Colours and interior

As I'm technically building this car for "she who must be obeyed" - the recent trip to the kit car show and the AK stand in particular looks like its going to increase the budget somewhat.

She's always wanted it Red and I thought I'd get away with a standard Jaguar off-the shelf colour.
Unfortunately she's decided on the new AK demo car colour which is a dark cherry - candy. Basically its a candy apple red painted on a black undercoat.

Now she says this is what she always wanted and that Wendy and Jon have nicked her idea! However - I've had a quote and its a lot more than I was planning.

AK demo car - "Rufus"

We won't be having the stripes!

For the interior I was going to go with a standard interior with the carpeted rear bulkhead. I personally don't see the point of doing that bit in leather. However - we've placed an order for a full leather interior including the rear bulkhead and thrown in a leather covered tunnel for good measure. The colour scheme is anthracite with perforated leather.

 - I wonder who wears the trousers in our house?

Brake Light Switch

There are a couple of options for the brake light switch:

• Pressure switch added to brake circuit
• Micro switch connected to brake lever

I've chosen the later route - I don't think there's a right or wrong way however.

So I've used a small switch from CBS and constructed a bracket attached to the pedal box.

The bracket prevents the switch from rotating and is strong enough to resist knocks but is well out of reach of your foot on the brake pedal.

When the assembly is fitted to the car - I found that the lever did not fully return to make contact with the switch  - so the brake lights were permanently on. I adjusted this by adding a clip to the brake lever to make up the gap.
With this arrangement, the lightest touch on the pedal gets the lights on.

Micro Switch 

Throttle Linkage

Getting closer to running the car with the body on so time to address the throttle connection. Different builders have approached this in different styles but the key messages I picked up from the forum were:

• Need strong enough return springs to fully close the throttle and raise the pedal.
• Need to avoid any side load on the throttle spindle - to avoid wear on the bearing.

Some guys have bought linkage kits between £30 - 50 whilst others have manufactured one. From what I can see, the guys who have bought kits have had to modify them for height etc so I thought I might as well go down the fully custom route.

I built a prototype out of 1.5mm aluminium along with some scrap aluminium angles to prove it out then built the final version from 5mm aluminium plate. A 250mm x 125mm plate from the local stockist was £3.
I used a 6mm cable adjuster and two return springs from CBS.
I'm using a universal cable from halfords - this was only about £3 and works really well, partially as I found a route that avoids any severe bends.
Final upgrades are to add a rubber cable bellow ( on order from CBS)  and to improve the cable connection to the throttle lever.

This design keeps the forces in line and avoids a high load on the spindle bearing

In situ - cable bellow not fitted in this picture

Looks quite neat - hidden by the air cleaner

Wiring part 2

A while since my last update, so if anyone thought I'd given up that's far from the case.


Reversing Light/Fog Light

I'm not planning on using a rear chrome bumper so needed the lamps to be fitted to the body. I quite like the inserted look that AK recommend, however if I'd have realised how much work is involved I'd have gone another route!
Cutting the holes out is not too bad with the Dremmel,  however I found that I had to remove a small section of the boot floor in the process, else the lamps would be too low down on the valance.
I used S&J's lamps that needed modifying slightly to re-route the cable exit, and made up some blocks to fix the back of the lamp case to the chassis rail. Sounds easy but was a right pain. Once fitted, I fibreglassed the boot floor above the lamps to fill in the gap. The final issue is getting a neat finish around the lamp so several filling/sanding operations were needed to complete.

View from above showing the bit of the boot floor  removed. 

Finished Item

Battery Fit

I looked at a few battery trays but realised that the height of the battery meant that it really needed to sit on the boot floor else the -ve post was too close to the body to easily fit/remove the -ve terminal.

So I used a simple angle bracket as a backstop and a tie-down battery bracket from Halfords. The hooks just go through holes in the boot floor which I re-enforced with penny washers. In the final fit  - I'll be sealing the holes with silicone to stop water ingress.

Dashboard wiring.

I decided that it would be a good idea to wire up the dash and column stalks with the dash untrimmed so that I could make sure all was well and working before sending the dash away to be covered. I know this means a strip down and redo job but just felt that I could iron out any issues before I have a finished part on my hands.

So for my dashboard design I played around with a some cut out templates to arrive at a suitable layout. I've not opted for a clock hence the four ancillary gauges

• Volts,
• Oil Pressure,
•  Fuel
• Water Temp.

I've added a power socket and USB ports in the back of the glove box.

The switches are Savage type from CBS.
I've opted for

• Large Start Button
• Cooling Fan Override Switch ( in case fan doesn't cut in)
• Screen fan
• Hazard Warning
• Brake Test Switch
• Rear Fog Light

I haven't used the usual two lighting buttons as to me that looks a little clumsy so I've used a single rotary switch mounted above the ignition key and in the allowed projection area for IVA.

Mock up

Acceptance test from the boss

A really dusty job

Pretty lights!

Column Stalks.

I have a BMW E36 Indicator assembly - which as you might expect does not adhere to either the E30 or E34 wiring instructions in the manual.
This is the E34 wiring guide with notes around the differences with the E36..

Lights

BMW Switch                                      AK Wiring Loom

Green/Yellow (Pin 10)                         Red/White                          Note – there are two Green/Yellow                                                                                                                   cables into Pin 10 on the E36

Yellow                                                   Blue/Red

White                                                    Blue/White

Indicators

BMW Switch                                      AK Wiring Loom

Green/Yellow(Pin 5)                       Lt Brown/Lt Green              Note – no Green/Yellow in Pin 5 –                                                                                                                     looks like Grey/Red

Blue                                                       Green/White

Grey                                                      Green/Red

Advice from AK was to connect one of the Green/Yellow cables from Pin 10 to Lt Brown Lt Green connection.
What I discovered is that one of the green/yellow wires is for the lights and the other for the indicators. I got them the wrong way round at first and had the main beam flashing nicely in time with the indicators. My advice is to make these connections with bullet or spade connectors so you can easily swap over if you get it the wrong way round.
The Wiper stalk conforms exactly to the AK wiring manual. You have to make up the connector from the kit supplied but in my case the wipers and washers all worked first time.

Handbrake/Low Brake Fluid Level

I'm using a Savage Switch for by Brake Level test light so this illuminates when either the fluid is low or the handbrake is on. This is enough for IVA, however I thought it would be neat to also allow the lamp to be tested by pressing the Savage switch.

The wiring manual doesn't give much help when trying to connect up the brake level lamp as essentially you have a Blue/Red wire that links the Handbrake, Low Fluid switch and the lamp.The Red/Blue link wire is not powered at all, so I worked out that if I connected the lamp to +12v then used the Red/Blue wire as a route to earth via the switches - all would be well. With this arrangement, any of the three switches will light the lamp - i.e. a parallel set up.

All works nicely.

Windscreen, Wipers, Fuel Filler and Wireing

A little while since my last update but plenty has been going on with the build.
Lots of tasks look pretty straightforward - right up until you start and realise you have a fight on your hands.

I bought my Windscreen and Fuel Filler cap from Brasscraft and arranged to pick these items up from Chris whilst on a trip to London. Interesting workshop Chris has at his home - proper cottage industry. The items themselves are top quality - but they should be at the price. There's some choice in the market for filler caps but not for screens as far as I know. Not sure what Cobra builders will do when Chris retires!

I also purchased Chris's Screen vents which he reckons are better than the standard slot type that S&J Motors do. These are polished aluminium pressings and direct the air towards the base of the screen rather than just blowing upwards.

I did a temporary fit of the screen to check the position for the vents then cut the slots and fitted the vents before fitting the screen. I fitted the plastic trumpets bought from S&J Motors at the same time.

Screen Fit

With the legs attached, its a simple case of dropping the legs into the pre-cut slots then using a 36" piece of wood between the top of screen and the rear cockpit lip to achieve the correct angle.
The manual suggests fitting the screen with the seal angled backwards initially, then refitting with the seal forwards ( Its final position). So that's what I did,
Drilling through the screen legs and then through the chassis hoop proved a right pain ( for me anyhow) as I found it quite awkward to get the drill into the space. The manual suggests drilling and tapping the chassis hoop, however I decided to drill right through and use bolts.
So all bolted up  - I undid everything and refitted the screen with the Seal forwards - and guess what -  - the screen was too high for the seal to contact the body across its full width.....I guess I should have worked this out beforehand, so remove it all again and slotted the screen legs to allow the screen to be lowered to correct level. I then realised I hadn't fitted the escutcheons that finish the screen legs where they pass through the body so off with the screen again!

So a right PITA but the result looks great and its really looking the part now.

Wipers

I bough the standard 3 blade wiper kit from AK and once again expected the fitting to be straightforward.  The body comes marked with suggested drilling points for the wiper gear, and to be fair they were pretty close for me. i used the AK dimensions as suggested in the manual, however I found it easier to position the wiper blades on the screen and check that there was clearance between them throughout their arcs  - this helped confirm the hole positions.

I drilled the holes at an angle and mounted the wheelboxes. Fitted the motor and gearbox then  worked on fitting the bundy tubing between the wheelboxes. The cut ends need to be flared to lock them into the wheelboxes - managed to do this with a big screwdriver and thin nosed pliers but hands were aching afterwards!
The section of tube between the motor and the first wheelbox needs a fair bit of bend on it to get it to fit and its awkward to get too under the valence so took a lot longer than thought.

The standard wiper blades and arms look very flimsy and reminded me of the old Mini's - they were usually rubbish so not expecting much from this system!
The wiper motor presents quite a sharp object under the dash so I'll be fitting some form of protection when the dash is fitted.

Fuel Filler

The easy bit was fitting the flange and cap. I decided to drill and countersink the flange so this can be bolted down. An option is to glue it on - but other builders have reported issues with that method.

The filler cap itself has to be angled to ensure that it doesn't touch the bodywork when opened. I used one of the supplied gaskets and screwed the cap down as far as possible to work out the best angle, this way you can mark out the bolt holes for the flange given you cant fit the flange with the cap on.

Fuel flange showing unleaded restrictor

M5 flush fitting allen screws.

I bought a 50cm budget flexible hose from CBS - they only seem to sell it in 50cm lengths, and would you guess you actually need about 52-53cm....So I tracked down a 51mm dia alloy extension tube 10cm long  from Ebay and decided to fit the extension in the middle of the hose, this being the section that passes through the boot wall. So cut the hose in half and would you believe it - its a smaller diameter in the middle and the extension tube wouldn't fit!!! So back to CBS for a different hose - this time a super flexible one. So finally all fitted. Dread to think how many hours went into this simple task!

The hole through the boot wall I trimmed with the same stuff used on the bonnet flange.
As the hose isn't a tight fit through the hole, I'll have to think of a method of sealing this to prevent water ingress in future.
The breather pipe runs through the same hole and will be tapped into the filler flange one the fitting arrives from Ebay.

Steering

Big mistake I made was in not fitting the firewall bearing with the body off - that would have made it so  much easier to drill the holes and line things up. The bearing itself I got from Bearing Boys. Its a thermal plastic resin body designed so that the bearing adjusts to cater for a shaft that's not perfectly perpendicular. The body was a little too wide to fit next to the clutch master cylinder, so a bit of filing was required.

Steering bearing

Fitting the column itself was fairly easy. I had to make a small bracket to fix to the lower mounting which didn't line up correctly.
Fitting the jointed steering coupling took a while - the pinch bolts have to be in exactly the right place before they will do up.
I sourced an OMP collapsible boss kit and purchased two 14mm set screws - the 1mm pitch version was the one required - but i bought a standard 1.5mm pitch first....
Its probably not going to be the final wheel, however I bought a Mountney one from CBS to get me going. looks like this is suitable for IVA as well and doesn't look too bad. Its a bit bendy though!

steering linkage

Wiring

Currently in progress and could be for a while.
I waited for the wife to be out then laid the AK supplied loom out on the kitchen floor to check all the labels and to tape up all the loose wires to make it easier to handle and pass though the body holes.
The first task is to fit the fuse/relay clusters to the chassis rail above the passenger foot well.
I used a section of aluminium sheet to create a backing plate and remembered my old metalworking classes and formed a rolled edge on the lower end to avoid sharp edges.
The loom itself is divided into legs that run to different parts of the car and its just a task of following the (so far) clear instructions provided to pull the various sections through.
Thus far, the hardest bit is getting grommets to fit the thick sections under the front wheel arches - where the cable passes through fibreglass and Stainless Steel. A tip I'm using at the moment is to trim the lip on two grommets and superglue then together - we will see!

Side Pipes

Had a visit from my mate Bill Holden and his twin brother Jim which was timely as I needed some help sorting out the side pipe outlets. I'd previously cut the holes in the lower wings by inserting some short lengths of plastic waste pipe in the manifold pipes and using this as a guide to line up the cuts.

My original plan was to fit the stainless escutheon plates I bought from AK, however when offering these up to the body, there was no way these were going to fit neatly due to the complex curves. So I abandoned that idea and concentrated on getting a neat finish to the outlets. This required marking up and several fits/removal of the pipes to arrive at a good shape. I've allowed a good 10mm gap all round which seems to be the norm talking to other builders.

I reckon we had each pipe on/off 4 times which is pretty hard work so thanks to the lads for their help.

The Chuckle Brothers in action!

Bonnet and Boot

Bonnet and boot fitting

Started with the boot as it looked easier. Fitted the U channel seal I bought from Woolies and offered up the boot lid. The idea is to ensure that the panel is flush on all sides an the gap is even all round. I might have been lucky as it was a pretty good fit straight away. A small amount of sanding was needed on the flange that the U channel seal sits on the lower the boot lid in one corner.
Fitting the hinges just requires marking a centre line then even spacing 9" either side. I used the traditional external hinges - some builders are fitting internal hinges - but that just seems like lots of work for little return.Note that the external hinges are handed.

The boot lock took a lot longer to fit and still needs some work. I fitted the locking hoop to the boot floor but what a faf fitting the nuts underneath - just no room to work in. The hoop has to be fitted as close to the boot lip as possible.

The next step is to cut a recess in the back of the lid to take the catch. the idea is this is supposed to fit inside the recess. Problem I have is that when fitted inside, the claw was hitting the edge of the hook  - in other words its too close of the edge of boot. At first I thought it may be the boot lid being too too proud - but no. So for now its fitted as above.

Fitting the bonnet needed a bit of patience to level off the panel by judicious sanding of the U channel flange. Then discovered that the only practical way of fitting the hinge bolts is to remove the headlights to get access.......

Next up to fit the gas struts. These come highly pressurised and immovable  so you have to release some gas using a small allen screw until the right level of pressure is achieved. The front struts need more pressure than the rear so best advice is to do bonnet first  - so if you release too much gas they will still work on the boot. - Well that was my plan, however the first one I tried - the grub screw was really stiff then wouldn't close so let all the gas out! Fortunately the other 3 were fine so now have to look at getting the faulty one replaced.

For the bonnet. its a case of fitting the triangular lower brackets to the inner wing, approximately 1" rearwards of the suspension cross member. Then measure from the bracket 11" along the wing and transferring this mark to the bonnet to fit the bonnet bracket. I fitted these with self tappers. To get the pressure right, with both struts fitted I just opened each release valve in turn for 1 second burst until I could manually compress the struts. Then fit them to the brackets and adjust the gas pressure until the right action is achieved.

The boot struts are a similar process except that the lower brackets are stainless steel plates that need to be bent to follow the inside wing profile then glued in place using P38 or similar. For both the bonnet and boot, I fitted a stainless steel flush set screw through the rain channel as an extra brace.

Inside boot  - bracket fixed with P38

Flush screw through rain channel