1st March 2004
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| Using 20mm diameter half round pine we cut grooves in the form 17mm deep 5mm apart. |
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only grooving it where it needs to be bent... |
| After gluing up using PVA adhesive (Wood Glue) you can bend the form to the radius we cut on the lower dash. This gives you a lovely uniform curve with little effort! Clamp it up and allow to dry overnight... |
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also rub PVA into the open grooves. This prevents adverse pressure going into the panel it is adhered to. |
2nd March 2004
After allowing the form to dry overnight we could then remove the clamps |
| this gives you a nice radius which can be sanded down and made smooth |
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File away grooves for the battery cables.
Radius some 6mm Niloc Nuts to prevent spinning under the battery tray.. Fit some PVC tubes and secure... marvelous! |
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4th March 2004
With the nearside dash panel dry, we sanded the edges of the ply to give Spend a nice pint with a fellow Locost Builder in Bonnyrigg Scotland. Thanks for the company Scotlad - enjoyed the company (your request has been granted!) |
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This is the saddle which braces the joint between the tunnel panel and the lower dash, |
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The crash pads were enlarged by 20mm on the top. This is to allow the panel to overlap the scuttle and provide a thicker base for us to radius. This would then be covered with foam and wrapped around to achieve the 19mm minimum as required by SVA. |
| The radius is generated on... both sides to allow some extra for securing the foam. |
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The same technique is applied to both sides. |
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6th March, 2004
Our usual visit to MK saw us collect some new cycle stays for the front arches - though we not have to use them! But, just in case we do, it won't slow us up! Gather information about the speedometer pickup - we are trying to adapt the original one from the bike using a wheel which will/could run directly from the prop-shaft adapter. The speed adjustment will be using a differing size wheel until we achieve the correct reading - should be fun! |
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7th March, 2004
On the agenda today is:
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| Seal the area to the rear of the roll bar stays/rear panel using PU adhesive/Sealer. Just to make it look neat! |
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Attempt... errr, 2? 3? 4? Who knows! But this time we think it's our nearest attempt - it's great when you've done hundreds "Snoopy", but we haven't and it's a bu**er!! |
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As we are solely using PU adhesive to secure the arches on - we thought we had better provide a better 'key' so we drilled some 8mm holes and chamfered them hopefully to gain a bit more security as the last thing we want is for them to be run over by our own tyres! |
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Correctly form the saddle and radius off any sharp edges which the SVA man would have fun pointing out! |
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Next up the rear view mirror... after find the centre we drilled the scuttle to accept the bolts used to secure the mirror stay onto the plinth we manufactured from aluminium. |
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| We also made a brace for underneath the scuttle - this is to support the mirror a little more as it will be moved quite a bit with 3 of us driving the car. It all glued up very well and it is very solid... now for the radii on the leading edge... maybe some tube will suffice? |
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Next, the crash pads... after cutting the foam (X-camp bed!) we used furniture adhesive spray on both surfaces then allowed for tackiness and placed them together... marvelous!
Once this was complete, radiusing of the edges could proceed... just to make the vinyl trim 'sit down' nicely onto the pad. |
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until both sides were done - then I could offer the pads onto the dash as a test before the vinyl is glued on... we will be using a high powered stapler to secure the foam around the radius before the vinyl goes on... |
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9th March, 2004
On our agenda this evening:
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| Purchased yesterday a sheet a aluminium mesh. Cut out to the rough shape, then trimmed to fit properly with overlap. It was then fixed into shape using blobs of PU adhesive. It was then we discovered it was steel sheet - not aluminium. Sh*t!!! Now it means masking and spraying up to protect it from the elements... |
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We also used the mesh in front of the MK Grille to comply with SVA regulations... |
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Using the foamed up pads, I then spray tak'd the foam and covering (to seal) allowed to dry. Re-coated again, then allowed to go tacky - then pressed the two parts together to form a very strong bond. |
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after stretching and teasing the covering over and around the foam it all was stapled up to the rear. This could then be fitted properly to the dashboard. This gives a very firm but non-rigid surface as required by SVA. |
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| Repeating the process on the offside, avoiding the steering column... |
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| After placing corrugated tube to the stays to comply with SVA, we began to fit the arches. The rear of the bracket comes very close to the lower lip of the arch. This is solely due to the size of the wheel. The front edge (leading) of the arch has to be at least inline with the edge of the wheel (not including the tyre) so covering it. |
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Had we used smaller wheels this position would probably be 12.7mm further back, so preventing us being hit from dirt and rubbish thrown up by the tyres... oh well! |
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11th March, 2004
Tonight Matthew I'm going to be - making hardly any progress!
So, tonight was going to see the working of the braking system - we hoped! In true "Hellfire" style something would inevitably go wrong... |
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Checked all connectors for tightness then slowly, slowly fill the reservoir. Began the bleeding procedure... press, open, close, release. Press, open, close release... etc etc After successfully bleeding air from both front lines. The rear was started on - after a number of procedures, the pipe leading from the caliper bleed nipple was not showing any air output. As the Sierra master cylinder works in tandem we presumed a fault within the piston operation.
We stripped down the master cylinder to discover a strange black 'gel-like' substance at the bottom of the connection feed to the primary piston. It was blocking the feed hole, that feeds the rear brakes. After cleaning out all of the crud... we fitted it back into position. We repeated the same procedure, and again the same thing happened. We opened a few of the connections which sequentially headed back towards the master cylinder to discover that no fluid (fuel, coolant or fluel) was being forced from the piston. So, I placed my thumb over the master cylinder port and depressed the pedal... bubbles flowed into the reservoir and we had found the cause... the master cylinder, primary piston needed priming. After re-tightening all of the connections we pumped away until the brake pedal firmed up again... bleeding the front's once more to ensure no air in the system. The tandem system has a strange feel to it when the primary piston isn't working properly. You can literally feel the poor primary stage of the braking system.
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So while I was back here I thought I would use this opportunity to take a picture with all the rear facing lights on... except the fog light! |
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Ok, so with that out of the way - we could now secure the arch's with more PU Adhesive. |
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Upper Stay |
Lower stay |
| So with the arch's now on - they really are very secure with this stuff! |
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March 14, 2004
Today's the day when Hellfire gains:
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| So - to start we bought a piece of 6mm plywood 1010 x 365mm marked out the profile and began to cut out for the boot lid. Ph did a very professional job cutting it all out. Unfortunately... it would not fit into place due to the one piece size. Therefore, we cut the panel in half. With such extreme precision the panel fitted fantastically well. A few more small nicks, here and there and it all went in. |
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Following successful cutting out - it was then sprayed up with furniture adhesive and left to soak in. Then it was sprayed once more and allowed to go tacky... |
| The vinyl was then sprayed and allowed to soak/dry, then this was sprayed again and allowed to go tacky. The two pieces were then bonded together and cut around the corners/bends to fit all nice and snug. |
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Once this was done - the other side was then covered, using the same process... |
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That was the rear boot lid panel done and fitted... now came the wind mirrors. We eventually went for some Honda CBR 600 mirrors as we have been told they are 25mm longer than the fireblade numbers. This gives us an extra 25mm to see over the rear arches with! We bought replica's as the originals were silly money... and 2nd hand ones were very manky and damaged. These were all in all £37 - for the pair. Maybe you could get better but these don't look too bad, only time will tell! By the way part#582310. |
| Mark out for the mirrors - on our panel the measurements were 322mm from the scuttle bottom. 31mm back from the scuttle lip. The holes were drilled 6mm diameter 50mm apart to mount the bases. |  |
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To support the base on the fiberglass we manufactured some aluminium braces from 2mm aluminium. The intention was to PU these up behind the scuttle so taking out any unevenness in the molding. |
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The mirror was then placed into position ready for fixing... then bolted up! This pulled the aluminium sheet into position, bending it in the process, therefore finding it's own shape to hold it more securely. |
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| So now the wings are in position and drying, left us time to remove the protective film from the dashboard. This gave us a lovely metallic finish, strangely enough in aluminium! We finished off the starter button... put the Engine Starter ring on it. Simple but effective! |
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Need a closer look? Tasty eh...! |
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So now on with the pads... and fit everything into place. |
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March 16 & 18, 2004
This evening was a warm one by comparison to many others - a full 10C! So, armed without bobble hats we decided on the agenda tonight was:
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| Whilst I was beavering away with the Hazard Circuit, which has been redesigned (click HERE to view schematic) to be integrated with the indicator circuit - Dad & Ph were fabricating some kick strips out of pre-formed aluminium from Oakwood Contracts contactable on 01302. |
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The strip was measured out at equi-spaced distance circa 100mm, marked up and sawn on the backside and bent. Time to place the aluminium into position... and fix ready for sealing and drilling |
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| We drilled a bottom kick strip removed the aluminium then put PU adhesive between the aluminium and the panel to secure. It was then popped up. |
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Once the drilling was complete we the placed PU adhesive beneath the strip and popped up. |
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| The strip was not cut into the corner, it was nicked and persuaded to ensure a nice sharp blend without the cut. |
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The form was continued around the rear arch member, teasing it to shape along the way... |
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Until it was finally complete...
The Hazard Circuit also fully operational and with a nice little intentional twist to boot... using the full illumination and warning capabilities of the switch. Just strapping up to do on Thursday then the whole dash can be placed in permanently. The side repeaters also placed into position on the scuttle... |
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| Sorted out the Hazard Switch but then upon testing the dashboard clocks lit up! Dam!! It's getting a ignition feed from the Hazard Switch... try again :( |
| The original Speedo sender was wired in and tested, run with a standard drill... got to 28mph. One thing we did notice, no matter which way you spin the drill... the tachometer always goes positive... won't go backwards. I wonder why that is? |
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March 20, 2004
Our usual visit to MK this Saturday just to confirm final settings for our test run. Rear wheels 0 toe, 1-2 degrees positive camber. Front 2 toe-in, +2 camber. General questions now as our build is almost complete. Test drive hopefully next week. Call around for insurance quotes. |
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March 21, 2004
Sunday and now we have been building Hellfire for 6 months. We have come a long way, all of it fun, some not so much fun as others. Finalising things now for Test Run, MOT and SVA. The agenda for today:
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| Hack together some kind of bracket to check probability of successfully mounting the original Speedo sender on a swinging arm mechanism to run from the prop-shaft adapter. This is what we ended up with. If this does not work we intend using a stand alone sender unit to pick up the bolt heads or other metallic object on the prop-shaft adapter. |
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Picture of gash swinging arm mechanism which will hold the sender unit. |
| When all fitted up it looks like this... not bolted into position yet. Simply held into position. Looks like it will work with a larger rubber wheel on the sender itself. |  |
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Photo with description of items might help... so here it is! |
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March 23, 2004 Cold one tonight... more things to look forward to for the MOT and SVA namely:
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| So off we go. Dad started on this, with cold hands and cold head he windily proceeded to complete his task. With a little help from us both Ph proceeded with the wheel geometries and I Stv refitted the new 7 1/4" ones from SVC. Not many pictures tonight as little seemed to change - apart from the lights... so you can see these! |
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| We are very much ready for the test drive now... wheels done, headlights done - Speedo to complete but this isn't necessary for the MOT. Test drive probably at weekend... insurance is currently down to below £170 with 3 of us all over 35, No "no claims" discount (NNCD) all with spotlessly clean driving licenses - for now! |
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March 25, 2004 Another cold one tonight - not that it has stopped us so far. On the agenda this evening is:
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| Ok, so here are a few pictures more of the speedo bracket near completion. |
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A picture of the prop-adapter which had to be dismantled to place on a rubber liner on which the sprocket adapter will run. |
| This picture shows the bracket and sender in position. Now all that is required is to secure the bracket to the engine mounting brace and foot well plate. The spring has very little effect on the force of the arm due to it's light nature. All it is designed to do is to keep the wheel onto the prop, not force it on. |
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This is a close up of the sprocket adapter lined with numerous layers of thin rubber. This should allow us to correct the reading. |
| Secure the surround to the fog light using PU Adhesive. Seal the kick plates between the chassis, side panel and kick strip again with PU. |
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| This just about completes the requirements for the MOT, we Test Drive over the weekend then book for MOT next week. All being well once off the chocks... all will function as planned and then on to the SVA in Beverley. |
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March 28, 2004 Following the one hours loss of sleep... I arrived at 10:30 to find Dad and Ph already hard at it, well... maybe not. They'd gone shopping to Haflords for a look around. But on my agenda today was:
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| It never quite happened this way as we got the car out and ran it to establish some fixed data to calculate the ratio of Prop Adapter/Sprocket. At 160mph speedo reading we were actually moving at 36mph. Quite a way out to say the least. I calculated that doing it this way meant increasing the sprocket drive to 160mm diameter was a bit much! |
| On our test drive the car stalled (unknown driver error) and the gearbox couldn't be downshifted/up shifted. But we also couldn't start the car as I had wired in the neutral safety shut off. After rocking the car we managed to find neutral and away we went. So now I added to the agenda: disable neutral shutoff. |
| Now, following the failure of locating the Speedo sender from the prop adapter a little bird told us an alternative location... the rear drive shaft flange. So Dad and Ph set to work manufacturing a bracket to allow relocating, whilst I re-routed the wiring to suit... |
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during this time I (St) made an aluminium panel to fit over the fuse box's and wiring to tidy it all up. We now need to order some nut covers and 'U' trim to cover all the nasty edges that Mr. SVA man will fail us on! |
| Time was getting on and I was getting more and more tired, I eventually vented my frustration (regrettably) and retired for the evening. Dad and Ph continue the Speedo work tomorrow - I put pictures into this description!!! |
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March 30, 2004 Tonight's agenda:
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| The new mini-loom for the rear mounted Speedo sender was routed down the centre tunnel. Prepared for connection to sender. |
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providing we can achieve the correct ratio, we will be using this method of speed pickup. We may need a "Yellow Box" to trim the ratio that little bit more... |
| I chopped out the safety feature fitted onto the Honda Fireblade as it gave us a problem when stalled in 2nd gear. The safety feature only allows starting of the engine when: Clutch is depressed (in), the Neutral is selected and side- stand is up. I had already bypassed the side- stand and clutch but I thought it wise to leave the neutral safety. However, bike box's are synonymous with not being able to select when engine is static. When this occurs it's quite common to see bikers "rock" the bike to allow gearbox movement enabling selection of Neutral to start. In a car it's a different matter... you can't simply rock the car! So, the only means of starting was to bypass the neutral switch. If you need this information click HERE to go to the required page. |
| Begin manufacture of the steering wheel cowl using the Sierra donor as a template. We hacked up the original to fit where it would then we're adapting some aluminium to cover the remaining holes/gaps. More progress pictures of this as it moves on... |
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| Purchase of a Cytec C10 cycle Speedo. We have documentation that this digital multi-function instrument is guaranteed to be accurate to more than 100mph. So, we're using this as a backup/calibrator so set our clock's accuracy. More details on Thursday... |
