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Previous Build Diaries
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The picture in the logo was taken by Richard Crowe on a wet day at Nutts Corner on the 24th of Febuary 2004. |
28 November 2003 Well made some
decenty progress today. First we worked on the pedals, getting the
clutch cable connected up to the pedal and also getting the throttle
cable connected to the pedal. Both of these were sorted out
OK.
Not too much to
report, I finally got the sprocket adaptor, so I visit Gregory
Propshafts to get my propshaft made tomorrow morning. Hopefully
we'll have it in a few days. Once I get that in, I can really
steam ahead putting the gearlinkage in place and once I get the clutch
and loud pedals cabled up I'll have a car that drives, and I can then
get the panels and bodywork on her! 23
November 2003 Courtesy of Richard
Crowe, here are a couple of files. First an MP3 (sound file) of me revving the engine (Vroom vroom.mp3 -
249kB). Also there is a small movie of me doing
the same (aliscar.wmv - .567kB). I must get some recording
gear out to the garage and try to get a really high quality sound file
knocked out. It does sound that good. As for naming her, I
have the following suggestions. 21
November 2003 More wiring.
Yesterday I thought we had the wiring just about done, but the
headlights weren't switching properly between fullbeam and dip, so
another relay allowed us to do that. I also added in the Yellow Box. I will
mount it up near the bulkhead - it's sitting in the photo temporarily. 20 November 2003 More work on the
loom, so she now starts (literally) on the button, using the Sierra keys
to place her in the ignition on position, and the button for the
starter. Feels great. Also got the suspension all tightened,
and I tried to square the wheels a bit. She looks a lot better
now, without loads of toe out and camber, goodness knows what she'll go
like. 18
November 2003 Well I spent most of
today polishing my helmet. Eh? What? A Nitro N500-V, 50
quid from your local bike shop. Seems like a good job.
Did more work on the loom (well Dad did to be honest, I just tried to
keep out of his way) and I also drilled the seat holes, filled the diff
with oil, filled two sand bags for extra weight then started tightening
the suspension. Feeling very tired after the excitment of
yesterday. Good News! Got
the engine started. I cannot begin to describe how good it
sounds. Holding the accelerator cable and revving it reminds me of
playing a guitar through an enormously loud amp. It's such a
responsive engine, and sounds (without a silencer anyhow) as scary as
get out. I also got the seats fitted (they'll be coming out
tomorrow so I can get the interior panels done) and Dad worked on
tidying up the wiring loom including fitting the metal mounting plate.
My mate Mark sent on
a couple of pics from when he saw the build. The undoubted
highlight of these was the picture of another mate, Glenn, trying out
the seatbelts.
15 November 2003 Well nearly, but not
quite! We got the engine to turn over, and go the clocks to spring
into life, but we couldn't get 12V from the CDI unit into the coils, so
no vroom vroom yet! Mind you, since we got the clocks going we
were able to see that the registered mileage is 13,547. Not too
bad. That said there is a small chance that those clocks are from
a different engine, but I suspect they are genuine. Perhaps I
should go down to Traynors and give them some more money... OK, after vociferous complaints yesterday about the lack of pictures, I have been forced to take some today and post them..... Today I fitted the
fuel pump 12
November 2003 Just a quick update
to let you know I got the radiator fitted (very time consuming), and
have attached the plumbing. I put the 50/50 mixture of anti-freeze
and water in tonight and it doesn't seem to be running out so far!
Tomorrow I have to do a little shopping then it's sorting out the fuel
line and the electrics. 7 November 2003 More progress
made! I have all the brake pipes in, a pretty tricky task, but I'm
glad to get that done. I've also got the brake bias valve fitted
in near the diff. It's the yolk with the red handle.
I also got the pedal
covers on. And finally we popped
the engine!
4 November 2003
You might also notice this page has shrunk in size, this is to keep downloading times to a minimum, and you can always access last months info here or by clicking on the October 2003 link in the menu to the left. Anyhow, onto the build. I've got quite a lot done this week, but came across a couple of minor stumbling blocks. First off I fitted the diff using the bolts as supplied by MK, only to find they were a little too long, so it was decided to cut them off for a neater appearance. Once this was done I went ahead to fit the rear suspension, only to find that the 'diff bolts' I had just cut down were needed at the bottom of the hub carrier, and were now too short! Arrggghhh! I eventually managed to source some of these bolts (M12 x 240mm) in a place called SwiftScrew (!) in Belfast, so had to pop down there to get them. While down there I also picked up oil for the engine (Halford 10w40 semi-synthetic) a 390 Ohm resistor (to bypass the Blade immobiliser) some *real* sierra diff bolts. I was also shopping on Thursday and bought a brake bias valve and an oil filter and spark plugs for the engine too. On Saturday Mum bought a copy of Buy and Sell where I saw 4 Ford Focus alloys (with tyres) for sale. After a phone call we decided to pop down to Ballygawley to see them. They were in great nick, 15" x 6.5" fitted with Pirelli P600s that had done barely 100 miles. I wound up buying them for £310, not too bad since the tyres would be about 85 quid new each anyhow. Very pleased with them.  Also on Saturday we finished off the rear end of the car's suspension and brakes, and a neat job it looks too. We had to shorten the handbrake cable by cutting off a length of it and reforming a nipple on the end. We also fitted the brake shoes and drums. I say 'we' but in all truth Dad did much of the rear brakes, because he knows exactly what he's doing, whereas I am at best a 'talented amateur'! I also found out (after it was fitted naturally) that the 3.36 ratio diff I was given by Brian McGoldrick does not fit the halfshafts from my donor car, so it had to come out and the original 3.62 diff was fitted. All in all the diff has been in and out 4 times now! On the bright side, it's an operation I can now perform with my eyes shut!   The front suspension would be finished too except the top swivels we were given (these go between the top wishbone and the upright) were a left-hand thread and right-hand thread set, whereas our newly chromed wishbones (don't they look great?) are both right-hand thread. These parts originally came from a Ford Transit, so I nipped into Europarts in Dungannon and I should have a matching pair on Monday.   Next up I need to buy a few bolts on Monday finish off the front suspension, fit the pedals and the master cylinder, then fit the brake pipes. After that is all done we should be at the 'rolling chassis' stage, with the whole car sitting on it's wheels. When that's sorted, then we get to fitting the engine, and that is something I cannot wait for! Brian popped out to see how I was getting on in his Locost Blade, and just the sound of that engine sends shivers up my spine! |
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Alister Jackson | No Rights Reserved |
