Putting Things Right

Had some parts arrive today so it was time to put some things right. First one was to fit another clutch remote bleed - this time without snapping the bulkhead fitting:I made the hose a little longer this time so it had more of a natural bend on it: With the extra pins for the AMP Superseal connectors I finished connecting up the electrical speedo pickup on the gearbox:And finally now having the correct size ring terminals I wired up the Fuel Pump Oil Pressure Safety Switch:So that's everything put right that either went wrong or couldn't be finished the other day.

I spoke to GD the other day regarding the next batch of parts but they are having problems with one one of the suppliers so it looks like a bit of a wait is on the cards. I'm sure I can find plenty of other things to do in the meantime!

Doh! and double Doh!!

I was looking at the photo of the clutch remote bleed and something didn't seem quite right:

The fitting appeared to be slightly on the skew - look at the relationship between the bottom nut and the washer - there was a reason for this:

Doh!..... new fitting ordered. This probably happened because I couldn't get my head under the chassis to see what I was doing... I'll jack it up next time.

Next I decided to finish off the gearbox wiring harness. The reverse selector switch (on the left) and the neutral switch (on the right) were fitted with into a 4 way socket and plugged into the loom: The last remaining item on the gearbox harness was the connection for the speedo output. Now the word on the street has always been that the female connector for the TKO gearbox is difficult to source. However I got one easily from Real Steel for just 11 quid including postage!You will notice that only one pin has been fitted to the wires. The reason for this is that I knocked the bag with my last remaining two pins on the floor. In the meantime the dog ran off into the garden with it and when I retrieved the bag it was empty...Doh! I had a look round the garden but these pins are very small.... so some spares ordered!

The last thing on the list for today was to fit and connect the oil pressure safety switch for the electric fuel pump. Straightforward to fit, but I couldn't connect it up as I didn't have the right size ring terminals.... so some more bits ordered.So that's three simple jobs to finish off next week when I get the bits and pieces.

Clutch Remote Bleed

There are many advantages to the GD's spaceframe backbone chassis and separate body. One of the disadvantages is that the clutch slave cylinder bleed nipple ends up being pretty inaccessible - the underslung exhaust system doesn't help either! It is therefore necessary to install a remote bleed for the clutch slave to avoid having to take the body off to bleed the clutch.

After pondering this problem for a while I came up with what I think is a reasonable solution. As appears usual the first step was to fabricate a bracket out of an piece of steel angle:After painting the bracket was located on the lower nearside gearbox to bellhousing bolt - behind the clutch slave bracket:The other bits need are some -3 braided tfe hose, a -3 banjo fitting with 3/8 UNF banjo bolt and a -3 bulkhead fitting with integral bleed screw:A short length of hose was made up with these fittings and the banjo end was fitted in place of the bleed screw on top of the slave cylinder and the hose run behind the slave bracket:The bulkhead fitting was fitted through the bracket and bolted up. The bleed screw can now be accessed from under the car and also the bolts on the bulkhead fitting are easily accessible meaning the fitting can be held with a spanner if the the bleed screw is a bit stubborn to undo.Although it appears exposed, the bleed screw is above the bottom of the bellhousing and above the level of the exhausts so it shouldn't come to any harm.

Throttle Bracket

Had been looking for decent throttle bracket (with return springs) for a while but Andy beat me to it with one from JEGS in the states - it looked good - so I ordered one for myself! First job was to remove the air cleaner to get access - it was a bit cramped as I was working under the body - it was far too cold to open the garage door to push the body back a bit! The main part of the bracket was bolted over the carb fixings - the existing carb fixing bolts were more than long enough for the job:

The standard GD throttle cable fits in the slot in the bracket - tightening the two locknuts on the cable adjuster barrel should be OK to hold it in place:

However, as there is a 3/16 tapped hole in the front of the bracket I made up a little retaining plate so even if the cable came loose it couldn't jump out of the bracket:

And here it all is assembled:

Only problem I can forsee is that it now takes quite a bit of effort to operate the throttle as the two return springs are quite hefty and I'm a little concerned that the nipple may strip off the cable at the pedal end (as it is quite a small one). I'll have to see how it feels when the pedal box is fitted - I may have to remove one of the springs.

Speaking of pedal boxes, mine together with the heater and various other bits should have been ready by now?... time to give GD a ring.

Engine Bay Harness - 2

The first job of the day was to start fitting the end connectors - a simple task made complicated by middle aged eyesight and fat fingers! The first step was to strip the wire back and fit the individual neoprene wire seals.




Next the pins needed to be crimped on the wires - this was the tricky bit as the pins were small and fiddly and my crimping pliers were about 100 times larger!




The completed pins are pushed into the body of the connector where they latch into place - Once in place that is it - they cannot be dismantled. The wire seals are then pushed into the connector to seal the entry holes.



The appropriate enclosure is fitted to the connector and adjacent conduit and hey presto nice neat job.





Before fitting the completed harness I had to remove the temporary dashboard and electrics - so there will be no starting and running the engine for a while!! I also replaced the rocker covers that were damaged in transit with the replacements sent by BAE. The rocker cover fixing bolts were use to hold the harness in place via a pair of anodised p-clips per cover. As you can see below this makes for a reasonably neat installation.
The next view shows the connectors where the engine harness connects to the main body loom. You can just make out the first "T-piece" in the conduit which leads off tho the gearbox leg of the harness.The section of loom that runs down the nearside rocker cover splits, the shorter leg picking up the EFC and the longer leg picking up the Oil Pressure Fuel Pump Safety Switch, Oil Temperature Sender - the wires can be seen coiled up waiting for these items to be fitted. The leg then continues a bit further to the Accusump:I haven't connected up the starter leg as I'm still contemplating a bit of heat sheilding to the cabling and starter.

Engine Bay Harness - 1

Fitting the permanent Engine Bay wiring is another job best done before the body goes on. Having made quite a few alterations from the standard wiring layout I needed to produce a bespoke engine bay wiring harness. Utilising the GD standard loom and "Harnessflex" components I slowly put together a new loom based on the wiring diagram in a previous post and shown here:

I had also worked out the physical layout of the loom beforehand and this is shown in the next picture:

The picture below shows the loom substantially complete but with none of the end connectors done yet - the photo is also upside down when compared to the diagram above!!It took me about half a day to produce this, the "Harnessflex" components are well made and easy to use and the end result looks reasonably professional:The next job will be to fit some of the end connectors (Amp Superseal) and fit the harness into place. When fitting the harness I'll take the opportunity to replace the damaged rocker covers with the replacements I've had for ages!!

Horny!

Starting to run out of things to do until some more bits arrive (next day or so). So finding myself with a spare hour I thought I'd fit the horns as these would be a bugger to fit with the body on. Fashoined a bracket out of a polished up offcut of aluminium angle and bolted the bits to it:
The completed assembly was then bolted to the chassis using the radiator frame fixing bolts:
The compressor was located farthest from the heat of the radiator:
Not really that interesting and definitely not worth three photos!! ..... but Hey Ho, not much else happening.

Rubbered Out?

All wheel arches done, nose done, first coat on boot floor. Inside the nose was painted up to the line of the back of the radiator:

The two coats that have been applied and cured in the wheel arches are quite tough and resilient:

The portion of the boot floor that slopes downward has also been coated. I found if you warmed up the liquid rubber by standing the can in very hot water, it was possibe to apply it by roller which produced a nice textured finish to the flat panels of the boot floor. The coating was taken far enough to cover the shell / tub seam:

Chore...

So that's a second coat on the first front wheel arch and a first coat on the first rear wheel arch:This really is a bit of a pain... although standing the can in warm water for half an hour before hand does help a bit. However looking at just one coat after 24 hours it is going to provide loads of protection.

I need to do the wheel arches - inside the nose - lower parts of the sills - and under and around the back of the boot floor.... so a few more days yet then!

Rubber Fetish??

For various reasons it has been a while since I've spent some time in garage. With the next batch of bits expected in a couple of weeks it was time to get on with one of the "nasty" jobs.

The insides of the wheelarches need protecting against stonechips, which could craze or "star crack" the top side GRP of the body from underneath. There are a number of materials that you could use to do this but I settled on "Liquid Rubber". This material is intended for use on flat roofs but is the just the job for inside the wheel arches.

It fully cures to give an elastic membrane, imprevious to water and stonechips and is particulalry long lasting.

It needs to be applied in 2 coats to give roughly a 1mm thickness and the second coat needs to be applied within 24 hours. The only problem is that even after warming the tin it is like trying to paint with chocolate spread straight out of the fridge.

Anyways... first coat on one front wheel arch done.... second coat tomorrow.

It's been a long time ......

..... but I have eventually got round to fitting the fuel pressure regulator properly!!

Just fits nicely.

I also fabricated a small bracket to take a rubber lined p-clip to secure the end of the copper fuel line to ensure that all the engine movement was accommodated in the loop of braided hose running to the regulator.

The Next Phase

Here we are on day 499 of the build and at the start of a new year..... maybe this will be the year I hit the road???..... not according to my programme..... but then that is a trifle pessimistic.

Not achieved much in the garage since the last post .... although the fuel pressure regulator bracket is ready to be fixed once I get some stainless bolts.

The first job I should be doing is under sealing the body - however this really needs to be sprayed outside and it's been too cold/dark/wet recently.

Instead I have been busying myself by starting on the wiring diagrams - although I am using the GD standard looms there need to be a number of additions: Accusump, EFC, Oil Pressure Safety Switch for fuel pump, Oil Temperature Sender, Clutch / Neutral / Crank Interlock. Here's the first attempt:

I've also been planning the remaining stages of the build. These have been based on the experiences of other builders:

STAGE 5:

Fit pedal box, heater box, brake and clutch connections, fluid reservoirs, washer bottle and main body wiring loom.

Fit body to chassis, make final hydraulic connections, fill-bleed and check all hydraulic systems!!

STAGE 6:

Fit lighting, windscreen, steering column & support, wiper spindles, demist & escutcheons, wiper motor & mechanism.

STAGE 7:

Fit carpets and leather trim to tunnel, bulkhead, scuttle, floor and doors.

STAGE 8:

Fit handbrake, prep and trim dashboard. Fit instruments and switches. Fit dash loom and install dash. Fit ash bottom and heater vents.

STAGE 9:

Fit remaining escutcheon plates, steering wheel, fuel tank, boot carpeting, fuel cap and filler hose, roll bars, seat belts & anchor plates, seats and runners, brightwork.

STAGE 10:

Fit wheels and SVA test!!!

I'm not planning on getting the bits for Stage 5 until the middle of Feb, but in the meantime there is plenty to do:

Underseal body, fit clutch slave cylinder remote bleed, fit tunnel sheet, fit starter motor heat shield, fabricate and fit revised engine loom, re-locate Accusump pressure gauge and fit the exhaust back boxes

Surprise Christmas Visitor

Here it is.... the fuel pressure regulator bracket....... I'll admit to having forgotten about it so I went and picked it up today.

With a bit of fettling that'll be the regulator mounted properly then.

The trouble with Accusumps is......

..... that they may not always fit under the bonnet! Well nearly but not quite. I have to admit to have taken a flyer with the positioning of the Accusump. The height of the installation was measured relative to the header tank. However, looking at the underside of the bonnet it was clear that I hadn't bargained on the deeper edge to the bonnet:
With some careful setting out it appears that the body of the Accusump will fit - it is just the pressure gauge that fouls the underside of the bonnet. The easiest fix will be to remote mount the gauge.... time to order some more plumbing bits then.