MadaboutKitcars

Congrats Mike, sounds great towards the end.

I really must get out in my garage this year!

John

Great stuff! once the initial noise died down it sounded just like my M54, which is not a great surprise really. I suspect that it was noisy first off simply because it was not well lubricated after all that time. It's going to take quite a while for the oil to warm up and find its way to all the parts. Before I attempt to restart my engine I'm going to whip the rocker cover off and douse the top end and chains with oil.

An engine always runs a little rough even if the battery's been off for half an hour but not like that and not for more than a minute as it's still got a factory map. the learning bit comes in over a longer period of driving dependant on your style and fuel etc and they are pretty minor at that.

The other thing is the water needs time to find its way round (or rather the air in the water). whenever I change the coolant in a car it sounds rubbish until it's been thoroughly burped.

Excellent stuff well done

Engine

Congratulations mike,it's a great feeling when the heart starts beating! Interesting point about the ecu memory.I have fitted a cut off switch which cuts my live feed at battery level.I remove this after all work on the car....could this affect or be a cause for my rough idle on start up...shouldnI keep a separate live to the ecu, even when all else is cut off?

Hi Jeremy

I have disconnected my earth several times since the first start up procedure, and it seems to start and run very well immediately, so may be there is no learning process? However, my first start up clearly shows there is more than just oil pressure build up involved, as you can hear that come in after just 5 seconds: it continued to sound awful for the first 2-3 minutes, becoming progressively quieter as it warmed up. I suspect it was down to the Vanos starting to work as the oil temperature warmed up, as it is actuated through oil pressure. But the truth is I do not really know!
However, it now starts from cold and purrs beautifully straight away, just as you would wish.

Did your auto electrician wire in your coolant original senders, plus the data links, and use the Instrument cluster "brain"? It would be very useful to know, if you can find out?

The BMW wiring diagrams show the ECU/DME fitted with a permanent live so I plan to take this direct to the battery. I will also take a lightly fused supply for the clock and radio. I then plan to fit an isolator switch in the main starter feed as an anti theft deterrent, and reduced risk of a major short.

But, please don't take a lot of note of my electrical plans as I know nothing!

Another Big Day - First Drive




Bambi is now stood on all four wheels for the first time! Until today it had always been on chassis stands.

First impressions are:
1. Wow!
2. What a gorgeous sound
3. Exhaust fumes are a problem
4 Smells as though it is running very rich - why?
5. The brakes are soft - the servo is great
6. The brakes need to bed in as they are rusty on the surface through never being used
7. Stay with the 22mm Master Cylinder - the pedal travel is more on the road than in the garage.
8. The castor, camber and Toe in all need looking at.
9. The ride height needs adjusting
10 The diff movement seems ok on gentle starts, but is still suspect..........
11. Engine paint smells horrible when it gets to engine temperature

Mike,
It looks great! Anothe step forward!

Wheel Alignment

One step forward and ten small ones backwards.

There is a fair bit to do to set the wheel alignment, both front and rear:



Camber must be 5-8 degrees! This is the first time the car has stood on its wheels, and it shows! The steering has no self centering.
I have been advised the following works well in the Cabrio:

Front
Castor : 2 degrees
Camber : -0.5 degrees
Toe in : 0.2 degrees

Rear
Camber : -0.5 degrees
Toe in : 0.2 degrees

So will aim to set mine up to this setting and then see how it goes.

Rear Diff Mount - shot?

Another job to do:



The original read diff support D bracket looks as though it has perished. There is clear evidence of the rubber parting company from the steel bracket. Mashtun has kindly lent me his brand new polyflex bush to test and compare against the old D bracket.

The new one is so much neater, and will without doubt reduce the diff wind up. The unknown is will it increase vibration through the chassis?

Removing the tank is the only way to get access to the two bolts which secure the mount to the diff directly.
One other option is to source a new D bracket, and reinforce it with additional hard rubber in the voided area at the bottom. This could ensure soft vibration free general running, whilst helping reduce the degree of diff wind up. However, there is some debate as to whether new Ford D brackets are available?

Were you able to compare the two diff mounts or was there just one test so far with the Sierra mount fitted?

Mark.

Mark

Sorry - I ran out of time (and daylight). I had to remove the fueltank to gain access to the diff bracket, so it is not a quick job. And then I wanted to test my fuel pump as close as possible to the fuel rail to see if it reduced the noise - and it didn't!
Changing D brackets is two thirds done, in that I've got as far as the photo shows: I just have to put the fuel system back together now before I can go for another test.
I may get it done over lunchtime, if not some time tomorrow.
Mike

My First Drive

I had to take a video of my First drive!



Lowering it on to its own wheels was a big moment for me. My car has stood on chassis stands since the first few days of its arrival. They were home made and cost £50. And they have been brilliant. You can see how easy they are to push around even on a block paved drive. And working underneath is so much better with a mechanics trolley.

So, this is Bambi getting on to his own four feet: and then having its first outing.
Whoooooooooooooooh!!

Hey Mike! Great video moment! That's one of the best quick acting jacks I have ever seen!

Yes, a great occasion to capture on video

Did you fit anything to your chassis for the tops of the stands to locate into or just rely on the friction between chassis and stands being greater than the rolling resistance?

You have the best toys, Mike.

Great to see Bambi running. And the best bit of the video?

Mike: I have brakes!
Mrs Mike: I'm very glad to hear it.

The fact that's she sick to death of servos and adaptor plates littering her house and dining table is palpable in her tone

That is a good question Mark.
I relied on friction, which was fine most of the time. The only problem I had was when I rolled it out to work outside on nice days. I had a pig of a job to get the small wheels to climb over the 1" lip back in to the garage. I ended up making a steel ramp to help, but even then the stands would slide on the chassis, and on one occassion, tip over. I then had my "BIG yellowjack" lift my car up INSIDE the garage. I had to extend the forks with an I beam about 4m long to lift the front of the car back on to its stand without taking the garage roof off!
H&S would have had a fit!!!!!!!!!

But I really would recommend stands for any new builder, even in a single garage - perha[s even more so. It makes it so easy to move side ways.

I made my own - wrongly first time, as I made the heights the same - only to relise the chassis rises up over the rear wheels, so the rear stand has to be approx 6" higher than the front.
Stands, and a mechanics trolley have been brilliant. A definite must.

Jason have you been eavesdropping..........'servo' is now a forbidden word in our house!

Looking good Mike,

is the missing drivers window glass to allow you to look cool with you arm draped on the top of the door or is it the start of a cunning masterplan mod to make the glass disappear into the door completly. Ah if only that was possible, it annoys the hell out of me.

Well done on the first drive, IVA looming.

John

Funny you say that John................

Whilst I will not do it before IVA, I am considering having a piece of glass cut for the driver's side window, with 2" less at the top, so that when it is wound down it will be flush with the top of the main door.
The idea then being to either bring the hood roof down lower to meet a lower window, or if viewing is essential through that section, adding a piece of clear perspex to the hood as a substitute?
As I have not even driven mine until the weekend, and have no idea what it is like for vision with the hood up, I don't know whether this is even a starter?
What are your thoughts?

As for IVA - I don't know. Is July realistic?
Again what do you guys who have been through IVA remember about the final preparation stages.
essentially I have to complete the wiring, install the dash and centre console which are both made, fit carpets, and then spend months worrying about what they might fail me for on IVA - and still leave something they can pick up on!!!
What do you IVA veterans recommend programme wise?

Mike

Hi Mike,


Many congratulations. It must be a fantastic feeling to get some wind in your face after all that time in the garage. She looks and sounds great.

I guess you haven't used too much right foot yet but how's the engine responding under load. You talked previously about it smelling very rich but is there anything else to suggest there may be any latent and associated (fuel pump) earth issues.

Nigel

Not sure about your planned window mod Mike. The hood is close to my eyeline through the side window. And it is a tight squeeze to get in and out with the hood up. With a bit of plastic there it would be a real trick.

Also where would the plastic go when you have the hood folded back?

I tend to use mine Cabrio as often as possible, and with the widows down you get a bit of buffeting at cruising speeds, windows up is much less drafty. I would expect the buffeting to be much worse with the window flush with the door top.

Thanks Chris
This is just the sort of feedback a current builder needs from those who have done it.

So, Plan B..........................?

Mike, I agree with Chris, I don't think you would be able to get in an out with a lower hood line, my Hunter is a feat of athleticism for me in its standard form, if you lower the hood line any more you will need to book on the local limbo dancing night school class.

The sticky up bit is annoying though.

John

Thanks John
So that is a very definite NO then.!

But you are right: it is annoying. I remember seeing the original BMW M50 demonstrator, and being surprised/disappointed that the window would not rest flush with the door skin top. I naively thought there would be a simple fix + =

Noisey Start Up

A mechanic who has rebuilt his own engines suggested my noisey start up was almost certainly due to dry hydraulic tappets, and not the ECU/DME re-learning anything. I had assumed that once the oil pressure had built up these would sort themselves out, and therefore it was due to the ECU not setting up the Vanos: but he says it will be the hydraulic tappets, as they often do not start to work until the oil has warmed and thinned sufficiently to work its way in to the tappets .
Since my engine has been dry stored for 5 years the hydraulic tappets may have been a bit sticky too.
He says they do sound awful, and make you wonder if you've left a spanner in the head!!! But you just have to be patient (and confident that you did put it all back together correctly!!)
Mike