mishmosh Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Look forward to hearing more about the engine. Put a standard 1500 in mu Bond and now considering swapping the 1300 spit engine out of my hersld for the same Love the torque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Look forward to hearing more about the engine. Put a standard 1500 in mu Bond and now considering swapping the 1300 spit engine out of my hersld for the same Love the torque I'm a bit cagey on the actual spec of the engine but it is bored to +70 making it 1561cc. Today has been spent on detail jobs including re-routing the petrol pipe to the pump. I wasn't happy with the previous effort but at the third attempt I managed a result that I was happy with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 As I mentioned earlier, each circuit is fused and this has a large knock-on effect on the main loom behind the dash. Within the loom are many inter connections linking various circuits which I don't need because they are all separate. So I'm fast coming to the decision to go the whole hog and replace the loom with a new one custom built. It's going to add a week to the project but it will then be like a Saville Row made-to-measure suit rather than an off-the-peg offering from Burtons. Apologies to anyone wearing a Burtons suit if indeed the chain still exists. The bespoke loom will ensure that the terminals are just the right length to suit the new positions of the instruments and switches. I spent a happy hour or so working out what colour coded cable would be needed and all is on order now. So I guess the decision has been made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I think that is a wide decision. My car is looking a bit heath robinson with wiring. A standard loom, nut a 6 way extra fusebox for all sorts of things, and I had to run an extra loom to the front of the car. In retrospect I may well have been better off starting from scratch, after all the original loom is pretty straightforward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 on trucks they went to all black with a number imprinted on each wire , there could be 200 wires in a sleeved bundle, great when the marks disappear stick to something bright and colourfull Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 on trucks they went to all black with a number imprinted on each wire , there could be 200 wires in a sleeved bundle, great when the marks disappear stick to something bright and colourfull Pete All correctly colour coded Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 The new bonnet catches have just arrived and fit nicely into the recesses that I formed in aluminium. These sections can be located accurately into the bonnet by picking up on the mounting holes in the steel reinforcing plate and welded in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 John, Getting even closer to the finished car. I see you've mounted the new bonnet catches ith screws in the traditional way. Why don't you take the opportunity to weld in some studs for an invisible fixing system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 John, Getting even closer to the finished car. I see you've mounted the new bonnet catches ith screws in the traditional way. Why don't you take the opportunity to weld in some studs for an invisible fixing system. Kevin nice to hear from you. I'm not sure how I could weld in invisible studs but would be interested in your ideas and a bit of clarification. With many thanks John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hi John, Nice project! I'm just curious, what is it that you have wrapped around the rear leaf spring, and why? Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hi John, Nice project! I'm just curious, what is it that you have wrapped around the rear leaf spring, and why? Roger Hi Roger The spring has been stripped down and lubricated with graphite grease. The wrapping is Denso tape which is waterproof. This keeps the grease in and the dirt out. It costs a tenner for the tape and is well worth doing. I'm really surprised that more people don't do it. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Kevin nice to hear from you. I'm not sure how I could weld in invisible studs but would be interested in your ideas and a bit of clarification. With many thanks John Kevin, I've been thinking about your suggestion of using invisible studs but the standard mounts are needed to locate the aluminium recesses in the correct position for welding into the bonnet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Triumph weren't the only people to use these bonnet locks. They were also used on some race cars of the era, including some Cobras. It was not uncommon to weld threaded studs on the inside of the panel and then secure with nuts. As you are building from aluminium, you could weld some aluminium screws to the panel, and then grind down the outer surface to make them invisible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Well, tomorrow I get the engine so great excitement and once installed things can move on apace. However, there's another few days work left on the wiring so I'm going to try to resist the temptation to put the engine in as soon as it arrives and get one job finished before starting another. I collected another batch of powder coated parts which look superb. These include the demister ducts, steering column support bracket and the early transmission brace; all done in matt black. The metal part of the dashboard and the sides of the windscreen frame are now leather cloth covered, so plenty still going on. More pictures to follow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I've made a lot of progress in a short time. The gearbox is now fitted to the engine. as are the DCOE40s and the SAH manifold. I made a mistake fitting the bolts to the top wishbone mounts. The nuts fit on the outside not on the inside in the captive arrangement but it was the work of less than an hour to change them round. I made up a very long pipe to go from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder on the gearbox to check that the clutch operated properly. Fortunately all was well but if it hadn't have been it would have been easy to remove the box and sort it out. Not so quick once in the car. I now have a slight problem to solve fitting the engine into the chassis. I'm using a combination of engine and gearbox that Triumph never intended. This is the 1500 four cylinder engine mated to a GT6 close ratio gearbox. The GT6 gearbox mount is too far to the rear so the mounting plate will need re-drilling to move the mount forward. The 1500 non o/d propshaft is nearly the right length but perhaps half an inch too short. So rather than having a bespoke propshaft made, I'm looking at moving the engine back sufficiently to make it right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 The problem is now resolved. On checking the Canley site I discovered that the propshaft I was iintending to use is actually an overdrive one and not as I thought, the longer non overdrive type. Flange to flange is 38 inches which suits exactly the non overdrive prop. New one on order and problem sorted. I can now go ahead and bolt the engine in. http://www.canleyclassics.com/technical-archive/propshaft-problems/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 The engine is now bolted in which is another step forward. Before the body goes back on I'm changing the diff which is much easier when everything is accessible. I've taken advantage of the time to drill and tap the casing for a drain plug. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilF Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 John, Great to see the engine in place. It is realy looking good now. A couple of years ago I bought from my local motor bike shop a black spray paint for very high temperatures, it is called PJI Fast Black and is good for +800 degrees C. I used it on the manifold and it is only now beginning to fade. Surprising the difference it made to under-bonnet viewing. Keep up the good work, Regards Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 John, Great to see the engine in place. It is realy looking good now. A couple of years ago I bought from my local motor bike shop a black spray paint for very high temperatures, it is called PJI Fast Black and is good for +800 degrees C. I used it on the manifold and it is only now beginning to fade. Surprising the difference it made to under-bonnet viewing. Keep up the good work, Regards Neil Neil, nice to hear from you and thank you for info on the paint. I've never found a paint that will last very long on the manifold and exhaust so a good recommendation; thank you. All going very well at the moment and hope the same with you. Once the body goes back I shall feel that the completion is in sight. regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Plenty of small jobs done today but they all count and have be addressed at some point. I'm using a late Spitfire 1500 steering column which has the benefit of the wiper and electric washer controls. The wiper switch was faulty and needed replacing and the going rate appeared to be between fifty and sixty pound. However, the Mini switch is pretty much identical and less than half the price. So that went on today along with a new ignition switch. I'm using a MK3 GT6 fuel tank but with the filler neck facing the rear just the same as on a MK2 GT6. However, I have retained the original neck on the side and will be incorporating a breather. I fabricated something suitable from a piece of two inch thick wall aluminium tube with a 6mm stub pipe Teed in. I'm really pleased with the semi-flush mounting fuse boxes which are accessible and unobtrusive. The snap-on covers are very neat. I also fitted the triple gauge panel which will accommodate oil pressure, oil temperature and water temperature gauges. The Webers use a twin cable arrangement and the necessitates modifying the accelerator pedal. The picture shows the twin cable block offered up. Predictably, one cable comes out immediately under a captive nut. Nothing is ever easy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt6chris Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Hi John, Really enjoying watching your car come together. I used the same fuse box as you when I rebuilt my GT6 and mounted it in the passenger foot well. They are a clever design and I particularly like the bridge terminals allowing up to 5 fuses to be fed from a single wire. http://www.autosparks.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1273 Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Hi John, Really enjoying watching your car come together. I used the same fuse box as you when I rebuilt my GT6 and mounted it in the passenger foot well. They are a clever design and I particularly like the bridge terminals allowing up to 5 fuses to be fed from a single wire. Fusebox1.jpg http://www.autosparks.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1273 Chris Hi Chris, You've done a very neat job. It was the possibility of splitting a single feed into up to five outlets that appealed to me as much as the panel fixing. It certainly simplified things no end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 I needed somewhere to mount the high intensity fog light switch and the cigar lighter so I've made a panel which will do the job. It fits in the contour of the dash on the passenger side but still accessible by the driver. The panel has now been covered in black leather cloth to match the rest of the dash. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 I was lucky enough to be able to acquire a GT6 MK1 dashtop crashpad and which I recovered using material and excellent instructions from Owen at Parklane Classics. I'm really pleased with the result and it is now fitted in place. I had the demister ducts shot blasted and powder coater matt black and after quite a struggle, these too are now in place and connected up to the heater. I'm going to run an oil cooler with this engine and it is going to be mounted in front of the radiator in the ducting. I welded up a simple U frame from rectangular extruded aluminium and picked up on the mounting holes on the cooler. These items will be powder coated and once back fitted on the chassis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 The new propshaft has arrived and is fitted and that was the last thing I wanted to accomplish before the body goes back which hopefully will be this coming weekend. Mike Papworth pulled out all the stops to get the propshaft to me in double quick time which was very much appreciated. This one is like the GT6 prop with a splined sliding joint rather than a CV as on the Spitfire 1500. Working length is 37.75". I've installed the main wiring loom and it is mostly connected via plugs and sockets to the fuse and relay system that I have designed. Whilst I have tested the individual circuits on the bench I shall have to wait until the steering column is in place and all the connections made before I can finally check that all is well and that everything works as it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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