Bonnet Grills and Indicators ... 200+ hours into the build !!!

Sun 25th Apr 2010 - Work time = 7hrs ... Build Time To Date = 203hrs
The 200 hours milestone broken!
First job of the day ... fit the indicators.  Pretty straightforward ... but again measure twice drill once!  Of course more wiring needed to replace the bullet connectors on the lamps with the multi-connectors supplied in the parts box.
All connected up and tested OK.

Next I turned attention to fitting the bonnet grills.  I decided to fibre glass these in ... I figured it would be a neater and easier.  It was neater but not easier!!! Glass fibre is very versatile but very messy.  The end result I'm pleased with though.  Just need to tidy up the loose strands when it's fully dry.

Henry couldn't resist posing behind the grill !

Roll Bar Fitting Part 2 & Headlamp Brackets

Sat 24th Apr 2010 - Work time = 7hrs ... Build Time To Date = 196hrs
With the holes cut in the bodywork I set about fitting the high level brake light in the Roll Bar before bolting it to the chassis. Feeding the cable through the inside of the bar was a little tricky but with various bits of wire I got there in the end.
Bolting it down to the chassis was a little difficult as on the near side the diagonal brace blocked access to the bolt head.  The bolts are hex head but fortunately I had a right angle 8mm hex head allen key.  With the bolts torqued tight I set about marking the hole cutouts for the rear stays.
I'd read several posts on the WSCC Forum all giving advice about using string, waste pipe etc to help line up the holes.  In the end I drilled a hole in the centre of where I'd calculated the stay to go and then put through some string as a plumb line to make sure it was lined up.  I then cut an angled piece of plumbing waste pipe and used this to scribe the elipse shape to cut.  I then used the dremel to gradually cut away the hole using the scribe shape as my boundary. 
It wasn't too difficult in the end ... though took a long time.

Of course when I tried to fit the stays I needed to undo the roll bar to tip it forwards to gain some clearance.  I finished the tops off with some bike tyre inner tube as I have heard that there are some issues with the sharp edges for the IVA test.

The final results ... I'm pleased with the fit ... no gaps around the rear stays.  Need to wait for the covers over the roll bar mounting ... on order from Westfield.

Next I fitted the headlamp brackets ... again a fairly simple task but time consuming.  I didn't fit the headlamps yet though as I need to remove the bonnet to fit the grills ... with the headlamps fitted it will be a bit dfficult to turn upside down.

Engine Issue Identified ... Roll Bar Fitting Part 1

Weds 21st Apr 2010 - Work time = 5hrs ... Build Time To Date = 189hrs
Managed to speak with Mark at Westfield yesterday and he suggested some checks for the injectors.

Test 1.  Remove the injectors but leave connected to the fuel rail and try to start the engine ... there should be a mist of petrol expelled from each injector.  The first injector on the rail worked fine (cylinder no 4) but nothing from the other three.  I swapped the Injector wires but same result

Test 2. Wire the injectors directly to a 12V supply and spark them to check if the solonoid are switching.  All injectors seemed to work OK.

Hmmm ... head scratching time.  I ecided to dismantle the fuel rail.  I discineccted the outlet fom the first injector (the one that was working) to find that there was no hole in the outlet.  Doh!  The part seemed to be machined wrong or was perhaps an end fitting?  Anyway there was no way that fuel was getting to the other injectors ... I had found the problem.  The picture below shows the issue.  The faulty injector is on the top.

I'm now waiting on Westfield to provide a new injector.

Clearly nothing was going to progress with the engine start up so I turned my attention to the roll bar.  I'd opted for the added security of the "RAC Roll Bar" rather than the standard hoop.  The RAC Roll Bar is barced diagonally and has stays to the rear whereas the standard one is just a hoop secured with one both either side ... a little too flimsy me thinks!

I set about cutting holes in the rear body work to fit the bar.

Once the roll bar mounts were cut out I could then line up the seat belt mount holes.  Here's the finished result.

Next step to fit the high level brake light in the roll bar ... an update at the weekend.

Engine start up .... part 2 :-((

Sun 18th Apr 2010 - Work time = 5hrs ... Build Time To Date = 184hrs
With the sun shining again, the battery fully charged I rolled the car out from the garage.
I connected up the battery again and set about the start up checks.  I turned the key and the starter turned over, the engine turned over but still didn't fire.  Now what?  I removed the plugs and checked for sparks ... all sparking OK.  Removed the air filter and checked for any smell of petrol in the inlet trumpets ... none.  Turned the engine over and checked again ... no fuel smell.  Hmmm ... maybe the fuel pump wasn't working correctly. 
Following the wiring issues with the starter I decided to check the pump wiring ... it was correct.  I also checked that the inertia switch was depressed.
I tried the starter again ... this time there was a slight splutter.  I turned the key again and it spluttered again.  After several attempts it spluttered for a few seconds but sound like a bag of spanners .... it seemed to be firing on only one cylinder.  A quick check of the plugs again ... no 1 cylinder was sooted up and the exhaust manifold was hot but the rest of the plugs were clean and the exhaust downpipes cold.
So a fuelling problem, an ECU probem or an injector problem.  Fuel was getting to no 1 cylinder so I figured the fuel pump was OK.  Time for some research to help the diagnosis.  I searched a few items on the WSCC forum and one suggested a quick test of the injectors was to check that 12v was on one of the injector terminals with the ignition on ... the ECU fires the injector by closing the earth.  All injectors tested OK. I also found out that the coil is in two banks so it was probably not a coil issue as No 1 cylinder was working and in any event I could get a spark from all 4 cylinders. 
Another posting suggested that new injectors get dried out and blocked and suggested putting a little fuel in the inlet to get things started.  Despite sounding a little dangerous I was getting desperate.  So armed with a cup of fuel and a teaspoon I poured some fuel into the inlet trumpets and manually opened the butterflies.  Waiting a few seconds for a bit of evaporation I turned the key again.  This time it fired up on 2-3 cylinders ... but only very briefly (until the poured in fuel had been used).  I checked the exhaust downpipes and 1,2 and 4 felt warm.  More fuel down the inlets and tried again.  Similar results. 
I deduced that I now had some sort of issue with the injectors but didn't know how to fix it! 
Thoroughly depressed I wheeled the car back into the garage and put the battery back on charge.  A call into Westfield tomorrow!

Engine start up .... Part 1 :-(

Sat 17th Apr 2010 - Work time = 7hrs ... Build Time To Date = 179hrs
With the sun shining brightly I rolled the car out of the garage.  First task fill up the coolant with water/anti-freeze.  So far so good ... no obvious leaks.  Next put some fuel in.  Again no obvious leaks.  Final pre-start task ... connect the battery ... again no sparks so all good so far.

Armed with instructions from some of the respondents on the WSCC Forum I went through the start up procedures:

1.  Remove all plugs
2.  Remove fuel pump fuse
3.  Turn ignition on

The brake light came on (handbrake was on) and the ignition light came on.  Check!

4.  Turn the key to crank the starter. 

The starter whirred into action but was spinning far too fast and there was no sign of it engaging with the flywheel.   Time for some head scratching!

I removed the heat insulation I'd put over the wiring on the starter and checked there was no shorting of the cables ... all looked fine.  Checked the cables and I was getting 12v as expected at the ends.  Couldn't see anything obvious wrong with the starter but couldn't figure why the solonoid wasn't actuating.  Time to resort to 3rd party assistance ... a quick posting on the WSCC forum for advice.

Whilst waiting for a response and in an attempt to remove my depression I set about fitting the pedal box cover on the scuttle  I'd bought some 3M Di-Noc carbon fibre lookalike film from eBay to cover it.  So once I'd drilled all the holes I set about covering the panel.  I have to say in all the video's I watched of people fitting this stuff to car bonnets, bits of dashboard and even mobile phones it looked a lot simpler than this.  All in all it took over an hour just to cover the panel.  I had been thinking about using this on the rear wheel arches to protect from stone chips but was having 2nd thoughts now.  Here's the finished article ... overall I'm pleased with the results but it didn't compensate for the engine not starting.

Still no response from the forum so I started checking all the electrics, switches, lights, etc.  All were working fine except the indicators and the main/dip switch was upside down.  A quick wiring adjustment and all were working properly.  Bouyed with this success I checked the forum for some responses to my plea for help.  A couple of guys had responded suggesting an issue with the solonoid.  This got me thinking ... was it wired correctly.  I remembered Robbo (http://westfieldfw.blogspot.com/) had mentioned about the starter wiring on his site ... checked it and there was a picture of the starter motor and it looked like he had the white/red solonoid wire on the lower terminal.  I had originally put it on the upper terminal as this was where the nut/washer was ... the lower terminal was bare.

I crawled under the car again and swapped the cable.  With fingers crossed I reverted to my start up prep again from step 4.  This time as I turned the key the starter whirred with a different sound ... and the engine started turning over!  I ran it for 20-30 seconds and all seemed fine with oil pressure coming up nicely.  Time for next step.

5.  Replace plugs

6.  Replace fuel pump fuse

7.  Turn the key again to ignition on

The fuel pump whirred for a couple of seconds and the fuel pump relay clicked.  A quick check for no obvious fuel leaks ... all good.

8.  Turn the key to start

The engine turned over again but very slowly this time (plugs were in so more compression) but there was no sign of it firing up.  Turned it over again for a little longer to allow a bit more time for the fuel to flow etc.  Still no sign of firing.  A third time and all I could get was a clunk from the starter ... yes the battery was now flat.

Thoroughly fed up I rolled it back in the garage and put the battery on charge.
Part 2 tomorrow! 

Dashboard Installation

Fri 15th Apr 2010 - Work time = 2hrs ... Build Time To Date = 173hrs

In preparation for the big weekend engine start up I set about installing the dash on Weds & Fri night.
I cable tied all the cables to the rail across the scuttle, taking care to leave enough wire to reach the individual switches and instruments.  Because I'd put the headlamp main/dip beam and indicator switch on the eft side of the steering wheel (same as my road car) the horn had to go on the right.  This meant having to extend the wires to reach the switch.
Here's the loom all neatly tied up.

And here's the finished look with the dash board all fixed in ... hope I've connected it up correctly ... needed to guess a few spade connections on the switches!

 

Exhaust, Dashboard and more loom labelling!

Sun 11th Apr 2010 - Work time = 6hrs ... Build Time To Date = 171hrs
With all the engine bits done time to install the exhaust.  It was a nice sunny day so I wheeled the car outside and tidied up the garage again (Sandra muttered something about why I was hovering the garage when the lounge needed cleaning?).
Fitting the exhaust was pretty straightforward ... all the pipes slotted together quite easy. After the IVA test I think I will remove the heat shield as I don't like the cheese grater look ...the silencer is on the passenger side so I won't burn my legs getting in and out!

Next to the dashboard ... I drilled the dashboard blank first and then set about fitting all the gauges and switches.  I realised that the heated screen switch was missing ... another call to parts department.

Armed with my Dymo Labeller I then set about labelling all the loom connections with some permanent labels ... figured it would be easier to id cables once they were installed and in case I needed to remove the dash in the future.  Here's the spaghetti ready for the dash to go in ... next weekends' job.

Coolant Hoses ... time for some pipe bending!

Sat 10th Apr 2010 - Work time = 7.5hrs... Build Time To Date = 165hrs
The last part of the engine installation was to fit the rest of the coolant hoses and the expansion tank.  I couldn't do this until the scuttle was fixed and the wiper motor installed because I wanted to locate the expansion tank on the near side rather than drivers side as per the manual.  The reason for this was to make the pipework a little neater and shorter.
The standard pipe from the expansion tank has an outlet for the heater.  I don't have a heater so the instruction was to route the small bypass hose from the thermostat back into the top of the heater inlet.  This would have meant a pipe looping up across the scuttle ... not too neat.  I decided to move the expansion tank to the near side and then feed the small hose from the thermostat housing into the end of a new solid pipe and tee into this pipe from the expansion tank.  The pipe then follows the normal route to the bottom hose/water pump pipe. 
To do all this I needed to make up a new peice of solid pipe using some 15mm copper pipe a couple of 90degree elbows, a tee piece and some olives on the ends to stop the hoses blowing off.  I'd borrowed some pipe benders from Andy so set about the bending and soldering.  Here's my version of the pipe alongside the standard one ... you can see the standard one on the left with the heater hose inlet. 

And here's the version after painting.  I was very pleased with the results ... Andy will be proud of the solder work!

Installation was pretty easy ... I needed to add some spacers under the P Clips to raise the pipe off the scuttle.  I'm very pleased with the final result ... looks a lot neater than the standard setup I think.

Windscreen Wipers and Washers

Fri 9th Apr 2010 - Work time = 1.5hrs ... Build Time To Date = 157.5hrs
Fitted the windscreen wiper motor and wiper mount boxes this evening.  All fairly straightforward though I was a bit nervous drilling the holes in the scuttle.
I also fitted the windscreen washer jet and tubing to the washer bottle pump.  I cable tied the tube onto the jet and pump ... the IVA inspector "blocks" the jets as part of test and I don't want the tube popping off.

Bodywork Fitting + Other Stuff

Fri 2nd - Mon 5th Apr 2010 - Work time = 22hrs ... Build Time To Date = 156hrs

Easter weekend ... Sandra and Amy in Cape Verde so lots of time spent in the garage! A long list of tasks completed this weekend:

1. Tidied up wiring to the rear lights, adding some cable tie mounts etc.  Whilst the rear body was off I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage ... the way the body is formed it looks like a big water trap!  I also added wiring for a high level brake light that I plan to install in the roll bar.

2.  With the rear body off and side panel off I bled the brakes again ... easier to access things without the bodywork.

3. Next more drilling of the bodywork ... this time the fuel filler.  Overall a fairly easy task but I took my time to make sure I got it right.

4. Attention reverted to the interior to fit the tunnel covers.  I decided to rivnut all these on so that it will be easier for future maintenance access.  I'll probably need to get the rear one off to adjust the hand brake at some point. The wire at the rear is one ofthe additional cables I ran when I installed the loom ... this one is intended to power the intercom and headsets.

 

5.  Bouyed with enthusiasm I set about fixing the bodywork.  First task to drill the holes in the scuttle to line up with the rivnuts in the chassis rails.  There are only 4 fixings for the scuttle ... I decided 2 more were called for, so added one extra one each side ... no chance the scuttle will fall off now!

I pretty much followed the manual for attaching the bodywork.  Attaching the rear arches was a bit tricky ... an extra pair of hands from Henry made things easier and he played a blinder acting as "trigger man" whilst I held the flexible drill attachment to drill the holes.  Ended up with 8 bolts attaching the rear arches ... more than the manual but it looks about right.  More rivets on the underside chassis rails and engine bay rails and then it was just a case of bolting down the scuttle.  Lots of silicone sealant around the scuttle ... there's a small chance it will keep some water out!

The car is starting to get bigger and there is less room to move around now.

6.  Next job to fit the strange shaped fillets in the rear arches and front bulkhead.  These are intended to keep mud etc from filling up the void between the bodywork and the side panels.  Prior to fitting the panels I filled the ends of the void with expanding foam ... I hate that stuff ... minor panic which I realised I had inadvertantly squirted some of it down the side of the car!  Thankfully it came off with no damage!!!

7. Whilst bleeding the brakes I noticed that the wiring around the throttle bodies was slightly fouling the throttle linkages.  I removed the trumpets and rerouted the wiring to the injectors and air/water temp sensors ... it was lucky I noticed this issue ... it would have caused a major problem later on.

8.  Next to fit the lamda sensor.  The sensor came pre wired with a 4 way waterproof AMP connector.  Unfortunately this would mean a huge hole in he bodywork to feed the connector through.  Anticipating this issue I had ordered a new AMP connector from eBay and it was a simple job to cut off the old connector feed the cable through a small hole in the body and fit the new connector.

Things progressing along nicely now though I'm still thinking I have another 40-50 hours work left.  In anticipation of continued good progress I downloaded the IVA forms to start reading up on what I need to fill out to book the IVA test !