29 DecemberStarted work on the firewall divider
28 DecemberMade coilovers, found out that phase 1 springs are actually two inches shorter than Phase 2 items so my springs for the rear are a touch two long so these will need to be returned, relocated fuel vent
22 December With only an hour to spare I tried to get the suspension tops off. After many different methods of gripping them in the vice I found that undoing the bolt in the right direction works best, Although I’m sure soaking them in wd40 overnight helped. Thinking I was on a role I attempted the rear callipers with an 8mm spanner to hand I successfully snapped the bleed nipple clean off that was quite enough For one day!
20 DecemberSecured clutch and accelerator cables
19 DecemberSo far today I have bought enough 16x16mm mild steel to make the firewall, along with the existing sheet steel I can make it as I wanted and always build an aluminium one at a later date to save a little weight
18 DecemberI installed the hydraulic handbrake it was quite straight forward but a little time consuming. I had to make a platform to raise the brake Cylinder then add a bracket to the handbrake itself once done It was time to flare the brake pipe ends and Connect it up I was going to start bleeding the brakes but the first nipple I came to was seized what a surprise so I called it a night !
17 DecemberI was going to have the day off today but instead I took the polycarbonate round to my father-in-laws to cut it to Shape for the divider and side windows. Next up was the hydraulic hand brake but I only got round to collecting the flaring tool so hopefully that'll be a job for tomorrow night
16 DecemberAfter all the excitements of starting the engine it was time to get aback to more mundane tasks, there’s nothing worse than having to go back over things that you have already done but they need doing it if it is going to be safe on the road. One d the things was the cross-member and mounting points for the Sub-frame. The sub-frame needed to be lowered for more clearance and gave me the opportunity to sink the Cross-member further down to provide that extra bit of strength. This took me pretty much all day, I may have done it a little a little quicker, if I hadn’t had a small fire!! A bit of welding splat ignited a cloth full of meths… oh well no damage done but a lesson learnt. My plan was to get the coilover kit onto the shocks but I couldn’t get the bolt off the top of the struts so I just placed the shocks on as they were and as expected the front sits considerably higher than I want. The only other thing was to fit the two cables both seem to work okay although the clutch was a little stiff. mind you it was before…
13 DecemberStill revelling in my triumph of starting the engine I decided to mount the rear bumper to begin making the car look a little more road going, just a lot of grinding, drilling really making a hole for the new exhaust position and opening the bottom vent up to allow better air flow through the oil cooler, all in all it doesn't look to rough and it fits quite snug. I also Connected boost gauge and changed rear bulb
12 DecemberOne other quite essential job is to build a firewall between me and the engine, ideally I would like it to be made out of aluminium but I have a feeling the first one at least will be made out of mild steel as it's more readily available and considerably cheaper (oh and I've never welded aluminium :) . I drew up a drawing of the firewall and tool a trip to Leengate metals to get a price on aluminium, if you're really interested it can be seen here
11 DecemberDetermined to get this show on the road I took in my clutch and Accelerator cables to speedo-graph which as a matter of luck was just round the corner from me, they were very friendly and said they could turn them around within the week, I asked for them both to be 3.6m tip to tip, which if I'm honest was possibility a touch long for the clutch cable but we'll see what happens. I also rang Amari plastics and gave measurements again these will be available by the end of the week.. the suppliers details can be found here on my costs page
10 DecemberFinally a huge milestone, I started the engine!! at approx 8.30pm on Saturday night much to the dismay of my neighbours the reno awoke.. the only stopping point was a sticking starter motor which after a few try's burst into life and never gave me any hassle after that.. now the next step is to get it out on the road, I'm hoping for a road test before Christmas but we'll see.. Anyway here's a quick video as you can hear from my wife it was quite an exciting time :)
08 DecemberWell the Wii has been released today not that there's any left to buy!! last night my friend came round and brough his brake flaring tool so we got most of the brake pipes done except the ones to the brake bias as unfortuanly it used what I can only imagine as imperial connections so I'll have to nip to transco to get the right connectors, I started work on mounting the oil cooler which I have found a suitable place at the rear. The only other thing I managed to do was brake the clutch pedal.. so that's going to need fix soon!
07 Decemberfinished clutch cable coupler.. bit of a mouthfull!! not sure I'm entirely happy with it until the engine is running I'll not know for sure if it's lifting the clutch another so may have to revisit this see first pic below. Next up was the fuel pressure regualtor that was quite straight forwardmodifying an original bracket see below. I finished off the front to rear water hoses these are all jubilee clipped up! I also put a jubiliee clip arround the handbrake cables as you can see in the picture for some reason they keep popping out I'm hoping once the brakes are bled I shouldn't need as much force to apply the handbrake ellivating this issue finally the brake bias adjuster is also in place seen in the same picture..As you can see by the final picture I think this evening should be spent tidying up!!
04 DecemberToday was a bracket making day, one for the brake bias adjuster, one for the clutch cable coupler, one for the front clutch cable to sit in, one for the fuel pressure regualtor and one for the fuel pump all in all quite successful although they do need finishing which hopefully will be fitted this week
03 DecemberPictures to follow.. I spent today in the scrap yard pulling out the gearchange mechanism from an MR2 the reason? well it's a cable type system versus my current rod setup, apart from looking sleeker ie no rods hanging down it will give a lot more solid feel to the gearchange (once fitted that is!!) but thats for another day, I also got the right sized hoses for to finish the plumbing
01 DecemberYeah Decembers here, hopefully this will be the month I at least fire her up!! Last night I finished the wiring (apart from the main battery cable)refitted the alternator and starter motor, replaced the TDC sensor and tidied up the wiring into the balck plastic conduits. I also finished the plumbing at the front of the car and made a start at the rear I just need one 32mm bendy hose and a bit of 32mm pipe to finish, lets see what the weekend brings. Here's a few progress pictures, the last picture is underneath looking at the connections for the main water hoses
