Any idea what the thread is on the oil pipe? looks like it might be 1/8 if so you can get a 1/4 female to 1/8 male reducer which would do away with some additional joints, the threads all look parallel and not tapered as well when your looking for fittings
Sure ive got a big box of fittings somewhere if you want me to have a rumage
2 things spring to mind, the oil pressure take off can be taken off remote, there are 2 bosses on the casting, it would not take much to drill, spot, and tap to take 1/8th BSP fitting, and Use a 1" plastic carb spacer, that should help the breather pipe clearance
That was my initial thinking Ian but as others have said there are other ways to save me cocking up a perfectly good remote .
Re the spacer, alas I can't for reasons already mentioned - I have no room to go up!
Any idea what the thread is on the oil pipe? looks like it might be 1/8 if so you can get a 1/4 female to 1/8 male reducer which would do away with some additional joints, the threads all look parallel and not tapered as well when your looking for fittings
Sure ive got a big box of fittings somewhere if you want me to have a rumage
It is indeed a 1/8 BSP, a good suggestion and I've already found one that I think will work for a couple of quid, will see. If that fails then a rummage may be required!
Post by toomanyprojects on Dec 31, 2021 17:21:13 GMT
Speaking of getting there slowly, a few little jobs done over the xmas break when not otherwise distracted.
Having had the rear hatch drop on me unexpectedly in the past, I've never been the biggest fan of the original rear tailgate springs. I therefore decided to upgrade to something a little more sturdy
Having had it lying about a fair while I decided I'd measure out and drill the holes for the dash mounted rear view mirror
Much more aesthetically pleasing than the standard affair IMO, might need to do something about the gold though!
My next job was to start working on the rear deck extension. My thinking was to mock something up using what I had lying about and then remake it properly out of mdf or similar at a later date once I venture out shopping for materials. Hopefully I'll know what to get by then.
The starting point was therefore to find the rear boot floor and battery cover, dig out a bit of spare mdf skirting (hence the slight bow), cut it to length then get on with some CAD design.
First discovery as you can see is that the battery cover will need to be trimmed to allow for the cross-piece to sit properly as currently it continues to the edge of the rear shelf (see pic below). This will also mean I can get the battery cover off without dismantling everything!
The wheel arches also have an annoying taper on them that means the board cannot just be shaped to the bottom of arches but also needs to clear the top of them when opened and covered
Next stage was a case of trial and error with a spare bit of OSB sheet I had going spare
Think you get the idea. I need to shave some of the corner edging so that the angles follow the shape of the arch as best as I can and find some piano hinges, but we're getting there.
Last little job for the year. Using my original '69 tailgate and some more cardboard I made a pretty pattern
Things won't be entirely as original (as with all things on this car) so not all holes were copied before being transferred to the new tailgate
I just need to add one more character in a similar font to original but haven't located a suitable match yet. Will keep looking, but that's something for next year...
With the false floor can you not make it in 3 parts, the 2 wheel arch pieces like youve done with the cardboard but fixed in place and then just an opening centre section?
With the false floor can you not make it in 3 parts, the 2 wheel arch pieces like youve done with the cardboard but fixed in place and then just an opening centre section?
👍Yup that'd work, would save more faffing and give a nicer edge finish too.
Post by grumpynorthener on Jan 2, 2022 17:48:25 GMT
Now you could go down a very clever route and build yourself a small cooler into some of that space - custom build with a peltier thermoelectric cooler plate or kit - these are cheap - enough space for 4 + cans or a few bottles - there's probably a kit in the market for doing it but the basics can be had for £20 - £30 if you did it DIY - A range of modern motors now have cooled glove boxes - My Range Rover has a cooler in the central armrest - They wont be many 'B's out there fitted with this option
Having had it lying about a fair while I decided I'd measure out and drill the holes for the dash mounted rear view mirror
Much more aesthetically pleasing than the standard affair IMO, might need to do something about the gold though!
Coming on in leaps and bounds. I've got the same mirror, and I actually like the gold. I'm thinking I might add a similar gold paint somewhere in the engine bay, and draw the engine bay and interior together a little. If you see what I mean.
Post by toomanyprojects on Jan 11, 2022 11:44:20 GMT
So 2022 has started by going backwards to go forwards... confused? Allow me to explain
Leaving alone the woodworking/fridge building for now (I have a spare for the discovery somewhere), as most I can now do away from the shell, I'm conscious that time is ticking and things need to be disassembled in good time ahead of another milestone in Feb, while still giving me time to problem solve a few remaining issues before final build.
The starting point was therefore to remove some of the bits that have no further need to be in place for the time being
Radiator and fans were the first to be taken off and safely stored
then lighting
and then bumper and engine front cover
Part of the reason for doing this was to give me some wriggle room to refine how the engine and gearbox were sitting, as when looking at the location of the gearstick, it highlighted that it was less than optimal
Some loosening of bolts and a bit of wrestling and I managed to get it pretty close
however in doing so it is now touching the bulkhead on one side
Given there is more room on one side than the other I've therefore already sourced some revised engine mounts that I think will help the issue given the current ones fitted I believe are Land Rover based
As I had a bit more room to play, and before I removed the engine, there were a couple more things to address at this stage, firstly enlarging the holes in the wings to give a little more room for the exhaust headers
I also wanted to refine how the steady bar attached to the N/S wing
Question is whether I leave it as removable or weld it in place? Perhaps something for when the shell is back after its jaunt around the country once more.
and that is how you start to go backwards in order to go forwards (well in my head anyway!)
Post by toomanyprojects on Jan 18, 2022 18:05:58 GMT
More snagging of jobs on the 'to sort' list, but more importantly a few little wins while I was at it too. We like the latter.
Firstly I was ahead of myself before I knew it with some assistance from a few local RR alumni, hence the engine bay is looking empty once more, well ish
and the engine and gearbox have gone their separate ways until they meet again
Last of the connectors turned up for the oil capillary hose
So now I'm just waiting on the final two oil cooler pipe connectors for the front cover and I can take that off the list. Unfortunately those that are provided are -10 fittings which are no good for the stock hoses.
Steering rack is next on the revisit/hit list now the engine is out the way. I think I'm going to have to shorten the existing steering column arrangement and then introduce a double UJ to join the two at a lower angle once in the engine bay as there is no way to make the current arrangement work without hitting the engine mounts or exhaust headers. I just need to work out sizing / splines to see what I can source from car builder solutions or perhaps get made up. All good fun... I think
Post by toomanyprojects on Jan 25, 2022 17:19:44 GMT
So back to that steering issue, a minor point when it comes to vehicles, but also a bit of a necessity.
Now the engine is back out I can once again see what I'm dealing with, namely a slight gap between the two parts of the column
A test fit of the alternative rack gives the opposite result
Neither of the existing UJs I have are quite big (or small) enough for the job, and even if they were they would then clash with the exhaust header. What I therefore need is something that will allow me to lower the angle of the rack using shims or cutting the mounting blocks, yet be big enough to join the two shafts together... something like this then
I'd been wondering if this was the way I'd need to go for a while following a conversation a while back with the guys at Vitesse who supplied the gearbox and FiTech system, they also mentioned that they had to source a double UJ. I think it's due to using an early C/B subframe on a later R/B car (subject to time I really need to dig the other subframe out to see what the differences really are), either way with the frankencolumn mods that I've made it's likely to be a custom arrangement anyway so this should hopefully fit the bill.
The next task was to see what column I had, as depending what you believe they could vary quite dramatically in either diameter or spline count. To keep things simple and not rely on MG forum musings from 'ex-spurts' as some might call them , I decided I'd do it the old fashioned way. with some tape and a biro
Armed with the info I needed I then proceeded to search all the usual places for something that would fit the bill, nothing in the UK at all though. Looking across the pond and I was soon spoilt for choice, the best seemed to be a Californian off road buggy parts store, so if it's man enough for that then it should handle what I need. Fingers crossed UPS get it delivered before the shell departs.
Speaking of which, time is ticking and I'm all too conscious than in less than a month the shell needs to be in the North West before NEC pt.2. I've therefore made a start on dismantling all of Chris' and my hard work. I therefore needed pallets with wheels and lots of them. If it wasn't nailed down it got 'procured'
First out was the fuel tank
then rear axle and suspension
After removing the rear bumper I could then make a start on a few of the minor jobs that were outstanding but still needed doing as they created holes. I dug out the old C/B rear bumper infills
and using the history marks I could position them correctly before drilling and fitting them in place.
Next was the turn of the rear exhaust hangers
The left one was a new addition I'd only held in place using cleco pins so that needed to be affixed on a more permanent basis
The only other minor work outstanding is for the valance to be modified, either by cutting and welding a new section copied from the other side which I made a very rough mockup of
or by carefully 'adjusting' what's there already. Rather than make a complete mess of it, I'll let the expert decide on the best approach
Last job for now was continuing with the rear seat delete. I'd managed to find the old seat hinges which meant everything leveled up as intended
I could then mark out and make the cuts for the centre section as suggested by gtviva so it opens independently of the sides
The black box you see is the spare cubby from the centre arm rest of my discovery as that is fitted with a fridge instead. Chris' suggestion above was a corker, as this car doesn't have a second battery cage there is quite a bit of dead space. As the spare cubby box is the exact same size of a ready-made fridge unit and I had it lying around I might try and see if I can sink this into that area instead, it would save me having to make something from scratch and would be a first I think...
Any chance that we can a have double 'Like' on the forum for posts
Will see what I can do for special occasions.
Let me know what you think re the rear valance and if there's anything else I need to do from your side of things prior to removing wings and doors etc.
I assume from that post you will be at the nec restoration show in a few months once it's been re-dipped? I'll be there on the MR2 stand so will have a gander round to look at yours and Chris's handywork 😁