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Go Back   Madabout Kitcars Forum > Mad Build Area > Vintage and Classic Roadster Kit Car Builds

Vintage and Classic Roadster Kit Car Builds For Vintage and Classic era kit cars. Post your build reports, problems and progress here

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  #341  
Old 19th October 2018, 16:32
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Default Heating up a bit.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amir Manzoori View Post
I wouldn't call it kit car Peter, but a Bespoke, a one off and in your particular case an art work. Keep up the good work, you are doing brilliantly.
You can call it anything you like but it doesn't change my everlasting list of things to do!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week I managed a couple of days on the car.

The first day was raining so I had to find something to do inside the garage so I thought I'd have a go at refitting the heater to the body tub. It turned out that this was a good move as it was a lot easier working standing in front of the tub (rather than leaning over from the side). The body tub is still on the trailer so at a good working height as well.
Of course, this should have been a case of re-bolting things back in the original mounting holes but, as always I had to complicate things a bit more. Because of the length of the BMW straight six space between the back of the engine and the bulkhead is at a premium so I had to mount the heater box as far back as possible. I had filled the original mounting holes before the tub was painted so had to drill new mounting holes. It was very nerve wracking working on the newly painted tub but thankfully no major disasters.

Heater by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Not yet finally fitted with nylocks as I had run out of sealing foam strip and I also need to figure which of the multiple outlets I am going to use. You need to be a bit of an octopus to reach both sides of the bolts so I put nutserts in the front fixing points which are almost impossible to reach.

The terminals on the original heater fan module had corroded and rusted badly.

Heater Fan by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Luckily I had already found a new resistor pack on ebay so it was a simple job the fit the new one.

Heater Fan by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And here it is fitted to the car....

Heater fan by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

It took me sometime to open up the hole for the heater hose grommet.

The second day's weather was much better so I worked outside on the rolling chassis. I decide to tackle something that has been bugging me for sometime....

Thanks to a Royale owners magazine from June 2000, I have discovered that my original car's builder used the wrong rear springs. Here on the left are standard Sierra rear springs and on the right is the spring originally fitted.

Rear Springs by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The old springs may have come from the original donor Sierra but who knows now where they came from?

The standard Sierra rear spring is 306mm overall length and 14mm wire whereas the springs fitted were 283mm and 15mm wire tapering to 10mm.

Rear Springs by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I followed the Haynes Sierra manual's procedure to change the springs. A bit of a PITA job but much easier to do without the bodytub fitted.

Rear spring re-fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Not exactly real progress but I am really glad I have done this now as it was a lot easier than crawling around underneath a finished car.



...peter
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  #342  
Old 24th October 2018, 20:35
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Default ARB swapping....

Today was a car building day and the weather was nice so I was off down to my yard to tackle the next job on my 'to do' list.

Initially, when the Sabre was first launched, John Barlow who designed the Sabre, advised builders to thin down the ARB to make it less stiff by grinding a flat section, But these cars failed their MOT as it was deemed to be modified suspension which is not allowed. The next best thing is to fit a 24mm bar. Longer term I may fit compression struts but not before the IVA test.

The original 28mm bar above and the new 24mm bar below.

ARB's by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

This required new bushes which I got from Superflex.

ARB Bushes by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Following the Haynes Sierra manual, I swapped out the ARB.

24mm ARB fitted by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So another job ticked off

.......Peter
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  #343  
Old 1st November 2018, 19:24
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Default Edging closer.....

I'm now edging closer to the moment I can refit the main body tub to the chassis for what should be the final time.
This week I've completed a few more tasks on my 'to do' list.

First up, I've added one additional exhaust bracket where the centre pipe passes under the chassis cross-member just the stop the pipe dropping or rattling against the chassis.(since i took this photo I've painted the bracket)

Exhaust bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr


Next up, I've re-fitted the propshaft, hopefully for the final time. It is possible to fit and remove the propshaft with the body tub in place but it was certainly easier like this. I also fitted the cables to the HP fuel pump for the same reason.

Propshaft by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And before bolting in the heater box, I've blocked off the fresh air vents that are not used on the Sabre. I made 'plugs' out of 9mm plywood and then fixed them in place with RTV silicone sealer.

Heater by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And, I made these 'plugs' from 6mm moisture resistant MDF.

Heater by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Now there is just a few small jobs to do before the body re-fit......

....peter
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  #344  
Old 1st November 2018, 23:24
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Looking good

Is there any kind of metal loop in the body work to protect in the event of a prop shaft failure?
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  #345  
Old 5th November 2018, 08:39
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Default Significant milestone!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick View Post
Is there any kind of metal loop in the body work to protect in the event of a prop shaft failure?
Hi Patrick,
no there isn't but I think the risk of failure is pretty low so I'm not concerned.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This weekend I reached a significant milestone in my re-build when we re-united the main body tub with the rolling chassis. It doesn't look much but due to the quality and thickness of the GRP this is a four man lift.

Body tub fitted by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I can now crack on with the build inside my garage
The next milestone is to get the engine running again but there is lots to do before I get there....

Until then the car is tucked up in the dry....

Bedtime by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr


....peter

Last edited by peterux; 5th November 2018 at 08:41.. Reason: grammer
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  #346  
Old 12th November 2018, 19:56
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Default Progress steps.....

Now that the body tub is in place I can now focus on refitting all the engine ancillaries. Many of the parts have been in storage for about 4 years since I dismantled the engine donor car (Is it really four years ago, gulp!!).
Some had been cleaned and repainted already but others needed a coat of paint before installation which takes up a lot of time especially as the weather has not been ideal.

To start, I installed the oil filter housing followed by the alternator, power steering pump and the belt tensioner. A new wheel was fitted to the tensioner as these are quite cheap and good practice. And of course a new belt. The alternator was replaced by a nearly new refurbished one as the original was water damaged. I also re-installed the cam and crankshaft sensors and a new vanos oil pipe. New gaskets and seals were used throughout.

Engine ancillaries by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Whilst digging out the parts I also found a miscellany of cable trays and brackets that needed de-rusting and painting.

Misc. Engine parts by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

My next job will be to try and work out how to install the engine loom whilst try to keep the engine bay looking neat and tidy....

BMW engine loom by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

It's a great feeling to start emptying the boxes of parts although finding all the bits can be challenging at times!


....peter
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  #347  
Old 18th November 2018, 07:15
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Peter – Congratulations on reaching the stage where the body shell is back on.

Good luck with getting the engine fired up again, Paul.
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  #348  
Old 19th November 2018, 19:21
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Always good when major bits go back together, nice
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  #349  
Old 29th November 2018, 21:15
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Default Chipping away....

I've not had a huge amount of free time to work on the Sabre over the last couple of weeks but I have been preparing and painting some parts and starting to re-assemble them into the car.

There is a very substantial steel crossmember that bolts either side to the 'A' posts that are bonded/bolted to the body tub.It also supports the scuttle with a single bolt in the centre. The crossmember also supports the top of the Sierra pedal box.
I've repainted it and refitted to the car. I masked or cleaned off the paint where the parts are bolted together as I want a good earth connection between the parts.

'A' post crossmember by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I was then able to refit the pedal box that I made 2 years ago!

Pedal box by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

This is a back aching job that I don't want to do too often

Before installing the pedal box, I pushed a length of Cohline 2337 hose over the inlet spigot of the clutch master cylinder as it is almost impossible to reach after the pedal box is in place. I chose Cohline 2337 as this hose is specifically made for DOT 3 or 4 hydraulic fluid.

Clutch Reservoir hose by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The pedal box is fixed to the brake master cylinder mounting flange.
The clutch reservoir hose can be seen exiting to the right.

Brake master cylinder mounting flange by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I've also been starting to refit the ancillaries to the engine.
The knock sensors, water rail and cable tray have been re-fitted.The water rail was cleaned and descaled before being painted and new 'O'rings fitted.

Engine ancillaries by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Now the cable tray is installed I can start working out how to install the engine loom.

I've made a start on working out the routing of the engine loom. I've split out the diagnostic socket lead and the coil pack driver cables that were sheathed together in the BMW engine bay. I've also removed this large bulky cable cover box that covered the 'T' junction of the loom.

Engine wiring loom by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm sorry that this picture is not very enlightening but was too dark and wet to take it outside for a proper photo.

More next week, (or maybe later )

....peter

Last edited by peterux; 29th November 2018 at 21:18.. Reason: grammer
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  #350  
Old 2nd December 2018, 01:05
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Very impressive build.
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  #351  
Old 11th December 2018, 20:47
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Default A small diversion.....

Thanks JMC for your compliment.

And a belated thanks to Paul L and Patrick who I forgot to thank on my last update.

__________________________________________________ _________

I had expected to be writing an update on the installation of the engine loom but after a quick trial fit it soon became clear that I needed to fit the gearbox cover first.
So, I need finish off all the bits under the tunnel.
The e36 clutch is notoriously difficult to bleed so I've bench primed the slave cylinder with DOT 4 fluid before fitting in a hope that will make it easier.
I then moved on to refurbishing the gear shifter. Whilst I had trial fitted it before, I had not refurbished any of the worn bushes. The parts are very reasonable prices so I ordered these up....

Gear selector refurb parts by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

When I ordered the parts I forgot that I chose a gear selector from a 318 car as this was the right length for the Sabre. The black bush is for a 328 which is oval whereas the bush on the 318 selector rod the bush is round. The correct part has now been ordered.

The gear stick sits in a plastic saddle. According to the workshop manual, to remove it you need a special tool to rotate it by a quarter turn anti-clockwise but I found a few taps on a small drift on one of the indents had it rotated and removed in a jiffy.

Gear stick saddle by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Cleaned up and the new saddle fitted. To refit you just push it in until two tabs click into place. No special tools needed nor the need to rotate it.

Gear stick saddle by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The rod joint (as BMW call it) is held on by a dowel pin through the gearbox shaft and the pin is held in place with a spring lock ring. Inside the joint there is a plastic foam pad that acts like a buffer. I'm glad I changed this part as my foam pad had almost disintegrated into a mush of oil and plastic particles. Interestingly, the old joint was made of heavy steel and the new one is a light anodised alloy.

Gearshift rod joint by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The final bush at the end of the shifter will be fitted once it arrives.

I'm now working on designing and making a bracket to hold the speedo sensor which will pick up the output shaft of the gearbox, so more on that in the next update.....

....peter
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  #352  
Old 12th December 2018, 07:08
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Great stuff, like the first pint of a session. ��
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  #353  
Old 12th December 2018, 20:26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barber View Post
Great stuff, like the first pint of a session. ��
Cheers, Barber

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The correct round bush arrived today so I popped down the garage this evening and completed this task.
I used the familiar 'socket and bolt' technique that works so well, to first remove the old bush and then to install the new one.

Gear shifter bush by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

New bush installed....


Gear shifter bush by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Subject to Christmas preparations, I hope to have another update next week....


...peter
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  #354  
Old 20th December 2018, 21:12
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Default Sensing the speed....

My objective at the moment is to get everything around the gearbox finished so that I can refit the gearbox tunnel before installing the engine loom.

So I have turned my attention to fitting the speedo sensor. I decided to use the lobes on the gearbox out flange that has been successfully used on other (Marlin) builds.

I had to make a bracket to hold the speedo sensor that is rigid to hold the sensor 2mm from the gearbox flange lobes.I started with these two pieces of steel strip that I then welded together.

Speedo sensor bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

After much fettling and trialing it looks like his. The cable from the sensor is very thin and fragile so to I sheathed it in PVC sleeving and covered the end in a few layers of heatshrink.

Speedo sensor bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The speedo sensor bracket is fixed to one of the gearbox mounting points. It is supplied with spring washers but I also used a dab of threadlock to hopefully stop it loosening by vibration.

Speedo sensor by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I've painted the gear selector support brackets that I made about 2 years ago and have nearly finished fitting them.

Gearshifter by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I've also finally fitted the clutch reservoir after painting the mounting bracket. The output ferrule was too large for the hose and there wasn't space for a reducer so I had to the reduce the diameter of the ferrule with a hand file. Very tedious.

Clutch Reservoir by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I started to bleed the clutch hydraulics but I found a leak in one of the pipe joints so I had to stop, drain the reservoir and repair the joint. Bit of a 'bleeding mess' so that will have to wait for another day.

So a few small, but very time consuming, jobs completed..........


......peter
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  #355  
Old 13th January 2019, 20:56
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Default New year, same car.....

With the Christmas celebrations over and the decorations packed away for another year, it was time to get back down my garage.

Picking up where I left off before the holiday season, I refilled the clutch reservoir and first confirmed I had successfully fixed the leak I had.
It's recommended in the BMW Bentley workshop manual to remove the clutch slave cylinder and mount it vertically whilst bleeding the air from the system.

Clutch bleeding by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Following re-installation of the slave cylinder I confirmed I had a fully operational clutch and to check I had no further leaks I left it for a couple of hours with a piece of wood jammed against the depressed clutch pedal. All good

To prevent damage to the clutch master cylinder I made up this pedal stop from a 10mm bolt and a scrap of steel tube.

Clutch Pedal stop by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Back in October last year I made up an additional exhaust hanger but every time I saw it in the garage the less happy I got with it and the last thing I wanted was to turn up at the IVA test centre with a detached mounting.

Exhaust bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So, I had to do something better and I then spent a good few hours remaking a new exhaust bracket.......
I started by making a two part strap from 2mm thick steel strip which was quite a challenge with only a vice and a lump hammer :-). I used an off-cut of exhaust pipe as a former.
This was then fixed to a piece of angle bolted to the chassis with some substantial exhaust bobbins.

Exhaust mount by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
Exhaust mount by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

In all, with painting and fitting, it took me a couple of days but I am glad it is now done.

Moving on, before fitting the gearbox tunnel I thought I would check the clearance of the gear knob to the dashboard. I retrieved the dashboard surround from my loft and temporarily fitted in position.
Shown here in first gear which is clearly not ideal!

Gear shifter by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Luckily, I have collected a variety of gear shifters so I tried a shorter lower rod.
Gear stick in 1st gear position. Now plenty of clearance for my knuckles.

Gear shifter - shorter lower rod by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Gear stick in neutral position.

Gear shifter - shorter lower rod by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Gear stick in 4th gear.

Gear shifter - shorter lower rod by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Perhaps now a little too short but I think this will be OK, but feedback welcome.

Next week I hope to get the gearbox tunnel fitted and start to install the engine loom. I've also been cleaning up the original windscreen wiper gear in preparation for re-fitting, so more on that next time.

peter.......
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  #356  
Old 18th January 2019, 21:51
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looks awesome, I was using a 3.0 Z3 stick in the sportster but I switched to the 2.5 Z3 one. A bit higher but it's made gear changes a lot better.
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  #357  
Old 19th January 2019, 19:40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick View Post
looks awesome, I was using a 3.0 Z3 stick in the sportster but I switched to the 2.5 Z3 one. A bit higher but it's made gear changes a lot better.
Thanks Patrick, that's useful feedback as I was only looking at the picture of BMW gear sticks on your website the other day.
Mike G. suggested I used a shorter stroke gear stick to reduce the travel. For the pictures above I was using the gear stick from a 318i (just because it was already fitted to the upper rod). I've now swapped it with my 328i donor car's gear stick which has a shorter throw.
Feels about right now.
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  #358  
Old 21st January 2019, 20:29
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Default Tunnel finally fitted

This week I've finally re-fitted the gearbox tunnel

As mentioned above, before the final fitting, I swapped to a different gearstick which has a shorter throw. I also fitted the cabling for the reverse light switch and drilled some access holes to be able to do maintenance on the reverse light switch and the speedo sensor.

Reverse Light switch by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

To seal the tunnel I used this non-setting mastic.....

Tunnel sealant by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And finally, the least exciting photos.....

Gearbox tunnel by Sabrebuilder, on FlickrGearbox tunnel by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The gap between the gearbox and the propshaft tunnels will be filled with a removable fillet.

Not the most exciting update but an important milestone as it means I can now move on to installing the electrical looms


....peter
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  #359  
Old 29th January 2019, 20:12
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Default The electrical phase begins......

This week has seen the beginning of the next phase of my build with the start of the electrical installation. An interim milestone will be the re-starting of the engine followed by the completion of all the lights and finally the electric windows! Wiring all the lights will require the fitting of the front wings, etc. and re-starting the engine will also be dependent on completion of the cooling system, fuel preparation, dashboard instruments and the PAS.

So the first step was to 'lay in' the BMW engine loom. The BMW loom is a quite large unwieldy lump of cables and, unlike in the donor car, I'm keeping most it behind the dashboard to keep the engine bay clean and uncluttered.
I cut a 50mm hole in the bulkhead and passed through the injector and sensor, etc cables.

Engine loom by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Keen viewers will spot in the center left there is a ETB oil pressure sensor/switch and top left is the additional temperature sensor next to the BMW sensor. And I have connected as many cables that I can at this stage.

Viewed from the passenger footwell you can see most of the rest of the loom.

Engine loom by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And the location of the ECU was dictated by the length of the loom but I'm pleased the way it tucked away here at the side of the passenger footwell.

Engine loom by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr


Still loads to do, but I'm excited to be getting nearer to running the engine again.


....peter
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  #360  
Old 31st January 2019, 17:05
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Peter - Your build always looks very professional.

Hope all goes well with the engine start.

Good luck, Paul.
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