2nd
Today was the 2005 Stoneleigh Kit Car show. I went to pick up some more donor parts from the MNR stand as it's a good day out and makes a change from visiting their workshops each time.
The show was huge, far bigger than I was expecting and probably TOO big. I just didnt have enough time to look at each car in any detail, and spent more time rummaging around tool stalls in the hope of picking some stuff up cheap. Unfortunately, I'm not at a stage where I know what I want, so even though there was a load of people selling automotive nuts+bolts I couldnt buy any as Ive no idea whats generally used.
I met Graham at the show who was with a fella called John, who lives -kind of- nearby (North west area) and who has ordered a Vortx kit to fit an R1 engine. very handy for my build If i get into trouble, but guess what, he's chose orange too! (here's me thinking i'm being the first!)
MNR actually had some new bodywork on display which i'll be getting. The rear and side panels are all one peice now which makes fitting easier and the nose has been slightly redesigned. Another nice redesign is the bonnet section which has nice curved edges rather than being a flat sheet. it should make fitting easier. The bodywork on display was orange too, which was a surprise when I saw it as I looked more of a yellowy orange. I was expecting more of a reddy orange but that could have been the exhibition hall lights, they were very yellow which made it hard to guage colours. Im still sticking with it though!

Trying to determine what kind of orange colour under yellow room lighting..

I came away with a box full of Differential, rear hub carriers, and driveshafts. Unfortunately when I got home I noticed that the Diff hadnt been helicoiled as per the build manual, and the 2 rear carriers were odd shapes and looked like they were from different cars, so they have to go back. So it didnt really save a journey to the workshops after all.. good day out though!

The manky diff and driveshafts!

7th-8th
I Dropped my diff and odd bits off with Graham as he kindly offered to take them to MNR as hes going to get his diff modified too. He's going with John in a van as John is picking up his kit! lucky man!
Picked up my stuff from Graham's house the next day, and he'd brought back some calipers from MNR from the donor car. really tired looking things! probably a good idea to just buy some reconditioned ones!

11th
Drove up to Newcastle to visit parents, also an opportunity to raid his garage for tools! Got a rivet gun, brake pipe flaring kit, hole saws, tons of shelving for the garage, and most importantly a grotty old battery charger! I'm going to try electrolysis rust removal instead of scrubbing away all day with a wire brush.

14th
Wow, what can I say. Electrolysis is amazing!

effortless cleaning, just how I like it. takes a while though, but I can just leave it on all day and periodically check up on it. I might give one of the tatty calipers a go now!

The 2 weeks were spent trying to get the donor parts ready in time for me getting the kit.

The uprights, hub carriers, and caliper brackets were individually treated to a dunk in the fizzy electric bath. After a fair few hours they were removed, scrubbed to get the remaining rust off, and dried. Each part was then masked over the important bits so the paint didnt get in (inside the carriers + uprights where the bearings go, exposed threads, sliding pins etc)

They were then painted with red oxide primer, and then finally sprayed with 2 light coats of Halfords satin black. (I tried hammerite smooth black but it was rubbish and didnt really stick to the primer and pooled)

The Diff was covered with Mr Muscle Oven cleaner for 2 hours, then hosed off with a pressure washer. The oil filler plug on the diff is fused solid so i took the back plate off, and rubbed the gears and insides down with cloths soaked in white spirits. The back plate was sealed around the edges with Loctite black Liquid gasket and the Torx bolts were all torqued back up.
The diff was painted with the red primer (odd, as I thought aluminium needed special primer but the can said it could be used on aluminium too), and it was then given a coat of Hammerite Smooth Silver. I'd have preferred black but I had the silver lying about, and you never really see a diff so I didnt think it mattered that much!

Since I couldn't fill the diff via the oil filler plug as it was stuck, I used some plastic pipe and a funnel and filled it through the breather plug hole at the top. since the diff is pretty much airtight when the breather plug is covered (ie, when you are trying to pour something in!), filling took a VERY LONG TIME.

Once everything was painted up, I began putting the new bearings in to the hub bits. I wasnt looking forward to this after the grief I had removing them but it wasnt so bad.
I found that 2 old bearings outer races (that you knock out in the first place) taped together make ideal 'drifts' to knock the new ones in without damaging them. the old ones lie perfectly flat on the new ones and you can whack away at the old ones without fear of damaging anything. tap opposite sides in a circle to avoid wedging the bearing at an angle.

Fitting New bearings

29th - Stage 1 Pickup day!
To spread the costs of the original order for an entire car I split it into 3 'stages'. Stage 1 is the starter kit and anything else that goes in early. (propshaft, donor parts, fuel tank, loom etc)
Stage 2 is the engine and related parts (radiator, clocks etc)
Stage 3 is finishing touches (seats, lights, harnesses etc)
Today stage 1 was ready to be picked up!

I booked a Jumbo transit van as its got a cargo hold with 4 metres in length. It turns out there was stacks of room when the chassis was in, but i think it'd be a bit of a squeeze with a shorter van.
Everything was stacked and ready when I got there and I had a checklist of my own to tick it all off as it went in the van. Unfortunately, my bodywork wasn't quite ready as there was some confusion with the bodywork people so that will be delivered to my house when its done. I did get rear arches though and the tangerine colour looks really nice!

Unloading and ready to go. Plus the Quaife reverse - A thing of beauty! (it should be for that price!)

Now the 'fun' starts!

June >