MadaboutKitcars

This week I've been mounting the windscreen washer bottle and preparing the seats.

But first, I cut the access hole in the nearside inner wing and then painted them.
I've painted the inner wings with a coat of primer followed by two coats of matt black enamel. I brush painted them as it was too cold to use spray paint outside and I was worried about getting overspray on the outside faces.

Inner Wings by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then had to recover the mx5 seats from my garage loft.

Mx5 seats in the loft by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The seats were in the loft above the car and I found that my medium sized step ladders just fitted inside the Sabre's body tub enabling me to reach them.

Mx5 seats by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

They needed a good hoovering once down!

The mx5 seat runner mounting points need to be modified to suit the flat floor of the Sabre. I've bent the ends parallel with the floor and removed the spikes. I will be trial fitting them next.

Mx5 seat runners by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Moving on to the windscreen washer bottle.
The washer bottle bracket became rather complex. It's mounted on the inner wing below the line of the outer wing so that the fixings don't show. I've fixed it with two m6 bolts and PU adhesive.

Washer Bottle Bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And here it is fitted....just need to run the cable and hose to it.

Washer Bottle by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So next on to fitting the seats....oh, and Christmas, of course.

...peter

Hi Kon,
that is a really good point that I had not thought about before. My thinking cap is firmly on to design a shield.
Thanks for the feedback......peter

First update for 2020.....

A very late Happy New Year to all builders and watchers!

Following the packing away of all the Christmas stuff I had some essential house maintenance to do, including fitting a new back gate. Before starting work again on the Sabre I decided have a tidy up in my garage and re-arrange some of my shelves, At least now I can walk around the car without tripping over or banging my knee on something.

So the first real car job this year was to trial fit the mx5 seats.

Seats by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm delighted how well these fit and the resultant driving position is excellent. For me, the seats are a perfect height and with adjustable runners and seat back angle they should be easy to get a good driving position.
Of course, they will need to be re-trimmed when funds are available.
Since the Sabre's floor is GRP, I also need to fabricate some spreader plates to keep the IVA man happy.

So a good start to the year.........

....peter

A little update......

I needed to move the Sabre out the way to get something from my garage loft so having put the wheels back on I decided to 'drive' the car out of the garage......

On the move.... by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
(click on picture for a short video)

thanks Froggy. I had not noticed that myself!

Lighting....

Thanks for all the positive feedback

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This week I've made a start on the rear lights.........

Rear lights in-progress by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm using e-marked lights to avoid any risk with the IVA test. The upper chrome plinth nuts have to be fitted with your finger tips and a lot of patience. The fog and reverse lights have been fitted above the bumper to ensure they meet the IVA minimum height requirement. The fog light has to be mounted not less than 100mm from the brake light.
I've not yet decided where to fit the reflectors.....


....peter

Always learning new things about my car

A little tale of how I never stop discovering things about my car....

With the fitting the rear lights progressing well my planning thoughts turned to the wings(still some way off but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead). Before fitting the front wings I decided to check that I had tightened all the front suspension to the correct torque as it's easier do this without the bodywork in the way.
The only nuts not tightened were the track rod ends (TRE) but no matter what I tried I couldn't get them to tighten to the correct torque?
I got a feeling of déjà vu when I tried to tighten up the nut as I had a similar problem when I built my Marlin Sportster but in that case it was a Metro ball joint into a BMW hub. But this was odd as it's a Ford Sierra TRE fitted to a Ford hub. In fact, it wouldn't tighten up because the nut had hit the shank of the taper before it was tight.
At first I thought about manufacturing tolerance issues with aftermarket parts but I was using old stock QH parts which in my limited experience were well made and the chance of getting any real Ford TRE's is nigh impossible. So I reverted to Google and stumbled across some Westfield Seven owners discussing TRE's for their cars. I discovered that Westfield used Sierra hubs and a Mk2 Escort rack and track rod ends. Then a thought crossed my mind, could it be my front hubs were manufactured for Westfield? They were new unused hubs when I bought them off ebay some years back but they had the Ford logo obliterated from the casting. So I bought some Escort TRE's to see if they had larger tapered shanks.

Here's a picture of the Sierra TRE showing the top of the tapered shank showing proud.

Sierra TRE by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

As a reminder, these were the hubs I bought.....(if you look closely at the one on the right you can see the Ford part number but the Ford logo has been removed from the oval)

New front hubs 1 by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The Escort TRE's arrived a few days later and I quickly popped one in a hub which confirmed they do indeed have slightly larger taper and they fit correctly. They also have the same thread to the tie rods so no issue there either. Measuring the diameter of the tapered shank is tricky but the Escort taper is about 0.77mm larger than the Sierra one at the based of the taper.

Here's a picture of the Escort Mk2 TRE taper.......

Escort Mk2 TRE by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

These tightened up without any issues.

Problem solved!

Does my rear look good.........

After hours of fettling I've finally finished fitting the rear lights and bumper.

Rear Lights and Bumper by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

To meet the IVA requirements the fog light is positioned more than 100mm from the brake light and I've added push-on PVC trim to cover the 'sharp' edges of the bumper. The stainless steel exhaust tips are genuine BMW accessories which look smart and have rounded edges. Reflectors are still to be added. I was really lucky to find the chromed badge plinth in the box of bits that came with the car.

Next up will be finishing off a few small jobs in the engine bay before the final fitting of the front inner wings.........

....peter

A little update......

Just a little clue of what I'm working on in the garage this week...........

Radiator grill by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I got around to making a drip tray to stop any screen washer over-spill getting into the alternator.

Windscreen washer bottle drip tray by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The edges were turned up to stop any over-spill going off the side and to add stiffness.

Windscreen washer bottle drip tray by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And here it is in place....

Windscreen washer bottle drip tray by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

(the last picture has made the shield look smaller due to perspective but it is actually wider than the bottle and slopes back towards the bottle)

Thanks again to Kon for pointing out this potential problem.

...peter

Radiator Cowl Grill fitting

Thanks, Jack.

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Over the last week or so I have been fitting the trim and grill to the radiator cowl so here is a summary of how I did it.........

I first fitted the chrome/plastic trim. This comes with an adhesive bead inside that is supposed to stop it coming off. On the day I fitted it, it was very cold in my garage so I put the trim in the tumble drier for a while to warm it up and make it easier to form round the bends. Plastic trim has a tendency to shrink over time so I cut the trim about 3mm oversize and then forced the last section in so that the joint is under compression.

Radiator cowl trim by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then cut the grill to size. I have chosen a stainless steel mesh with a 5mm pitch. My tin snips could only manage one wire at a time so a slow process to get the right shape. I bought two pieces of mesh, each 200x400mm because that was cheaper than one large piece. I then polished the front side of the grill.

Radiator grill fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Then I glued a length of rubber hose with PU18 adhesive to the cowl. The hose is just a gap filler to attach the grill to. (Note: I later discovered the PU18 softened the black 'schultz' coating my painter put on the inside of the cowl so I had to redo this stage after removing the schultz to get a good bond with the GRP. A messy job with white spirit but no harm was done)

Radiator grill fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then made up the centre clamping bar made from 1mm steel strip.

Radiator grill fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then held the grill tightly in place with some wooden splints and cable ties......

Radiator grill fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

....before running a bead of adhesive along the grill above the rubber hose making sure it was pressed down to fill any gaps.

Radiator grill fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So here is the final result fitted to the car!

Radiator Grill final by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'm very pleased with the result

Next up will probably be the bonnets.......

.....peter

No, I won't be finished for this years show but maybe next year?

A bit early for Easter bonnets.....

Thanks to all for the positive feedback..........

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So the next job was to fix the bonnets.
First I fixed the bonnet catches with polished stainless steel m4 screws.

Bonnet Catch by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Again, I was lucky to find a complete set of new catches in the large box of parts that came with the car.

The original stainless steel bonnet hinge cleaned up and polished quite well. Royale suggest you pop rivet the hinge to the bonnets but I preferred to use screws and nuts so I counter sunk the holes.

Bonnet Hinge by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Then, after carefully masking the top side and edges of the first bonnet I attached the hinge.

Bonnet Hinge by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Then after masking up the second bonnet I could attach it.

Bonnet Hinge by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Here are both bonnets joined together with the hinge. I also fixed the lower bonnet catch plates at this stage.

Bonnets by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then had to fit the bonnet seal which requires careful cutting and is quite tough on the fingers pushing the seal on all the way round.
The bonnet seals close off the engine compartment so that only fresh air can enter the heater inlet. (Which is an IVA requirement).

Bonnet Seal by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The original builder had fixed the seal to a metal strip that was fixed with pop rivets to the four holes shown here, but it didn't really hold the seal in the right place so I made up new support strips that are made of angle.

Bonnet seal by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Then it was just a matter of carefully positioning the bonnets and fixing in place with the hinge end plates.

Bonnets by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Next up I've got to make some bonnet stays which unfortunately did not come with my car and weren't in the box of spares either. I've also got to fit the seal that goes along the back edge of the bonnets. Then I hope start on the fitting the front wings.........

.......peter

Stay awhile.........

Thanks, Jack.
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This week I've been working on designing and making some bonnet stays.
So far I've come up with this...........

Bonnet stay by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The top mounting is designed to be 'windproof'. The stay doesn't fall out when the wind lifts the bonnet.

Bonnet stay top by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And here is the lower mount....

Bonnet stay bottom by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I'd like to get the parts plated but that will have to wait for another day.
Not yet sure how to secure the stays when not in use so the design may evolve a bit.
Now to make another one for the other side........

..........peter

Exactly my initial thoughts but my current design causes the stay to rest on the engine cover which doesn't seem right to me as the engine moves slightly.
I need to rethink the bottom mount...

Winging it....


Thanks Paul.

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I was bit bored with bonnet stays so, taking advantage of the warm spring sunshine here today, I drove the car out of the garage so that I could retrieve some of the body panels from my garage's loft.

IVA status March 2020 by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Looking a bit like a hot rod without it's wings and doors

I could then retrieve some of the body panels from the loft. My wife helped me get the wing down as it's very large and awkward.

Bodywork by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

I then laid some carpet offcuts on the garage floor and then 'parked' the car as near to the far wall as possible, giving me space to work on the nearside wing. This was the first time I have unwrapped the wing since it was painted last year!

Nearside wing by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The camera on my phone has made the wing look a weird shape and I should really go back to using my proper camera.

This shot reminded me of this one..........(taken Sept. 2010)

Wing removal by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr



Now I've just got to fit the wing without scratching it

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

A little update......

Trial fitting the first wing. I have temporarily fitted the lights to work out the wiring routing under the wing.

First Wing fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr




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

Bonnet stay - take 2....



So the issue with the first version of my bonnet stays is that there is nowhere to clip it when not in use....

Bonnet stay issue by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

To solve the problem, I have replaced the lower fixing point with an m5 stainless steel ball joint.

Bonnet stay - version 2 by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Which means it can swing across and be clipped on a bracket fixed to the side bonnet.

Bonnet stay clip by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The bracket for the bonnet stay clip was a bit of a challenge.

Bonnet stay clip bracket by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Moving on, I've been fitting the numerous bolts in the front wing (I think there are 15 or so) which takes some ingenious yoga positions to reach some of the nuts and bolts.

Wing fitting by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr


Then I can wire up the front lights. More on that next week.
Stay safe everyone....
....peter

Thanks Peter, that is a good tip i'll try next time on the other side of the car.
My tricks include putting a piece of PVC insulation tape across the head of the bolt and then wedging the bolt or nut in the socket. The tape thickness is just enough to hold the nut or bolt in the socket while you position it through the hole and the tape holds the washer in place. I also use all my socket set extensions joined together to give me about 18" extension to my arm. It's difficult to show in the pictures but the front wings are so large (and beautiful!) that you can't reach both sides of the nut and bolt.
All good fun though..........

Mid-week update...



Thanks for the feedback.
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A midweek update.....at least I think it is midweek but during these strange times all days are alike and equal.
But every cloud has a silver lining so I'm cracking on with my re-build....

I've now finished fitting the nearside wings.

Rear Wing by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

(the shiny blue paint is difficult to photograph inside my garage with reflections from the windows and the fluorescent tubes above)

Rear Wing by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The wing piping was time consuming and the joint between the front and back wings was the trickiest bit to get a neat finish. I used patent look smooth PVC 'leathercloth' over a 6mm plastic cord. Eventually I figured out that you have to bolt the two wings together before tightening the bolts to the body. Obvious with hindsight.

Wing Piping by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

And another weird shot off my 'phone.

Front and Rear wings by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Now I can finish wiring up the front lamps....
stay safe everyone,

......peter