2 December 2007
Session 217 - Crank pulley attached
Before attaching the crank pulley need to ensure that the crank trigger wheel is in the right position. I have hadn't got my VR sensor bracket made up yet. I did buy a bracket which as supposedly the right one for my engine layout but I discovered that it was not and I need to get one specially made! Anyway the trigger wheel needs to be installed such that when the engine is at TDC that the missing toothed passed the sensor 50 degrees ago, i.e. five teeth passed. As the trigger wheel is bolted to the damper using the original six bolts can move the wheel in 30degree increments. This sounds simple doesn't it? Well double check it against the diagram you can find here.
I torqued the six pulley bolts up 18 ft/lbs as they are 5/16" bolts. This was easy enough. The toughest bit is doing up that, beep, beep, of a crank pulley bolt, its quite big, I had to use a 15/16" socket! With the longer crank nose used in later engines (specifically for crank driven oil pump) and the older interim timing cover which is shallower you have to obtain a spacer for the crank whch I obtained quite a while ago, so this is inserted over the crank nose after the pulley, then the thickest washer I had ever seen.
The crank bolt requires 200 ft/lbs of torque! Struth! Erm. Well I carried on and thought, okay, no problem, select a low gear, pull handbrake on, make sure I have my spark plugs done up tight and away we go! So, 20ft/bs,40ftlbs,60ftl/lbs,80ftllbs, can hear air compressing in the bores, okay... 90 ft/lbs can hear the drive shafts creak, erm, okay. 110 ft/lbs, the car is moving forward towards me, back to hand brake, pull it right up, okay, 120ft/lbs, moving again. Okay now it is time for chocks at the rear wheels, okay, 140ft/lbs, still using one hand on my 18inch torque wrench, cars moving again, eh!, looked at the back and the tyres were digging into the chocks!, ok, 150ft/lbs, car still moving, christ, the car has drove up onto the chocks and balancing near the top, phew! Okay now every wheel chocked with wood, etc. 160ft/lbs, 180ft.bs and starting to worry as I can feel the bar bending, by this time I was using both hands and leaning over with my full weight as well and actually quite worried what would happen if the socket, bar or something gave way, I had visions of spending Sunday afternoon in casuality! Finally click-click on 200ft/lbs and was a I little red and my hands have knurls marks on them now.
12 December 2007
Session 218 - Oil cooler and remote filter housing
Now this has taken me a while to get the bits for this. I ordered the complete kit from Westfield which includes the oil filter take-off plate, the remote filter housing, the oil cooler and all the necessary bolts, brackets etc. Problem is Westfield had a problem getting hold of an oil cooler but my usual patient self waited for three weeks and then I asked them to send the bits that got and I would source the cooler from somewhere else. Okay, that's where the fun began, why because plumbing uses also sorts of strange standards, BSP, AN, JIC, Standard imperial, Standard metric. The later two I can work out but BSP,AN and JIC I haven't a clue. In the end I went across to Earls Performance at Silverstone with my pipe work.
This is a Earls performance oil cooler which is superb quality I am sure its as good as Mocal if not better. The advantage with this little number is that the fittings as you can see are interchangable so you can have any inlet/outlet size you want. The westfield supplied pipes have a 5/8" bore (16mm) and the connectors, unions are JIC -10 which you could easily mistake for 5/8BSP or straight 7/8" imperial.
Westfield supply the unions to convert the appropriate connectors of the pipe to fit a standard Mocal remote filter and takeoff plate.
Today (well 1hour of it!)I plumbed the kit it to trial fit to see where everything goes and why I will need to attach the remote filter to the chasis.
This photo shows the oil cooler held on to the bracket temporarily with cable ties. The bracket is installed on the top bolts of the alloy steering rack clamps. These rubber pipes are a little difficult to manuoeve and quite easily move my remote filter housing which was clamped to the chassis.
Photo showing the remote filter housing temporarily clamp to the chassis, this seems to be the best position for the pipe and engine clearance. I am a little concerned that the pipe on the right hand side will be closer to the manifold than I would like, I shall get some heat reflective tubing here I think.
Photo undeneath the flter housing showing clearance, ignore the clamp I will remove that later!
Photo of the take-off plate installed where the oil filter is normally installed. This is installed hand tight then a further 3/4 of turn. Coat the surfaces with engine oil prior to assembly. You should of course install all the unions with oil to form a good seal and the appropriate o-rings, dowty washers where required. The unions I installed in the take-off plate and remote filter housing I have used ARP thread sealer, which is kind of like masticized PTFE tape. The compression side of the union there is no need to use the sealer (apparently?). You can see in this photo the clearance, just between the lower steering column. Also what you cannot see if that the clearance to the drive belt is almost as close.
14 December 2007
Session 219 - Oil cooler plumbing
Another hour or so on this topic. Drilled chasis for the remote filter head, rivnuts installed and bolted down. I even thought I'd install the horn as this is in the vicinity. Everthngi installed and pipe work tightened. Oil cooler held in place as per Westfield recommendation. I also put some neoprene rubber on the oil cooler bracket to help absorb vibration (well I have loads of it left!).
Photo of the remote filter head with filter installed (filled with oil). You will see that I have used some aluminimised heat reflective tubing on the right hand pipe because its going to be within a few inches of the exhaust header for cylinder 1. Being belt and braces type I am a little concerned about the bracket here as it does not feel absolutely solid as the rivnits are not countersunk. I shall monitor over time and if it becomes a problem then I shall rectify. The oil filter is filled with oil and also smeared over the rubber seal ring prior to assembly which is 3/4 turn once the seal touches the remote filter head surface. At the botom of the picture you can see the red horn, yes it faces inwards, the inclination is to face it forward but the westfield build photos show it like this, I assume because the nose ducting might obscure it or problem with clearance.
Pipe work laid in the most stress free way possible clearing brake lines, loom, chassis and other possible abrasive points. Secure with tie wraps. hopefully providing enough clearance for the nose cone ducting as this little lot is tighten up and I spent a while doing this. The top hose the one tie clipped to the top chassis member connects the remote filter take-off plate offside position to the remote filter head near side position. Next hose down from the nearside oil cooler connects to the nearside remote filter take-off plate. Finally the hose lowest in the picture connects the offside oil cooler postion to offside remote filter head. This should mean that the oil flows from the engine to the oil filter first and then into the oil cooler, then back to the engine nice and clean and chilled!
In fact here's a quick scematic diagram that I did which makes it a little easier to understand, I know only three pipes but critical that this is done correctly.
Another view from 45 degree angle from floor showing oil cooler held down tie wraps, yes I did use white ones over black! I also filled the oil cooler with oil prior to assembly and yes it was a little messy and took a while. Filling the oil cooler and oil filter used about 2.5 litres of oil! A side effect of adding in an oil cooler is extra capacity not that helps with engine lubrication but it must increase the capacity to disburse heat from the system, maybe?
Yes, not a lot of room and I still have the water to plumb in.
Picture of remote filter take off plate, this is installed much the same was as an oil filter, grease up the rubber with oil turn 3/4 of a turn past the initial contact of surfaces.
When the car is initialy started I shall keep a close eye on this for leaks, plumbing isn't my strong point. I am sure I do not have to explain what can happen to an engine if oil pressure is not maintained.
18 December 2007
Today I left the house at 06:30hrs to begin my road trip of 400 miles. To deliver my alloys wheels to a Capri owner that I have sold them to. It isn't that I disliked the alloys but the offset was not quite right for the rear and the color of the centres is a little off my colour scheme. I got a fair price for them which covered my for a set of new alloys which are narrower but just about wide enough for my tyres I need. I also was picking up some second hand seats, westfield sports seats in very good condition, they are less than a year old and only been used for 2000 miles. I also dropped of my exhaust headers and y-piece to be camcoated.
The seats had the runners pre-installed and just a matter of dropping in. They are a perfect fit and match.
Here's a picture of one of the Pro Race 1.2s alloys I have bought. These alloys weigh 7 kgs. The tyres aren't hyper profiles! I am waiting for the tyres to be delivered.
20 December 2007
Session 220 - Wheels and Tyres
My tyres arrived today. Basically they are road legal track day tyres, Toyos. Toyos are considered one of the best tyres for the purpose of a road legal track day tyre. I have gone for 225/50/15s for the rear and 205/50/15s for the front, according to my sources the best size for handling and performance for a Westfield SEiGHT. I could not resist weighing them, the 225s come out at 10.2Kgs, the 205s are 9.2Kgs
So today I rang around tyre fitters, well actually I got lucky first time and the price quoted was very reasonable and I had a chat with the tyre fitter, you know telling him how to install, as they are directional tyres, basically telling a Granny how to suck eggs but I'd rather ensure that they are installed correctly! It was a little surreal dropping two boxes and telling them the wheels are in there and handing over tyres with courier labels still attached! 20 minutes later and they are done and look great, I could tell they cleaned the alloys and removed the labels from the wheels, bless em! They installed the shorter tyre valves which I acutally forgot to ask for. I shall be going there again.
So then next I installed the wheels, making sure that I put them on the right place because of the directional tread pattern and different size from front to back, each tyre has its place. As you know the offset was 35mm, I chose this because I was expecting that this would be correct at the front and that I would need 5mm spacers at the rear. Erm well I decided that the fronts needed 5mm (equiv ET 30mm) spacers to clear the cycling wing bracket and ensure that it is centrally placed in the cycle wing. I have bought some 3mm and 5mm spacers for the rear because I think 3mm (equiv ET 32) might be okay for the rears, I need to check in daylight, the issue being clearing the platform on the dampers, seems a little close for my liking.
Early on in my build you remember that I replaced the hub studs with extended ones for the other alloys I had to ensure that I engaged the complete thread of open ended nuts.Its nothing more than fluke that I did not have to replace the studs again! The Westfeld open-ended nuts engage the stud thread by 26mm. Being M12 studs the minimum thread enagagement should be one and a half times the diameter or 18mm. By fluke these wheels with the different offset engage the entire thread, meaning I can go up to a maxi,um spacer of 8mm. With open-ended nuts looks shabby but these wheels came with a fitting kit comprising of spigot ring for ford hubs and closed-end wheel nuts which are actually shorter, so I shall be using these.
Picture of the front near side wheel.
Picure of same wheel showing location in the cycle wing. The cycle wing is not fixed and I have a few miliimetres of adjustment that can be made.
Look at that tread, amazing its legal! The rubber compound is medium or standard for Toyos (2g or gg) but for a road tyre quite sticky, I placed the cold tyre on my garage floor and when I lifted it off five minutres later I swear I heard it parting from the floor! They do a much softer compound but not recommended for the road can be a little dangerous in wet conditions.
Here's a picture of the rear, spacers not installed. I know the angle is a bit acute to judge but it is cold and dark out there! Looks like my ride hide needs tweaking again but I shall do that later on when the under slung exhaust is fitted in early Feburary.
21 December 2007
Session 221 - Wheels continued..
Cannot spend much time on the car today as I have other commitments, I managed to spend 30minutes to install the spacers on the back, in the end I went with the 3mm spacers, I have kept the 5mm spacers, I might change my mind later, but the clearances seem fine at the rear. The fronts however seem very close to the cycle bracket, about 2mm, granted the bracket is attached to the upright so the whole assembly moves together. It looks to me as if the brackets that attach the cycle wing brackets that bolt to the upright are a little bent, when I have a little more time I shall try and manipulate to give a bit more clearance.
Photo showing the position of the rear wheel in the rear arch, ideally I would have liked to try and make central but the arches have a return lip which is about 10mm and with the suspension movement I want to ensure that I do not make contact. Like I say I have kept the 5mm spacers so I can change later if I think I can get away with it once the suspension is all set up corectly. Since this entry I have set the suspension height to he Westfield recommendation and also fitted the 5mm spacer. Regarding ride height (175mm rear, 160mm front) this still looks high but I shall worry about this once I have the exhaust fitted!
Photo of rear showing position in the arch, as you can see aesetically the ride height could be lowered about 10mm to make an even gap around the wjheel but of course I shall not comprimise handling for cosmetics! I am liking the alloys, in my opionion the match the car perfectly.
You probably cannot make out the clearances in the photo below, but this is showing the inside of the rear wheel, that it clears the suspension.
Rear quarter view.
Photos of front wheel showing position in cycle wing, which is not yet attached.
Central in cycle wing.
View from the side rear of the front wheel showing how close to the cycle wing. This is the nearside one, the offside is actually not as close. Like I say I shall tweak the cycle wing brackets. I was expecting to have to do this anyway and this will not take a lot of adjustment to get right.
Tweaked the cycle wing brackets with a little brute force on the welded on brackets and also some strategic placement of washers. Minimum clearance is 4-5mm at worst between the tubular section and the tyre wall with the flat section being easily 10mm.
31 December 2007
Session 222 - Headlamps wiring
Went about making a pigtail for my westfield headlamps that I acquired secondhand. The H4 connector was inside the headlamp but I had spare new H4 connectors so I decided to make the whole pigtail from scratch with bullet connectors so that I can disconnect inside the lamp to facilitate easy swapping over of headlamps as I am only going to use the westfield ones to pass the SVA, they are too big for my liking. I intend on switching over my carbon fibre effect asap after the SVA!
I obtained the following diagram from the WSCC forum, sorry forgot who posted it.
As I said my pigtail is in two parts, the first part from the H4 connector to bullet type connectors and then female bullet type connectors to the 4 way econoseal connector. Now econoseal connectors I am afraid I wasted quite a few pins to perfect the technique as I have not used econoseals before.You have to remove the exact amount of insulation from the cable, about 3mm! then you have to crimp into the pin and if the crimp is not perfect then the pin will not insert into the plug! I used a general purpose automotive crimping tool but it was very fiddly. There are special tools for the purpose of installing this connectors but as I have only two to install would be a waste of money.
I could not get the same colour designations for my pigtail wires, conventional colours only. Refer to tables below for colour codes I used, note that lefthand and righthand are listed separately because the main loom colors are slightly different.
| Loom | My Pigtail | Westfield H4 Connector | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Black | Black | Ground |
| Red/Orange | Red | Red | Side light |
| Slate/Blue | Brown | Blue/White | Main beam |
| Blue/Pink | Green | Blue/Red | Dipped beam |
| Loom | My Pigtail | Westfield H4 Connector | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Black | Black | Ground |
| Red/Black | Red | Red | Side light |
| Blue/Slate | Brown | Blue/White | Main beam |
| Blue/Pink | Green | Blue/Red | Dipped beam |
After installed I checked the circuits between the fusebox and the headlamp.
Picture of headlamp, all black apart from the allen screw at the top, which is already annoying me, even though just using to get through the SVA.
Photo of the rear showing extra wide convulated tubing that I used for effect. This tubing is just big enough to be pushed over the top of the headlamp retaining bolt.
Whilst I had my bonnet off I took the opportunity to fit the oil dip stick and bend it to fit under the bonnet. The new curvature of the tube make inserting the dip stick an art form with the twisted bit on the end of the dip stick, so I cut it off, perfect now. I also put in a gallon of oil and noticed the the oil level can only be read on one side of the dip stick, the side on the external side of the bend.
I have put the engine oil in. The oil filter takes 300cc, the cooler takes 260cc, the pipe work about 450cc, so a total of 1litre. The sump took 4.5litres to fill to the min mark, a futher 2litres was required to fill to the max mark. So total engine oil capacity is 7.5litres.
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