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Date |
Event |
01/10/2005 3hrs Boot Well
EMU
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Today I finished painting the Boot Well closing panel and the rear
wing stays. I started work on making a template for the heater
ducts . I drilled the right hand inner wheel arch to mount the EMU
bracket. I also sorted out the EMU wiring loom and cleaned it up.
20 years in he XJ6 meant the exposed wires and plugs were pretty grimy/. i
cleaned them up with a combination of gunk, to remove the grease and
dirt and careful brushing with a paint brush dipped in water.
Not he ideal combination to clean electrical components with but it is
effective so long as care is taken to dry the loom and plugs with rags or
paper towel and leave to thoroughly dry before connecting.
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02/10/2005 5hrs
EMU
|
I placed masking tape in approximately the right position on the body, then
using the template I had made yesterday I marked the position of the heater
ducts on to he body.
I had hopes today of getting the boot floor fitted and finishing off the
boot area. I fitted the boot well closing panel sealing all the joints
with translucent (non silicone) Sealing compound. I fitted the EMU.
I spent quite along time reworking the boot slam panel to see if I could
improve the fit of the boot lid and to find the most effective method of
securing it to the bottom of the boot well combing.
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03/10/2005 3hrs Boot Floor |
Originally I had intended the boot floor to be secured to the boot
well using "Rivnuts" all round. This was impractical at the back
because of securing the slam panel. I drilled the back of the boot
floor to accept M6 countersunk screws. Places sealer all around the edge of
the boot well combing where it would come in contact with the floor.
Secured the front and sides with M5 countersunk screws and rivnuts. I pushed
the slam panel forward until the holes lined up and secured it with M6
countersunk screws , penny washers and nyloc nuts. I wish I could say I was
pleased with the fit of the boot lid once the floor was in place, but
I'm not. It never ceases to amaze me when working with GRP how
you can measure something get it to fit in something like decent fashion,
then fit something else (in this case the boot floor ) to find the something
has moved and the quality of the fit you were striving for, is not as good as
it was. It is part of accepting that Nostalgia will fix shut lines and
final fitting when the car goes to be painted and trimmed.
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04/10/2005 1hr Body Boot |
I finished off the boot area today by fitting the newly painted wing stays,
pushing the LH side and pulling the RH side in to line then tightening the
wing stay bolts to hold them in place. I fitted the drain pipe
to the fuel tank breather and in turn secured it to the LH rear wing brace.
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05/10/2005 5hrs\ body Demister vents |
I set myself the task of fitting the demister vents (often referred to
as fishtails because of their shape)) and chrome finishing
strips to the scuttle. I had already marked the position of the slots
in the scuttle using a template. The template is a good idea because
it ensures that both slots are in exactly the same position with respect to
the centre line and the cockpit edge of the scuttle. I cut the slot in
the LHS of the scuttle by drilling at each end with an 8mm drill and
cutting inside the line marking the slot with a cutting wheel fitted to the
"Dremel". I then carefully opened out the the slot to match the
profile of the fishtails. My build manual warns you that the
holes for mounting the fishtails and the chrome strips are very close
together and care is needed when drilling and fitting. As I offered up
the fishtails to match the slot , this was the first time I had examined
them in detail the mounting brackets are simply twisted extensions to the
fishtail metal. They are slightly below the top opening of the
fishtail but not enough for any of the fishtail to enter in to the slot if
it was opened out. I could see a difficulty in mounting the fishtails
because the mounting holes were not central to the bracket. I
could feel a question coming on so I called Nostalgia. I spoke to Chris
about the problem and discovered that Nostalgia now modify the fishtails by
welding a 5mm washer to either end so that the mounting holes for the
fishtails and the chrome finishing strips line up. If you don't have a
welder then the washers can be soldered. I decided to do it differently
because I don't have a welder and I felt a butt solder joint might be too
weak. I made 2 extension to the fishtail brackets 20 mm long from 10mm
aluminium strip. I drilled a hole in the extension to coincide with
the hole in the fishtail bracket. I then pop riveted the extension to the
fishtails. Back on the scuttle I marked the centre line of the
slot both length and width wise. I worked out the fixing centres
of the chrome strip and marked these on the body. I checked the chrome strip
covered the slot and was central with respect to the slot in both
directions. Make sure that the chrome strip is mounted the correct way
around, The thickest edge of he slot would be facing the rear , in other
words directing the air towards the windscreen. I drilled one end and
temporarily secured the chrome strip. Rechecking the position of the strip
was still correct I drilled through the other end and mounted the strip to
the body. I then took it off to expose the mounting holes. I
placed the fishtail underneath the scuttle making sure it was central and
symmetrical about the slot. At one end I marked the position of the
mounting hole on the extension with a pencil inserted through the
hole. Removing the fishtail I could see the pencil mark on the extension. I
made a small adjustment to the position of the hole to make sure that when
the mounting bolt and nut were fitted they would not interfere with the pop
rivets in the fishtail. I drilled a 5.5 mm hole in the extension at
the position indicated. I fitted the fishtail to the scuttle without
the chrome strip and secured it with an M5 bolt and nut. I checked
again the position of the fishtail with respect to the slot. Satisfied that
it was central I marked the position of the mounting hole on the extension
bracket with a pencil as before. I removed the fishtail and
drilled the other mounting hole. I removed the masking tape from the
scuttle that I had used to mark the position of the slot and mounting holes.
I fitted the chrome strip and the fishtail securing them with M5 x
25mm stainless countersunk screws , plain washers and nyloc nuts.
I repeated the procedure for the RHS of the scuttle
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6/10/2005 3hrs Body Rear Number Plate Plinth
Rear Replectors |
According to the build manual the next item on the list was to fit the
number plate plinth. I had contemplated this for little while because my
head was still concerned that the rear body section was not square with the
chassis and I do not have enough room at the rear of the garage to
accurately check it. I think it is right but I have pointed out before that
the boot lid is not square with the chassis. However I decided
to take the plunge and using the bottom of the boot lid as a datum fit
the number plate plinth, rear reflectors and the rear lights. I always
place masking tape on the body, whenever I am going to mark the position of
something or drill to mount something. So all of the following is marked on
masking tape stuck to the body. I measured from the bottom of
the boot lid 4.75" and drew a line across the boot lid as defined in fig 3-8
of the Build Manual (BM) . I measured and found the centre of the boot lid
and checked this against the position of the boot handle. I marked the
centre of the boot number plate plinth and positioned it such that it was
aligned with the centre of the boot lid and the lower edge was aligned with
the line across the boot lid. I checked to see that it looked correct and
the the boot handle would still operate. I now needed to drill the
number plate plinth to secure it to the boot lid the fixing holes need to be
hidden by the number plate when fitted. I tool the
plinth off and places making tape around the edges. I places a number
plate on the plinth making sure it was central and symmetrical and drew
around it on to the masking tape. I then marked 4 holes each 1" (25mm)
in from the vertical edges and ¾" (20mm) from the top and bottom edges
of the number plate. These were pilot drilled with a 2mm drill bit.
I placed the plinth back in position on the boot lid and held it in
place with the assistance of some duck tape. I drilled through the plinth in
to the boot lid. Removed the plinth again and drilled the mounting holes to
accept Mr countersunk screws. I drilled the holes the boot lid to
accept M5 rivnuts. I screwed the plinth in place with M5 x 25mm Stainless
countersunk screws. When the plinth is finally fitted it will need to
have a "P" seal fitted between it and the boot lid.
Next was the rear reflectors and it was here I ran in to a problem. when
I unpacked the rear reflectors the job looked simple enough. I measured the
position according to Fig3-8 and drilled the pilot holes in each side.
The reflectors, as delivered, are supplied with a self tapping screw for
mounting. I fixed the LH reflector using the self tapping screw. It
was obvious all was not well because the rubber mount was not tight against
the body and the reflector itself was loose. Time to talk to
Nostalgia. move on to the mounting of the combined number plate
and reversing light. the fitting of this is not covered in my build manual
at all. Fig 3-8 shows it mounted on the number plate plinth.
this lamp is much bigger and looks as if it need fitting to the boot lid.
Another question for Nostalgia. What about fitting the tail light assembly.
I'm going to use the tear drop type of rear indicators, which mount on
the rear dumb irons. The positioning of the rear lights is, according
to fig 3-12, 4.75" (for the body mounted indicator) + a
further 3.5" to the tail light position above the chrome tube fro the bumper
mount, A total of 8.25" . I positioned the rear light housing in this
position but it was obviously wrong. I t was too close to the boot well
aperture. Taking two other dimensions from fig 3-12 of 2.6" from the
boot well to the rear point of the housing and 0.6" from the boot well
to the lower inboard point of the housing, this could only be achieved
by moving the housing much further up the wing. Call Nostalgia in the
Morning
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7/10/2005 2hrs Reverse / Number plate light Rear Lights |
I called Nostalgia at Lunchtime. "Don't use the self tapping screws
supplied." "Use M5 bolts and rivnuts" The Reflectors are usually
supplied with a captive bolt fitted to the rear of the reflector. If I can
not get a satisfactory fit, using penny washers and M5 bolts, Nostalgia will
replace the reflectors. The reversing / number plate light needs a
bracket that fits under the plinth and is bolted in place to make a vertical
plate the the lamp bolts to. Then to the position of the rear light
housing. Nostalgia have changed the measurement datum point to the top of
the boot well aperture. This s a fairly straight edge across the body making
it easier to measure from. The housings are placed 370mm from this point to
the rear point of the housing. The housing is then positioned to the best
matching contour across the body shell with a distance of 8--10 mm
between the boot well vertical edge and the lower inboard point of the
housing. With my questions answered , I masked the body
with tape and measured the position of the housings. I positioned the
housings for the best fit contour wise, and to meet the 370 mm and 10mm
dimensions. Holding them in place I drew round the housing to mark
their position on the body. I rechecked the measurements to make sure
the position each side was the same and that the face where the rear
light assembly will fit was approximately at right angles to the
longitudinal axis of the car. In other words it looked right.
The outcome is that the housings are positioned 1" (25mm) further up the body
than indicated by fig 3-12.
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8/10/2005 6hrs Rear Lights
Rear Reflectors |
The rear light housings have a rubber gasket that fits between them and the
body. These gaskets are the exact size of the tail light housing and have 4
holes cut in them, 3 for the position of the screws and 1 for the position
of the wiring. I used these gaskets to mark the position of the screw holes
and the wiring hole on to the body. Starting with the LHS I then
carefully measured the holes to find the centre's. I drilled pilot holes to
accurately centre the hoe and then drilled 6mm holes through the body work.
The housings are drilled and tapped to accept ¼" UNC bolts. I
found it necessary to clean out the holes with a tap before mounting the
housings using ¼"UNC x ¾ long set screws, plain and spring washers. . Of
course the holes did not line up exactly. The rear hole next to the point
was almost exact but ht front ones were too far inboard. Because I had
marked the exact position I was trying to achieve on to the masking tape on
the body I knew which direction and how far I had to move the holes. I
adjusted the position of the holes with a round file. Then I drilled the
holes again with a 7mm drill to circularize the holes again. The
position was improved but needed a little more adjustment with the
round file. Finally I opened out all the holes to 8mm ( Nostalgia had
told me they use oversize holes to adjust the position of the housing) this
way you have the minimum oversize holes whilst still being able to achieve
the exact position on the body. The bottom outboard
bolt is quite difficult to fit and I suggest you get this started by a
couple of threads before fitting any of the other bolts. I repeated the
operation for the RHS but this time the holes were too far outboard
but the same procedure of marking, adjusting with a round file and
redialling worked to get the housing in the exact position. The housings are
pre-drilled and tapped with 6BA threads. I had to rummage around in my
old screw boxes and eventually came across some 6BA countersunk screws. the
screws have to be countersunk to fit under the the lens which is retained in
he rubber surround by a chrome bezel. The light fitting and rubber
surround are ales pre drilled to match the housing. I found it
necessary to countersink the mounting holes in the light fitting to accept
the 6BA screws. The 3 holes in the rubber surround and the light
fitting are not symmetrical and will only line up in one position to ensure
the fitting is mounted the right way up. I aligned the lamp
holder, rubber surround and fitted the screws before I fitted the assembly
to the housing. I inserted the assembly, lining up the screws with the
holes in the housing and tightened them up. The bulb functions as tail and
stop light which is why it is important to get the fitting the correct way
up. The bayonet pins in the bulb are offset so the bulb will only fit
in one direction. I finished by inserting the lens lifting the rubber
surround until it was over the rim of the lens and holding it in place. the
hole assembly is completed by fitting the chrome bezel. This s places over
the lens and the outer rim of the rubber surround is lifted over the rim of
the bezel to retain it in place.
I decided that I would be possible to use the rear reflectors supplied. The
problem was that they are intended to be fitted with a small washer and self
tapping screw through the centre of the rubber surround. with
the screw done up tight the washer press on the centre of the surround
and the rubber outside the area of he washer lifts away from the body.
the reflector is flat and held in place by a chrome bezel similar to the
rear lights. This s insufficient to press the rubber surround back against
the boot lid, The end product look unsightly and is still loose. You
can see from the manufacture of the reflector that it has the ability
to have a captive bolt fitted to the back of the reflector (Nostalgia
normally use this type). This would press on a wider area of the rubber
surround and hold it firmly in place against the body. the reflector
would be firmly fixed to the body and the chrome bezel would really only be
there for decoration. You cant split the reflector from it's backing
to fit a captive bolt so I had to find another way. I made a
circular backing plate about 48mm in diameter from a piece of 18 gauge
aluminium and drilled a 5mm hole in the centre. The central hole was
countersunk to accept an M5 x 15mm stainless C/S screw. I opened up
the hole in the boot lid to accept an M5 rivnut. Placing the backing
plate inside the rubber surround I screwed the assembly to the boot lid and
tightened it up. The backing plate now held the rubber surround much
closer to the body at its circumference. I took the back plate off again to
modify it. The reflector has to be fitted the right way up . The
surround is marked "top" and has a small indentation at the bottom.
The reflector is similarly marked "top" and has a small bump on the
back at the bottom to correspond with the surround indentation. I
needed to drill a hole in the backing plate to accept the bump on the bottom
of the reflector so that it would lie flat on the backing plate. I
refitted the surround and the backing plate, making sure the surround was
the correct way up and the hole in the backing plate was at the bottom.
I fitted the reflector in to the surround aligning the bump with the hole in
the backing plate. I placed the chrome bezel over the top of the reflector
and lifted the edge of the surround over the rim all the way round the
circumference , to retain it. The solution works on two levels the
backing plate holds the surround closer to the boot lid. the backing plate
also packs the reflector tighter against the bezel such that it is more
tightly retained by the rubber surround.
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9/10/2005 4hrs Rear Relpectors
Reverse / Number
Plate Light |
The LH reflector has been in place overnight and whilst it is better than
the self tapping solution, it is not perfect. I started to by making
another backing plate for the RH reflector. I thought that what
was really needed was to increase the pressure on the surround to hold it
even tighter to the boot lid when it was tightened up.
Once I had cut and drilled the backing plate as before I supported it
on an old bearing case and slightly dished it with a ball pein hammer. I
mounted the backing plate ot the rubber surround with the dish facing
inwards. Now as the mounting bolt is tightened the pressure on the
rubber surround is increased. I fitted the reflector and bezel as before.
This time there was a definite improvement in the fit. I removed the
LHS reflector, backing plate and surround. I dished the backing
plate as I had done on the RHS. I refitted the surround and
dished backing plate, reflector and bezel again with a improved finished
result.
The final piece to fit was the reverse / number plate light.
I knew from my discussions with Nostalgia that I needed to make a "lazy L"
shaped bracket i.e. not one at right angles but less. The bracket
needed to fit under the number plate plinth and hold the lamp vertical when
in position. The lamp is quite substantial so the bracket needs to be
quite sturdy. I removed the number plate plinth. I found a piece of
2mm thick aluminium. Measuring the back of the lamp. I determined the
bracket needed to be 90mm wide. with a sloping back of 45mm and a 25mm. A
piece 90 mm W x 70 mm H will do it. I cut the sheet to size and marked
a line 25mm from the bottom edge. Accurately placed this in the vice and
bent it along the line. It took a couple of attempts, checking it in
position on the boot lid, re-bending until the upper potion was
vertical. The bottom of the bracket that attaches to the boot lid was
drilled to accept 2 x M5 set screws. I positioned the bracket on
the boot lid and marked where the holes came. I drilled the boot lid
and fitted 2x M5 rivnuts. I bolted the bracket in place. I put the
number plate plinth back in place and marked where the bracket came in the
upper edge. I cut and filed a small cut out in the edge to accommodate
the thickness of the bracket. I refitted the number plate plinth and
secured it in place. I positioned the lamp by hand to determine how
high it should be mounted and the vertical position of the mounting bolts.
I removed the plinth and the bracket marked where the centres of
he mounting bolts should be and drilled them out. I measured the back
of the lamp to find out where the hole for the wiring should be
drilled. 22mm inboard and 10mm below the centre of the RH mounting
bolt. The bracket and plinth were refitted. I then mounted the lamp. I
decided that the top corners of the bracket should be rounded fro SVA
reasons but other then that it looked good. I took the opportunity
with the lamp and bracket off the car again to sort out the wiring. I
covered the wiring supplied with the lamp with heat shrink sleeve making
sure the sleeve when right in to the lamp. I refitted the bracket to the
lamp making sure the grommet fitted to the lamp, through which the wiring
passes, also fitted through the bracket. I refitted the bracket plinth
and lamp.
Not a bad weekends work. The rear lights, reflectors and reverse /
number plate light are all fitted.
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10/10/2005 3hrsIndicator side repeaters
Body Tie Tod |
I took a look at fitting the indicator side repeaters yesterday. The
dimensions relating to the position of the repeaters in fig 3-11o f
the build manual are not clear but look like 19.50" measured from the "A"
post and 19.50" measured from the bottom of he body work. This looks
compatible with photographs I have of the demonstrator vehicle I drove back
in 2002. I called Nostalgia today to check the dimensions for sure to
find that the position of the repeaters has moved to 60mm above and central
to the air box vent in each front wing. I also took the time to
identify the front wing closing panels but more of this when I come to fit
them. I also have the new style indicator repeater holders which
are surrounded by a rubber grommet and are a push fit in to the wing.
I marked the position of the repeater on to masking tape on the LH front
wing. The air box vent is not fitted but there is a rectangular
indentation where it will fit marked in each wing. I placed a
strip of masking tape 60mmn above the top of where the air box vent will fit
. The indentation is approximately 80 mm wide, so I centred the repeater on
40mm and drew a 25mm circle to denote the position of the lamp holder.
The repeater needs a 22 -26mm hole to be a tight push fit. I
drilled a pilot hole and opened it out with a stepped drill to 21mm.
I opened the hole to 25 mm with a half round file, correcting any
misalignment and ensuring the hole remained circular. I tried fitting the
repeater but the hole was slightly too small. Holding the repeater in place
I drew around the back of the fitting so that I could fine tune the shape of
the hole for the best fit. Further careful work with the file
and the repeater fitted perfectly. I repeated the exercise for the RH
repeater.
I now need to fit the tie rod in front of the radiator (for added
stiffening). Before I did that I tightened up all the radiator mounting
bolts and adjusted the clearance between the radiator and the bonnet
aperture by cutting a little more from the cut-out. I already had some
M12 threaded rod and some 14mm steel tube (sourced from B&Q) to make the tie rod. Fig 3-15
shows where the rod is fitted but gives no dimensions. I made an
approximate measurement across the engine bay at roughly the right position
and added 40mm (20mm intrusion each side in to the wheel arch). The plan is
to cut the bar to length and secure it either side of the inner body with
plain nuts and large washers. Then to measure the centre section and
cut the steel tube to length. Finally assembling the hole thing so that with
the tie rod in position the tube covers the centre section. I cut the
M12 rod to 570mm long and cleaned up the threads so that the Rod easily
accepts M12 plain nuts. I had some large penny washers but the centre
hole was slightly undersize. These I drilled out to accept the rod.
tomorrow I'm going to mark the position of the rod by placing onn of the
washers as close to the radiator and the underside of the inner body
as possible on one side. ... to be continued
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11/10/2005 2hrs
Body Tie Rod
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I stuck some masking tape inside the engine bay next to the radiator
approximately where the tie rod will fit. Using a spare piece of rod as a
locator and to check the position of the rod with respect to the radiator. I
pressed one of the washers against the inner wing and held it there. I
carefully removed the rod making sure not to disturb the washer. Using
the washer as a template I marked the position of the rod on the masking
tape. I drilled a pilot hole in the centre and opened out the hole
using a stepped drill. I put the rod in to the the hole and one of the
washers on the other end. I positioned the rod so that it
was level and parallel with the radiator and just touching the masking tape
placed on the inside of the other wing. I pressed the washer against
the masking tape and held it there. I Removed the rod taking care not
to disturb the washer. Then used it to mark the position of the rod as
before. I drilled a pilot hole and opened it out with a stepped
drill. I assembled the rod with 2x M12 plain nut and large plain washers on
each end and fitted through the holes. More large plain washers and
M12 nuts were fitted on to the end of the rod in each wheel arch. the
whole assembly tightened up. Despite my best efforts the rod was not quite
level. I removed the rod and adjusted the holes slightly to correct the
position. I refitted the rod to measure how long the tube needed to
be. I measured 495 mm between the nuts inside the engine compartment.
but in order to fit the rod and put the inboard nuts in place it needs
to be shorter. I reduced the length of the tube by 10mm. The tube was cut
with a tube cutter to ensure the ends were square. It was necessary to
remove internal burrs at the ends of the tube to fit the rod.
The tube is 14mm OD which makes it a snug fit over the rod. I
trial fitted the complete assembly. The holes in the inner must be big
enough to accommodate the bar with the tube fitted. Feed one end of
the assembly through one of the holes and run a nut and large washer on to the
other end. Make sure this nut ands washer are fare enough along
the bar so that you can place the nut and washer on the other end inside the
engine bay, You will need to slide the tube along the bar to do this. Insert
the end in the hole in the inner inner wing so that you have a tie bar that
runs across the radiator and has a nut and followed by a plain washer
next to each hole. Adjust the position of the nuts and the tube to get
equal protrusion of the rod in to each wheel arch. I secured the tie rod
with plain nuts and large washers in the wheel arch. Tighten the
inboard and outboard nuts to tension the body but be careful not to
over tighten or stress the body.
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12/10/2005 5hrs
Rear indicators
|
Today's tasks were to finish painting the tie rod and fit the rear indicator
lights. I gave the tie rod a final coat of Black Hammerite Smooth and
hung it up to dry.
The rear indicator lights are of the "tear drop" variety not covered in my
build manual. i knew from talking to Nostalgia that they fit on "L" shaped
brackets bolted to the upper rear bumper mounting bolt. I
started with a 3" length of 25 x 2 mm flat steel. I cut a 2½" (64mm)
length. Marked of 1" (25mm) from one end and bent it to an "L" shape.
I drilled a 10mm hole in the centre of the 25mm section (the base of the "L"
shape) to accept the rear indicator holder. ! drilled another
10mm hole, centred 1" (25mm) from the bend ( the back of the"L shape). This
is used to secure the bracket to the Rear Dumb iron and bumper. the
bracket, when mounted is small enough to be contained within the area of the
dumb iron. Doing this minimises the risk of he bracket being Non SVA
compliant. However the square end of the bracket, pointing forward is
sharp and will need tro be radiused. I mounted the indicator lamp
holder and drew around the base and removed it again. Using a
combination of saw, file and grinding wheel I shaped the end of the base to
the contour of the lamp holder. This should satisfy the SVA man.
I am not a fan of square ends to brackets unless absolutely necessary so I
rounded the other end of the bracket to a semicircle. I made a second
bracket fro the RHS. Because of the small nature of the bracket it is
necessary to modify the lamp holders by removing approx 7mm from the screw
thread that mounts the holders to the brackets. This is to give
sufficient clearance between the base of the lamp holder and wring and the
domed nut securing the bracket and the bumper to the dumb iron. Whilst
working on the lamp holders I took the opportunity to cover the wiring with
heat shrink sleeving. I completed the trial installation and
removed the indicators and bracket for painting.
|
14/10/2005 3hrs Body Tie Rod |
Now the paint is dry I've refitted the tie rod. I'm not happy with the
outcome. The sides of the engine bay (inside the front wings) narrow
from back to front. This means that washers on the end of the tie rod are at
an angle to the tie rod when mounted and tightened up. Over
tightening to pull the sides of the engine bay and wings in causes
additional stress and if adjusted so that the body is not over stressed
there is a gap at the back of he washer when it is touching at the front.
What is needed is wedge shaped washers that will follow the line of the
engine bay inside the engine bay and the reverse inside the wheel arch. this
would clamp the body without introducing any additional stress. I've
taken some measurements and determined that the angle of he engine bay is
approx 21°. I would like to make some spacers out of 1¼" round bar
but his will be quite difficult. It will probably be easier to make
some rectangular wedges out square bar. I'll consult john Hopkins to
see what can be done. The rear indicator lamp brackets are also dry so
I've refitted them.
|
16/10/2005 6hrs Windscreen Wiper Motor |
Most of yesterday and today I've been working on fitting the windscreen
wiper motor. I chose to use the Wiper kit from Nostalgia rather than
refurbish and modify the XJ6 unit. BM fig 3-23 shows an alternative
way of mounting the motor using a bridging plate over the heater air inlet
hose. There are not dimensions on the drawing but it give
you an idea of what to do and where it fits. I'm on my second attempt
to get it right (at least to my satisfaction) the first I won't bore you
with, suffice to say I earned a lot. From a piece of 350 x 125 x 1mm
steel sheet I made a bracket like an elongated and
inverted "N" . The first bend is 40mm from the top to form the
attachment point to the vertical upper part of the bulkhead. The next
bend is 175 mm from the first bend. The 175 mm portion forms plate on which
the motor is secured and should run at the same angle as flat portion of the
bulkhead. the lower potion of the bracket should be bent down to make
attachment point to the lower potion of the bullhead.
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(click on the photograph to see the full size picture ) To get the position
right I fitted the heater hose (approx 3" diameter ) laid it along the
bulkhead, under the bracket and adjusted the position of the plate to give
adequate clearance whilst making sure it was not too too high so that the
motor world interfere with the bonnet. I drilled just one hole at a
time in the bracket and bulkhead checking that the position after each
one was correct. The bulkhead was drilled to accept M5 rivnuts and the
bracket ot accept M5 x 16mm bolts. I finally fitted all four bolts .
The heater pipe is a comfortable fit between the plate and the bulkhead.
The motor rests on a rubber pad and is secured by a hooped clamp. BM fig
3-23 shows the motor fitted as far back on the plate as possible. To achieve
this it is necessary to modify the motor securing clamp by straightening one
end so that it will bolt to the lower vertical face of the bracket.
The motor clamp needs positioning about 1¼" from the inboard edge of the
bracket. This is necessary to ensure that the drive cable runs inside
the scuttle support bracket. I positioned the wiper motor and securing
clamp and marked the position of the securing holes. I've
drilled the lower one ot accept and M5 rivnut. Drilling the other hole and
mounting the motor is a job for tomorrow.
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17/10/2005 3hrs Windscreen Wiper Motor |
I drilled the remaining windscreen wiper motor mounting hole and fitted an
M5 Rivnut. I did a trial fit of the mounting plate followed by the
wiper motor. the first thing to say was i could still close the
bonnet, which was something of a relief. However in the
cold light of day the bracket did not look square on the bulkhead and the
wiper motor was also at an angle. I could see that the underside wiper
motor. where the boss is for the spindle was coming it ot contact with
the plate. This was restricting the angel that I could mount he motor
a, to ensure the drive shaft cleared the top of the bulkhead and also was
tilting the motor to one side when clamped in position. I could cure
this problem in two ways. Reduce the width of the bracket to 3¼" (83mm) or
cut a hole in the bracket to accommodate the spindle boss. The first
option would mean cutting the bracket and drilling new mounting points in
the bulkhead. I therefore chose option two. I measured approximately
where where the spindle boss came in contact with the bracket. Centred
it on a point 30mm from the edge and 20mm from the front fold. I drilled a
hole 21 mm diameter, using a stepped drill. this hole is oversize to
allow for adjusting the position of the wiper motor and to ensure there was
clearance all round the spindle boss, so that there would be no noise or
vibration transmission when the wipers were operating. I made some
modification ot the bracket mounting holes, slotting them to provide
alignment adjustment when fitted to the bulkhead. I refitted the
bracket, the wiper motor and inspected it with the Mk 1 eye ball it looked
OK. Took the assembly off to paint the bracket.
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19/10/2005 3hrs Windscreen wiper Motor |
Yesterday I painted the bracket with Acid #8 etching primer and 3 coats of
Hammerite Smooth Black. The 16mm "P" clips I ordered from Unimaster
have arrived and I took the opportunity ,between coats of paint on the
bracket, to fit the final clips to secure the fuel tank breather.
Today I fitted the windscreen wiper wheel boxes. I thought this
was going to be a more difficult job that it turned out to be. There are two
marks in the scuttle to indicate the position of the wiper boxes I placed
masking top over them and centralized the position of the windscreen wiper
over them by placing the rubber seal centrally over the mark and
drawing round the hole. The build manual gives 350mm between
centres but the marks on my scuttle were centred at 170 and 172mm. I
considered this close enough and marked the centre of the hole for drilling.
I drilled a 3mm pilot hole following angle of the wiper shaft. I
opened this out with a 9mm drill at the same angle. You need to work
carefully to avoid the drill wandering and / or chipping the GRP surface.
I further open out the hole with a round file until the wheel box just
fitted at the correct angle. I completed the trial installation by fitting
the chrome outer cover and securing it with the nut provided. I
repeated the operation for the remaining wheel box. The wiper
motor bracket was now dry and I fitted in position on the bulkhead. I
fitted the wiper motor and threaded the drive cable through the wheel boxes.
It is important to reduce the friction of the drive cable in the guide
tubes. The best way to do this is to avoid sharp bends and make the
guide tubes curve as gently as possible. With the drive cable in position I
can see how to bend the guide tubes to get the best drive.
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21/10/2005 9hrs Body Tie Rod |
I decided to go and see John Hopkins and ask his advice about making
some wedge shaped spacers to make a better engineering job of fitting the
tie rod in the engine bay. The problem, I explained above, is that if plain
washers are sued to secure the tie rod there is a gap between the washer and
the the GRP because the washers are at right angles to the bar and the GRP
of the engine bay (inner wheel arches) is at an angle of approx 20°.
The solution is to use wedge shaped spacers to match the angle of the GRP
either side of the where the tie rod passes through the engine bay. these
can then be tightened up solidly without causing any torsional stress on the
GRP. I thought of making some spacers out ot 1¼" round or square
bar. Talking it over with John he suggested a better solution would be
to build up the GRP behind the washers. This would have the advantage of
matching the angle of the GRP exactly and being bonded to the GRP would
increase it's strength. It seemed like a good idea but I was concerned
what the final appearance would look like, knowing that I'm no "plasterer"
and access in that area was not really good. |
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I took a break, walked the dog and had a think about possible
solutions. I've done this throughout my life and it has always yielded
a solution. This time was no exception. I would make some wedges out
of the plain washer I was using and some P40 glass reinforced body filler.
I used a piece of "Contiboard" as a base drilled a hole in it to
accept an M12 x 50mm bolt. I placed on of the 32mm over the bolt. I
cut a 25mm piece of 14mm tube, the same as I had used fro the
tie rod, and l placed it over the bolt, on top of the washer, the hole thing
was held in place by an M12 plain nut. This made up the basic
former around which I needed to build up the P40 filler. The
washer was approx 32mm in diameter. I calculated the circumference to be
100mm. I cut a strip of cardboard 100 mm that I could wrap
around the washer. |
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I calculated that for the diameter of the washer and an angle of 20°
the opposite side would be 10mm long. Allowing for the thickness of the
washer as 2mm I marked the strip of cardboard 2mm from the bottom edge at
the centre and 12mm from the bottom edge at the ends. I cut along the line
to make a flat bottomed V shape. I wrapped this around ht washer
and held it in place with masking tape. The makes a collar with a flat
bottom an it's top edge angled at 20° This is going to form the
shape of the wedge. Anything that you do not want the P40 to
bond to cover in "Vaseline" or grease. I hade grease the base board
before I put the washer on it. I had greased the bolt and the tube. I
cleaned the upper side of h washer with solvent to make sure that it was not
greasy and would bond to the P40 . I did not grease the inside of the
cardboard because I did not want ot interfere with the bonding of the washer
by contaminating it with stray grease blobs. Beside the cardboard can easily
be removed from the finished article with a sanding disk.
I mixed up a small quantity of P40 and hardener and filled the
cardboard level with the top edge. I left it overnight to harden off.
.
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22/10/2005 4hrs Body Tie Rod |
The first job was to see if the experiment had worked. Because of the
grease the acting as releasing agent it was easy to remove the washer from
the board and a slight twist on the tube release it from the wedge. I
trimmed the fibre glass whiskers with a pair of scissors. I peeled as
much of the cardboard tube away as I could with a "Stanley" knife,
I removed the rest with a sanding drum fitted to the Dremel. I removed any
surplus material from the circumference and the P40 angled surface to
produce a flat, circular wedge bonded to a washer, I checked
this on the vehicle, holding it in position over the hole for the tie rod in
the engine bay.
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The angle and size looked a good match. The angle doesn't have ot be perfect
since it can be adjusted in the bonding process. Satisfied, I made 3
more wedges over the course of the day. Once all the wedges were
made and cleaned up I did a trial fit of the tie rod. As a dry ( non
bonded ) run the fit was very good. I was able to tighten up the nuts on the
tie rod completely with out introducing any torsion stress.
I then made an attempt ot bond the wedges (on the engine bay side)
using P38 body filler. I should have known this wouldn't work because the
compound goes off too quickly. It would work if it was just a case of
positioning the wedge and leaving it, but to get the alignment right in
relation to the engine bay and the radiator, you have to position it using
the tie rod. That takes longer than the setting time of the P38.
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23/10/2005 4hrs Body Tie Rod |
I left the tie rod in position overnight knowing that the bonding process
had failed. I removed it this morning and cleaned up the wedges to remove
the left over P38 material. I decide to use "Araldite" (Epoxy - Resin)
to bond the wedges to the GRP. I fitted the tie rod and adjusted
the position before tightening up all the bolts. Then I
undid just the nut in the RH wheel arch to release the outer wedge on that
side. O cleaned the P40 surface of the wedge with solvent and
the corresponding surface in the wheel arch. I greased the end of the tie
rod, protruding in to the wheel arch, and the securing nut, to prevent them
from bonding to the wedge. Mixed up some "Araldite" and applied to to the
P40 surface of he wedge. Placed the wedge in position and tightened up the
securing nut to hold it in place. I Double checked the tie rod position and
left it to harden. Once it had hardened I repeated the operation fro the LHS
wheel arch. I still have to bond the wedges in the engine bay
but this should be easier with outer wages in place.
While I was waiting for the tie rod wedges to set in place I Returned to
the windscreen wiper wheel boxes and drive tubes. I had threaded the "Bendix"
drive cable through the wheel boxes to get an approximate idea of the shape
to bend the tubes. to thread the drive through wheel boxes it is necessary
to undo the tube clamp. I drew around the drive cable, from the
motor to the first wheel box, on to some cardboard as a crude template.
I bent the tube gently by hand making sure, from time to time, that the
drive would still thread comfortably through the tube. I then
tried to fit the to the motor and the wheel box, the curve was much too
shallow to get the end of the tube located in the wheel box. There
then followed a process of trial and error bending, straightening and
re-bending the tube until it fitted, all the time checking that the drive
would still thread through the tube. I trial fitted the tube and
drive threading the drive through the central scuttle support to the second
wheel box. I found it necessary to undo the wheel box from the scuttle
to assist with this process, refitting it once the tube and drive were in
place. The second tube needs much less bending. Just enough to pass easily
through the central support and align from the upper position of the wheel
box on the RHS to to the lower position of the wheel box on the LHS.
This was achieved using the trial and error process as before.
Again it was necessary to undo the wheel box from the scuttle to assist in
threading and alignment. The third ,and last, tube is just a short length of
straight tube. The whole assembly was fitted to the wheel boxes,
threading the drive cable through the boxes and re-fitting the tube clamps
and making sure the wheel boxes were aligned and secured to the scuttle.
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24/10/2005 1 Hr
Body Tie Rod
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I tested the bonding of thee wedges. To my dismay they had not bonded to the
inner wheel arches and came away easily. The "Araldite" easily peeled off the
wedges and off the bodywork. The secret of any bonding process
is cleanliness. To make sure of getting a good bond I cleaned the
wedges and the body work with solvent again. I also lightly roughened up the
surfaces with a little 60grit sand paper and finally scored the wedges and
bodywork with the point of a "Stanley" knife. The "Araldite" I was
using was old and so I decided to use some fresh stuff from a new tube.
While I was at it, I cut a new longer (595 mm) threaded rod to
allow for the the thickness of the wedges. I used the same procedure
as before, mounting the rod (without the central tube and the wedges and
tightening them up. Once I was satisfied with the position I removed the nut
and the wedge in the LH wheel arch. I cleaned he surfaces again and
applied grease to the bar so that it would not stick. I mixed enough
"Araldite" to apply to both the wedge and the body work I placed the wedge
in position and tightened it up rechecking the position of the bar.
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29/10/2005 1Hr. Body Tie Rod |
I bonded the LH inner wedge inner wedge in place with the bar in situ.
I slackened off the inner nut sufficiently to allow easy access to the
mating surfaces of the wedge and engine bay. Cleaned, roughened and scored
the surfaces as above. Then bonded the wedge in place using fresh
"Araldite" tightening up the inner nut to hold the wedge in place I left it
to set overnight. I gave the tie rod central tube another 2 coats of
paint.
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30/10/2005 2hrs.
Body Tie Rod |
Continuing with the tie rod by bonding the RH outer wedge in place.
I started on some tidying up jobs. I realise that I had not greased
the "Bendix" drive for the windscreen wipers . I stripped out the
whole installation and greased the drive cable with "Castrol LM"
grease. I reassembled drive cable, guide tubes and wheel boxes .
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31/10/2005 5hrs Rear Number Plate / Reversing Light |
I bonded the last of the tie rod wedges (inner LHS) in place.
The proposed cable route for the rear number plate light. It exits from the
rear of the lamp through the support bracket and then in through a hole in
the boot lid. I was dissatisfied with this arrangement because it left
a length of cable exposed between the boot lid and the lamp , which would be
open to snagging when the vehicle was being cleaned. Besides that it would
look untidy/ After I fitted the lamp I had left the cable routing whilst I
thought about it. I realised there was enough space to
route the cable out of the bottom of the lamp, under the number plate plinth
and then in thought the boot lid where it could not be seen. I
removed the number plate plinth, number plate light and bracket. I
removed the lens assembly from the lamp, and withdrew the cable and grommet
back in to the body of the lamp. I drilled a pilot hole and open this
out to 12mm. Take care doing this because the body of the lamp is made from
chrome plated brass , very thin and very soft. Also take care not to catch
the wired with the drill bit. I refitted the cable and grommet to the new
hole so that they now exit from the bottom of the lamp. I fitted a
blank bung to the old hole. the back of the lamp has 5 rivets which, with
the bung cause a gap between the bracket and the lamp when it is in
place. I put engineers blue on the rivets and put fitted the bracket to the
lamp. where the rivets touch was clearly marked on the bracket.
Using a combination of drills I countersunk the bracket to accept the rivet
heads. Working from the side of he bracket that is in contact with the
lamp body, I also opened out and countersunk the old cable exit hole
so that the bung would almost fit through the hole but not quite. this gave
sufficient clearance for the bracket to be fit close to the body of the lamp
whist still pressing on the bung and helping to seal it to the body of the
lamp. I refitted the cable with heat shrink sleeving. I refitted
the bracket to the boot lid and the lamp to the bracket . I drilled a hole
to accept the cable and a grommet in the boot lid, where it would be covered
by the number plate plinth. I marked the top edge of he number plate
plinth where the cable form the lamp would enter. I filed a semicircle to
accept a grommet . I fitted two grommets to the lamp cable. The
cable was fed in to the boot lid and the lower grommet fitted in place in
the hole. the upper grommet was slid in to the notch in the number
plate plinth. The plinth was screwed in to place pressing the grommet
in to the notch and trapping it between the plinth and the bracket.
the completed lamp is very neat and tidy with he cable completely hidden.
Whilst I was working in the boot area I removed the rear lights, removed the
masking tape used to position them and refitted the lights. the final
job of the day was to put some sealer around the edge of the boot floor.
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31/10/2005 2hrs
Body Tie Bar |
Another month draws to a close. I removed the tie bar today to fit the
covering tube, only to find that the wedges on the LHS had not bonded to the
body. there must be something in the P40 material I made the wedges
from that is not compatible with "Araldite". I decided I'm wasting
time on what is actually a cosmetic exercise. The real solution is to use
the wedges to support the bar and match the shape of the engine bay so that
they can be done up tight. The bonding is a good idea but not
essential. I fitted the tube and then painted the wedges and
body to blend them in to the bodywork. while I was waiting for
the paint to dry I started sorting out the windscreen components.
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Total Hours
this Month = 82hrs |
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Total hours
to date =1306.0hrs |
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