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Post by Peter on Jul 29, 2016 22:04:47 GMT
Do NOT fit a Rover V8 or any other big engine, Jason did and it was undrivable and currently is used at Prescott for racing only as it's too dangerous for the road, A straight 4 will provide more than enough power for some very spirited driving. Anyway, it is a hell of a lot of work.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2016 9:08:07 GMT
Can you elaborate on the problems he encountered? The rover lump isn't hugely powerful compared to the pinto, and at best I'd be looking at 200 horse power after light tuning. The suspension will obviously be uprated all round with adjustable dampers, lowered springs, thicker anti roll bars, wilwood brakes and whatever else I think of.
Keeping the pinto was our original plan, however after getting the car and sitting in it, it deserves the madness of a v8 and I had one lying around anyway
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Post by Peter on Jul 31, 2016 18:36:41 GMT
It just made it a pig to drive with such a light rear end, A Daimler rear end helps but,,, I know the Rover V8 is light I have had one in 1985 and although I'm not saying "don't do it", I can remember putting my SD1 auto into a round-a-bout at 30mph and coming out at 60mph, sideways and as for in the wet and that's in a heavy car, I dread to think how many times the back end would step out or swap ends thereby making it 'fun' but bloody dangerous. Bushboy on euro-nova has a 2.2 V6 lump in the REAR of his Nova and quite a few others have larger lumps in the rear of Stirlings, Eurekas, Novas and SSs but it seems not many have put a bigger lump in the front of a SS, even Chaz' stayed with the 2L Pinto after fitting a Sierra rear end (with inboard discs). I myself have about 110hp in the boot and that is quite enough. I would certainly 'advise' doing all the suspension improvements and Wilwwod brakes, (I use them too) but sitting on my hill watching the world go round as I do, I think a well tuned Pinto is enough 'fun' (easier to maintain too. Peter
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Post by trike on Aug 21, 2016 21:36:50 GMT
Have to admit not much done on the car for the last month, been busy rebuilding the cab on my horsebox. Its taking up workshop space so not much room left for the company vehicles.
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Post by Peter on Aug 22, 2016 21:05:52 GMT
Know what you mean I have been working up to 11 hours a day at the moment and in 35C heat.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2016 17:19:57 GMT
11 hours a day in 35C heat. an Englishman in Spain, thats's asking for ......a whole lot of sweat
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Post by Peter on Aug 23, 2016 19:49:26 GMT
At least I lost weight,😂
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Post by trike on Apr 9, 2017 21:24:39 GMT
Finally got around to doing some more work on the car. , had to finish my horsebox/camper first as it was taking up space in the workshop. Made up the mounting brackets for the Heater & a/c unit from CBS ,fitted behind the dash on the passenger side. A/c & heater hoses made & ready for fitting Main Wiring loom finished ,ready for testing before fitting,not much room once everything is in place so easier to check it before fitting in case any mods needed. Only practical place for mounting the fuse box is under the heater ,fortunately there is far more leg room than necessary, so will be hidden behind ally footrest,hinged for access. Getting the 'universal' pantograph wiper motor to work with the Ford switchgear was interesting,ended up with 4 (5 including intermittent) relays to get it all working correctly. Body off again so can finish off the fuel piping etc. And final nut/bolt check before fitting the body for what will hopefully be the last time Whilst the body's up,will sort out the mountings for the front side/indicator lights,not so easy with the body in place.
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Post by trike on May 5, 2017 22:10:03 GMT
Body is finally on and bolted down so now i can get on with sorting out the bodywork damage lots of gelcoat crazing to sort out
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Post by trike on May 7, 2017 20:10:43 GMT
Made a start on tidying up the wheel arches
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Post by Peter on May 9, 2017 14:00:55 GMT
That is a LOT of crazing to sort out, at least you are doing a 'proper job' and digging it all out. I must admit I didn't go to the extent of wheel arch work you have, I just slapped a load of filler on the inside and smoothed it of and rounded it when dry, seems to have stayed there for 25 years but then I hit it and had to wack a bit more on.
Onward and sideways.
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Post by trike on May 9, 2017 21:43:02 GMT
Arches were quite simple, strip of glassfibre sheet glued in at each end and forming it's own natural curve,then just fill in the gaps Some rigid plastic air pipe fixed on the inside of the arch ,then glassed over forming a hollow glassfibre tube which should be less likely to flex. Along with the extra mounting points in the nose to the front subframe ,the body is well supported so hopefully no more cracks. All the major glassfibre work is done,so now lots of filling & sanding. In between coats of filler I'll get the pedalbox fitted & piped up...
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Post by Jam-man on May 9, 2017 21:54:14 GMT
Fantastic quality work. Very nice to see. Chassis mods look fantastic. Jag rear end always a good choice. I have put them under many things. I prefer the later X308 Jag rear ends these days but the older type is absolutely bullet proof and a huge choice of diff ratio's too.
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Post by Peter on May 10, 2017 7:16:35 GMT
Pedals look smart, much better than my Locost ones which I have modified and still need to do more to as my size 11 boots foul the neighboring pedal so I need to bend clutch and throttle out a bit as well as make a new throttle with a curve in so it clears a bias adjusting cable. will look like this Can't quite picture how that fits as it looks like the cylinders face backwards and under the feet?
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Post by trike on May 10, 2017 21:08:45 GMT
looks like the cylinders face backwards and under the feet? Yep that's right. Dunno about the vw footwell, but the shape of the cortina one means not enough room for a normal pedalbox unless it's very narrow and then the pedals are too close together. So had to go for a 'cockpit fit' type. Had to offset it towards the tunnel to get it forwards enough and have room for the throttle linkage and bias adjuster cable. Pedals are still to close (need shorter legs) so will have to mount the seat right back against the rear bulkhead. Talking of seats, tried some out at Stoneleigh from www.intatrim.co.ukDesided to go for the GT40 ones (when funds allow) Not cheap but very nice and will suit the car perfectly.
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Post by Peter on May 10, 2017 21:44:49 GMT
Ah, I see. I take it you will box over the cylinders with a heel rest so you will be feet up, a bit F1. The floor is the same foot print as the VW so it's the same tight space as well ad the 17.5" seat width. The Intratrim seats are nice, if not a bit, well, a lot pricey but very nice. I was lucky to get some of the last seats from MJ Exhausts for £150 plus £50 shipping to Spain some five years ago. Making great progress, look for more updates.
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Post by trike on May 12, 2017 20:53:35 GMT
Once cover is in place, feet will be about 6cm higher,not too bad. Master cylinders fitted Will fit a few clips to keep all the pipes in place. Just the reservoir to fit & ready for fluid. Reservoir is Isuzu truck item,(from my 'might come in useful one day' box),less than 10cm square, so nice & compact, 3 outlets,and built in level switch.
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Post by trike on May 16, 2017 20:49:29 GMT
Screen out. Quite easy to remove without further damage, as it was only actually bonded in a couple of spots. Maybe the lack of bonding was partially responsible for the cracks up and down the sides ? Just need to remove what's left of the bonding material , then can get stuck in to rubbing it all down, ready for painting.
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Post by trike on Jul 1, 2017 18:18:56 GMT
Body all primed,final sand then ready for paint. New bonnet is coming along nicely, although not without a few problems! 1...after the final coat of epoxy resin,left it overnight to harden,got in the workshop next day to find a horrible sticky mess! Not only had it not set,but had actually thinned out and turned Brown! After a bit of head scratching trying to figure out what went wrong,finally worked it out, Somehow I managed to use the wrong hardener,polyester instead of epoxy....DOH!!! Lots of rags and acetone got it cleaned up ok and I was able to finish it off. Problem 2... Test fit the bonnet, nice 2-3mm gap between bonnet and body on one side, 20mm+ gap on the other, hmmm!! So, out with the disc cutter,slit down one side of the bonnet,some wedges to push the edge of the bonnet to where it should be,then glassfibre it all up...sorted. Problem 3... Having decided on a 'flat' bonnet,more akin to the vw version, there is not a lot of clearance between the underside and the cam cover. With the foam core and strengthening ribs the bonnet is around 10mm thick at this point and is actually touching the cover when fully closed. Fortunately the body isn't fully bolted down at the front,so may be able to raise the nose slightly, which will also raise the front of the bonnet, although will probably have to cut down the reinforcing ribs to get enough room for some heat shielding. Finally , the body not being symmetrical strikes again! The top of one wing is higher and curved different than the other,so bonnet is sitting slightly proud on one side, about 10mm , not a lot I can do about that without some major reshaping , so will have to leave as is. Also the different body curve means the headlight covers are at different angles , giving the appearance of one headlight being higher than the other at the top ,again something I'll have to live with. If anyone asks, i'll say it's to give a better beam pattern at night! More rigid than original bonnet and about half the weight. Just final trimming and filling to do.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2017 18:13:03 GMT
, I can imagine it was a nasty job in your workshop, but your end result is top
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Post by trike on Jul 11, 2017 21:42:08 GMT
Painting is going well given the less than ideal spraying conditions in the workshop.
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Post by Peter on Jul 12, 2017 13:02:25 GMT
Looking seriously nice.
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Post by trike on Jul 21, 2017 19:52:10 GMT
Final coat of paint done,starting to look shiney now Just need to let it harden for a week or so then flat it all down and get the buffer out. Photobucket still working ok for me at the moment but I'll try adding pics this way.
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Post by trike on Aug 10, 2017 18:53:19 GMT
Bonnet nearly finished,ready for clearcoat The more observant may notice the scoop/vent one one side is offset slightly,this is due to err....aerodynamics
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Post by Peter on Aug 12, 2017 15:35:57 GMT
The more observant may notice the scoop/vent one one side is offset slightly,this is due to err....aerodynamics I thought it was to go with the generally asymmetric shape of the SS (and Nova).
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Post by trike on Mar 4, 2018 0:12:34 GMT
Got plenty done over the last few months but internet issues mean I can't post photos at the moment. Bonnet finished and fitted. Front aluminium inner wings done. Made the front undertray,also in aluminium,in two parts with around 100 1" dimpled holes,took some doing.
Electrics 90% done,just the headlights and dash wiring to do,got all the clocks, gauges etc, but no dash, that's next on my to do list. Rear inner wings and arches nearly finished in GRP.
The roll bar originally had some flat steel bracing going through the rear bulkhead which I think was standard. I will be replacing this with proper tubing which will also stiffen up the rear of the chassis.
All plumbing done, silicone hoses are a right bu@@er to get to seal, nearly every connection leaked just filling it with coolant. Tried various solutions, ended up going 'old skool' head gasket shellac,no more leaks 😁
Finished off the exhaust system with twin silencers,so now 4-1-2.
Had the engine running, haven't mapped the ignition or set up the carbs yet but starts instantly and idles nicely.Large cooling system (12L waterless coolant) means even after 1/2 hour idling didn't get hot enough to activate the cooling fans, but then had to switch off as one of the power steering hoses went pop...steering fluid everywhere,yuk!
The twin silencers sound good, although not as expected, definitely a V8 type burble,in fact sounds more like a V8 than a friends 5.7 Chevy ! Me thinks some sort of baffles might be required come MOT time.
Ordered a new screen yesterday,but 10-12 weeks turnaround means won't be here in time for Stoneleigh 😞
At least that takes the pressure off,can take my time rather than rushing to get it completed. There's always next year!
Details on the windscreen post are a bit out of date, current details are:
Emma Dony
Classics@pilkington.com £459.13 +vat
OUCH!!!
Unfortunately it is only available in clear , no border or suntint.
However the border is easy enough to do, simply mask off the inside of the screen,thin down the mastic with acetone and paint on ,let it go off then bond the screen in, job done. I've been able to source some very low profile windscreen trim which will save the hassle of filling in around the screen and should look better than just mastic.
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Post by jamman on Mar 4, 2018 0:56:26 GMT
I have just been re reading your posts from the start. Beautiful work. Great choice of rear end and very wise to keep the radius arms. The Jag rear winds up and steps out terribly without them. I am guessing if it is off a 420 that it is a 3.09 or a 331:1. These may be a bit tall for a 4 cylinder zetec unless I missed an engine change somewhere :-) I have a 3.4 series 3 one going spare if you are interested and it should be something like a 3.77 . Great work. Love reading your posts.
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Post by trike on Mar 4, 2018 18:40:15 GMT
I'm pretty sure it is a 3.54 from a 420G If I remember correctly, the Sierra diff that was in the car when I bought it, was a 3.38 so should be ok.
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Post by terryrob on Mar 6, 2018 19:11:33 GMT
Excellent, great to see progress made, means more back on the road in the future.
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Post by Peter on Mar 11, 2018 11:58:26 GMT
That colour got me all nostalgic for my daily drive 40 years ago. Apollo scoop an' all. Attachment DeletedCoincidentally dig the reg number.
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