Build time today 5.0 hours - Total build time 128.0 hours.
Man time today 5.0 hours - Total man time 146.0 hours.
A longish day without that much to show for it.
I knew I was at the point I needed to start to consider fitting the body panels, to finish the coolant pipes I needed to put the scuttle panel in place, to know where that went I needed the side panels ...
I fetched the side panels from the bedroom and worked out how they fitted, basically they clip over the side of the cock pit area and then the bottoms fit flush under the car, it is a tight fit and I needed to use a couple of flat headed screw drivers to easy the bottom under the car.I knew I needed to cut an exhaust outlet in the passenger side panel so had a go at creating a template using card and masking tape. Taping up was straight forward but getting the exhaust back out was not possible so ended up giving up deciding to come back to it later.
With the side panels in place, I could work out where the scuttle sat and therefore understood what pipe lengths were needed to attach tot he heater unit, two identical pipes are supplied neither of which is an exact fit, they have to be cut to suit and I wanted to be sure of exactly what was needed before I started to cut. Once the scuttle was in place it was easy to see what was needed where and therefore where I could make cuts. Assembling the coolant pipe work was a simple process after that. the pipes were quickly cut and everything assembled, bar those that attached to the heater and header tank as the scuttle needs to be secured before they can be attached. I secured the smaller diameter pipe to the aluminium scuttle panel by unscrewing a couple of the mounting screws (glad I had not riveted but used rivet nuts) This still left the larger pipe unsecured and the smaller floating at the other end. I was not total sure how to fix in place but had some ideas, in the bad of bits associated with the coolant system were a couple of spacers I just needed to work out the best places to locate them.
I also had a problem with the instructions/guide I had, it says to use an M5 tap on the radiator expansion point and then use an M5 screw to block the hole. The M5 tap felt very loose and when an M5 screw was inserted it could be pulled out, I thought an M6 screw felt more secure, but decided to confirm with Westfield.
I then spent some time looking at how the body assembled, the build guide is not clear and I could not seem to get the rear and left and right side panels in place. there was just not enough room.
Plus the guide explained that an aluminium panel needs to be fitted to the underside of the car at the rear to support the rear or the rear panel. Again the guide was far from clear the picture was not really of the correct area. I then fetched the rear wings to see if having them would help inspire, trouble was when I examined one of the wings I found a chip.
I decided a visit was called for, I could confirm the correct screw size for the radiator and if M6 pick one up, get some advice on cutting the exhaust hole and some general advice on fitting the body together, plus ask how best to treat the chip.
I was initially told that M5 was correct but they got a radiator out to check and it looks like there has been a change and M6 is now the correct fitting. They supplied a template guide for cutting the body work for the Zetec exhaust and the recommendation was that the body work should be assembled off the car and fastened to together, any trimming required should be done carefully with a fine file. using the sides, rear and arches it should be possible to get it all lined up and secured. The chip could be fixed using gel filler and I let the wing with them.
Armed with this info I returned home and started to look at the body work fitting. I could only look so far as I did not have both rear wings but could see that a little filling was needed to get the rear and sides lined up. I decided to leave the body work for the time being as it was a two man job, I did not have both rear wings and once started really needed to be finished.
I finished the day by completing fitting the plugs to the rear lights. I re-looked at the one fitted last time as I was not happy and eventually got it to the point where it all seemed to fit correctly, once this was done fitting the other rear light was slightly easier. Hopefully the fronts will be easier still.
I knew I was at the point I needed to start to consider fitting the body panels, to finish the coolant pipes I needed to put the scuttle panel in place, to know where that went I needed the side panels ...
I fetched the side panels from the bedroom and worked out how they fitted, basically they clip over the side of the cock pit area and then the bottoms fit flush under the car, it is a tight fit and I needed to use a couple of flat headed screw drivers to easy the bottom under the car.I knew I needed to cut an exhaust outlet in the passenger side panel so had a go at creating a template using card and masking tape. Taping up was straight forward but getting the exhaust back out was not possible so ended up giving up deciding to come back to it later.
With the side panels in place, I could work out where the scuttle sat and therefore understood what pipe lengths were needed to attach tot he heater unit, two identical pipes are supplied neither of which is an exact fit, they have to be cut to suit and I wanted to be sure of exactly what was needed before I started to cut. Once the scuttle was in place it was easy to see what was needed where and therefore where I could make cuts. Assembling the coolant pipe work was a simple process after that. the pipes were quickly cut and everything assembled, bar those that attached to the heater and header tank as the scuttle needs to be secured before they can be attached. I secured the smaller diameter pipe to the aluminium scuttle panel by unscrewing a couple of the mounting screws (glad I had not riveted but used rivet nuts) This still left the larger pipe unsecured and the smaller floating at the other end. I was not total sure how to fix in place but had some ideas, in the bad of bits associated with the coolant system were a couple of spacers I just needed to work out the best places to locate them.
I also had a problem with the instructions/guide I had, it says to use an M5 tap on the radiator expansion point and then use an M5 screw to block the hole. The M5 tap felt very loose and when an M5 screw was inserted it could be pulled out, I thought an M6 screw felt more secure, but decided to confirm with Westfield.I then spent some time looking at how the body assembled, the build guide is not clear and I could not seem to get the rear and left and right side panels in place. there was just not enough room.
Plus the guide explained that an aluminium panel needs to be fitted to the underside of the car at the rear to support the rear or the rear panel. Again the guide was far from clear the picture was not really of the correct area. I then fetched the rear wings to see if having them would help inspire, trouble was when I examined one of the wings I found a chip.
I decided a visit was called for, I could confirm the correct screw size for the radiator and if M6 pick one up, get some advice on cutting the exhaust hole and some general advice on fitting the body together, plus ask how best to treat the chip.I was initially told that M5 was correct but they got a radiator out to check and it looks like there has been a change and M6 is now the correct fitting. They supplied a template guide for cutting the body work for the Zetec exhaust and the recommendation was that the body work should be assembled off the car and fastened to together, any trimming required should be done carefully with a fine file. using the sides, rear and arches it should be possible to get it all lined up and secured. The chip could be fixed using gel filler and I let the wing with them.
Armed with this info I returned home and started to look at the body work fitting. I could only look so far as I did not have both rear wings but could see that a little filling was needed to get the rear and sides lined up. I decided to leave the body work for the time being as it was a two man job, I did not have both rear wings and once started really needed to be finished.
I finished the day by completing fitting the plugs to the rear lights. I re-looked at the one fitted last time as I was not happy and eventually got it to the point where it all seemed to fit correctly, once this was done fitting the other rear light was slightly easier. Hopefully the fronts will be easier still.
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