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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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  #421  
Old 15th November 2019, 20:35
molleur molleur is offline
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Stunning!
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  #422  
Old 17th November 2019, 08:13
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Peter - A belated congratulations on the engine start.

I know you had a few related problems, but you are definitely on the right road now.

I'm sure seeing nice shiny chrome parts helps the motivation to finish too.

Good luck, Paul.
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  #423  
Old 24th November 2019, 20:02
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peterux peterux is offline
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Thanks again to Jack and Paul for your kind comments.

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

This week I have been making permanent the bypasses to the external HP fuel pump and pre-filter which meant adding hoses and a few 'p'clips. I've kept the original mounting holes should I ever decided to revert to my original design.

I've also been cleaning and painting my 'spare' used power steering rack which I hope will not leak like my so called 'reconditioned' one. The rubber mounting bushes are shot so I have had to order some rather expensive Superflex poly bushes since the original Ford bushes are like the proverbial hens teeth.
My 'rack is made up of a Mk3 Granada power rack fitted with Sierra manual rack tie rods which are shorter than the Grandad ones. This is to get the track width correct for my Sabre which has Sierra donor suspension components. So I have also been swapping tie rods from one rack to the other.

Whilst testing my engine a couple of weeks ago, I had noticed that the fuel tank was pressurized and the breather vent seemed to be permanently closed. The Ford vent closes off if the car is upside down to prevent fuel spillage. I have now discovered that the valve closes when tipped over by more than about 15 degrees. I had originally installed it attached to the filler neck, as designed by Ford, but on the Sabre the filler neck is rotated by about 120 degrees. This meant the vent was mounted at an angle which meant it was permanently closed.
I have now re-mounted it so that it is vertical.

Fuel vent valve by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Fuel tank breather vent valve re-positioned to be vertical.

Fuel vent valve by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

It may not look it in the photo but it was set with a spirit level to confirm it is now vertical and venting the tank correctly.

Next week I hope to get the 'rack back on......

.........peter
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  #424  
Old 1st December 2019, 21:14
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Default Misc updates

So this week I finished refurbishing my other S/H steering rack and I have re-fitted it and reconnected the hydraulics. So far so good and no leaks but time will tell if it's OK.

I've also fixed the intermittent wipe so now I have 'Not so fast' , 'Slow' and 'Intermittent wipe' that is adjustable between 3 and 20 seconds. The old Lucas wipers were not the fastest in this world! Rain must have been lighter back in the day.

I then installed my horns and eventually traced a silly wiring fault which was two of the relay terminals swapped over.
I mounted the horns on a couple of the radiator mounting bolts.

So just one picture this week.....

Horns by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

....peter
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  #425  
Old 12th December 2019, 19:48
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Default Body Building....

No, I haven't been to the gym but I have started to assemble the Sabre's body panels.

But first, I had some housekeeping jobs to do. One was to make the engine air intake hose fixing permanent.
It was temporarily held in position with a couple of tie wraps so I bought a suitably sized flange which was bolted to the radiator support frame.

Air Intake flange by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I also had to fix the radiator frame with nylocs as it had previously been fixed with plan nuts.

I could then move on to fixing the inner wings and the radiator cowl.

Inner wings by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Even though they have been fitted before by the original builder they still needed a fair bit of fettling to clear the wiring loom and the radiator frame brackets that I have added to move the frame forward to accommodate the BMW engine. They are only loosely fitted in this photo as they need to be removed to paint the inside faces and they will only be aligned and tightened once the bonnet is in place.

Inner Wings by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I also had to re-position the air intake filter as it was fouling on the inner wing but I managed to move it back a couple of cm's.

(sorry about the quality of these pics as they were taken on my 'phone)

A bit more fettling required and I need to cut a hole to be able to get to the brake servo bleed screws. So until next time.........

.....peter
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  #426  
Old 18th December 2019, 20:22
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This week I've been mounting the windscreen washer bottle and preparing the seats.

But first, I cut the access hole in the nearside inner wing and then painted them.
I've painted the inner wings with a coat of primer followed by two coats of matt black enamel. I brush painted them as it was too cold to use spray paint outside and I was worried about getting overspray on the outside faces.

Inner Wings by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then had to recover the mx5 seats from my garage loft.

Mx5 seats in the loft by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The seats were in the loft above the car and I found that my medium sized step ladders just fitted inside the Sabre's body tub enabling me to reach them.

Mx5 seats by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

They needed a good hoovering once down!

The mx5 seat runner mounting points need to be modified to suit the flat floor of the Sabre. I've bent the ends parallel with the floor and removed the spikes. I will be trial fitting them next.

Mx5 seat runners by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Moving on to the windscreen washer bottle.
The washer bottle bracket became rather complex. It's mounted on the inner wing below the line of the outer wing so that the fixings don't show. I've fixed it with two m6 bolts and PU adhesive.

Washer Bottle Bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And here it is fitted....just need to run the cable and hose to it.

Washer Bottle by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So next on to fitting the seats....oh, and Christmas, of course.

...peter
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  #427  
Old 18th December 2019, 22:40
Phaeton Phaeton is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peterux View Post
oh, and Christmas, of course.
Forget that, I try to do, it's always a disappointment, but great work as usual.
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  #428  
Old 20th December 2019, 13:22
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Looking good

Is that the alternator immediately below the new screen washer bottle? My aim when filling up the washer fluid in my car isnt the best, so do you think it's worth putting in some sort of shield to protect it? I believe alternators are one of the few things in an engine bay which dont take kindly to getting wet.
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  #429  
Old 20th December 2019, 14:17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kon View Post
I believe alternators are one of the few things in an engine bay which dont take kindly to getting wet.
Very true ask any MR2 owner, Toyota put a shroud over them, then put holes in the bonnet lid directly above, later ones had a plastic channel to try to get the rain away.
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  #430  
Old 20th December 2019, 21:15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kon View Post
Looking good

Is that the alternator immediately below the new screen washer bottle? My aim when filling up the washer fluid in my car isnt the best, so do you think it's worth putting in some sort of shield to protect it? I believe alternators are one of the few things in an engine bay which dont take kindly to getting wet.
Hi Kon,
that is a really good point that I had not thought about before. My thinking cap is firmly on to design a shield.
Thanks for the feedback......peter
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  #431  
Old 18th January 2020, 21:16
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Default First update for 2020.....

A very late Happy New Year to all builders and watchers!

Following the packing away of all the Christmas stuff I had some essential house maintenance to do, including fitting a new back gate. Before starting work again on the Sabre I decided have a tidy up in my garage and re-arrange some of my shelves, At least now I can walk around the car without tripping over or banging my knee on something.

So the first real car job this year was to trial fit the mx5 seats.

Seats by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm delighted how well these fit and the resultant driving position is excellent. For me, the seats are a perfect height and with adjustable runners and seat back angle they should be easy to get a good driving position.
Of course, they will need to be re-trimmed when funds are available.
Since the Sabre's floor is GRP, I also need to fabricate some spreader plates to keep the IVA man happy.

So a good start to the year.........

....peter
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  #432  
Old 22nd January 2020, 19:24
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Default A little update......

I needed to move the Sabre out the way to get something from my garage loft so having put the wheels back on I decided to 'drive' the car out of the garage......

On the move.... by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
(click on picture for a short video)

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  #433  
Old 22nd January 2020, 20:11
Phaeton Phaeton is offline
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Well done
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  #434  
Old 23rd January 2020, 08:29
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That must have been a real sense of achievement driving the car for the first time.
Well done and keep the updates coming. I had to laugh at the exhaust extension disappearing in the service door as you drove out!!!
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  #435  
Old 23rd January 2020, 08:35
Phaeton Phaeton is offline
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lol I missed that the first time around, also nice to see you're a Lewis Hamilton fan :-)
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  #436  
Old 23rd January 2020, 21:27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by froggyman View Post
That must have been a real sense of achievement driving the car for the first time.
Well done and keep the updates coming. I had to laugh at the exhaust extension disappearing in the service door as you drove out!!!
thanks Froggy. I had not noticed that myself!
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  #437  
Old 26th January 2020, 11:54
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Peter – Great news on the first drive.

I’ve sure that helps with motivation to finish the car off in time for the Summer (if not before).

Good luck, Paul.
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  #438  
Old 28th January 2020, 15:49
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Awesome stuff, looks great!
Took me 3 watches to realise what froggy was talking about.. got some funny looks when i spotted it!
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  #439  
Old 6th February 2020, 21:07
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Default Lighting....

Thanks for all the positive feedback

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week I've made a start on the rear lights.........

Rear lights in-progress by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm using e-marked lights to avoid any risk with the IVA test. The upper chrome plinth nuts have to be fitted with your finger tips and a lot of patience. The fog and reverse lights have been fitted above the bumper to ensure they meet the IVA minimum height requirement. The fog light has to be mounted not less than 100mm from the brake light.
I've not yet decided where to fit the reflectors.....


....peter
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  #440  
Old 9th February 2020, 10:55
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Default Always learning new things about my car

A little tale of how I never stop discovering things about my car....

With the fitting the rear lights progressing well my planning thoughts turned to the wings(still some way off but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead). Before fitting the front wings I decided to check that I had tightened all the front suspension to the correct torque as it's easier do this without the bodywork in the way.
The only nuts not tightened were the track rod ends (TRE) but no matter what I tried I couldn't get them to tighten to the correct torque?
I got a feeling of déjÃ* vu when I tried to tighten up the nut as I had a similar problem when I built my Marlin Sportster but in that case it was a Metro ball joint into a BMW hub. But this was odd as it's a Ford Sierra TRE fitted to a Ford hub. In fact, it wouldn't tighten up because the nut had hit the shank of the taper before it was tight.
At first I thought about manufacturing tolerance issues with aftermarket parts but I was using old stock QH parts which in my limited experience were well made and the chance of getting any real Ford TRE's is nigh impossible. So I reverted to Google and stumbled across some Westfield Seven owners discussing TRE's for their cars. I discovered that Westfield used Sierra hubs and a Mk2 Escort rack and track rod ends. Then a thought crossed my mind, could it be my front hubs were manufactured for Westfield? They were new unused hubs when I bought them off ebay some years back but they had the Ford logo obliterated from the casting. So I bought some Escort TRE's to see if they had larger tapered shanks.

Here's a picture of the Sierra TRE showing the top of the tapered shank showing proud.

Sierra TRE by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

As a reminder, these were the hubs I bought.....(if you look closely at the one on the right you can see the Ford part number but the Ford logo has been removed from the oval)

New front hubs 1 by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The Escort TRE's arrived a few days later and I quickly popped one in a hub which confirmed they do indeed have slightly larger taper and they fit correctly. They also have the same thread to the tie rods so no issue there either. Measuring the diameter of the tapered shank is tricky but the Escort taper is about 0.77mm larger than the Sierra one at the based of the taper.

Here's a picture of the Escort Mk2 TRE taper.......

Escort Mk2 TRE by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

These tightened up without any issues.

Problem solved!

Last edited by peterux; 9th February 2020 at 11:00.. Reason: additional info
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