Chassis build

Well I finally got a weekend in my garage...about fooking time!!! it was ment to be this weekend that my block and box was deliverd..however it wasn’t, due to issues with my gearbox. So I got my build manual and spanners and off I went. I had spent a full evening last week laminating all the pages of the build manual to help keep them clean and tidy.

I did have some issues getting some torque behind the lower and upper ball joint, this is because they are the later sealed type that just spin when tightened, but after some swearing and shouting got them tight to 50 lb torque setting

Although I have set the caster angle to 5.5 degrees I will be rechecking and setting once I have some weight on the chassis (engine gearbox)

Repeated the process for the offside, and managed to get the build wheels on. I am missing the top shock bolt, however this is easily sourced and fitted.

Now i have the front two build wheels on i will be able to lift the chassis at the rear, and wheel out the garage to get the engine and gearbox creat to the back..hopefully

Noisy Time!!!

Well i have had no free time to start getting stuck into the chassis, and with Edd from Ward still not having returned my rear hubs.. not a great deal i could do. So i concentrated more on getting ready for the engine delivery... but i couldnt as there has been issues with my block and delivery lead time has been put back again!.

Ian from BAE has sent me a video of my block running, which will be an awsome bit of kit when it gets here.



I had initial orderd a pre 1993, 2 bolt main, 350ci chevy, running alloy heads with carb, transfering the power through a Getrag box. Arround the date of the chassis delivery i recived a phone call from Ian at BAE, telling me that my engine was a 1968/69 early block but would require extra work on the end caps, so a slight delay. As an alternative he could offer me a 4 bolt block but would require more money.. after a quick think i decided to stick with the 2 bolt block as it was more than sufficient to run 350bhp... the 4 bolt is capable of alot more..so a little excessive for what i need....or so i thought.
  Called Ian begining of this week as Wed was delivery date, and more good and bad news. Bad new was that my gearbox was not selecting perfectly and another was being sourced which has delayed delivery yet again. But on a pluss side, i have been upgraded to the 4 bolt block free of charge, this now allows me massive tunning potential in the future (cams and carbs, could see me 450-475bhp) which might be nice, as i read alot of posts on the fourm of people who are looking for more power after they have compleated there build. I am only having this block built to 350bhp..as thats all i need (for now) so i should now be reciving both block and box on Sat 20th.

Engine spec.

Four bolt main Chevy block
Eagle balanced assembly,
Edlebrock alloy heads,
Edlebrock Torker II inlet manifold,
Edlebrock carburettor,
HEI performace electronic distributor,
Chrome 64 amp alternator,
Billet rose jointed tensioner,
High torque starter motor,
High flow water pump,
Edlebrock chrome rocker covers,
Edlebrock chrome air filter
Billet alloy pulleys

Chassis Time!!!

Well the long long wait has finaly paid off!!! I loaded the car up and went on my way down to AK for the chassis collection. Now with Audi wanting over £1800 to fit a tow bar to my A4 avant, and cost of trailler hire on-top, i decided to get the chassi deliverd by a fella who was recomended by Jon from AK. So after arranging details with him and a cost of £300 was agreed (fricken bargin) I still took a trip to AK to pick up some bits and exchange some parts (wishbones/drive shafts)

So with the kettle full, and the bacon ready, i called some mates and got them round to help with the lifting and shifting. Unfortunatly most of my mates are all alcoholics and with the delivery from Geroge being early doors i had to go and pick them all up, bar Simon who luckly for me wasnt drinking stupid amounts of beer the night prior.

So first off was the body, which was considrably lighter than i thought it would be... thank goodness. I only have limited space so the body was going to be stored by my veg patch in the front garden. This is not an ideal solution however its eather that, or left on the drive for the world and his wife to see.

So with the body sorted and under a tarp, onto the chassis. An amazing bit of kit... and bloody heavy. My garage is round the other side of the house and unfortunatly the 4x4 and trailer wouldnt get anywhere near, so it was good old muscle power, and carry it round to the garage along with all the extra bits i had orderd.

So now the serious build can start and hopefully progress on a weekly basis, so be sure to check here for updates and more of the build.

I like to cut things fine!!!

Well everyone thinks i'm insane attempting this build in a single garage, and they would be right. And i did initialy get some builders round to extend the back wall of my pokey garage to give me some extra room. But after one builder wanting over £1800, and one guy doing the whole "well i can do it, but it wont be easy... or cheep (and i dont rearly want to do it)." One bloke coming to have a look, then dissapiered of the face of the earth!!! hope he's ok. And one guy who said he could do it at a good price... but i lost his number.

Well with chassie collection on the 13th Feb, i though fook it, i'll have to manage with what i have....untill i get a knock on the door (lucky i was in) on the 20th Jan from John. He asked if i still wanted it doing to which i said yes, but he'll have to be quick as the chassie go's in, in a couple of weeks.... so he started Monday 25th and its now finished!!



Day 1. Blockwork start



Day 2. Blockwork finished


Day 3. Plywood roof ready for felt.


Day 4. Knock through and floor/Felt roof


Day 5. Clear away rubble and jobs a goodun.


Very pleased with his work, and have added much needed space to my build area (some where to store my block and box at least)

Hats off to Por-15

Wow is all i can say, this stuff is truly amazing stuff. I'm so glad i didnt stick with a Hammerite finish, this stuff is 1 million times stronger and cosmeticly looks better also.







Just a little cleaning of inside the yoke's for the end caps of the UJ's, and also for the bush's on the wishbones, but jobs a good un, and donner gear is done...phew!!!

More Donor

Well i hope i'm getting to the end of the seriously dirty dirty work now, i feel like i'v been knee deep in old oil and crap forever (all part of the fun)

Today spent a day giving all the running gear a cover of Por-15 Rust prevention paint, prior to the topcoat of a Por-15 Chassie black. I had stripped all the hammerite in the last couple of weeks, and i was amazed at how quickly the bare metal had reacted with the air to give a fine dusting of rust. Confirms my theory as to why i went with an AK kit, as it uses cast Jag running gear, not thin old Ford bits (just my opinion) I fail to see how a solid cast bit of metal (such as the Jag front wishboan would/could ever rot all the way through)



So all the bits were given another rub with a wire brush and this time a clean using "Metal Ready" from Frost.co.uk which is amazinly good stuff. The final drive was also prepped for paint.



Once cleaned they all need to be washed in clean water, I used boiling water as i'v been told it helps them dry quicker, but i also found my other half's hairdyrer also worked well haha.





I mounted most of the donor parts on a board to easy painting, and drying. Then on with the gloves (strongly recomended) and off we go with the paint brush. The initial finish looks a little rough but have been assured that after its left to cure it will become smoother, and this is just a coat to seal the bits so cosmetics doesnt rearly matter.





As you can see above the final drive and donor parts now have their base coat, and tomorrow i'll be finishing in chassie black Por-15, so will cosmeticaly look better and will hopefully be as good as finished prior to fitting to the chassie.

Also below is my Diff internals, after i had drained all the old oil. Crown wheel looks good no missing teeth (unlike me) and generaly a good looking Diff

More Donor Refurb

Ok well time is ticking away and the collection date of Feb is getting closer and closer. So Its about time i finished the running gear and final drive unit. After long and hard thinking i have decided against de-rating the diff, simply because I'm a strong believer in "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." I have spoken to many people regarding this and i can understand physically how it will be affected, but decided not to after speaking with Linda at AK. As she said, they have built hundreds of these kits and they have never needed to de-rate the diff for it to operate correctly. So that's good enough for me. Also it will be cheaper to buy a new diff and de-rate it at a later date should i have any problems... fingers crossed.

This is the diff before any cleaning or inspection.



So I've been stripping off all the hammerite again with the wire wheels, and getting ready to treat with the Por-15 chassie paint from Frost. This is amazing stuff (so i'v heard) so I'll keep you posted and will be taking some pictures also.

Got all my calipers re-con'd by bigred. I'v had these done a while now, but only just got pictures to post on here. I know the colour is a bit bright, however these will hardley ever see the light of day, as the rear disc's are inboard, and the front's behind the alloys. Its also a poly coating so when it comes to service and cleaning apparantly its a little easier. (i'll reserve judgment)



BMW steering column, with steering wheel (needed for the IVA, and key)



One of the most important bits... the V5, this will allow me to keep the age related plate, when i register my Cobra