Penultimate Days Work AT MAC#1

😦

This is the very empty garage. I really miss working on the car. I have watched loads of crap TV and completed two video games in the last couple of weeks but really I have wanted to be working on my car.

So last Saturday, I drove over to MAC#1 and did just that.

So with the help of Mark (above), I set about tackling some of the outstanding jobs.

Front Brake Callipers

I had not previously fitted the front callipers because I did not have the appropriate brackets but MAC#1 ordered them in for me. The first job was to jack up the car and take off the wheels.

The bracket bolts to the front hub and then the calliper bolts on to the bracket with the aid of a spacer. Then just bolt the wheels back on.

     

The only thing left to do with the brakes is to connect up the flexible brake hose, and add some brake fluid.

While the wheels were off, I also adjusted the front wheel chamber.

Big Rich was at the factory helping Paul with his build and he advised me that if I removed the top ball joint, then screwed it back in by 9 threads each size then they would be set about right, so that is what I did.

Prop Shaft Centre Support

Last time I was at MAC#1 I fitted the prop shaft but I did not have time to bolt the central support bracket to the chassis.

You have to do this to stop the prop shaft from moving from side to side in the transmission tunnel. The problem is that in order to get a drill in to drill some holes, you need to remove the scuttle and (in my case) half the wiring loom.

 

I also had to remove the wiring loom support bar I added across the top of the transmission tunnel. 

Once all that was out of the way, I was able to get a drill in and bolt the prop shaft in place using some M10 bolts. You also have to use some washers underneath the prop shaft bracket so that does not deform when tightened.

With the prop shaft fixed in place I refitted wiring loom and the scuttle.

Speed Sensor Bracket

The digidash comes complete with it’s own speed sensor system. It works by detecting magnets attached to the prop shaft as they rotate. The magnets are positioned at opposite sides of the prop shaft and a ‘hall effect’ sensor is positioned just above where the magnets will be. Each time the hall effect sensor detects the magnets passing, it represents half a rotation of the prop shaft. The digidash software uses the wheel diameter and diff ratio to calculate a special correction factor unique to the wheel / diff combination and this allows it to convert rotations on the prop shaft to a real road speed.

In order for this to work, the magnets need to pass just 1mm below the sensor and the whole thing needs to be rigidly mounted so that the sensor does not move away from the magnets in transit.

To ensure that the sensor and magnets remain static relative to themselves, I mounted the sensor right above where the prop shaft joins to the engine.

I started with a strip of aluminium which I then bent in to an elongated ‘z’ shape.

Next I drilled a hole for the sensor to be mounted in. The top will be bolted to the main chassis, right over where the prop shaft meets the engine.

When I offered it up, I realised that there would not be enough clearance for the magnets. I was going to redo the bracket but Mark from MAC#1 suggested cutting the nylon bolt in half.

Hopefully this will allow enough clearance for the the magnets which will be glued on to the sprocket adaptor (which connects the prop shaft to the engine).

 

And that was the last job I had time for on Saturday.

 Panic Time?

And with that I had a very nasty realisation. As I cannot work at MAC#1 next Saturday, that means that I only have one day free when I can work on the car before the SVA test on the 22nd of July….

…… and this is the list of things to do!

• Fix engine!
• Build and fit exhaust
• Bleed and test brakes
• Fit handbrake saddle and test handbrake
• Put water in
• Cut and fit transmission tunnel panels
• Fit ‘hockey stick’ trim to transmission tunnel and sides
• Fit mirrors for SVA
• Finalise Digidash configuration
• Fit magnets to prop shaft
• Fit ‘U’ trim around underside of dash
• Adjust steering and wheel geometry
• Fit fuel filler pipe and filler nozzle
• Finish top of rear (above diff and fuel tank) with a panel
• Fit front cycle wings
• Add ‘U’ trim to front cycle wings

MAC#1 may not be worried but I sure as hell am.

With just 6 days to go there seems like there is still a lot of questions to be answered.

Prop-Shaft

 

This is a prop-shaft. It connects the engine to the differential and runs through the centre of the car.

Fitting the prop-shaft is simply a case of bolting one end to the diff.

This is done with special fine threaded bolts which are apparently difficult to get hold of. These are bolted in place with a bit of thread-lock to stop them shaking loose.

The other end is bolted to the sprocket adaptor on the engine.

   

This is done with bolts that go through the prop-shaft end, and through the sprocket adaptor. These are then secured with some nylocks.

The central bearing carrier kind of finds it’s own final position. IT is then bolted to the chassis in the transmission tunnel.

But mine did not work out like that. The prop-shaft was fractionally too long which meant that the shaft didn’t sit in the tunnel correctly such that the it was rubbing on one of the chassis rails when rotated. So it had to come off and I will need to consult with MAC#1 as to what to do next.