Busy Weekend - Pedal Box, Paneling and Rear Brakes (plus first mistake!)

OK, technically not a mistake but thankfully not too costly or time consuming - more on that later.  Today I set out early to finish the rear suspension (not completely, I still need to order some 1/2 inch bolts for the coilovers).  Much quicker doing the offside as lessons learned from nearside meant I jumped straight in putting the disc on first, here's how she looks:

 

Next I decided to crack on with the front wishbones, althought I dont yet have everything needed I thought I could at least get my wishbones in.  First mistake, they need to be put on *after* the side panel goes on as they go through the holes in it.  I was wondering how that worked, oh well at least I had fun with the 16 poly bushes and crush tubes.  Tried this method:

 

Honestly, a vice is easier.  I found that its easier to "direct" the bushes with some weight, pulling them back straight again before continuing.  Using a bolt and washers was harder and more of a fiddle, the only thing I did differently to the rear was to heat up the bushes in hot water and use washing up liquid, seemed easier.   I am wondering though how you are supposed to test crush tubes?  I read that they should be static and the bushes should spin around the tubes, rather than the bolts spin in the tubes.  Not sure how to test I have them properly setup - soon find out.

After taking the wishbones off the Chassis I called it a day for Saturday and started again Sunday.  This time I did a little research, not much, and thats what I need to do next - plan what I am doing!

I started with the pedal box (found a use for my new Vernier Gague!):

 

I remember the guys at GBS telling me to fit a small bracket sooner than later as its much harder the more panels are attached, that was the swirl pot mount and it's now fitted:

Finally I fitted the drivers side tunnel panel, easy enough to do.  There was a bit of fiddling needed to get everything to line up but a few clamps sorted that:

 

I think next I'll sort out the fuel side, but need to plan that out. I already have a red and black set with the clips but I am not sure where to start.  I also need to purchase a rivnut tool which is proving difficult to find in the usual places.  A good tidy up needed too (keep saying that ;))

Sneaky Disc Install

I had a free hour last night so thought I would install my discs, not quite as simple as I thought.  In the end I had to take both the caliper and carriers back off, makes sense I think I was a little carried away at first.  At least I have only done the one side, learned a lot so the other should be much quicker.

I didnt go for vented discs in the end as I have read they are overkill, looking at the size of these (253mm) they look pretty meaty:

The discs lose at the moment - I dont have any M12 nuts, I guess I should source some propper nuts (guessing they are 10.2 rated).  Not bad for a quick hour in the garage.

Rear Calipers

Well, after ordering a rerurb set of Calipers from EuroParts and discovering the carriers aren't included I managed to source a pair of brand new Calipers after returning the others - time to get started!

Oh, I have also torqued everything up, what I am going to do is keep a seperate "Torque Settings" page for future reference.  I am unsure as to whether or not I should mark everything up with bolt paint, I kind of feel like I should to make sure nothings missed but dont want the car to look like a dalmation....anyway, I digresss...

As usual no documentation from GBS so I went with the common sense\check other blogs approach.  That and the fact that each caliper is labeled L and R, there really is only one way they will fit....

First problem - I didnt include 60mm bolts in my last order, shame because I have both 40mm and 80mm, turns out I needed 58!  Bolts cut down to size, spring washers used and a bit of loctite, here you can see 40mm wouldnt have done and 80mm was too long:

Once bolted up I had to decide where to run the handbrake cable and brake hose, again I used other blogs for reference and a bit of common sense.  I need to check what the torque settings are for the hoses, I have tightened them up but I can imageine there must be a specific torque setting - Haynes Manual should say.  Anyway, seems like nothing will fowl, the only thing I am unsure of is the P clip I have used, its not the strongest but probably good enough:

 

Thats it for tonight, a few hours worth of work done.  I need to get the correct bolts for the coilovers because at the moment they are A2 stainless which is not right, there only in place to stop the wishbones from sagging under the weight.  I am looking foward to getting the rear brakes all finished off, I still have this side to finish before I repeat for the offside.

I need to purchase a decent Vernier Caliper Gague (has to be digital for extra geekiness!) as my trusty tape measure isnt cutting the mustart.  I also need to have a good tool tidy up and I feel the need to purchase a decent set of screwdrivers.   On a plus point the bolts I have purchased from Screwfix seem like decent quality, they are correctly rated and marked I am just stumped at how cheap they were and available for same day pickup.

Rear Suspension, Brakes and Bits

Ordered a load of goodies last week and set about putting them on the car today.  I was hoping to have the whole rear suspension and brakes completed this weekend, that wasnt to be.

Firstly I had ordered a pair of Calipers from Europarts - only problem is they dont come with carriers and I cant find the carriers on their own as a part.  Good news is I got my money back from Europarts and ordered a pair that include carriers here: http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=13593

Whilst I wait for them to arrive I put on my new caliper mount bracket and hubs.  That took some faffing around, I didnt realise that I had put the first hub on upside down, maybe if I had cleaned out some of the powder coat I could have got it on but I flipped it round and the fit was better.  After about an hour trying to force it (all the bolts were at off angles) I realised what I had done, 10 minutes later they were fitted:

 

I also fitted the new coilovers, I need to check which type of bolts to use for these.  The ones I have used are only temporary so I can get on with the build, but they definately need to be swapped for something else.  They arent long enough, are made from stainless and because of the length I cant put washers in.  Theres also a bit of "play" in them, from what I can tell the diameter of the tubes (are they crush tubes?) mean the bolts I have are too small.  I will find out for sure as these are pretty cricitcal parts!

Some pics of the suspension as it is now:

I managed to source an old brake resevour which cost me a small fortune for what it is, scrubbed up well though and is now on the car.  Only a little job but its one less thing:

Note the label for the IVA :)  The master cylinder has been binned, I already have a new one.

Finally I did the small brake pipes from the rear centre t-piece, I will be interested to see how this all fits together once my calipers arrive and are fitted.  At the moment the handbrake cable seems very lose (expected I guess as its not attached) but I cant see how its going to be solid once fitted.  Hard to describe but handbrake cable doesnt seem to "sit" properly in the chassis.  I also need to find exactly where to run both cable and brake hoses, I obviously need to ensure they dont fowl anywhere.

Need to buy some piping to put round the brake lines where they could potentially rub against chassis.  I dont think its actually needed, but better safe than sorry and I am not entirely sure of the IVA rules.  Whilst I wait for my calipers to turn up I need to do a fair bit of research for the torque settings, nothing is torqued correctly at the moment its all just nipped up.  Thankfully theres lots of info on other blogs and I have a sierrra haynes.

Finally, I didnt get much help from Jessy today.  She wasnt interested at all, normally she has a good sniff about the garage but today the sun was shining:

Finished Rear Wishbones, Handbrake and Seat Back Panel

Busy day today....had a good clearout of the garage, then finished the Rear Wishbones.  Nothing is torqued up yet but I had forgotton how much of a b*tch the bottom longbolt is to put in, at least I only had one to do :)

Looking like progress:

 

 

Handbrake was nice an easy, although its mounted its not connected to anything at the moment:

And finally the Back Panel.  The number of rivets people were putting on seemed a little excessive to me, considering the panel is bonded I didnt feel the need to go for a rivet every what seems like 5CM!  I spaced mine out evenly, there is around 40 rivets and seems strong enough to me.  Needs a good clean once the bond has gone off, I'll save that fun for later:

Need to contact Kitspares to see when the rear caliper brackets are in stock so I can get cracking with the disc brakes.  I have a lot to buy to get the rear finished, including the shocks - next order will be a pricey one.

A Year and Nothing Done!

 Wow, almost a year has gone by and I havent done a thing on the car.  Lots of reasons why, I still have my enthusiasm and still smile whenever I see a kit car go by but I've been concentrating on sorting my personal life out.  With some weight loss (although still not regretting getting the GT chassis!) taking up running and, well, busy with life in general I've let things slip.

The weather is picking up and I've made a commitment to try get my work\life balance sorted, fingers crossed I will soon be posting updates on progress made....

I did actually do a little more work than below, namely I purchased the diff (refurb from kitspares), drive shafts, hubs and hub kit and I've fitted all the rear suspension bushes.

Enough chat, time to tidy up the garage.