2016

December 2016

  • Wipers and windscreen washer

    A couple of small jobs completed but two that I had been waiting on parts for that had held up other parts of the build.

    Number one was the wiper arm spindles, I had been waiting to fit these since I had the wiper motor but until I had the wiper arms I did not know the exact position I needed them in and although I had ordered the arms back in September I also ordered the wiper blades at the same time and these were held up on order. Once I had the blades and arms I could then position the spindles and once that was done I could then make the cutouts for these in dash top. The plastic mounting parts that come with the wiper spindles are wedged shaped which is so you can mount them at an angle in the bodywork but I needed to mount them on the windscreen surround as there is not enough room to mount them horizontally on the Fury. To get round this, I turned down two stepped collars out of nylon rod which position the spindles at the correct height but also help to hold up the back of the dash top (or front depending on how you view it).

    Now the wiper arms were in place I could also now fit the washer bottle, pipe work and washer jets.

    Under Dash Protection

    After forming the panels last month I got round to finishing these off. Having bought a sleeping mat for a couple of quid from Millets I glued these to the panels, cut off the excess and then covered these with the same vinyl as the dash top. Once fitted in place with the dash board they give a good flow as the matting is around the same thickness as the dash board panel but also it will hopefully satisfy the IVA man when it comes to test time.


    Dashboard continued

    With the under side protection sorted, I looked at the fibreglass cover I had made last month to go over the digidash which would finish off the dash top. I had made it rather large but once cut down and shaped to the way I wanted, it looked quite good and much better than the original hardboard one I previously made. After figuring out a method to attach it to the top I then covered this with some thin foam matting just to give it a slightly thicker appearance and then covered it in the same vinyl as the dash top. This was a bit difficult but overall it doesn't look too bad an effort and does a good job of shielding the glare on the digidash. While I was doing the vinyl I covered the dash top, I had been waiting to do this part as I needed to make a cut out in the dash top for the wiper arm spindles and now they are fitted I knew where to cut out these sections.


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November 2016

  • Dashboard continued

    Having cut out the dashboard from MDF and made the cutout for the digidash last month, I moved on and made some more progress by adding the oil pressure gauge, ECU/Alarm LED and Digidash selector switch. With these all in position I then finalised the wiring, finishing off the terminations for the digidash and also wiring up the switches for the fog light, heater fan and radiator fan override switch and making a panel for these to sit just in front of the gear lever. As I plan to do with the dashboard I also covered this with some Carbon Fibre 4D wrap which gives a really neat finish to the panel and looks just like the real thing.


    Under Dash Protection

    As part of the IVA regulations, the area below the dashboard should have a minimum radius of 19mm or 5mm if covered with a soft material. For a while I was scratching my head on how I was going to achieve this, others I know had used cut down drain pipes covered with matting or boards again covered with a soft material but in the end I decided to try and make something using my new best fabrication medium, Fibreglass.
    The plan was to have the form attached behind the dashboard through the same fixing points and bend around under the dashboard, this would then be covered with a soft foam matting and covered in the same material as the dash top. Using an old off cut of aluminium, I bent this around a pipe to get a good radius, cleaned it, applied a coat of PVA release agent and then applied two layers of 400g CSM fibreglass which provided a firm but still flexible curved surface. Once dry I cut this down to size to fit under the dash on the passenger side and made another for the drivers side, again cutting to size. All I need to do now is find some matting to cover it and then cover that in vinyl.

    While I was in the fibreglass fabrication mode, I also made a right angled panel to cover the end of the right hand side of the under dash and also added some strengthening patches to the side pods where the bonnet catch attachment bolts will be fitted. This was advised to me by a few other Fury owners who use the Aero catches to fasten the bonnet down.

    The original idea was to cover the top of the drivers side of the dash board using the hardboard arch I had made but the more I looked at it the more I didn't really like its bulky structure, so again while I was using fibreglass I also made a mold for that and formed this into an arch. Once this is trimmed down to size I will give it a foam covering and again top off with the vinyl.


    Wiring gremlins

    Having finalised the wiring to the dashboard I gave things a test and came across a few issues. The first issue was when trying to wire up the Fog Light switch I had chosen, this has a small LED in it to indicate when the switch is on and this LED needs to go to connect to earth when switched. The trouble was in the Ford Sierra system the fog light is a switched earth and so this would never light the LED when switched on. Eventually after much discussion on the Locostbuilders website and a lengthy conversation with someone on there the best solution was to use the switch to switch a relay which then operated the Fog light - not ideal but not a disaster either. The next issue was when operating the wipers they operated correctly as in slow fast and park but not intermittent. Tracing this back and also reading some more posts on Locost Builders website (don't know what I would do without this) I noticed that the relay I was using had 5 terminals but the wiring loom only had four wires into the relay block. The relay I had was for a variable intermittent wipe system but by using a 50K Ohm transducer wired up to a switched live and to the 'P' terminal on the relay the intermittent wipe worked and was variable too, result.

    Sidepod

    Having previously formed and bonded the mesh it in place to cover the cooling holes in the exhaust side pod and also having added the reinforcing points, I could now get round to laying in the heat reflective matting in the pod and also on the side panels of the chassis. This was trimmed down and the edges covered with some aluminium tape to give a neater finish, not that is should be seen but I will know it looks neat. I also bonded on a strip of aluminium to the point where I will drill through and rivet the pod to attach it to the fixing points on the chassis. All I need to do now is finally position the exhaust and secure it, line the side pod up and attach it in place.


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October 2016

  • Dashboard

    Having received the fibreglass dash top from Steve at Fury I could think about making the dashboard to mount the digidash and other gauges etc to.
    The measurements I had taken from other Fury's suggested that the Acewell dash was always going to be a tight fit behind the steering wheel but that was where I really wanted it to be, not in the centre of the dash where some people do fit them. Placing the dash top where it needed to be and making a cardboard template for the dash it became apparent that the fibreglass dash top was going to be difficult, if not impossible to use with the Acewell mounted behind the steering wheel. After a little head scratching and speaking to Len (a contact who has recently finished his Fury), making the dash top out of hardboard could be a potential solution. This was a bit more flexible and once covered with a vinyl material would look virtually the same. One other issue with this is that the buttons to select menu functions are slightly awkward to reach but doing some research it appears that the remote unit which can also be used to select the lap timing functions can be used to select the menu functions too and I can fix this somewhere more accessible.

    So having made another cardboard template and made the top from hardboard, I cut out the main dash panel from 6mm moisture resistant MDF board. In this I also cut out the space for the Acewell dash so it would fit in the gap between the steering wheel shaft and the view between the spokes on the wheel. To make this work I made a small arch over the top of the acewell to which I will then need to make some sort of cover. Once the Acewell dash was put in place it was a matter of fixing the dash panel to the chassis frame and then figuring out a way to attach the hardboard top to this, offset aluminium angle with a slight radius is the way that I chose and gives a neat clean finish with the minimum amount of fixings. To hold in place under the bulkhead I added a few wooden blocks glued in place that the hardboard rests on.


    Again using a cardboard template I made the outline shape for the cover to go over the arch in the dash and cut out sections from MDF and hardboard. Bolts through the bottom of the MDF will allow this to be fixed to the hardboard dash top before fixing this in place too.


    Sidepod

    The search for the correct colour to match the bodywork had continued with most attempts via the internet proving fruitless, the matches that were sent through were even worse than the RAL paint that Steve had got for me. Another search on the net for 'custom match paints' near me came up with the company Ketts Auto Paints based in Wisbech and Peterborough. Having taking one of the sidepods to them they scanned it with their colour match machine and it showed a match that was again not really anywhere close to the body colour but leaving a sample of the gel coat with them, they would then try and mix a nearer match and put this in an aerosol spray. A few days later they called to say they had mixed a custom colour which is a really good match as can be seen below, they also assign it a unique reference number so I can order more if I need it. The aerosol has a hardener chemical mixed in that allows the paint to dry much like a 2k paint so much tougher than normal aerosol paint.

    With the paint now applied to the areas where I had cut holes in the body panel I could now make progress on covering the holes with mesh and apply the heat reflective material. I had previously bought some black anodised expended aluminium mesh which I then formed around a hole that I had cut out of MDF board and used the cut out to make the mesh raised and fit in the holes. This gives a better finish I think than just leaving the mesh flat. The mesh is then bonded to the inside of the panel using PU sealant which gives a good strong bond.


    Oil Pressure Gauge and Sender

    One last item I had finally got round to this month was the purchase of the oil pressure gauge and sender. Having previously chopped down the sump for the Zetec I am still a little concerned as to whether there will be enough capacity in the sump for the running of the Zetec although plenty of people seem to think it will be fine. The Zetec comes fitted with the standard oil pressure switch which only comes on with very low oil pressure, in other words....too late and the damage has been done! So I have purchased the gauge and sender from ETB Instruments which will allow me to see what oil pressure I have and understand if the sump chop has worked with regards to having enough capacity in the system. The sender is good in the fact that it also has a pressure light as well as the pressure signal so I can use the same unit for both the light and gauge. The sender is a little large to go in the hole where the current pressure switch is as it is right next to the engine mount and also the oil filter but just to the left of the engine mount on the Zetec block is another drilling which can be used. Apparently this is used on the turbo version to supply oil to the Turbo.

    One other item I received this month was a pair of Aerocatches which I was given as a birthday present from Chris and Kieran, I just need to get the bonnet fitted now.


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August - September 2016

  • Exhaust Mounting

    Before I could finalise fitting the passenger side pod I needed to mount the exhaust, cut a hole for the exhaust exit and fit the heat reflective matting inside the pod and on the side panel. The first job was to judge the position of the exhaust and fabricate some mounting brackets, the rear one being fairly easy as this is just a 90 degree bracket with a slot to allow for some longitudinal movement in the mounting. The front mount however has to be angled slightly to cope with the chassis rails being at different angles, this was also made with a slot to allow movement. The brackets were then mounted direct to the chassis in holes I had originally fitted the aluminium panels to but now I had drilled the holes out to be slightly bigger and fixed the brackets with some stainless steel flange rivets which should be strong enough to hold the brackets securely. These I would not have been able to pull with a hand riveter so luckily I still have my pneumatic riveter


    Once I had the exhaust mountings in place I looked at cutting the hole for the exhaust exit. After measuring several times and ensuring I had the right place I plucked up courage to cut the hole which was thankfully in the perfect place, always worth measuring several times... While I was at it, I added some holes in the underside of the pod to let out some of the heat that will be generated inside the pod and also added some holes at the front to allow a through flow of air to aide in the cooling. All I need to do now before adding the heat reflective matting is to cover the inside of the holes with a mesh to keep out debris, another item for my e-bay shopping list. Also added to that list was the need to match some paint to touch up the areas where I have cut holes in the fibreglass body work but also to touch up a few points on the bodywork which are not finished quite to my liking. Steve did send me some paint to spray the inside of the body work where the gel coat wasn't thick enough but the colour is just a standard RAL colour and not really a match to the real gel coat colour. I had asked him to get the gel coat colour from the people who made the bodywork but I'm still waiting... The search for a match is ongoing.


    Dashboard electrics, heater and wiper motor

    Last month most of the wiring splicing work was finished around the dash area and also I ran the cables to the front and rear of the chassis, clipping in place to conform to the IVA requirement and covering with convoluted tubing for added protection. The wiring to the fuel tank sender and fuel pump were terminated and also the wiring of waterproof plugs for the rear lighting was completed. I also ran the speedo sensor wiring from the rear drive shaft down to the dash area to go into the Acewell digidash.

    I ordered the heater, tubing and also wiper motor to fit behind the dashboard so the next job was to mount and wire these in too before tackling the dashboard. The heater was ordered from T7Designs who specialise in small, lightweight heaters and are becoming very popular in kitcars due to their compact size and weight saving compared to manufacturers heaters. I also bought the bulkhead connector which provides a neat solution to run the pipe work through from the engine to the heater. The pipe coming off from the left hand upper pipe is to fit a bleed point.


    With the heater in place I then mounted the wiper motor off to the left hand side of the dash area and then made mounting brackets for the relay board and fuse box which sits just in front of the wiper motor and will be covered by a panel to the left of the main dashboard in the passenger side pod area. These items were wired in and allow me to tidy up the loom and secure it down with rubber covered P-clips.


    I have finally received my dash top through which I originally ordered the same time as my bodywork. With the heater, wiper motor and electrics mounted and the dash top available I can start to think about mounting the digidash and making the dashboard.

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June - July 2016

  • With the body tub now bonded into place I could really finish off the routing of the wiring through the body bulkhead and around the chassis. Also the wiring for the engine to the ecu and main loom could be finished as I now knew where all these would terminate. June is a very busy time at work and so I didn't get much time to spend on the car but when I did I was joining the main loom connections and ECU connections to the engine harness, splicing them together and soldering the joint before sealing with heat shrink tubing. This makes for a very neat and hopefully safe and secure joint but is quite time consuming.

    July was pretty much written off what with work and a family holiday but with much of August free I should be able to get quite a bit more done, fingers crossed.


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April - May 2016

  • Fuel Tank bonding

    Part of the IVA requirement is to ensure that the fuel cap and hose is bonded/earthed to the chassis. Once the body tub is in place with the boot liner over the top it is virtually impossible to access the fuel tank so I had to ensure the bonding lead and filler hose was mounted to the fuel tank and that the tank was fixed to the chassis prior to attaching the boot liner to the chassis. I also took pictures to show at the IVA test so they can see that the bonding is in place.


    Bonding the body tub to the boot liner

    After some final positioning of the body to the point where I was happy that the side pods, bonnet and body were in the best position possible I cut down the sides of the boot liner to allow the rear of the bodywork to sit in the right position within the wheel arches and inline with the side pods. Taking this down gradually and placing the body tub on each time to check positioning was a little time consuming but worth getting it right to ensure the body will be sat in the correct position.


    With the boot liner cut down and the body tub placed onto it this is now bonded to it to hold the tub firmly in position. Having taken the wheels off and the brake hubs covered with newspaper the next few days were spent mixing the resin and applying the fibreglass matting. Three layers of 450g matting was applied which once dried proved to be a very solid bond and firmly attaching the body tub to the rear of the chassis. To allow the boot liner to fit, you have to cut a small section out to allow it to go around the roll cage fixings, while bonding the boot liner I also made small patches around these cutouts to make the section watertight. The front of the tub was also now attached to the chassis using some flange rivets.


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January - March 2016

  • Main body tub fit

    Positioning the main body tub I thought, would allow me to make progress and really I suppose it has but it just seems that the trial fitting threw up a load of answers to questions that I had been trying to answer in my head, it now appears that some were the wrong answers! However now I could actually see where everything was I realised that some things needed to change such as the wiring routing. Another issue was where after making all the brackets for the seats and getting the roll hoop changed to suit the belts and seat positioning I realised when I sat in the seat with the body on, the seat height was too high and all I could see was the top of the screen surround! A re-think on how to attach the seats to the runners would be needed and also I noted that the attachment points for the belts would also now be lower so instead of attaching the belts to the top of the mounting points I would mount then from underneath…apart from the thread didn’t run all the way through, so that would need to be tapped through.

    Fitting the tub, side pods and bonnet did allow me to judge exactly where they all need to sit giving the correct clearance to the front and rear wheel arches especially when on full steering lock. As you can see from the images, the bonnet doesn't quite sit flush at the moment as some of the lower edge needs to filed away. The tape on the side was used just to hold the pods in place while I aligned everything, I also had a chance with the side pod in place to cut the hole for the exhaust manifold to enter the pod, this isn't quite finished yet and I will probably open this up a little but it did allow me to roughly judge also where the main exhaust silencer will finish and see where the brackets will need to be located.


    I had originally decided to use a set of traditional analogue ETB gauges but I did like the idea of a digital dash but had discounted it as I thought it would be too expensive. Having done a bit of looking around I found that Acewell now did a digital dashboard with many of the features and more that I wanted and it worked out cheaper than buying separate analogue gauges. With the wiring routing now sorted and tided up, I bought the digital dash with the thinking that I would need to get this wired in too while sorting the rest of it. I had already researched the types of dash available and the Acewell 7859 is a really compact unit but has loads of features including many of the lights required by IVA and a built in odometer that is IVA compliant. Initially I was going to try and use an electronic speedo sensor unit fitted to many Fords to provide the signal input for the dash and using an adapter that fits into the speedo housing of the gearbox. Again big_wasa came to the rescue and gave me one that he had used when wiring up the gauges on his Locost but no matter what I did I just couldn't get the speedo to read on the Acewell dash. Doing some research it seems that most other people seem to have this trouble too, so in the end I decided that I would use the magnet and sensor supplied with the dash unit. The next choice was whether to fit the magnet to the propshaft or to one of the drive shafts. The common consensus seemed to suggest that to the drive shaft was easiest as the number of revolutions would be less and also you get a better reading from the drive shaft and also it is easier to set up as obviously one revolution of the shaft would be one RPM for the wheel as opposed to trying to calculate the number of propshaft revolutions that equals one wheel revolution. As the cable was long enough to reach the nearside driveshaft, I made a bracket that would house the sensor and allow me to adjust it up and down once the sensor is glued to the driveshaft can.


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