Introduction and progress so far

[ayjay]

Dont forget to weld some tabs around the chassis to create earthing points

[Eddy]

Managed to make a bit of progress this long weekend.

Finished all the welding (capping off open ends, rad mounts, Roll bar stay mounts, brake tabs etc) and painted with etch primer on the bare metal, followed by undercoat. Whilst that was drying I cut out the floor panel from a template I had made. Here it is offered up to the primered chassis:




Then I applied the top coat, waited for that to dry and started fitting the floor - 164 4mm holes drilled, floor removed, sikaflex applied, floor replaced and rivets installed:

[Eddy]

Then I spent today reassembling up to a rolling chassis:









Thanks to everyone on here and LCB who provided info about capping ends, which jigsaw blades to buy for cutting ali, advising buying a lazy riveter etc - All this information made the jobs this weekend as easy as possible

[voucht]

Looks very nice and tidy Eddy, congrats! Looks like you're on the right track

[Eddy]

I’ve been making a bit more progress lately.

Got a set of brake lines with (a lot of!) help from Sylvain – Excellent service and thoroughly helpful chap. The brake lines, despite seeing some very positive reviews on here, exceeded my highest expectations. Everyone that has seen them has commented how nice they are. I’ll get some decent pics when they are fully fixed in place.

I finally made a start on fixing them in the transmission tunnel along with the fuel line at the weekend:

Put it on its side to get access around the diff area to run the fuel line.



Clipped to ali strip in the tunnel



Then a diagonal towards the rear to run the fuel line around the bottom rails to the corner of the rear tub where the pump and filter will go



I’ve got plenty more p-clips to add, but its a start!

Also, bought AshG’s old bodywork/tank/dash etc off him, so its really starting to look like a car now:



None of it is fixed in place yet, but it makes me smile when I open the garage door!

Next up will be side panels, I think. Or maybe loom.

[Enoch]

That's all looking rather splendid, keep up the good work.

[AshG]

looking good. nice to see the bodywork on are you going to keep it black or paint it another colour?

[Eddy]

Whilst building, I'm going to keep it black - The garage is pretty small and it is constantly getting knocked/moved around. Its nice to not have to worry too much about damaging it, like I would with new fibreglass (or if I painted or wrapped it now).

When its finished I will look at options for paint or vinyl wrap. I'm quite liking colours similar to Porche's riviera blue at the moment, like this:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aB6duV_lng...0/_DSC1647.jpg

But I do change my mind a lot!

[alga]

In my experience the abuse the bodywork got during the build is nothing compared to what it gets during normal driving!

[Eddy]

Hello all,

I haven’t updated for a little while, but have been steadily making progress in the background.

Since my last post I have:

Made the side panels
Made the rear panel
P-Clipped the front brake lines
Put the engine back together after having the head skimmed with new gaskets and a shortened sump
Finished off a few bits of welding – Added dowels to the column extension, a couple of bits on the peddle box, and made the inlet manifold
Mounted the radiator/fan and most of the plumbing

When I got to this point, I couldn’t resist the urge to bodge a few wires on, chuck in some fuel and see what happened when I turned the key.
Aside from being a bit of a child and wanting to hear my toy make some noise, it was quite important for me to give this a go – The engine hadn’t been started for 3 years and 5 months and it had been apart for 3 of those. It was also now using bike carbs with a bike fuel pump and running EDIS/Megajolt for the spark, both of which were untested. I really just want to know if it was all OK before going any further with the CVH lump.

So....

I wired up the crank sensor, coil pack and EDIS (I am waiting on a TPS connector and usb to serial adapter for use with the MJ, so limp mode only for now). Took a lead out and used it with a spare plug to see if it was sparking – Nothing. Scratched head before realising I’d missed an earth off! With this attached there was spark.
Wired up the fuel pump. Gallon of fuel in the tank. Ignition on, fuel pump was initially loud, then quiet when it had primed the new lines. Turned the key only to have it turn over and backfire loudly. After this happened a few times, and following some more head scratching, I swapped the two wires to the coil pack over and turned the key. IT STARTED!!!

Obligatory video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEb1-lLYD0I

Since the video I have fitted the side panels, made an under scuttle panel to mount the loom to, fitted the nosecone, and fitted the proper exhaust.
The next steps for me are going to fit the rest of the bodywork and roll bar, tidy/permanently fix the wiring, and get back to the position where it starts again. Then I’ll be on the hunt for some shocks, a prop and some rear lights!

As it sits now:




Cheers
Eddy