First Tunnel Panel

The ebay shop replied to my email and accepted shipping to Portugal for a good price. So, last Friday, I received a package at work from Stop4Tools with my spare mandrels. Ordered 5, to be on the safe side.

Tested the new mandrel and applying a rivnut on a scrap of metal. This practice made me understand a lot better how much force to apply and how it works. This is what I should have done in the first place.

With that knowledge, I covered the tunnel chassis beams with tape, placed the panel on top, held it with clamps and marked on the tape all the holes that the panel had drilled. Then took the panel out and drilled all the marked holes with a 6mm drillbit. Last step was to put the rivnuts on the holes. Fitted the panel for the picture and then had to pack up.

It was not perfect, though... The rivnuts that came with the tool were OK. The ones I bought here were more fragile. Twice I applied a bit too much pressure and the mandrel sheared slightly the hole.
Another problem was that, although I was careful marking the drilling spots, a couple of holes were made a mm or two off-centred and now I'll have to enlarge the ally holes to be able to bolt on those holes.

Poor Man's Rivnut Tool

Went on the net looking for videos showing how to properly use a rivnut tool, to see where I went wrong. A vid's title makes me look for home made tools... And I end up with a recipe for a home made rivnut tool. What I saw was this forum post but ended up doing a mix between that and this how-to.

So, I grabbed a bolt, a nut, a washer and a rivnut. Inserted the lot on a hole in some plate, tried to hold down the nut while spinning the bolt.

It didn't work out for a couple of reasons. The first was that the nut was 7 and the wrench was 8. I only had 8 or 6... Also, the bolt had a rounded head with a Philips cut, not the best to put pressure on.

Found a different bolt with an hexa head, a bit longer. With the dremmel and a grinding disk, "converted" my 6 wrench into a 7. Another try, this time holding down the bolt and rotating the nut...

Success! It probably is not perfect, but looks good enough. It takes a lot longer than using a rivnut tool but at least I don't have to spend more money nor grieve over the fact that shops don't ship here or prices are abnormal. And I don't have to wait!

Riveting Pains

Since today I was going to start closing the transmission tunnel, the first job was to attach again the gear shifting linkage that I removed in order to fit the prop catcher. This was quick to get done and made the car once again drivable. Although I should fit the silencer and bolt down the seats before actually doing it...

So I made my first hole on the chassis to fit a rivnut. That will allow me to remove the panels to access the tunnel insides for any task needed (specially useful since I don't have a ramp or lift). Drilled, unpacked my brand new rivnut tool I ordered from the UK because here they cost 2,5 times more and... Snapped the mandrel while putting the first rivnut in.

I'm starting to believe that rivets and rivnut tools have something against me...

At least the rivnut was well inserted. And the shape of the broken mandrel tip allowed me to extract it relatively easily.

OK... I should add that I used the tool without watching some online videos. Just read the instructions on the back of the package. And in retrospective, I may have not used the tool in it's designed form and forced it too much. That's why I want to give it a second chance.

Now I have to see about buying spare mandrels. It would be easy if I lived in the UK. Most places don't ship the replacements, one that does charges 5 times it's regular price and the one that sells it cheaply charges more for shipping than the tool cost me. Waiting on an eBay shop's reply, but with my luck regarding this... And since I had to create an eBay account to email the seller, I have no reputation. Wonderful...

Spent the rest of my car time breaking the remaining wood from the car crate into smaller chunks to be burned this winter... At least vented some of my frustration.

Speedo Sensor, Loom Riveting and Santa Claus

Last weekend didn't get car time and this one it was a bit shy of two hours, since I had to swap plates on the tintop. But, and despite the interruption, I accomplished two tasks!

First one was getting my hand-crafted speed-holder in place and the speedo sensor attached to it. All went well (better than I actually expected!) and so I mixed some Araldite and glued the two magnets on the prop-shaft. Instructions stated that magnets should go with "dimple side down". That required some homework (probably because I'm not an native English speaker) but turns out it means the small orifice on one side of the magnet surface should face down.
Held the speed sensor cable down against the prop-catcher with a couple of cable ties and connected it to the loom. I'm pretty sure it will give wrong readings when I get the car going again, but it will work! Wrong readings because I believe I fed the Digidash with incorrect gear ratios, but I'll look into that again later.

Started my second task: riveting the P-clips that hold the electrical loom down on the tunnel. Was interrupted by Santa Claus, that came for a drive on the race car. But Santa drives too fast!!!

After Santa left, I finished the riveting. The tunnel is now ready to be drilled to receive the rivnuts and get the panels placed! Next weekend, I hope...

I need to speed up the car build, get the panels in place. I need to vacate the spare room where I'm storing some parts ;)

Tunnel Panels Finished

This morning I finished preparing the tunnel panels to go on the car. Marked and drilled the last holes, to fix on the vertical tunnel beams. Then deburred all holes and finally removed the glue from the masking tape that was wrapping the panels for the last two years.

Still have to make a decision on what I'll be doing next weekend. Options being drilling the tunnel to fit the panels or aligning the suspension (only need to do toe).

Panel Drilling

Spent around 2h30m today working only on panels. First I concluded the front top tunnel plate, enlarging a bit the hole for the reverse box lever. After that, drilled holes with (around) 10cm spaces between centres to take the bolts. These are 4mmØ that mate with M4 rivnuts (requiring 6mmØ holes). After drilling the holes had to deburr the opposite side to make it flush, so that it sits nicely.

Then I taped the tunnel sides together and marked one for drilling, also (around) 10cm between centres, on the other edges. Drilled the two plates together to save some work. I haven't deburred these because I still need to mark and drill where the plates can be riveted to a vertical chassis beam, for added strength.

More Tunnel Panel Work

Managed to get almost 5h (split in two sets) of work on the car today! Lots of panel work done. Started by using some sheets of paper to draw how the cut had to be shaped for the reverse box lever. Also marked where I had to cut for the gear lever, previously forgotten.

Then went to the storage room and did the cutting and drilling that required the driller. That was the circular cut for the reverse box handle and the holes on the speed sensor holder. Bent that piece of metal and ended up with the part below.

Switched to the dremmel with cutting and deburring disks and did the rest.

The frontal part of the tunnel top required a hole on the left side because the car is LHD. Also cut the top part off so that it does not conflict with how I routed the electrical cables through the tunnel and into the back of the dash.

In between went to the car a couple of times to trial fit. It was great to see it in place. The hole for the reverse box lever still needs to be done a bit longer, since when the lever is up (in reverse) it fouls the metal. But it was a great working session!

Tunnel Top Cover and Sensor Holder

Today I worked on the balcony instead of underground. It was a cold but nice day. First I spend some time marking where I needed to cut the tunnel top for the handbrake lever. Then I transposed to aluminium the card template I made to hold the speed sensor.

Cut the sensor holder and deburred the piece, all using my "dremmel" (actually Einhell) with a cutting disk and a grinding stone.

Then I did the same with the the tunnel top cover. It took a bit longer since the ally is a lot thicker than the sheet I bought for assorted parts crafting.

Unfortunately, time was not enough to drill the holes for the bolts that will hold the tunnel top down (with rivnuts) neither to drill the speedo holder to be hanged to the prop-catcher. I still have to mark on the tunnel top where to cut for the gear lever (forgot about that last week), so next weekend will see me with cutting disk and driller again.

Working on the Tunnel

Slid the dash over the bulkhead, keeping all wires connected. This allowed me to drill the last hole needed on the tunnel to fix the electrical wire.

Then I spent some time creating a cardboard template for a part to fabricate in aluminium. It will hold to the inverted "U" prop-catcher on the front and the speed sensor will be held into it.

The following step was to mark the top rear aluminium sheet that covers the tunnel to be drilled. This will allow putting it over the handbrake lever. In retrospective, forgot to mark for the gear shift lever, so it will require a second fitting test.
Also checked that the side tunnel covering sheets were perfect for fitting.
The top front sheet needs a lot of measuring and cutting. Part because of the way I passed the wiring loom under the dash, part because I need to cut a hole for the MNR Reverse Box lever and finally because the sheet was cut for RHD and my LHD requires a cut on the opposite side (the sheet is not symmetrical, can't just flip it over).

Final minutes spent on the engine bay, re-routing some wires to make the bay look more tidy and preparing to drill there for the loom p-clips. I hope this task will provide a better looking engine bay, currently looks more of a rats nest than a racing car.

Drilling Stuff

Couple of hours and was motivated to drill and fit the middle and rear prop-catchers. Turns out when I was preparing things that the holes on the pieces are not exactly where they should, one is a millimetre or two too big and would foul the ally plate that covers the tunnel... Spent a bit of time looking at the parts and trying to figure out what I should do.
Decision comes that I will not fit the middle catcher and the rear one may be redesigned and redone as an inverted U like the one on the front. I'm still unsure. Steve at Aries thinks there is no need for catchers, other users I know haven't fitted one and I'm afraid of being driven based on horror stories. Not all chassis have the same configuration on the tunnel, regarding structure placement, and it actually may be moot wit this specific design.

Needed to get something done for motivation. With a sanding tip on the drill, "relocated" a bit one of the holes on the floor for the passenger seat. It is now correctly placed and the seat can be secured with all four bolts.

Last task was to drill a few holes on the inner beam of the tunnel to hold the p-clips that secure the electrical loom. All done bar two that required me to take off the dash. It was already lunch time so this had to be left for another day.

Finish Off Fuel Lines, Water Temp Sensor, Disassembling

I had two pipe entries on my tank that I didn't know how to close. One seemed to be just to let air in, the other was the return in case I had an injected engine. But how should I close them to prevent gas from coming out when sloshed around?

A fellow builder told me one entry should be blanked with a bit of pipe terminated with a bolt. The other required a roll-over valve. After much looking around in Portugal, had to order it from the UK. RaceParts had the best deal (Part No TPV8). With that here, some pipe, bracers and a bolt (and a lot more time than I thought) and it was all done. The valve is too near the roll-bar stay so I added a bit of bubble wrap on the stay and held the valve against it with a plastic wrap.

Next thing was to try to make a good earth for the water temp sensor. The sensor has been reading "0º C" since day one. The casing did not have a point to add an earth. So I wrapped some wire (eye-style) around the sensor thread and connected the other side to a bolt that holds the rad against the chassis. Turned the Digidash on and finally I have a temperature reading for the water!

Now I just need to figure out why I get no oil pressure. That one has a earth on the casing that holds it and the oil temperature sensor, that is giving a reading.

Using the vice-grip I rotated one of the steering arms to get both with the same number of threads exposed (counting from the ball-joint). Although I'll have to get a toe measurement and adjustment, at least having them equal is better than one pointing inwards when the other goes in front... Went around with the mobile's inclinometer app on the wheels and seems all have less than one degree of camber. Either the mobile is not sensitive enough to measure this or I'll just have to adjust toe in all four wheels.

Last tasks were disassembling things. Took and stored away the exhaust can. Unbolted the seats. This opens up my path to the next tasks, putting the prop-catchers, p-clips and rivnuts on the central tunnel. But after 4 hours I needed a break.

Final Fan Position and Front Prop-catcher Done!

My morning on the car started with some work on the fan. Since a few weeks ago I figured out I could get it spinning on the other direction by inverting the wires, I now could put the fan behind the radiator. Cut the temporary plastic wraps, slid the fan behind and quickly attached it.

The "official" way to hang the fan on the radiator is using some straps and passing them above and under the rad fins. But I've read several stories of people that had the plastic wraps cut through the fins. So I used those wraps and the holes I had drilled on the rad "lips". Used the rubber washers that came with the fan to make it be away from the rad, thus there is no touching. Connected the battery to ensure that all was working as expected. Very happy with the final result!

Then it was time to get the front prop-catcher attached to the car. Lifted the passenger side with the jack and placed the catcher in place. Glued some masking tape under the car and drew where to drill. With the 90º adapter and a 4,75mmØ drill bit, made the initial hole. From the top with a 10mmØ enlarged it and hand-tightened the catcher in place.

Added the transversal bolt. The idea behind it was to prevent the spearing effect if the front of the prop was to come loose. This was an after-thought and now I believe that it will not work as intended (I hope I never find out) since it's too low and too near the rear of the prop to stop the front hitting the asphalt.

Jack down, jack on the drivers side, more masking tape and the same exercise repeated. It was a bit harder than the other side since I drilled the hole on the catcher 1cm to far from the tip and I had to remeasure a few times to be sure it would be OK with the chassis tubes on the footwell.

This is the final result, from the drivers footwell, from the underside and from the passengers footwell.

After this got the car into neutral, released the handbrake and pushed the car back and forth a bit to be sure the prop was not even near to rubbing the catcher. There is a 5mm slack on the tightest side.

Next is doing the catchers for the rear prop and p-clipping the wire loom in place (at least on the tunnel) so that I can put the tunnel panels and outer panels in. And finish the suspension setup!

Prop-catchers Drilling and Suspension Setup (Starting)

Got a couple of hours to work on the car today, since I took the day of. Went to the car and finished drilling the holes on the prop-catcher plates. Those are now ready to go on the car.

My next step was to begin setting up the suspensions. The first item I needed to see was the ride height. To guide me I have two sources of information: one is a page on the Westfield World site, the other a set of measurements provided by a fellow builder, taken from his car after he had it professionally setup. These measurements are more adequate since his car is also an Aries Locoblade. I also have to guide me this PDF text provided by another builder explaining how to measure and setup camber and toe.

To measure inclination, I used an Android application called Clinometer. I noticed the floor had a 1º inclination.

Builder data said the car should have the lowest point (sump) 8cm above ground. The Westfield guide said the front should be 16,5cm above ground and/or the lower wishbone parallel with the main chassis beam. On first measurement, the sump was almost 7,5cm above the floor. The right-hand wishbone had a 0,5º, thus the outer side higher than the inside (same as -0,5º). The front of the car was around 13,5cm above ground.

To change height, I jacked the chassis up until the right wheel was on the air, taking out pressure from the suspension. Then I rotated the adjusters on the shocks to tighten the coils more. The initial setup had 8 threads showing from the bottom to the adjuster.

Tightened up to have 12 threads showing. Dropped the car on the ground, sump was 9cm above, the front 15cm above and the wishbone had 5º (normalizes to 4º), where the chassis point where the wishbone connects to was higher than the outer tip of the wishbone.

Another adjustment to get the value in-between, keeping 10 threads showing up. Adjusted the other side too and had final measures of 8cm from sump to ground, 13,5cm on the front to the ground and a wishbone inclination of around 2,5º (normalizes to 1,5º).

My fellow builder measurements didn't say about the rear. The Westfield page mentioned around 2cm higher on the rear. With 5 threads showing on both shocks, the rear beam was 16cm above ground, which was perfect.

Finished by adjusting the shocks softness, based on fellow's values. 3 ticks away from soft on the front, 4 on the rear. Notice the shocks are Protech, these values may differ with brand and surely with chassis.

Even with the suspension raised I can't fit the drill under the chassis to open the holes to fit the prop-catcher. I'll have to jack the car up or apply some other strategy. But that will be next time!

Prop-Catchers

Back from vacations away from the car, only had an hour and a bit to be there. Spent it drilling holes on the bigger prop catcher (the U shaped one) and marking the holes on the smaller ones (half moons). Will drill the rest during the week, I hope, one of this nights. There is no justification for pictures.

Stalling, Prop-catchers and Stalling

After having organized myself a bit and done some shopping (not all is done, though), went to the car for some work. I have to come out on this: I've been stalling and avoiding it because the idea of disassembling parts of what is working to move on are taking my will away. I just want to take it on a track and having to go some steps backwards is feeling painful. Now that this is off my chest...

First thing I did was placing a rubber block behind the clutch peddle. Every time it was pressed down it was hitting the metal of the floorwell behind and the noise was getting on my nerves. Problem solved!

Spent some time thinking how I should straighten up the electrics inside the engine compartment. Wires are hanging out everywhere and I'm even afraid some may get into contact with moving parts. I still have to rivet the main loom with p-clips into the chassis, but for smaller wires I need another solution. At least now I know where to route them near chassis (or engine cradle) rails.

Some time ago I moved the cooling fan from behind the radiator to the front because it was the way the forced air would go through the radiator. The instructions stated the fan was reversible but I disassembled and turned the fan blades around to no avail. In a moment of "inspiration", I switched the wires around et voilá! Now I have to move the fan back to behind the radiator and then fix it in a more definitive way.

Last task was to see if I could put the "U" shaped prop-catcher in without dropping the prop shaft. After taking out the linkage that connects the gear lever to the gear mechanism, and with some wiggling, I managed to get it in place. So I took it out again and marked the pieces for drilling. They are thick metal and I need to drill them in a bench and use the holes as guides when drilling the chassis. The person that made them drilled but those holes are not where I need them... Below are pictures of the prop catchers before treatment and now that they are painted.

Preparing Prop-Catchers and Small Fixes

Last Wednesday drove the car again, to move it from the borrowed parking space to mine. It required driving down the step slope to descend two floors. I was a b it worried, since the brakes were not properly bleed, but all was fine. After parking I noticed a small puddle forming on the previously clean floor. Turns out the cooling system had a bracer that was not tight at all and fluid was gushing from it.

Today grabbed the driller, a steel scrub tip for the driller and the prop catchers. Scrubbed the rust out of them and then gave them a lick of black paint, to prepare them to go on the car. I need them there for peace of mind and the front one is where I'll be hanging the speed sensor.

Then went to the car and followed all the cooling pipes, tightening the bolts as I passed through them. Topped up the cooling deposit and I think this one is done.

Have been reading the Digidash manual and it states that if I get "NC" as the reading for a sensor it means is not connected or is not properly hearted. And actually the hearth I had on the oil temp/pressure sensors casing was bust. Crimped a new wire and this time connected it to a bolt that goes through a chassis member. There was a slight oil smear on the casing so I also tightened the sensors and the connection pipe. Also gave a bit of love to the earth on the water temperature sensor, but I think I'll have to revisit this one soon.

Inserted the key on the dash, 1st click for the Digidash to fire up and... No more NCs. With the engine turned off, the oil temperature was 23º, the oil pressure was 0 (probably... no oil being pumped and the remote sensor is positioned high) and the cooling temperature was 0º. Since it's summer, probably the cooling temp was a bit hotter, reassuring me that I'll have to revisit that sensor.

I need to make a catcher deposit for the pipes leaving the carbs and the fuel pump. The one from the fuel pump dribbles and the stains on the floor are getting on my nerves.

I wanted to drive again but had no excuse to do it, so I didn't and now I'm mad at myself for not having done it without an excuse. I need to get it on a track or a long straight!

1st Drive!

Went to the car in the morning, took the tintop to the street so that I could drive out the kit car. Connected up the battery, sat in and turned the key. Started quickly and now it idles without needing the foot on the throttle peddle. Kept it going for a bit while playing with the gear stick trying to understand where was 1st, 6th and neutral.

Tried to make it move on its own but stalled. Another try, this time very odd! I took the foot off the clutch and the Digidash would still say "clutch down" and the car would not move. Turned it off, slackened a bit the clutch cable and went for another try. The car seemed it was going to move but stalled twice. And suddenly it would not start again! Lost the remaining of the morning trying to get it to go (even put more fuel in) without success. In the end, the battery was too low on juice to keep trying. Packed up and took the battery to charge.

In the evening another attempt with full battery. Conscious that I made a stupid mistake when trying to go with the car... The hand brake was pulled... Oh, boy...
Battery in, car would not start. Starting to feel lost... Went for another round on the car and... The fuel pump cable was disconnected! I usually disconnect it as another safety measure. This morning I forgot to connect it and the fuel the car ran on was that stored in carburators or something, but not coming from the pump!

Pump connected, car starts after some hesitation! Handbrake down, softly taking the foot from the clutch... The car moves a bit! Went up to get the wife and kid.

With them, 1st movie is driving the car for some 50 meters.

2nd movie is using the MNR reverse box to reverse and then moving back to roughly where I started.

3rd movie is the car going up 2 floors on the garage, to a borrowed spot, so that my spot can me washed (it really needs a wash!).

Tires squeal like mad partially because they probably have some break fluid on them, partially because the suspension geometry was setup by Gaudí. Need to work on that later... Also on the breaks... They sssttttoooopppeeedddd the car. Calmly... Taking their time...

Debugging For 1st Drive II

With a full battery and 6l of fuel, went to the car.

First attempt: connected battery and tried. Failed.
Second attempt: added about 4l of fuel to the tank. Car starts, lots of noise, neighbour's van alarm goes off.

Grabbed the exhaust can and fitted it temporarily to the car, tied with a strap to the chassis. Took the airbox out and refitted the idle screw. Reconnected the Digidash. Started the car again, could see on the Digidash the RPM and other indicators moving. Between starts, tweaked the idle screw and I think that next time the car will idle without needing my foot on the throttle.

Did not attempt to drive it because the tintop was parked in front and I didn't have it's keys to move it. Besides, I'm a bit scared of what will happen. But on the weekend I'll drive it! And take pictures of the exhaust can.

Debugging For 1st Drive I

This will be the 1st of several instalments in trying to get the car to start for the 1st drive that I'll be doing after dinner. I have until the 1st August to get the car running and drive it 2 floors upwards inside the garage to get the spot professionally washed. If the car is there, the company skips the spot...

Connected the battery, checked with the multimeter the power on the battery (12,3v) and then on the fuel pump (0v). Disconnected, flipped the dashboard upside-down and fixed the wiring on the ignition key barrel. Connected the battery again, first position of the key and the starter engine did not spin right away. Also, the Digidash lit and there was a small clack from the fuel pump. Multimeter shows that the pump was getting 10,8v.

Couple more attempts to start, all failed. Seems there is no fuel getting at the carbs because the engine does not "cough", the starter just spins. The Digidash was showing the battery draining and then started to flicker. So I disconnected the Digidash. Not only saves the part as also rules out some possible wiring mistakes.

Some more attempts and the starter engine seemed to "sound slower". Multimeter on the battery and only 11,8v. Removed the battery from the car and packed for the night. The battery is now charging and tomorrow I'll go buy a jerry-can and some litres of fuel. The way it's behaving, there is no reason to fail with more fuel on the tank and a charged battery.

Driver's Seat and Failed 1st Drive Attempt

Started by bolting in the hooking points for the driver's seat belt (4-point harness). The lower ones go on nuts welded on the chassis. The one on the inside needed a washer to make space since when bolting in it would hit the diff cradle. The outside one does not hit anything and will be covered by body panels. Bolts need to be in a position such as the round part is "in line with the force direction".

The upper bolts were also easy to bolt in. When I started on the outside one was a bit worried I was going to have to take the rollbar out, but it was not needed.

Then I had to drill for the car seat. Driver's seat was a lot easier because of the adjusting rails. I pulled the seat to the back of the rails and placed it on the car, making it be as near the firewall as possible. Placed some tape on the front under the rails and used a pencil to mark where the holes were. Out comes the seat, 4,75mmØ followed by 8mmØ to enlarge and the seat is back but with bolts on the front. Slid the seat to the front as much as possible and this uncovered the rails' rear holes. More tape, pencil, seat out, driller and it was done. Some vacuum cleaning and the seat was in and fully bolted on the floor. I wish the passenger's seat had been as easy!

Sat on the seat and adjusted the seat belts and seat to my size. Then packed everything up and went home to get the car keys.

Back with the keys and the wife to film what could have been the first drive. The car wouldn't start, starter engine was spinning but I couldn't hear the fuel pump clacking and the engine didn't even cough as when it's burning fuel but not starting.
I believe I wired the ignition barrel incorrectly since the starter engine fired up on 1st key click (instead of 2nd). Additionally, the Digidash in the beginning lighted up and then stopped doing so. So I also may have a bad earth or I blew a fuse. It is also possible that I'm too low on fuel... In the middle of all this I managed to disconnect the idle screw from the carbs, which will be a pain to fit again without taking the carbs out...

Next "work session" will be spent trying to figure out what the electrics problem is because I really want to drive the car around a bit!

Passenger Seat

Expecting that I would attach both seats this morning and drive the car in the garage, started happily the work on the passenger seat. Last weekend the holes had been drilled but they didn't align exactly with the seat holes. During the week I bought some washers with a 8mmØ hole and as large as possible to put between the bolt and the floor pan.

So I spent time enlarging holes, fitting seat to test, enlarging, refitting, enlarging... All my morning to get the passenger seat held down by 3 holes. I did not have the nerve to take it out again for the failing hole and left that as is. When I take the seats out to fit the tunnel ally cover, I'll revisit the missing seat bolt hole.

So, based on experience, next two weekends will be to fit the drivers seat and then maybe I'll get some driving experience.

After putting it all in place and taking the pictures (but before cleaning and packing) I sat a bit on the seat and adjusted the seatbelts. I believe the position would be more comfortable with a foot rest but I better not put "foreign" elements on the car, might be compromising security.

New Tool, Firewall Done and Starting Seats

Took the broken rivet pliers to the shop. The shop does not give warranty on manual tools. The importer has gone bankrupt so they are trying to find if there is a new importer to find out if there is some factory warranty.
This was blocking my build. So, while I wait for a warranty or fix estimate, looked around for lazy tongue pliers (what I should have bought in the first place) and found a proper one for what I believe is a nice price.

This morning used the tool to pop all the firewall rivets. Drilled one extra hole to rivet above the tunnel. It was actually quite fast although it requires more strength than youtube videos had led me to believe. Also, when the rivet pops the tool sometimes escapes and I made 3 or 4 marks on the ally wall. Nice that my plan was to cover it later on... Anyway, not that it will be visible with the seats in place.


Next plan was to add the seats. Started with the "co-pilot" seat. Steve from Aries tough me a trick of the trade: put 4 bolts on the seat holes, put some copper grease on their heads and put the seat on the car. Drill where the copper grease marked the centres and then just bolt. Easier said than done... I moved the seat slightly after putting it on the car, smearing a bit the copper markings. Measured twice and drilled. But two holes ended up misaligned by a millimetre or two. I was already late for lunch so had to drop the task to be continued on another day.


After drilling on the floor but before trying to bolt the seat still had to vacuum clean the floor where the seat would lay and also bolt the hooking points for the harnesses. Also hooked the lower harness points to the bolts. Left all that on the car.


Unfortunately, my phone misbehaved and refused to take pictures. Next time I hope to have some with the seat fully mounted and the harness bolts for the driver's seat.


One thing I'm considering is to make a list of tasks and order them. During my vacations in May I made the list and it seemed to make me more productive. Also, by planning in advance for several sessions, I knew what materials I missed and was able to buy them (almost) all at once. I think I'm a bit obsessed with driving the car on the garage, but after that I really need to get more organized before taking the car on a track.

More on the Firewall and Broken Rivets Pliers

Went early in the morning to get some car time, since last weekend I had none. Started by opening the PU adhesive and putting it on the chassis and firewall. Put the ally firewall in place and held it with clamps. Then drilled on the corners and riveted to get a stronger fit and a better chance that the PU would glue the ally to the chassis.

When trying to rivet a corner I had to place the pliers in a odd position trying to get a good angle for it. Failed to put the rivet in. And the pliers broke. I might not be using the tool in the best way, but would never expect a proper quality expensive tool to break so easily. I didn't get to 100 rivets with it!

This made me fail my morning objective of getting the firewall done. Drilled all the remaining holes and inserted the rivets on the holes. When I get pliers, I just have to go pop those rivets to get the job done.

Now I need to go to the shop where I bought the tool to see if there is some warranty on it. Otherwise, check at the place where I got my prop catchers made if they can weld the pliers to fix. Or, as last resort, buy new ones. But besides the grief and cost, this will delay me further, specially if I have to go look for a fix, since that will have to be done next Saturday morning.

Rear Bulkhead (Firewall)

Spent the morning working on the rear bulkhead. First drawing up where the chassis rails go so that I can then drill holes for the rivets. By drilling on the ally first I get some "guides" for the final drilling. After marking it all up drilled some of the rivet holes and bigger holes for the bolts that hold lower suspension arms and the rear brake line "T". Trial fitted and when happy packed up. Next time I'll bond it to the chassis and do the riveting.

I'm not very concerned on how it looks, which explains why I haven't painted the ally black. When I get the car done (maybe even after legalization), I intend to cover the rear bulkhead with some "leather-like" material, to make it look nice.

Fitting the Handbrake Cable Properly

With yesterday's reading it seemed a lot easier. It pays to do homework. To get correct access to all parts I started by jacking the car up, putting in axle stands on the rear and taking the wheels out. Mental note, next time undo the nuts prior to jacking the car up...

With the proper access to parts, moved the spinning part on the cable sleeve, that is the cable adjuster, way back. Passed only the cables (without sleeves) through the chassis bracket holes and then moved the sleeves over the holes. One has a rubber and plastic that stops against the bracket, on the other the sleeve passes through the hole and is the adjuster that blocks against the bracket. Spinning the adjuster, tension on the cable can later be built. After having it all loosely in place, it was time to fit the other extremities to the callipers.

The calliper has a hole through where the cable and rubber sleeve should pass. The metal sleeve has a tip that kind of slots in there. To get the cable to enter through that hole, it has to come from the rear and bellow. It makes a bit of an odd turn. Held the cable loosely in place with cable ties. I like the way it goes around because it doesn't hit the cv boots (could cut one) nor it gets in the way of suspension movement.

Tightened the adjuster and pulled the cable to test. It worked.

Since the wheels were off and the handbrake pulled, took some time to tighten the wheels' central nut. I'm sure it's not to 270nm, but it's a lot better than before and as much as I managed with the tools at hand.
Then I fit the wheels and jacked the car down. Felt very happy while I stored away the four wood beams I was using to prevent the car from sliding away.

A task that I expected to take 1 hour ended up taking 2h30m.

The bad news of the morning... On the left wheel I sheared one of the wheel stud threads. Was having a hard time undoing the nut and that was because both nut and stud had the thread all broken. I bet it was from when I attempted to pull the stud with washers and a nut... So much grief I've been having because of that early mistake of not hammering the studs down on the right moment... Eventually I guess all the wheel will have to be disassembled to take that stud out and put a new one. But since I just want to see it moving, I'll postpone that. The other three nuts will have to be enough for now. It seems on the right side there is also a stud thread starting to shear, but I didn't tight that nut completely, so it may be OK for now.

Another potential problem... Not sure if I should have pulled the handbrake without having the rear brakes perfectly bled. It seems the calliper pump is a bit "out" and the pads constantly rub the disk. But since with the wheel on I can't see this, it might have been like that before me using the handbrake for the first time.

Studying Brakes and Preparing Seats

Was a bit lazy today and didn't do much. Anyway, it's worth of note.

Spent some time looking for information on how to properly secure the handbrake cable on the tunnel. Also looked into securing the cable on the callipers. Went to the car to confirm what I was reading and take a thorough look on the parts. I'll have to take the rear wheels off to be able to properly fit the cable.

Made some markings on the back of the firewall and brought it back to the apartment to later on mark and drill where the rivets will go. But I'm not very much into this task since I'm afraid fitting the firewall will make it harder to properly adjust the suspension (when that time comes). So I may postpone this.

What I really want is to drive the car! So I worked on the seats. They have threaded holes where the bolts go. These bolts will hold the seats on the floor (for the drivers seat hold the rail and the rail bolts on the floor). But the holes are covered with the seat's trim, that has to be cut and pushed aside. What I thought would be a 10 minute task ended up taking more than one hour.

In the process, sheared of my "alan key" 6'' tool. It was a rubbish set bought on the Chinese shop. There are some tools that can be bought there because they don't get much usage (nor abuse). Others need to be proper tools. Tomorrow I'll have to look for better "alan keys". Also for 4 new bolts to pin down the driver's seat. When I bought the previous one measured thickness of rail, thickness of floor, nut size and decided on the bolt size. Failed to notice that, due to the sliding lever's pivot, the rails stay a bit above the floor, enough for me to need longer bolts.

Completing Tasks: Airbox, Dashboard...

First thing I did was to clean with some absorbent paper all the brake pipe joins. Then I tightened up a bit all those joints. My idea was to later on press the brake peddle a few times and go around the joints with clean paper to check if there is still any leaking.

Then I tried to fit the hand-brake cable. Since the rear brakes have been bled (even if not perfectly), I can now use the handbrake. That would provide me with some braking power I would have more confidence in and also allow me to take the wooden beams from under the wheels that prevent the car from sliding. Unfortunately, after some time mocking around with it, I guess there is something I don't understand. I can't fix the cable the way it seems to make sense, on the lever and tunnel. I should have looked to pictures before attempting the task. Left this one unfinished.

Two weeks ago I drilled a second hole on the throttle peddle because it was too sensitive. The new hole was "spongy". So I drilled a third hole, between the previous two. Also had tightened the peddle's pivot bolt and it was to tight, since it didn't "balance" naturally, so I undid the nut a turn or two to give it free movement. I'm sure now, between the three holes, one will be adequate.
For this hole I had bought 2 2mmØ HSS drill bits with cobalt tip (they have been great on other tasks) and used the driller instead of the dremel, since it can spin slower and thus save the drillbit from overheating damage. Managed to brake both drillbits making that hole...

Based on the electrical schematics, connected two cables from the car loom to the Digidash loom. Also tidied up a bit the cables, fuses and relays in the scuttle area. Then connected cables to the dash and fitted the dash on the car. It's covered with bubble-wrap to prevent damage and held on the car with masking tape and clamps, but it now allows driving around with the completed dashboard!

I have been modifying the original CBR airbox. There were a couple of reasons for this. First was that to reduce it's height I had to swap it around and the intake pipes where hitting the engine cradle beam. Second was me looking for a way to ensure cold air was taken to the intake pipes. Initially I hoped that the airbox swapped around would fit under the bonnet... So I fitted the nosecone and the bonnet. Without airbox, the bonnet is just one finger thickness away from the 1st carb intake...

OK, I'll have to cut the bonnet for sure. So I fitted the airbox (without the intake pipes) in the new swapped position and then the bonnet again. It really will protrude. I'll need an air scoop to cover the hole, probably from a Mitsubishi L200 or similar.

To finish this off, fitted the intake pipes on the airbox and stored away the nosecone and bonnet.

Last bit on the day was to pump the brake peddle a few times and then go around the pipes with the paper. Only three connections presented me with a small stain on the paper. I had stored the tools already so I didn't tighten those a bit more. Will get around to that later. But at least its reassuring that with proper tightening I can have a working brake circuit and I haven't messed up!

Things are looking like I can drive the car in the garage this week...