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2nd January 2004
A very Happy New Year to all our visitors and many, many thanks to all those to whom have emailed us direct and to Jonte for entering his name into the Guestbook. It's one thing getting visit's to our website, but not knowing who they are can at times be frustrating! All who sign our guestbook will get an automatic link to their website if they have one... Anyhow, a whole new year ahead of us and this year we will see the Hellfire on the road... scheduled for the end of February. We know it will be a tall order, but we all have deadlines to hit don't we? Now our site is on a different server - we have more virtual space. So from here on in, most of the pictures will have links to a larger viewable picture... |
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First up - headlights. After extending the wires, I wrapped them in special self extinguishing insulating tape... for those that don't believe there is such a thing... here is a picture of it! |
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| once nicely wrapped up - I then proceed to secondary coat in the yellow shrink tube I spoke about last year... seems like almost 1 week ago... heated it all up with the trusted B & D Heat Gun. The desired result was not exactly as planned... a little "ribbley" (the woman from Alien was it?) so we shall be coating again but not shrinking! |
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Here we are all fitted up and "p-clipped" all completed with bullet connectors. Another length of shrink wrap "unshrunk" will do the job nicely. |
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Next job to fit the rear wings...
So... fit the wheel/tyre to make it easier to locate the rear wing. |
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After find the centre - remove any FG that interferes with the flat fit on the rivets then mark out the profile of the wing using a pencil (faint and erasable) we found to complete the nearside wing better as the offside wing is longer by 25mm~30mm. |
| we then marked out where the chassis was underneath the body panels using our rivets and taking general measurements. We did this as we are using rivnuts and bolts to secure the wings into place. |
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once this was complete we then cut and relieved the piping, to prevent the piping from doubling up under the wing. Thereby, pushing the wing away from the panel. I used spray adhesive to hold it temporarily but this didn't work as the contact area is too small due to ridges on the piping. |
| While I was attacking the piping - Dad and Ph were securing rivnuts to the chassis stays behind the panel. |
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Once this was done it was time to offer up the wing to the body. It seems to go on all according to plan. A word of advice - the wings as signified earlier are not symmetrical. The offside one is longer, we therefore secured the front of the offside wing and pulled it into shape to give us the same overall length. We did this as the offside wing actually would hang over the radius of the rear panel if not pulled into shape. |
| Where we didn't have any chassis to secure the wing to, we used 6mm bolts and large washers to displace the load over a larger area. |
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So now complete - wheel back on and secured. It looks the business - now to order some wheels... as the 14" ones we have from the 4x4 Sierra aren't to our liking. |
| Once the nearside was complete - we then repeated the process on t'other side. Job's a good 'un... |
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Quick job now - the bonnet fitting. Adding rubberized draught excluder to bring the body panels to fit before we attack the SVA approved bonnet catches. |
| Still a little to go to bring it into line - things seem to be very quickly coming together again now... |
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3rd January 2004
Visit to Autodynamics of Sheffield today to look for some wheels - idea's, advice etc. Very accommodating guy - full of advice and help. Left with lots of idea's and thoughts... never visited MK today which makes a change! Tomorrow another full day... |
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4th January 2004
Well, it's Sunday once again and a full day ahead of us. First jobs first and a little tidying up:
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| ...so we marked out the MK precut side panel using masking tape - very handy stuff this! We wanted nice radii on the panel edge (or radiuses) however you want to say it! Dad set to work filing these... |
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...whilst I myself worked the masking panel which was to fit on the rear panel/rear arch panel. This was a very tricky job forming a square into a radius then compound bending the aluminium to achieve a straight and level edge to the side/bottom of the roll-bar as you can see from the picture we had a little work to do - however it needs to be done so... must add, I'm no fitter so a few rag's I lost on the way to complete disaster (not that Dad gave me the wrong measurements you understand - sorry Dad had to get that one in!) |
| ...while this was all being done Ph set to work on removing the fuel tank to relocate the fuel filling pipe. This is necessary due to our rear panel split... it is bang in the middle of the seam and would make the rear panel look a bit naf! So, off he went removing it - then marking out the centre for the pipe location. Using drill sawing (one drill hole close to another!) he removed the marked out section. |
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with the hole removed; Ph then set about cleaning up the hole to the same inside diameter as the inside diameter of the fuel pipe. |
| following this the old fuel filler pipe was removed... then squared off ready for re-welding, and blanking off of the old filler pipe hole. This then was side-lined to work on something else... |
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namely the bonnet. Fitting of the SVA catches...
Between the exhaust and panel end - the distance was measured to be 10" so between this we decided to place the catch after masking tape to hold it down and because it's easier to draw on and prevents splitting and chipping a little. Using the template supplied we then marked out the correct position for the drill holes.... |
| ... all drilled and popped up using a large head from another rivet on the rear to displace force - on the catches went! |
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6th January 2004
Today's agenda:
No pictures this evening as all progress was very slow and labored. However, we finally got the aluminium mask fitted and PU'd up well... photo's to update soon |
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8th January 2004
On the agenda today...
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the rear panel mask had taken a while to complete, once formed to a suitable shape and form it was secured using PU adhesive. It was held in position with a quick clamp and an engineers vice whilst the adhesive set. The aluminium was in a pretty tatty state so what was left to do was erase away any scuff marks and polish up. |
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once the PU adhesive had set we removed the clamps to reveal a lovely secure trim. |
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| as is evident; the trim stands off a little way from the rear panel. The trim is however horizontal, all that is required is to back fill the gaps with PU adhesive to prevent ingress of dirt and water. |
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next up a good old buff - as you can see the finish has improved a lot it now looks like it was always meant to be! It shows up our Stainless Steel roll-bar bolts. |
| There... completed! Amazing what a few days work can produce... now for t'other side! |
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once marked out - the side repeater needed a 28mm diameter hole for location. We were going to place the repeaters on the side panel but due to the closeness of the exhaust - we decided to locate them on the scuttle. After positioning 56mm in front the leading edge of the scuttle and 56mm up from side/scuttle joint I drilled a 14mm hole and enlarged this with a rough burr. |
| after accurately enlarging the hole to 28mm diameter, the repeater simply slotted in and tightened up using the large plastic nut - fitted a pair of bullets to the tails and job done - repeaters finished! |
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10th January 2004
We went a wheel hunting today We also went to MK (well, it is Saturday!) We placed our orders for seats, runners. Purchased harnesses, and collected various other bits. Including crucial information - as ever! |
| Also, we had our fuel tank filler pipe relocated and a breather put in as the filler cap we acquired from MK was not vented |
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| There is lots to do now - and the end of the build is definitely in sight! |
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11th January 2004
Today was a day for cleaning up: As we had the 14" wheels originally fitted to the Sierra 4x4 donor car - we thought we may be able to make good use of these... and if not we could always sell them as they are in pretty good nick! We took them down to the local garage and used their hot jet wash. The proprietor was watching us and took pity on us trying to remove the years and years worth of grime, dust and last off steering fluid oil baked and embedded into the rear surface of the wheels. He generously issued us with some alloy wheel cleaner and free use of his jet wash. Many, many thanks to that man! As the fuel tank was out we decided to PU adhesive up the rear panel where it was not fully rain-proofed. This was done to prevent ingress or trapping of spray and grime in between the chassis/rear panel. Mark out and dimension the dashboard ready for cutting... |
| We will be fitting the dashboard (hopefully!) down to the transmission tunnel complete with radii and internal side panels so the cutting bending will be very crucial. |
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You may just be able to make out the PU adhesive on top of the tubing adjacent to the rear panel. This is to stop water and c**p getting down the gap, accelerating the rust bug! |
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12th January 2004
Dad completed the nearside panel mask |
| Duplicating the same mask on this side was again difficult as the profiles are pretty complex and obviously need to be accurate to look the part. However, it was completed to satisfactory standard... |
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| Meanwhile, we all set to task completing other jobs and generally discussing the future build, eg lights, positioing, SVA requirements. |
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13th January 2004
Once more into the garage with seemingly lots to do. On today's agenda was:
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| This is a view from the rear showing where we intend the fuel filler to go. Firstly we had to make a rear brace between the rear stays to support the bracket... |
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once this was located we could then begin to measure the dimensions we required for the bracket as this gave us our datum point from which to work from. |
| once we got our dimensions we then began creating our bracket from 2mm thick aluminium. Normally this would not be rigid enough. However, as the fuel filler pipe was going to be placed directly beneath this it would add much strength. |
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next thing was to drill/saw the profile which was going to be cut out for the filler cap. Following this we then used a pad saw to complete the hole. |
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the bracket was then bent to give us a flush fitting to the lip of the rear panel - it was held in position whilst it was pop-riveted. |
| masked up ready for painting... |
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sprayed up, riveted and in position. |
| file away the rear lip overlap. This was calculated to allow the flange of the filler cap to lower into the lip allowing for 3mm of clearance. As is evident there is now a step down onto the bracket. This will be leveled out with another piece of aluminium pop-riveted onto the bracket. |
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aluminium was secured onto the bracket using G clamps then drilled out to suit the rivets. This then brings everything flush to allow for a boot box and lid which will be made post SVA. |
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15th January 2004
Minus 1 tonight; not in temperature; just me! Working away has it's drawbacks!
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We had to insert a plug into the filler cap neck to reduce the diameter nozzle to 23.6mm diameter this is to deter filling with leaded or diesel fuel. We did this by making the top-hat shape and inserting onto a strategically placed "ledge" inside the orifice itself. Drilled 3 holes through the outside diameters through into the restrictor and popped it up. As the fuel hose goes on the outside of these rivets, the securing method we used is irrelevant to fuel leakage. Placing on the filler pipe had the effect of making the whole unit very strong and secure. |
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17th January 2004
Our regular visit to MK resulted in:
Generally have a chat with "the lads", make a nuisance of ourselves then leave! We visited a few hardware outlets looking for 'bits and bobs' like formed aluminium to be used for the kick plate. We stumbled across some aluminium tubing which was originally designed for TV aerial support. It looked like it had the correct bend on it and it was 25mm diameter the same as the outlet for radiator/engine couplings and it was £5, which we thought reasonable. |
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As we have the Micra radiator the outlet for the engine is on the nearside bottom - inline with the 'blade engine inlet, perfect! This is later to be chopped down and connected to the radiator using rubber (then silicon) hose. |
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18th January 2004
On today's agenda is a long and arduous task of fitting the dashboard. |
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First up we began to drill out holes (drill-sawing!) the various diameters marked out for the original blade clocks to be mounted. Once this was done we could then begin to join the holes using a saw. |
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| once this was done |
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we began filing out the holes and slots to our cardboard template made previously... |
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until the original clocks fitted the apertures properly. We had to remove lugs on the rear of the clocks to suit the fitting... |
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| as this took most of the day |
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it was getting - lets just say 'less interesting'... |
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next was marking out for the steering column and drill-sawing and filing... until we had our flat dashboard - next up... bending! |
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| we then used some 38mm pipe as a former to bend the lower section of the dashboard. This was drilled and riveted so that it held the shape as near as possible. |
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so by using brute strength we managed to pull around the aluminium to form the radius required to suit the SVA man (even though this part of the dash is not required to be this radius we are informed). |
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once one return was made we repeated the process on t'other side (after drilling out the rivets obviously!) |
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| so once its all bent and filed and deburred its almost complete |
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but if you notice the small inverted moon on the left? This was where we "bropped a drollock" when marking out for the steering wheel. |
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before and after...
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Unfortunately it isn't so easy correcting the fault in real life as it is on a computer - the 'after' image has had hollywood imagery applied... erasing faults!!!
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once completely bent and shaped the dashboard clocks could be inserted (but not permanently) to get the jist of what it looks like. |
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20th January 2004
The agenda for today was to secure the side-panels. We are going to use aluminium sheet as it has high strength/low weight and we decided to PU adhesive the panels on to retain a uniform impact weight distribution, should anything untoward occur inside the tunnel. The sheets of aluminium are pre-cut from MK. |
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| Once the panels were relieved of the braces and branch grooves and pre-fitted to make sure the shape was uniform could we begin to form t'other side - which incidentally is not a mirror image. But, it is very close - |
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all was then PU adhesive'd up and left to cure. The bend in the tunnel was left to take it's own shape as the bends are not from the same points on upper/lower sections. This gives a nice clean bend on the metal.
We also then began fitting the dashboard... the lower bends are indeed flush to the top of the tunnel section. |
| We used PU adhesive to secure the oak quadrant onto the top of the tunnel section - this again gives us a flowing radius from the top flat of the tunnel section down the sides... |
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22nd January 2004
Fitted the MK Grille - Photo's immanent! We devised a novel way of securing the grille... |
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24th/25th January 2004
Visited MK to collect seat runners for drivers seat and advice on how to assemble them... generally join in the banter and gather info... but not for too long as we had to choose some alloy wheels today. The alloys were ordered from AUTODYNAMICS of Sheffield. We then went to our local automotive electrical supplies to look at some lights for the rear... but as it was nearer home-time for him - all he was interested in was going home not the £100+ which we could have spent there... Sunday morning came around and on today's agenda was completing the cooling system... |
| it is pretty self explanatory but as my camera had collected a bug from somewhere the progress pictures were lost. So these are 'post build'. One thing I have to point out is the T-Section Dad made... it looks pretty impressive - and it is... being as he MADE IT! It's a true 25mm O/D / 16mm OD joint. The picture does it little justice... |
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| T Piece | Coolant Reservoir | Top Hose thro' plate | Radiator Lower outlet |
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| TV Mast turned coolant pipe | breather pipe | Fuel pipe with yellow protector |
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27th January 2004
'Twas a cold lonely night in the garage today... the snow had begun to fall and the air was quiet and icy. But enough of that - on the agenda tonight was:
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| so, the stone guards started life like this as a purchase from lolocost in Mansfield. Looks they had been plasma cut from stainless and were protected on one side with plastic film. |
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so after joining both plates Dad began to drill them to size suitable for the large head rivets that we are so fond of. Again, they were to be secured using the head from another large headed rivet to displace some of that force the rear of a rivet can generate on the back of the fibreglass. |
| once drilled and located into place the bottom of the plate was used to drill. The plate was then secured on using PU adhesive and trued up to the outside arch. They were popped up using the arch as a former as we went up the plate. We did it this way to prevent as much as possible buttoning of the plate. It worked to our satisfaction. This was then replicated on t'other side. |
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Then the film was removed to show the bright shiny finish - that we're not too keen on. But hey... |
| So when the stone guards were complete we began on the exhaust bracket. Made from 75mm x 2mm stainless plate we drew up our requirement. We are using the lower chassis and side chassis as securing points. The bracket will be separated using a rubber bobbin for heat insulation. |
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now Ph began cutting - best sawing I've ever seen ;-) !!! |
| We could not complete the bracket, so we decided to proceed with locating the can. We removed approximately 50mm from the overall length of the manifold and 50mm from the angled bend. This gave us a clearance of 38mm from the front of the rear arch. |
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Exhaust fitted - now just the bracket to attach... coolant to fill then the engine is almost ready to gun! |
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| Received a call today to advise us our wheels have arrived - watch this space! |
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29th January 2004
So after fitting the exhaust our job for today was to manufacture a bracket to support the 'can'. |
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so... having designed our bracket Ph cut it all out, then we offered the bracket up to the body, marked it off then cut out the fiberglass so that we had a chassis to 'pop' up to rather than the outside of the panel. We had to remove two of the floor rivets but these are going to be used again to support the bracket too. |
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| after buffing up the bracket with the wire brush we presented the bracket into the slot. We then marked out the rivet holes and then drilled the bracket to suit. We also drilled into the side of the bracket and through the chassis to further support the exhaust. |
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we then 'popped' up the bracket using large headed rivets to the side and bottom of the panel. |
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we then inserted the stainless steel bolt, washer and nut to sandwich the rubber 'bobbin'. This will enable the exhaust a little 'play' and hopefully allow for expansion/contraction of the exhaust. |
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