Still waiting for Mr Postie!!!

All the boys in the stream at Pool Bridge Campsite, Exmoor

The boys and I have been away for a couple of days camping and hiking on Exmoor and was looking forward to getting home to a package from WF with the final two parts to finish the car.  Unfortunately no package and no forecast.......... Luck that I delayed the IVA until Oct.  Just to top things off, I went out to the garage and despite my new fancy charger the battery was flat so I couldn't have another try at setting the Throttle Bodies etc.  With no excuses I then had to start Tricia's job list.

0 Hrs total unchanged

Not balancing the Throttle Bodies!

Started the engine this morning and got it to normal running temperature and then tried to follow the directions wrt balancing the throttle bodies.  Unfortunately nothing seemed to follow the guide sheet that I got from OMEX so I'm stuck!  Unless I can get some help from the WSSC I'll have to wait until after the Bank Holiday - at least I'll be able to clear off some of the other items on the To-Do list.

Less than an hour!

Clearing off the"To-Do" list - Pt 2

 Started off by wiring up and testing the hi-level rear brake light then ty-wrapped all the rear harnesses in place.

Fitted the o/s rear closure plate and then moved back to the n/s to ty-wrap the fuel tank breather pipe to the rear chassis member taking care not to over tighten.















Then on to the engine bay where I ty-wrapped the temperature sensor to the alternator mount using 2 x ty-wraps so that it didn't slip off.  Next I fitted a ty-wrap mount for the clutch cable and accelerator cable.  Finally I routed the accelerator cable up to the throttle bodies ty-wrapping to the rigid brake lines to avoid the lower steering column.

4 items cleared of the "to-do" list - 2 hours for me only due to pre-season training starting - total 210 hours.

Clearing off the"To-Do" list

The car is now largely built so now I just need to run down the "to-do" list which is currently 29 items long, including fitting the missing parts.

First task this morning was to torque up the n/s front suspension which James & I tackled together and then we got the car up on axle stands and the wheels off so that we could bleed the brakes again - very few bubbles at the back but a gush as each of the front outer nipples were opened.  Final step was to stick on the fluid symbol.

James then set about the o/s front suspension making sure the flexible brake hose and wiring was well tied up  and keeping clear of the wheel and bodywork to match the n/s and then disappeared somewhere. 
Meanwhile I fitted the heat shield between the exhaust manifold and starter motor with rivets and a stainless steel ty-wrap.

Next to the back of the car an I started fitting the closing plates starting with the n/s - access was tight but by drilling through the lower rivets at a slight angle it was straight forward and also made access for the rivet gun.  Finally made sure the lower section was well sealed with silicone.  Moving around the car I got the Dremmel out and fettled the hole for the boot, fitted it and then cut the slots for the boot locks - this took a while as I locked one side and then it wouldn't unlock and I had to work out how to get a bar up between the rear panel and the boot liner to push the lock back - eventually achieved it and the other side was completed without getting it stuck. 







James had returned and fitted some more rubber foam to the battery strap and bolted it in place using thread lock.   I moved on to the o/s rear and started by wiring up the hi-level brake light but when I tried to power up the car the battery was gasping.  I hooked up our aged charge and it gave up the ghost with as acrid smell - so off to Halfords and purchased a "smart charger" that was 1/3rd off - it's specifically designed for keeping batteries conditioned and charged up on occasional use vehicles.  

Final tasks were James fitting the foot well carpets and me fettling the IVA covers for the bonnet catches. Hopefully tomorrow we'll finish off the rear end wiring and closing plate tomorrow and then get the wheels back on and with a fully charged battery go through the throttle body balancing and set up recommended by OMEX and Mark at WF.

13 items cleared of the "to-do" list - 5 hours for me and 3 hours for James - total 208 hours

Wiper Motor Park Fix

The advice from Mark at WF was to remove the wiper motor, strip down the gearbox and move the park detent to the alternative position.  First step was to remove the wiper motor which required the dash and ECU panel released for access, then the nearest wiper drive unit cover removing to release the drive tube, the 2 x mounting bolts and connector removed.  The motor could then be removed from the scuttle carefully extracting the drive cable. 


With the motor out  the 4 x bolts that hold on the gearbox cover were removed and the gears accessed.  The drive cable and link arm were released by removing a circlip and then the motor turned over and the circlip holding in the holding in the main gear removed.  The main gear was then pushed out and the white plastic detent pulled off and refitted into the alternative position, 180 degs from the original.  Everything was then put back together and the wiper motor refitted - the reverse of the removal.  Unfortunately no photos because by this stage I was covered in grease.

After a quick check that all now worked I fitted the wiper arms and found the next problem - the wiper arms jammed up against the windscreen and blew another fuse.  I did the best I could to fettle the arms and drives to achieve a better angle and eventually got everything working - hopefully well enough for the IVA.  After a quick check of low and high wipe I ran into another problem - the wipers wouldn't switch off.  After checking all the switches and connectors were connected I remove the motor again and discovered than the circlip that holds in the main gear was not fitted correctly allowing the gear to ride over the detent.  I refitted the circlip (removing knuckle skin in the process) - tested all now worked - it did - and then fitted the wiper motor for the third time.  I wired up the heated windscreen while I had plenty of access then called it a night and went inside to apply plasters to knuckles and order some fuses!

2 hours thus bring the total build time to a double century - 200 hrs

First time out of the garage

Started the morning by fitting the n/s cycle wing, wiring up the indicator repeater LED and refitted the front wheels. With the car back on 4 wheels we pushed it outside into the sunshine to do the engine run and get the run data for diagnosis.








While the car was outside James and I took the opportunity to give it a quick wash and polish.  I then removed the windscreen wiper arms/blades, filled the wash bottle and adjusted the jets. After connecting the wiper motor I switched them on and off to establish the park position and then refitted the arms/blades.  Unfortunately when then switched them on to test them they went the wrong way and blew the fuse! - a quick photo of the configuration and an email to Mark at WF for advice. 



I then drove the car carefully back into the garage - noticed that the temperature gauge sensor was still weeping and there was a steady drip from the water pump hose - tightened up the jubilee clip and all was well - but left the sensor as I had tightened this previously so will now try thread sealant.  Left the car with plenty of room at the back end so I can finish the boot and wire up the roll bar brake light.

Another 3 hours plus an hour each for James & Myles - total build time 198 hours

Windscreen and OMEX ECU Software 1st run

Two packages arrived during the week the first had the replacement 4 point harness lower bolts and the second the windscreen only the front grill and upper steering column left to arrive and I'll have a complete car!

Fitting the harnesses and seats was straight forward then I constructed a positioning bracket (out of the windscreen packing) to set the screen at 1004mm (-3mm for the carpet).  The bracket was very useful in that it nicely held the screen in position but the angle look very upright.

The manual suggested using the side screens to set the final position so I collected them from the dining room (Tricia now happy) and sure enough there was a huge gap at the back.  After some trial and errorI I eventually ended up with the wooden bracket set at 992mm and then the side screens looked right.  I measured against the manual and confirmed the brackets were both in the right places (each side is slightly different)

I marked the upright position and the holes for the heater wire and then drilled the bottom hole and heater wire, a just lightly scored the upper upright hole, leaving the opportunity to adjust after a final position check. After removing the masking tape I fitted the screen using 10x5mm self adhesive foam along the bottom of the screen (doubled up between the heater wire).

Next I cut out the 16mm clearance holes in the screen/scuttle filler and prepared it for fitting  Once I was happy with the fit I marked out it's position with masking tape and then filled the gap between the scuttle and the screen with clear silicone and then put a bead of silicone alone the edge of the masking tape and refitted the filler.  After some fiddling I managed to bolt down the filler with the wiper mechanism and used duct tape to hold everything in place while the silicone set.



 Final build job of the day was to clean the inside of the screen and fit the rear view mirror and clean off any excess silicone.  I temporarily fitted the wiper blades but will need to remove them before I switch the wipers on as I don't know where the parked position is.

I'd tried to connect the ECU to my laptop during the week in order to calibrate the throttle position sensor as a first step to investigating the start and idle problems I'd experienced on the first run.  Having connected everything up and managed to get comms between the two I experienced the following:  "MAP3000 has discovered a problem.  Please report the message below to OMEX together with you last action: Unable to create a directory."  I contacted OMEX and spoke to Guy Higgs who emailed me back to confirm it was a problem associated with running MAP3000 on a PC with a Windows7 operating system.  Win7 doesn't allow executable files to create folders so I needed to create one and then use the "configure" menu in MAP3000 to point to the folder.  Tried it and hey presto it worked - MAP3000 up and running on a Win7 laptop - next I tried to calibrate the TPS and ran into problem where it appeared to jump all over the place as I adjusted the throttle primary idle screw.  After a call to both Mark at WF and Guy at OMEX I have a series of tests they want me to do over the weekend to confirm the operation of the TPS - so something for tomorrow then. 
 3.5 hours today fitting the seats/harnesses/windscreen plus 2.5 hours on Thurs/Fri messing around getting the ECU software to work and trying to set the TPS - total build time to date 193 hours, Allanah, Myles & James are now on their way home so I may have some help tomorrow.

Rework Day

Reworked the cycle wing bonding - applying pressure to the bonds was enough for them to all eventually fail so it was a good job I noticed the problem before going out on the road.  Next I refitted the front lower wishbone ball joint mounts as I'd notice that there was not 2 threads clear of the nyloc, Mark Walker had advised to remove the washers that I'd fitted by mistake earlier in the build.  I unbolted the exhaust manifold to fit the heat shield but will need to remove it completely in order to get sufficient access to drill and rivet it to the chassis - will have to wait until I have more time to remove the whole exhaust.  Final task of the day was to fit the side screen hinges in preparation for the windscreen arriving later in the week.  An on/off day as far as the car was concerned as I was fitting floor tiles to a shower room after a minor flood last week - 2 hours only today - total 187 hrs

Carpet and seat fit

 Where to begin?  Started by testing the sikaflex bond to the cycle wing for the extra wiring ty-wrap point both of which failed.  While I was under the front wheel arch I noticed a worrying development - the fibre glass seems to be de-bonding from the ABS wheel arch.  Problem noted and query raised on the WSCC Newbies forum.  It would appear that Polyester Resin is not suitable for bonding ABS and that Epoxy Resin should be used - started again!

Next fitting the TRS 4 point harnesses - all went well until I tried to torque the 7/16" bolts into the chassis - only one would take the 26 ft lbs torque so a query to Mark at WF.  Exchanged photos through email and the consensus was that the bolts needed replacement and Mark would arrange for them to be sent out.  Unfortunately this then prevented the fitting of the seats but I decided to go ahead just to cut the holes in the carpet and confirm the seat fit.  Seats will need to be removed to bolt on the lower harness mounts when the replacement bolts arrive.

Finally I cut the hole for the n/s cycle wing indicator repeater and re-bonded ty-wrap mounts, I repeated the same process but with a heavily scored each surface - will look at these again tomorrow.

2.5 hrs today giving a total of 185 hrs.

Started on the Interior

Sorted (well mostly) the indicator repeater wiring to the o/s cycle wing and bolted it on to the mount.  I will need to sort out a final clip on the outside edge of the wing.

Experimented with the use of sikaflex to hold the ty-wrap mounts in place in the nose, just went to the garage to check and it appears to have worked so will do the same in the cycle wings.  I might also add another 2 mounts at the edge of the nose cone.  Of concern, I noticed a slight coolant leak inside the nose cone - for later investigation.

With Myles by now helping, I measured the tunnel as the tunnel carpet has to be cut to allow the dash cabling to pass through.

Then on to the interior side panels which were fitted with 3.2mm black rivets.  Once these were in place Myles and I fitted the rear panel carpet to confirm it fitted then add the velcro and finally fitted the carpet in place.  Final job of the day was to do a trial fit of the seats.  I first drilled out new holes either side of the standard seat holes on a 32cm spacing.  Whilst this allowed the seats to be fitted one was up against the tunnel and the other against the side panel.

I decided to turn the holes into slots to allow the seat to be positioned in the centre of each compartment once all the trim is fitted.  I check the washers to ensure the slots were smaller than them and then cut them out with the Dremmel. After a couple of trial fits I was happy that there was enough adjustment for the smallest size slots.  I then tidied up the edges and de-burred before spraying with hammerite.

5 hrs for me and 2 hrs for Myles - not sure where the time went as the individual jobs didn't seem to take too long.  Total build time to date 182.5 hrs.