Hemsley Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Mike, the meter reads 0 when I touch the leads together. I will test a make a note of a few connections today and then remove and re-fit the main chassis earth connection to see if I can improve on the 0.5. I'll also have a go at adding some fuel and running the pump - I assume it should just circulate fuel through the fuel rail and back to the tank? I've seen on a few posts about dogs being regular passengers in some Westfields. Our white dog is Pixie, and I'm going to start getting her familiar with climbing in and out of the Westfield. She is quite brave, more than happy to lie underneath the chassis while I'm drilling or riveting. More updates to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Yep, the fuel should just circulate. Make sure you've got good bare metal contacts at earthing studs etc, use a tap to clean the threads, or (carefully) a piece of emery cloth to clean them up. You want to be seeing shiney metal. I've used Contralube on all my connections for a few years, which helps keep them in good condition; overkill perhaps for some, but as my car gets used in all weathers, the extra protection helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemsley Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 Weight On Wheels. Perhaps I'm at a stage where there is not a great deal to show for time and effort spent. Overall it really looks much the same, but it’s progress. Tested the fuel system and found that I had not sufficiently tightened up the tank outlet spigot. It is inevitable that any fault will be found in the least accessible spot on the whole fuel system. So I'm mighty glad I decided to test this before going any further. In the end it was just a bit fiddly, and I sprayed fuel over myself when draining the tank etc. All done now however and re-tested ok. Next up was bleeding the brakes. I cobbled together a brake bleeding kit which seems to have worked well. Finished off trial fitting the tunnel top panels, all the rivnuts are inserted and all I have left to do is stick down a bit more of the P-section draught excluder to keep it sealed. At this point I thought would check the cooling system, and fire up the engine. Looking over the wiring I noticed that I seem to be missing the air temperature lead… odd I thought, as I am sure I’d seen it as some point. Starting to think I’ve done something daft and coiled it up along with the un-used idle motor cable. Since I had a couple of other questions for Mark at Westfield I mentioned this too him… he said I might have connected it to the cam sensor which has the same socket (but should be unused). It’s almost as if he has a camera in my garage… as that is exactly where I found it. All this proves I am indeed a muppet, and Mark has been asked this question before! Today I’ve dropped the car down onto it’s wheels for the first time. Applied 25Lb/ft torque to the wishbone bush joints. Then feeling brave I temporarily fitted lots - the exhaust, lambda sensor, the header tank, and a loop over the heater points, filled system with coolant… temporarily fitted the oil pressure gauge, connected the battery, connected the ECU… Rolled the car out of the garage onto the drive for a first test firing up. The engine turned over well enough, but it did not fire up. I suspect there could be a fault somewhere in the wiring because I noticed that the lambda sensor was still being heated even after disconnecting the ignition circuit. I’ll sleep on this and think about the potential faults, and maybe investigate with the multimeter in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonjh1964 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Martin, the Air Temp connector on mine goes to an air temp sensor fitted to the air filter back plate between the front pair of TB air intakes I don't have anything connected to the cam sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemsley Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 I managed to track down a symptom of the wiring fault, but without a circuit diagram actually finding the problem and how to fix it was going to be very difficult.I narrowed it down to the relays for the lambda sensor, and also found that I had a latching circuit that left the switched live, live, even when I disconnected the ignition. Sitting in the car while finishing the labelling on the dashboard loom was very comfortable. I sent Mark a photo of the terminals and wires (this shows the fault, not the way it should be), and he was able to explain which connections I needed to adjust. Below you can see the correct relay wiring. I've never enjoyed spot the difference quite as much. At some point I would like to reverse-engineered the wiring diagram, maybe something to complete when I’ve got the car on the road. I should have done it while I had the loom on the kitchen table, would have been much easier! Having reconnected the relay wiring I ran a few tests to check the lambda sensor was not being switched on my the ignition, and that the switched live was indeed switched and not latching. Then… time to check the engine would fire up and that the cooling system is water tight. Miserable day outside today so just I cracked the garage door open a bit and tried the ignition. The engine instantly fired up and ticked over quite consistently, and responded well to a very gentle blip on the throttle. If you’d like to hear the contented burble of a new zetec try the links below. https://youtu.be/JP6XUmopIJc https://youtu.be/SUQgCr_0cxc Only the oil pressure gauge was connected, and settled around 90. Knowing that the oil was doing it’s job I let the engine run for a few minutes and warm up to the point where the thermostat started to open and the radiator started to warm up. I then checked over the cooling system and for oil leaks - all seems fine except for a small weep on the radiator fan stat. Feeling highly motivated I fitted the bulkhead panel, tunnel panels and the outside panels. This was something I’d been looking forward to since spending an entire weekend drilling the chassis for these. Let’s hear a cheer for whoever invented the compressed air pop rivet gun - effortlessly thumping them home and very satisfying. Very happy with the day’s work, and looking forward to starting on the body work. Fingers crossed I will still get to spend a few hours on the David tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Car Electronics Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Well done in tracking down that relay wiring fault - I wonder how many others have 'escaped'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sand Dancer Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Looking good Martin! Good luck with the bodywork, I hope you you manage to get a better fit than I did!! I haven't tested my wiring yet, I will have a look at my relay wiring tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sand Dancer Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemsley Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Mike, not sure how many looms would have the same fault. The volumes sold are relatively low and I suspect they don't have a foolproof test harness. Dave, I think I owe you a pint for kindly posting such a helpful blog, just days ahead of when I need it! I do hope to be a Stoneleigh... progress permitting. Although I did spend most of the day in the garage I don't think I actually did very much. Several tidying up tasks for the wiring, made a template for the exhaust manifold, and started to trial fit some GRP panels. The removing the header-tank and a couple of other pipes so that I could lift the scuttle off. Clipping the side panels under the chassis needed 4 x pallet knives. With a bit of a shove there is some freedom to slide them forwards or backwards. I assume I will be able to work out where they should be when I fit the bonnet, as the hinge is the datum point for all other panels. Front offside by the wishbone - looks a bit too close. Measuring the space across the back of the bulkhead it looks like it will be a very tight fit. Looks like the scuttle is in about the right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sand Dancer Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Martin It is tight across the rear bulkhead, you can get one side fitted then if you use a scraper / pallet knife to start to push and enlarge the gap using a heavy screwdriver on the pallet knife the boot part sides over and the wing will squeeze in. I had a nut and bolt in the joint between the rear and the wing and when I tightend that it closed up the gap springing everything into place. I also flattened the metal loops on the underside of the chassis that are used for the spare wheel on the non FW bodies. That creates a bit more space to manipulate the boot section. They are easy to bend with a piece of wood and a hammer. If you line up the boot section and the wheel arches the side panels fit exactly with the front wishbone, I did not need to,make any adjustments at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemsley Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 There are a couple of weekends updates here... to begin, fortified by strong coffee, toast and marmalade I took on fitting the rear tub and wheel arches. Actually, I decided to take an easy option first and worked out the wiring for the tub connectors to the main loom. With the wiring sorted I lifted the onto the chassis. Sliding the bottom of the tub under the chassis and then jiggling it to ease the top lip over the rear bulkhead was tricky. As per Dave’s comment above it was possible, but very tight. To hold it in place while I worked out it’s final position I supported the weight of the tub with a couple of clamps hooked onto the bottom chassis rail. This worked well as I could wind them up / down to adjust the angle. Checking the fit I noticed a very small crack in the gelcoat on the near side at the end of the lip by the bulkhead. Barely visible. Although I did not force the panels it did need some gentle pressure and I suspect this is what cause it. It was enough to remind me how careful I need to be, and I was very cautious when hooking on the wheel arches. I did the near side first, loose fitting with bolts and penny washes. Moving onto the offside I found there was a small nick / chip in the arch, just where it would be visible. No idea how this happened, but I’ll assume it was a careless moment and something I’ll need to fix later! Tightening up the bolts and pushing the panels around I managed to get an acceptable fit, but I was not entirely happy and felt sure I could improve on this. I decided to return to this later rather than spend the whole day fiddling when there was much more to be done. Although it was only a few months ago that I picked up the kit, the bonnet has been in the garden shed carefully wrapped in dust sheets. Retrieving it I carefully placed it on top of the side rails and it was an almost perfect fit. I took my time working out how best to fit the hinges. In the end I used the T-hinges supplied with the kit, fitting them upside down, with the barrel of the hinge upper most. I put some thin laminate strips on top of the side chassis rails to ensure an even gap and worked out what to do with the hinges. As described in the build manual the hinges need to be “cranked” (is that a legit engineering term?), in this case because the bottom of the nose is about 5mm higher than the bottom of the chassis. I put the hinges in the vice with about 10mm above the jaw, then covered this with an off-cut of wooden batten and pushed hard. The hinge bent gradually, and you can see the result below - this was about right for my bonnet. Drilling and fitting the T-hinges should have been simple, but I found the bonnet had moved when I had actually fixed them in place, and ended up drilling a second set of holes in the nose, only a few mm across. Not a problem because they are all hidden by the hinge. For the nose fixing I used some rubber-backed aluminium penny washers, which I think were probably designed for roofing purposes. These I hope will give a little more flexibility and reduce the point loading and stresses. With the bonnet fitted I moved the side panels slightly to give a more even appearance, and then fixed them in place with a rivet in the top at the front on each side. At this point I returned to aligning the tub, wheel arch and side panel fitting. I worked out the optimum height of the tub and fixed that with the aluminium support strip. Easing the bolts off on just the tub then gave enough slack to improve the alignment. It’s much better now, but I may return to this again. Next step was fitting the fuel cap. Picking up my template I then encountered a problem. The tub covers the rear bulkhead, so it’s not possible to align the template… except by guesswork. Slightly reluctant to drill holes in GRP by guesswork, bring it on! Small hole, sight the centre of the fuel tank hole. Chain drill the hole and adjust with a Dremel. Eventually there was a great deal of yellow dust and a hole in roughly the right place. I vacuumed and wiped and cleaned up all the dust and then fitted the cap. Seems to be a good fit. Fitting the harness eyebolts was a repeat of the same, but smaller holes. Fitting the standard roll bar required drilling new holes in the chassis for the securing bolts. Overall I’m very pleased with the result, and slightly surprised that I managed to get the roll bar fitting so accurate. Next up is fitting the headlamp spats. I’ve started to look at this but not yet made much progress. I’ve not worked out how to make it fit, as when holding the bracket and spat in place it looks like the top of the spat sticks up to high, and will need to flex down. Any advice would be very welcome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sand Dancer Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Martin Looking good, watching your fitting of the spats with interest! That is one of my next jobs. I am still trying to think of a way of getting through the IVA without fitting the indicator pods. To repair my bodywork cracks I have ordered a pot of gel coat from Ian, the Westfield stores guy, apparently it takes a couple of weeks to source it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemsley Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Does anyone have photos of headlamp spats please? I'm trying to work out how to deal with the lower leading edge which is proud of the body. The only option I can see to bring this flush would be to cut back the leading face of the spat by maybe 5 mm - 10 mm. Even then I'm not sure it would flex and pull flush as the return edge (which fits flush with the return of the nose cone) is going to hold it in place. Any tips would be very welcome. And here is my helper today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy (Sycho) Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I've never fitted them, so don't know what normally needs doing. But looking at your photos they look like they need scribing to the body. If it was me, I would hold them in place & mark the scribe on the spat with a pencil. Then I would start fitting it using a belt sander on slow working towards the lines, but keep checking the spat against the nose as you go to check fit. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentinik Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I've never fitted them, so don't know what normally needs doing. But looking at your photos they look like they need scribing to the body. If it was me, I would hold them in place & mark the scribe on the spat with a pencil. Then I would start fitting it using a belt sander on slow working towards the lines, but keep checking the spat against the nose as you go to check fit. Andy Thats exactly how i did mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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