Hi all,

 

It's been months since i've touched the V8 project due to cars blowing up and financial commitments but i've had some good news today.

 

I'd had the metro blow up on me just before Christmas which has meant an engine swap then i've had alot of work on to get a major site finished off ready to get the money in for my tax return.

 

Good news is the metro was finished the other week and goes off to its new owner this week (soon as i replace the stereo and give it a quick clean) and my tax bill came out £1000 cheaper than i was expecting so in the next week as soon as i get the money cleared into my account i can order my final parcel of goodies from the states.

 

Where i'd left it was the engine and gearbox were in, the electric were all done including the gauges, i'd bought all the components to complete the steering, brakes, oil and water system but the steering column wasn't complete so the car wasn't moveable.

 

January Diary

Took the steering column to Gelscoe Motorsport to be adapted. The column was approximately 1 inch too short to reach the rack with dropping the subframe down so it needed to be lengthened.

 

The guys cut the column near the top then drill a channel into the ends then turned a piece of bar to fit with an interference fit, the shamfered the edges to get more weld in then drilled and pinned the column at both ends before welding the pins in and power coating it for me. The result is a nice strong steering column that fits perfectly.

 

I found before that the started motor was too close to the exhaust manifolds and would have slowly cooked so i made the executive solution to remove it and get a smaller high torque starter (see below) which i'll be ordering next week.

 

 

The manifolds fit and clear everything perfectly and so does the centre section of the exhaust, i just need to drill and attach the mounting points onto the bodywork to finish it off. The rear section needs to be shortened to fit the length of the car (ie shorty over lwb) but then that's done.

 

Prop can go off next week to be shortened so i need to just get the measurements then i can get that in and fill the diff/gearbox with oil.

 

Power steering system is complete including the new custom pipes so all i need to do is get some heavy duty thick rubber hose to go to the PAS pot and then fill it up. Same with the clutch, it just needs filling up and we're done.

 

Oil system and fuel system are being pulled out to go to Gelscoe to have aeroquip connectors welded onto the pipes to make the engine bay a. a bit tidier and nicer to look at and b. make sure that pipes are on securely and easy to remove.

 

I'll be ordering the rockers, lifters and pushrod length checker next week to check for valve clearance issues (the last big worry!) then it's just a case of setting the lash on the rockers, priming the engine oil system with the whizzy drill attachment i have and we're ready to fire up.

 

Hoping to at least get the engine finished and started up for the 1st of March ready for MOT and breaking in time! :hyper:

 

Pics to follow, i'll get some up as and when i do the work over the next 5 weeks after i start on it in the coming 7 days. Just need to finish the coupe then i'll have the garage free again.

Well done bud! I hope to see the finished beast one day, I too found my tax bill was a bit less than expected, Its a good feeling, so spend we can!!

 

Daz

It will be at every show this year, i need to show it off properly so just got some spraying to do after it's on the road but should be looking pretty mint when it's done :D

great to hear the monster is on the build again! keep it up Nick me old son! :D :D

I feel refreshed mate, had to take a step back from it all and have a good sort out of my life before i carried on, sometimes it's like that. You keep trying to push to get something done against the odds and get nowhere so sometimes it's best to just get the other things out the way first so you can a get a clear run at it.

 

Rest assured as soon as the spraywork's done on the coupe and i can get the garage back i'll be cracking on full speed with the V8 :D

..... Just need to finish the coupe then i'll have the garage free again.

 

For how long Nick?! :cool3:

 

Seriously though, I'm glad you have a newly found enthusiasm for it all mate :sailor:

lol, not long buddy. As soon as the V8s done you have free reign of my garage and we'll get those tubbys changed over and get you back on the road :D

 

It's tough mate, had a lot of set backs, as soon as i get the money in to get the bits it goes on something else just none stop! :(

 

I've got twice what i need to finish it so i've got a nice little safety margin fingers crossed

Sweet mate, good luck with it :D

My tax bill was more than I expected - and my honey is an accountant ;-((

I'm no accountant, i just hope i've filled the thing out right lol