A bit of ground work done

Wednesday I gave all the panels to Stefan at IBL a specialist in aluminium welding. He's going to fill all the unwanted holes and bumps ready for me to drill new bonnet catch holes and rear light recesses and then take them over to Danbolack for powder coating.  In the mean time I did some small jobs on the scuttle including drilling holes for the wipers, washer and also window defrost vents.

Holes for the wipers blade hubs drilled at 45 degrees

One wiper hub in place, I hope it's going to be easy to connect the wiper motor cable to these once all the electrics, heater, dashboard etc. are in place. It'll be a bit of a tight fit!

A washer head that I bought separately from the kit but on a small car it looks a bit too big!

Wiper blade arm shortened by 65mm so the blade doesn't hit the top of the windscreen.

All the holes drilled and the switches and BMW dash taken out ready to sand and fill so it's ready for painting in a few weeks time.

I bolted the washer water bottle in place but will run the cables and water hose later on. I had to move the OBD diagnostics connector a bit to the left to make space.

Bought a heater from E-bay for about £150 which includes a lever to adjust temperature. It'll fit nicely here and connect to the defrost vents as well as a possible four more for vents to passenger and driver. The outlet pipe from the engine goes via the temperature adjuster into the heater and then back to the engine. I'm considering lifting the battery up 2cm so the heater pipes can go straight from the engine under the battery and into the heater. 

Console will cover up all this.

Still going in the wrong direction!

Finally I managed to get off all the panels. As I mentioned before removing the sealant was a real pain in the r's. In the end the easiest way was to gently use a screwdriver and tap it gently with a hammer to part the panel from the frame. After that I used the sealant remover which worked quite well. 

Once all the sealant was removed I put the panels back on and tapped all the edges with a rubber mallet to get them back into position for riveting later.

All the panels removed, it feels like I'm almost back to square one but it won't be long before things start going back on again.

Now  the scuttle is off I bolted the wiper motor to the inside of the bulkhead. I can adjust how much motor is sticking through the bracket so it can't be seen by the passenger but also doesn't hit on the side of the scuttle.  

 Drilling the holes for the wiper blades and washer comes later.

Started changing the front wishbones. Didn't take long to remove everything. Tomorrow I'll try and borrow a press to push the bushes into the wishbone ends. As the wishbones are longer than the old ones the wheels will be brought out by about 40mm. I'm not sure yet what problems this may introduce but Daves blogg explains how he has done it so I'll be checking on his progress regularly!

All that's left is the steering rack. I don't want to have to spend 3000:- on a new one just because I shortened the threads by 10mm. I should be able to get longer track rod end extensions.

The old track rod end and the new. Will it be long enough?

It should be easier to find a longer extension piece than to buy a whole new steering rack!

Mind you the new extension pieces have a longer thread than the old ones. I could screw a bolt onto the thread before screwing it into the track rod, that would make it a bit longer but would it be long enough and safe enough!

Panels away

After a few modifications to the rear panel I managed to get it off in one piece. I still have some work to do when it comes to fog and reverse lights. Neil gave me an idea to flat surface them so the main part of the body will be behind the panel. I’m just looking around for thin lights that won’t hit the tank.

I had to Dremmel the edge away from the part of the panel that curved around the side rail, the part that went past half the circumference of the bar. Once the rivets under the rear panel were also removed it was just a case of slipping the panel off from the bottom and then hinging it out and up. 

Hopefully the small side panels can be smoothed out and welded to the rear panel so it ends up being one smooth part and then painted. I'm pretty sure everything will go back on afterwards.

I also started re-doing the bonnet catches as they were too loose and had no way of being adjusted. I always had to drive with a piece of wire tied around each catch just in case they came undone and I lost the bonnet!

One of the catches to be replaced. I had to drill out the rivets first and then mark and drill holes for the new ones. Not a problem at all but I was left with holes I didn't need.

I thought about using Cleco's at first but they got in the way so I temporarily riveted them again. If I can't get the old holes filled for powder coating I'll make up oval shaped stainless steel plates that should look nice against the black; the brackets would then bolt throught them.

Got a  great air riveting gun for Christmas from my son Sebastian - my boys are trained well :-) (Fredrik bought me an air angle grider!), makes it so much easier to put in rivets, It's actually fun now!

It's nice to be able to adjust the catches and even lock the bonnet.

Rivets are easy to remove but perhaps I shouldn't have used sealant on all the panels as it's a real bugger to get off! I bought  some sealant remover today so I'll give that a try over the weekend. 

I have to modify my plans a little as the panels need to be replaced before the wishbones are put back on otherwise it's impossible to rivet the front edges of the side panels properly. It's very tempting to get the panels powder coated as soon as I can but I have to be patient and get holes drilled, edges files and sanded etc.

The light at the end of the tunnel

After a very fruitful trip to Maidstone meeting family and friends, I came back with Christmas pressies and crackers and bits for the car; soft top, new longer wishbones, a couple of LED rear lights and a few other small odd and ends. I then had to make the painful decision to get the car up on stands and start the long list of jobs instead of taking it out for “just one more drive”

Drove down to  Burgess Hill to meet James and finally see his car. (in the picture Andy not James)

First job was to start stripping. I have kind of decided to start at the rear, concentrating on preparing and removing the panels ready for painting. I’m still not actually sure whether the rear panel will come off.

Quick check of the soft top - poppers have to be rivited on.

Bought a couple of LED lamps to replace the rectangular ones. Will sort out how to fix them later.

Enoyingly enough my MC jack packed up just as I got the car on the stands. Will have to fix it if I'm ever going to get it down again!

Fuel tank removed.

It was very difficult bending the top edges of the rear panel without getting a bumpy finish so I'll need to file the rough parts and finish off with fine sandpaper.

Hopefully once the rivets are removed from around  the base of the panel it should just be a case of lifting the panel over the frame - I hope! Just for fun I found a reversing sensor kit on ebay and started drilling holes in the base of the rear panel to house the sensors. Hopefully the fog and reverse lights won't interfere.

A 22,5mm drill is included in the kit. The holes need cleaning up with a file before the powder coating.

The rear looks very bare. I’ll try and find some smaller diameter LED lights to replace the square fog and spot lights.

Not sure how to solve this (taken off) side panel as I made a real dogs ear of  it while bending. I'll chat with the powder coat chap and see what he suggests. 

See you in 2012!

Finally succumbed to the winter!

Well it finally happened. It's not that it's too cold, more like it's a bit wet and slippery. This video was taken on Sunday 11th while there was at least some light. The weather hasn't been this mild in years which is great. Another positive point is the fact that the days start getting longer in another 10 days!

There should be snow everywhere at this time of year! There also seems to be a distinct lack of a passenger too - where are all the vikings?

There was a loud scraping sound coming from the rear passenger side and when I investigated it turned out to be the end of the handbrake cable scraping on the inside of the wheel! I'm  not totally sure what has happened but as a temporary thinking outside the box fix I put a wheel spacer on either side of the car. This brought the wheel away from the offending cable - problems solved! 

Doesn't look very nice with all the rust. I'll definitely do something about this over the winter.

The offending cable ending. I knew this wasn't right when I put it in but there hasn't been a problem until now.

The inside rim shows a little sign of wear.

I'll be going to see Peter at GKD at the weekend to sort a few things out as well as pick up my nice new soft top! May even meet up with James who is having his IVA Registration test tomorrow - good luck!

Winter draws on - not yet!

Quick update with how I've just about decided to paint "TYZee" or "TYeeZ. I found a company in Södertälje who will powder coat all the panels, the only problem is I have to get the panels off! This will require drilling out all the rivets which will mean the bodies will be left in the chassis but I can fix that by spraying in rust shield which I have been told is slightly sticky so should stop the old rivets from rattling around as well as rust protecting!

The black looks great. If I can get the wings and nose cone painted in the same colour it should look brilliant and less like a kit car!

Even though the temperature is going down it’s still okay to drive while there is sunlight, which means I can’t drive it to work as it’s dark by about 4pm. After dark it gets a bit nippy but it can’t be any worse than driving a snow scooter. Winter tyres are compulsory from the 1^st of December so I have another few weeks of opportunities.

Like everest - Wind chill is a bit extreme at 90mph!

Thanks Mikael! - Not sure about the colour, perhaps I can get a new one from photoshop!

Nice picture Mikael

After months of design and development I finally finished the soft top. I could have done with this on several occassions but it wasn't fully tested.

A little disappointing to see rust appearing on the discs. Will have to treat them with anti-rust paint. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the car has faired ones I get it up on blocks!

Anette was pleased that I changed her car to winter tyres and was even slightly impressed that I could do it in the new garage. So was I actually but then again the Peugeot has a better turning circle so there wasn't a problem reversing it in.

Pushing the limits of mans endurance and stupidity!

I perhaps have already mentioned that a well known Swedish saying goes something like this “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!”. After all the years I have lived here I’m finally beginning to agree. With a ski hat and goggles, gloves, scarf and nice thick jacket I have driven at +3 oC not including wind chill, which at 80km/h is probably quit high. If it’s only cold we’re talking about then I’m all for going lower but yesterday it was a test of both cold as well as rain. Kevin was over from the UK for two days and as it was he who re-planted the idea of building a kit car of course I had to take him for a spin! What happened yesterday?

Arrived home wet and cold, ready for a pizza and couple of pints!

It was the worse damn day for anything especially driving an open top car. I should have realized when I hopped in the car after work and noticed a centimeter or two of water swilling around inside (I forgot to take my trusty tarpaulin) this wasn’t going to be a good day to show off my pride and joy. But I’m a Britt abroad and nothing, but nothing was going to get in my way. It took and hour to drive from the south of Stockholm to the north through heavy traffic and heavy rain. At one point I drove through a large deep pool of water and it was like something out of the Poseidon Adventure; just as I looked up a huge wave of water flew up and over the windscreen and crashed down over everything. If I had been a small boat I would have capsized. Eventually found Kevin but the only thing we could do was to shelter at the nearest petrol station until the rain subsided.  

 He looked well happy as we drove back south again, still drizzling and with the feeling that every driver on the road must have thought we were complete idiots! But on the positive side the car performed well with not one electrical problem. Just the large hole in the roof to fix.

 

Chocks away - Like the pioneers of the past, no challenge is insurmountable!

Started to design a possible extension to the dashboard at the weekend for a clock and air temperature gauge. Cut out from cornflake packets I'll eventually cut it in aluminium sheet, solder it and then cover in black leather or similar.

May put a small lockable door on one side for small items.      

I'm going to try and keep driving the car when ever the skies are clear and the sun's shining at least until winter tyres are needed - I'll probably be alone though!

Out and about

Even though the weather is getting colder I have still managed to get out for a spin or two. Out again yesterday, temperature around 10oC. Went for a drive to the Cafe down at the lake, not exactly a motorcycle meeting place but still nice with a view across the water.

Neil - was going to have a go driving but motor cycle boots tend to spread over two or three pedals.

Then it was off down to Rosenhill again. It was good to see there were still some hardened MC riders down there, it's thinning out every week though!

A quick spin up the road but will wait until next spring for a new challenge!

Too much grit on the road

It was great on the way to work the other day but after lunch the heavens opened. Lucky I took my trusty tarpaulin with me, it didn’t look so professional but it kept the rain off!  I did notice that one has to take it very easy in wet conditions. A heavy foot and the back wheels slip very easily. The first time it happened it was a bit scary (only did it twice). Perhaps I need traction control?

Out last weekend to Rosenhill cafe, a popular motorcycle meeting place. Sunday out again along some great winding roads. The car corners very well, even Neil on his Suzuki Bandit 1250 had a problem keeping up! Actually that's true, cornering is much faster in the car but while the engine isn't tuned properly it still kept up quite well with the MC.

 

Here is Berndt Jansson one of the great Swedish rally drivers of the 50' & 60's at Rosenhill. I should have offered him a drive in the car!

On the way to Mörkö for a coffee

I

Finally street legal, best of all the sun's still shining and the roads are clear of snow!

I checked the Transport Authorities home  page several times last weekend but nothing showed up until finally Monday the car had been registered. The plates then turned up on Wednesday. I called up and sorted the "enthusiast insurance" which was very reasonable at 1800:- a year. Then "activated" the car which means I have to pay road tax. Road tax is dependent on Co2 emissions which on this car is 140 g/km which is quite low for the type and age of engine.

Took me a few minutes to attach the rear plate and off I went for my first legal spin! Drove to work Thursday and tried flooring it a few times - well I had to didn't I? The sound fits the car perfectly but it backfires which also sound pretty cool too but perhaps something I can get rid of with a good tune up. In fact between 5 and 6k revs it coughs quite badly so a tune up is definitely on the cards. Drove to Stockholm in the evening for an Indian with the lads. On the way back home the clutch stopped responding so had to struggle home in 3rd. I'll take a look tomorrow to see what's happened. Hopefully it only needs bleeding.

The mini number plate attached nicely to the underside of the nose cone with a couple of bolts. The rear slipped into the holder that I'd bolted on earlier.

To finally be out on the open road after all the uncertainties of the last two months is incredible. I was asked by James who is also building a GKD with the same engine (http://www.mylegend.im/) if I'd do it again. Simple answer; It's been such a fantastic experience I'd do the whole thing again tomorrow! Luckily enough I have loads of jobs to do on the car before the spring, like heating, windscreen wipers, carpets, soft top, storage space, a few more dials etc. etc. etc. I'm not sure how long the weather will hold but once the snow comes the jobs start. Plenty to help me escape from the Swedish winter!


UPDATE: Took a look at the clutch this morning and it was something very simple. When I first attached the clutch cylinder to the pedal the bolt had to be shortened slightly. I used and angle grinder and left the nyloc nut on as a guide for the thread. I made the mistake of reusing it as the heat had melted the nylon and it simply had come undone!

Even the bolt holding the clutch pedal to the pedal box is a bit short!

Close but not quite a cigar!

Not sure where the time is going but it's definitely not hanging around and the temperature is sinking quite quickly. But now to the good news!

I got a letter on Monday giving me details for paying in the charge for the exemption and once the payment was received probably Tuesday it took until Thursday for me to receive the exemption approval.. 

Then came the re-test which was this afternoon at my house and that was also a pass, both  the lights and seatbelts were okay! Now it’s only a case of getting registration plates. I was very much hoping that I’d at least get to know the registration number today but alas the computer system at the transport authority was down so Dekra couldn't register the paperwork. Once registered it then takes 2 or 3 working days for the plates to arrive in the post. Pity as the weather looks great for the weekend! 

It’s all going to be fixed by next weekend, I know it!

It is an amateur build - kind of!

I received a long awaited phone call from the Transport authority today. I must say I was very nervous, not knowing what to expect. First I was told that my appeal had failed,they agreed with Dekra!

BUT I was told that under the circumstances they would make an exception, sorry I mean an exemption! (one can apply for this if one can't, for various reasons comply totally with the rules - costs 1,200:- ) Once I get the letter, hopefully Monday, I can get the re-test booked and after that, registration plates and hit the road! 

What a great way to start the weekend!

No news yet!

I ordered new safety belts from CBS in Kent for around £65 including post and they are now installed. CBS or Car Builders Solutions is a great place in Staplehurst, Kent close to where I grew up. They offer any type of kit car accessories, the type of things an amateur can't make or weld themselves, like lights, seat belts, brake fluid bottles etc.

The belts were very simple to install in fact, luckily enough all the mounting points were in the right places. They don't look quite so good as the Sabelts and are not as safe but that's not such a big deal is it!  

The Sabelts were very easy to get in and out of in an emergency but now the buckles on the new belts are quite difficult to get to in such a confined space.

I took the car up to my local garage so the lights could be checked out. The mirrored test system showed they were slightly too low and slightly too far apart. The guy fixed it for me for free, (thanks Shlemon) so that is the second point crossed of the things-to-do list.

Funnily enough when both jobs were done I called DEKRA and asked them if they could book a re-test as the question of amateur build could be handled separately. I was given a blunt "NO". This is probably because they don't believe the car should pass as an amateur build so why waste their time doing a re-test! 

I'm still waiting and hoping, occasionally going for a quick spin around the block. It's a real shame as summer is nearly over and I may not fulfil the plan I had before starting the build "... so it's ready when the sun's shining and the roads are clear of snow!"