26th April Update

No progress as such to report on the car but I did take a trip to the factory today to get some more parts.  I wanted to get front brakes, track rod ends and wheels so I can get the car to the rolling chassis stage next.  However, I ended up getting a little bit more than I had planned.

Yes, sat behind boxes and between tyres is the engine.  A brand spanking new 2.0 litre Ford Zetec engine.  It took 3 people and an engine hoist to get it in the car and there is just little old me to get it out!!  It should be fun .... not!!

Anyway, I also took the scuttle I had built up to be checked out as it didn't look quite right to me, but it is OK.  It just needs some counter sunk rivets putting in to give it some strength and then the inside painting black and some vinyl adding to the edges to finish things off.

All in all it was a good day and I am looking forward to getting more done on the car in the next couple of days.

Fuel Tank

Not a lot of progress over the last couple of weeks due to other commitments.  However, today I bonded the fuel tank in place.  Once that is set I will add some tank straps to make sure it all stays put.  I am told I don't really need to do this, but it is just a bit of extra security.

Before I did this though, I had to fit the fuel filter and the fuel pump.  The first thing to do was to make a couple of triangular mounting plates to fit the filter and pump to.  These were cut from some surplus aluminium I got from the factory and then bonded and riveted in place.  The filter is held in place with an exhaust clamp.  The pump has its own fittings.

This is the filter and pump in place.

15/11/2012 - When fitting the brass fuel line fittings to the pump, please remember to use some PTFE tape around the thread as this will prevent petrol from dripping out of the joints.  I forgot to do this first time round and spent a lot of time wondering why the garage always smelled of petrol.  Also the petrol drips out on to the rubber mounting bobbins and they end up coming apart, meaning the fuel pump is no longer attached to the car properly!

The second high pressure pump, for the injection system, is mounted to the off side footwell panel and is again held in with exhaust clamps.

Once all this was in place, I moved on to clean out the captive nuts for the seat belts.  I used the required sized die to tap out the captive nuts as they were full of the powder coating that is applied to the chassis and they need cleaning out before any more of the interior is fitted in place.  I should have really done them before the side panels were fitted, but I forgot.

I have also been looking at wheels to see what I can get in the required size.  Although they are a standard 108 PCD for Ford, the off-set, or ET, is only 15, which is for a Peugeot, the Ford Sierra is usually ET38.  I know I can get the correct fitment from the factory, but I want to see if I can get any other designs.

Next thing will be a trip to the factory for more parts.  I need the front brakes so that, along with the wheels, when I get them, I can get to rolling chassis stage.

Front Near Side Suspension and Dashboard

I finally got the last 2 bolts I needed to put together the front near side suspension.  The method to put it together was described when I fitted the off side, so I won't go in to any details here.  Suffice to say, the car looks more balanced, with all four corners now having hubs ready to take wheels.  Here is a picture from the front of the car.

  
I can't go any further with this at the moment as I need to get steering rod ends and brakes before the front can be considered finished.  I also have to make a decision on what wheels to fit and this all depends on the final look I am going for.  I do need to decide this fairly soon and I am hoping that a trip to the National Kit Car Show at Stoneleigh at the beginning of May will give me lots of ideas.

Next I thought I would have a look at fitting the dashboard to the scuttle.  First job was to take the scuttle back off the car, then trial fit the dashboard to the dashboard mounting plate.  This is when you realise that you haven't fitted the mounting plate quite as 'sqaure' as you thought you had!!  Oh well, I am sure it will all "pull into place' as things are tightened up!!  From the back, I marked through where the allen bolts would fit and drilled pilot holes.  These were then re-drilled with a 6mm drill to take the bolts.

You can't just fit the dash, you have to cut some of the fibreglass moulding away to make room from the steering column casing.  This will have to be cut away in small steps as i don't want to cut away too much.  Below you will see the dashboard in place, with markings where the instruments will roughly go and also where I have started to cut away the space for the steering column casing.

I tried to fit it back on the car, but it needs more to be cut away.  At this point the 'Sharpie' pen I was using to mark the cut lines dissappeared, and even though I looked high and low, I couldn't find it.  I took this as a sign to stop for the day and not to try and do too much.  I might come back to it during the week, but it is most likely going to be a job for next weekend.