Saturday 11 September 2010

Half Hood Fitted

Sat 11th Sept 2010 - Work time = 3hr ... Build Time to IVA = 252hrs ... Post IVA Work Time = 23hrs
Early on in the build I had identified that I didn't want a full hood.  I had seen reference to the "half hood" from SoftBitsForSevens (http://www.softbitsforsevens.co.uk/) on the WSCC Forum which seemed just what I wanted. 
A telephone call to the company revealed that I needed to order a plastic channel from WF that fits across the top of the windscreen and send this onto them.  They estimated delivery would take about 3 weeks.  In the end it took a lot longer and I had to chase the them a couple of times so I was very relieved when the hood arrived yesterday.  It all came with a cylinder shaped bag that attaches to the roll bar and sits behind the rear seats ... all very neat.
Nick from softbits had previously talked me through the fitting instructions (the hood didn't come with any!).
First job to fit poppers to the front to clip on the poppers on the windscreen.  All the appropriate tools were supplied to fit these so this was fairly straightforward.
The tie down straps at the back were not so straightforward.  They mount on the lower bolt on the roll bar stays.  The instructions given were to enlarge the holes where stays go through he bodywork and feed the straps through there adjacent to the rear stay bar.  I looked at this but it meant removing the rear stays and to do that I would have to undo the whole roll bar.
After the customary head scratching moment I opted to route the straps between the boot liner and the bodywork.  I cut out a little of the fibre glass to allow some space for the strap.  The really difficult bit was putting the strap through bolts on the stay mounts.  Easy to get the bolts out ... not so easy to get them back in.  I ended up having to loosen the main roll bar bolts to allow some movement the get the stay bolts back in.

The struggle was worth it though. I'm pleased with the results as when the hood is not on the straps can be left tucked away in the boot rather than sitting on the top of the bodywork.




The weather today wasn't too good with some light rain.  So it was a good opportunity to test the car with the hood on.  First problem was getting in the car.  It's bad enough without the restriction imposed by a roof.  After a bit of limbering up and five minutes of yoga I managed to fold myself enough to squeeze in.  Getting out was just as difficult ... certainly not a getaway car!


Driving with the hood on was very good though.  Visibility is not restricted at all and even without a heater it was nice and cosy.  Very pleased with the results and quality of the hood ... well recommended!

Sandra has been calling the car Tigger for the past few months.  She bought me a Tigger decal to put on the car.  Here it is in all it's glory!

Oil Change and New Steering Wheel

Sun 5th Sept 2010 - Work time = 2hr ... Build Time to IVA = 252hrs ... Post IVA Work Time = 26hrs
With 620 miles on the clock it was time for an oil change.

A slight issue with the oil filter ... the one I got from Halfords was the wrong one ... the thread size was a little loose.  Managed to get the correct one from a local motor factors.

After a bit of research I opted for Castrol GTX Magnatec Fully Synthetic 5w/30 I wasn't sure what the oil capacity was so I ended up getting a 4 litre can plus another 1 litre.  Turns out I needed about 4.5 litres to fill it half way between the fill marks on the dipstick.

I ordered a new steering wheel earlier in the week.  Slightly smaller than the old one and "D" shaped.  This allows a little more room for getting in an out.  It's also suede covered so nice and soft!  I needed a new steering boss as well.  Ebay to the rescue with a Mountney boss that had the requisite 70mm PCD hole configuration.  Here's the new wheel fitted.





Saturday 4 September 2010

Brantz and Intercom Fixed

Sat 4th Sept 2010 - Work time = 6hr ... Build Time to IVA = 252hrs ... Post IVA Work Time = 24hrs
After a phone call earlier in the week I isolated the issue with the Brantz not incrementing at slow speeds.  The speedo sensor was not providing enough voltage change as it passed the driveshaft bolts.  Solution was to fit a separate Brantz supplied sensor.
I fabricated another bracket to mount the sensor near the existing speedo sensor. 


It was then a case of routing and securing the cable along the transmission tunnel.  This was an especially fiddly job lying under the car with very little room to tighten the cable ties.  It's certainly much easier to fit all this stuff during the build up phase rather than when everything is finished!

A quick test and all seemed OK.  A later test drive confirmed this ... just need to calibrate properly now.

Last weekend I tested the intercom with Henry ... or more precisely Henry played his iPod through it!  All was working OK except there was electrical interference that increased as the revs increased.

A few quick questions to Mr Google and I narrowed down a solution from eBay ... a little cylinder thingy that claimed it suppressed radio interference.  I ordered one (another £8.99 on the build cost!).

It arrived earlier in the week.  I temporarily connected it and started the engine ... no interference ... it worked.  The cylinder was a little larger than I had anticipated so I had to mount it under the rear-most transmission top panel.  A couple of jubilee clips and some duck tape to protect it ... job done!

With just over 600 miles on the clock now ... next job an oil change!

Time for a Wash ... and a Photo Session

Sun 29 Aug 2010 - Work time = 2hr ... Build Time to IVA = 252hrs ... Post IVA Work Time = 18hrs
After all the driving in the rain it started looking a little dirty.  After washing the other two cars in the household I started on the Westfield.  It's only a small car but it's a bit fiddly to wash.  It's a challenge not to drench the cockpit ... more practice needed!
With the car nice and clean I went for a quick drive and found a good location for some proper photo's of the finished car.