Super Spec Help

[will]

Calling all Super Spec owners...(and anyone else who can help) Novice Super Spec builder checking in for the first time...

 

I am a complete novice the most I've ever done is bleed brakes, change an exhaust and replace a clutch cable on my motorbike.

 

I think I must of had a moment of madness when I decided I'd like to build a kit car. I chose the Super Spec because all the bit are supplied (so I thought) and the video instructions were detailed and geared more to the novice builder.... I nearly broke down when I watched them for the first time. (very funny though!).

 

I picked it up on the 6 May and sat between J14 & J15 of the M1 for five and a half hours (lorry crash) finally arriving at RH at 6.45pm (Gina & Richard stayed behind to wait for us) We left RH at 9.00pm and arrived home in Kent at 1.00am. Not a great start to my first kit car experience.

 

The car is now supplied without panels, seats, wing etc fitted, so I've got a bit of work to do to get it up to the same standard you guys picked yours up in last year. Do any of you have a build plan that you could send me? I'm pretty confident about getting all the panels fitted and the steering column in, but after that I get a little worried... what's the best order to do things in...do I fit the brakes, handbrake, radiator, fuel tank etc? (I'm a completely clueless graphic designer with a strong desire to get this thing going)

 

I've also got a load of nuts and bolts that I just don't know where they are supposed to go!!

I am going to publish pictures of them on the internet with numbers next to them (link to come shortly) so if any of you are bored could you have a look at them and send me a email telling me where to STICK them.

 

Please tell me I'm not alone... there must be someone out there who can help...

 

Thanks for reading my waffle it would be great to hear from you

 

 

Will

[Guest chris brown]

Please tell me I'm not alone... there must be someone out there who can help...

your not alone Will although mine is a 2b this site does have several Super Spec builders who will point you in the right direction but I would suggest brake pipes and electrics need to be put in early on as it is very difficult to drill for P clips etc with all panels on

[Guest bugsy]

Please tell me I'm not alone... there must be someone out there who can help...

 

Sorry mate you are on your own!

 

 

Only kidding,

Do a SEARCH for Super Spec at the top of this page and this will come up with quite a few bits and bobs.

As for a Build Plan, i didnt do one personally, maybe some of the others might have, i personally wouldnt use the Video's idea of what to do first because if they are anything like mine they jump from one thing to another quite a lot.

 

If in doubt about anything dont do it until you have asked someone or thought about it a little longer, the chances are that someone will have come across the very same problem, just remember its supposed to be FUN

Put some pics on the tinternet and we can guess what they are and where they go.

And dont listen to anyone who tells you where to put your battery!! You put it where you want

Best of luck

Bugsy

[Guest Wrighty]

Hi Will,

 

Picked my superspec up on 29th May.

None of the panels etc were fitted to mine so im in the same position you are.

 

Having this week off helped so this is a rough kind of order we have attacked the beast .....

 

Day 1. Removed rear diff and ripped it apart (ripped meaning broke it down into its components )

All the time taking pics of where things fitted and which way round they go....would come in useful later!

Tipped oil out and left it draining over night.

 

Day 2. Replaced bearings etc, gaiters (oh what fun ), Rubber bushes for the nylon ones..(make sure after removing the rubber ones that there are no hard spots around the edges of the surrounds that could crack the nylon ones when hammering them in. not that we did that......oh no......not twice!....)

 

Day 3 Painted up the various components, left in the sun to dry and painted on 2nd coat.

After a good feed put it back together referring to pics and slid her back into position using 3 jacks.Bolted up and went to lie down for a while.

 

Day 4 Painted those chassis scaffold poles black

Painted and fitted pedals, servo, painted and fitted steering shaft and fitted the column. Repainted handprints on wet paint and called it a day.

 

Fitted gear selector today, prop shaft is in..just, then went for beer.

 

Not sure what is next but the videos will be on later to get an idea.

But im still smiling!

 

So your not alone!!! and yes it is fun!!

 

Anyway back to the garage.....

[Guest nomis]

First thing I did was strip it all down, panels, fuel tank seats etc so I could get at all the bits I wanted to easily.

 

No easy answer, building a Robin Hood is a very personal thing depending on your style and approach.

 

I tend to try to think stuff through carefully so I only do it once. This means to start with pick on stuff that is relatively standalone and not necessarily finish it until you know the whole answer. My big hangup has been the scuttle, cos its central to everything. Needs to look good, junction point for electrics, Brake pipes, contains instruments, switches Wipers etc. however once sorted, hopefully everything else will fall in place.

 

I've E-mailed you my record of what I've done todate - But as I say - its the approach that suited me personally.

 

Good luck

 

Bill, Battery right up front works for Turbos.

[Guest rhetorical-oracle]

Hi Will,

 

As you can see you're not alone. I too am building a Super Spec, picked mine up on 1st April, so I've not got panels etc fitted either.

 

I work away during the week, but have spent every weekend since doing something on the car

 

So far done the following

 

1) Reconditioned the rear axle / brake calipers

2) Fitted Steering column (sat in the chassis making brum, brum noises with the steering wheel when that was done.

3) Painted the front chassis members and fitted the radiator

4) Brake servo & rear brake pipes

5) Petrol tank

6) Started to fit panels. (as a quick aside does anyone (bugsy/nomis) know if the rear panel should fit right up against the rear chassis member at the bottom? The bottom lip where it goes under the chassis is quite wide, and I'm not sure if it should be the front of this lip which is attached or if the panel is pushed as far under the chassis as it can go.

 

Thats about the stage I'm at at the mo. Oh forgot I laid out the wiring loom just to frighten myself at how many connections there are.

 

I agree about the videos jumping about. I spent some time converting them to DVD's to make it easier to jump around them.

 

Good luck with your build.

 

Phill

[will]

Wow!!

 

Thanks guys... I feel a lot better knowing that there are people out there willing to help me... this could be the first RH to built via the internet!!! I will probably have a question about every single thing I attach to the car so please be patient with me.

 

I will start a website soon so that you can see how your surrogate car is progressing...

 

I'm going to paint the front stub axles this weekend, did you remove them? Is it easy to remove them? or should I just paint them in-place?

 

Many thanks

 

Will

 

(You've been busy Wrighty!!! I only managed to paint the rear drum & front calipers, still got the rear axle to paint (Got RH to recondition it before I picked it up...Knew it would be way over my head)

[Guest Friar Tuck]

Will

 

Don't despair, we can always help.

 

I have my SVA booked for 21st June, and today have been working on Carpets, Power steering pump mods, fitted washer bottle, handbrake warning switch and attempted to fit the battery tray, (PS in the Turbo, the only place it can go is in the front), but it requires further mods.

 

I started with rear brakes, then handbrake, then luggage area (plywood floor above tank, and also 6mm plywood panel to separate passenger compartment), infill panels behind seats, radiator fan, and horn, then fuel and brake pipe runs, and electrics from the back of the car, Pedal box mods, removed scuttle after checking steering column cowl, wiring for scuttle, (didn't use strip connectors supplied , but new connector blocks from Lucas wiring systems). Painted the front suspension in situ, then had the car tracked, using the cut off stainless rod and some cable covering from our friendly local Lucas outfit.

 

Lots of notes on a separate excel spreadsheet after watching the videos, which I can e-mail separately to you. When finished, I will be hopefully publishing my build notes, and photographs for all to see how i did it, I have to concentrate on getting ready for the SVA, and finishing the car first, but if you have anything specific you want to ask, please mail me.

 

Everyone has been supportive, and you must remember that you are not on your own.

 

The Friar

[Guest nomis]

I took the suspension apart for painting. Wouldn't recommend it - Not worth the effort (although I have now got Stainless Steel 8.8 Bolts holding it together).

 

Friar, Richard tells me you don't need a handbrake switch/light for SVE. Tell us more about the Lucas connectors - Where? Website? Specs?

[Guest Friar Tuck]

Handbrake Switch: -

 

He is right, but terminal 5 on the instruments goes to the handbrake warning lamp, and I decided that I didn't want the wire just dangling inside the tunnel( black. yellow with insulated female spade), so went to the local ford dealer, and bought one for £3.22 plus vat. simple fitting, lugs already on the handbrake itself.

 

 

Instrument Wiring Connectors: -

 

Lucas Services UK (LSUK) have a depot in Shrewsbury, and the plugs and sockets I got were 4 way, you only need 4 of them, and utilised male and female spade connectors (buy more, you may have the odd bad crimp). Can't remember part numbers, and invoice went through washing machine in trouser pocket, You will probably find details on their web site.Sorry can't tell you any more. They do a six way connector, but didn't have any in stock.

 

Lucas Service UK There is a branch locator page on the site.

 

Front Suspension painting: -

 

It took approx 10 mins to mask each side, and looks great. Like anything you do though, be careful to protect it whilst you are working on the car, paint does chip, but the overall effect is very smart. The cadmium plating on the wishbones was worn by the hold down straps that I used when collecting the car, so I really had no choice.

 

Regards

 

The Friar

 

Just looked at the time, what the hell am i doing up at this time of day ? I am going back to bed!!!

[Guest chris brown]

Richard tells me you don't need a handbrake switch/light for SVE

True but if you don’t have one you must have a switch (like they had in the mini) that tests the warning light and circuit for the float switch in the brake fluid reservoir. The tester spent some time on mine even removing cap on reservoir to ensure switch was wired correctly

[will]

Hi Wrighty, Bugsy, Neal, Simon, Phil and anyone else who's got a super spec or can answer this question

 

I've manged to make the steering column fit, but how do I fit the ignition barrel?

 

Cheers

 

Will

[Guest Friar Tuck]

Will

 

I struggled for approx an hour with this, and achieved it after walking away, and starting again next day.

 

My method was as follows: -

 

1 Insert key, and turn to position 1. This allows spring loaded pip to be compressed.

2 Ensure that inner recess is lined up with matching shape on back of lock.

3 If this lines up, the circlip will fit in to the groove, and you can just slide the whole thing in until it clicks.

4 I would advise that you make sure you are actually ready to put it in, as I can't see how you would get it out !!!

 

Good luck

 

The Friar

[will]

thanks, I'll try that

[will]

4 I would advise that you make sure you are actually ready to put it in, as I can't see how you would get it out !!!

 

Hi Friar

 

I've offered up the barrel and it looks like it will fit without a problem, I'm I ready to put it in? (ooh) or is there a reason not to at this stage.

 

Cheers

 

Will