rolleyes:
8 so far and still counting.......:eek:

Admittedly they were cheap as chips..7.50€ each:eek:
I know I know, I could have bought a good one instead of loads of cheapies.
But I also burned out my best Bosch one.

[Bonzo]

I bet I hold the record for the most grinders burnt out during the build......:rolleyes:
8 so far and still counting.......:eek:

Admittedly they were cheap as chips..7.50€ each:eek:
I know I know, I could have bought a good one instead of loads of cheapies.
But I also burned out my best Bosch one.

Can't match that, only killed 3 so far ..... Like I said ..... Your a harsh man :D

[spud69]

The only good tool i've had from Aldi to date is a pillar drill even though i did bend the shaft on my first one, my fault not clamping the steel properly, and they changed it straight away.

Must have gone through 6 grinders over the last 4 years, including Aldi ones, since bought a Makita grinder for £45 and its been great. Always worth buying good gear.

Just bought a nice big lathe for Saturn, coming on Wednesday, was going to buy one that Ash had for sale but needed to pay by credit card. Gonna be like xmas again.......;)

AndyH

[alga]

I bet I hold the record for the most grinders burnt out during the build......:rolleyes:
8 so far and still counting.......:eek:

Admittedly they were cheap as chips..7.50€ each:eek:
I know I know, I could have bought a good one instead of loads of cheapies.
But I also burned out my best Bosch one.

I had to replace the brushes on my 9€ grinder. A bit cheaper than replacing the whole thing. Good thing it has the screw-in plugs on the sides to access the brushes.

[Davey]

I have given up buying Aldi stuff. It just does not last.

Hand Files.. Droped one and it shatterd!
DVD Player. #1 did not work , #2 lasted 40 days.
Compressor. Worked for 30 seconds then burnt out!
Jumper Pack. Lasted 18 months and would never start a car properly.

Think there have been a couple of other failures or underperformance issues..

TT

I've been buying and using Aldi gear for years and only had two failures, a 9"angle grinder died after 3 weeks and a digital camera failed after 18 months, both were replaced under warranty with no problems. I have several pieces of Aldi electrical equipment in the workshop and as long as you treat it as a hooby tool and not a real industrial item they're fine, certainly no worse than B&Q's offerings. I bought a B&Q own brand battery drill, 18V, hammer action etc. first time I tried to drill a 5mm hole in a concrete block the gearbox self destructed. I replaced it with one from their "Pro" range and that has been brilliant, now 6 years old and still going strong despite being dropped from the top of an eight foot ladder on more than one occasion.

D.

[gingea1pom]

20 Feb

Not quite full steam ahead as I didn’t get into the garage until 1pm.

I have finished the other engine mount, I forgot to take any pictures with it in situ, but suffice to say the engine and gearbox was in the chassis, supported by its own mounts.

I then stripped it all out put the engine by the garage door had a good tidy up finally getting two coats of etch primer on the mounts.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/88EngineMountsprimed.jpg

Not sure what to do tomorrow but I should imagine it will involve welding the underside of everything I have welded so far, oh and fitting the handbrake cable guide CP14, then I will either have to pick the good book up or start cleaning Sierra parts.

[twinturbo]

Aldi Digital micrometer go mental over 10mm...

Their Wireless doorbell packed in after a couple of months too..

TT

[twinturbo]

Mounts look good.

TT

[Davey]

Aldi Digital micrometer go mental over 10mm...

Their Wireless doorbell packed in after a couple of months too..

TT

So take 'em back, they've got a 30 day no quibble in store money back guarantee backed up with a 3 year send it off to base guarantee. Aldi stuff is no worse than any other budget brand but it does have a genuine 3 year guarantee.

D.

[GraemeWebb]

I bet I hold the record for the most grinders burnt out during the build......:rolleyes:
8 so far and still counting.......:eek:

Admittedly they were cheap as chips..7.50€ each:eek:
I know I know, I could have bought a good one instead of loads of cheapies.
But I also burned out my best Bosch one.

My B&Q cheapy went to angle grinder heaven about 15 mins ago, just when I was thinking that it was lasting well. That will teach me. Thinking - its just not me.

[HandyAndy]

my grinder is the cheapo Machine Mart one , £22 , its been well used, built my car & it now gets serious use at Saturn, a great bit of kit for the money :)

cheers
andy

[Bonzo]

The engine mount's are looking tidy Ginge :) :)

Don't remind me of cleaning donor parts .... Can't say I am looking forward to that Job :eek:

I guess that's why it hasn't been done yet :o

[adrianreeve]

Electrolysis is your friend!! Donor parts came up like new, and all you have to do is wipe them under running water when done, then get some paint on them PDQ!

Actually turned out to be a pleasurable experience, and had me looking for more rusty stuff to do!!

Cheers

Adrian

[twinturbo]

Electrolysis is your friend!! Donor parts came up like new, and all you have to do is wipe them under running water when done, then get some paint on them PDQ!

Actually turned out to be a pleasurable experience, and had me looking for more rusty stuff to do!!

Cheers

Adrian

Can you clean 20 years of gunge of an engine?

TT

[Bonzo]

Can you clean 20 years of gunge of an engine?

TT


Errrr well yes ..... That's what de-greaser and a pressure washer is for. :D

Electrolysis is a method of removing heavy rust scale .... very effective too ;)

Going to need a MF Electrolysis tank to fit an engine in, dread to think of the damage you'll do to the engines internals :eek: :D

[alga]

When you say "two coats of primer" does it imply spraying with a spray gun and a compressor, then cleaning up the spray bottle afterwards, or do you use aerosol cans for things like this?

Also, did you make holes for drainage in the mounts, or do you think there's no need?

[gingea1pom]

When you say "two coats of primer" does it imply spraying with a spray gun and a compressor, then cleaning up the spray bottle afterwards, or do you use aerosol cans for things like this?

Just aerosol cans I am afraid. I don’t have a spray gun.

Also, did you make holes for drainage in the mounts, or do you think there's no need?

I have some grommets that fit in the big hole. More importantly if it rains I will stop. My roadster driving will be like my golf, fair weather only!

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

28 Feb

Things have moved on a little, although I need to build up motivation to start cleaning some parts, as this will hold me up soon, also I need seats and seat runners so I can weld the cross bars the seats mount to until I get this done I can’t fix the floor in etc......

All my wish bones and rear uprights turned up the other day so today I fitted all the bushes and crush (or anti-crush) tubes then fitted all the wish bones to one side of the car. Next I loosely fitted the front upright and wheel which made it look better, and then promptly gathered the family in the garage to have a look. Surprisingly Nicky and James were quite impressed (I had the rear wheel on aswell) Sophie my youngest just asked if we could go for a drive!

The wheels are 14” and don’t clear the rear lower long through bolt. Not sure whether to make up some spacers to get the chassis ‘rolling’ or wait for 15” alloys.

The following pictures show the front and rear suspension. You will notice I have gone for the cheap shock absorber option for now, that’s another big purchase to get the proper suspension! I have used full nuts for mocking up and will swap them all for nylocks later.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/89Rearwishbones.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/90Frontsuspensionmockedup.jpg

I need to get the 42mm socket as I started to strip the front hub carrier to remove the bearings before cleaning and found the big nut under the dust cover!

I might start painting Wish bones and rear up rights also some electrolysis during the week. Could be tricky as I am on exercise for a couple of days. Ordered my reamer today as well

Enough drivel for today thanks for reading.

Cheers Ginge

[twinturbo]

Excelent, I can't wait to get a rolling chassis. I will probably brake my rulles and get the chassis rolling before getting my other car finished for the show season....

The chassis is not in the way realy at the moment so best leave it where it is whilst collecting all the fina bits for the first build phase..

It's very tempting when you see others making progress though :p

TT

[AshG]

looking good ginge. im guessing you got some more money for your build fund.

little thing i noticed on that picture of your front suspension. you need to calm down with that grinder. there is no meat left in that top corner on your front frame. its so thin that you can see the cut line between the two pieces.

i don't like to criticise but that's a really highly stressed area of the chassis and i wouldn't want to say nothing and it fall apart later, then regret it.

Hope you dont think that im trying to knock your workmanship as the car is coming together really nicely.

[gingea1pom]

Ash,

Just back in from the garage after having a closer look at what you were saying.

All is not as it seems in the picture the line that looks like the cut line of the two pieces of steel rubbed off with my finger and the join there runs horizontally.

But point taken, someone else mentioned my over exuberance with a flap disc a while back and since then I have only ground down welds that have something mating to it.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Looking great ginge :) :cool:

You must be really excited seeing the Roadster with the suspension fitted for the first time .... For me, it was a real milestone of the build :) :)

[HandyAndy]

nice progress there Ginge,

sort of a cute / proud moment when kids ask to go for a drive , aww bless :)

its a big milestone when you start getting to the stage of putting wheels on,

nice one mate.

cheers
andy

[alga]

Great work Ginge, also great motivation for me as I'm at a similar stage (a couple of steps behind).

[Davey]

Way to go Ginge, I got my rear bones sorted a week or two ago and it really does give you a buzz. Dying to get the front end done but after six days at the NEC we've now got a chock-a-block diary for at least the next two weeks so its on the back burner again:( .

D.

[AshG]

ah yes you are correct ginge. not having a good time of it at the moment. doing these last few bits for my iva retest is starting to get me down.

have wasted a whole day cutting a new bit of convex glass to fit in my r1 mirrors only to go and break it trying to get it to fit into the housing of the mirror. to say im feeling pissed off is an understatement. think i am going to give up and just buy a set of mirrors off caterham or westfield. i know they cost a bomb but they should at least get me a pass.

[drury318]

Hi Ash, I have been looking for mirrors myself & there are some basic convex mirrors on the Caterham site for around £17, similar ones on CBS too.
Dennis

[AshG]

Hi dury those caterham ones are designed to go onto cars with window screens mine hasnt got a screen. have bit the bullet and bought the proper Westfield that are designed to be mounted on the scuttle they cost a bit but are made for the job.

[Eternal]

wow just got to the end of the thread. Great read! any more updates?

[gingea1pom]

12 Apr

Well it’s been to long without an update, 43 days to be precise. All the usual excuses I’m afraid busy at work and being away during the week so the weekends become important family time etc etc.

Any way a little progress report before I start back in the garage tomorrow.

Finally the Sierra got picked up.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/92Sierragoing2.jpg

I reamed out my uprights, by hand. It took a while but there was plenty of checking to make sure I hadn’t gone too far. They are both done now the picture is just for comparison.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/93Reamed.jpg

I gave some Deox-C rust remover a bash on one of the uprights. Little lesson, which seems glaringly obvious when you know the stuff is water soluble, remove all traces of grease and oil first!

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/94derusted.jpg

I was lazy on this one and after 4 days it has got 90% of the rust of. The next one will be getting a thorough de-greasing/oiling before being de-rusted for a few days.

I couldn’t wait to get something painted so, my newly fabricated engine mounts got the good news.

1, Two coats of etch primer
2. Two coats of gray primer
3. Two to three coats of orange
4. Two coats of lacquer.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/95lovelyenginemounts.jpg

All from rattle cans just to see how they look.

I have ordered a Mk II polo radiator today, hopefully it rocks up before the end of the week so I can get some bracketry fabricated and I want to get the nose and rear tube fitted then removed back to the safety of the loft.

Cheers Ginge

[twinturbo]

Why Laquer?

TT

[gingea1pom]

TT,

To be honest, I don’t know.:(

I have watched that many programs in my time and they are always using lacquer I thought I should give it a bash.

Should I not bother? It was the hardest layer to do well as well!

Cheers Ginge

[HandyAndy]

the green cable ties are very fetching :D

engine mounts look nice :cool:

i,ll get my coat :p

cheers
andy

[gingea1pom]

the green cable ties are very fetching :D

engine mounts look nice :cool:

i,ll get my coat :p

cheers
andy

Andy,

Once the rest of the chassis looks like the engine mounts I will be right happy, thats a little way of yet me thinks.

Cheers Ginge

[HandyAndy]

Andy,

Once the rest of the chassis looks like the engine mounts I will be right happy, thats a little way of yet me thinks.

Cheers Ginge

Ginge....

that will be 1 very nice chassis indeed, keep at it mate , its a great build you have in progress :cool:

Always enjoy reading your build updates.:)

cheers
andy

[twinturbo]

TT,

To be honest, I don’t know.:(

I have watched that many programs in my time and they are always using lacquer I thought I should give it a bash.

Should I not bother? It was the hardest layer to do well as well!

Cheers Ginge

A clear coat is generaly used with a flat base coat, generaly metalics and perls do not have a gloss finish and require a laqure to give the shine.

Normal solid colours are usualy gloss finish and don't require a clear.

It won't do any harm, but for the money you may as well add extra paint coats instead.

TT

[gingea1pom]

TT,

Thanks for that it makes perfect sense, I shall not bother with it on my gloss ORANGE anymore.

Like you say, saves money.

Cheers Ginge

[mark]

You should get those parts in an electolysis tank, you wont be disapointed

In the end i was hunting for rusty parts because the results really are that good, its very satisfying, i was in a rust removing frenzy for a few days :D

[twinturbo]

Got any pic sof the equipment results Mark?

TT

[gingea1pom]

13 Apr

I have had just the best day in the garage today. Nothing outstanding achieved but the sun was out, the garage door open, kids playing and radio two on the radio.

I have been kind of multi tasking. Started by de-greasing the passenger side upright properly then lowered it into a strong-ish solution of Deox-C. It is still going, there is defiantly more activity this time around.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/101Derusting.jpg

Then I fitted my nose cone. The only reason was to get the riv-nuts in before the chassis is painted. I am trying to get all the holes drilled and welding done before painting, I know I will have to drill the chassis at some point once it is painted but you have to try.

I offered the nose cone up to the chassis and spent ages measuring and marking before drilling. I had to cut about 3mm of the lower valence, as it were, for the perfect fit. I was going to force it under the lower front chassis rail but decided against it. I managed to employ the help of Nicky to mark the holes on the top rail as I squeezed the sides of the nose cone into the correct position. There are more pictures on photo bucket.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/96Noseon.jpg

Next was the headlight mounting tubes. After asking a quick question about length (120mm) I set to pretty much a half hour job, flipped the chassis over and welded the underside aswell.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/100Headlighttube.jpg

Whilst removing some splatter and wire brushing some rust off I noticed two welds that had been missed so they got the good news!

While all this was going on I started the painting process on the rear uprights they are primered in this picture but have the first coat of ORANGE on now.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/102rearuprights.jpg

My new polo radiator is due tomorrow so radiator fixings are on the cards, hopefully it will turn up early.

Cheers Ginge

[mark]

Got any pic sof the equipment results Mark?

TT

I have had a scout through my pics and it doesnt seem as though i have any pics of the equipment. I have found a pic of a similar tank to what i used in conjunction with a cheapy battery charger

There is also a couple of pics of a drum backplate and a front upright before and after

Unfortunateley they are both already painted in the after pics as they are so clean when they have been treated they rust very quickly so i got them painted before i took any pics

They both spent about 10hrs in a tank then a very quick wire brush, dry off with a blow torch and then spray painted.

There is loads of pictures of results and equipment on google images.

[gingea1pom]

15 Apr

I didn’t get any time on the roadster yesterday really; we went shoe shopping then to the physio with number one son, My polo radiator turned up so I spent a little time pondering mounting it.

To today then, it was full steam ahead on radiator bottom mounts, I came up with a fantastically over engineered plan.

First I worked out the optimum position with the nose cone on and steering rack in place, then removed both of them. I made a card template which you can see in the following picture on the right, then transferred that to steel, on the left. Then bashed it about and welded it to the front frame, centre in the first picture.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/103Radmounttemplates.jpg

Next after carful measuring again (450mm centre to centre of the polo mounting spigots) I drilled a 12mm hole then fitted a grommet which the spigots on the bottom of the polo radiator slide into just nice.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/106Radmount3.jpg

And with the radiator in place.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/108Radmount5.jpg

I have made a start on the top mounting brackets but there is not nearly enough engineering involved yet, watch this space.

At 3pm this afternoon I made my way over to ‘Enoch’s’ so he could drill and tap the thread for the grub screw to hold the mushroom insert in my front up-rights.

What a job would have taken me about two hours he cracked it in 30mins. A good point Dave made was not to drill through the very side at the up-rights thinnest point as this is A. weak and B. only gives the grub screw a thread or two of purchase, so we off set the hole rearwards to a slightly meatier section. Makes perfect sense really.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/112Frontuprightgrubscrew.jpg

No working in the garage tomorrow, family day, I might fit some in around the GP at the weekend.

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

17 Apr

I managed to get the top rad mounts finished. The first incarnation, in cardboard, was supper complicated. They would have looked good but a little over the top for something that is really just going to steady the rad.

Second try is simply a strip of 2mm steel bent in two places to reach from the top of the front frame to the rad mounting points.

I thought they might ‘twang’ or vibrate a little so welded some strips down each side. They are strong enough to lift the whole chassis up on, they will do.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/113Topradmount.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/114frontendpainted.jpg

You will notice I have primed the front end. Two hours of knocking of weld splatter, wire brushing welds and generally getting everything supper clean, then masked up to avoid over spray. Two coats of etch primer the two coats of primer, same as always.

I decided not to do the top coat as I want to do, or get this done, in one go.

18 Apr

By the time I had watched the GP, had lunch and got in the garage it was 1pm.

First job was to get the last up right out of the Deox-C and give it a wire brushing. I am going to de-rust the rest using electrolysis.

I was going to run down to Halfords for some more etch primer for the up rights but decided to move on to something more interesting.

Floor first fit. I flipped the chassis upside-down then manhandled my 8’x4’ sheet of ally on to it, squared it up to one rear corner, measured to make sure I was about to drill bang in the middle of the rail, then took a 3.2mm drill bit and set to. Cleco in then on to the next corner making sure everything was square as I went. Two Cleco’s in and looking good.

Time for some cutting. With loads and loads of measuring and marking I cut the sheet to size whilst it was attached to the chassis with cleco’s. I found if I slipped a piece of scrap tube between the chassis and the ally sheet this gave enough clearance for the cutting wheel to miss the chassis.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/116Floor2.jpg

The floor is now attached with 49 Cleco’s (I have lost one already) just need to drill 221 more holes! I am hoping to pick up some 3.2mm (1/8”) at Stoneleigh.

I flipped the chassis over to get a look with the floor in and I’m chuffed. It is such a large part It makes loads of difference, makes me feel like I have got loads done and made a step forward.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/117Floor3.jpg

Of to Okehampton next week to lay some stone for the car park of the ten tours event.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

Some good progress there Ginge :cool:

Certainly done a propper job of those rad mounts.

The floor does give the build a whole new dimension & a nice comfortable place to sit whilst sitting in the chassis making F1 sounds :D

I have uploaded a couple of photos of the rad fan & seat runners to my Progress thread ;)

Pitty you are not down as far as Bodmin moor .... Could have met up for a chinwag :)

[twinturbo]

I must resist the urge to get the chassis out and the floor done...

I must pull my finger out and get the other two cars done so I can hit the roadster..


TT

[Land Locked]

Ginge (the master of over engineering ;) ) Those rad mounts will have less flex than the steering rack mounts. Well done.:D

Yes it's cheeky, but tongue in cheek cheeky. I too have a bent for Victorian engineering.

[gingea1pom]

Almost a month between up dates, not good.

I find my enthusiasm ebbs and flows a little, poor enthusiasm for de-greasing, de-rusting front uprights and great enthusiasm for getting the floor started poor enthusiasm for modifying my seat runners!

Any way since the last up-date 10 3.2mm cobalt drill bits have turned up and I purchased a few items from the Stoneleigh show, namely and most awaited was a pair of seats, which the whole family has sat in.

I had acquired some seat runners from the bin at work and was eager to find out if the runners fitted the seats. No is the simple answer, not in any direction. They need to be wider by about 40mm. This was the easy mod I just cut the lifting handle and now they can be as wide as you like, I just need to find a section of suitable tubing to fill the gap.

Making them longer is a little more involved as I appreciate the runners need to maintain there strength. I have fabricated a sort of box section that replicates the existing seat runner out of 3mm steel plate and welded it on and drilled a hole for the mounting bolt.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/123Seatrunnerextension2.jpg

They are going to mount to two 25mm box section tubes that run across from the outside lower chassis rails to the transmission chassis rails, the box section will have 5mm steel plates welded into them so they sit flush with the top of the tube, this will mean no nuts or bolts protrude through the floor. Lots of work but I should end up with me desired result.

Also purchased at Stoneleigh was a fan (mounting bracket required as the fins on the fan are way to close together to use the fixings that push through the radiator), some 5” head lights from CBS, thanks to Gus for putting me on to these, they are not in there catalogue and where not on display on there stand, £25 each (just need to finish the head light mounts now). I got 10m of 3mm thick soft rubber trim which should see me through the whole build and some tools.

I have started to try and get an hour or two in the garage in the evening, the only problem is I can’t undertake anything to noisy as Sophie, my daughter of 5 years, sleeps almost directly above it.

15 May

Had a fantastic full day in the garage.

I managed to get my seat mounting frame fabricated a welded in.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/126Seatmountsin.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/1255mmmount2.jpg

It may not look like a day’s work but it took me from 9 to 5, the 25mm cross bars are notched out to take the 5mm plates so everything is flush and now there will be no bolts sticking through the floor. It is all welded up except the underside, just need to flip the chassis now get the last four welds done then continue with the 270 3.2mm holes!

The great thing now is when I go out for a cigarette I can sit in the car!

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/128Quicktryout.jpg

Cheers Ginge

[Tatey]

Nice update there ginge, I always enjoy reading about progress. Just a couple of questions.

Whats seats have you decided to go for?

Also do the seat belt holes in the seat allow for the seatbelt to continue to where you have placed the top seatbelt mounts without the seatbelts having to go up through holes and then down to the seatbelt mount if you get what i mean? If you don't i can quite easily draw a picture.

The only reason I ask is because I don't think IVA allows for the seatbelts to do it as it puts the stress from your body weight flying forward on the seatbelt holes instead of entirely on the seatbelt mounts.

[gingea1pom]

Tatey,

You are totally correct about the seatbelts routing through the holes in the seat.

The seatbelt top mounts are in totally the wrong place and will need to be re-done, they need to be lowered by about 30mm and lined up with the holes in the seat, annoyingly my shoulders are higher than the holes in the seats, so the belts will have to go up and over my shoulders before going down.

I was not really happy with the cross bar part of the roll bar, good job really, need to get some more 7/16 mounts and a length of tubing and set to on getting it right.

The seats are the ones from the people who do the 2b and the zero, can’t remember their name right now!

Cheers ginge

[Tatey]

Are you sure the cross bar needs to be lowered Ginge?

The way I understood it the seatbelt needs to do the following:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm22/Simon_Tate/seatbelt.jpg

Also by any chance are you 6'4" or taller?

EDIT: Here is a picture from Ash's archive which i think explains it:

http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww75/ashgardiner/IVA%20Stuff/P1030435.jpg

[gingea1pom]

Tatey,

OK get ready for the dodgiest drawing EVER, my belt mounts are set into the cross bar, the cross bar is a little higher than the holes in the seat by 30mm.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/gingea1pom/Roadster%20build/Dodgydrawing.jpg

I am 6’ 1”

Cheers Ginge

[gingea1pom]

Little edit, my shoulders are as good as in line with the holes in the seats not higher, just need to lower the mounts and bring them in line, one is 110mm off to one side!

Cheers Ginge

[Tatey]

Ah it all makes sense now Ginge. I need to get my eye sight checked out :p.

Is it the angle that the picture has been taken, or is your head above the roll bar?

I only ask as I'm 6'6" and my head is too tall for Ash's standard roll bar, especially if using a padded seat and a helmet. So if the worst did happen it would mean my head would be hitting the ground before the roll bar would as I would also be hanging out of the harness if the car rolled.

[gingea1pom]

Ah it all makes sense now Ginge. I need to get my eye sight checked out :p.

Is it the angle that the picture has been taken, or is your head above the roll bar?

I only ask as I'm 6'6" and my head is too tall for Ash's standard roll bar, especially if using a padded seat and a helmet. So if the worst did happen it would mean my head would be hitting the ground before the roll bar would as I would also be hanging out of the harness if the car rolled.

I might have to get Nicky to check next time I go for smoke, looks like the whole roll bar could be up for a re-design.

Cheers Ginge

[Tatey]

Yeah I've decided to scrap the roll bar and go for a fully welded in cage made by welderman from the locostbuilders forum.

Once I have the money together and the chassis finished he'll be making me one for £400, including designing it around my height and to my design with side impact protection.

[twinturbo]

were the from GBS or from KPD?

The two seem to have parted company.

TT

[les g]

Tatey
check out Richardk pics on the LCB forum he calls his car the bruise
he is a tall guy like yourself.
and he has a taller rollbar and it doesn,t look out of place at all..
cheers les g

[gingea1pom]

TT,

KPD, they are just like these (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Robin-hood-westfield-locost-caterham-seats-narrow-pair-/260603578781?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cad2f099d) ones just more expensive! :mad:

Cheers Ginge

[Wgroove]

Hi Ginge,
I was admiring the photo's of your building. They are fantastic !
The radiator you used, i guess it was a VW polo radiator ? Is it a certain model or do you have a partnumber of it ? Did you bought it at a local vw dealer or somewhere else ?

Greetings from Belgium !

Wim

[Bonzo]

Hi Wim

I do believe that Ginge used the Polo radiator :)

Here is a link to the one I bought

Polo Radiator (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VOLKSWAGEN-POLO-Mk3-1-05i-1-3i-90-94-RADIATOR-NEW-74918-/180436755024?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a02de6250)

I bought the Polo Mk3 Radiator as it has a thicker core & if memory serves me right, Ginge used the Polo Mk2 Radiator.

May be worth contacting the seller for a shipping price ;)

[gingea1pom]

As Bonzo said.

I used a mark 2

Cheers for answering Ronnie, I am so busy at work, odd really as there are no wars ongoing in Wiltshire at the moment!:D

Cheers Ginge

[teun]

Wim, Ik gebruik een radiateur uit een VW Golf I betaal ik hier in Nederland iets van 50 euro voor.
Sorry guys just a little talk between belgium and holland:D

[Wgroove]

Wim, Ik gebruik een radiateur uit een VW Golf I betaal ik hier in Nederland iets van 50 euro voor.
Sorry guys just a little talk between belgium and holland:D

Hey bedankt Teun.
Is dat een prijs voor een nieuwe ? ben je langs de plaatselijke VW dealer gegaan of via webshop ?

W.

[Wgroove]

Is there a big difference between MKI, MKII an d MKIII ?

Thanks.

W.

[alga]

Take a look here: http://www.aaronradiator.co.uk/catalog/VW_Radiator-81-1.html In short, there are Mk2 radiators that have 380x323 cores, and Mk3 rads are all 430x322, putting the width of the rad at about 52 cm, which might be a bit of a tight fit.