Body Fitting

  Well now that i know that the engine is sorted and running nicely, i can make some progress on fitting the body. Since i took delivery of the chassis and tub, the tub has been sat in my front garden with a tarp over it and the weeds and grass growing up around it. So I'm extremal pleased to get to this point so the body is sheltered from the elements in the garage.

So with the help of a couple of my neighbours we uncovered the tub and started to lift it to the other side of the street where my garage is. It was surprising how heavy the tub actually was, i know many hands make light work... but i didn't have many hands only two other people, so many many thanks to Tony and Eric.

 So we lifted the body round and placed it beside the chassis, i had previously cut holes in the tub for the gear stick and the fuel filler and fuel sender, so this gave the clearance for us to basically lift the tub high and lower onto the chassis, aligning up as best we could.
The body fitted nicely in place and most of the attachment points aligned with only a couple that will need opening up to get the bolt through. So were starting to look like a car now. Hopefully this will help the passing traffic that stops and says "what are you building?"

The body will be removed again just prior to permanent fixing, as the tub is also bonded on to the chassis. I will also be removing all the protective plastic off the stainless steel engine bay cladding, and cutting all access holes/panels that i will need.

So now the tub is on, i can start cutting more holes for the sidepipe headers to fit to the manifolds. This was a scary thing to do. But the basic rule of cut little at a time and open up slowly. I started off with using a straight edge to follow the length of the manifolds to touch the inside of the body tub. I then drilled a 2mm hole in each corner to give me a rough guide on the outside of the body. I then simply drilled a bigger hole in the middle and started to open up the hole with a jigsaw. The initial length and width was about 4inch square to allow me to slide the headers in and slip on to the manifold, then just a mark and cut procedure (about 5mm each time) until i had the exhaust fitted, with a good enough clearance around the headers as so they wont melt the tub when they a hot.

I tidied all the edges using a flap wheel and low drill speed, making the cuts look straight and even. Now the exhausts were back on i could do another engine run. I did have to space the fuel filter out from the chassis a little, as the fuel feed in was catching on the body tub, so better safe than sorry. Apart from that just a few things on my snagging list to sort and were getting somewhere.

I also received a visit from a fellow builder Ian Cogdon this week. He is on the correct side of the Tyne and is building a Pilgrim Sumo. He mainly came to see the engine running but i had only just fitted the body and had not cut the holes for the exhausts, so i couldn't run with just the manifolds, as they would have melted the body... so sorry Ian, next time for sure!!!!

Here we have another video of the engine rumbling away to itself when the tub is on. This now looks and sounds amazing, and is a massive milestone in the build process for me.

First start and Fire Up

Well after a holiday in Greece i was keen to return and make some progress on the build. Basically because after i returned of Holiday the tarp had blown off the body again (about the 5th time) and ripped to shreds. So after getting another one from DIY store, i have decided to give a good progress push, so i can get the body trial fitted before the crap weather arrives and I'm stuck with 4ft of snow again for 2 months like last year. To get the body fitted i need to get a few things ticked off the list,

1. Engine Run
2. Pressure up brake lines
3. Fit prop shaft
4. Fit remote rear bleed nipples

I want to pressure up the brake lines to check all the joins for weeping/leaks, as when the body is fitted visibility and access are next to none. Also i need to have the confidence that my brakes are the best they can possibly be, in case they are needed for an emergency!!

So i also needed to fire the engine.... the fun bit!! after making a small investment in a good quality battery and a few battery cables i took the plunge and fired her up.

The test fire was a massive success, however like any kit car build it just proved that nothing can be fitted once and left. Obviously to run the engine the cooling system needed to be set up. I wasn't bothering with the cooling fan as the engine wouldn't be run long enough to get that hot. However a little bit of a hole in the stainless steel of the header tank where it was made was a bit of a bummer, as i was constantly pouring water into the cap to stop it draining away and running dry. This however has been rectified by AK and I'm just waiting for it to be sent back.

Second issues is that i ran the engine with no prop shaft, so with the yoke not being on the output shaft of the gearbox there was no oil seal and threw oil all over the flood.... messy but smells lovely.

Thirdly my fuel pump is basically fooked. There is a crack in the casting where the output union is screwd in... this pissed me off no end. I had waited months for this to be delivered, and i knew i would have a battle on my hands to prove it wasn't me over tightening the union and splitting the casting. However a replacement has been fitted now and the knacked one can be returned to Edelbrock for inspection.. but after postage to the retailer, and then postage again back to America, its pointless throwing good money after bad. This has however annoyed me big time, as it was not me over tightening the union that split it and i cant afford to loose money like this.

So As soon as the return of my header tank, i will fit the yoke to the gearbox to make the oil seal, top up the gearbox oil, and run the engine again... then i can tick that of my list and make some progress on the brake system testing.