Car Completed....For First IVA Attempt

Well many thought it wouldn't happen, but GBS FINALLY got the handbrake cables to me! After waiting since June and hearing a number of conflicting reasons why it was getting delayed, it got there 4 months later.

With that sorted, it was a weekend spent with the car, fitting the handbrake, boot inner panels and boot cover, sheet aluminium for IVA purposes - if you can't remove the cover, it can't be tested for sharp edges which it would fail on. The handbrake and cables were straight forward to fit and easier not using the predetermined slots by the wishbones, obviously from the Ford based kit and not changed for the Mazda. These just cause the angles to be wrong and runs the risk of getting caught or rubbing on the driveshafts. Anyway, handbrake on, dash light on, good strong shove on the car and not a single bit of movement. Sorted.

Boot panels were a little more tricky as none appear to fit properly, however, they are in and will be carpeted over anyway once I get onto that stage, making it look more tidy, just like the rest of the car without the worry of IVA regulations.
My make shift boot cover does however look very nice. Much nicer than I was expecting.

Overall, from starting the build in March, I have gotten to an IVA ready stage in just 7 months. When I first started out and stated my ambitions of having it done before starting university again in September/October, I was told I was looking at a minimum of 12 months if I was balancing my work placement at the same time. Well, it's been 9 months from picking my kit up, 7 from actually being able to start it, and probably would have been done in under 6 months if all the parts could have been delivered on time. Not a bad effort I'd say. Either way, I just want to get this beauty out on the road and enjoying my hard work and time.

Enjoy the photos below!

 

 

Kit Ordered  > November 2012

Kit Collection  > January 2013

Build Start  > March 2013

Ready for IVA  > October 2013

IVA Pass  > ??????? Watch this space.

 

 

Awaiting the Handbrake

Still no delivery date from GBS regarding the handbrake, however it is now being tested and checked over this weekend. I would guess that a date for delivery is going to be set this week.....

Anyway, the weekend was not lost. I've repaired and fitted the drivers side cycle wing. A bit of a polish and it should barely be noticeable, serves me right for trying to be clever with the fitting. Either way it is now fixed on using a healthy doseage of the black glue stuff, pushed into the gaps by fingers (wear gloves, you'll look grubby for days!)

Also fitted is are the side repeaters on the wings and the front indicators on the nose cone. The side repeaters are required to be seen from quite far back along the car, so I aimed for seeing them from the drivers seat and you should be ok.

The front indicators though require the extension arms to meet IVA requirements. I originally read it as they have to be 400mm further in from the widest part but it is in fact 400mm maximum from the widest part of the car, hence the extension bars. Also these help with the angles required to meet the IVA too.




I have been spending a lot of time reading through the IVA manual which is leading to many questions being raised about interpretting the wording, however I have decided that 2 IVA tests are a high possibility for a first timer. Saying that though, I will be aiming for the first time pass but will not be devastated if it didn't pass (depending on the reasoning of course!) With that, I have been excessively applying trimmings and covers to help avoid failing on a sharp edge (some of which are ridiculous but rules are rules) and ensuring everything is working as it should....so far so good.

 

 

So as it stands, the car is ready for IVA...minus a handbrake and boot cover, however these will go on in a day once I have them...that is the hold up. So close...I hate waiting!


 

Aimless fittings

I'm at the stage of the build where there are only little things left to do for IVA. I have tried planning some form of plan but I never seem to follow it.

Problems I am currently having:

• Handbrake kit from GBS. This is taking forever for them to sort out, it's been 2 months since having a IVA'd and working Mazda demonstrator and they have only just put the order in with their supplier for a batch of cables.
• Had a little argument with them over the phone about it, amongst other things, needless to say they have not supported their "outstanding customer service" claims. I would say its good...at times, and at others, its diabolical.

• My tracking and steering/suspension set ups are leaving a lot to be desired. With the car mobile, running around the driveway, I have noticed that there is heavy scrubbing from the front wheels when on full lock.
• Solution is to adjust the toe and camber settings. As I have only done this by eye, I'm not expecting them to be any good. The camber on the drivers side wheel was clearly not neutral, sorted that and opened the toe settings a bit. That reduced the problem, did the other side, seems to be worse again...did the drivers side again and have over-inflated the tires, we'll see what this does. Below are the photos before I made any changes.

 

The photos might not show the problem clearly enough as looking but it might give you some idea.

• Steering Wheel Self Centre. This is fixed from the wishbone design. Personally I'm not too worried about the centring but IVA is. I can only test this at slow speeds due to the area I'm working in but it seems fairly solid in the position I leave the wheel in.
• A number of things to check are: wishbones on correctly, wishbones as far back as they go? From looking at the car, they only go one way, and it's also the same way GBS have their Mazda Zero wishbones, might need a call and clarifying.

Enough of the problems, I say problems....more set up features...anyway, I have the passengers seat fitted in. I decided that I can still access the centre panel to fit the handbrake easily enough from the top. So the passengers tunnel went on, pre-drilled holes lining up perfectly (preparation win!) and the seat dropped into the holes made for that to fit in too.....pfft yeah right! Can't have everything go well! For some reason, it wasn't having any of it. Holes made bigger, adjusted and finally dropped in. Not the 5 minute job I planned but it was still all done within the hour.

I also decided to fit the rest of the transmission tunnel. I cut a slot in the top for the gearstick, fitted the gearstick cover too. I have been thinking about this for a while, looking at what trims to get, stainless, chrome, aluminium etc etc. In the end I went for the cheap option. I riveted the cover on using some 3.2mm washers on the back to hold the cover and then fitted some black rubber trim to the 'sharp' hole that was cut. I'm probably going to get some better trim for the hole but generally pleased with the result. Looks almost finished inside.
(I also considered painting the transmission tunnel black, don't think I will but opinions welcome)


Photo time!

 

 

Bureaucracy, part 1

After seeing a number of IVA posts on RHOCAR regarding the time taken to get an IVA, I have sent my IVA application forms off today. Hopefully they are all correct, fairly straight forward but always take your time with them.

I have seen waiting times of up to 5 weeks, so should have plenty of time to get the car finished and IVA ready. Will probably give the process 2 weeks before following it up to see how soon I can realistically get a test and push the car through just that bit quicker.....otherwise the sun will well and truly have gone for this year :(

The money went quick! I had a phone call in only a couple working days to take my payment! Efficiency at it's finest! If only the rest of the process goes so well.

Engine Running Happily!

During the build, you will set yourself some major milestones. The popular few are:

• Donor Stripped Fully
• Kit Collection
• Rolling Chassis
• Engine In
• Engine Working
• Movement
• Completion

Based on my last post and this post's title, it would be safe to guess that I have my engine working....maybe even the movement part sorted too....well you'd be correct. I had plumbed in the coolant pipes whilst trying to figure the problem out. Nothing spectacular but it does the job.

What I thought was a fuelling issue, followed by a fuel pump issue, turned out to be wrong. I have found that the fuel pumps operate via the circuit opening relay. Originally I thought this was knackered which at £80 for a new one was a bit steep for a potential replacement considering they're meant to last forever, so I decided on finding a way to bypass this. Turns out this can be done through the diagnostics plug by jumping the F/P and GND ports with a wire. Did this, fuel pumps worked. Fantastic! However probably not the best idea for a permanent replacement...unfortunately this didn't solve the problem. Update from 04/09/13 - Turns out my fuel pump and gauge are actually working as they should now...so the problem went away from that point of view....might be a little bit dodgy, sticking relay maybe, on its way out? I'll just put this knowledge safely away for the time it stops working.
I tried to fiddle with the Idle Control Valve too, thinking it was somehow too low....still no success.

Staring at the intake manifold and engine I noticed a pipe at the back which obviously used to be connected to something, however I have no idea what. I could hold an unsteady idle (1500-2000) turning the throttle pulley, trying to figure out if I could do that somehow. Then something happened...I don't know why or how it did but it just did, I must have been possessed by the kit car God, looking over my build....I put my finger over the pipe, blocking it off....

I let go of the throttle and sat there as my finger slowly got sucked into the pipe...smoooooth idle! I let go and it died. Simple problem really. The intake wasn't getting a proper vacuum, hence the chaotic revs and cutting out.

I found a bit of rubber off-cut from the IVA covers for the steering arms, held on tight with a jubilee clip to prevent it being sucked in (shouldn't but better safe than sorry) and voila!

Engine was ticking over by itself!

Well you know what this means! In tribute to Tony Stark after building the Iron Man suit "Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk" I hoped in and had a little test up and down the driveway. It's only about 20-30 metres but it was enough to get the car driving under it's own power!

All the hard work and troubles I've had just melted away to be replaced by my HUUUGE grin! Just from crawling in first gear, I can already tell this is going to be a quick car. I just can't wait to get a chance to properly get it going.

Exhaust Silencer.....supposedly.

I was going to leave the exhaust silencer off for as long as possible due to it sticking out and the chance of kicking it when I'm working around the car, but I decided it was time to put it on and get it out of the way storage wise.

The manifold needs to be trimmed back by around half in my experience (the end part where the silencer will attach over). I also split the silencer end by cutting two slots down the shaft to allow it to slide on and clamp down. Turned out the fit is pretty snug so some lubrication is advised. I settled on Vaseline (due to being used at work when building engines etc), so a healthy dollop of lube and a bit of man-handling, it was forced to fit....if you read that and chuckled, you are just filthy minded!

With the silencer forced on, it actually likes to sit very close to the side panel. Hence the bracket, bolted on to fit around the exit of the exhaust, it holds it in place, away from the bodywork and stops it sliding off the manifold.

Just got to add some exhaust wrapping to tidy it up a bit and cover sharp edges. The IVA can be quite strict on the retaining spring on the exhaust bracket so I've heard...


Now that the exhaust "silencer" is on, it was getting late and I wanted to put the car back in the garage before bed. I'm still waiting to hear what the sound is like on this machine but waiting for the coolant to be plumbed in before giving it a try.....well, that quickly went out the window. With the night coming in and wanting the car back in the garage, I just thought, well sod it lets go for it! Can't be bothered pushing it anymore.
Battery connected up, everything set, still got a bit of fuel left from checking the fuel pumps and system for leaks. Go for it!

A bit of cranking then BBRRRUUUUUUUMMMMMM! off it went...then clunk. Tried again, same happened. It would start up then cut out at idle, however it's fine if the revs are kept up. Initial thoughts were a fuelling issue, maybe there isn't enough but surely a few litres shouldn't cause that. Lack of pressure? Air bubbles in the system? Either way, the engine works and the noise pedal was quite sensitive with my big old work trainers on. Revs kept high, clutch up to reverse....found the biting point as I shot backwards...brakes work too. Got the car into the garage and let it cut out again.

Wow. What a noise. I have the lambda plug out so didn't help keep it quiet, maybe affected the engine cutting out. Anyway, it moves under its own power albeit temporarily. A bit of investigation the next day and I've found there is no power to either fuel pump. Looks like something has come loose. They worked when directly connected to the battery so time to find the wiring fault....thought I'd finished with this! Anyway, nearly there now!

Bonnet, Nose Cone, Dashboard and Propshaft 2.0

First thing first, I now have my correctly sized propshaft returned from GBS and it's a perfect fit. Took a couple hours to get in due to not being able to slot it in between the diff and gearbox and having to drop the diff out. Easy I thought. Well, turns out that one of the nuts appears to have stripped the treads or cross threaded into a loop to the extent that it looked to be coming undone but in fact was just spinning on the bolt. Anyway, after a bit of angle grinding, I got the bolt out. Bit embarrassing when someone stated that I got the engine running.....it was actually my 1kW generator.....if it sounded like that I would not be impressed.

Anyway, it's in and is looking good....if you ignore the wiring tape and mess, it still needs tidying up properly.













With that in, I hit the dashboard. Wanted to get this finished and in to start seeing what the car will be like when it's finished. If you've followed the blog religiously, you'll remember I bought some stainless trim to help cover up the mistakes/poor handiwork etc etc. Anyway, settled on black and covered the GRP with black too for the gaps. Finish product looked something like this:







From the driving position though, it covers part of the speedo...I'm not sure how strict they are with this as I shouldn't be driving at 100mph anyway....supposedly. Will double check this...












Gearbox also got filled with oil, the problem with this is the positioning of the filler plug. Not only is it a square plug (daft really, shredded knuckles getting that out!) it is also in the most awkward place ever! I had to bend a tiny funnel into the hole to get it in and then use a pipe to pour it in. 2 litres later and it's full, I'd lost track of time....
Top tip!
Do this before putting the foot well side panel on.




With the bonnet, an exhaust  slot needs to be made. I have seen numerous blogs where a template is made, so an off cut of card did the job nicely. Drew the outline, hacksaw and file and got the rough shape I wanted. I had to re-adjust too and open up the back end a little bit










Not a bad fit in the end. I finished it off with a bit of the thicker black trim so looks like a nice curved finish. Hopefully its fairly heat resistant, otherwise something may have to replace it.

I also used the same for the ends of the bonnet, looks good, keeping the orange and black theme running a bit better than the chrome style trim.








 
 

 With the bonnet trial fitted, I next decided to whack on the nose cone. This was fairly straight forward, I lined up the two A-frames on either side of the chassis and marked up some holes. I tried for a rivnut in here but the sizing wasn't right so opted for M10 bolts and nuts. Currently I have just a plain nut, however I may upgrade this to a turret lock nut when it's finished....unsure yet as I'd need spanners to get it off.

I have seen a number of ways to do the bonnet catches. One recommended way was to fasten the bottom to a bit of wood or spare aluminium and use blue tack to figure out the closed positioning.

Pre fitted left, fitted right.





In my opinion, the easiest way is to attach the bottom (mine ended up in the top chassis rail) and measure upwards roughly to where the catch should sit, then add 5-10mm depending on how tight you want it. I used ratchet straps to pull the bonnet down and still added 5mm on, better to be tight than loose!
I've also added a strip of 3mm neoprene to the bonnet surface to add a bit of cushion and to be compressed to ensure a snug, tight fit.


Well then, bonnet, nose cone and dashboard are in. It's looking so much more car like now. Next up is the exhaust silencer as I get closer and closer to firing it up properly now. Don't want to upset the neighbours too much! rotational photos....go!
p.s. ignore the front cycle wings on top of the rear arches, they're just stored there until fitting.

 

 

 

 

 

 Back in the garage safe and sound. I must say, seeing the car like this is just amazing and it's so hard to believe that 5 months ago, it was just a chassis. I have impressed myself with the speed at which this has been built, I am just looking forward to getting it finished and having a good drive in the sun with it.