780 replies to this topic

[alex-95]

Car looks great. Can I ask where you got fog and reverse lights from?
Good luck with Mot

Cheers, The lights them selves come from leacys classics, being the flatter lens type. I then made stainless brackets to mount them. You can buy similar from jon betts (jb fabrication).

 

MOT was today, Which it passed!   (edited the post )

[Steve8274]

Thanks. Doesnt look like they sell them anymore. Dont come up on search bit anyway.
Well done on passing mot (just re read your post where you say it had passed. Never noticed that bit before 🙈)

Edited by Steve8274, 24 November 2017 - 10:59 PM.

[Jared Mk3]

Still one of my favourites 

[alex-95]

Thanks. Doesnt look like they sell them anymore. Dont come up on search bit anyway.
Well done on passing mot (just re read your post where you say it had passed. Never noticed that bit before )

I can't find any other link but this is his facebook page.  https://www.facebook.../JBFabrication/

 

Still one of my favourites 

Cheers mate 

[alex-95]

So with the MOT done, I put it the garage for winter.

Bought some bits for the engine build and other odds and sods to do over winter.

 

Bit's from DSN and MED.

 

I've been doing couple of engine bits like setting the end float on the primary gear and the crank, re-postistioned the vacuum pipe on the HIF44 carb after the butterfly but thats about it as I've been waiting for the ARP corned nuts to come in stock, which they haven't and won't before Christmas so I bit the bullet and bought the nuts and bolts  which should be here on Tuesday so I can hopefully crack on with it over christmas.

 

So one of the winter improvements was the heater, I modified it so that it would fit flush with no dash rail padding fitted (pics of it a few pages back) but when the fan was switched on it would push the mechanism down to the car position  . So with a bit more thinking, the mechanism was improved so now it stays in the position it should. Another thing with the single speed SPI heater it's fast and noisy so I wanted to change it to a 2 speed heater like the MPI (1 of only 3 good things about them, The others being the seats and the intermittent wiper switch ) So I had a look at how the MPI heaters were slowed which is just a resistor fitted into the heater so the fan cools the resistor when it's on. I had a look on ebay and found a rover one clicky  which when it turned up, was a bit big.

 

 

 

Not a problem though...

 

Just needs to be cut to these sizes, I cut a template from card then placed it on the heater where it needed to be and traced and cut a hole for the resistors to go through. notice the corner cut off for the clips to attach still. We found it had to be cut to one side as the resistors were close to the heater body.

 

 

 

Once the holes cut I drilled the mounting holes. ignore the black screw, bit of trial and error...  I powerfiled a curve on the side to curve with the heater body and cut a rubber seal out of a bicycle inner tube.

 

 

clearance to the fan.

 

 

 

 

 

We temporarily wired it up the H and L terminals which with full power gives the 12v and on the other speed is 8v which I think is roughly what the MPI speed is. Now I just need to wire it fully into the car.

[alex-95]

HIF44 Before

 

 

 

 

And After

 

Steel bits tin nickel plated

 

[alex-95]

Another present arrived yesterday   Keith Calvers ST  GT spec head, I'm pretty sure I've got everything to build the engine now as I got a set of ARP con rod nuts and bolts from MED the other day.

 

 

 

And I painted it, will give it another couple of coats.

 

 

 

[Northernpower]

That looks nice, have you any pictures looking down the ports?

[alex-95]

That looks nice, have you any pictures looking down the ports?

not at the minute, will try and get some tomorrow.

[alex-95]

I haven't done anything to the engine since ...  , I've been messing around with the interior. Got another rocker cover, cosmic bonnet lock and also got my dizzy from AC Dodd which had the advance changed from 17 to 10.5 degrees.

 

I wanted to put a rev counter in with the 1293 but the one I had was a RVI type which is unlikely to work with the electronic distributors. So I bought kit from this place https://www.spiyda.com/M/ (cheaper on Ebay if you want one eBay item number:380578001095) that fits a new circuit board in place of the old one making it an RVC type comparable with electronic ignition. It needs a few wires soldering and then calibrating with a computer or phone to get it to read correctly which dad sorted out. So it should work with the dizzy now. Anyway I then needed a place to mount it, there's a few choices out there, One being a bracket (which it came with) which could be bolted to the top dash rail and the other neater looking, easier fitting and less hole drilling is the speedwell type with the bulge on the side for it like in the below photo. But that would be the easy way out.

 

 

And with a few trials I came up with this MDF, painted black with some silver duck tape around the edge

 

 

It would have been pretty easy to make if the back of the original binnacle was flat, but it's not so had to get creative with some plastic, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then with a few steps in between I got this.

 

 

and with some hole saws 

 

And thats where I'm at, it needs a bit of work but once finished it will use the same mounting holes as the original. The trim around the outside will be a bit more complecated than I'd like and thought as you can't get anything like the original stuff and apparently the preformed ones that you can get from minispares are stainless and would be difficult to bend and I would also need 2 of them to go all the way around. So I'll be using brass rod for mine ... 

Edited by alex-95, 18 October 2018 - 06:06 PM.

[alex-95]

Bit more work done on the binnacle this weekend and during the week. 

I'm hoping to spray it with wrinkle finish paint but not sure if it will stick to the fibreglass or react? It just needs the holes drilling for the mounts and the trim, the trim bending and plating and painting.

Edited by alex-95, 18 October 2018 - 06:05 PM.

[jonlad]

Alex you seem to be incredibly talented and motivated too! I wish I had half the skills you show us!   

 

You are an inspiration sir! Keep at it!

[alex-95]

Alex you seem to be incredibly talented and motivated too! I wish I had half the skills you show us!   

 

You are an inspiration sir! Keep at it!

"Seem" is the important word here  I'm glad I'm not a fibreglasser by trade (although it would have helped a lot to the binnacle  ). It's just a case of having a go at it and helps by having dad around.

 

Cheers 

[Jared Mk3]

Really nice job on that binnacle! 

[cal844]

Crackle finish paint won't react if you prime first, even if it does react slightly you won't be likely to notice