Build Diary
January 2008


3rd January
Ordered a whole load of flexible #3 euroquip 600 brake hose and an even more expensive pile of adapters from those nice boys at RallyDesign.  Shipped by CityLink (obviously to Aylesbury which is a 50mile round trip) this is the default if you order on the internet.
The plan is to do flexible hose with the re-usable fittings throughout.  These are fine for SVA and the big benefit is that I don't need to buy and learn how to use a flaring tool.  If the cost of the flaring tool is factored in the total costs are similar.  The only thing to bear in mind with flexible hose is that the adapters don't swivel by default (unlike solid hose) this means that you either need to plan to include either a swivelling adapter or a banjo for each hose (an easy thing to miss).
Anyway I got a few wrong connectors (90deg banjos for the Sierra rear calipers, when I needed 20deg banjos), also the washers don't come with the banjo bolts (separate order), and RD sent a couple of wrong bits.  I put a few connectors together the other night and they go together nicely.   I am optimistic.
 
5th January
Had a full saturday in my dads garage.

Good progress.  The prop centre bearing that I made up from the wooden mockup fitted pretty much perfectly.  So I drilled all the relevant holes and so just need to get the relevant length/strength bolts.


I drilled out the remaining engine mounts, not a big deal, but now it can be held in with all 8 M8 bolts (as STM intended).

I had made up a little fuel pump bracket (folded aluminium sheet, using the rubber mount from the ZX9-R fuel pump) this fits with one big diff bolt and sits down just below the drives side diff CV joint.  Nice spot for it (even if I say so myself).  I had to get a fancy connector on the hose that runs out of the tank.  The tank is special for Fury, and has an AN6 threaded output (9/16) I couldn't find a banjo with a push on hose fitting, so eventually went with a male-male AN6 and then a AN6 90deg to 10mm push on.  The connector is very pretty, but I don't like spending £15 on this type of thing.  I ended up getting a Fuel filter too but at least it is all 10mm to the fuel pump (not that I need 10mm but it is nice to be consistent!).  After the fuel pump it gets a bit messy.  10mm to 8mm adapter, and then onto the solid copper hose (which isn't installed yet).

Actually I still don't really get what is going on down there.  I need the 90degree turn to avoid a cross brace that goes between the two lower wishbone bolts. I got the chassis as an unused second hand item from a scottish hill-climbing chap, and it had this extra bracing.  I know it is extra as when I got it there was no paint on it!  It seemed silly not to use it, but I am not sure what it is for, it is adjustable for length, but not when on the car, so actually changing it will not be easy, and I wouldn't know what to do with it either.  Comments on a post-card to... anyway you can see it in the image below (its the bent bar under the fuel tank!).


I fitted the second rear brake caliper (upside down again, deliberately) and I am pretty pleased with the brake cable runs.  Passenger side is dreamy, drivers side isn't too bad.  A bit messy around the fuel pipe area, but actually there is loads of space.

Sorted out the fuel tank.  Previously it wouldn't sit down, and kept tearing the rubber insulation between the tank and chassis.  I needed to bend the tank retaining straps a little on one side.  Also I sorted the mounts including some captive nuts which are neater.

Actually on the point of panelling.  It seems that most people like to do this really early.  I don't quite get it.  Surely it is easier to do almost everything (at least trial fitted) before paneling.  I don't see myself putting the floor on until the point when I need it to support the bodywork (June 2011 at present rate of progress).

Finally, pedals and steering rack. (ongoing problem areas).

The steering rack previously didn't fit.  THere were a few problems;
1) rack didn't sit down at side where the splined shaft comes in (bearing area for splined shaft was interfering with rack bracing)
2) gaiters on both sides rubbed on chassis (SVA failure)
3) rack mount bracket adjacent to splined shaft rubbed on diagonal brace (behind radiator).

(3) had been fixed by filing the bracker.  The problem was what to do about (1).  Having seen some other rack mount horror stories (Dan Bromilow) mostly from Furys I had alreadt decided that I wasn't going to get out without welding.  Given this perspective drastic measures were used (not necessarily called for) to I cut out the drives side rack brace.  The rack now sat down properly.  After cutting it out I realised that the thing I thought was a tube was actually solid, so I could probably have got away with some filing, but hey at least I can get it done properly now, and filing would have never been great as the interfernce was substantial.

So, with that bracket out of the way I was hoping I would be in luck.  NO WAY.  Looking from above it was clear that the rack wasn't parallel to the front chassis members.  Unless this was designed especially for some excentric scottish oval hillclimb racing I suspect this was just wrong (by about 4mm at the ends).  As it turns out "stretching" the hole on the passenger side was enough to get it all parallel.  To be honest the gaiter is still close to the chassis member as it goes through its range of motions (especially as the suspension is compressed).  I guess this is a common issue with Phoenix/Strikers.  I can lower the rack slightly by reshimming the spacers (I have those billet aluminium things from Rally design, so can lower the rack by maybe 3mm) I guess I will do that and see what I have.  Less bulbous gaiters would be another solution, but I guess these don't exist for a Mk2 Escort rack.

Pedals.  Previously I had fitted the pedals and found the clutch push-rod to be too short and the brake push rods to be too long.  The solution to the second is easy, and I took maybe 15mm of each of them (I can take more off, but ...).  The solution to the clutch push-rod is more complex, firstly it is a motorcycle back brake master cylinder.  Chosen as it has a small bore to match the bike clutch slave cylinder (it did make sense at the time), and also it suits my frugal nature.  The push-rod on the bike master cylinder is M8 (most mastercylinders are 5/16 or some such imperial dimension) .  Anyway I got a new clevis which is longer and fitted it all together.  The clutch pedal is now vertical and gives maybe 5cm of travel from end to end (which corresponds to the full range of the master cylinder).  This all looks good, but then I look at the brake pedal.  This uses a balance bar and 2x 0.75 Wilwood cylinders (all stadnard stuff).  In this case the pedal travel is massive (12cm) and this doesn't cover all the swept volume of the cylinders.  I like the idea of having a bit of head-room on the pedal (I don't want the floor arriving too soon), and also fancy the idea of having the pedal leaning towards the drive a bit.  Looking at photos of pedals I guess i need to sacrifice some travel on the brakes.  Not sure.  Maybe I will compromise and extend the clevis on the clutch a little.

Anyway here are a couple of photos, one from the top, showing the differences in forward/backwards;



The other is from the back of the car looking forwards.

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