More Bits

Here's the Accusump, electric valve and assorted plumbing - including some adaptors and elbows for the heater pipes off the manifiold:

Having had a quick look I'm definitely going to have to aquire some bespoke brackets for all this!

Odds 'n Ends

Done some bits and pieces but nothing very productive?

I fitted the propshaft but only have temporary bolts in at the minute as GD were out of stock of the correct bolts. It was a bit of a Chinese puzzle with very little room for manoeuvre. It would be much easier if you hadn't fitted the T piece for the rear brakes - note for people who've not got this far yet!

I have also fitted the oil cooler take off plate - however the extension screw was about 4mm too long so the threads bottomed out before the take off plate and spacer were tight - out with the hacksaw and the files it was!

I was then able to start laying out the braided hose and oil stat to get an idea of where the pipework is going to run - hmmmm I wonder if I've put the header tank overflow in the wrong place?

I've ordered my Accusump and other associated plumbing today so that should be here in time for the weekend so hopefully I should be able to sort out the pipe runs then. I think I will have to trim the pipes from the take off to cooler and also probably fabricate a fancy bracket for the oil stat.

On the subject of parts expected shortly, there should be a new clutch slave bracket on its way from Repower - hopefully that'll be the clutch sorted once and for all then.

Accu..what?

Before I can start fitting the oil cooler pipework I need to do some planning. It has always been my intention to fit an Accusump. What's one of them then? Well in the words of the website....

"The Accusump, the original automotive oil accumulator, is designed to provide the engine with oil pressure before the starter is even engaged. An Accusump is a cylinder shaped aluminum storage container that acts as a reservoir of pressurized oil, to be released when there is a drop in the oil pressure. The Accusump is connected to the pressure side of an engine's oiling system and is charged by the engines own oil pump.Its simple, efficient design revolves around a hydraulic piston separating an air pre-charge side and the oil reservoir side. On the oil side of the Accusump it has an outlet that goes into the engine's oiling system, controlled by a valve. On the air side it's equipped with a pressure gauge and a Schrader air pre-load valve."

As well as pre-oiling the engine before starting it can also supply oil during periods of harsh cornering or acceleration when the oil pickup in the sump may become uncovered causing a drop in oil pressure.

"On initial start-up when the valve on the oil side is opened the pressurized oil is released into the engine and therefore pre-lubricating the engine prior to start-up. The Accusump holds whatever oil pressure the engine has at the time that it is shut off. After the engine is started and the oil pump has taken over, oil is pumped back into the Accusump. This moves the piston back and pressurizes the Accusump until it equalizes with engine's oil pressure. While driving, if the engine's oil pressure is interrupted for any reason, the Accusump releases its oil reserve again, keeping the engine lubricated until the engine's oil pressure comes back to normal. This release of oil could last from 15 to 60 seconds, depending on the size and speed of the engine. In racing or hard driving conditions, the Accusump will automatically fill and discharge when needed as you corner, accelerate and brake."

CHARGING

DISCHARGING

There's a bit of extra plumbing involved to incorporate the Accusump so I need to carefully plan where it will fit.

More Bits

Here we go then, some more bits to play with:

... Oil cooler kit - comprising cooler, pipework, oil thermostat and tak off plate. On the left is the braided clutch hose.

I also picked up the handbrake cable... and fitted it:

I had also taken my gearbox yoke down to get my propshaft made up. However, fortune would have it that Andy happened to have a propshaft of the exact length made up and sitting in the stores - it just needs a bit of cleaning up as it's been gathering dust for a while:

Off on hols for a week now so they'll have to wait!

Off to GD on Friday

Spoke to Andy at GD today. Firstly he says not to worry about the clearance between the spark plug boots and the headers - it'll be fine (so that's good). Secondly my Oil Cooler kit is in. So I've arranged to go down on Friday morning and pick it up, together with some other bits. I also need to drop off my gearbox yoke to get the propshaft made up. Which reminds me I need to measure up first!

Whilst I'm there on Friday I'll place the order for the body and sort out some queries I have regarding that. The plan at the minute is to get the body in the latter half of November - if there is a build slot available?

So that means I have to get all the chassis / engine work completed by the start of November in order to build a rolling trestle for the body. So that means an engine start in the next couple of months! It's not critical to start the engine at this stage - it's just a temptation that I can't resist!

Exhaust - Part 1

Fiddled around with the exhausts this morning for a short while. Fitted the centre balance box on its bobbins:

I then used the centre box and the headers to line up and fit the 90 degree bends to the link pipes. The joints were made with RTV silicone and an exhaust clamp. The next step will be to fit the link pipes and bends between the headers and the balance box - I'll have to remove the balance box for this.

Plugs and Overflow

Spent some time looking the spark plug boot / header problem - still not convinced that I can get away with doing nothing. The leads and boots are rated at 600F but I'm not comfortable with them being so close together:

Eventually I decided that it was time to do something constructive so I fitted the header tank expansion overflow piping:

Header Tank & More Hoses

More progress on the cooling system. I've now fitted the Header Tank and secured all the hoses with stainless hose clamps:
The header tank was fitted the top engine bay brace with two M6 rivet nuts and bolts. These do not take a great deal of load as the tank rests on the cross brace and is effectively held in place by the hoses.

Having fitted the headers it has become clear that another problem has surfaced. The spark plug boots under the outer two pipes on both sides are only about 10mm away from the pipes. This may be too close for comfort and may mean that I need to wrap the headers (this would also help with the oil cooler pipework which will also run close to the headers) - Looks like another question for Andy at GD.

Headers

Thought it was about time I did something so next job on the list was to fit the exhaust headers.

Encountered a problem right away - I couldn't get them into position??? eventually I discovered that I had to remove the rocker covers in order to get them into place!

So the next step was to lay a small bead of RTV silicone on the header face of the gasket around the ports and bolt holes. I then placed the gasket onto the header, fitted the bolts and tightened up. Easier said than done as there is little room to get a spanner in so it is a bit of a pain only being able to tighten the bolt one flat at a time... but job done in the end.

Repeat for the other side and all done:

Whilst I was in the area - I changed the PCV hose for a length of my new red PSH hose:

Next comes the rest of the exhaust!