08/05/05
The fuel tank as supplied by Spec-R and the Rover 25 fuel pump/sender unit. The tank has been sized so that the pump's inlet is as close as possible to the bottom of the tank. The tank is also baffled internally either side of the fuel pump. I asked for the mounting bars to be left over-length and undrilled, so that I could fiddle around with the final positioning.
The holes have been drilled for the pump/sender unit bolts and fitted with 6mm speed clips. I've also cut the tank mounting bars to the correct length and drilled the mounting holes.
The fuel tank in place with the pump/sender fitted. The front of the tank is bolted to 2 small brackets riveted to the back of the top rear chassis rail. The rear is bolted to rivnuts fitted in the top rear boot rail.
As there are no decent earthing points on the chassis, I cut 4 short lengths of 6mm x 25mm steel bar and asked my neighbour Rod to weld them to the chassis. They were then drilled and tapped in situ. This one will provide the earth points for the battery, fuel tank/sender and the rear lights.
I then removed the electrics panel, pedal box and instruments so that 3 more could be welded on. Apparently, I used tool steel for these earthing points, which is a real pig to weld.
Before refitting the electrics panel, I riveted a length of L-section aluminium to its rear edge, as it was beginning to sag a bit. Some Titanfast trim was then fitted to it to keep the SVA tester happy. The two new cables from the battery positive terminal to the junction box and from the junction box to the starter motor solenoid have also been temporarily fixed in place.
29/05/05
Back from France and straight back into the garage. I'd hoped to get the engine running before going on holiday, but ran out of time, so I was determined to get the thing going this weekend.
I put the battery on charge, then refitted the driveshafts, filled the gearbox, finished the radiator and expansion tank plumbing, made some brackets for the radiator and cross-pipe, filled the cooling system, fitted a new oil filter, added the engine oil, refitted the rotor arm and distributor cap, mounted the ECU, temporarily wired up the fuel pump and finally checked the engine bay to make sure nothing was loose or missing. After doing all that, It was too late to attempt to run the engine (plus I didn't have any fuel), so I had an early night in preparation for a busy morning in the garage tomorrow.
New radiator and cross-pipe brackets.
Ready to run. The green coolant pipe is a temporary bodge job.
30/05/05
The first job was to go to the filling station to get some petrol. Next, I fitted the recharged battery, removed the spark plugs and took out the relevant fuses to disable the ignition and fuel circuits. I then turned the engine over with the starter motor, until the oil pressure warning light went out. That didn't take long, so I refitted the spark plugs and fuses and poured half a gallon of petrol into the tank. I then turned the ignition on and off a few times to make sure the fuel system was fully primed and pressurised and then quickly checked for petrol leaks. There were none, so I fully turned the key ...
The engine fired almost immediately and quickly settled down to a nice smooth fast idle. There was some rather worrying rattling from the top end for ten seconds or so, which according to the Haynes manual was probably caused by empty hydraulic followers. More alarming was the amount of smoke coming from under the car. A look underneath revealed that it was coming from the front silencer. It seems rather daft that an exhaust system is coated in paint that isn't even slightly heat-resistant. I switched the engine off and went and had a cup of tea while the smoke and fumes cleared.
Ten minutes later, I checked the engine oil level and made sure there were no leaks anywhere. I then restarted the engine and let it reach full operating temperature, keeping a close eye on the coolant level and temperature gauge until the radiator fan cut in. One very pleasing aspect was the exhaust noise level. Both silencers are the "straight through" type and I wasn't sure if they would provide adequate silencing. But they do and I'm confident I'll have no problems with noise tests. Back at the front of the car, the followers were completely silent. In fact, the loudest noise in the engine compartment now is the clicking of the fuel injectors.
I'm a very happy chap. I know both donor cars were running when they came here, but after rebuilding and swapping the cylinder head, deciphering all the connections for the ECU and engine and making my own wiring loom, I'm well chuffed that the car started and ran so well first time.
The next task is to make a throttle pedal. The one supplied with the kit wouldn't really fit my flat metal scuttle panel, so I bought another pedal from my local scrappy and cut the top off to form a stub.
I then cut, drilled and slotted a length of half-inch square tube.
Next, a suitable hole was cut in the metal scuttle to take the throttle cable (I'm using the cable from the 414).
The finished article. It works well, with relatively short travel and a strong return action.
The final job for this morning was to do a bit more work on the seats. I've trimmed the edges of the passenger seat and cut the holes in both seats for the harnesses.
05/06/05
I've used some of the L-section aluminium from Spec-R to make horizontal and vertical braces for the seats. After the successful starting of the engine, the rear bulkheads, fuel tank, battery, boot panels and the snake pit have been removed, in case I needed to drill the chassis for some extra seat support mountings.
The vertical braces are attached to a bar bolted to the underside of the harness mounts. The seats are really solid now and don't need any extra supports.
There was plenty of the L-section left over after doing the seats, so I've used some of it to make new battery tray supports. Much better than those original scruffy, heavy steel ones.
Some more lengths were used to make the headlight mounts. I've used the top shock absorber bolts to fasten them and also drilled and tapped into the thick part of the chassis upright.