Christams already!!!

Can't believe it, it's nearly two months since the last post, and what's been achieved? Well, not much really. I have most of the stuff I need to get on with the car - to do the jobs recommended by Emerald's Dave Walker, but am still lacking enthusiasm, I guess I was hoping it would work ok ad I'd be on the road by now. Haven't even bothered to renew the road tax yet (SORN'd instead) as it may be a while before I'm ready. It also needs an MOT so...

First thing I need to do is get the mechanical bits sorted - first job is to find out why I have such low oil pressure, then get a return fuel line in, get pressure reg mounted up front, get the cage fixed in place and painted, get glass for screen etc etc.

After that, a bit of painting as I started "restoring" the arches at the front after I noticed how chipped they were, then the scuttle was glaring at me, then the rear arches.......

So, I may get around to starting this over the Christmas holiday - though I have the two boys to look after, and they take priority.

I've got the marshalling to oversee for the Sunbeam Motorcycle Club's Pioneer Run late in March, so I have three months to get above lot sorted, get car MOT'd/Taxed and back to Emerald so the mapping can be finished.

Will try and do some work and keep posting a little more frequent and regular.

Happy Christmas and great New Year to y'all:D

Simon.

A title, hmmm

What can I say? I'm having trouble on the enthusiasm front at the mo. I'm working on the car in a single car garage, and it's full up. I have trouble doing anything in there and I'm getting slightly peeved by that and my inability to get on with car.

I thought I could sort my oil pressure prob out by putting in a higher value oil pressure relief spring, but (and after 3 hours !!!!) I managed to replace it, only to still have low oil pressure. Pump strip down next.

I've now decided that all the bodywork acyually looks very rough, so I've started preparing that for a repaint.

Anyway, just a short update. Catch you in a fortnight with some progress hopefully.

Cheers

We set off about 6.40am this morning and got to Emerald about 9.40, so we were there early, which was nice.

Firstly we unloaded car from trailer and the young lad working there (John, I think) got it onto the rollers, strapped down and wired up.

Dave Walker introduced himself to me and friend Paul, then he ran through some simple checks to ensure all was well with ecu connections, noticing there was no water temp signal. That turned out to be a dodgy sender connector.

Then we got to the subject of fuel pressure reg and me mentioning that it was in the boot, and him mentioning what a dumb idea that was (job number one!!).

Anyway, the short of it is, it's been mapped to a point and best guessed beyond that and can be driven, but I need to investigate air leaks as he couldn't get tickover below about 1400rpm, we think the turbos were smoking when engine got to about 3500rpm (either that or it was spinning the wheels with two of us sitting on the boot.

So, I'm going to finish getting the cosmetic jobs, front roll bar in and painted etc etc and carry out Dave's recommendations while driving it around. I wanted to run engine last night, but couldn't get it started, so we had the exhaust wrap smoking away for a couple of minutes (which Dave photographed - for his amusement I suspect), then 10 mins after that, it blew a hot water hose off..............

To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed, but as Dave said, I've not had it running enough to start mapping so couldn't hope to find any teething troubles. I did take it up the road and it's a hell of a lot quicker than it used to be, and that was with 2 psi of boost and I want 10!!!

As a result the day ended early, I got sad and didn't take any vid or pics.

Anyway, it should be ok for me to drive there next time, so I'm going to start sorting the jobs out.

Will keep you updated.

What a day...

We had friends over last weekend and I had had the car running (to check for water leaks and cos friend wanted to see it) and he noticed a burning smell. "Oil" I asked, "No, plastic" was the reply. "That'll be the plastic wiring convulted tubing then." I replied. So today I decided I ought to sought that out, which took most of the day.

I managed to get the bonnet partially sprayed yesterday (in white) and it looks awful, so I'm going to redo that part in matt black. The nosecone part will be red. Also managed to get bonnet/nosecone fixed to car at the front (hinges) and one of the rear overcentre catches. I'll do the other one evening this week.

Had another friend over this evening and we now appear to have brakes, which is helpful.

The engine side panels are fixed at the top, but I need to raise car to get the underside fixings done, and while I'm at it, I'll modify the sump guard and fix that back on.

Anyway, I'll be off for now and hopefully next weekend the car will be back on the road with a few minor jobs needing to be done, but I'll do those as and when. It's two years since I started this little conversion and I'm kind of losing patience with it:D

Till then and hopefully with dyno chart, and car on road vid:D

Later, as they say.....

Aaarrrghhhhh. Couldn't think of anything better!!!

Right, what's happened in the fortnight since the last post....

Well, I think mechanically (engine at least) we're nearly there. I ran the engine this afternoon for a while and apart from a very very slight leak from a turbo union and a melted wire which had been touching a turbo all was well.

Need to connect the fan to the ecu and I nearly fitted the sidepanels but because of the wire prob, think some heat shielding may occur first....

The bonnet is nearly finished, but I have alittle prob, in that the people that supplied the paint before, no longer supply!!!. I have a bit of red left over, so will do the nose with that and the bonnet in matt black for the moment.

I was planning on having proper "tintop" style bonnet catches, but am now thinking traditional over centre catches are what I'm going to be time limited to, but hey ho!

Here's a pic of the car as it was this afternoon, though I subsequently managed to do about 4" of welding (out of about 40!), but it's a start...

I was also hoping to have more traditional headlight mountings, but I've been got by the inability of having the lights close enough, and being able to open the bonnet. Wider wishbones are required but not poss just yet.

Looking good, hey!

Anyway, here's pic with some lights!!!

The white bits are body filler.

And here's the vid.

Anyway, I'm going to look for some heat shielding, and maybe think about a rehash of the underbonnet wiring!

Hopefully in the next post, the car will be "finished". Why quotes, I hear you say. Well, you build a car and see if it's ever finished:), and the one after, will be it on the rolling road and maybe, just maybe, on the road itself. How exciting's that.

Till then, then!

Mapping getting closer and closer

In the fortnight since the last post, I seem to have been busy, but not achieving much - hopefully all these little jobs I seem to be doing will gel, and I'll suddenly have a finished car:)

I got the Innovate thingy and welded the boss into the exhaust, but have decided to order another boss/bung for the other exhaust, so that should be with me tomorrow or Wednesday, hopefully. Then I can weld that in by the weekend, which will mean that the engine compartment side panels can be properly fixed on and the brakes can be reconnected. I've already refilled the cooling system. Then tighten a couple of sump screws as I have a leak from gasket, then on with sump guard.

I've nearly finished attaching the nearside exhaust to the rear hanger bracket. Well the hanger bracket is now bolted up, so need to drill a bit of plate, cut to size and screw together.

Most time is being spent on the front hoop trying to get the chassis mods, alright couple of bits of 5mm plate welded into place, which should happen this weekend, if not sooner. Then I can paint them and the lower half of the hoop. Then weld in the top bars and paint rest of hoop etc.

You may have noticed that there is a certain urgency all of a sudden. Well, car was booked in towards end of October for mapping. When I booked the session, I foolishly asked if they had a cancellation queue and could I go on it.

Today, I got the call I didn't want have offering me a date three weeks earlier than planned so yes, now there's a rush.

Once all the above jobs are done, it's just a matter of finishing the bonnet (2 - 3 hours), so in theory, we should be ok.

Anyway, best be off. More this weekend (with pictures!!) if plans come together.

Till then.

Been away, back to play!

Peeps,

Guess what? I had another holiday, this time down to (not damp but) definately dreary Devon.

Been going for many years and the weather's never been great, and the same could be said this year. Did manage to spend a couple of days on an overcast beach. Even went in the sea, which was nice (after I'd been in for a couple of minutes at least).

Anyway, as I've been away, I've obviously not done much to the car - apart fom purchasing and installing a turbo boost gauge!!!!!. I'm still on a bit of a high getting the comms problem sorted out.

This evening, I ordered an Innovate LC1 wideband Lambda sensor/controller thingy which I'm hoping will be here in a couple of days, then I can weld the bung into one of the exhausts (I know I should do them both, and I may yet!).

Naturally that means I can start trying to map my engine at home, but (big news!!!) I booked up with Emerald to get the car on their full mapping rolling road session which happens late next month. Exciting times ahead.

So, next, I need to finish tidying up the car (finish bonnet) and double checking all the wiring, plumbing, nuts and bolts as I want the day to go smoothly! Don't want any leaks or electrical gremlins on the day. If I can map to half sensible, I may drive around the block a few times.

Going to look at a boat tomorrow, and may take it for a test sail on Sunday, so maybe slow progress, but I'll try hard. A lot to do in seven weeks.

Hopefully pics of turbo gauge, Lambda installation, refitted side panels, reconnected brakes and a very nearly finished bonnet this weekend.

Till then.....

Okay okay, so it's Monday....

How's that for a quick update (though his will be very short) , or as you might have gathered, I should've titled this page:

Good news, brill news and oops.

The good bit is that I managed to spend quite a lot of time on the bonnet and it's very nearly done.

The brill news is that following all the aggro I've had trying to get the ECU and laptop to communicate, having sent the unit back to Emerald (who checked and confirmed it was fine) and having done all they asked, and not having had the ecu on the car for 3+ months while I've been doing the bonnet, I decided to recheck the wire to one of the pins they said was essential for pc/ecu communications.

Looked at multiplug and yes, it was wired to pin 11, but for some strange reason I saw fit to disconnect said plug from ecu and check the other end............................

Ahhh, no connector - it kept slipping out, so last night I sorted that out and this evening plugged in the laptop and.............bingo. We have comms, so the mapping can start. Cool huh!

The oops is the bonnet, just managed to put a roll of kitchen tissue on some wet primer. Doh!

Anyway, said it would be short.

Later:)

A bit more!

Right, bit brief t'other day, so thought I add a bit more.

The bonnet was made from the mould and, let's say, it didn't come out quite as well as I'd hoped, but it was done in a real rush!.

I have quite a lot of work to do on it, but it's just sanding and filling, fortunately the shape is ok. So, that's going to be a job for Sunday - I'll take it to work and use air sanders etc on it. I'm only intending to get it useable as I need to get the car mapped, so smooth will be fine with a coat of primer.

Last night I set bonnet the position and got the hinges in place, though they are only "glued" at the moment and need 'glassing in. Just need to do the rear catches, which will be like traditional bonnet catches as I'm trying to avoid "over centre" catches.

Quick word of advice - make sure you mask everything up, in my haste and having the inconvenience of a single car garage, I covered the engine and now I have wishbones, springs, steering gear and bodywork that all has overspray on. Most of it's coming off with thinners and I'm repainting as I go (it needed it anyway), but there's so much...... see pic below, to see what I mean.

I've bought a Turbosmart boost T which I have yet to instal, though it should be going in over the weekend.

Anyway, I took some pics earlier.. here's a good one showing why you should be careful when masking:)

Nearside turbo installation

Offside turbo installation, and yes I will be putting some sort of heat shielding around the steering column!

Finally, a pic of the car as it was earlier this evening. I'm quite pleased with the overall look.

If I get my way and can have a few hours on the bonnet on Sunday, and can finish cleaning/repainting chassis and can get the boost t in, I should be able to permanently attach the side panels, connect air filters and reconnect the brakes.

In theory that means I can drive it:)

Further update on Sunday if all goes according to plan (yes you know the one.... best laid plans or mice and men....).

Till then, then.

Another month. Already!!!

Right, v quick post I'm afraid.

Bonnet has now been made, and needs a bit of finishing. I'll be able to attach side panels to engine this week, then reconnect brake pipes and bleed.

Next will be getting the legal bits done, like fitting headlights and indicators, then finally, off to Emerald for a sesh on their rolling road so it can be mapped.

In the meantime, here to entertain you:

Cool huh.

Anyway, like I said, short post, so till next time...

Time flies etc

Well, I hadn't realised quite how quickly the time had gone.

One minute, I've just updated the blog, then two months have gone bye bye. Quite unbelieveable! So apologies to all you millions of watchers. Well, at least one anyway, who's only comment I don't intend to detail.

Well, what's been happening on the car. Let's see now.

Er well bonnet is now nearly nearly done. I'm just being a bit retarded in my ability to apply paint. Wouldn't think it'd be that difficult really, having already sprayed all the bodywork in a previous millenium.

I think the prob has been my lack of time to work on the car and impatience when I can, so when I paint, I paint; and paint and paint. Paint is quite thick, and cracks as it dries. Well it did last weekend, so I left it till Tuesday to dry a bit better. Last night I put on a thin coat of primer filler and did same again tonight. This is of course after I had what I thought was a finished surface. ready for polishing and moulding.

Still, hopefully this Sunday should see me at that stage. Hmm, I'm moulding the bonnet regardless, any imperfections will be dealt with in the mould and the new bonnet.

Hopefully, I'll mould it Sunday, leave for a week, lay up new bonnet the folllowing Sunday and remove that from mould the Sunday after. New bonnet on car by end of July. Promise (but fingers crossed!

Anyway; pics, I'm sure that's all you really want to see, so the following should give you a good idea on how the bonnet looks, but you can't see the cracked paint, so it won't matter. You'll also notice the front roll hoop/windscreen frame is nearly sorted, couple more tweaks and I can weld that up too. It's going to be bolted in, and welded to the rear hoop (which is also bolted in) and theoretically, it should be removeable. There will be two top bars that connect front to rear, a cross piece in the area below the screen and side bars between front and rear. I had all the tubes bent by Anvil Tubesmiths near Seddlescome for a very reasonable price, and nice quick service (2 days)!!

I think the lines are much better than the old. The scoops on top are for the intercoolers. Side exits will be cut into the new bonnet.

Here's side view (nah, really!!)

In this pic you can see the drastic measures I taking to aid cooling. The main panel is outset by three inches. The black bit also has a hole behind it allowing air in, directly towards the turbos. The forward facing scoops (both side panels are the same) have the air filters behind them. What you can't see, though I was hoping you could, is the vent in top of bonnet behind the rad, another cooling aid.

Once front hoop is in and the bonnet is on, I've got to get it on the rolling road to get engine running correctly, then I can use it. Next steps will be tidying car up and thinking about the new diff I have. Ratio is somewhat less than current one (2.88 compared with 3.92) so gearing should improve, and so should economy. I see now reason why 45mpg might not be possible:) Might put a diesel in it next:D

Anyway, I'm going to have a nice cup of tea and some of the rather large bar of Galaxy I got for my birthday.

I'll try and post a bit more regularly, even if not much has happened, though as you might have gathered, I'm expecting to do quite a lot over the next fortnight.

Cheers for now.

Another day, another post!

Thought I'd just post to show you the days work on the bonnet/nose.

I managed to get a good few hours on the car today so am reasonably pleased with the progress:)

Just to give you an idea of the amount of work I've been doing (and trying to justify the amount of time it's taken), this is a pic of the bonnet before I started doing any of the mods.

Underneath that huge scoop are the carbs. It wasn't what I wanted but was more a necessity. That was the first thing to go, so we ended up with this. You'll notice that I've already started playing around with the plenum.

As I wasn't sure what I wanted, but knew what was needed, I ended up with this monstrosity about a year ago, and till last week, this is how the bonnet looked. Now you see why I decided to leave it for a while!

With the intercooler scoops as eyes, the plenum cover as a nose, and the (just visible) radiator vent, it looked badly like a face. Something needed to be done, so....

...off with the intercooler scoops and "nose" over plenum. I also removed the polystyrene bits I was using to widen the lower front of the nosecone - either side of the radiator. Anyway, I had a brainwave and used some steel mesh as a former, which I gradually folled with filler to give me...

I'm aiming for a smooth look, and as you can see in the nest pic, I think I might succeed.


I now "just need to" ( yeah right) get the same finish on the other side (not far off), and figure out how I'm going to cover the intercoolers. Once that's done, it's a matter of finishingall the edges then sanding/painting/sanding polishing to get a really nice finish so I can mould it. After that, it'll be to make a new bonnet, paint and fit, by which time ecu should be in and working, then we'll be off.

I'm hoping to do some work on it in the evenings and next Sunday (finish??????), so, no more till then I'm afraid.

Gotta go!

Simon

Still no ecu, but hey, I've started the bonnet!

I don't know if it's my failings in the computer world, though I have to admit I do despair at times.

I've decided that my level of competance has dictated I return the ECU to Emerald for them to check over, though I'm sure it's fine. When that comes back, I may have to "phone a friend" from Locostbuilders who's kindly offered to bring his laptop over.

While that's away, I thought I'd make a start on the bonnet, as this is very nearly the last part of the jigsaw, aside of mapping the engine.

When I first started this project, I'd started modifying the bonnet without having any of the mechanical work done, which meant that I didn't know where intercoolers would be, nor the plenum etc, so when I started again last week, I had to pull off all the changes I'd made to the bonnet, as a) it looked crap, and b) well, see a).

It's amazing how having a year between certain jobs where originally you struggle to visualise how you want something to look, and how bad it turns out, to starting again, and getting a decent result in a tenth of the time.

Anyway, you're out of luck if you think I'm going to post pics of what it looks like as of today, because it really does look like a work in progress, but (and it's a very big but like what's the weather going to be like tomorrow) I have a whole day on it tomorrow, which should be all it takes.

In the meantime, here's a couple of pics I took last weekend so I could make up a front rollbar template (with 2" drainpipe). No, you're not seeing that either. I may go and see someone about that next week. They can can it out of something a bit stronger:)

Damn, it's got the rollbar on it, and pics of the bonnet:)

I made those nice shiny exhausts from stainless steel, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, I'm off cos I want an early night so I can get on with car tomorrow.

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzsimon

Just an update!

I'm still having issues getting the ECU and laptop to communicate, which I suspect is down to the laptop. I'm going to get my old desktop PC out of retirement tomorrow and try that. If it works, I'll buy another laptop (maybe). The alternative is to send the ECU back and have them check it out. Might even send them the laptop too!

Going to the Detling kitcar show tomorrow, so may try and buy a few things - I particularly want/need and Innovate LC1 wideband sensor so when I do get comms between ECU/laptop, I can start getting Air/Fuel mixtures a bit more accurate.

Tomorrow, I have decided will be the day that I start redoing the bonnet. The intention was to include glassfibre scoops on the bonnet for the intercoolers, but to spped things up. I'm going to make them from ally, and rivet them to the i/c's and they'll just have to stick through the bonnet. I did have the mad idea of attaching a small pressure vessel (with slow pressure release) in the wastegate actuator lines to power pressurised intercooler sccops. The idea being the when boost went up, scoops would go up, and as boost went down, the scoops would come down slowly, venting from the pressurised vessel. But I haven't got time for that at the mo.

I've still got the oil leak, but have found this is coming from the oil union on the turbo, so really needs to be fixed asap and before engine is run in anger. Fortunately, should be just a case of tightening a bolt.

Anyway, I'm off for a nice cup'o tea. Keep your fingers crossed, there may be a vid soon!

Till the next time

Simon

Big Smug Grin, but more later

Right, yet again, it's been a while, but that's what happens in research and development:)


Anyway, ah yes, just had to have a look at the last post to see where we were up to.


I think this may be a long post, quite a lot of progress has been made and I reckon we could well be on the road within two or three weeks. If all goes according to plan.


And we know what happens to people who say that sort of thing.


To start with, some pics.


This is a picture of the engine as it was about a week ago, before I rehashed the wiring to the coil packs (which I don't think you've seen yet - they're mounted on a bracket to the left (as you look at pic) of the water pump). I'd decided that the wires I was using for the coil packs where far too large, so ripped them out and used smaller ones! You'll also notice the lack of HT leads. This proved to be a bit of a headache as a direct result of a lack of knowledge. You see, the Rover V8 had a coil and spark plugs. Go into any spares shop and ask for a set of leads for a Rover V8 and that's what you'll get. Ask for some leads for a Rover V8 that go into a Ford coil pack, and you'll get a blank look. Anyway, I found out, after much toing and froing that you buy ordinary HT leads, pull the coil end rubbers off and stick on an adaptor. Easy. So yes, I have HT leads.




I'd decided that I wanted a more direct route for the top water hose, so had been making a new thermostat housing out of stainless. Well that turned into a right pita, so looked at the Rover item, looked at some scrap ally tube I had, and an idea formed in my head!


Tried the tube on the engine side of housing, perfect fit. Chop down housing so it becomes a flange and insert ally tube. Next I need a fitting therein for rubber hose to connect to, so chop up the remaining outlet for the same, and lo and behold it fits in ally tube (with a bit of turning down). Solder all together, and hey presto. If it fails, I'm going to mould and cast in ally as a single piece. In my hurry, I forgot to put the thermostat in, but that should only take 5 minutes:)


I welded up a couple of stainless ally bends together to give me the rest of the hose.


Gotta apologise for the quality of the next pic, it's a bit blury, but it shows the new alternator mounting bracket that I knocked up. It looks a bit Heath Robinson, but hey, it does it's job. I may even cast one of them in ally at some point.

It should mean that by bonnet profile will be a bit more flexible - ie, I'll have more space under the bonnet.

I finally got round to wiring in the fuel pressure regulator. This is a job I really hadn't been looking forward to doing as it meant I'd have to test the fuel lines. Petrol at 30 - 40 psi I find a scary prospect. Especially when there's what may eventually be two red hot exhausts and glowing turbos no more than two feet either side of the pipe!

Once wired in, I took the plunge and turned on the fuel pump.

Nothing, just lots of whirring. Strange I thought! Anyway, check that fuel was coming from tank to filter, fine, but nothing getting to fuel rail. Hmmm. Check wiring on pump. Ahhhh. Put feed to +. Rewired and tried again.

Don't know why I was worried about fuel lines. Check fuel pressure, and it was about 120psi and pump was starting to struggle. Tried several times and finally got it down to more reasonable 40psi. Still, now I know I have a saftey factor of three reducing to about 2.5 at 1 bar boost pressure. I'm happy with that, though will of course check security of fittings regularly.

The next pic is for all of you who are wondering what I'm doing about air filters. Well, this is my brainwave. I know a cold air supply is desirable, so how about this. The air filters are mounted in the side panels, with a scoop over them. Yes, I have thought they may get flooeded, and I'm thinking about that at the moment. Scoops are vented at the rear, so that may be sufficient. I may just bolt a deflector to the wishbones. There is an ally sheet "box" on the other side if the panel with ally tube ducting to the turbo inlet - can just be seen between panel and coilpack mounting. I might work, though I suspect I may need to get something a little more flexible to go between the two. If you're wondering what the filters are, they're Scooby Impreza jobbies. Replacement filters from Halfords for about a tenner each. If one is good enough for a 200bhp Impreza, two should be plenty for my hoped for 300bhp.

Next job on the list was bascially connect the ECU to the loom and the laptop to the ECU and try and start the car.

Connected everything together, and got no signal from the ECU to the laptop. Contacted Emerald who recommed I try a couple of things (check wiring to ECU and that crank sensor was close to trigger wheel (TW)). Well, I didn't have power to one of the pins, and I sorted out the bracket for TW sensor. Again, I still can't connect to the PC, but I turned the engine over and I started firing. Hell, I'm going to keep going, and see what happens.

IT RUNS.

Badly I'll admit, but I really don't care at the moment. Once started, it ticks over. Starting takes a good few turns as I think cold start enrichment needs looking into, but I think prime need is to set the ignition as it's not been set yet. Getting a bit of turbo whine, which is nice. Also got a couple of leaks that need sorting.

I'm going to order a Boost Tee from Turbosmart today and set that to about 12 - 14 psi, and an Innovate LC1 wideband Lambda sensor/controller.

Got to add how thoroughly impressed I am with the service from Emerald.

Anyway, as you can guess, I'm as happy as a happy person.

Hopefully, next post will have some pics of the progress on the new bonnet, which I have yet to start, and which WILL be done very quickly. By end of April at latest.

I'm also starting to think about my next project, which will be done for a grand:)

For those interested, the Detling Kitcar show is 12/13 April, and I hope to be there for at least an hour or two.

Speak soonish

Simon

Doesn't time fly.....

Thousand apologies - I didn't realise it had been so long since the last posting.

Unfortunately, not a great deal to report at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I have done a few bits and pieces like fitted one of the exhaust brackets, seen in previous post. Why one, well car is on axle stands and ramps (so I don't have to bend down too far to work on engine), and the nearside (left) is against the wall and there's shelving in the way.....basically I can't get to the other.

I've also removed the distributor and replaced with my modified one, and as a result, I've decided to relocate the alternator to the lower left side on engine. Currently working on the bracket for that, but it'll be based on the power steering pump bracket that it's replacing.

I've also replaced the crankshaft pulley with the new one (with toothed wheel), and modified and fitted the supplied bracket for sensor.

Getting the old pulley nut off was slightly challenging - I bent the bar supplied with my socket set, so stuck a bigger bar over that. This made bending other bar easier, so I borrowed an impact wrench. That failed miserably, so I stopped at local tool shop, bought new 24mm socket and when I got to work, got some 1 1/4" 10 swg steel pipe and welded a length to the socket, and a cross piece for a handle.

Got it home, locked the pulley, and gave new tool a turn. No problemo:)

Fitted the fuel pressure regulator and associated plumbing in the boot and got some small hose to connect to the plenum. Needed to make an adaptor for the plenum so I could take a two vac/pressure hoses out - one each for fuel reg and the map sensor.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have the alternator mounting made by (and fitted over) the weekend so that will be, more or less, all mechanical modifications done (apart from the new thermostat housing I'm making - always something else!!!).

If that's the case, I'll get some snaps and put them here so you can have a laugh.

Finally, we got a new daily driver as I couldn't justify the expense of the ZT260 as well as toy car, much as I liked it. Anyway, bought a Renault Grand Espace and very nice it is too.

Anyway, to quote Tigger, TTFN

Simon

Some pics for your gratification

Right, just a quick update with a couple of pics.

I finally managed to finish welding up the stainless exhaust brackets and making them look ok. I'm not overly concerned with aesthetics as they will not really be seen; more concerned that they do their job!

I also mentioned yesterday that I'd put up a pic of the finished remnants of the distributor.

You've already seen the cut down version, well this one has an ally cap on (to keep the dirt out). The cap was made from an offcut of 2" diameter bar, chucked(!) in lathe and turned down.

I've managed to get it so it had to be heated (over gas flame) to expand it slightly then slipped over end of dizzy. Left to cool and it's a nice tight fit! Pleased with that.

I'm going to be selling my tintop so I can look for a diesel van with windows (probably an Espace, maybe a Galaxy depending on who comes up with the right deal), so we'll be down to one car

"Unless I get toy car back on the road." says I.

"Go on then!" says swmbo

So I'm guessing that is permission to get it finished - which means I might get some done tomorrow (well later today).

You should find out tonight!!!

Bye for now.

As you may have guessed there has been a distinct lack of progess this last week and a bit, though today I did cut the stainless for the exhaust hangers.

I've had the ss lying around at work for the last year of so, and have kept on thinking "must do that, must do that".

I've had it work for the very reason that I could cut it out and linnisher one day and weld up the next, but as usual, I've been too busy or too tired most of the time. Today, as we've just completed a fairly urgent order, I packed up an hour or so early and got on with them. I'll be welding them up tomorrow so may stick a pick or two up.

The original exhausts (see pic to the top left) were made from mild steel and even though I prep'd them thoroughly and painted them (heatproof paint, following instructions) they started rusting very quickly. The exhausts have now been replaced with polished stainless jobbies that I a) made and, b) polished. The hangars were also originally made from mild (3mm) and after about a 1000 miles one had broken, the other split half way through, so the new ones are 5mm stainless. I have heard that ss may suffer with fatigue, but I'm hoping that as the new ones are thicker and much, much stronger that they won't flex, and therefore crack.

Nearly forgot, I managed to turn a lump of ally down to fit over the top of the remnants of the distributor which by either luck or talent was heated then a shrink fit. Looks nice, so I'll put up a piccy of that too.

Anyway, gotta go. You may be lucky and get two posts over one weekend.

Fingers crossed!

Hmm. Best laid plans, and all that

Well, I'd been hoping to get a bit of time on the car over the weekend, but things just didn't work out that way.

Got up a bit later than expected today, having got to bed a bit later than expected last night, then had to go shopping.

I'd been thinking of going to the Model Engineering Exhibition at the Ally Pally today (it was on yesterday, too) but decided against it, as I'd only spend money (and time) that could be better used elsewhere.

Anyway, I've been watching a programme on Information TV called The Painting and Drawing Channel (see www.paintingdrawingchannel.co.uk or www.saa.co.uk) and have decided I'd like to have a go at painting. Now, unfortunately for me, I can't draw for toffee, but I still managed to spend a couple of quid (that could have been better used elsewhere!!!) on materials etc. No wonder Artists charge so much for their work, have you seen the price of paints!! I may have to try using a couple of gallons of Dulux instead. Fortunately, I have a friend who offered me a "how-to" session as he's quite good:), so I think I'll take up his offer. Just need to find the time. Just need to find some subject matter. We have a very old bridge which should be a challenge as it's set in a steepish valley so greenery, trees, water, brickwork, and maybe a bit of sky too. Who know, I may add a surfer to the background just for a laugh.

Anyway, got back from shopping and decided I'd have a tidy up in the garage, as it was getting to the stage where I was having to step over things, and still not touch the floor.

I've got a Jag IRS (2.88/1.00 f/d ratio) which I'm going to either have to get rid of, store elsewhere or flog as it's big, heavy and in the way. I originally bought it for Deimos but have been persuaded by people who know better than me to use something else. Who knows, I may have to build that T bucket I've always wanted.

The Jag unit has been replaced a BMW diff (2.28/1.00) which will be going in, though I may "pre-make?" the rear subframe, so when I'm ready it'll simply be a matter of unbolting prop and uprights, cut out old, weld in new. Sounds simple, but that'll probably be another two year "winter project".

What I have noticed on the car, is that I'm going to have to remove the steering rack to get the crank pulley off. Not a major job, but could have done without it. Still I might be able to leave steering arms in place, and just undo rack. I don't need much more space.

Anyway, I'm off, just got to pop out for a couple of minutes, then I may get to the garage.

I haven't forgotten, don't panic!

Just thought I'd better let you know I haven't forgotten about the blog, it's just that not much has happened.

I think I managed to clean out all the tissue paper from the ports - using a mechanics grabber.

I've just "done" the wiring for the coil pack - done used loosely as it still needs finishing, but all wires are in respective brackets. The coil packs need a home somewhere in the engine compartment, and I'm currently thinking that'll be towards the front, but (obviously!!) behind the rad.

I've more or less finished the ecu loom and am currently trying to decide where to put the ecu. It needs to be dry (so not under the seats as car has tendency flood when it rains!) and away from the high temps of the engine compartment. That means probably bolted to bulkhead, under the scuttle.

I've set myself a target to speed things up (I've already renewed my road tax and as of today wasted £6.89 (14/366ths of £180, for those interested:)). Anyway, the car needs to be on the road, and tested for a week or two by the 9th March as I'm organising (with a friend) the marshalling for the Pioneeer Run (veteran m/cycles London to Brighton) from Pease Pottage services to Pyecombe Roundabout and it'd be nice to have toy car for that.

Anyway, gotta go the wife has just made me a nice cup of nice. Aren't I lucky!

More at the weekend hopefully.

Lack of progress - forecast

Last night I decided to try and clear some of the tissue from the three cylinders that it's visible in .

Firstly I tried a piece of stainless wire, with a small sharp hook bent onto the end. That was boring and slow. Next up was petrol. Everyone likes a big bang, so I found an old syringe (used for measuring hardener for glassfibre resin actually) and squirted some fuel down the driver's side cylinders.

Got a long length of piano wire, wrapped a piece of masking tape to the end, lit it and using this, lit the fuel vapour in cylinders.

Had some very, very loud bangs. Unfortunately (in this case), petrol tends to burn very quickly, so didn't seem to have much effect on the tissue.

I also tried chucking petrol in all the pots, putting plugs back in, leads on and spinning it over, but I think I still have the inlet tracts blocked on the rest of the cylinders, as it didn't want to fire properly.

And so, the reason for the title hereof, I think I'm going to have to wait till the weekend, and strip the inlet manifold off (and interoolers etc) and get out what I can from the other end. I may even get a blowtorch. I will not be taking the heads off.

So, from me, till possibly Saturday evening....

Wish me luck

Success and, oh *%^&$&%^&

Yep, one of those days. Started off reasonably well, got up late (still recovering), and popped into work where I had a spare distributor and crank pulley, which I picked up.

Had lunch then we went into town to get some bits and pieces (me: nuts and bolts/her tv for the kitchen). Anyway I succeeded, she didn't:)

Got home and decided I'd make a start on getting the crank pulley modified for the trigger wheel. Having read in various places about using a lathe to skim off a couple of thou here, another couple there, I wasn't particularly looking forward to it.

Anyway, this is a pictorial history of how it went. Start off with one reasonably new pulley

And take it apart. Note the lack of lathe work required!

Then remove the rear section as a) it's surplus to requirements and b) it's where the trigger wheel is going to go.

Then figure out where you want trigger wheel to line up (I used a couple of 5mm spacers to bring it away from the rest of pulley, as recommended), and bolt it all together.

The other job I set myself to do was cut down the spare distributor. I'm going to use coil packs for ignition so the dizzy becomes redundant for sparking purposes BUT, the dizzy is driven by the camshaft, and the oil pump is driven by the dizzy, so it can't be lost completely. It just has to be reduced in size.

Take one distributor

Remove cap and innards, then cut off most of what's not required

Can't leave it looking as rough as that, so remove oil pump drive from bottom, pull out inner shaft, and shorten (the bit sticking out, on right side), turn for 10 minutes in lathe, and hey presto:

Just need to make a cap, which I'll do after I sort out the "Oh *%^&$&$%&".

This you really don't need to know about. Well, you do, but I don't want to tell you for no reason other than it's so embarrassing.

Doing engine work, cleanliness is rather good. So, when you have an inlet manifold, with all ports pointing up, you get a bit concerned about stuff falling in.

So you put tissue or rag in the holes.

Some time later, you decide that as you need to get tdc on engine and you want to turn engine by hand, it would be a good idea to remove the plugs.

Imagine one's surprise coming upon tissue paper in the cylinder bores. The engine still turns over freely, so I'm guessing nothing has jammed up.

So tomorrow, well later today, I take a hooked piece of (softish) wire and start fishing it out, then get the vacccum cleaner, then a bit of petrol and a match (maybe!).

Wish me luck:)