Another build thread

[Davidbolam]

Originally Posted by skov

Fcuck it, I've took my Mondeo bias valve out and replaced it with a bit of plain pipe.
Got it booked into a garage next week to check it's not biassed too far the other way now...

Decided to do some work on the clutch as it was rediculously heavy and hard to control.
Changed the master cylinder from 0.7" bore to 0.625" and cut and shut the pedal to add an inch or so to it. Feels nice and light now!

New steering UJ turned up today, hopefully get that fitted tomorrow.

Sorted out my handbrake cable interference issue by cutting and rewelding the brackets that hold the cable ends on the caliper. Should bring the cables away from the chassis by about 1/2 and inch.
Only tacked together in the photos, but you get the idea:





Tried to book my re-test earlier, but no one was answering the phones at Leighton Buzzard

Which universal joint are you / were you using. I have checked mine (from rally designs) and there is quite a bit of movement.

David

[Stot]

Originally Posted by Davidbolam

Which universal joint are you / were you using. I have checked mine (from rally designs) and there is quite a bit of movement.

David

I have the RD forged one too and I don't think much of it. One end of mine has the slit machined on the wrong side, the thru-holes for the pinch bolts were no where near where they needed to be to locate in the spline recess and yes its sloppy even when fully tightened.

Think I would plump for a pressed steel one if I cant do something with this one.

Cheers
Stot

[Johno]

Hi John,
So was the hand brake cable touching the chassis seat rail all the time or just when the shock was loaded?

I had a similar problem with mine when I fitted the cable. I ended up fitting a angle bkt to pull the cable away from the chassis seat rail.









The cable cleared just when I removed the shock spring and moved the damper through it's full range.
I know it looks close to the drive shaft and suspension arm but it clears these as well.

[skov]

Originally Posted by Stot

I have the RD forged one too and I don't think much of it. One end of mine has the slit machined on the wrong side, the thru-holes for the pinch bolts were no where near where they needed to be to locate in the spline recess and yes its sloppy even when fully tightened.

Think I would plump for a pressed steel one if I cant do something with this one.

Cheers
Stot

I was using forged Rally Design one and it's sh!t. Sounds like like yours is even worse!
The problem I was having is that it wouldn't clamp tigh enough on the steering rack spline. Not happy considering they charge around £20 for it

I swapped it for a pressed steel one off ebay last night and it's nice and tight with no play now.

Originally Posted by Stot

Hi Skov,

Looking at that I cant help but think it would be a safer option to shorten it this way. It looks like it would still line up ok.



Cheers
Stot

lol, don't know why I didn't think of that!

Originally Posted by Johno

Hi John,
So was the hand brake cable touching the chassis seat rail all the time or just when the shock was loaded?

I had a similar problem with mine when I fitted the cable. I ended up fitting a angle bkt to pull the cable away from the chassis seat rail.

It wasn't touching at all when I checked (but was damn close!), by the time I got to IVA they were hard up against the seat backs all the time.
I had the cables pulled away similar to you, but they still managed to move and settle upagainst the chassis.

Seems to be sorted with the shorted brackets anyway.

[Johno]

Hi John,
So what was it like to drive on the roads. Did you have a big grin all the time...
Was the handling ok or is there something you would change?
Seeing as my car is virtually the same as yours I'm curious to know what you would do different.
You said the clutch was heavy so that's something I need to look at for a start.

[skov]

Originally Posted by Johno

Hi John,
So what was it like to drive on the roads. Did you have a big grin all the time...
Was the handling ok or is there something you would change?
Seeing as my car is virtually the same as yours I'm curious to know what you would do different.
You said the clutch was heavy so that's something I need to look at for a start.

It's a bit early to say yet. For the most part I was driving to IVA and back like a granny, and to be perfectly honest it's not a particularly pleasant or comfortable place to be when you're just cruising along.
When I did have a bit of a play I wasn't exactly performing a critical assessment of its handling abilities...
I was however grinning from ear to ear and shouting wooooooo quite a bit

The clutch was a fricken nightmare though, so much so that I didn't want to drive it again before I sorted it. It was rediculously heavy and hard to control smoothly, which got a bit tiresome in traffic.

I've got a 50 mile round trip to my local friendly garage tomorrow, so I might have some more to report after that.

[Davidbolam]

Originally Posted by skov

I was using forged Rally Design one and it's sh!t. Sounds like like yours is even worse!
The problem I was having is that it wouldn't clamp tigh enough on the steering rack spline. Not happy considering they charge around £20 for it

I swapped it for a pressed steel one off ebay last night and it's nice and tight with no play now.



lol, don't know why I didn't think of that!




It wasn't touching at all when I checked (but was damn close!), by the time I got to IVA they were hard up against the seat backs all the time.
I had the cables pulled away similar to you, but they still managed to move and settle upagainst the chassis.

Seems to be sorted with the shorted brackets anyway.

Is the pressed Steel UJ the same length as the one you took out?

Thanks

David

[skov]

Originally Posted by Davidbolam

Is the pressed Steel UJ the same length as the one you took out?

Thanks

David

Yes, the one I got off ebay is

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=121134330162

[skov]

Arrrrgghhh!
Fixed everything for IVA... booked my re-test for Thursday morning... broke a wingstay on the way home from the garage

[Davidbolam]

Originally Posted by skov

Yes, the one I got off ebay is

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=121134330162

Can I check what bolts you are using on the joint. I had m8 bolts in the old version but now the seem too small. I also cannot get the spanners to fit as the casing is in the way.

Cheers

David

p.s well envious yours is on the road!!