Steering Committee

Yesterday was the first time that I'd spent a whole day in the shed for some time.  The main focus of the day was to firm-up the position of the upper steering column and to get most of the fabrication done.  Dave was thankfully not far away and was able to notch tubes and turn-up bushes as needed. His tig welder also came in very handy. As part of the job of fabricating the upper column, we also needed to determine where the paddle was going to sit and also make the stand-offs to suit.  

The main support is in place, but it the outer column needs a couple of stabilising tubes to make sure that it doesn't move.  I was originally planning to drill lots of holes in the outer column but will now leave it as-is as there is some 20-odd cm of length where it needs to be self-supporting.  The column inner is now also mostly complete.  The run is very smooth which should mean that I get a clear idea of what the front wheels are doing.  The main point is that it suits me perfectly; between the custom column and pendulum pedals its shaping-up to be the most comfortable kit car I've ever sat in.

Speaking of pedals, I also spent some time experimenting with the clutch pedal linkage which is effectively ratio-adjustable.  I hesitate to say it but it looks like the clutch feel will exceed that of most BECs, which is a very good news as some are like on/off switches.

Finally, and not unrelated to the pedals, I sliced up some ERW tube to obtain some suitably light angle with which to fabricate control-cable support brackets.  Again these are just tacked in place at present.  The bracket in-front of the pedal box in the picture above will actually just support a fabricated stand-off which will hold the cable adjuster for the 'go' pedal.  The bracket in the top-centre of the photograph, welded to the flank of the pedal box, will house the cable adjuster for the clutch cable.

I was hoping to finish the reverse gear this weekend but its yet to arrive - two weeks later than quoted!

TC

Geminus

Apparently the word Gemini is derived from the Latin for plural or twin, which is rather interesting given that Gemini is not often used as a noun and hence there appears to be some debate as to whether it warrants a plural at all.  Why is this of importance?  Well, I visited the Stoneleigh kit car show on Sunday and actually doubled the number of Geminis that I've seen in the flesh to, not including mine, four!

Here's the two new ones:

It was quite interesting to talk to the two owners, even though my modifications/specification means that the lessons to be learnt were largely limited body fitment.  In any case it was great to chat through some of the issues and also to get a good idea of where I should panel to underneath the front of the car (for aero-efficiency purposes.)

On Saturday, I really do need to bash together a panel to enclose the rear of the tunnel so that I can get a seat moulded.  I can then get the steering column welded in.  

I've commissioned HPC gears to make me a custom dual gear for the electric reverse.  This prompted me to total-up the cost of my reverse mechanism.  Holy Smoke!  Details once I get all the parts back.

TC

A little less conversation, a little more action...

Plan A for this weekend was to head to Brands Hatch to watch the RGB racing.  I did however have the nagging doubt that my time would be better spent in the workshop.  The weather forecast sealed the deal and, while the shed was hardly toastie-warm, the couple of tweets that I've seen from RGB and Locost competitors suggest that I made a sound choice.

So, I had an afternoon of fabricating and tack-welding ahead of me again.  There really isn't anything exciting to see but here's the pics anyway:

First, the tabs for the rear floor/undertray/non-diffuser.

Next, I've added a support for the tube on which the gearbox is bolted - the last thing that I need is this tube bending or sagging.  A bit of suitably-sized CDS has done the trick.

Finally, while the bottom mounts for the oil cooler are very substantial, the general consensus is that they should be supported at both ends.  My plan is to bolt an aluminium frame to the chassis to do this job.  The little tabs to the left of the two bits of white tape are the result of more grinding, filing and drilling.

Dave at Track Developments is going to get some parts turned for the steering column, reverse mounts and fuel tank mounts.  That will then mean that we can test fit the bodywork to see where the tow-loops need to go and to see if the body itself needs any special brackets.

Next weekend is the Stoneleigh show so I'm unlikely to get into the garage.  I need to determine if there is anything I need to buy though.

TC

Race, the final frontier...

... our continuing mission...

Okay, I've not made a massive amount of progress due to a great new job (Mmmmm, Pies!) plus plenty of  busy evenings (spinning mostly - Ouch!)

Anyway, I have done a little bit of fabrication.  This started with the realisation that my standards had dropped a bit on the two parts that I'd previously described as 'organic-looking.'  The upshot is I cut the crappy looking bits off and re-made them.  

The white tape is, as before, in place to remind me what needs final welding.  I'm increasingly inclined to leave this to Dave at Track Developments as he's much better at it than me.  The new little bracket on the left is going to support a RAM mount for my iphone - £9 for a GPS lap-timer/data logger?  Yes please.  The round tube in the foreground of the above picture is set to be the main support for the outer column - it needs to be notched in the centre so that the column can be guided between the brake and clutch pedals.  The 30mm round tube that's rolled under the pedal box in the photo is the outer column itself and needs to be drilled for lightness; think machine-gun barrel.

Also 'fabbed'n'tacked' are the exhaust mount (foreground below) and the mounts for the bolt-on side impact protection (background below and very blurry below-below..)

Sorry - the camera on my phone is really not great!

The column and the reverse motor mounts are the last major parts to fabricate.  I'll hopefully make meaningful progress in the next week or two.

TC

SHOCKingly DIFFerent

A much-needed weekend away has meant that nothing has moved-on as such. However, worthy of note is  the arrival of some very important parts - all from Procomp Motorsport.

The shocks are manufactured by Protech Shocks who are based on the same road as our Melksham site.  However, Procomp take the basic unit and then 'play with the valving' and add a different spec of oil before dyno testing them and matching the settings on the adjustment knobs.  Hence, the extra detail and TLC is worth paying for.  Or rather it would be if the shocks weren't a bit cheaper than from Protech.  Strange but true.

Here's one front and one rear shock.  

They are made to measure and are 1.9" dia with spherical bearings at each end.  Okay, so they aren't triple-adjustable remote reservoir Penske units or anything but if they are good enough for last year's champ...

The other item that I collected was the "Pig's Head."  

 This snouty-nosed piece is actually my rebuilt diff unit complete with Quaife ATB limited slip differential.

Ivan has been building these things since the Mark II Escort was still available in Ford showrooms.  He's also got all the necessary kit.  Hence, it could hardly have been in better hands.  He explained this evening that he can usually tell you all about the life of the CWP based on the wear marks.  However, he said that it had been so long since he'd done the job that he couldn't remember.  Admittedly, I should have picked this up months ago, so I shall just have to cope without the story.  In any case, he did say that most 3.54 CWPs tend to be in fairly decent condition as they are of little use to the rally boys.  

More parts are imminent, most notably my front calipers.  I'm sure that I said in a previous post that I'd make sacrifices in this area to help keep costs down.  I haven't.  I did however get a small discount.

Oh, one final thing - if you check-out my list of other blogs to the side of this 'ere screen, its worth noting that I've added two new ones recently.  The first additional scribbler is Al Boulton, bookies favourite to win the Championship this coming season. The second is fellow countryman and all-round good egg Wyn Edwards'. Wyn changes his mind about competition cars almost as regularly as me.  Anyway, his Lotus 26R is set to be a beauty.  Can anyone remember what we used to do in tea breaks 'bb?'*

TC

* before blogging

Body, Chassis & Bits.

Ok, so what's happened?  Progress has been made in a few important areas.

Body

By far the most visible addition, as my last preview-post rather suggested, is the bodywork.  This was collected from Autotune (Rishton) last weekend.  I'm really pleased with it.  Cosmetically its not quite where I'd want it if this was going to be my road-going pride and joy but it is generally very nicely made and is pretty light - I can happily walk around with the front clamshell in my hands.

The picture within the last post was of course me playing with ideas on stripes.  The retro colour scheme evident (brown and orange!) is very likely to stay.  However, 'stickers' and livery are some way off yet.

I'm hoping to trial-fit the bodywork in the next few weeks so I can see if the chassis needs any further mods to help secure it.  Which leads me nicely to the chassis related updates...

Chassis

The chassis has been back to Track Developments for some more work - I just don't have the time to do everything that I'd originally hoped to do so Dave at TD has thankfully filled a large portion of the resource gap.  The engine mounts are now complete.  

The front-upper mount is pictured above.  These obviously bolt to the bushes that were welded into the chassis tubes some time ago.

Likewise, this is the rear upper mount.  Also, note the Dzus-ready tabs for the undertray.

Finally, here's the lower mounts. Phew.

Dave has also fabricated and welded in the mounts for the rear backstays.  The backstays need to be removable and hence are fitted with high-strength rod-ends with a 5/8" shank.

We've designed the brackets so that they in theory follow the load path (hopefully never tested.)  The photo also shows that I need to clean a couple of my welds before the thing gets painted.

The bushes are welded in place for the bearing to sit between.  I'm quite pleased with these really.  Dave has also very kindly done his best to sort out my horrible weld on the pedal box.

In the foreground is a tube which is nominally used to support the steering column and dashboard. Because I'm sitting lower and further back in the car, it doesn't suit my needs.  So, I took a brave pill and cut it off!  The photo below shows the tubes closed back up - admittedly they are rather more 'organic' looking than I would have liked.  Anyway, I really do now need to formulate a plan to support the dash, steering column and the paddle-shift mechanism.  Hmmm.

I have now mounted the radiator.  The standard position on a car-engined Gemini is quite close to the engine.  I was originally planning to mount it right in the nose but I started to think about the inefficiencies and weight of very long hose runs between motor and radiator.  I'd also heard a rumour that the R1 pump can struggle a little in these conditions and I really do not want to be incurring the extra cost and weight of a Davies Craig pump.  Hence, the radiator is more or less where Autotune intended - I did explore this with them a little bit when I was with them collecting the bodywork.  It works on a tuned X-flow motor, which I know from experience can also get pretty hot, so I'm going with it.  We'll know more at the first shakedown. The radiator is supported at the top with two little fabricated stand-offs containing rubber well nuts.  I've then had to fabricate a third new support on the bottom and the fourth mount is essentially one of the chassis tubes; rubber mounts at each contact-point.

 

The radiator itself is a posh aluminium unit from Serck.  This was a carry-over from a previous project and is also second hand.  I thought it prudent at this stage to get it checked out.  Fortunately there is a radiator specialist virtually opposite our Head Office site so I wandered across and dropped it off with them.  A call a day later - "It leaks." Sh*t!  However it can be repaired so I'm now £72 lighter but do have a radiator that I know will happily sit at 20psi for 3 hours.

Next step was the oil cooler.  This was always going in the nose so lower mounts simply consist of steel angle welded in place and drilled to take anti-vibration mounts (not yet evident.)  The upper mounts are TBC - I want to take some advice on what is necessary/prudent.

Bits

Some parts are back and looking lovely.  The Cortina uprights have been powdercoated AND painted; the main body is powdercoated but a miscommunication between myself and the powdercoater meant that the hub/disc facing portion was left unprotected.  Looking at the evidence of corrosion (a small amount of pitting) from the past I thought it was a good idea to mask-off and give the untreated portion a couple of coats of matt black Agripaint.  

This minor issue aside, I'm delighted with the powdercoating job.  The work was carried out by fellow Bristol Kit Car Club member Steve at Turners Powder Coating Services in Seend.  

The job that he has done on the axle in particular is excpetional as it was looking pretty rough (and oily - sorry Steve!) when I dropped it off.

There are also a couple of parts that are undoubtedly looking nice and shiny that I haven't yet collected - my built-up diff and specially-valved dampers are waiting to be collected from Matt & Ivan - I'm flying into Birmingham next Sunday after a couple of days 'en Espana' so will hopefully collect them on my way home.  I should probably have that conversation with Kate.  

Ciao.

Need to catch up...

Quite a lot of stuff has moved-on as well as arrived.  I'll try to update properly in the next couple of days.  In the mean time, here's a taster!

TC