MadaboutKitcars

That’s a smart bit of (wooden) kit you have built there! Looks like the same high quality of construction that you demonstrate on the Sabre build! A man cave and now a wife cave! The ultimate bliss! Looking forward to the next car update! Peter.

That looks like a Dunster House.

It is indeed!

Time for an update?

Well, I guess it's time for an update.......

First up is a bit of corrective rework of something of a bit of a cock-up I made a while ago when I developed my brake system.
I've never really been happy with the 'feel' of my brakes despite numerous bleed sessions. After a brief discussion with Robin he suggested I check the bore size of my master cylinder. The master cylinder I initially fitted has a bore diameter of 17.8mmm and the standard Sierra master cylinder has a diameter of 22mm. It doesn't seem much difference at first sight until you remember the volume of fluid displaced is proportional to the square of the radius. It immediately became clear that this was a big mistake so I embarked on changing the master cylinder to one for a Sierra.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The next problem was to find a suitable push rod but ebay came to my rescue with this one the perfect length.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The mushroom shaped end of the new pushrod was too large for the Sierra master cylinder so I had to reprofile it like this.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I also made up this 10mm thick spacer. Two reasons, one was that the hole in my mounting plate was too small for the new master cylinder and I didn't fancy making it bigger. Secondly, the output ports are spaced 10mm nearer the bulkhead and i didn't fancy trying to shorten the brake lines and re-flaring the ends in situ. I made the spacer with a hole-saw, a hacksaw and a file. You can see how close one of the mounting screws is to the mounting screw for the Sierra master.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

New master cylinder being trial fitted to set the correct length of the pushrod.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The next challenge was to find a Sierra reservoir which are like hens teeth. This one came all he way from Lithuania and was filthy dirty inside and out when it arrived. Lots of brake cleaner and it came up okay. Also, the fluid level switch was corroded inside but I took it apart and cleaned up the contacts and it now works fine.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Now all plumbed in and system filled with fresh Dot 4.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

All finished and brakes bled and feeling much better.

New Brake Master Cylinder by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm now working on lining the interior with sound proofing before tackling the carpets.....

......peter

Brakes

Your attention to details never ceases to amaze me. Every step you have taken in the build of this wonderful car has been brilliant. You sims to be fully conversant with woodwork too. Good luck with everything Peter.

Thanks Amir, I always try to do the best job I can within my capabilities but I am just an enthusiastic amateur so I don't always get things right first time.

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A few small progress updates interrupted by a weeks holiday.

I've started on fitting the carpet underlay inside the car. I'm using 6mm thick self adhesive soundproofing. Easy to fit but a very time consuming process of cutting a paper pattern first to get the shape right.

Interior fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Also, I've now fixed the handbrake lever cover and cubby hole with 4 bolts and rivnuts into the top of the propshaft tunnel.

Interior fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

In parallel, I have purchased my first tyre. After much pondering I've chosen a high profile 185/80R15 tyre to maximise the ground clearance and to get the right period look. I have bought just one tyre so far to allow me to check it fits the front and rear positions without fouling on any bodywork or chassis. They just clear the front valence on full lock.

Tyres by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The Ford Focus wheels I bought years ago have a different hub offset than the standard Sierra wheels so I have had to fit these 20mm spacers. I chose concentric spacers with longer wheel studs. Bit of a faff to fit as you have to remove the brake calipers to get the brake discs off.

Wheel spacers by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Fitting the wheel spacers required longer studs which required the removal of the brake calipers and discs.

Wheel spacer by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The keen eyed might notice a new jack in the background. The latest addition to my tool collection. An electric jack. I was a bit sceptical but it works really well and takes the effort out of jacking up the car.

Electric Jack by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And the final check was to make sure that this wheel and tyre combination fits in the spare wheel well in the boot. I was pleased to find it fitted perfectly suggesting this is indeed the intended tyre size when the car was designed.

Tyres by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

That's it for now and I hope to make a bit more progress before our next holiday!

....peter

Just back from holiday so a small update.......

Before we went on holiday, I managed to finish the fitting of the soundproofing carpet underlay.
But, before laying the underlay on the driver's side I decided to make a foot rest for my left foot when not on the clutch. It looks like mahogany but it is in fact moisture resistant MDF coated with a couple of coats of left over external varnish.

Clutch Foot rest by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So, the sound proofing underlay fitting could then continue.......

Sound proofing by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Now finished and ready for the carpet fitting.

Sound proofing by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

That's all for now.....

....peter

I can't believe it's a whole month since my last post but I finally got around to start fitting the carpet. This is something that I'm not very familiar with, so it's been a bit of 'learning on the job' and a bit of 'making it up' as I go along. My budget doesn't stretch to have the carpets professionally made so hopefully it won't look too amateurish.

First, I made a template of the passenger side floor from cardboard.

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then transferred the template to the carpet. It was raining outside so I made a temporary table by placing a board across my car and workbench.

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then turned my attention to making a template for the propshaft tunnel but the shape of the tunnel meant that had to split this piece into two sections. The joint will be hidden by the seat when fitted.

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

After fitting the first section I made another template making sure I marked the position of the holes for the seatbelt anchor.

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

With the second section fitted, I temporarily replaced the handbrake cubby box.

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

It's a slow process but getting there....

More templating to follow......

.....peter

I had quite a good productive time in my garage this week. Made good progress on the carpet fitting and some pieces now dropped off at a local trimmer to have some of the edges trimmed.

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Carpet fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Just got to do the passenger and drivers footwell panels.
Oh, and the boot, of course

...peter

Time in the garage this month has been focussed on finishing the central armrest/handbrake cover.

Before finally fixing the arm rest/cubby box I made up some 9mm thick pads out of plywood for the frame to rest on.

Central armrest fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I had the arm rest professionally covered by a local trimmer. He did a great job and much much better than I could ever achieve.

Central armrest fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The handbrake handle cover was designed to fit a VW T5 Transporter.
I also had this gaiter professionally made by the same local trimmer. Excellent quality and very reasonable.

Central armrest fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I glued and stapled the gaiter to the back of the surround. Very pleased with the result.

Central armrest fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Handy storage space.

Central armrest fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

It wasn't until I came to connect the window switches that I realised the RMC loom is designed for illuminated Granada window switches but I had sourced and fitted Sierra switches. The pin-out is different so I had to spend a couple of hours with the Sierra Haynes manual and a magnifying glass to figure out the connections. I bench tested my homework before fitting the switches to the car.

Window switch wiring connections by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Window switches connected.

Window switches connected by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Window switches fitted by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So that's it all finished and I'm very pleased with the result

Central Armrest complete by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Next up I will be fitting the gear stick gaiter, so until next time.....

....peter

As always, job done perfect.

Thanks, it came out better than I had expected so I'm pretty pleased.

The Christmas preparations and the sub-zero temperatures in my gargae caused progress to slow to zero over the last couple of weeks.
But a surprise break in the weather today allowed me to finish the carpeting of the gearbox tunnel.

Gearbox tunnel carpeting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Including finishing the gearstick surround and new gear knob.

Gearstick surround by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

That's probably the last update this year so I'll just wish everybody a Happy Christmas!

........peter

Nice work, Peter, that looks very tidy.
Happy Christmas to you too

Dear Peter, I, like all readers who have been following your build so far, have enjoyed every post about your work and been envious of your capability. I believe we would enjoy it right up to the finish of the project. Well done, Wish you, family and those who read this post, a happy Christmas and may you be blessed with a new year filled with good health, happiness and joy.

Happy New Year!!

Just about time left for one more post of 2022......
But first thanks to Kon and Amir for your best wishes and a Happy New Year to you and all my readers,

I managed to find the time to re-fit the passenger door this week. (Only about 10 years after I removed it :der

Firstly, I fitted the door wiring loom grommet.

Passenger door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then positioned the door which is surprisingly heavy with glass, winder mechanism and locks, etc. A couple of old scrap tyres and my workshop floor mat made just about the right height to slide it on to the hinges.

Passenger door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And after fitting the four bolts and a bit of fettling the door was on and clicked closed on the door catch striker.

Passenger door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Passenger door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Passenger door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Now just showing off the beautiful lines of the Sabre.

Passenger door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Here's to 2023

Well I can't believe I have been following your build for over 10 years.!! Your attention to detail and tenacity is off the scale. Looking forward to future updates. Best wishes for the New Year.

Great updates. Thanks for sharing the techie details.

Lovely car too

Dave

Thirded, it's going to be drop dead gorgeous this one!

New year - same car :-)

Thanks froggyman, DaveP and Biggles for your kind words of encouragement.

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My wife bought me this nice picnic set for Christmas so I better crack on and get this car finished for Summer

Picnic Basket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Firstly, I finished fitting the door wiring grommet, the restraining strap and the interior lighting switch. I then connected up the door wiring to the cars loom and tested the door window and door lock.

Door fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Then I could do some more interior trimming. I decided to make a panel that encloses the space above the passenger footwell. I started by templating the under dash cover on the passenger side.
I then cut a sheet of aluminium to fit. It fits into a slot I made at the base by gluing a strip of angle ali to the bulkhead and is fixed to a bracket bolted to the underside of the dashboard.
I then covered the ali sheet with carpet and glued soundproof mat to the rear side to stop any chance of vibration.

Carpeting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Carpeting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Carpeting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Carpeting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I have also been recovering the rear quarter panels. These panels are made of GRP and were supplied as part of the kit. I first cleaned up the panels by removing the old glue. I then covered them in scrim foam using spray adhesive. And then covered them in some navy vinyl.

Rear quarter panel by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Rear quarter panel by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Hopefully, the weather will stay mild enough to carry on with the trimming....

....peter

Of course, the weather immediately plunged back below zero in my garage and combined with a nasty head cold has slowed my progress over the last two weeks. But I have managed to (almost) complete three more panels.

Firstly, the passenger side 'a' post cover had to be modified to fit because I mounted the ECU behind the side bar. I then covered it in a piece of carpet and fixed it to the 'a' post with some plywood packing pieces. (the cover is to the left in this photo)

'A' post cover by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Next I tackled the door sill panel. The original sill cover panels were made of thin plywood covered in carpet but these had rotted due to the years of damp storage conditions. So, I remade them out of 2mm thick aluminium and then covered them in scrim foam and navy vinyl.

Sill cover by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Then on to the passenger door card...
The door cards on the Sabre are brilliantly designed GRP mouldings. First I had to clean off the old adhesive and repaire a broken corner. I also found that I needed to trim about 5mm off the bottom edge of the card to clear the door seal.

Passenger Door Card by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then covered the card in scrim foam and cream vinyl. The inner window draught seal still to be fitted as I needed to order some tiny screws to fix it to the door card.

Passenger Door Card by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

A little plain atm but I plan to have some professionally trimmed door cards made post IVA and registration to match the seats.

More trimming next week........

..................peter

Wow!

Brilliant work!

Regards, Mick

That looks ace, great work. I can only hope that mine will turn out half as nice... if I ever get there

Superb I wish I had your patience and skill!