Front wheel hub spigot rings

Front wheel hub spigot rings

The front hubs as supplied in my kit are an alloy assembly originally intended for a Caterham (formerly a Triumph Spitfire upright). They do not have Ford 108PCD spigot rings despite the correct Ford 108 stud pattern. Now some readers at this point may not know what I am banging on about.

Here is a quote from AUTO Inparts.com

"What are Spigot Rings and why do I need them?
Spigot Rings (Centre Rings) are used to ensure that an alloy wheel is correctly centred on to the hub of the vehicle. If an alloy wheel is fitted without spigot rings it will probably cause the wheel to vibrate, make it almost impossible to balance, increase uneven tyre wear and in time will work the fixings loose. So, fitting wheels without spigot rings can be very dangerous."

The hubs do have a ring that is 2.6mm high and 58.5mm in diameter. The Ford 108PCD spigot ring is 63mm in diameter and approx 10mm high. I therefore decided to make an alloy adaptor made out of a concentric wheel spacer similar to a DemonTweeks part see reference below.

I managed to get a pair from ebay second hand 10mm thick. These spacers assume there is a spigot ring in place already on your wheel hub and you are placing the spacer on top of the existing ring maintaining concentricity. By turning off 5mm from the inside of the spacer I effectively made a 5mm spacer without the starting camphor provided. I then turned a ring out of 63mm bar that matched the 58mm ring on the inside and the 63mm hole in the wheel spacer. I now have concentric spigot rings on both front hubs. I also have 5mm x 2 extra wheel width at the front. It appears the studs have plenty capacity for the 5mm spacer.

Excessive attention to detail, I don't think so. What do you think?

References

AUTO Inparts.com:
http://www.autoinparts.com/Wheel_nuts,_bolts,_locks,_spacers_and_accessories-Spigot_rings_for_O.E_and_Aftermarket_Alloy_Wheels/c628_897/index.html
Concentric wheel spacer example:
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/performance/wheel-spacers/demon-tweeks-hubcentric-wheel-spacer

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html



 

 

 

 





The drive shafts and rolling chassis test

The drive shafts and rolling chassis test

I decided to use a company called CPS Drivelink to modify my drive shafts. The chap called Paul Sowerby is very knowledgeable. He proposed to friction weld the shafts using compatible materials. I did consider getting them remade by a chap Jeremy recommended but I got cold feet and decided to use Drivelink one stop refurbishing service and the parts would be ready to go on the car once returned from them.

I found the process of preparing to send them away quite stressful, I was told by Paul to cut and shut them by tack welding after removing a bit in the middle of each shaft and then trying them on the car. Even if I got it wrong he said, as long as long as I told him the error from what I was sending him +/- mm.  I devised a method of measuring the amount (30mm and 40mm) to initially remove the middle sections (see image). I then made up two mild steel sleeves and tack welded the whole lot together again. After I tried them in the car I appended a note to indicate there was no error.

The modified shafts were done within a week including transport, the finished shafts are now in the car and you cannot tell where they have been welded. A test drive of the rolling chassis was now in order. Before doing that I had to connect the clutch hydraulics, another stressful episode as the flexible hose leaked of course. I also had the slave cylinder, flywheel and lightweight clutch assembly replaced earlier in the year so was not 100% confident the cluch actually worked.

Anyway the test drive was a great success despite the only brakes I had was the handbrake.

The engine appeared to run too hot but that was a red herring as the temperature gauge is totally inaccurate for some reason. I checked it with a Laser/IR external device and the temperature is fine 80deg and steady.

Many thanks to my friend Angus for helping with the clutch bleeding and video record.

References

Video http://youtu.be/gv1rk9z7mhQ

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html

The gear change linkage

The gear change linkage

Today recovering from man flu I could not resist opening some of the packets of deliveries accumulated over the week. I found the bits I needed to connect up the gear selector so I spent an hour in the freezing workshop but the effort was worthwhile.

I find the build notes are a bit confusing on this issue, Jeremy  supplies some of the bits preassembled (if you want them) take my advice buy them/ add them to the order. Unfortunately you are still on your own to devise a solution from the tunnel UJ to the gearbox selector rod and linear bearing. This bracket and linear bearing effectively reverses the gear linkage for the Sigma engine and points it forward. All you have to do is find an adequate additional universal joint (UJ), attach it to the rod from the gearbox and then attach the other end to the UJ sticking out the tunnel.

I think Jeremy suggests using the UJ out of the donor car and some 15mm bar and welding the whole thing up. This was not an option for me as this UJ from my donor Puma was f....d. I did however  find extra UJ steering joint in my parts box I had inadvertently ordered extra from RallyDesign RD820F - Group 4 coupling forged steel. RD also supply a splined shaft RD849 which is a 400mm shaft with splines to match the coupling. When the aforementioned bit arrived and after careful measurement, I parted off about 50mm off one end and knurled the first 20mm of the same end so the coupling coming out the transmission tunnel so the UJ could get a grip. I then bored one end of the new UJ with a Mag Drill of 16mm dia to match the rod from the gearbox. All I had to do was file a flat in  rod from the gearbox so a 8mm bolt can be fitted and locking the UJ in place. The only adjustment left now is the UJ coupling at the tunnel. I put all this together in short order and to my amazement the whole thing worked a treat. Perhaps not a Lowcost solution at £18 +VAT but a very robust one I assure you. The positive feel is better than my Westfield with the selector sticking straight ot of the MT75.

References

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html

Engine fit and cooling system

Engine fit and cooling system

The engine, Ford Sigma/Puma 1.7 vvti, was refreshed by Sitek in Rosyth earlier in the year. The engine wiring loom and and ECU was removed from the donor Puma. So a lot of uncertainty was in my mind at this point in the build. A chap called Steve from the Westfield Sports Car club gave me a hand to do the install. The fuel system and tank are my own design which just added to the pile of things that could go wrong.

The install of the engine went smoothly enough, mainly as I did a trial install before having the chassis painted. Proceeded to connected up the fuel system and ECU, could not find the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) anywhere but decided we would proceed anyway. Connected up the battery, to my amazement the PAT's LED started flashing, I was so excited I did not even decode what it was telling me, my only defence was it looked very like the code my Ford Connect gives when the key is inserted.

Moving rapidly on, I put fuel in the tank and turned the key. The fuel pump ran and one of the fuel filter connectors at the rear started pissing fuel all over the floor. The leaking connector was one I made up quickly the previous day so I could retain the original Ford quick connect engine bay fuel pipes. Adding some PTFE tape to the 1/4NPT union did the business and the engine started, wow!

As the cooling system did not exist I thought it best to switch off the engine, the only problem was the engine remained on despite my efforts with the ignition key. Quick thinking, Steve pulled the connector off the coil pack, obviously he had done this before as I was very slow to react. I was thinking of pulling the battery terminal but I suspect that was probably  the wrong thing to do. As it was 9:30 PM and we had been at it all day (at least 12 hours) it was time to call it a day.

The list of problems at this point:

* Needs cooling system.
* Needs oil pressure light and gauge connected.
* Fault in the wiring keeping the engine on, power hold relay cct suspected in the Battery Fuse Box.
* No Alternator warning light on dash (never came on).
* Needs throttle linkage

cooling system

Of all the problems I guess a cooling system is number one. So I posted a note on the Lowcost forum asking what to order up in terms of pipes, bends etc. I did not get any answers that suggested a way forward that I liked so I decided to order up:

6 x 32mm x 90deg
3 x 32mm  x 45deg
1 x 1m x 32mm
1 x 32 x 32 x 25mm T piece Silicone
1 x 1m x 22mm
1 x 1m x 10mm
1 x 1m x 16mm
1 x 3m length of 32mm x 16gauge alloy tubing
1 x 3m  Length 16mm alloy tubing
1 10" high power fan
That lot came to well over £200 mostly from Rally design but I have not thrown away any parts and the system is fully connected.

I fabricated the Polo radiator mounting very like the suggestion from Jeremy except the Fan I mounted on a removable alloy plate with lots of hoses in it. The radiator is easily removed also with 6 x ss machine screws.

Oil pressure switch and gauge

The oil pressure gauge came with a sensor but I rapidly discovered I needed an 2 way oil adaptor to make both the switch and oil pres gauge work at the same time. All the standard adaptors gave no room for both the switch and sensor when connected at the back of the Sigma engine. I did find a site offering a flexible hose + 2 connection points for 1/8NPT devices but it also assumed an 1/8NPT hole in the engine. I made up an adaptor using a 1/4 NPT brass F-F and silver soldered the 1/8NPT bit on the end after turning the thread off the 1/8NPT part. I used a 1/8NPT pressure switch instead of the original Ford one.

Wiring faults

It is not surprising I had a fault, in fact of all the scenarios I could envisage the engine running on fault was not that difficult I hoped. It took about 4 hours in the end to track down. I separated the engine wiring loom from the original Puma wiring and rewired the Battery Junction box throwing away all the unwanted wiring connection crap that you etc on a modern car. I could bore you with the details but two solder joints and a couple of bits of heat shrink solved all. The trick was to trace all the wires from the ignition RUN cct to the power hold relay. The mistake was somewhat obvious but not at the time of course. The Alternator light had the wrong supply on one end.

Remaining problems

The engine has now run successively for about half an hour with no major problems


* Engine temperature sensor falls off readily, needs new connector.
* No Vehicle Speed Sensor (don't know what impact this has yet)
* Extra throttle return spring required, will not return rapidly to tickover.
* Temp gauge sensor needs changed to the one matching the gauge.

Drive shafts

The next problem is to send the drive shafts away and get them friction welded. The nearside shaft is 40mm too long and the offside shaft 40mm too long. I have boxed them up and sent them off to a chap called Paul Sowersby at Driveshaft Solutions in Gateshead.

Rolling chassis

The next stage is to get to the rolling chassis with brakes.

References

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html

Rear suspension and brakes

Rear suspension and brakes

There were no great surprises here after discovering the requirement to have a Hydra mechanical OEM calliper from Rally Design, if you do not use that part then your are on your own in terms of design. Once you know it is used it fits well allowing a 15" wheel but I think anything smaller would be a problem as that calliper although light weight is a big calliper as compared to say a VW golf part.

The suspension all bolts together as described in the build manual. The exception is the handbrake that I had to change the design of because of the GRP racing seat fit. In one of the picture you can see some of the modifications to the universal handbrake cable. I made a nylon bush and brass nipple to make things work smoothly. I had to remove the loop at the end of the handbrake cable as it fouled my alloy wheel rim.

I am not particularly happy with the location of the brake pipe lug so I will have another look at that after the engine fit. The brake pipe could be subject to heat from the exhaust pipe.

References

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html

Front suspension and brake assembly

Front suspension and brake assembly

After doing the 4pot Willwood conversion to the Triumph (Caterham) upright earlier in the year it is time to put it all together. The only deviation from design was the rack track rod end extensions. I ordered what I thought were the correct part (rally design  DAR006). When I tried the rack (M2 Escort) the steering geometry towed in excessively but when I added the RD part at minimum adjustment I had excessive tow out. I had a look at the RD part that interfaced with the rack, the last 10mm M14 thread  had been omitted. I ran a bottoming tap down it and all is now well. I still only have  2 turns of adjustment ether end but I recon that is adequate. The usual adjustment is a tad of tow in so the two turns either side will reduce only slightly.

I had endless debate on the Locost forum about providing a locking device for the Hydraulic T at the front and rear. I eventually took a 6mm steel plate, a 6mm bolt, cut the head off the bolt and welded it to the plate after drilling and countersinking the hole.

The brakes are American standard so are the master cylinders  so I used all unf fittings and 3/16 pipe.

I am using the Euroquip flexibles as supplied by RD, unfortunately I ordered one of the parts incorrectly. Hope you have better luck than me!

The pipe  is a Nickle Copper alloy called Kunifer which is much more vibration resistant. It does not work harden to the same extent as copper.

Hopefully my pipe attachments to the chassis will please the IVA man but you can never tell.

References

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html

The internal panels and floor

The internal panels and floor

The build manual dictates 1mm alloy on the sides and 1.5mm on the floor and foot well bulkheads. The sides are riveted every 50mm and the floor every 40mm all with 4mm alloy type. I used the sealed variety on the floor and exposed areas  and black anodised ones for the sides. and back. I decided to cover all the panels with carbon effect Vinyl.

The passenger foot well I used 2mm tread plate as this doubles as access to the fuel pump.

At this point I discovered a problem with the passenger GRP seat fouling the seat belt anchor at the tunnel. The seats are from MK Sports Cars and are a peculiar asymmetric design such that they have different fitting arrangements passenger and driver side. I will have to investigate this issue further. If necessary I will cut a lump out of the seat.

The rivets count is as follows:

Black headed
Near side outer      50
Near side tunnel    57
Back                      53
Far side tunnel      66
Far side outer        50
Back                      53
Tunnel back          24
Total                    353
Sealed
Floor                  200
Near foot well       40
Far foot well         40
Total                  280

Total at this stage 633

This in my opinion would have taken a long time with a hand riveter so I bought a Chinese copy of an air riveter. It turned out to be a piece of crap jamming about every 5th rivet. At least it was consistent and was good at getting into corners despite it's apparent bulk. I have never had much luck with riveters they appear all prone to jamming. I got supper fast at releasing the jammed tails.

There is probably about another 100 or so more rivets in the build. I must find someone I don't like to give that riveter to when I am finished the build.

Next

* Build up the suspension front and rear
* Connect up the brakes
* Inset the refreshed engine into the build
* Try to start the engine

The carbon effect vinyl is not universally popular but I think it is better than bare alloy panels and does sort of match the dashboard.

I tried the driving position and it is fabulous, worth all the work, pity about the passenger better be a small person!!!

References

Contents http://sylvabuild.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sylva-j15-is-kit-car-designed-by-jeremy.html