|
Date |
Event |
01/07/2004
3hrs
Hydraulics
Clutch |
Picked up the braided hose and fittings
for the clutch today . I made the end to fit the slave cylinder, then
spent the rest of the time trying to work out length and the best route to
the master cylinder. |
02/07/2004
3hrs
Clutch |
Having thought about the routing of
the clutch pipe overnight, I decided the shortest route with the minimum
curvature was the best. Securing the pipe about midway along its length
using a "P" Clip bolted to the brake remote reservoir securing bracket. I
tried the installation to work out the length of the pipe, removed the pipe
and made up the banjo end that bolts to the clutch master cylinder. The
complete pipe was then connected to the master and slave cylinders make sure
there was plenty of clearance around the steering column and the "P" clip
secured. There was clearance between the pipe and the brake pipes and
the clutch pipe but to make sure I wrapped a length of spiral wrap around ht
clutch pipe to protect it. Now I could start putting the bits I
had stripped off the car to fit the engine back. I refitted the intermediate
and upper steering column jacking up the front of the car and measuring 3¾
turns from lock to lock. Using masking tape to mark the steering wheel, I
determine the steering central position and adjusted the steering wheel to
be aligned and straight in the central position. With the wheels
central the LH wheel has a definite toe out . I will attend to that later.
Lastly I refitted the inlet manifold. The intermediate steering column has
about 6mm clearance above the oil filter and plenty of clearance below the
rear of the inlet manifold
|
03/07/2004
5 hrs
Heater |
I don't have a lot to show for today
because it is mostly lost in the detail. I began by torque
tightening the inlet manifold then turned my attention to fitting the heater
return pipe. It is more difficult to fit now that the starter motor
and steering column is in place. I discovered that the rubber pipe I had
fixed to the end nearest the heater would kink when connected to the heater.
I removed the pipe and shortened it, connecting a shorter rubber hose to the
end. I will make up a copper pipe to connect to the heater that will take care of
the differences in the level and alignment, that caused the kink ,as well
as provide a neater installation. I had decided to connect the
fuel hoses to the manifold before refitting the water rail. I modified
the fuel pipe from the XJ6 that connects the fuel inlet and cold start
injector, by turning it through 180˚ and bending the tail of the
pipe through 90º as well as bending it away from the manifold towards
the chassis rail. I cut the fuel feed and return pipes shorter and trial
fitted the whole assembly. Whilst waiting for the paint to dry on the
modified pipe I started to clean up and refurbish the secondary engine loom.
|
04/07/2004
4hrs
Heater
Engine Wiring |
The paint dried overnight. I set
up and adjusted the metal and hose pipes to get the connection tight to the
fuel rail as well as fitting a "P" clip to mount the pipe and support in on
the manifold. I cut a length of hose to connect the front fuel pipe. ( feed
from the fuel tank) all the connections were done up tight with
Jubilee clips. I cut another length of pipe to connect the fuel return
(rear position) pipe and secured it in place. I had realised
that I should fit the engine wiring loom before refitting the water rail.
I spent the rest of the day refurbishing the 2nd half of the wiring loom. I
needed to remake several connections such as the coil connections and the
oil pressure switch. I did a similar remake of the loom, as before,
cleaning it with washing up liquid stripping the woven cover and replacing
it with spiral wrap before covering the hole thing with PVC loom tape.
I ended up joining the two looms together and testing it for position and
security. I'll finish fitting it tomorrow.
|
05/07/2004
3hrs
Engine Wiring Loom |
With the loom approximately in place I
was working on securing it with steel (rubber inserts) "P" clips to the
manifold studs. I drilled 8mm holes in the "P" clips to fit over the
studs. I was about to fit the loom when I decided to look at the
photographs of the loom when it was fitted to the XJ6. It showed the
loom not fitted to the manifold studs but to the securing bolts of the water
rail. This made life a lot easier except, if I fitted the loom as shown the
photographs, I could not get the clips lined up with the bolt holes. I
then had the idea of fitting the "P" clips upside down. This had two
effects. I could align the bolt holes and the "P" clips and the loom was
tucked down behind and between the water rail and the cam covers,. This makes
a much neater installation. I then discovered that the two
halves of the loom I had joined yesterday too long although I had followed
the length of the original. The flying leads were a tight fit for the
temperature gauge and the coil. It was a simple matter to position the
leads so they were a comfortable fit and then shorten the loom where they
joined (only one coil connection). I removed the loom again and
shortened the loom and refitted it. I taped the two looms together at
convenient intervals ,to neaten up the run and make it easier to feed them
in to the "P" clips Fitted the coil and all the water connections.
Refitted the ignition amplifier. Refitted the aux air valve. Connected
up the injectors and the coolant sensors and switches on the water rail.
I just need to connect and secure the lower half of the loom that feeds the
oil sensors but overall the engine installation is looking good.
|
06/07/2004
2hrs
Engine wiring Loom |
I finished off the engine wiring loom
installation apart from 2 spare connectors and the the throttle body
switches, which I need to identify from the wiring loom and photographs.
I secured the wiring to a "P" clip bolted to one of the engine amplifier
mounts. I then searched through the XJ6 bits to get the battery leads and
insulated bulkhead terminals for cleaning / replacement. Started to
clean them up, left them overnight in the cleaning fluid.
|
11/07/2004
2 hrs
Clutch
Engine Wiring |
I filled the clutch reservoir opened
the bleed nipple and pumped fluid through the system. I let it stand
an siphon for a few minutes then closed the bleed nipple. The clutch
operates under pedal pressure but need to be mechanically set up and
possible bled again. I've left it to stand while I monitor it for
leaks. I refurbished the alternator feel lead and re loomed it with
spiral wrap and heat shrink, finishing it off with loom tape. Connected the
lead between the breakout point under the inlet manifold and alternator then
secured it with retaining "P" clips across the front of the engine
|
12/07/2004
2hrs
Body
|
I arranged to pick up the body on Thursday. Mary has
organised the horse box, so the early part of the afternoon was spent
getting a rear number plate for it. I filled the braking system with
hydraulic fluid and purged the air out of the system. I wont say bled since
I'm sure there is still air in the system but there is enough fluid at the
brake callipers to check for leaks. So far sp good the only spillage has
been where the bleed nipples wept as I was filling the system. I did
the mechanical adjustments for the clutch as per the HM. There appear
to be no leaks from the clutch system. I'll bleed it again later. In
the meantime I need to tidy up the garage ready for the body
|
13/07/2004
3hrs
Oil Cooler
Heater
Mounting |
I know it says in the build manual to fit the oil cooler
after the body and I will do this but after much consideration I thought it
would be easier to fit the oil cooler pipes before I fitted the body.
Even so it was not difficult but not easy either to fit the pipes the
intermediate steering column gets in the way of reaching the block where the
pipes connect and also restricts the movement of the spanner to tighten up
the securing plate. The redundant power steering pump blocks the way
to the front of the car but its is done and the pipes are loosely routed
outside of the power steering pump and very close to the steering bottom UJ.
There should be plenty of room to sort this out later. Whilst
tidying up the garage ready for the body I took the opportunity to
revisit the heater mounting. The securing screws were too long and I
removed them one at a time and shortened them with a cutting wheel fitted to
the Dremel. It just means there are no nasty sharp point hanging down by
almost ½" , less for the SVA man to worry about. Lastly I appear
to have no leaks from the braking system, apart from a a very slight weep
from the seals where the reservoir attached to the master cylinder. I'm
hopeful that the seals will swell with contact with the hydraulic fluid and
seal the connection. I'll check it with Nostalgia on Thursday.
|
15/07/2004
8 hrs
Body |
A 200 mile round trip to fetch the body from Taunton. We left just
after 8:00 am. to fetch the horse box. It took a few miles to get used
to towing, I've never towed anything wit the Land Rover before and a long
time since I had towed anything at all. the journey down to Taunton was
uneventful apart from one of the indicator lights on the horse box not
working. Arrived at the factory at 11:15 about 15 minutes later than
predicted. spent a short time talking to Malcolm, Chris and Simon then it
was time to load up. Unfortunately the prop shaft was not available
for collection and it will be sent on later. Loaded up I needed to
move the Land Rover and Horse Box to make way fro a mobile crane. I just
managed to prove I can't reverse when towing and Malcolm came to the rescue.
I must go and take a towing course. Safely on our way we stopped for
lunch, finally arriving home about 4:00 pm. Mary and I managed to
unload easily though it took a little while to sort out the jig saw puzzle
and get it all sagely in the garage under lock and key. Finally tine
to return the horse box at the end of a successful day. the only downside
was Mary contracted food poisoning from the lunch which was pretty
uncomfortable for a while.
|
17/07/2004
6hrs
Boot Bridge
Body Front |
Before I could start work on the body I had to fit the
boot lid hinge pillars and bridge. These items had come with the chassis but
are really part of the bodywork. The build manual says drill through
the pillars and elongate the slots horizontally. The pillars I have
are already slotted horizontally. I couldn't see the point of slotting
the chassis brackets as well. The build manual shows the pillars in
there most forward position, hard against the edge of the chassis brackets.
Thus the only adjustment would be backwards. I covered the the brackets with
masking tape. clamped the pillars in position and drilled through the
pillars at the back of the slots . This gives maximum possible adjustment.
I touched up the drilled holes with black paint and loosely mounted the
pillars and the bridge. I can't see any reference to mounting the
scuttle supports but it looks like they need to be mounted next. The slotted
holes appear to be sized for M6 bolts. I've got bolts but no nyloc nuts,
I'll get some later. Next item was to mount the hinge boxes. It was
necessary to open out a couple of the holes to accept the 5/16" UNF bolts,
otherwise it was a simple procedure. The first item on the actual body
is to drill 2 x 25mm holes for the front body mounts. The positions are
approximately marked on the front of the body. The compound curves of
the front of the body mean it is difficult to get an accurate datum so you
have to rely on the marks in the mould being accurate. To be sure I
surrounded the marks with masking tape applied as level and as square as
possible. Then drew with a pencil across the diagonals of the masking tape
to determine the centres. I checked them for symmetry about the centre
line and at the same level, and centred at 485mm. They were accurate
to within 1mm. Lastly I cut the studs to make the front body mounts.
|
18/07/2004
4hrs
Front body & scuttle mounts mounts |
I started by remaking the studs to the recommended length
of 100 mm. These were then trial mounted on the front of the chassis. I also
fitted the scuttle supports with (12), M6 x 12 mm bolts, plain washers each
side and nyloc nuts. The scuttle support are not mentioned anywhere in the
build manual. I asked the question of how to adjust them once the scuttle is
in place and await their reply. I finished the day fitting
battery +ve lead across the bulkhead. It is necessary to open
out and elongate the predrilled holes in the bulkhead to fit the insulated
connector. LHS nest to the battery tray is easy but the inlet manifold and
the clutch pipe work get in the way on the RHS. with hindsight I
should have fitted it before fitting the engine or ,at least, the inlet
manifold.
|
21/07/2004
2hrs
Battery Wiring
Body |
I took a step backwards today. I need to fit
the RH battery, bulkhead insulated connector but the inlet manifold et al,
is in the way on the engine bay side and the upper steering column , lower
mounting plate is in the way on the cockpit side. I decided to take the
lesser of two evils and remove the upper steering column and starring wheel
complete. With this out of the way I removed the lower bracket and then I
could gain access to the hole in the bulkhead. I placed masking tape
over the hole, cut out the centre and marked around the connector to
determine the dimensions and alterations necessary to the hole for the
connector to fit. I flattened the sides of the hole and elongated it to
match the connector with a triangular file and a round file. I
fitted the connector and the cross bulkhead cable ( retained from the
XJ6). To route the cable securely I marked the position of a "P"
clip immediately above the centre line of the top hole in the bulkhead of
the gearbox cover. drilled the hole and secured the "P" clip and cable
with a 3mm pop rivet. It was also necessary to reposition the
"P" clip securing the clutch pipe to clear the bulkhead connector. I
refitted lower bracket and the upper steering column and steering wheel.
Since collecting the body kit I have been organising myself and the fitting
kit to make sure understand it and that the operation will go as smoothly as
possible. This resulted in asking a lot of questions of Nostalgia, via
e-mail, about the front body mounting hardware. To cut a long story
short it revealed that my manual was not up to date and the parts list for
the fitting kit were not listed. Once Nostalgia had sent me the list I could
see my problem instantly in that I was missing some special 7/8" washers.
|
24/07/2004
5hrs
Prop shaft
Body |
The prop shaft and the missing washers arrived last
Thursday. I took a few minutes to check that the prop shaft was the
right length and the adapter was the correct on for the o/output shaft of the
Getrag box. All looked ,OK. The prop shaft had had a half
hearted attempt at being cleaned up so that had to be degreased, de rusted.
and treated ready for painting. I gave it a coat of etching primer to
finish off. It was clear there was enough play in the 7/8 steel washers to
align with the wedge shaped washers and the body contours, so I needn't have
worried. With Mary's help I got the front of the body on to the
drive marked the inside of the RH wing valance as shown in diagram 2-6 of
the build manual using masking tape a pencil, ruler and try square. I then
cut it out using a combination of cutting wheels in the Dremel flexible
drive, and a pad saw. Smoothing the edges off with a file. I also cut out
the windscreen pads to act as a viewing port help with body alignment during
fitting. t to Last thing was to do a trial fit of the front of the body on
the car. I looks like I can achieve the dimensions stated in the manual
without too much trouble but the RH switch stalks look like they may four
the scuttle. I can't tell for sure until the body section is securely fitted
in place. The pedal box will need modifying to clear the RH wing
valance
|
25/07/2004
5hrs
Body Prop Shaft
Fuel pipe retaining clips |
Mary and I took the body off the car first thing because
I have some jobs to finish on the chassis before we can fit it properly.
Before we took it off I marked the pedal box and support bracket as a guide
to how much material to remove fro clearance of he RH wing valance.
With the body off I fitted the rubber bungs that seal the ends of the
chassis tubes. Next was to modify the pedal box. I took the complete
corner off the front RH of pedal box and support bracket. I cleaned up
the edges with a file and painted the exposed metal with Hammerite Smooth
Black paint. I also got a couple of coats of the same paint on to the
prop shaft. While this was drying I watched Jensen Button come 2nd in
the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. I was unhappy with the Fuel /
Brake pipe combination securing clips, supplied by Nostalgia. They make a
nice neat installation but tend to easily distort if place under any sort of
side pressure, with the result that it looks as though the pipes are not
secure and could pop out. (Not that one ever has). I was not going to give
Mr SVA the chance to fail them so I devised some Aluminium "U" clips the the
slide over the open face of the plastic clips and secure using the clip
mounting screw. When fitted the side arms of the "U" clips
slightly compress the plastic pipe clips and the back face of the "U" clip
closes the open face, retaining the pipe so it cannot come out unless the
clip is unscrewed.
|
26/07/2004
5hrs
Battery Wiring
Prop Shaft
Brakes |
Today was a bit frustrating. Because I could not
get all the parts I needed for the Battery and Starter leads locally ,I had
to contact VWP and order the bits. They will take a day of so to arrive
which means I can't fit the front body until then. However I had
plenty to get on with, so I thought. I finished making and fitting the
fuel / brake pipe retaining clips These look good and work well,
holding the pipe work centrally and firmly in their channels. Then turned my
attention to fitting the prop shaft. It should slide on to the gearbox
output shaft sufficiently to get the diff flange to line up and then bolt
prop shaft and diff together. Try as I might I could not get the prop
shaft sleeve to engage with the splines on the gear box. I tried several
times and methods, thinking it was just an alignment problem. Engaging
it and tapping with a nylon hammer did not do any good. Looking at it
I discovered the gearbox shaft has 27 splines around it's circumference. The
prop shaft has 26 with one spline removed to form a key way. I called
Nostalgia to check that I have the correct prop shaft fitting. As far
as they were concerned there is only one type, but checking another prop
shaft there, it did not have the keyway and raised some doubt. They've gone
off to check with their prop shaft supplier to make sure I have the correct
one. I had another go at aligning the steering column. I remembered
that the upper mounting bracket from the XJ6 fitted through slotted holes in
the bulkhead. I slacked off the bolts in the upper and lower mounting
bracket to get the best freedom of moment in all directions.
Lowered the upper bracket down to the bottom of the slots, checked the
alignment and re tightened all the the bolts. Next I checked how easy
it was going to be to fit the starter cable. Whilst it is possible it would
be easier to do it before the inlet manifold is fitted. I've decided, when
the bits come from VWP, to remove the inlet manifold again and fit the
starter and solenoid lead. The reason for doing it this way is to ensure
that the installation is neat, tidy, secure and safe and that will be easier
with the manifold removed. Lastly I've decided I do not like the
feed pipes from the brake reservoir to the master cylinder. Clear plastic is
nice and easy to see that there is no air in the header system but they are
soft and were the cause of my small leak at the master cylinder. I'm not sure
the SVA inspector will like them either. I'm going to investigate using
braided hose. So on the surface of it I'm not much nearer getting the
front body fitted. I did mange to check the body dimensions with
Malcolm at the Factory and I am happy that that I can achieve the
recommended measurements and when I get all these bitty jobs done I
can fit the front body fairly quickly
|
27/07/2004
6hrs
Starter Wiring |
My plan to have the body fitted in the next 2 weeks is
well off schedule. I was working on removing the inlet manifold and had got
as far as the water rail when the postman delivered the bits from VWP.
So far so good except the parcel had been broken in to or damaged and the
crimping pliers were missing. All the rest was there and VWP agreed to send
a replacement tool tomorrow. The rest of the day was taken up
with the making and fitting the starter leads. Once I had removed the
water rail, I had found that it would be awkward but that it would be
possible to fit the leads with the manifold in place. To cap it all, I
had ordered the wrong size ring connectors to fit the bulkhead terminals and
the starter solenoid. I nipped out to FK auto electrics in Newbury to
get some. I made and fitted the leads Because it was awkward to
get at is what took some time to fit them and get the insulating covers over
the terminals. I also fitted new covers over the terminals on
the bulkhead connecters inside the car. Lastly, I got word from
Malcolm that according to the "pop shaft man" it is possible that I have got
the wrong end on my prop shaft. They are going to send a new end
tomorrow and Y will have to fit it to the prop shaft when it comes.
|
28/07/2004
4hrs
Front Body |
I finished refitting the water rail and the engine wiring
loom this morning . Now I'm about ready to tackle fitting the front
body section. Mary and I lifted the body in place and let it
settle in it's natural position. I had cut the front body support
studs to the 100mm recommended in the manual but they seemed too long. I
replaced them with 75 mm studs. With the front of the body
approximately in place I positioned the scuttle at 576mm as in diagram 2- 8,
pushing the body section inwards whilst maintaining the height measurement
the body was clamped in place against the hinge brackets. Initial
measurements look good for symmetry however the front of body at the grill
aperture is 75mm instead of 80 (fig 2-7b) and the side measurements
are 114mm instead of 120 mm. The body has been left to settle overnight and
I will fine tune the measurements tomorrow.
|
29/7/2004
4hrs
Front Body
Scuttle |
I thought I would have plenty of time today to complete
the fitting of the front body section. But things conspired against
me. I spent a long time rechecking the scuttle measurements and
managed to achieve 576mm to the top of the scuttle above the chassis rail on
both sides and clamped the scuttle return to the hinge brackets to keep the
body in place. Next I had to achieve the horizontal measurement
between the outer edge of he scuttle return and the chassis rail Using
a a spirit level, used as a straight edge, placed vertically
down the front wing at the scuttle return to establish the vertical
line of the front wing. I then clamped a try square to the chassis
rail to establish the horizontal distance square to the chassis. To transfer
the vertical edge, accurately to the try square I used another try square
positioned, square and level with the edge of the spirit level. Measuring
from where the two try squares crossed to the chassis edge gave an accurate
measurement. I had to push the scuttle return inwards but was able to
achieve 120mm on the LHS and 119 mm on the RHS. Nostalgia like to
maintain the front cross member to the centre of the grill aperture to 80
mm. I could achieve this by adjusting the front mounting bolts and lock
nuts. I was unsure that the mountings were not bottoming before the
body was clamped up tight. To be sure I got some 7/8 washers to act as
distance pieces, which meant that I had to take the front mounts to pieces
and insert the new washers. Now the body definitely clamped up tight and the
required measurement achieved exactly. But before I could check it I
noticed one of the front tyres was flat With one flat tyre it is hard to
tell whether the body is on square. It took time to jack up the
vehicle remove the front tyres inflate them and put them back on.
I lined up the front of the body and adjusted the lock nuts to get 80 mm
exactly. I returned to to the scuttle measurements to check if they
had altered. the LHS needed a slight adjustment and was fine. The RHS
I adjusted the vertical OK but could not achieve the horizontal measurement.
I determined that because the body was under tension I could not push the
body in far enough. I released the RH front mount until I could
achieve the horizontal and vertical measurements again. With hind site
I believe it is better to achieve the scuttle measurements first and
then tension the body using the front mounts. We will see if I'm right
tomorrow.
|
30/07/2004
5hrs
Front Body |
The front body section is still not fitted. I seem to be
further away than ever. I checked and adjusted all the measurements this
morning an it was looking good but it uncovered 2 problems. The first was
that the pedal box was touching the inner wing valance. The second was
there was a 3/16" gap between the RH upper hinge bracket and the "A"
post. Checking with Nostalgia on the 2nd problem says they have seen
it before and it can be caused by the tolerances in the fibreglass mould or
the angle of the bulkhead is incorrect. I had to take the body
off to fix problem 1 so I cold investigate the bulkhead at the same time.
with the body off I filed the edge of the pedal box support bracket and the
pedal box as close to the front mounting bolt as I could. there must be
enough clearance because you can't take off any more metal. Whilst the
body was off I decided to make two new packing washers for the front
supports. the ones I got yesterday ware too big and looked untidy. I made
the new ones by opening up the hole to fit the chrome extension of a couple
of smaller washers. I had meant to grease the lower steering bearing
earlier because I knew with the engine and body fitted it would be
awkward to reach the grease nipple. I was right, even with the body off, it
was difficult to get the grease gun on the nipple, even with a flexible
hose. I got it on but the gun was not pumping. As I took the gun off
the nipple broke. Nothing for it but to dismantle the lower steering column,
remove the bearing and replace the nipple. I managed to remove it and
removed the broken piece of grease nipple from the bearing. I'll get a new
one tomorrow. I rechecked the bulkhead confident that it
would be OK because I had spent a lot of care and time to get the
measurement right when the bulkhead was fitted. The LHS was fine
exactly 530mm, but the RHS was 535mm. Not much, but it would affect the
angle of the bulkhead and hence the alignment of the "A" post on that side
I loosened all the bulkhead bolts on that side and seem to have gained some
movement that will allow me to get closer to 530mm. It will have to wait
until tomorrow when I can get some help to push down on the bulkhead whilst
I tighten up the bolts.
|
31/07/2004
6hrs
Body Front
Prop Shaft |
Today was about fixing the problems that showed up
yesterday. I started by getting as new grease nipple and fitting it to
the lower steering column bearing. Before fitting it I got some
help from Adam to push down on the bulkhead whilst I tightened it up.
Rechecking the height of the bulkhead it was about 531mm close enough
Back to the steering column. This time I greased the bearing before before I
fitted it. Part way through refitting the steering column I realised
it would be prudent to realign the whole thing since I couldn't
guarantee getting the universal joint back in exactly the same position as
before. So I stripped out the steering wheel and realigned the
complete system. The replacement end for the prop shaft arrived
this morning. It looked completely different As` well as having a shroud
around the coupling it definitely did not have a keyway (missing
spline). It was labelled (Auto prop 27 spline) A quick test
showed it would easily align and slide on to the gearbox. It was` also
clear the the shroud would have to be removed. This was easily achieved
since it was a simple push fit. It was easy to remove the UJ from the
prop shaft and separate the wrong end piece. I removed the circlips,
tapped the end with a plastic hammer and it all dropped out without even
disturbing the needle rollers. The replacement end was fitted using the the
UJ bearings just removed. Locating the UJ in the bearings and pressing home
with the hydraulic press. Fitting the prop shaft was also easy. The
splined end was located on the end of the gearbox, rotating it until the
splines engaged and on it slid. I pushed the prop shaft home in
to the end of the gearbox until the flanged end could be placed against the
diff flange and pulled back until they mated and bolted in place. Now
it was time to refit he body but before doing it I cut the surplus material
from the starter motor bulkhead connector. At last he body was back in
place. The "A Post on the LHS seems a better fit for having adjusted the
bulkhead. The pedal box is still very` close to the edge but I will check it
once the body is in it's final position tomorrow.
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Total
hours this month = 87hrs |
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Total hours to date =
738.5hrs |
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