Welcome to my never ending GKD Legend build. The car became road legal in September 2011. The Swedish summers are fantastic but to survive the dark winters I always have a long list of improvements to do. The 1900cc 4 cylinder engine comes from a RHD 1998 BMW 318is M44. It has been upgraded many times over the years with eg. Mini Cooper S Eaton M45 Super Charger taking it from 140 to 220HP. (Parts list Jan 2020)
I ring the MOT organisation everyday to see if anyone has cancelled their test. It just so happens that I was in luck and its been moved forward to the 30th of August. I have another one booked with another company for the 17th of August but that is way down in Gothenberg, which is a bit risky for a first time drive of 1100km round trip but risks are sometimes worth taking - aren't they? Of course I'm still ringing Bilprovningen everyday for an earlier date than the 30th which will be much closer to home. I have now sorted out special insurance to get me to the test and back as well as a bag full of tools, spare fuel, water, oil etc just in case I get a test with short notice.
Nearly done but there are some small gaps which could let rain through. I'll try and fill them with sealant
I finished off the windscreen after a great deal of messing about. It required a lot of drilling and tapping and bending. It's okay but I'd like to do the whole thing again over the winter time and make sure this time that I do everything correctly. It'll mean a new frame and probably new glass cut to the exact shape. Sweden is not exactly renound for it's rain free summer days so it's worth making an extra effort.
This is before I used a blade to cut off the extra rubber surrounding the glass. I had to remove the dash mirror as it hit the glass - think ahead! Instead I put a stick-on one on the glass but it's hopeless as it vibrates badly. I'll move the dashboard one and use that instead.
As I'm not sure when I'll get the MOT I decided to fix a couple of things. One of them was making up a bracket to hold the air filter. I bought another air filter becuase of the back pressure; haven't tested it out yet but put it in place all the same. The bracket was to hold it in place and keep it away from the manifold.
Made up a cardboard template first and then cut and filed a 1mm sheet of aluminium to the same shape.
I bolted one end to the manifold and the other to the MAF (Mass airflow sensor) the black tube attached to the air filter. It's keeping the air filter away from the manifold as well as keeping all the pipes rigid.
The next job, which I thought would be easier than it has been (so far) required some help from GKD as the manual doesn't mention how to do it. The first job was to push the thin rubber band into the u-shape top part of the frame. Then the glass was put in place, as the sides of the frame kept springing apart I drilled some temporary holes at the end and dragged them together with wire. The lower frame placed and marked where it needed to be cut.
I tried Duck tape to hold the frame and glass but it didn't work so well.
The windscreen side brackets were next, one either side of the car (funnily enough). To pass the test I obviously had to have the mirrors in place so I purposely drilled holes for the mirrors which are now used for the brackets. Once the brackets and windscreen are installed I'll put the mirrors back in the same holes.
Bracket holes are 65mm up from the body panel and as far forward as possible.
Bolting the lower frame to the upper was a real pain. Holes had to be drilled at the right angle first and then tapped to M4. The heads of the bolts had to angle grinded to a countersunk shape as well as counter sinking the holes, oh and cut to the right length too! Then put the glass in for a test fitting. Bent the side brackets at the top of the triangle a little too much so now I need to bend them back. I also have to remove more of the side frame as it should be flush with the lower frame.
Glass removed until everything is correctly bent and cut. Mirror using the bracket!
The windscreen in place but not finally fixed as there's the bending and cutting to do! I also have a clutch pedal bolt to swap to a longer one too. I had two to fix after the test but only remembered to do one.
Looks okay with the windscreen but kind a' liked it better without but not very practical!
It was a border line case but it was a PASS! In the end it was a case of how much rockwool (used as house insulation) to put in the exhaust pipe without producing too much back pressure while still reducing the sound. The car went through the sound test with 84dB(A) and the limit is 84! I'm going to have to change air filter because at high revs the back pressure was slightly too much creating a sound that went well over the limit.
I get the feeling though that the MOT (registration test) will be harder as emission levels, brakes, lights etc are all checked. The ICL shows Miles as standard and kilometers in the inner ring, I hope this is acceptable.
Now I need to find an earlier date than the September 12th that I have been offered …
I've been away on holiday since the last SFRO test working on another building project so haven’t thought about the project in the cellar. The SFRO retest is scheduled for next Wednesday (20th) so tomorrow I'll get everything tightened that was loose and also solve the sound problem, how I do that will come later ;-)
The bad news (so far) is that once "she" gets through the SFRO test I can't get an MOT test (bilbesiktningen) until the 12th of September, it was the first free date they had. If I had known I would had booked it long ago. However there may be a chance - the Swedish besiktning was privatized recently and there are now 2 or 3 other alternatives I'm hoping will have earlier dates. I’m also able to drive the car to the test which gives me the freedom to get the test done anywhere in Sweden. Within reason!
Pulled just about an all nighter to get the electrics fixed, dashboard in place, all the buttons connected, brakes bled which meant real wheels off for the 20th time and to check everything still worked.
The original instrument panel from the donor in place with expandable foam.
Instruments in place as well as buttons for lights, hazards etc.
Up again to collect the trailer at 06.30 Wednesday and Neil and had the car loaded and on the road by 07.30. 140km trip north west of Stockholm to Västerås airfield .
Unloading and I must say a bit nervous!
The test guy had hired a small runway to do the sound test as well as generally check roadworthiness. There was also a motorcycle import from the States and a hot rod that were being tested. The rest of the checks were done outside one of the hangers, no hydraulic lift or pit which I thought was strange. In fact the whole test was not exactly what I had expected but in the end it’s required to be able to get it to the next stage, the normal Bil Besiktning (MOT).
The test guy starting one of the tests (I wasn't allowed to drive it at all!)
Now for the results: There were some small remarks for example, lose clutch pedal, lose mirror and a few other things I had neglected to tighten. All the major worries I had regarding steering, hand brake cable to calliper etc were unfounded. The one thing that it failed on was the sound, which I thought was going to be a close shave but not as bad as it turned out to be. Driving past the sound detector in 3rd gear with the exhaust facing it produced about 92dB which is 8 over the required level. The small muffler I had bought and wrapped in wire wool was not enough especially as I had driven 4km or so with it, there was nothing left of it once it was time for the test! The thing that makes me really kick myself is the fact that after the test we were advised (not by the test guy) to fill the whole of the centre exhaust pipe with dense wire wool, the Brillo pad type, which we did once we got back home. It knocked the sound level way down and would have passed the test easily. Now it’s a retest in approx. 2 weeks and will have to hire a trailer and do the 200 mile round trip again – never mind at least everything else went through, so I’m happy J
The report mentioned that the road handling and quality was very good - which I'm really happy with. He had the wheels spinning and tyres smoking so it was a thorough test (thrashing!)
Last minute odd's and sod's done today. Finished the bonnet catches, riveting, attached the grill, checking for things not done, wing mirrors and even pulled the plastic protection paper off the panels.
Used the Dremel to cut out a larger hole for the grill. I used an M3 die to make a thread for the grill supports.
I added some rubber strip between the rear panel and frame to stop any possible vibration.
Everything in place except the instrument panel and switches
I went for a long drive today, well about 4km around the streets and it was so fantastic, it's made all the hours in the cellar, probably 300 or more, all worth it. Got to about 65km/h (very quickly) with no major issues, a few vibrations which I'll need to find. Aluminium and black looks great but the look of the aluminium won't last and besides I'm sure an all black car will look great.
No helmet hair for me!
SFRO test worries:
The upper steering joint - Although I think it's okay!
The bonnet - the catches make the bonnet a little lose
Not sure about anything else, brakes! wheel alignment ....
The SFRO test was postponed to this coming Wednesday but even with an extra couple of days it's been a struggle to get everything ready. I've had a list of 20 things to do and have only tomorrow to finish ticking everything off. The upper steering bracket is now in place. I got myself a piece of 2mm steel and used the nibbler to cut it to shape. The BMW support housing fitted snuggly and hopefully it will pass the test.
The bracket had to be about 3cm longer
Bracket painted and bolted to the bulkhead, frame and BMW housing.
On Tuesday I managed to bend the bonnet almost to shape using a large industrial sheet metal bender (with some help).
Neil came around Thursday evening and we managed to bolt in the passenger seat and rails, a very time consuming and awkward job. One of the exhaust support brackets bolts luckily came through the floor exactly where the rail was sitting so fortunately it ended up serving two purposes and was quite a neat solution. It meansthat both seats are adjustable and are the same height off the floor. We drilled and Cleco'd the scuttle (black dashboard) to the aluminium bulkhead.
Neil kindly finished riveting the side panels and we test fitted the bonnet. It just needs some slight adjustment of angles. Tonight I fixed the two bonnet catches at the rear and tomorrow will adjust the front and attach the catches.
The catches have to be riveted in place and there is no adjustment!
This next part is maybe something I shouldn't mention (The walls have ears!) The sound level maybe a bit too close to the limits so the muffler insert helps reduce it.
It's not what you think it is! The muffler on it's own had no real effect as the diameter didn't match the exhaust pipe (plus it rattled). A bit of wire wool wrapped around with wire reduced it from around 80 to 72dB (Idle in the garage)
I bought an extinguisher when Fredrik and I picked up the kit in January. There wasn't much space for it in the car so I riveted it in the rear luggage area. I was also concerned about stone chips from the front wheels so bought a couple of trailer mud flaps from "Jula". They are a little too narrow but will do until I find something else.
I will need to order a new windscreen from Peter as the old one, placed high up on a shelf for the last six months came down with a crash after the bloody cat was wondering around up there!
I'll peel all the protective sheet off all the panels on Wednesday before it goes for the test.
The electrics are all done and working exept the main/dip headlights. Hopefully Peter and I can get this sorted tomorrow so I can then get the switches and instrument cluster in place.
