July 2004

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.

   

Total hours this month = 87hrs

 

Total  hours to date =
 738.5hrs