brumster

I met you too late Steve.... damn it

Well, the handbrake cable finally came into stock at GBS so that saved me having to faff around making one - and meant I can push on with the back end. The handbrake cable installation is very straightforward, insert from the "boot" area, the adjuster sits in the chassis bracket. I've kept the two P-clips to attach the cable to the boot floor once it's in, as this seems to be where the cable wants to bend and shorten itself the most. As the cable comes down to the caliper it's a little loose, so in the interests of keeping it steady I put a zip tie base into the upright and put a cable tie round it. Keeps it a little neater, I'm not sure if it would move and interfere with the inside edge of the wheel on full bump, so will play it safe. I also put some helicopter tape on the wishbones, again just in case. This is great stuff, I've bought a good sized sheet of it off eBay for all over the car, if you're not aware of it you should be it's a very thick heavy duty adhesive plastic that resists rubbing and prevents scratching or damage of the underlying surface. I'm not sure the cable will ever come into contact with them, but put some on just in case. I then moved on to finishing the scuttle and firewall. My Dremel paid for itself today, making light work of trimming off the tabs and cutting down the back of the rivets. I marked up and drilled three M6 rivnuts into the chassis top-rail on each side, to fasten it onto the car.... although I'm going to leave it loose for now. As many others have done, this makes the scuttle removeable should it ever need it. I'm also conscious that I'll need to put the wing mirrors on and I suspect they will need some re-enforcing on the inside to stop them flapping about, but I'm working towards getting the car ready for spraying so need to move along with the panelling. I trialed the dashboard panel which fitted perfectly apart from around the steering column - it needed a little cutting out to clear the actual metal part of the column. Again, the Dremel is great for chopping out the GRP and finishing it. It is evident it will need a LOT more cutting out of it to clear the plastic steering column shroud, but that can wait until another day. I set about thinking of fixing the rear panel in permanently. I got it in place, trimmed it around the rollover hoop base, and clamped it up on the front crescents with the rear lower folded edge up against the fuel tank support - and the top isn't coming all that much in underneath the rear rollover hoop stays..... There's enough there to bolt through, and they're even on both sides, but not sure what I can really do here. The whole boot panel won't move forward (equally at top and bottom) because the rear face is butted right up against the lower tank support of the chassis now, so the only way you'd get the top forward is to effectively "tilt" the whole panel assembly, pitching the front of it downwards - and the crescents won't allow that. I've tried gently putting some tension on the support stays to pull them back, but when I felt the welds 'ticking' I promptly stopped that idea So I think it's live with it and maybe put a length of flat steel underneath the rear edge between the supports if I feel it needs it. Otherwise a good day, going to push on with the nosecone next so that I can get the bonnet on, and then the whole thing can go off to be sprayed. While the car is away being sprayed I can work on the main wiring loom, which is a behind-dash piece that will link the spurs to the back, front and dashboard (and the fusebox)... so gives me something to work on while it's away. I also need to pop over to Racing Lines in Nuneaton and get some braided rear flexis to finish off the braking system... (writes it on the whiteboard)...

You can stand down; cable is in at GBS

Ah ok, thanks for the tip. I noticed on MarkB's build he re-aligned them afterwards. No plans for a diffuser, no. There were no lining-up holes or anything like that, but I could see it acting like a bit of an "air scoop" I suppose I'll wait until it's fitted into place and if need be, raise it up to be flush. It's not like the panel is visible so if I need to drill them out, no big deal.

Armed myself with clamps and rivets galore, and got the rear panel out of the way this weekend I think I was guilty as many of worrying far more than was necessary for this bit. Take your time, clamp constantly, measure and drill carefully and it's pretty straightforward if you follow the below process. Do the bottom edges first. Clamp them up, drill from inside out so you can get the holes into the middle (meat) of the tabs, but obviously rivet from the outside. I noticed looking around on blogs that some have subsequently had to move them up, mine seem ok after subsequent trial fitting but I guess time will tell. Once the bottom ones are done, I loosely taped the finishing (beaded) trim along the top - you'll need to cut it where it rounds the two rear corners to get it to follow the profile. You want to keep an eye on that bead and make sure it's a nice, smooth curve around the rear panel, not a series of jaggy straights. Then it's just a case of marking up the top panel (the flange that sits around the top edge) - I made 2" spacings on the rivets, started in the rear middle, and worked systematically out along the panel - clamping as we go, making sure that bead stays neat and tidy and butted up to the panels. A spare pair of hands will be useful as you get to the corners, and this is the bit that requires a little bit of eye judgement and care as you bend the vertical panel so that it follows the curvature nicely. The tabs on the corner here are, of course, rather small - so getting enough rivets through both panels is difficult. I doubled up the number of rivets just around this corner as it was difficult to get rivets into the right spacing so that they looked consistent - at least one on each side isn't grabbing through anything underneath, but it looked better having equally-spaced rivets, even if some of them aren't really doing anything. Once you're on the side edges it's plain sailing again. Don't forget to pull that laser film off first Just offered it up to check; some trimming needed around the rollover hoop but otherwise it's all good...

I believe the little'un and I are camping over, but her opinions change week on week I'll be in a tin-top so can bring along various things if the club needs them...? Generator? Marquee? Water butt? Rope, stakes, safety tape, rubber mallet, etc. Extension reel, halogen work lights (not all that energy efficient really but great for working on cars!)

Sorry, forgot to answer this one...! It's definately sourcing from outside the cockpit now, I've committed to that by mounting it and cutting the bulkhead, but whether it takes from the top or the side I don't know yet. The top would be easiest and would be my preference (less boxing to do; keeps more of the bulkhead clear on the engine bay side) but water ingress would be my only concern... but I'm sure that can be addressed. I really need to get the nosecone on, so I can figure out the bonnet mounting and where I've got to cut a slot or whatever... Main priority at the moment is to get this (blasted) handbrake cable sorted and get the back end all made up and attached, and close up all the internal panels.

Cool, ok, that was my understanding also. I have put the notches on the drivers side too, so all good there, but the front wing bracket isn't at the moment. I'll swap it... but I can't for the life of me understand in what measurement it is "sided"; if there is any implied castor in the way the top mount is welded into it, it looks indiscernable to me. Any camber setting in it would be mirrored fine whichever side it goes.... I'll swap it over naturally - I'm just curious...

Trying to find an air leak on an inlet manifold or part of the unduction system? WIth the engine running, get some carb cleaner or WD40, preferably sprayed in a diffused pattern, and spray it around areas of suspicion and listen for a change in engine note. Trying to find where a bolt or stud aligns on a panel so you can drill a hole for it, but when in position the bolt is not visible or accessible in any way? Cover the tip of the bolt in tippex, paint, ink, etc., put it into position so it touches the panel, remove it and you've got a mark left on where to drill...

The amount of ANPR cameras out there, there must be a good chance unless they swapped the plates pronto. A mate of mine had his plates stolen off his car, over the next few days he was pulled constantly by unmarked cars, one of them showed him where it had "pinged" - he said it was incredible the detail, loads of points along routes he'd travelled, you could follow his travel pretty easily. Knowing this, maybe the little bastidges swapped the plates rather quickly, otherwise it would seem you're going to get found/tracked pretty easily.

My mate and I had Imprezas back in the late 90's. He used to keep his on the drive. Was woken up several times over the course of ownership to men blatantly attempt to steal it and, when challenged, they simply told him to "stay the *bleep* where you are and you won't get hurt" while they took it away. Eventually it got nicked from his gym, involved in a high-speed police chase and written off (sorry Stu, that's not making you feel any better is it!). I think my point is, and I know this isn't helping right now but maybe for when you get it back, when I had mine it went straight in the garage when I got home. I never left it out on display. I used to watch my tail about 2 miles before getting home and if I thought I was being followed, I'd do a little "long" route to see if they were still there and if so, at least I had the ability to lose them . It was naturally alarmed and tracker'd. It was a total ballache; I waited 9 months for it and got shot of it 8 months after collection... but thankfully never had any issues myself. Sorry Stu, not trying to get you down (honest!), just telling you my experiences of Subaru ownership! Fingers crossed you'll get it back unmutilated... or not at all (which sounds harsh but sometimes I feel it's for the best both financially/insurance-wise but also personally)... not meant in a harsh way Stu, I know you know me, you know what I mean

Oh FFS X-( so sorry to hear this.

Cool, ok, should get me in the rough ballpark I guess! If anyone's got a cable from GBS that's out of the car, I suppose that would be the best option.... anyone?

Hi all, Can anyone make life easy for me and measure their Ford disc-braked Zero handbrake and tell me the length of the inner cable and the 2 outer sections?

Yup, 'fraid so.

Yup, they're here until the weekend, after which you'll find them in Packington....!

Tip it is, I suspect! I don't think anyone wants them these days, all want the cycle arch look..... could probably turn them into a nice flower bed when turned upside down

Free to anyone who is willing to collect them, one pair of Exmo front swept wings (presumably same as S7/Series 2/3/3A) in Oxford Blue. Used, a few scratches here/there but nothing that wouldn't polish out. Otherwise they're going to the tip this weekend.

Wonder if you can get a in there

Hello, I'm still here, don't worry !! 4 weeks of very little going on really, bar chasing GBS for a handbrake.... :-/ Decorated the laserguard film.... Affixed the firewall onto the scuttle. Not much to this really that you don't already know, but to the uninitiated.... same as the dash panel really. Fold over the tabs on the firewall and tap-hammer them flat with the edge of the scuttle, then marry it up with the scuttle and clamp. I clamped first and checked it all out before starting the rivets. You can use cheapy rivets here as the tabs are eventually getting cut off.... Take your time, clamp lots, fold it over the edges and check it (I trimmed a little off the firewall to allow it to pull round easier) and eventually you should have a nicely-formed scuttle that's finally the right shape for the car! Once the side panels are on, the front suspension can go on. Will keep it on loose for now in case it needs removal. On each side you'll have 2 long bolts and 2 short - pretty obvious where they go really, the long ones are for the top rear and lower front bushes... the short ones for the others (top front and lower rear). Don't forget your washers and your nylocs. Wind the top ball joints into the arms a fair way, possibly needing to clean up the thread if it was painted over like mine - by fitting the ball joint into the arch supports, they make a great pair of levers to ease screwing it in. Now the arch supports - I searched for sidedness, and checked my instructions, and looked for any markings and didn't find any. Until after it was all done up, and I noticed a notch on the one support bracket now it's on the left but if the notching of the rears is anything to go by, it might signify the right-hand item. However I fail to see any sidedness to them, they appear symmetric to me in terms of geometry. Can anyone confirm - are these sided? If so I'll swap it in the near future but the top ball joint was squidged into place and didn't fancy dropping out easily... Also needed to swap the hub studs for longer items. Tip - heat the hub up with a blowtorch and the old studs hammer out easily Finally got the dremel out and put a vent into the exhaust side, as I suspect it will be needed.

There's a GTM somewhere with "SABTVA..." as a VIN because they couldn't interpret the handwriting of the inspector (SABTVR) back in the pre-SVA days

Presumably they push the top of the wheel out beyond the archline? :-S

That was my intention, to be honest, it's frustrating that there is no build manual and the builder is expected to surf through all the excellent build blogs out there and collate his own details. So while I appreciate some of it is a little bit "mickey mouse" or borderline patronising, I was hoping it would be of use to those of us who are new to the kit car scene and really need some support/reassurance that they CAN do this

It's very important when you're folding the tabs over to get them flush with the profile of the panel edge so that when you attach it to the scuttle top, it sits at a uniform distance, otherwise the panel deforms and you get kinks in the outer scuttle. I start riveting, spotted the problem, and had to remove and re-hammer the tabs with a pin hammer to get them all nice and uniform. That done, I set about the process of drilling and riveting each tab, starting at the middle and working outwards. Clamp each side... ...drill, fairly close to the edge to cover it with edge trim, but obviously not so close that you've got no strength in the metal to hold it... Use a 10mm used (ie. not too sharp) drill bit to countersink the exposed side of the hole on the outer panel... ...and fit a countersunk rivet; this keeps the rivet head flush so that it looks less conspicuous on the outside (covered with edge trim). Once scrunched up (technical term) you will need to take back some of the rivets doobrie (another technical term) that's left exposed. I'll do this later once the whole assembly is done and proven good! Don't waste your time on jobs until you're sure they need doing and you're not going to be drilling them all out and re-doing it anyway . That's it for one tab - now repeat ad nauseum, working your way towards the outer edge, and forming the scuttle shape as you go, always clamping tight and keeping the tabs to the scuttle top panel edge. Couple of hours later you should have something resembling a scuttle, although without the firewall you will find the front profile isn't right yet (don't worry about that for now)...

Sorted some grip tape off eBay for a reasonable sum and got the pedals covered prior to fitting the side panel on (just easier than removing the pedals!)... throttle not strictly necessary I don't believe but I covered them all anyway, easier to take it off later than try and stick it on down a footwell... Also remembered I need to sort out the starter motor so ordered a Caterham-fit starter, but an aftermarket one from WOSP which incorporates an adjustable base plate - this allows me to re-orient the solenoid downwards away from the manifold (a common source of problems with them, apparently, as the heat soaked into the solenoid screws it up pretty quickly). Sikaflex'd every contact point on the chassis and then fitted the side panel for the final time. I guess for guidance to those not in the know, it's fairly straightforward and not something to worry about as much as I did - just make sure you clamp it into place, particularly over the central parts where there are no rivets to pull it in. Liberal use of clamps and a ratchet strap here! Obviously rivets all along the underside, the top edge, the very back edge behind the wheel arch, the front edge behind the nosecone. I also added a couple more at the bottom of the rear crescent and one behind the front upper suspension mount as it looked likely to flap about a bit there. I'm not worried about the ratchet strap deforming the edge of the panel where it loops over the top as this will be covered anyway. Used some larger headed stainless rivets on the visible run across the top of the engine bay. So while I continue my 6-month wait for the fecking handbrake mechanism I figured I'd get a portion of the dreaded scuttle out of the way...! I think, like a lot of people, I'd been dreading this bit because it involves some pretty irreversible bending, drilling and shaping... including folding the outer edges over (inwards) to form the lips via which it bolts down onto the chassis. I clamped the edge between two pieces of wood and then formed/hammered it over. Not worried about how this looks because the fold is on the inside and I'm hammering on the underside of the lip, so none of it will be seen... That done, I set about folding over the tabs on the dashboard panel. My early kit included all the cutouts for the dials but since I'm fitting the newer GRP dash panel, I could ditch the majority of it. I cut out most of the front panel leaving about 3 inches of panel face.