Mister Towed's Tai Chi build

[garyh]

Yeah, come on T, before someone else does...

[Mister Towed]

Oh well, maybe I'll get to post the two thousandth...

It was back to work for me today I'm afraid so no progress. I did reinforce the front edges of the scoops yesterday as they felt a bit flimsy. I'll post some pics once I've refitted the bonnet in a few days.

[garyh]

Sorry T, maybe number 2000 will be about your trip to Le Mans or driving through some famous twisting roads... Looking forward to update.

[Mister Towed]

Post No. 2000 will be sanding and filling. Sanding and filling...

[Paul L]

[Mr Miyagi] Sand on. Sand Off. [/Mr Miyagi]

[Mister Towed]

Haven't got much done these last couple of weeks I'm afraid, but I've spent a few hours here and there sorting some of those annoying little jobs, but other stuff has kind of got in the way.

Things I have got done though, about a week ago I dismantled the steering column for a couple of reasons: firstly to move the wheel a couple of inches closer to the driver for a more comfortable drivingh position; and secondly so I could remove the indicator switch and clean up the contacts - the indicators were running at a frustratingly slow 55 flashes per minute, too slow for the mot, but wiping forty odd years of crud off the contacts has sorted that and they now run at 65 flashes per minute.

Next job last week was to adjust the mixture on the carbs as it'd been far too rich. For once the Haynes manual was actually pretty easy to follow and it only took ten minutes to get the mixture near enough for the time being. It now needs the choke to start from cold which it didn't before.

Last job, which I tackled today, was to try to establish why I was getting no heat from the heater. I had my suspicions that the water wasn't flowing through the system properly so I disconnected the heater hoses, put them in a bucket and ran the engine to see how much flow there was. Answer, none.

I decided to start removing the hoses around the system to see if there was an obvious blockage and quickly found the problem -



It turned out that the whole of the heater circuit was completely blocked with a solid sausage of rusty sludge. Using the special tool you can see poking out of the carb pre-heater tube (an old wire coathanger), a slim screwdriver and a garden hose jubilee clipped onto the hose connectors at various points, I eventually restored the flow through the heater pipes.

I've connected the ends to each other with a length of copper tube for the moment, I want to thoroughly flush the system with Radflush and refill it with fresh coolant before I reconnect the matrix. Hopefully I'll have a working heater tomorrow. Given the weather we're having at the moment I'm rather glad I decided to include that particular option.

An unforseen problem surfaced as I was packing up this afternoon though - the horn suddenly started sounding itself for no apparent reason. I whipped the horn push out, then took the steering wheel off but it kept going so I had to disconnect the battery.

After lots of head scratching and a bit of prodding with multimeter probes I think I've found the problem - when I put the steering column back together it looks like I've pinched the live feed to the horn push under the edge of the metal cable tidy that guides the wires coming from the steering column switches. I think it finally cut through the insulation and earthed the horn circuit while I was connecting up the heater motor switch nearby. Oh well, just another job to tackle tomorrow I suppose.

Aiming to spend most of tomorrow working on my car so here's hoping I can get a bit more done.

[Paul L]

Glad to see you found the heater problem.

I found a small amount of "sludge" in my heater pipes, but nothing like yours!



Cheers, Paul.

[Mister Towed]

Early Sammio prototype going on ebay...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-di...item337e20f126

Bargain for someone?

[Mister Towed]

First bit of work on my car in weeks today - the weather's been rubbish and on the few dry days we've had recently I've been stuck at work, leaving me with a bit of an enthusiasm bypass

A job I'd already started was to strengthen my scoops as the main one was too flexible and would have very quickly cracked in normal use. They're now far more heavy duty and should be up to the job -





I also checked through the wiring for the horn and confirmed that it was a simple short circuit where I'd clamped the cables running under the steering column down and pinched the horn switch cable. Loads of insulating tape and a bit more care clamping it all back in place has left me with a functioning horn again

Another little victory today is that the heater is also fully functional, blowing out a satisfying amount of hot air once the engine's up to temperature. I still need to install the ducting and make some under dash panels to hold the directional vents so the hot air can be put to good effect where it's needed, but at least It'll make the car useable in all seasons. Well, so long as it's dry.

In order to run the engine up to temperature I had to turn the car round so I didn't get carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust fumes filling up the garage. This called for a little drive out of the garage and a three point turn, all conducted on our own land, of course, as although It's insured it isn't MOT'd yet. I didn't get out of first gear, but it sounds fantastic and takes off like a startled cat when you lift the clutch.

This has now spurred me on to ignore the weather and get on with finishing the job. Current plan is to start the rubbing down tomorrow, get some primer shot on the car early in the New Year, fit all the lights and get it MOT'd. Then drive it about for a couple of weeks before spraying on the final colour to allow any settling in cracks to be dealt with without having to completely respray the car.

I can't wait...

[seanick]

Well done Towed. Sod the law, take it for a spin round the block! Go on, go on, just make sure the brakes work;-)

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by seanick

Well done Towed. Sod the law, take it for a spin round the block! Go on, go on, just make sure the brakes work;-)

Sod the law? I am the law...

Anyway, the brakes work plenty good - with new cross drilled and grooved front discs, new pads, new calipers, new hoses, new rear shoes and a 1.9:1 boost servo they bloody well ought to!

The first road test will be to a pre-booked MOT testing station, hopefully next month but I've now given up on the idea of deadlines, having missed loads already.

At least it's wearing snow tyres so I won't have any excuses if we get blizzard conditions throughout January.

[seanick]

Sod the law? am the law...

so it will be one of your mates that will stop you for driving with no numberplates

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by seanick

Sod the law? am the law...

so it will be one of your mates that will stop you for driving with no numberplates

I'm not really in to 'don't do as I do, do as I say' policing, so that won't happen.

Can you imagine the conversation I'd have to have with my Supernintendo if I got stopped while driving a car I know shouldn't be on the road?

[seanick]

Of course, I would not expect anything less. ! Only joking

[WorldClassAccident]

Just have a few beers first and if you get stopped just explain you we're so pissed you forgot about the MOT, I am sure that will be fine.

:-)

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident

Just have a few beers first and if you get stopped just explain you we're so pissed you forgot about the MOT, I am sure that will be fine.

:-)

I'd avoid having a few drinks and then driving in Norfolk as the beer's about ten times stronger than the national average. You see, virtually every drink-driver I stop says that they've had 'two beers a couple of hours ago' before looking amazed when they get arrested for blowing more than double the limit. That would suggest Norfolk beer is about 40% alcohol by volume, or they could be lying...

Anyway, have a safe Christmas everyone.

[Paul L]

Mister Towed - I like your latest plan of getting the MOT in primer.
I'm sure all the prep. work required for paint will be easier to deal with if you are road legal.

Did you just add more fibreglass to the bonnet scoops?

I see you have your front indicator light holes cut out.
I'm planning to mock up possible locations for mine after Christmas.
So can I ask what style / size you have gone for?

You are not the only one who can't wait to see this car on the road.

Good Luck, Paul.

PS
I thought this guy was THE LAW!

[Mister Towed]

Weather was a bit kinder today so I spent an hour or two just tinkering with a couple of little jobs, like refitting the bonnet and trying to find the best places for the mirrors.

I'm going to have to cut access panels in the sides to get at the nuts on the ends of the 'door' mirrors. I had hoped to be able to reach them from the speaker holes but the frame is in just the wrong place inside No problem though as the access panels will be hidden behind the trim panels once the car's finished.

I am pleased with the rear view mirror though -







Well, that's it for a few days as there seems to be some sort of religous festival brewing and I've been banned from the garage untl it's over.

Merry Christmas one and all!

[davecymru]

Fitting the wing mirrors I would describe as " a turd of a job"! I managed to fit mine with the door/wall cards in place but I lost plenty of skin from my knuckles

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Mister Towed - Did you just add more fibreglass to the bonnet scoops?

I see you have your front indicator light holes cut out.
I'm planning to mock up possible locations for mine after Christmas.
So can I ask what style / size you have gone for?
:

I've reinforced the bonnet scoops with sections of hardboard fibreglassed in place. It's now strong enough to pick the bonnet up by the front edge of the main scoop without it breaking.

My front indicators are small, oval side repeaters to match the oval theme of the rear lights and rear view mirror. Here we are, I thought I'd already trial fitted them -



I've abandoned the idea of a deadline now, but we've been invited up to Lossiemouth in the spring and I'd love to make the journey by Spyder. I was based up there for four years in the eighties and the highland roads are just built for this kind of car. I have a feeling wifey will fly though.