At last! Some time off ;) 2 days to be precise. I'd had to work all weekend up at Millbrook on a Toyota ride and drive for the new Celica and MR2 so I thought it was high time I got some time off to sort the car and to finally pick up the chassis from Martin at MK. Almost 3 weeks away from the Locost and I was into serious withdrawal (aswell as the bank ;) So, off to the workshop to re-build the engine. Oh dear, after being sat there for a few weeks the dreaded rust had started to appear on the block - well, it is v.ferrous after all. Fat lot of good shot-blasting it so early on then! Oh well, you live and learn. Anyway, armed with new pistons, mains, ends, thrust washers etc. I set to work. First job was to replace the mains bearings and thrust washers so that the crank could be fitted. Not a lot to this job, just make sure everything is the right was round and liberally coated with oil when first fitting. The crank was lowered onto the new bearings and the caps replaced after checking the numbering (Front, R2, C, R4, Rear). The bolts were carefully nipped up (center, front, rear) then the crank checked for free rotation. Add remaining caps, nip up, re-check rotation and then torque all bolts - job done. Replacing the pistons was simple enough too. The gudgeon pins on crossflow engines are hot push fit so just remove the circlips, drop the piston into a bowl of boiling water for a minute or so and push the gudgeon pin out. New pistons, pins and circlips were fitted to the old conrods after checking the small end bushes for wear. Everything went fine except for piston no.4 which seemed a bit of a pig to fit, seeming a bit overtight. Re-heating and refitting the pin seemed to help matters but it's still a bit tight compared to the others. Martin seemed to think it was OK so I bowed to his experience and got the ring compressor out ready to plonk them in the block. Dropping them in proved uneventful (thankfully) and the block was turned over so that the ends bearings could be fitted to the conrods. Again, just coat liberally with oil and make sure they're the right way around (they're notched so it's hard not to get it right). The results are shown below - nice!
That's as far as I could get with the engine as a 1300 GT is being ground for me by Kent Cams and won't be ready until Friday :( Still, should be able to completely finish the rebuild at the weekend ready for fitment into... you guessed it - the chassis!!! :)
The big day has arrived! A 6 a.m. start saw me on the motorway in a borrowed pick-up for journey up to Rotherham to Martin Keenan's. The weather had taken a break from snowing (in April!!!) and blue skies and sunshine made the 3.5 hour trip a bit more bearable. Martin's place was a doddle to find being about a mile away from J1 of the M18. I arrived to find at least 4 chassis in the garden ready for collection and a hive of activity in his garage(s). What can I say about MK? Well, top bloke springs to mind ;) Rob Lane's recommendations weren't unfounded and the welding work really is top notch (Ron Champion can't be wrong after all can he?). I don't mind giving welding a go on less important bits but an area of concern was the rear axle. From both the impression given by the book and experience of Onelist members it is a job that you can't afford to get wrong, unless of course you like a car which goes up the road sideways like a crab! Martin has a jig for the MKII axle and had said on the phone that if I grind off the existing spring mountings he'd be happy to weld the brackets on for me free of charge! Nice one Martin :) Seeing the results of a few minutes work by a professional welder vs. my pigeon poo attempts really shows that it's money well spent.
A little surprise was the bodywork. It sounds daft, but in all my conversations with Martin (well, 2 really) I had never given him a colour, as his description of it led me to believe it was left unfinished. With this in mind I had decided to go for a Red colour scheme for the car (hence the axle, uprights, sump etc. in previous pics). I had decided upon this, even though it wasn't my first choice, as early on in building the Dutton (which is blue) we agreed that we should end up with 3 cars, one red with white detailing, one blue with white and one white with blue (red, white and blue for a UK team!). White wasn't to my taste for the Locost so that left red, even though I had secretly hankered after a yellow version. So, to my surpise I was presented with the bodywork kit in gelcoat coloured yellow!!! So that's that decision made for me and damn pleased I am about it too ;) Loading everything up it felt like Christmas and all the pressies were mine! A list follows:
Whilst I was at Martin's I not only got a sneak preview of the second edition 'book' which is in glorious colour and includes a section dedicated to racing the Locost, but had a chance to see his Sierra based Fireblade engined Locost with de-dion rear axle. Once again the quality of the de-dion set up it superb (another example was on the floor of the workshop) and the sound of the 'Blade engine was barking!! Definitely needs consideration for the next project. Martin was having fuelling problems with the engine from too much pressure. A regulator had helped but the pump was the problem having been designed for a car, not a bike. A replacement appeared while I was there. Martin is keen as mustard to get the car out on the road and I can see, or rather hear why!!
Took a different route home (not a very interesting thing to put here I suppose) which go the journey time down to 2.5 hours. This gave me plently of time to think about finally putting things together. The quicker journey got me home about 1:30 which left me plenty of afternoon left to.... repaint the bloody axle and uprights!!! After having spend about 20 quid on red paint I decided it would look crap when combined with the yellow bodywork. Hammerite dark blue hammer finish was just the job and has the added benefit of giving great coverage. I used more than two cans of red on the axle alone originally, one can of blue did the axle, the uprights and the brake drums!! Another lesson learnt :(
Well, the next few hours proved that you just can't leave a Locost alone. Determined to leave the Hammerite to cure properly until the weekend (although it's supposed to take a month) I decided to leave things alone. Well, after seeing what a wishbone looked like with the bushes in (MK recommended using Loctite on these). Hmmm.. nice. What does it look like on the car I wonder... excellent. Better see what the lower wishbone looks like, you know, just to get a better idea, so that got fitted.. and so did the other side, just for balance of course. So it went on, trailing arms and finally the axle followed, in fact, everything except the panhard rod (need to take the handbrake bush mount off the rear of the axle) springs (order tomorrow) and wheels means I almost have a rolling chassis. Pleased? - you betcha!! Roll on the weekend.
Another wallet lightening day in the office again ;) On the phone to Demon Tweeks for a set of Avo Pro Race shocks and Faulkner race springs. MK recommended 12" at the front with 300lb springs and 13" at the rear with 150lb springs. Part numbers a PA120/085 for the 12" dampers (1.9" i.d.) and PA130/090 for the 13" rears. Ordered a c-spanner and an engine stand. Another 400 quid lighter - ouch! Still, it's worth it (he says guiltily). Just as well I haven't got a wife and kids to support ;)
A day of frustration and joy. Frustration because both Kent Cams and Demon Tweeks let me down on deliveries, seriously restricting the amount of work I could get done. Anyway, not to let these minor details put me off I set to work on getting the chassis rolling!! Well, boringly there's not a lot to it. The front stub axles were liberally greased and once the disks were refitted, the hubs were put on. The calipers were bolted back on the hubs and new pads fitted. I'm running standard compound at the moment as given the size of the Cortina calipers vs. the weight of the car I don't think I'm going to be underbraked!! Wooden struts were used in place of the shocks (thanks to Demon Twerps :( ) and a rough camber was set ready for the wheels to be fitted. Next the rears. The pads were refitted with a new spring kit and the drums went on once they'd been re-painted blue. More wooden struts were fitted in place of the shocks. Simple stuff eh? Next job was to fit the Escort rack. Everything bolted neatly into place on the pre-drilled mounts. The track rod ends were roughly set and attached to the stub axles. Martin had got hold of an old Sierra column and we made a temporary linkage by butchering and additional column we happened to have. This will be re-done shortly (once I've asked the list for advice ;)
Well, it didn't seem possible that I'd got to this stage in about an hour! On went the wheels and 'ta-da', one rolling chassis that steers!!!! :)
Well seeing as it was such a lovely day I couldn't pass up the opportunity to trial fit all the bodywork for a photo session. Well, it's traditional isn't it :) It never ceases to amaze me the amount of interest a race car generates. Within all of 30 seconds a passer by had stopped and was busy asking "What is it", "What engine will it have", "Are you racing it" etc. These cars generate HUGE public interest. When out driving in the Griff with the Dutton in tow it's the Dutton that gets the stares!! Why pay more?
So, once the chassis was rolled back into the workshop I scratched my head for a while deciding what to do next? The handbrake was the answer. This is probably the first bit of useful info. for any builders out there, so take note :) As I mentioned earlier, I hadn't fitted the panhard rod as it didn't clear the handbrake bar mounting bush on the back of the axle. I had spoken to MK about this and he confirmed that it needed to be removed and you used the Allegro paired setup as per the book. Well, I didn't have a pair of Allegro cables and was determined to use the original set-up. Although the bush mounting could be ground enough to get clearance it wasn't by much, so that wouldn't work. We thought about welding a new bracked on the panhard rod but weren't too comfortable with the possible distortion to it (welding skills not that good yet). Then in a stroke of genius, my mate Martin came in with an Audi 100 exhaust hanging rubber! Basically, we decided that by sliding this onto the panhard rod (not an easy job) the handbrake bar could be used with no modification! Excellent. An additional benefit it that it acts as a bump stop between the axle and the panhard rod. The original single cable was cut down and fed into the cockpit. The handbrake itself I decided should be fitted to the floor of the passenger space (remember this is a race car so no concessions to passenger comfort here!) so that it didn't interfere with my arm on the transmission tunnel. Would you believe that it was only at this point that I started welding (sorry about that to all you 'proper' Locost scratch builders :). I cut a 90 degree wedge out of a 1" square section tube so that it could be bent into a right angle. The seams were welded (with pretty bloody good results I have to say :) and filed down. The cable ran a little close the nearside panhard rod mount so a small elbow bracket was made to hold it off a little and another part of the original cable was used as a neat little grommet. Holes were drilled for the handbrake mount and the cable and everything was bolted through the steel floor. A quick test showed everything to be working VERY well and adjustment is a complete doddle with the nut sitting just behind the bracket. The rubber gaitor was ditched so that the cable was easy to get at for adjustment/replacement and besides, it looks the part that way! Job done. Time now to wait for parts to arrive so that the engine and drivetrain can be fitted. With luck, the car will turn a wheel under its own power NEXT WEEKEND!!!!
Little to report of any consequence today. Just making a list of things needed to finish the car. Phoned Ian Gray of Stuart Taylor Motorsport to place an order with them. Ordered the following:
All pretty reasonably priced at 483.53 including VAT and carriage. See breakdown on costs page. Had a flick through Demon Tweeks catalogue to identify as many additional parts as possible. I reckon I've got about another £850 to spend with them before I'm done - gulp!
Well, the shocks finally arrived and damn sexy they look too! Can't set the proper spring settings until the engine in, but the springs were put on the dampers and the shocks fitted to the car. My word, it rolls, it stops (handbrake only at the mo.) and goes boing!
Well, after nursing a HUGE hangover, I hot-footed it down to the workshop to do some engine stuff. The cam had finally arrived after being ground by Kent (the engine is 26 years old after all!) with new springs and followers and so the engine was ready for the rest of the rebuild. Martin suggested that I followed some new plans which he had found - what a wag!
Followers fitted, cam inserted, timing chain put on (careful to line up the marks properly!), gaskets and oil seals, valve stem seals on, new springs, re-fit rocker shaft, check clearances, paint the block/head in UHT aluminium paint, add some metallic blue and voila! Spanking gorgeous if I do say so myself! It's at this point that I'm paranoid about making a complete mess of it when it get slotted into the chassis ;) We shall see!
It's a luxury, but for 32.50 you can buy an engine stand like the one in the pics from any decent motorfactor (or Demon Tweeks is your mad like me). Building the engine with this keeps the crap off it and means you can rotate it 360 degrees. Looks bloody good in the workshop too! That's all for now, bits from Stuart Taylor needed to progress. If they arrive in the next day or two there's a good chance that the car will RUN after Easter weekend - woohoo!! Must remember to order a new Dizzy cap, high pressure oil pump and new HT leads!
Well, only thing to report today is the ordering of yet more parts for the build. Burton Power are suppliers of the day and thanks to an excellent website (www.burtonpower.co.uk) giving product data and pricing (albeit erratically) I managed to get the following:
Should arrive tomorrow (it'll be a first for deliveries on this project if it does!). Also got hold of 3 sheets of 18swg half hard ally sheet, £34 a pop. Time to get the rivet gun out!
Some time off woohoo! Right, I've got 5 days off over the Easter bank holiday so it's time to get some serious work done on the car. Finally get a delivery from Stuart Taylor (albeit incomplete) so have pedal box, aeroquip hoses, engine mounts and rubber bushes. I have to say that I found the quality of the components a bit disappointing. The welding on the engine mounts is OK but not brilliant, the front wing stays are fine but the pedal box is poor. The welds have a lot of splatter around them and the holes for the pedal pins aren't big enough for them! Not a great problem to sort out but don't really expect to have to. Hopefully the seat, steering link and exhaust (yet to arrive) will be better. Burton also delivered a box of lovely shiny bits especially impressive was the ally oil catch tank (required for racing) which was superb quality. Puts Stuart Taylor stuff to shame - moan over.
Well, start with the easy stuff so the engine mounts were painted and fitted to the engine. The engine and gearbox were lowered into position and the bearbox mount was fitted (bolt this don't weld it or you'll have problems if you have to remove it). Once the mount was in place the positions of the engine mount bases were marked and then drilled and bolted in place. Lovely job! Time to check the pedalbox for fit too. After much scratching of heads working out which way round to fit it we found that it was floor mounted - doh! I opted to bolt it in not weld as it makes it easier to get out should the need arise.
So, next job was to fit the brake lines. Aeroquip hoses were fitted to the front hubs and from the original axle mount to a chassis bracket. Hoses were run from these around the engine bay, over the axle and from the axle to the master cylinder location. I used the original MK2 master cylinder mounted directly behind the pedal box. The original brake fluid reservoir is in the way of the steering column at the moment but a remote set up will correct this (will order on Tuesday). I'd never fitted a brake line in my life but Martin seemed impressed by my efforts and I'm now a dab hand with the flaring tool! Make sure that you get the flares the right way (convex/concave) according to the Aeroquips. Everything in place the system was filled and pressure bled (far faster than pedal pumping but a bit messy). A quick 'shove' test (push chassis along by hand ;) showed that the brakes were excellent with very little pedal travel. At least I'll be able to stop now!
A quick (and successful!) test for oil pressure in the engine and it's time to start work on the clutch and accelerator cables. At this point we discovered that the starter motor had seized which caused a bit of concern as it could have been the engine :( but wasn't :) A new one will be ordered next week (12 quid!). The clutch was simple and the throttle was simpler!. I used the original cable with an additional spacer at the bulkhead end (approx. 50mm). This gives loads of adjustment at the clutch lever end. The cable end was fitted to the pedal with a bolt and washers allowing it to rotate freely. The throttle cable was fitted to the pedal mount (just drill a hole for it!) and the original pedal link was welded to the top of the new pedal (just saw it off the old pedal box and weld it on). The great thing about this setup is that I can use original cable replacements in case they break. Blimey! Clutch, brake and throttle all work! Fitted the oil catch tank to the bulkhead. Just need some hose to connect it.
So, that's about it for the mechanicals (amazingly) just the electrics and a new propshaft before the car runs!! Yes runs!! Time to clothe the beauty. Well, most of the credit for this must go to my mate Karl Fisher. A joiner by trade (a flattering way of decribing a chippy ;) Karl is a perfectionist. He even got the ally for me (18swg half hard ally x 3 8'x4' sheets as per the race regs - 104GBP). The old saying 'measure twice, cut once' needs to be adhered to and with the aid of a lot of card sheets he gradually made templates up for the bodywork. Despite Martin Keenan's recommendations, the cockpit sides were folded over the top chassis rails and rivetted to the insides for a neater finish which also saved you catching clothing on the rivet heads when getting in and out. The front sides were rivetted to the top of the rail for easy replacement (racing can seriously dent your pride and joy!). The rear panel was templated and cut then formed around the chassis tubes. A tip for the corners to stop them creasing is to cut a section out of the of the sheet about 100mm long by 15mm deep where it bends around the corner. The rest can be formed around the tube with a nylon mallet. As Martin has a hydraulic ramp, rivetting the panels to the bottom of the car was a simple task. I didn't fancy taking everything off so we could invert it!
Most of the panelling work was now finished - in 6 hours! Rear wing positions were marked up after deciding which way round the bloody things went! 8 bolts a side means that they won't fall off at least - although they'll undoubtedly get knocked off at some point :( Proud of our efforts the rest of the bodywork was trial fitted for the traditional photo shoot. Just the bonnet to do!
Time to fit the bonnet. Again, more templates were made and the ally sheet cut out. Karl made plywood formers for the front and rear which made fitting a LOT easier (he insisted on having at least SOME wood in the car - it ain't staying there though!). The ally was bent round the formers and held in place with a couple of screws underneath the folded edge. It'll stay on the formers until I can order some catches which will help the bonnet retain it's shape. Well, that's the bodywork done - time to fit the rad.
After admiring our handywork (about 80 times!) I set about fitting the radiator. I've used the original rad. from the MK2 which was in pretty good nick. The sides had to be trimmed to leave 4 mounting lugs. Ally brackets were made up and bent to shape then bolted to the chassis. Job done, just need to wait for the hoses to arrive. All that's left to do now is to fit the front wing stays and cycle wings.
Well, run out of parts to fit now! Exhaust, electrics, instruments, propshaft, remote gearchange and interior to do and the car is finished!!
Well, just another day of credit card bashing (this is getting out of hand!). I've learnt to go anywhere but Demon Tweeks if you want to save a bit of money, but their excellent catalogue and service save a lot of wasted time searching for parts. So ordered the following (will be making a definitive build list with the costs soon).
Burtons got some more of my business too. I wish I could order all this stuff at once it would have saved me a fortune in delivery charges!
Well, time to wait for things to arrive, worry about paying for them and look forward to the weekend where I can do some more work! Hopefully I can get the final bits and bobs from Stoneleigh, you know, non-essential items like a steering wheel ;)
Well, where do I start. Basically I received an email from Rory Perret (head of the Locost car club) mysteriously asking me to mail him offline from the egroups Locost list. Strange I thought - hope I haven't upset anyone with my ramblings here!!! Anyway, it turns out that Rory has been in contact with Ian Stent of Which Kit magazine to do a feature on Locosts and he was wondering whether I'd mind having mine featured. WOULD I MIND!!! WOULD I HECK!!! Basically the feature will cover two scratch builders (a father and son team who had done everything "by The Book") and me to show that you don't have to be a demon welder to build a car as there are Locost component makers out there (Martin Keenhan etc.). Although the car isn't quite finished I happily agreed to take the car to Stoneleigh where I would meet Ian Stent. I felt a bit guilty being in the mag. after only being on the Locost scene for a short time when there are some excellent finished cars out there but mine gave the story a different angle so, 'fair enough' I thought. Well, the first problem was getting a trailer. Fortunately I knew of one for sale and had agreed to buy it from a TVR matey but hadn't got around to having it delivered. Thursday night was spent travelling to Ipswich to pick it up. 200 GBP (bargain) and 7 hours later and the trailer was back in the workshop. Stage 1 sorted!
The only thing to report today is news of my first sponsor - hurrah!!! Spurred on by the imminent coverage that the car would get I approached my employer with the proposition of some sponsorship for the car. Given the exposure it would shortly be getting they agreed and so I had a mad panic trying to get some vinyl logos prepared for the car. Fortunately PCI have it's own design studio and I mocked up some car visuals with the logo's (after checking the 750MC's regs. for them) and got them produced - phew!
Right, back in the workshop. Lots to do to try and get the car as ready as it could be for Stoneleigh. More bits had arrived from Tweeks and Burtons and were ready to be fitted. Transmission tunnel needed to be panelled in as well as the engine bay in front of the scuttle and the nosecone needed to be mounted with the Dzus fasteners I had ordered. Bonnet catches were fitted (x4) taking care to make them a compression fit to keep it on nice and tight (a bit too tight as it happens!). 4 point Sparco harnesses were fitted by mounting them to the plates that Martin Keenhan had welded into the chassis (very neatly) it's a shame that Stuart Taylor hadn't delivered my seat, but I'd spoken to Ian Gray and he assured me that I could pick one up from him at his stand along with the exhaust system. Shame it wouldn't be fitted for the interview though.
Right so bodywork done. Onto the brake reservoir. The reservoir is HUGE and fitted nicely on the firewall in front of the scuttle. A pair of flexible pipes feed the master cylinder giving loads of room for the steering column and link (which I'm still waiting for). Martin suggested another use for the reservoir given it's size (see pic). A nice idea but I can't see the scrutineers being to pleased!! A circuit breaker was fitted to the scuttle in the recommended position and was stickered accordingly
Next up to be fitted was the lights. As pointed out to me by Walter Luikey (MA - USA!) my rear wings were on the wrong way round! I put them on that way 'cos I liked the look of them but then realised that any stone guards that I decided to put on the car would look weird. So, I decided to put them round the right way so that the lights could be fitted as they should be. Setting them at an angle made them look better aesthetically. Front spots were fitted to 6" long pieces of 1" wide angle iron fitted to the top chassis rails. That way they can't twist in any axis and are VERY sturdy helping limit vibration. I hope I wouldn't have to use them on a track anyway!!
Well, that's about it for Stoneleigh. The sponsors logos were stuck on and the car loaded up ready for the trip. Hopefully the autojumble will give me the necessary bits needed to finish the car. We brought the Dutton in for a photoshoot for comparison of chassis sizes - remarkably similar don't you think. As a comparison the Dutton so far has cost 2000 GBP, the Locost will top out at about 4000 but is much better spec'd. What a nice toybox to have ;)
