A new lease of life.... almost

[Matt No VAT]

Well things have been going resonably well on the car front, I have had success with most of the electrical gremlins like the winking headlights and dashboard lights that didn't want to illuminate.

While I am waiting for the Rev counter to come back from Speedy Cables, I've refitted the interior, some parts of which have suffered due to being out of the car for 2+ years. Also due to the engine swap the rear fibreglass bulkhead cover panel needs to be changed as the access panel is no longer needed.

I've decided to put the car back together and I'll have the floor carpets and the rear panel re-trimmed next year, I want to drive the car and I get a feel for it and I can sort out the cosmetics a little later.

Theres nothing like sitting in the car for the first time,... in a seat even!! I started her up and she sounded fantastic even if I do say so myself......only one small problem-ette!

As the gear linkage has changed, the apeture that the gerastick protrudes through is too small, I can only engage 1st, 3rd and 5th !! Not a lot of good when your car is parked in the garage facing forwards.

Hmmmm MOT not far away

I did laugh at the predicament, but as it was late I decided to leave it and ponder how to remedy this :D

[rutthenut]

Originally posted by Matt No VAT
As the gear linkage has changed, the aperture that the gerastick protrudes through is too small, I can only engage 1st, 3rd and 5th

Matt, you might find that you can adjust this out by altering the fitted lengths of one of the rods in the linkage, or by changing the leverage ratio.

First to look at is the vertical position of the lever, which you may want to swing a bit further to the left. If that doesn't cause the first/second plane to clash with the edge of the gearlever aperture, you might then get enough room to engage reverse. I think that this can be done by shortening the effective length of the thin alloy rod in the engine bay linkage section - but it might not be that part!

Then you may choose to set up the linkage to work in a more 'quick-shift' way, by using alternative mounting points for the rose joints at each end of the various linkages. If you move the 'driving' end to the outer part of the lever and/or the 'driven' end close to the pivot point then you will achieve more movement at the gearbox end for a given amount of input at the lever end.

When adjusting the gear linkage, do try to make sure that none of the joints will bind, or you'll end up with more difficulties in gear selection. I've shied away from setting up too short a gear throw, in case it leads to possible selection of the wrong gear when in a hurry. On the other hand, it all depends what you get used to and my caution was probably not needed.

[Matt No VAT]

Consider that advice taken!!

I'll tinker with the linkage assembly before I start making bigger holes! I'm hoping that it will be a case of fine tuning the linkage rather than a partial strip out of the interior again.

Just have to find some time - as I'm all over the place this week.

BTW - I'll be fishing again on Friday afternoon thru to Saturday evening if you wanted the wheels etc dropped off.

[chris.richard]

Originally posted by Matt No VAT
Also due to the engine swap the rear fibreglass bulkhead cover panel needs to be changed as the access panel is no longer needed.



Is the glassfibre panel a standard Hawk bit? I didn't get one with the car, but I'd have thought any alternative trimming of the bulkhead would do?

[Matt No VAT]

Hi Chris,

I dont know if its part of the kit, I suspect not, but if anyone else knows please correct me if I am wrong??

I have a home made 3mm thick ally panel covering the bulkhead and the fibreglass panel over that and its the fibreglass section that has been trimmed, I'll keep it this way as then I can "hide" the ally section with the nice looking trim (when its done properly)

I fixed heat and soundproofing to the engine bay side of the ally panel and the additional layer of fibreglass and trim will assist in bringing engine noise inside the cabin to an acceptable level.

Have to toodle off to Liverpool for a couple of days working so will have to look at the linkage when I get back.

[mogul_x]

Originally posted by chris.richard


Is the glassfibre panel a standard Hawk bit? I didn't get one with the car, but I'd have thought any alternative trimming of the bulkhead would do?

Chris,

I think the fiberglass bulkhead may have been a standard part at one point, but I'm not sure if it still is. I have an old Hawk brochure that lists a "rear bulkhead in black" amongst the bodywork included in the kit. My car didn't come with a 'glass bulkhead, but I ordered the optional alloy bulkhead. I don't know if there would have been a fiberglass bulkhead if I hadn't ordered the alloy one.

I'm reasonably sure that Steve Ramm's car came with a fiberglass bulkhead when he bought it in '97. It's approximately the same vintage as yours, but he may have said that he ordered the bulkhead as an extra. Or maybe he ordered the alloy bulkhead and got the 'glass one - I can't remember.

Anyway, alternative trimming should be fine. I know of at least one car that is using a plywood bulkhead. :eek: The alloy bulkhead from Hawk Cars is only about 1 mm thick, and comes in three pieces. You could either make your own, or purchase one from Hawk cars. I'm sure Gerry would be more than happy to sell you one.

I think I promised you a photo at one point, which I apologize for not getting out to you. The disposable camera that I need to finish off doesn't work at ranges of less than 4 feet, and my 35mm is out of film. I'll buy a roll of film, or see if I can borrow a digital camera from work.

Cheers,

Scott

[roger001]

The fibreglass bulkhead was a standard item in early kits, (I bought mine in 1986) I presume it was dropped as a lot of people wanted to use sloping bulkheads in which case it became obsolete.

[rutthenut]

Originally posted by roger001
I presume it was dropped as a lot of people wanted to use sloping bulkheads in which case it became obsolete.

I didn't think this part had been dropped, but it won't be included if a kit has the alloy bulkhead - it won't even fit in that case.

Also, different builders will take different approaches which may mean kits have been built with alternative solutions even when this fibre bulkhead was available.

I see nothing much wrong with a ply bulkhead either, as it would at least provide much better thermal and acoustic insulation.

[chris.richard]

They wouldn't comply withe MSA technical regs though, would they?

[Steve_R]

Yep, my kit came with the fiberglass bulkhead even though I ordered the alloy sloping bulkhead. Given the shipping costs, it wasn't worth complaining about.

What's the alloy sloping bulkhead look like? Same shape?

BTW, Lotus Esprits and Europas (maybe more) have plywood bulkheads. Nothing wrong with a little bit of plywood ... it was the first composite material.

-Steve

[chris.richard]

It slopes from the bottom of the rear window forward behind the seats at a guess, the bottom will be 9 inches (~25cm)in front of the top; meaning that there is no gap to put anything behind the seats.

[mogul_x]

Originally posted by Steve_R
Nothing wrong with a little bit of plywood ... it was the first composite material.

-Steve

Agreed. Lots of really neat things have been built from plywood. Mosquito light bombers, PT boats (motor torpedo boats - not sure if the PT designation was used anywhere but here) among other things.

Okay, maybe torpedo boats aren't plywood in the truest sense, but the construction yeilds a very plywood-like laminate.:rolleyes:

I have to attribute my reaction the the use of plywood in a car to having seen too many examples of it used poorly. Sloppily built beetle-engined kit cars (Bradley GT anyone?), lazy attempts at repairing rusted out floors, that sort of thing. Seeing all of that soggy, delaminated plywood has left me with an unfavorable (and perhaps undeserved) impression. If it's done right, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just so few people take the care to make a neat job of it.

I guess I'm a little prejudiced towards fiberglass and more exotic composites. Apologies to the plywood fans out there :D

Cheers,