The Build
Preparation
Getting Started
The Chassis
The Bodywork
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
December 2007
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
December 2008
RSS feed
Racing
Anglesey June '08
Cadwell July '08
Silverstone Aug '08
Oulton Park Sep '08
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Sunday 3rd August, 2008
There hasn't been much to report. I rang BAR on Thursday and the guy at the machine shop they use has been on hols. Apparently he's back next week and they're expecting to get the shafts back mid-week. I called in to Promax Friday lunchtime and the bearings had just arrived. Dillwyn had the diff in bits on his bench so I took a couple of pics. He showed me the bearing that had needed replacing - it's a tapered bearing and when he'd put the puller on it to get it off the pinion shaft the outer sleeve had moved a bit without the inner moving distorting the cage. In the scheme of things the extra £70 for bearings isn't really an issue and at least I'll know they're all new.
I spent an hour or so sorting the fuel lines and the rear loom. I had to re-route the fuel lines a bit as the chassis rail they were clipped to no longer exists. I had to buy a new length as it's a slightly longer route now.
Monday 4th August, 2008
Phone call from Dillwyn mid-morning with a problem. He'd started to get the diff back together but had hit a snag straight away - he couldn't get the pinion nut onto the new pinion shaft. After a while he'd realised it was because the new shaft has a right hand thread whereas the original shaft and the nut being reused was, like evy other one he's ever seen, a left hand thread. This gave me a distinct sinking feeling :-(
I rang Road & Race who said it was a rare option but they'd see if they had a right hand threared nut. They rang back later to say they didn't but thought I'd just be able to get one from Ford. Yeah, right.
Tuesday 5th August, 2008
Rang the local Ford parts department in the morning and their computer did indeed list the pinion nut as either left or right handed thread. They didn't have any in stock but reckoned they could get me one for the next morning. It sounded too good to be true. I said to get 2.
Wednesday 6th August, 2008
Called in Ford at lunchtime. No pinion nuts:
"On back order sir".
"What does that mean?"
"Should be about a week"
"Not trying to be funny but how certain can I be I'll get them next week?"
"I'll go and see if I can find out any more ..."
5 minutes later:
"If you only need 1 there's one showing on the computer in Coventry and we
can get that for you tomorrow but as you asked for 2 it just showed them
as being on back order"
"I'll take the 1 please"
"Should be here tomorrow"
Sheesh!
Thursday 7th August, 2008
Rang Ford mid-morning and apparently the nut had arrived! By this time my expectation of it actually being there and being the correct item was pretty low. I called in at lunchtime and it was indeed there and did indeed look similar to the one in my diff. I proceeded directly to Promax, without passing Go or collecting £200, and on arrival Phil took it straight off me and screwed it onto the shaft. Bingo, it was indeed the correct part! Dillwyn came off the phone and proceeded to fit the pinion while having a chat. He was telling me that before Evos came on the scene and Sierras were the main rally cars he was generally rebuilding one of these diffs a week! Certainly he looked like he'd done it before. I hung around till he'd torqued the nut up till he was happy with the feel of the end float and was setting up a dial gauge on it when I left. Although he said it would be ready by 4 I can't get away from work so I'll collect it in the morning.
Friday 8th August, 2008
Spoke to BAR who haven't heard back yet from the guy machining the drive shafts. Spoke to Andy Bates who now thinks he has all the bits needed for a reverse kit so he'll get that out to me.
I went back to Promax and picked up the diff. Among all the helpful emails I've received from various people was one suggesting helicoiling the diff mounting lugs to avoid having to get long studs right through which requires dismantling part of the suspension. When I initially asked Dillwyn about it he was pretty negative but when I had a longer chat it turns out his experience was with big power Cosworths that had ripped diff mounts apart. When he realised it was for a puny little bike engine he was happy so he'd also helicoiled those for me which will make getting the diff in and out much easier. Having said that I'm hoping not to need to take it out again! The cost for the diff rebuild and helicoiling was extremely reasonable, really glad I thought to ring them!
So, I'm getting there slowly, but time's slipping away. The next race weekend at Silverstone is now only two weeks away. All I can do at the moment is get the diff fitted and wait for the other parts during the week.
Saturday 9th August, 2008
After sticking a litre of oil in the diff and a half-hearted cleanup with a wire brush it was time to get it into the chassis. It turned out that using bolts isn't dramatically easier than studs as you have to get them lined up exactly right for the threads to catch whereas with the studs you can give them a whack and they align themselves. The bottom bolts had to be cut down as the bottom chassis rail is in the way, this slowed progress a bit but eventually I had all 6 bolts tightened.
Next was to get on with a bracket for the back of the diff - this will need to bolt onto the chassis and is just a right angle. Didn't take long to make, once it was painted that was fitted.
I can't really get on with any more of the drivetrain and there isn't much else to do to the car. The connections to the indicator repeaters have always been poor so I spent a little time soldering wires onto the bulb holder then soldering up proper connector blocks. I started the same process for the rear loom, previously faithfully served by my trailer towing connector whose only crime really is looking a bit naff. I got a 6 way connector block on there but didn't do its other half on the tub as the tub is outside and it's been p***ing down all day.
Friday 15th August, 2008
I've been on pins all week. Only a week till the Silverstone race and the car's still in bits. I rang Andy on Tuesday to nag about the reverse kit - I reckon the biggest chunk of work is going to be getting this fitted, after all fitting the prop and drive shafts shouldn't really take all that long so long as no-one's made any mistakes. Andy reckoned he had all the bits bar a return spring and said he'd send it all out ASAP and send the spring on later. I spoke to BAR and they said the machine shop had promised them the drive shafts by the end of the week but that the prop was ready. I decided I needed to bite the bullet and rang Robin at the 750 Motor Club about testing on the Friday. There were still some morning slots available so I booked that.
On Thursday I nipped over to BAR, still no sign of the drive shafts but I collected the prop. At least then I can get that fitted and sort out the reverse over the weekend. 750MC published the Silverstone Finals as well and that brought home to me how little time I have left.
By this morning I still didn't have the reverse kit but fortunately it arrived at about 9am. It's basically a starter motor in a hefty cage, the sides are steel strip the ends CNC machined aluminium. On the end there's a sprocket that slides in and out to engage with the ring gear. I got out to the garage and stuck the prop in position. The nose of the Sierra diff is quite a bit higher than the Muppett and I decided stacks of washers weren't going to cut the mustard as spacers for the centre bearing so I set about making a pair of spacers out of my aluminium bar. Once that was done I got the rear flange bolted onto the diff with the ring gear sandwiched in between. I could now sit the reverse box in position and start to think about bracketry. It's going to stick up above the top of the tunnel but that can't be helped. I could sling it underneath but don't like the look of it - it'll be in the way of the handbrake cables and I've got fuel lines running down the bottom rail. It could also go on the passenger side but I wouldn't be able to take a passenger at all then which would be a pity for trackdays. I can soon make a little bulge to cover it.
I'd wondered about making some vertical pieces between the tunnel top and bottom rails and suspending it from those but it's quite a big span and would need quite a bit of fabrication. I decided to suspend it from the top rails using some angle iron. Fabricating this up took most of the afternoon but by the close of play I'd made up the brackets and was ready to do some drilling to fix them in place and the reverse to the brackets. I have a fairly substantial piece of angle across the rails at the rear with pieces of angle welded to it dropping down each side to hold the reverse and a smaller piece across the back to stabilise it. It looks like it should be OK.
Monday 18th August, 2008
I was away in London all day Saturday and couldn't get out to the garage till mid afternoon yesterday. I got the motor mounting completed and made a start on the wiring. Andy had suggested mounting the starter solenoid near the main starter solenoid and piggy-backing a battery cable from that. Tim has mounted his in the tunnel near the motor. I could see the attractions of each approach but decided to go with the former. Partly because it means the battery cable down the tunnel (i.e. in close proximity to the propshaft!) is only live when the switch is pressed rather than permanently live and partly because it just looked a bit easier mounting it on the front bulkhead. I made up a mounting bracket and got the wires run in place then tried to figure out how to connect up the solenoid. In the end I failed - it has 4 blade terminals in addition to the 2 screw terminals for the battery cable and I couldn't figure out which ones to connect to and didn't want to risk damaging anything so decided to leave it till I could speak to Andy.
Here are some pics I took last week of the diff mounting completed and the reverse kit :
And here are a couple of the reverse motor in position in the tunnel:
Andy warned me previously that I'd need some cap headed bolts for the propshaft to clear the reverse gear and he's right. So today I called in Swansea Fasteners and asked but just got a no, they dont do anything with an M10 x 1.0 thread and couldn't even suggest where to try. I went over to BAR next - the driveshafts were there but not assembled yet but would be ready this afternoon. I spoke to Andrew there about the prop bolts and he reckoned they'd be difficult to get. He suggested a couple of options though, including drilling out the diff flange and sticking 3/8" UNF bolts in with a nut on the back, apparently UNF cap bolts have a smaller head than M10 so would give me a bit more clearance. I paid for the work which I think was pretty reasonable - £320 including VAT to cut the drive shafts to length and re-spline them, supply and fit new CV joints for the inboard ends and shorten the propshaft and put a flange to suit the Sierra diff on there. I had a full afternoon in work so asked David to nip over and get them later.
In the evening I got an hour or so out there and got the wiring for the reverse motor made up and tested. It's all working fine so all I need to do to complete the reverse setup is:
- Remove the whole lot and replace the prop bolts, paint the brackets
- Make up a mechanism for connecting my old reverse leer to the rod at the back that engages the gear
- Find and fit a spring to return the sliding gear
- Fit a switch
- Modify the tunnel top panel to fit over the motor
So, still quite a lot of work to do, along with getting the drive shafts refitted and rebuilding the rear suspension, refitting the fuel tank etc. And I'll need to make up a new bracket for the speedo sender. It's Monday night and I need to be able to leave for Silverstone Thursday evening. Gulp!
The drive shafts look fine but I haven't tried them to see if they fit, I'll get on with that tomorrow.
Tuesday 19th August, 2008
Not much time to report but here are a couple of pics from this morning. The driveshafts are a perfect fit and were a doddle to fit, much easier using the cap headed bolts than the studs and little 10mm nuts on the previous ones. Off to the day job now ...
The pics below show the reverse solenoid on the scuttle and a couple of shots of the nice shiny new CV joints.
Fitting the driveshafts was indeed a doddle which was nice - there was always the nagging doubt I'd measured them up wrong! They were supplied with tubes of grease, cap headed bolts and gaskets. There's a little bit more room round the bolts than the previous ones which were a bit smaller overall. As I said above the previous nuts on studs were fiddly and difficult to torque as you couldn't get a socket on them. These were easy with a 3/8" drive allen bit on the ratchet. Once the shafts were fitted I rebolted the suspension back together and refitted the brake calipers. I also increased the amount of negative camber on the nearside wheel (one full turn on the upper wishbone rose joint) as the tyre wear was clearly indicating it needed a bit more. When I get some more testing time I can fiddle about measuring tyre temps etc.
At lunchtime I flew round loads of places - Tippex from Staples to mark bolts, tried B&Q for a spring but no luck, Swansea Fasteners and got both M10 and 3/8 UNF cap bolts with spring washers and nuts. They had a bag of springs but I reckoned £15 + VAT was OTT. They also had proper white marker pens so I got one of those. Then on to Halfords and got some brake fluid and spotted a drum brake fastener kit that included a couple of springs that looked spot on - £4.50.
I even managed a sneaky hour in the garage before coming back into surgery. The 3/8 bolts are actually very close to the M10 x 1.0 thread and they just got bound up in the last couple of threads. A quick clean with the tap and they fitted OK - a bit sloppy but fine with a locknut and some studlock. I managed to get the diff flange done and refitted then rebolted the prop on. Also fitted the spring which seems to work fine.
Here are a couple of shots of the driveshafts - a close up of the nearside CV joint and a pic of the rear view showing a little downward angling of the shafts. Since the suspension's on full droop here they should be pretty level once she's back on her feet.
In the evening I got the reverse box mounted in position and started to think about some sort of actuating mechanism - there a pullrod at the rear end that slides the sprocket into mesh with the ring gear between the prop and diff flanges. In the end I made up some bracketry the welded to the rear bracket with a pivoting bar on it then shortened the existing push/pull rod and welded a new screw on the end to fit the rose joint to. This all took ages and ocne it was on I was pleased to find it actually worked. For a minute or so then it all went pear shaped as it jammed. I couldn't see what had happened till I took it all off and took the mechanism apart. The inside end of the pullrod has a little pin through it that pulls on a bearing to slide the sprocket back and this little pin had sheared. I tapped the remnant out and set about trying to concoct some sort of fix. Pretty upsetting really, just when I thought I was getting on top of it all! I ended up using a bit of a nail as a replacement - granted it's pretty soft but it'll do for now and since I know it's a weak area I know to be careful with it - in fact I plan to avoid actually using the reverse unless really necessary. By the time I got the whole lot back together and back on the car and working it was 10.30 and I was well knackered.
Wednesday 20th August, 2008
Another 5.30am start in the garage. I'd thought the reverse motor would probably mean the rear prop restraint would need relocating but a bit of investigation proved otherwise. It just needed reshaping a bit to make it a bit lower and wider and it bolted straight back in place. Not so for the speedo sender though as the prop's in a completely different place. My previous bracket was a bit lightweight anyway being made of thin aluminium sheet and I'm sure it vibrated around like billyo. Also it was a tight squeeze up against the tunnel side panel. I decided the best place now would be on top of the prop and made up a steel bracket to bolt to the back of the reverse motor. Once that was on I araldited the pair of magnets onto the prop.
I still hadn't sorted a switch for the reverse so I worked out where I can reach with one hand to operate both lever and switch with my left hand and drilled a hole in the top panel and got the switch fitted and the wires soldered and crimped up. Once that was done I connected it up and refitted the tunnel top. The front end of the prop had only been loosely bolted on so I got some threadlock on the bolts and tightened them up. Here's a pic of the completed reverse kit with the speedo sender and prop restraint in place.
At lunchtime I got the fuel tank refitted then marked up and cut a hole in the tunnel top panel where the reverse motor now sits. I then started scratching my head about what to do to cover it.
Back home after work and I started work on fabricating a cover to sit over the reverse motor. I had a cunning plan involving bending some aluminium into a curve and pop rivetting it on top and did get one made before deciding closing the ends of the roughly semicircular cover would be tricky especially if I wanted to avoid it looking like adog's breakfast. Time consuming too and I still have quite a lot left to do. So I abandoned it and resorted to some gaffer tape! I can't see the scutes being worried, I'm sure I did see a car with no tunnel top at all.
I crawled underneath the car and tightened the bolts hilding the prop centre bearing then connected up the fuel tank - as well as the banjo for the outlet to the fuel pump there are the fuel return pipe and breather, also the fuel gauge sender. Once that was done I stuck the wheels back on and lowered the car back onto terra firma and tightened the wheel nuts as well as swinging on the hub nuts to get those tight.
Next I refitted the tunnel side panels and gave the inside of the car a good clean, it still had loads of bits of rubber from Cadwell in there along with bits of swarf etc. Once that was done I could refit the harnesses and the seat. Definitely getting there now :-)
I stuck some fuel in the tank and checked the engine still worked. She hasn't been run since 4th July, almost seven weeks ago. She started at the first press of the starter button and it was good to hear the engine idling quietly - it is very quiet at idle. I'm feeling much happier now - all I really need to do now is get the bodywork back on. Four 8mm bolts secure the bonnet and I bring the rear tub back from the patio and spend half an hour taking the trailer plug off the loom and soldering terminals on for the new connector block. With that on I checked the lights and indicators worked and got the rear tub fitted on. After a bit of tidying up I was done by 9.45pm. I haven't driven the car yet but there seems little point.
So, I'm back in business and all I have to do now is all the usual stuff before going away for a race - getting my suit and helmet etc. together, getting all the tools etc. sorted. After the monsoon like conditions we've been experiencing it looks like the weather forecast for Silverstone at the weekend is better. I can now actually start to look forward to it!
For the Silverstone race weekend's update click here.
Thursday 28th August, 2008
Been a strange week, not been out to the garage since putting the car and all the kit away on sunday morning! There really isn't very much needs doing to the car (apart from the obvious sorting out of 4th gear which is going to have to wait). I've got a couple of very minor things to do but really not a lot, she's pretty much ready to go again which is really nice!
I have been considering options and have decided that rather than get hold of a replacmeent gearbox for the engine, or try to replace just the knackered parts I'm going to get another engine. I've been thinking of just buying a bike and breaking it myself but when I think of all the hassle selling the parts it's probably best to just pay the money and buy an engine from a known supplier like Malc at Yorkshire Engines. I did speak to him yesterday. There's a bit of an issue in that the Hayabusa model range changed over the years and I know my ECU and the Power Commander are no good for a later model. Also mine has the fuel injection pump mounted on the engine just below the throttle bodies whereas the later ones are in the fuel tank. So if I but a later engine my cunning plan of fixing the one I have now as a spare isn't so cunning after all as it would mean swapping the engine loom, ECU, Power Commander etc. Anyway, Malc put me straight on all that - it seems the mechanicals are all the same and all I'd need to do to run a newer (up to 2007) engine on my ECU etc is swap the alternator rotor over (different crank sensor) and stick the throttle bodies and FI pump off my engine on it. He also confirmed that a low mileage old (1999/2000) engine will be every bit as good as an equivalent mileage newer engine but will be a lot cheaper. He's expecting a suitable engine at the end of the week so I'll give him a ring back then.
The final Instructions for Oulton Park apeared on the 750Mc website today. I booked a test session for the Friday afternoon and we have qualifying on Saturday morning then 2 races in the afternoon. I'm really looking forward to it as Oulton is a beautiful circuit and brings back fond memories of going down on my bike as a 17 year old with my mates to watch Barry Sheene, Randy Mamola, Kenny Roberts, Ron Haslam et al there in the TransAtlantic Trophy on the Easter weekend. Less fond are the memories of spinning the Ultima there but hey ho, the Fury's a bit better to drive on track!
I've also been in touch with both Silverstone and Motorsport Vision about their video indemnity forms which make you agree to pay them £25,000 if you publish any of your on board video. Silverstone emailed back with a nice reply saying no problem so long as it's not for commercial use and MSV said much the same but only verbally. Anyway, I've now stuck my vid of Silverstone on YouTube:
Sunday 31st August, 2008
Today's the day for fettling the car ready for next weekend. I've booked testing for Friday afternoon, I know it'll be really busy but that doesn't matter as much to me as it does to the faster drivers. My main goal is just learning my way round the circuit. I have driven there before when I had the Ultima but it wasn't a good experience. It was a very grey, damp and murky December day and although it wasn't actually raining the track never had a dry line, it was just damp and really greasy all day. I spun twice despite going ridiculously slowly, each time was a rear wheel lockup coming into a corner. I think there were a few reasons for it, bearing in mind I'd never ever spun a car before despite lots of trackdays in the Evo and teh Westfield. Firstly my headroom was OK till I put a helmet on, when I had to slide down in the seat a bit to shut the door! This compromised my pedal control so there was no way I could heel and toe which is important with a big gigh torque V8. Also it had a pair of pretty non-sticky rear tyres, and maybe a bit too much rear brake bias. I never had much confidence in the car after that. But the Fury's a different matter, and I can't wait.
Anyway, first job is fixing the reverse, so I stripped it all out and fixed it with a proper roll pin (ScrewFix do a nice assortment for £15). This was a fiddly job and took an hour and a half but a quick test confirmed it seems OK. While I had the tunnel covers off I also adjusted the clearance between the speedo sensor and the 2 magnets glued to the prop to try to increase its reliability.
I decided to have nother go at fabricating a cover for the reverse motor. The curved one I tried was always going to be difficult so I measured up and cut out some aluminium for a square box. This went well this time and after loads of bending, trimming and filing followed by some paint it was done. Pretty pleased with it too:
At Silverstone the scuritneer had suggested locknuts on the bolts securing the steering column parts together so I did that. Josh had also suggested up in Anglesey fitting a jubilee clip to hold the spring steel retainer so I did that too. In fairness to the scrutineer he wasn't antsy or anything, just said something like 'If it were me I might like a locknut on there'.
The scrute had also commented on a bit of play in the nearside front wheel bearing. Again he wasn't too worried acknowledging that if they're a bit overtight that ain't a good thing. So I jacked up the front of the car and got the wheels off and adjusted both front wheel bearings.
With the rear of the car up I checked all the diff brackets and bolts etc. and was pleased to note everything was fine. At Silverstone last weekend the car had noise tested at 105.9dBA although it's very difficult to get the revs right and I'd blipped it over the 7k the tester had told me to go to. Andy had commented at Angelsey that my car was far from being the noiseiest, and indeed it had tested fine at Cadwell but I decided to get the exhaust off and have a look at the wadding inside. Once I got it loose it was evident there was still plenty of stuff in there because of the weight. I drilled the rivets out of the end cap and eventually got it off to find it tightly packed with wadding with no signs of disintegration so I just stuck it back together again, rerivetted and refitted it.
Once that was done I stuck the bodywork back on, tidied the tools and swept the floor. It's actually been a very pleasant day - so nice to be just tinkering and doing minor stuff without a shedful of fairly major work to get through in a short space of time! The car's now ready for next Friday - 4th gear is still knackered but I'll have to live with that till after Oulton.