Mon
9th October 2006
Day 18 - Hours 3 (Total 53)
Chassis the right way up and onto a last couple of panelling jobs before the spanners get some action :o)
The radiator double skin was a doddle, but the corner areas are tight so I've not rivetted and drilled all the way to the corners. Hey, there are over 100 riviets in this small panel anyway, so it ain't going anywhere !!
The floor double skin was easy(ish) - just be careful that you don't scratch the side panels when you are putting it into position. the rails drilled and deburred and waxoyled, this big panel was safely secured. It looks great - pity that it may end up carpetted but at least I will know that the rivet work is a quality job.
Tues
10th October 2006
Day 19 - Hours 2 (Total 55)
One last
little panel was sitting in the corner. I nearly forgot all
about it ! The battery tray needed fitting, and a few rivets,
the odd chop from the hacksaw and a splat of silkaflex later it
was in. That is IT for the panelling. 55 hours in total,
and a labour of love. Over 1,000 rivets, I was counting but
lost count when we flipped the chassis. Tomorrow the real
fun starts. G'night !
Wed
11th
October 2006
Day 20 - Total hours 0 (Total 55)
I spoke
too soon. Not a useful day. A bad chest cold has turned
nasty. Came home from work early and went to bed.
Sat
14th
October 2006
Day 23 - Hours 6 (Total 61)
No action the last two days ! I have not been a well bunny. Well it's catch up time. The beer may have been swapped for a lemsip but I can get on with a few jobs.
First is the steering rack. I guess you can tackle the next few jobs (rack, rad, wishbones etc) in any order, they are not connected.
The one thing to remember about the rack is not to tighten up the allow brackets more than 12 ft lbs - they are delicate and will bend onto the rack if tightened too much. It goes on easily. The kit is short of washers for the four bolts but a call to Andy at Ultima confrimed that none are required.
The bushes for the two pre welded steering column brackets on the chassis need a fair bit of washing up liquid to slip in. use a G-clamp as the manual suggest. The raised lugs should line up with the holes but they are difficult to see when the whole bush gets squeezed in. I lined them up and they went in straight so I guess there are in the right place !
Sun 15th October 2006
Day 24 - Hours 8 (Total
69)
A great long enjoyable day in garage, split in the middle by a 4 hour walk through the woods at Hawkstone Park with the missus and the kids. Feel a lot better today, no doubt spurred on by the rack being in place. Getting up at 5am really does help you make the most of the day without feeling that I am neglecting the kids (who were in bed until 8 then popped into the garage to play on the PS2 whilst Dad bolted on the Wishbones). The drill also saw some serious conker action as we strung together a 45 foot conker snake.
The bushes all go together easily - the black ones are for the lower rear wishbones (but are the same size as the red ones - what's the diference ?). Use a G-clamp to get them in as needs be.
The front ball joints take some screwing in as the powder coating is on the thread. Another CJ tip used here - file a few lines down the thread and then repeatedly screw in and out to clear the powder coating.
The wishbones take come fitting to the chassis as they are all marginally too fat (with the bushes) so the chassis brackets need a wang with the rubber mallet to open them out a mill or two. Then they slide in nicely.
Remember to put grease on the bushes and some copper ease on the bolt that holds the bush.
Mon 16th October 2006
Day 25 - Hours 4 (Total 73)
Wishbones in and on to the uprights - hubs. The uprights bolt to the wishbones through the bushes and hold on everything else via the hubs (the spinning part with the wheel bolts).
These are simply bolted on - easy as pie.
Remember that the rear lower bush needs that fat 1.5 inch washer to prevent the rear wheels coming off under full acceleration. The manual isn't that clear but again CJ's site gives some useful confirmation. See below left picture.
Tues 17th October 2006
Day 26 - Hours 3 (Total 76)
Onto the brakes. the AP racing brakes are the dogs b****ks.
The discs slip onto the hubs but need a few washers and a careful tighten to sit fully on the hub. If they are loose then the caliper does not sit right and the handbrake calipers become impossible to fit.
I dry fitted all the calipers and the handbrake calipers before applying the supa-glue to the bolts. And with the brakes on it would have been rude not to take a few pics of the car with the wheels on !!
Wed 18th October 2006
Day 27 - Hours 3 (Total 79)
Calipers done, it was on to the loom. This takes some unravelling, with lots of small wires and connectors ready to jump off if you get the arse with it and pull the main (wrapped) cable too hard. Identifying the terminals helps, and eventually it was roughly on the chassis.
Thurs 19th
October 2006
Day 28 - Hours 3 (Total 82)
Loom roughly in place and onto the aircon unit. Lots of big bits here - compressor / drier / radiator, plus loads of pipes and wires. First job is the blower tray, which needs rivnutting. Have Trevor looking into a riv nut gun for me. But I put it roughly in place - it is out of centre but the control panel isn't. Then drilled the chassis and deburred the panel.
Fri 20th October 2006
Day 29 - Hours 3 (Total 85)
A long week at work over, it was time to have an early evening session and a couple of cold ciders. Rainbow playing tonight, "Final Vinyl" live in Tokyo. Nice.
The air con blower unit got rivetted in place ready for the tricky riv nutted control panel tomorrow. Trev came up trumps again, having located a riv nut gun from one of his suppliers. Dinstock were quoting £ 90 for one, HSS don't sell them, so T has again saved me a quite a few sheckles.
Finished off by riv nutting the battery tray, which was its final fixing.
pics
Sat 21st October 2006
Day 30 - Hours 4 (Total 89)
Tackled those awkward riv nuts in the battery compartment, the air con unit and the passenger footplate. In the end, the riv nut gun was easy to use and didn't cause any problems. Just drill a 7mm hole, insert your riv nut (screwed onto the end of the gun) and squeeze away. The screw (with washer) can then be screwed into the threaded hole you hav made. Easy.
The underneath of the air con control panel is screwed to the dash rail from below using a tapped thread. A M5 tap, inserted in to a 4.2 mm hole does the trick. Remember to take it slow and use some WD40 to lube the tap. Two twists forward and one back. It's a long job to get it all lined up though !
Sun 22nd
October 2006
Day 31 - Hours 0 (Total 89)
A day off. But here is a pic of where we are now.
Mon 23rd
October 2006 - Fri 27th October 2006
Day 32 to 36 - Hours 0 (Total 89)
A long week at work with meetings galore. Not a chance of turning a spanner on the GTR. Oh well, the job is paying for all this and there are only SO many hours in the day, even if I only get 5 hours sleep a night (which I do). Roll on next week.
Sat 28th
October 2006
Day 37 - Hours 3 (Total 92)
Called Ultima on Friday to see what else I can be doing. The answer, not a lot really, until the body panels have been prefitted. The body was ordered a few weeks back and I now have a fit date of 14th December - they say to drop the car off on the 11th. All that is left between then and now is :
Luggage
containers
Check all bolts and fixings
Rivet the cabels /
hoses / brake lines in place
Grease the pedal pivots
Polish
and grease the steering
A few small bits and bobs
So it looks like I can have a few evenings off and relax a little ! :o) Bad news really, as I am totally addicted to the GTR.
So on to the luggage containers.
These fit level with the back of the car rather than the front - they are about 1 inch shorter than the gap. As CJs site mentions, and as you find out when you try a dry fit, they don't fit ! Well, they DO, but getting them in without a "tilt" is impossible. So you need to cut a "V" in the outer side corners.
They then go in (with a squeeze) and can be skin pinned in place. An angle drill is essential here, and I don't have one - so just four quick holes (at a slight angle) to hold the containers until I can find one ! Here comes ebay !
Sun 29th
October 2006 - Fri 3rd November 2006
Day 38 to 43 - Hours 1 (Total 93)
Still busy busy at work - no action ! But one BIG development ! The engine is HERE !!! And what an engine ! Pictures speak volumes, so enough said. Here is the 7 litre, 642 bhp monster ! Yeee haaaarrrr !!!!
Sat 4th
November 2006
Day 44 - Hours 2 (Total 95)
A quick couple of hours to keep on top of the 11th Deadline. I made a list of a number of jobs that needed attention at some time, and today saw me grease the pedal pivots and polish the steering column (see silvery sections of the copper coloured rod).
I'm not 100% sure where to put the pedals. I'm not the tallest guy in the world and the pedals seem a long way from the rear bulkhead (straight leg plus a bit). I know that the seats will move me forward six inches or so. Anyway, I've opted for the middle pedal settings. Getting the bolts in and out now takes some doing - care is needed to avoid scratching the ally panels now in place. I still need to do the accelerator cable, but this will have to wait until my angle drill arrives (now ordered from ebay at £99).
Sun
5th
November to Fri 10th November 2006
Days 45 - 50. Hours nil (Total 95)
Another hectic week at work - no action on the GTR. Will attack it on Sat though. Ultima have confirmed the pick up for 11th Dec for the bodywork so the sooner I get the list of "little jobs" done the better ! What's left includes fixing the cables / brake lines, riveting the sidepods, fitting accel and clutch cables, couple of air con bits to fix, and rough alignment of suspension and tightening of rod ends and joints. Probably a days work, which should take me nicely up to the 100 hour mark.
Sat
11th
November 2006
Day 51 Hours 5 (Total 100)
Spent the best part of five hours repositioning and securing the various cables that run down the sides of the car. This is far from straightforward, especially the wiring loom which has been unravelled several times to clear various chassis members or rails. Does it go under here, or over there ? Only a number of CJs photos plus a few of my own gave the necessary clarification.
Front left side - battery cable and brake pipes.
Twin handbrake cables and side pods (wiring loom & battery cable via one 12mm rivet).
Rear four way brake line intersection - note M6 tap on the angle drill - the tap handle fouls the chassis member. Care needed !!
Rear brake lines