Mid summer

Amazingly enough we are already half way through the year. The longest day was yesterday but temperatures have been struggling to get over 20oC. I have been limited by not having a roof on the car but hopefully that will change this coming week. I'll be seeing Peter at GKD on Monday, he says he has a set of prototype side doors that I can take home and try. At the moment I'm using a sheet of tarpaulin that I throw over at the first sign of rain. The main problem with rain are the seats and carpets.

Trosa Veteran Car Club 

During the summer there are two villages close to where I live that take it in turns to have enthusiast meets. Last Thursday it was down in Trosa a small picturesque coastal town 50km south of Stockholm. There must have been 50 or 60 cars of various types on display. Mine was amongst them and I was amazed how much attention it got.

4.5 litre Mercury from the 50's

The other village is Nynäshamn which I will try over the summer holidays.


When I had the panels painted I was a little disappointed with the results of the bonnet. Dan at Danbo Lak tried very hard to get the powder coat to look good and it did, fantastic in fact but something didn't quite work out with the bonnet, it had a slite orange peel finish. I talked to Mats who painted the fiber glass parts and he said he would go over the bonnet again with spray and then bake it. The result is brilliant - a mirror finish that really makes the whole car shine.

I bought some brilliant polish from BMW. So easy to use and rub to a mirror finish as it leaves no dust.

Some small jobs done. Anette finished the gear knob gaiter which now looks really great.

New material glued to the original surround.

Perhaps I should get her to make a new handbrake gaiter for me too!

Installed a bonnet switch

Out with Neil a few weeks ago the accelerator cable snapped at the pedal. This was the "Bear Grylls" solution until I got it home.

Tried a prototype wind deflector but it was useless. I found a link to site that made Perspex ones, may copy the idea.

I still need to sort out the speed sensor. A quick way to reset it is to plug out and in the sensor in the diff. I'll fix it when rain stops play as I need to get the scuttle off.  I can't afford to waste any sunny days!


That's all for now - have a great summer! 

Small jobs

Weather was great Monday and Tuesday so drove to work both days but unfortunately it's been rain since and will be until Sunday apparently. It's always a good excuse to clean up or get some small jobs ticked off the list. Tonight I fixed the intermittent wipers. They are not supported in the wiper kit but it was easy to fix. I bought a small intermittent wiper hobby kit from Elfa (like Radio Shack). Soldered it together and then wired it into the first wiper position on the stalk. When it's activated (it's adjustable between about 3seconds and 1 minute) it sends 12v to the slow wiper position for one wipe.

I fixed it to the inside of the scuttle beside the mirror bolt so I can adjust the wipe speed if necessary, it's set to about 7 seconds which seems quite reasonable.

I found the nyloc nut on the clutch pedal loose again so I'm going to have to change all that have been undone a couple of times. I'd like to get the car up on a lift and go round all the nuts and bolts before I do too many miles. 


I've noticed again that after a while driving max revs goes down from the red to about 5,5k. Disconnecting seems to fix it temporarily. 


Jobs to do still: Sump guard, better air flow into the manifold, fix the soft top but I'd like to do a more discreet solution than suggested by GKD and console still to do.

Stoneleigh will have to wait until next year!

The thought was there but to be realistic a journey of 5,000km in a week in a rebuilt car open to the elements and the thought of all that English rain didn't fill me with a lot of enthusiasm. Instead my sights were focused on the Scania enthusiast Road Trip which took place on Thursday. It was all very 11th hour as I was rushing to get the windscreen on, lights fixed, relays replaced. Thursday morning I nipped into BMW and they were kind enough to give me a free engine diagnostics.

Two things wrong, one was the MAF sensor which costs £350 and the Camshaft sensor which comes in at £100. I decided instead to use CRC air sensor cleaner first. I'll check out Ebay for the cam sensor.

The guys were very friendly and were very interested in seeing one of their engines packed into such a small car. Actually during the diagnosis they told me the engine was actually from a 1998 BMW not a 96 which I was lead to beleive by the BMW breakers (note to self - don't complain!) 


I'd like to do something with the bonnet as it's quite a handful to take off and on. Perhaps it can be hinged in some way.

The new wishbones are great, the turning circle is very much better than before. If I can get the angle right I can get out of the garage in one instead of 5!

At last the GKD sticker in place on the bonnet!

Windscreen wipers needed some adjustment to fit parallel to the bottom of the screen. I'm not sure how effective they will be in a rain but I'm not in a hurry to find out. Today I cleaned the MAF with  the CRC cleaner and went back to the first air filter I bought. The backfire has now reduced, acceleration is brilliant, so much so that I have to learn how to change gear faster!

Some small jobs, rear carpet makes a big difference. 

Peter at GKD ran me off a BMW inside sticker. Nice against the black.

Windscreen wipers in place. Not tested yet!

A couple of adjustments I need to do in the next few days. I bolted the drivers seat a few centimeters too far forward so waste some valuable leg room. The foot rest is great but it makes it a little tight between pedals but it's worth it. Anette is making the gearshift gaiter for me, hopefully that will be ready tomorrow.


I was out driving past Rosenhill today along the much loved motorcycle routes in the area. The weather was great, sunshine (a little cold perhaps) and clear skies. I'm still thrilled with the road handling, the sound, the speed and above all it has the same feeling as riding a motorcycle only it can be done without a helmet.  


Peter is developing a supercharger kit which uses a Mini Cooper S system. It's estimated to increase power by 50HP. Hopefully he will have that ready by winter. It's not something that is really necessary but it's a new challenge, and I reckon that's what life's all about. 


A few more pictures:

Pity the black gets dirty quite quickly

The reversing sensors work very well. ebay sell them.

Fault found

After a good nights sleep I was able to tackle the electrical problem with a clear mind but did it help - no!


I removed the scuttle again and took the opportunity to clean up all the wiring, it was just like spaghetti in there. After hours of searching I sent a quick mail to Peter asking whether it  could be relays. After a chat on the phone to him it ended up that it was indeed a relay problem as the fuel pump was on even when  the ignition was off! There are four BMW relays, all with the same part number as I far as I can see for various things but one is for the fuel pump.

All I did was swap it with another and then back again and it fired up no problems. I'll nip in to BMW tomorrow and buy some replacements. While clearing up the wiring I also fixed the background lights for the dash switches as a couple weren't working.

It's quite tight with wiring, switches, heater hoses, instrument cluster and wipers but now it's a little neater.

Another relay I'll need to change is the flasher relay. I changed to LED indicators and they were flashing twice as fast as usual. Peter told me it was the change in current drain to the lamps and that the easiest thing to do when changing from normal 12v bulbs to LED was change the relay. Ended the evening with a quick lap around the block, I had almost forgotten how great she sounds with the small backfire when de-accelerating. The neighbours are going to love me!

The final 100m of a marathon!

 It's been a tough week down in the cellar. I thought I was a day or so away from my first spin of the year but things took far longer. Monday I dropped off the front diff bracket at Huddinge Stål (metal) together with a quick sketch of a bit I wanted welding on. I picked up the rear panel and bonnet on Thursday, bolted and wired in the fog and reversing lights. Friday the diff bracket was ready and looks like this:

It allows two extra bolts to be bolted through the bracket and into the chassis bracket.

Here it is in place, the new bolt in the lower centre has a twin on the other side. I think this should make it quite strong, it stops it from lifting at the rear at least.

Neil came up again on Saturday and we riveted all the panels with nice black rivets. Bolted on the rear wings, diff mount, put the skuttle in place with ICL connectors and switches for headlights, heater etc. Felt very good to cross off so much from the list.

Rear panel temporarily in place just to check the side panels and welded join to the rear panel. Danbo Lak did a fantastic job of making the pigs ears I had done into silk purses! 

Rear LED lights in place. Nice thin ones from CBS in Staplehurst. A bit expensive but worth it,

Number plate and fuel filler pipe in place.

Time to get the tracking done. I used a Black & Decker DIY laser on the rear wheels and shone them towards the front. Then adjusted the track rods until the bar and light lined up. Also checked distance between front wheels,

The rear wing guards look great against the black. I used M3 (I think) oval headed Torx bolts instead of riveting the guards on. 24 each side. I added extra repeaters to the rear wings to match the front.

I wanted  the rear carpet to be easy to take out so I used poppers riveted in place. Trouble is when I tried to pop the carpet off again they fell apart basically. Will have to look for a better solution

Now it's officially a GKD. An emblem for the rear and one for the bonnet. I also have a nice silver "BMW inside" sticker than looks great against the black too. After a lot of cutting, sanding and messing around I finally got the wing lights bolted on. LED lights also from CBS cut to just 15 mm depth.

Status now: I had a quick drive up the road and back and everything was fine. Hopped in the car later intending to fill up with petrol and the engine wouldn't start. It fires and runs for a second or two and then stops. Even with the ignition key out I can hear the fuel pump running as well as something in the engine is sounding too. Turn the key to ignition position and the pump stops! If I wait a few minutes it fires up again. Peter suggested I check all the earths etc. which I will do tomorrow. It seems strange  that it worked earlier and all I have done is connect a few lights.

Suddenly it's coming together again!

Picked up the side panels from Danbo Lak on Friday, they look terrific. The bonnet and rear panel will be ready next week sometime. Saturday Neil came round and we spent a few really constructive hours getting loads of jobs done. It almost got to the stage of taking it for a spin around the block. We got both side panels riveted on (made much easier using the new air riviter!), exhaust manifold, exhaust, seats and carpets in and bled the brakes. Oh and started up the engine and checked the new heater worked and that there were no leaks!

Getting the manifold pipes through the side panel without scratching the paintwork was a challenge.

The contrast of stainless steel and black is very nice.

Next job was to install the wiper motor rotors and tubing. They all had to be cut to length and flared to keep them in place. The hardest was the last section towards the motor as it bends down towards the motor and the motor has to bolt to the aluminium bulkhead. If the bend is too tight the spindle won't go through the tube.

. 

The last small section is to take up the extra spindle when the wiper goes from stop to full wipe position. It's worth buying a good flaring tool (I love tools!)

Measuring the spindle movement. It was actually only about 3cm but I left about 8.

The dash in place with demister vents, wiper blade spindles and water jet. I'll have to move  the water bottle a centimeter or so as the wiper motor bolts catch the bottle brackets just at the wrong place.

Another job that I have to do is strengthen the front mounting plate for the Diff. James's bracket was  pulled from the frame during a drive. Peter at GKD has fixed this for all new chassis but in earlier ones this seems to be a weak point. To be on the safe side I'll get an extra plate welded to the bracket to allow two more bolts.

Bracket in the centre with two bolts. I'll see what I can sort out tomorrow.

Also managed to attach and adjust the handbrake cables. Next few jobs include getting the tracking done. I set them to vertical while the car was up on blocks but I have to set toe out on the front which I'll do while the car is down on the ground. I beleive this is usually set to 0 degrees but for racing 0.2 degrees is probably better. I'll set it to 0 for the time being. I found quite a good site that explains the different terms for wheel adjustment: http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm. 

Snow again but it didn't stop play!

Just when we thought it was safe to go out the snow came again. Friday night there was almost a blizzard and by Saturday morning there was about 7-10cm of it laying everywhere. It'll be gone in a couple of days though.

 

The big news is I got the nose cone and dash board back tonight and I must say I'm very happy with the results, if the panels look as good the car will look absolutely brilliant. Saturday and today I spent doing a few odds and ends. First one was to cut and temporarily fit the carpets especially on the one that covers the centre console.  

There was a lot of messing about cutting around the heater and hand brake, gear shift not finished yet. The result is not too bad although I still intend to make a console to cover the heater and to house the heater control, clock and 12v power outlet. I want the carpet to be fairly easy to take out if necessary.

I intended to use a chrome gear shift surround but in the end decided against it as it would have been a bugger to bolt in place and didn't look right without the hand brake also having a chrome surround. In the end I'll use the standard BMW surround and Anette will sew a longer leather gaiter for me as the standard is too short.

The chrome surround in position, a bit out of place with the grey edges carpet. To use the handbrake one has to be sitting backwards :-)

I didn't manage to finish all the jobs I set myself for this weekend but most of the jobs left are simply to bolt parts back on again.

1. Fix and install carpets YES
2. Fix gear shift and handbrake gaiters NEARLY FINISHED
3. Put in safety belts and seats READY TO FIT AND BOLT IN PLACE
4. Fix heater and fill radiator, fan wired in YES
5. Install handbrake & bleed brakes YES/NO 
6. Finish sanding rear LED lights NO
7. Started making console YES
8. Buffed the exhaust pipe(s) YES
9. Finish soft top NO This is quite a big fiddly job and the rear panel and windscreen have to be in place. I'm hoping Peter at GKD will have  the  side windows ready in the next two weeks but I'm not holding out too much hope. I'll have to cut plastic covers instead as I have already had one bad experience with rain!

I need to leave the dash and nose cone to completely dry before I start attaching bits so probably leave them until Friday. I'm afraid of making any marks especially when installing the wiper motor shaft, ICL, switches etc.

The finish is fantastic, really pleased with the job that Mats did. His day time job is building and painting special order (S-Order) Scania trucks.

The nose cone will look great once the grill and indicators are bolted in place and then the GKD emblem placed front centre!

James managed to get his sump re-welded after cracking it on the English country roads. He's going to make a sump guard so hopefully will let me have the plans so I can sort one out before my UK trip.  

I lost the bet!

Unfortunately neither the panels nor the fiberglass were ready to pick up. Danbolack who are painting the panels are very customer focused and were not happy with the type of paint they used as it didn't give the expected glossy finish. So they are going to do everything again. The guy painting the fiberglass is doing the job in his spare time so I can't push too much.

In the mean time I cleaned up the alarm wiring and have only the bonnet switch to wire in once I get  the bonnet back. Peter at GKD kindly helped me with the windscreen wiper motor and washer bottle wiring so everything works nicely with the original BMW wiper stalk.

Last year I bought an OBD II adapter with WIFI so I could read in the diagnostic codes from the engine on my I-phone. The trouble was it was on all the time even when the ignition was off and flattened the battery within a few days. I had a quick look inside the adapter plug that goes into the BMW diagnostic socket and discovered it was only a matter of moving the orange wire connected to pin 14 "battery power" to pin 16 which is "ignition 12v". Now it works great but the next problem is working out why I didn't get speed last time I had the engine running!

Very easy to open up the plug and solder the orange wire (power to the WIFI dongle) to pin 16 instead  (see http://pinoutsguide.com/CarElectronics/car_diag_pinout.shtml for details)

Diagnostic plug in place, nice with a little hi-tech

I needed to get the heater sorted out too so I bought some extra bits from CBS to help out. Not sure what to do with the carpet but will probably have to cut the bit off that usually covers the plate the heater is bolted too.

The cable is to adjust the temperature but until I get the console made it'll have to hang lose for the time being. I can't drill it into the plate as the gearbox is too close.

A hole for the 12v outlet and a quick spray of black paint.

Started on the carpets again by smearing GRP filler around the holes on the underside of the carpet I intend to cut out for gear shift, handbrake and other holes. Otherwise they will end up fraying.

I hope the filler works

Latest news: Fiberglass parts could be ready Sunday. Less than three weeks until my intended drive to the Stoneleigh kit car show so things have to start moving! 

List of things I can do before I get the panels & fibreglass parts back. It's quit short as so many parts depend on getting the panels back first:

1. Fix and install carpets
2. Fix gear shift and handbrake gaiters
3. Put in safety belts and seats
4. Fix heater and fill radiator
5. Install handbrake & bleed brakes
6. Finish sanding rear LED lights