Went along to Stoneleigh kit car show to have a look around some other Cobra's that had been built, have a chat to some of the owners to see what sort of problems they came accross and also managed to meet up with Bob Findlow who is also building a Rover V8 based Sumo, although he's a little ahead of me in the build.
The weather was a bit of a disappointment - it kinda ruined it for the kids as it was too cold and windy. I called up Bob earlier in the day to see where he was and he was still travelling down. I called him again later in the day, hearing someones mobile ringing behind me. Turns out that was Bob looking for his phone. Quite comical really. We had a chat and exchanged a few ideas. Talked to this one guy who had build his Sumo in around four and half months. Lucky so-and-so doesn't work though, I guess that's where he had the time and money. His car looked quite good, but there were a number of areas I'd of paid a little more attention to. Still, he gave me some useful advice for when I come to sort out the clutch.
Click here to see some pictures from the show.
Today I fixed on the front brake calipers and brake lines and made sure that everything around the braking system was securley fastened. It's now ready for some brake fluid. As that was done I decided that it was time to take a look at the engine for the first time, proper.
To help me with the engine I made up a trolley so that I could sit the engine onto it and push it around. Makes it much easier than trying to lift it from one place to the next. It also makes it easier for cleaning/access as I can now turn it around with one hand. Here's a picture.
Now that the engine is on wheels as such I can start to strip off all the dirty and excess parts that I don't need and look to put in a new clutch and spark plugs. What I'd then like to do is to try and bolt the whole thing together and put it where it belongs - in the chassis. I have some more parts on order from Pilgrim, such as a wiring loom, petrol tank and instrument clocks. They'll probably turn up before I fit the engine, which is good and I'd like to get the electrics in place too. We'll see.
Not too much has happened recently in the way of car building, but a number of other things have been going on.
Last weekend I started making the groundings for a new shed. I need to take some of the kiddies crap out of the garage and put it somewhere else - it is definitely in the way. I still have more concrete that needs mixing and laying, then I have to go and buy a shed too. I tried that on Friday. With the bank holiday DIY fever all over the place you can't get one for another 4 weeks. That kinda slowed me down. Still it means I can take my time finishing off the concreting!!
This weekend has been spent going up and down the country. Started off on Saturday going to Bolton to get ready for my new god-daughter Lucy's christening on the Sunday. Came back on Monday morning to set off again to Cardiff to take Kathy to go and see the Division One play-off final. She enjoyed it - Bolton won 3-0 against Preston.
Since the last update the fuel line has been fitted to the nearside of the chassis and few other parts have arrived. I am now the proud owner of a rahter simple looking fuel tank and a horrendously complicated looking wiring loom. The next jobs I have, in order, are to fit the expansion tank, fuel pump and fuel tank and then to fit the wiring loom.
I'm also looking to rebuild parts of the engine, but that will be kept to a minimum as I'm no expert when it comes to engines, so it'll probably just be main bearings and cam chain and sprockets. I need to go and get a few more nuts and bolts for that and also some spray paint to cover the fuel tank.
When I visited Pilgrim last they also gave me the fuel sender for the fuel tank. Turns out that it doesn't fit. They must have given me the wrong one. Still, I'm told that one comes with the instrument set which I'm still waiting for, so an exchange is on the cards for that.
I also looked at how the fuel lines should be fitted from the tank to the engine. The build manual mentions that some engines require a send and return fuel line but so you may only need to fit one hard line to the chassis. What it doesn't mention is that the fuel tank is generic and so has two fuel lines coming out of it. I checked how this was done on a car at Pilgrim to save me thinking for myself. Very simple job indeed. I'll put a picture here soon to show how this can be done for those who haven't done this yet.
On a brighter note, my cheque has turned up from the insurance company so I'll be able to go out soon and buy a new digital camera so the pictures can continue. Until that arrives though you'll just have to put up with this dribble.
More soon.