Again Again

I've been out to the garage again. I took the wheel off, fitted a 3mm spacer & found the wheel stopped rotating just as the nuts were tightened. So I swapped it for a 6mm spacer & all was well - except there was a spacer betwixt the wheel & the hub.

I closely inspected the brake calliper, where the bleed nipples exit there is a machined pocket. on the lower one was some deformation showing where the wheel had pushed it inwards, so I have a plan. Remove the metal where it's been pushed in, remove the spacers from the brake calliper mounting kit & take 1mm off each & that should ensure the fourspoke fits. At the moment I don't know if I want the fourspokes or not, but I'd like the option.






A single Peugeot peperpot alloy & tyre weighs 15.5 Kg, a fourspoke & tyre weighs 13Kg so that's 10 Kg of unsprung rotating mass reduced if I go for the 13 inch wheels. That could easily take the car back under 600Kg so it's worth considering.





"2000 HC" sticker for the cam cover

Also omitted from the last post were a couple of photos of the new retro 60's stickerage. only under the bonnet at this stage, but there will be more

 

"CAUTION NEGATIVE EARTH" decal just like cars used to have

 

New Year

It's the Christmas break & I've not been out to the garage too much, but I did take the car out & 1/2 fill it with fuel - enough to prove that the fuel gauge still isn't working, so I think with the council spraying salt about with gay abandon (well, abandon anyway - I couldn't comment on the councils "orientation") I think it's time to take the car off the road & do some jobs properly.

A couple of days ago I popped over to Forrest Hill to pick up four wheels from Rich In the SKCC

There was a frost ........

they're borrowed - & just as well, because they don't fit. As anyone who modifies cars will tell you, selecting wheels & tyres is a bit of a nightmare, there's the wheel diameter, width, offset (where the mounting flange sits in relation to the rim centreline) & the bolt pattern to be considered, then there's the tyres, the diameter must match the wheel (obviously) but a variety of tyre widths will fit on any given wheel width, & a variety of heights for each width. Oh & there's an eclectic mix of imperial & metric sizes for good measure (see what I did there?).

The wheels on the car are:-                                  The tyres are:-
14 (inch dia)                                                         185 (mm wide)
5.5 (inch wide)                                                     14 (inch dia)
offset 24 (mm),                                                     60 (% width to height ratio).

The wheels I borrowed are:-                                The tyres are:-
13 (inch dia)                                                         185 (mm wide)
6 (inch wide)                                                        13 (inch dia)
offset 16 (mm),                                                     70 (% width to height ratio).



I still haven't worked out how to turn pictures sideways.

The upshot of all that maths is that from outside the car, there should be NO difference, the overall diameter should be the same & the position of the tyre in the wheel arch should be identical

So having fitted the two wheels with the size tyres I wanted, I tried to push the car out to photograph it. It wouldn't move. Then I looked more closely as the front wheels.


As can be seen from the pic, the brake callipers are touching the inside of the wheel – not good.

I’ll need to use spacers if I want to fit the four spokes. The rear ones only just fit under the arch. Hmmmm.
 The problems with spacers are many fold. They mean the wheel studs are being bent rather than sheared which invites problems with metal fatigue, they mean the wheel isn't located properly in the centre diameter as well as another couple of points, so I'd REALLY rather not use spacers. I know people do use them successfully , but I'd rather not.

Thinking cap on.

I did fit some stickerage to the engine bay, a replica Ford decal for the cam box & a negative earth one for the battery bay door. these are part of an on-going "plan" to make the car look more '60s. You'll see more of this over the coming months.

So Here It Is ..............

Ah Christmas Eve - I really ought to be wrapping some presents. What have I been doing since last I wrote? The car went to Crawley for the SKCC Christmas breakfast - disappointingly one of only four kits there, then it went to Goodwood for a PistonHeads "Sunday Service" which I found a disappointing affair. In spite of the good folk on PH raving about how much they'd enjoyed it, the sight of rows of silver Porsches does little for me. The points of interest came from the older & more modified cars. A Lancia Fulvia & an MX5 with a V6, I passed one guy talking at some length about his latest "mod" to his M3 - he'd bought a BRIGHT orange cold air intake moulding & fitted it. REALLY? YOU DID THAT ALL YOURSELF?

Ah, each to their own I suppose.

Back in my own garage I took down the fuel tank in the hope of finding out why the gauge wasn't working. I had hoped to find the wire disconnected, but no. I checked how many voltages were getting in & out of the sender, & replaced the connector just in case there was a problem, but I didn't find anything definitive.

I've also been agonising about wheels. I wanted something that looked more 50s - 60s & had found that I could get a set of gold minilites with tyres for the same prices as a set of new 888s for the Pug wheels, then I realised that would lower the car to the point where the sump would be dangerously low unless I bought 70 series tyres - which were the same price as the 888s. I wound this conundrum around for some days, sometimes thinking "Dammit just spend the money & get what you want", sometimes saying "spending £750 on a set of wheels & tyres is just daft at the moment". Then Captain Slow of the SKCC said he had some old RS four spoke alloys in his garden I could try for size, so that's a possible solution to the problem I've built up to the size of a cow (sigh).

Hoping for a more positive 2015 now the jobs settled & going well, so Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to anyone reading this.

Screen Wipe

One of the long standing niggles with the Fury has been the screen wash.
The only place I could fit the jets at the time I built it was the scuttle. I could've put it on the bonnet, but that would've required a hose right to the front of the car where the hinge frame is, then all the way back along the underside of the bonnet where there's nothing to mount it to. The problem with where it is is simple, it's right at the foot of the screen, so it ether squirts the base of the screen, or right over it, it's impossible to set it "nicely". It needed to be further forward.

Looking at my CAD model of the Fury one day it occurred to me that the solution was a bracket reaching out from the bulkhead with a nozzle on the end squirting through the vent at the back of the bonnet. I drew it up - it looked good & today I've made it. It's not plumbed in yet because I need to take the dash out to get to the hose.

At the TKC Live event a week or two ago, I bought a tall washer jet from the nice people at Car Builder Solutions & today I found some time to get out in the garage.

I found an offcut of 0.5mm aluminium & marked the profile from my CAD drawing on it, cut it out with snips (easy as the metal is so thin) then bent it to give it some strength & It looked like this - the protective film is still on it at this stage.

I drilled a couple of matching holes in the bulkhead (after removing my "skull & crossed spanners" sticker) & jig-pinned it on, closed the bonnet & there it was - perfect.

Here it is in the engine bay, with the old nozzle at the bottom of the screen. As you can see I've had to grind away the screen seal to allow the water to pass.

And here's the view with the bonnet closed, perfect I'd say

"But" you ask "what about all the extra weight?" well I'm assuming the new tall plastic nozzle is lighter than the old chromed brass one & the bracket itself weighs 15g, yes, one-five-grams.

TKC Live Brands Hatch

The SKCC had been invited along to Brands to show our faces at TotalKitCar Live. It's best described as mid-way between a kit car show & a disappointment. It's a sound idea, a race track is rented for the day & manufacturers rent pit-space so they can take prospective customers round the track. the public turns up to see the cars & watch the track action & everyone goes home happy.



SKCC area & erm another club's less densely packed area

Except that being November, It wasn't the ideal time of year & the public mostly stayed away in droves. It wasn't all bad news, the club met up at a golf club for the traditional full English & a very nice breakfast it was too.

I had taken Neil along for the ride (he of the "man cave") & after we were fed, we convoyed(ish) to the circuit, out allotted club stand was between the only other two clubs with a stand, the Kent & Essex kit car clubs, each of which had about five cars on. The SKCC rocked up with 30 & COMPLETELY filled our area.

Just gorgeous

I was going to leave the car uncovered, but thought better of it & put up the hood before walking down to the pits. There were some interesting cars there, a couple of Cobra replicas, the gorgeous GD T70 Moda, a few bike engine Furys, a Hayabusa powered Mini, a space-framed, GRP bodied, bubble-arch Escord MkI with the V8 made from two Hayabusa top ends & a new start-up Company called Ewens Sports Cars, wit a newly designed chassis which looked to be very well engineered in deed. Also Zenos were there with the pre-production E10, it's not a kit car, but it is very minimalist & again has very impressive engineering.

Lining up for the track action

Mean while cars were going round the track. It was wet, it was slippery & there were a few spins, but it was interesting to note that one of the fastest cars out was the 'busa powered front wheel drive Mini which was keeping up with the cobras (one of which sounded like the Wehrmacht was going past) without too much trouble, I guess when it's slippy torque is more of a hindrance than a help. Then it TIPPED with rain while Neil & I were talking with the man from Zenos. Due to the rain, no "real" customers were coming in so we chatted until it stopped, he seemed a really genuine guy who just wants to make a really good car.


Ear defenders at the ready!

Mmmmm GT40 & corners

 At last it was time for the "parade lap". By the time we'd wrestled the soft top back into it's stowed position we were last in the queue, but no matter. In front of us was a MkII Escort & a black seven, we all headed off behind the control car - obviously all hanging back to give some acceleration space. The parade followed the control car up & round the first bend & the seven held a beautiful drift, the Escort thought it'd try it's luck at the same trick & ended up 90deg to the track one way, then the other before he got a handle on it. It was slippery though, the back of the Fury jiggled a couple of times - easily controlled with a little opposite lock though.


So then it was time to go home. It was an enjoyable day, but for me only because the SKCC were out in force. Had I gone on my own, I could've seen it all in an hour which is a pity.



Zenos - impressive



THAT Escort

 

Post Script

Something I should've mentioned from the last post (see what I did there? - Remembrance Day - last post?) was mention that the engine had been much smoother around the idle with none of the hesitation nonsense it's suffered with. I'm guessing (hoping) this is the result of increasing the fuel return pipe diameter - the theory being that there was pressure in the return line, which meant that when the car wasn't using much fuel the back pressure was overcoming the fuel pressure regulator (as the excess fuel had no-where to go) & so over-fuelling the engine. On Sunday, the pick up from idle was as crisp as a crisp thing (possibly a crisp?) so hopefully that's another niggle consigned to the list of "problems it used to have".

Fisher Fury from the rear.
It's with some pride that I write "That's the car I built".

Also on Sunday, DJ from the SKCC took this rather appealing photo of the Fury while passenging in GB's car. AND another thing, While it was in bits I turned up both rear shocks by two clicks & that seemed to stop the crashing over potholes - of course I may just have not gone down any really big pot holes.

On the down side (every silver lining has a cloud) the fuel gauge wasn't working so the tank will have to come out again (ar5e)

Wassapnin?

Legions of loyal readers have quite literally not been asking me what the current situation is. Well, firstly I have a job. A proper job this time, on a real airfield with real aeroplanes, though as yet I haven't been formally introduced to the scrap bins.

Owing to the above, the Fury has been re-taxed & the mods & updates are complete(ish). Today is Remembrance Sunday when the SKCC invades a small Sussex village & lays a wreath on their war memorial - whether they like it or not - fortunately they seem to like it.

I decided not to partake of the blatt before hand as this would be my first drive of the Fury in 2 1/2 months & it's first outing since a fairly major strip-down, but there were no mechanical issues, except the fuel gauge isn't working & on re-starting it at thee café, it sounded like a bag of spanners being vigorously shaken. I shut down the engine, but the noise continued & then it became apparent that it was someone else's starter motor I could hear over my engine.

Good Turn-out

The plan was the same as ever, a blatt followed by breakfast, then a procession to the church. I have yet to arrive as part of the procession in spite of setting off as part of it every time. This year we came to a staggered junction & one car went right-then-left, the next car & the one after it went left. I decided to go with the majority decision, but as we rumbled along, the ETA on my satnav was saying 10:45 ........ 10:50 .......... 10:55 at which point I decided to turn round & follow the satnav on the "fastest" route to the church. As we know Satnavs exist in their own part of the space-time continuum & in spite of me taking the "fastest" route, the cars I was following when I turned back not only arrived before me, but they were parked up & their occupants were out & deep in conversation (probably about where the idiot in the Fury had gone).

Bathed in sunshine again

The service itself was conducted with decorum by the village vicar & was only interrupted by some late-comers (ironically all in German cars) who compounded the faux-pas of lateness by parking up in such a way that the road was impassable, causing a couple of cars to have to back back to the last junction (sigh).