Preparation for engine switch on

Oil and plugs

I drained some oil as recommended by the engine builder. So jack up the car again to get access.

Oil drain plug to right of centre

It is now at the top of the range shown on the dipstick.

The plugs were really difficult to get back in as there is very little room, so not looking forward to servicing the engine!

ECU

This was connected using the big multi-plug on the loom. It fits with one end in the slot first, before pushing the multi-plug flat against the ECU. Finally it is locked in place with the handle on the multi-plug.

ECU connector on loom

Now all sorts of things work, including the fuel pump.

Fuel

I turned on the ignition and heard the fuel pump run. Next I purged the near side fuel rail via the valve at the front.

Valve at end of fuel rail

This did not re-seal itself as expected. This may be some swarf from the fuel pipe. Apparently I should have purged from the fuel pipe, not the fuel rail.  So note this mistake. The fuel pipe flexible hose needs to be disconnected before fuel is pumped to the engine. Catch the fuel in a container and dispose of it.

Next I noticed another leak from one of the fuel hoses at the rear from the fuel pump. So I jacked up the back of the car this time to gain access. It was easy to see which hose it was and to tighten the union.

Dashboard

Whilst attempting to fit the dash and the column shroud, I removed the ignition barrel again, but couldn't get it back in and the ignition switch connections were tight against the shroud. When squeezed the ignition turned on!

Dashboard in but column shroud not right

So with the fuel rail and the ignition switch issues, sadly I have abandoned the plan to start the engine tomorrow.

Not a good day in the garage today

Coolant

No visible signs of leaks. Good news.

Engine

No visible oil leaks either. So I removed the plugs ready to turn the engine over and get oil pressure. The 8 plugs are really difficult to get at and were not easy to remove.

And it went downhill from here.

Tried to turn over the engine - switched on the ignition and hit the starter button. Nothing! I then connected the fuel pump wire to the battery in case there was any electrical connection here. Still nothing. Will sleep on that.

Fuel

Put some unleaded in the tank and no leaks. Good start. But no fuel pump sound. Urghhhh.

Brakes

Jacked up the car. Connected the Eezibleed system to the reservoir and a  tyre (gets pressure from here which allows you to do it on your own). The new cap leaked - easy enough to solve, I thought. So I rescued the old one from the bin! Bin diving is not a lot of fun. Fitted the old cap and great no leaks from the reservoir, but ........

Bled the rear brakes whilst keeping an eye on the brake fluid container and the reservoir. Then I noticed a great big puddle of brake fluid at the front! It was coming from a master cylinder where it joined the brake pipe. At first it was just dripping in to the off-side compartment, but then it started running out through some holes and on to the garage floor, which is when I noticed it.

Cleaned up. Packed up. Fed up!

Fuel tank

Roll hoop escutcheon final fixing

Remember that I had one of the 18 bolts "disappear"? I thought that I would have to fill the hole with resin and then tap the hole for the fixing bolt. However, after talking to a few fellow builders and to GD, I decided to try wedging the bolt with a small sliver of wood and then screwing it into the hole. It worked and held the escutcheon in place! So roll hoops now complete.

Fuel tank

Now the roll bars, grommets and escutcheons were fitted, my attention turned to the fuel tank. Earlier I had installed the fuel lines and the fuel pump wires through the boot floor.

The dip tube sensor was fitted to the tank with five M5 rivnuts and bolts. The tank had to be drilled with 7mm holes for the rivnuts and the swarf removed with the vacuum cleaner.

Five holes made and rivnuts fitted

The sensor was then secured with the five M5 bolts, using the rubber gasket and some Hylomar sealant.

Dip tube sensor fitted with gasket and Hylomar blue sealant

The tank was then manoeuvred into its final place. Then the hose unions were connected to the tank using Loctite 572 on the male part of the fitting (not the threads). I removed a small amount of GRP, using the Dremel, at the saddle of the boot floor and where the filter went to give a little clearance. I also used a small amount of Hylomar on the threads.

Not a lot of space!

Straps were needed to secure the fuel tank. These were fabricated from 50mm x 2mm stainless steel. The straps were bent to match the shape of the tank and holes drilled in each end of the straps to secure them to the body. Stainless steel is a pig to drill - I burned out 6 drill bits drilling just 4 holes! M8 nylocs nuts with bolts went through the boot floor and 2 x M5 button head bolts with rivnuts were used above the differential for each strap. GD suggest using self tappers at over the diff, as the strap is in sheer. However, I reckoned that over a bump the strap would be in tension, so either a nut/bolt or rivnuts would be better! Rivnuts were easier to fit, so that option won the vote. A few small strips of neoprene were used on the straps to isolate the straps from the tank.

Top strap fixings

Tank in place with straps

The sensor cable was then attached to the main terminal and the two earth wires, from the loom and the filler attached to one of the tank studs. The carpet was fitted over the fuel inlet on the tank and then the joining hose was fitted. Next the fuel filler cap was refitted to the body with the new earth strap attached to one of the bolts. Finally the two hose clamps were tightened.

Tank and carpet in place

Heat shrink was put over the fuel pump cable, before ring terminals were attached to the cable and then heated to shrink it. A small amount of silicone sealer was applied around the cable and heat shrink joint to ensure that no moisture was trapped inside. This just added some protection to the terminals and wires in the exposed area at the rear of the chassis. 

Heat shrink over exposed pump cable connections

The ring terminals were connected to the fuel pump, the black going to the earth terminal (both terminals were a different size).

Electrical connections made

I expected that the boot would simply be a case of refitting the two bolts. No! I had to adjust the lid to get it to fit properly. Never mind it's all done now.

Photos

And a few photos, 'cos I can!

Tail pipes

Tail pipes

A simple job that took a long time!

The principle is very simple, but the practice took a bit of fiddling. Getting the tail pipes over the central pipes is not so easy. The end of the tail pipe is slotted, but it still would not fit. So I filed the outside of the centre pipes, the inside of the tail pipes, used a crow bar (gently) on the insides of the tail pipes and applied a small amount of Vaseline. Eventually they went on.

The tail pipes are clamped by the rear fixing that holds the central pipes. The pipes were tightened in place and the centres of the Cherry Bombs measured to make sure that the pipes were positioned equally from each side. An 8mm hole was drilled in the boot floor to take the stud from the bobbin for each pipe.

Off side tail pipe fixed at front and with bobbin at rear

Tail pipes/Cherry Bombs in place

Boot carpet

The carpet was cut around the filler neck of the fuel tank. Next the fuel filler fitment was removed from the body. Then the hose that joins the tank to the filler was cut to length. Whilst I was at it I made up an earth wire to go from one of the bolts that secures the filler cap to the sender earth.

Hose, clips and earth wire can be seen

Fuel tank

I have ordered the nylocs and button head bolts for the fuel sender. So no other progress yet.

Battery and fuel lines

Battery

The battery installation is fairly straight forward. There are three major components - the battery tray (which is stainless steel), the battery itself and the restraining bracket (which is a triangular fabrication in stainless steel), plus a few nuts and bolts to hold them in place.

The parts

The battery tray was installed in the nearside compartment and fixed to the floor. Some thin rubber strip was fitted in the tray to physically isolate the battery from the tray.

The tray in place without the rubber strip

The compartment opening had to be cut out a couple of millimeters each side to allow the battery to be put in to the compartment and tray.

The restraining bracket was bolted to the bulkhead (in front of the passenger footwell) above the centre of the battery to secure it in place. To do this I marked and drilled two holes through the bulkhead. Each bolt was passed from the passenger compartment, through a penny washer and into the compartment behind the front wheel arch. The bolts were inserted into an alli bar that had been tapped to take the bolts. The tapped holes in the bar had thread lock applied.

Again some rubber was fitted to the underside of the bracket (where it would touch the battery) to isolate it. Finally the bracket was fitted onto the two screw shanks and held in place with nuts.

The cables could now be connected. Mine wasn't, as other electrical work had not been completed, so I only connected the earth leads at this stage.

Battery and bracket installed

Fuel lines

There are two fuel hoses and the electrical connection to get from the pump into the boot.

Three holes were drilled in the boot upstand (the section that the tank goes against). These were drilled at the nearside, near the wheel arch, the top and bottom holes were level with the two unions on the tank. The top hose was a tad short, so the hole had to be re-drilled closer to the tank so that it would connect. The third hole, for the wires, was drilled in the middle of the other holes.

Holes marked

Each hole had the GRP thinned to allow a grommet to be fitted. The grommets were eased over the hoses and wires. A little Vaseline here helped! The 90 degree ends of the two fuel hoses had been removed before the grommets were fitted.

Now the hoses were threaded through to the boot from the axle area. The wires were fed through from the boot side to the axle area and the grommets secured in place. The wires were then connected to the pump. The grommets were siliconed in place and the unions re-fitted to the hoses.

Hoses and electrical cable from boot

Hoses and electrical cable from underside

The fuel tank installation will wait until another day.

A little more progress!

I only managed a couple of hours in the garage this afternoon, but nevertheless a small amount of progress.

Speed sensor

Tightened the bolt that I forgot yesterday! I had only put it in finger tight, whilst I sorted out the wires. An important, but small job, to avoid the sensor falling out!

Handbrake

I finished off the handbrake too. Tied in the cable to the chassis.

Tie wrapped handbrake cable

Then siliconed around the grommet to avoid water ingress.

Under boot supports

On the Euro there are two plates that are fitted under the rear of the chassis. These help to take the extra weight that you may put in the boot. There are three rivnuts on each side for this purpose.

Three rivnuts on rear underside of chassis

First two pieces of self adhesive sponge rubber are fitted to each of the plates. The plates are then bolted in place and tightened, squashing the rubber.

Boot support plate

I managed to cross thread one of the rivnuts on the nearside, so now the it turns in the chassis rail. I will need to work out how to get the bolt out! But that is for another day.

Fuel tank

Sponge rubber was stuck to the fuel tank - two strips along the back and one underneath. I also added sound deadening sheets to reduce the chance of hearing fuel sloshing around.

Fuel tank with sponge rubber and sound deadening panels

Engine loom part 2

Final bit of engine loom sorted today. If you are building a GD427, then do connect up the loom before you put the body on. Or at least connect up the loom to the gearbox and starter motor. It is so much easier to do it at that stage.

Reverse lights

The reverse light switch on the gearbox had two wires. These were now tucked away alongside the gearbox and within the chassis. So after jacking the car well up at the front and crawling under it, hands shredded, I finally managed to connect the bullet connectors together. Not the easiest or most pleasant of jobs.

Lacerations

Speed sensor

The speed sensor was in theory simple too. The car was jacked up well at the side. After crawling under the car, I managed to get my hand into the transmission tunnel at the back of the gearbox and remove the sensor, which was held in by one bolt and a locating plate.

The two wires were attached to the sensor using two thin connectors out of a waterproof Delphi double connector! The waterproof seals and some silicone were used to make sure that the connectors stayed in place and kept dry.

Speed sensor with wires siliconed in place

The installation was a reverse of the previous process. Don't lower the car until you have tightened the bolt :) Just don't expect this to be easy to get at!

Starter motor

Another nightmare to get at! The starter motor is tucked up behind the exhaust headers, with the solenoid on top.

Starter motor wires in place

The thick red wire from the battery and the red wire from the loom marked 'starter' are connected to the lower thick terminal. The other wire, slate and red, is connected to the thinner stud on the solenoid. The small wire terminal will not go on the wrong stud.

Bulkhead 'grommet'

A very rewarding job. Nice finisher!

An aluminium two piece bulkhead grommet had been machined by Keith Akerman for his car and I managed to get one from him, a real work of art!

Components of bulkhead grommet

GD don't do a part for this. It was easily fitted around the loom and pushed through the bulkhead. The bulkhead hole needed a bit of filing to open it out, before fixing the 'grommet' with four buttonhead bolts. A very neat solution and much better than having to fabricate one myself.

Neat!

Fuel pump

The short wire on the loom marked 'Pump' was connected to the white/purple wire of the body loom. This went to the fuse box, so needed cutting from the fuse box. The body loom is designed for a non-LS engine car, which has a different pump arrangement. A male connector was added to the cut wire and then connected to the wire on the relay block. See photo below where the cut wire can just be seen coming out of the fuse box and is taped up in black.

Fuel pump wires sorted

The relay block will be attached to one of the underdash trays later.

So now I just have the sensors to connect up on the engine - oil pressure, oil temperature and water temperature for the gauge, when I get them. All easy to get at. Well relatively .....

Thermostat

Luckily I realised that there was no thermostat in the housing, thanks for telling me Kyle, so I bought one from Monkfish. Great service and very prompt delivery. Whilst I was at it, I replaced the seal.

New thermostat and seal

It was simply a case of undoing two bolts on the housing, replacing the seal and inserting the thermostat, then putting the bolts back in place.

Where the thermostat goes

Header tank hose

A new piece of hose was attached between the block and the header tank (because I had originally used vacuum tube - not a good idea!).

Correct hose!

Handbrake

The handbrake was attached to the bracket to allow me to locate the position of the fixing holes. The end of the handbrake (the end with the button) was positioned in line with the front of the door opening. The holes in the mounting plate were marked through onto the floor and drilled. Bolts went through the bracket and through the holes in the floor. The bolts were secured with nuts and shakeproof washers on the underside of the car, using large washers to spread the load.

Handbrake in place

At this stage the handbrake could not be adjusted as it is a hydraulic/mechanical handbrake, so the brake fluid needs adding and bleeding first. However, the handbrake cable could be secured to the chassis with tie wraps, to keep it away from moving parts.

The carpet will be cut later, once the gaiter is received and fitted.

Gear lever

This was simply a case of attaching the lever with two bolts into the threaded gear lever stub on the 'box and then securing with nylocs. Once in place, I opened out the transmission tunnel hole slightly with the Dremel so that it would not foul against the GRP. Now I can select gears!!

Gear lever. Escutcheon is only laid in place.

Fuel pump, regulator and pipes

Finally got all the bits out for the fuel pump etc.

The parts minus two adapters (to engine and to regulator)

Fuel pump etc

First I fitted the plate to the rear of the chassis. Then I made up the assembly from the fuel pump, regulator/filter and the rigid "U-shaped" fittings. The fittings connect the fuel pump to the in connection (outer and bigger connection on the regulator. Once assembled, it was offered up and the position of the two holes marked - one for the bolt and the other for the locating tag. Then I drilled two holes for the regulator and the two holes for the captive tie wraps that would secure the fuel pump.

Two location holes drilled and cradles of captive tie wraps fitted

The pump and regulator were then fitted, using the tie wraps and a bolt. With the help of Andy at GD I worked out where the braided hoses went. But check with GD as some of the fittings vary depending upon the pump and regulator. My pump was a Bosch and the regulator/filter a Wix.

The connections can be seen in the photo below. Note that the thicker hose (90 deg fitting at one end and straight at the other) goes from the fuel pump to the lower outlet on the tank (with the small fuel filter in this line). The hose with a 150 deg bend at one end and the 90 deg fitting at the other end goes to the upper connection of the fuel tank. The short hose with the straight and 90 deg connection goes from the regulator/filter out to the chassis connection.

Pump (bottom) and regulator/filter with hoses fitted

A small amount of Loctite 572 was used on all the conical surfaces (not the threads).

Fuel rail

The small diameter pipe with the 90 deg and the straight connector and adapter, connect the chassis fuel pipe to the fuel rail on the engine.

A dust cap was put on the other end (screw thread bleed) of the fuel rail. This was made up from a small section of 10 mm vacuum tube and the rubber cover from the fuel regulator!

Dust cap on fuel rail

The fuel pipe from the chassis near the engine, is connected to the fuel rail.

Fuel pipe connected via hose to fuel rail

Fuel filler breather

Whilst I had installed the fuel filler, I hadn't put in the breather pipe. This is simply a piece of brake pipe connecting the filler to the outside world.

A 5 mm hole was drilled in the boot floor, close to the wheel arch. The pipe was fed through this hole and then bent, using a pipe bending tool and by hand, to fit around the boot side of the wheel arch and to align with the fuel filler adapter. The fuel filler adapter was then fitted, after flaring the pipe end. A tiny amount of Loctite 572 was used on the male surface to hold the small insert of the adapter in place whilst I tightened up the fixing.

Fuel filler with pipe attached by the adapter

The pipe was attached to the inner arch with black plastic P clips and self tappers. The bottom of the pipe was finished flush with the bottom of the car floor from the outside. The bottom was sealed with silicone (as the pipe is only a breather I didn't use a grommet). Carpet will cover the pipe when fitted.

Breather pipe clipped in place and sealed at the bottom

Fuel filler cap

Mr IVA has a requirement (not unreasonable), that all fuel filler caps are tethered to the car so that you can't drive off from the petrol station and leave your filler cap behind! The flush cap as supplied, was not tethered to the filler neck. An Aston type filler would not need this work.

I used picture hanging cable, the brass looking stuff, as it was thin and corrosion resistant.

The cable and fixings. The 'modified' connection is on the left see below

The cable was to be attached to the filler cap, then to the neck of the filler itself. About an 200mm length of this cable was required for this (plus the amount needed to secure the cable - in my case an extra 80 mm).

To achieve this, a hole was drilled in the bottom plastic part of the cap, taking care not to affect the locking mechanism. The cable was fed through the hole and secured to itself using a modified electrical connector. The 'modification' is a pompous way of saying cut off the connection part and discard it!

The cable attached to the black plastic of the filler cap

The other end of the cable was attached to the filler neck. Here a small hole was drilled in the bottom of the neck to take the cable. A small channel was also cut in the filler neck, with the Dremel, to allow the cable to be flush once the pipe that connects the filler neck with the fuel tank is fitted.

The filler neck showing the hole and channel

This secures the filler cap to the filler neck and should satisfy the IVA requirements.

The finished tether