Roll bars

One of the things to be sorted is the roll bar. Due to the rear aspect of the car, there is no bracing available like on the original locost. It could be fabricated, but then I'd lose boot space, possibly part of the bodywork, and overall I'm not convinced the strength would be there. I also can't extend forwards into the seating area, because I want to keep it open. 

This leaves me with a piece of metal that is bolted in place with a handful of bolts, and I'm not convinced it would work. The leverage alone on the car would tear the bar off or even destroy the mounting plates, even thinking about it makes me cringe!

However I think I can bring extension bars down between the bodywork and the chassis. This roll bar from MK shows the sort of thing that could be possible;

The highlighted section looks like it would drop down from the rear overhead bar, it could then be mounted directly to the bottom of the chassis. As long as it mounted reasonably high enough it could be both decorative and functional, without losing much/any cabin space. I suspect I'll need to remove the parts of the bodywork that sweep down towards the body, but to be honest they don't fit very well, it's going to take a lot of work to get them in the right place, and I was 80% sure I'd just remove them anyway! 

The next steps for this particular job, in parallel to the seat trimming and the outriggers welding and gluing, will be to fashion an example out of drainpipe. It's an old trick used to route exhausts but it should work to show this as well. The CDS used for roll cages is 44.45mm OD, whereas waste pipe is 40mm OD. As long as I maintain a 2mm gap where required I should be able to replicate a roll bar. So I need a couple lengths of pipe and a roll of gaffer tape!

Just as a quick note, the fixings needed to attach the tubes together are known as saddle clamps. Here is an example; https://www.tomcatwebshop.co.uk/set-of-six-45mm175-roll-cage-saddle-clamps-3012-6-571-p.asp

This is how they're used;

In this example that are at right angles, but I suspect for my roll bar they will need to be at an angle. It is possible to get a hinged joint but I need to make sure they're strong enough and do the job. 

(Update). Here's a quick scribble based on some pointers from the great people over at LCB;

Interesting observation

 I've just been going back over this blog, to where the bodywork was first trial fitted. On that occasion it was the front panel that I fitted and took pictures. Here's where it get interesting;

This is a pair of pictures, one taken 'back then' for the front, and the other showing the current body panel. The assumption has always been that there would be a gap between the two panels, based on the wheelbase suggested by the creator of the bodywork. However this suggests that while the bonnet comes up to just short of the steering wheel frame, the body actually extends a fair bit underneath. 

This means that instead of having to add bits, I might actually have to trim the bonnet down! This is fantastic if it's true, as it's so much easier to take things off than it is to put things on (ask any barber!). 

So my mission for this weekend (if weather and wife allows) is to get the bonnet out of the shed and get it on to the chassis again. Or it might be to get the body outriggers sorted, then at least I have a known predictable base for the body.

Update: It's actually clearer with the 'straight on' picture;

You can see the bottom edge finishes halfway up the rail, but the bodywork actually ends up further along. So it's definitely an overlap, which is good.

More bodywork notes

 Since the weather has been absolutely shocking here, it's forced me to do some more theory instead of practical. Here's a few notes.

For outriggers, the main bar will be bonded to the bodywork, in general the view is that it's more than strong enough as long as it's done according to the instructions. I could use rivets or screws as well, but the way the bodywork works I think they would be visible. 

The outriggers will need some sort of bolt mechanism for easy removal. I did think about this initially, but it does seem to be a good idea for lots of reasons. A quick discussion on LCB suggests 6mm bolts will be fine. The plan will be to weld the triangulated sections on to the chassis, then bolt the beam/bodywork on the end. I've still not decided on the best option, I suspect something in double shear will be the most sensible. 

Behind the seats there will be a filler panel. I did think about wood for this one, and it turns out the Tiger GTA also uses a wood panel. The only thing will be water absorption, so if I do go for wood it'll need a fair bit of sealing. But I also need it to be securely fixed to the chassis, so at the very least it'll need to be skinned with metal to provide a solid fixing. 

The boot is looking quite promising, this should also be skinned to make a usable area. More aluminium, rivets and bolts as required (I'll make the entire boot removable). 

For the sides, the initial thought was to 'sweep' up from the edges of the chassis up to the bodywork. But thinking about it, that makes things very claustrophobic. It would be better to go for a 'side pod' arrangement, basically a shelf from the chassis out to the bodywork. This is a great example from a Sylva Fury;

(I think I've taken photos of this car before, I remember feeling that the aluminium corner trim looks really nice). 

This should be fairly simple to do, although it will need more aluminium. The original panels were from the Metal Store, although I have no idea how expensive it might be now!! I might need to raid my existing stock for leftovers, which will inevitably mean steel rather than aluminium. 

The support for the bulkhead will need to be curved steel, something like an inch wide and maybe 2mm thick. This will be supported from underneath and welded to the car, then I'll figure out some other fixing to attach it to the bodywork. 

In the meantime, I have some runners and some leatherette to fix to my seats. 

Seats and bodywork

 Well, that was definitely the biggest gap there's been for working on the car. I guess that's what happens when you buy a second house and spend every bit of money and time getting it ready to be lived in!! Still, I got a nice office out of it and both kids got a room upgrade. 

Anyway, on to the car. I have been working on the seats on and off, but that'll be a separate post. This is going to be related to this;

This is the rear bodywork as it will sit on the car. It took a fair bit of fettling but to be honest I'm happy with how it sits. I have had trouble with the dimensions though. Setting things up with a centreline shows that the two sides are not in parallel. This could be how it's been stored (for MANY years) or it could just be the mould. Either way it took a lot of moving, positioning, clamping etc. 

The main task for this is to build the outriggers. There will be one each side and one at the back. The ones at the side will fit inside the body, and I need to fix the body to the bottom of them (more on that later). Here is a diagram showing a small steel section running in the right location;

As you can see there is a gap from the chassis to the outrigger. This is fine and actually desired, because I'm hoping to squeeze an exhaust in there!!

That will be either side, running the full length of the body. Using many clamps and braces I could see how it would be when it was fully installed, and it feels really stable. Well, at least in the Y and Z directions, the X direction at the top needs more work!!

The rear outrigger will be similar to the book;

This is just for measurement, there will be a decent amount of triangulation here. 

Along with this rear outrigger, I wanted to trial fit the tank;

This is where the book suggests it should go, right behind the diff. It looked 'ok' but I wasn't overly convinced. It seemed to intrude into the rear compartment, and the distance to the filler cap was excessive. I think it's only here on the Locost cars because it's the rear most 'thing' and they want to preserve the space above it for luggage. The Healey bodywork has a different setup so it doesn't need to be set so low.

In any case, there was a far more pressing matter;

The swirl pot actually ends up being the lowest point of the car!! you can see from the picture that even when I mount it as high as possible, the swirl pot is still in line with the bottom of the chassis, But because the Healey back end sweeps upwards, that means that if somehow I hit the ground then the swirl pot would be first to strike. 

Of course, I think I'd be in more trouble than simply losing a tank full of fuel (the wheel itself would need to come off and various other things break as well), but together with it not making best use of the boot I decided to move it;

Having it above the diff makes so much more sense. First the filler is a lot shorter. The tank itself is on some pretty substantial metal (it's the diff cage after all!!). The swirl pot is safely away from being vulnerable, the diff is easily accessible, and lastly the boot space is much better utilised. I doubt the proximity to the occupants will matter, after all one of the Toyota's has their tank running down the middle of the car!

So I have the measurements and the metal cut for the side and back outriggers, they'll get welded up soon (along with suitable triangulation). I now need to figure out how to fix the bodywork. My first thought was rivets, but they'll pull through the bodywork. Even using rivets with  washers will be challenging due to the thickness that they'll have to go through.

But then I thought back to my original plan which was Sikaflex/Tiger Seal. Bonding the body to the bottom of the braces would be easier, I just need to make sure it's strong enough. 

Well, that's it for now, this was a really productive day and it meant I could get a lot done. At some point I need to get the front out of the shed and do a similar bracing exercise, as well as understand the gap between the front and rear. I know from earlier discussions that the wheelbase of the original bodywork is shorter than the car I've built, which will mean an extra section in the middle. Oh, and while I'm talking about sizes, the wheels are very likely to stick out the sides of the body. I don't mind, I was torn between the narrow body Healey and the wider example from the likes of Sebring etc.

New seats

 On to the new seats. As mentioned before I'm making a frame, that will then be filled in with plywood and surfaced with foam before the leather goes back on. First thing, another delivery from the Metal Store;

I highly recommend the metal store, it's just convenient compared to local stockholders. The prices are a bit more, and you have to make sure to get it above the minimum postage limit, but that doesn't take much.

First thing is that I wanted to bend the corners. After many webpages and youtube videos, I decided that it wasn't going to just 'bend'. So I went back to my 'segment' approach. Basically cut slots on the inner side of the bend, bend the metal and weld it up.

This is after a cut, bend and tack;

This worked really well, although I had to go a bit deeper with the angle grinder as the first attempt couldn't bend round to 90 degrees.

After welding (and a fair bit of blow through!) and clean up I had this;

I then continued with the others, and of course they went much better the second time (and the third and fourth time);

So these are now ready to be welded up. 

Next part was the head rest. This is the hardest bit as it's a full 180 degree turn in a fairly small area. First, the wood template;

This takes the outline of the leather seat, note that it's not symmetrical. The Mazda seats actually lean into the centre, presumably to take into account the roof. I'll be doing the same with mine.

Next was to find the cut positions. Each cut is 12.5 degrees, so there's sixteen cuts to do. And because it's not a perfect semicircle, I had no chance of drawing it by hand. Therefore I scanned the above picture into the computer and overlaid it with segments at the relevant angles;

This gave a good match to the outline, and as you can see the sections are very different lengths. At the 2 o'clock position there's two cuts that are only 2mm apart, this is to get the correct curve.

Once that had been designed and printed out, I could then follow the same process and cut the slots to make the curves;

Overall I'm happy with how they've come out. Some of the gaps are bigger than others but as long as I'm careful with the tacks then it'll work out fine. Obviously they're overlaid against each other above, in the car one will be flipped to get the balance.

This all took around three evenings, and I was really tired by the end of it, so I've not made any further progress. Having said that, it's only the seat-back sides that are required now, which are much shallower angles. I think I can achieve the sides with only one or two cuts, which is a whole lot easier.

Then it'll be drawing the outline on the plywood and cutting the pieces out. Once that's done and mounted I can then add foam. 

I do need to work out the seat runners. For IVA I want to put the seats quite low to avoid the seatbelt, so I'm having the seats fixed for the time being. But the bars in the chassis were for the MX5 adjustable runners, so more metal is needed. And more fixing. Not a big problem though.

To sit or not to sit

 I've still got a fair bit to do, but a big chunk that can be done next is the seats themselves. I've already got the fixing points for the runners, so I had it all planned to reuse the donor seats. A while back I dismantled a seat base and it came apart as a metal shell, a sponge block and the leather skin. This looked good, modifying the metal base and reducing the foam would work. Unfortunately, today changed that plan...

It turns out the seat back isn't as substantial as the base. It's basically an upright mattress, a series of horizontal springs coated in foam with the leather on top. So dismantling it just means I'd end up with a pile of springs and bits of foam that used to be a chair back.

As you can imagine I'm a bit frustrated. I now need to come up with another solution for the seats. However, this could be a good thing. Mainly because I can get things working better for IVA.

The plan now will be to make a metal frame that matches the existing leather skin, with either plywood or metal to fill the gaps. Then new foam to rebuild the seat, then reuse the leather. Sounds fairly simple. I've made a template for the seat back, I'll do the same for the base. Then maybe some thin ply to test fit everything, or even as a permanent solution if the metal frame is solid enough.

Time for more metal though. The stuff I have is too thick for a seat, both in terms of diameter and gauge. I don't want to use metal that can support a fibreglass body, just to hold up a bit of sponge! So I need to work out how much each seat will use, as well as future proofing anything else I might need. Measuring the seat I can see the back is 800 x 400. Assuming that it just needs a single loop on the outside, that's 

    800 + 800 + 400 + 400 (x2 seats) = 4800 mm

Metalstore have 1.2mm gauge x 3 metre x 19mm for £12.78 a length. Two of those should be fine for the seats.

I can also get the metal for the outriggers. With the back panel being 1.5m x 2.5m, I could assume that it basically needs a complete circle of metal for supports. That is 1.5 + 1.5 + 2.5 + 2.5 so an extra 8 metres.

All this is quite fortunate of course, because metalstore have a minimum £50 excl VAT order for free delivery. 5 lengths should do it, and that also works well with the seat metal. 

I could also do with some tube for fixing holes. Just some half inch will do here, 1.2mm again to weld easy. 

Handbrake cables and fitting

 Well, last weekend was a bust due to much higher priorities (more on that later), but hopefully today I'll be able to get started on the handbrake cables. 

The first thing I want to consider is how tight the curve can be on the rear cables. On my car I've mounted the calipers backwards, so instead of routing the cable directly forwards, mine have to loop round. I also have the 'option' of mounting the calipers upside down. While this does cause headaches for bleeding, it may also help the routing of the cables. Whichever way round the brake flexi will always go up, which is easy. The handbrake cable has a mounting bracket that changes the angle depending on orientiation.

I guess the first thing I need to do is try both ways up and see which one gives me the best cable routing without rubbing on the chassis. Then the next question is how tight those cables can bend. This picture suggests they can bend quite sharply;

This appears to be a complete U turn in the length of the lower wishbones, using the standard bracket to fix it on the diff bracket. This would probably be tighter than I need it, but it does mean I have a fair bit of flexibility in the mount. 

The first step is now done. I've replaced the angle fixing brackets that were on the cables with straight brackets, and welded corresponding brackets to the chassis just behind the diff. The cables will route from there to the transmission tunnel, where they will fix into a mounting plate. That's the next step, to create a mounting plate across the tunnel. The cables are intended to clip very similar to flexi pipes, so I've ordered a couple more spring clips. Hopefully I'll get to cutting the brackets once the first step has cooled down.

(Several days later...)

The rest of the handbrake wasn't too painful in the end. Apart from a full week of trying to order some handbrake cable (how can any seller think bungee cord is the same as handbrake cable?!!), I finally managed to figure out the other end. First, a trial fit;

This bracket was the first design, but the handbrake cables are existing too high and rubbing against the chassis. This had to be dropped an inch, to this;

This is the final fit, all welded up with the balance bar in place. This will work fine, so the next part is the front section. It needs to be adjustable, so I spent a while figuring out how to drill through a threaded rod to get this;

Along with a cable clamp at the end, and a nut on the thread, this is my adjustment mechanism;

But at this point it occurred to me that I need the bodywork in place to figure out where the handbrake can go. There's a few places for it to go but it needs to be usable. So for now this is the end of the handbrake. Given that it's two holes and two bolts to fix it in place it shouldn't be too much work.

Next job, seats...

Rear pipes done

The rear pipes were a bit easier. The only worrying bit was the first bit, if I had got that wrong I wouldn't have had enough to finish the job. Fortunately I just worked smoothly from front to back. This is the front part with the clutch cylinder and steering column in place.

The brackets down the transmission tunnel did their job, it made it easy to secure things in place.

And the rear pipes were really easy, very short and only the frame to avoid. They weren't even long enough to warrant fixing, but I added one to the left hand side just in case.

Talking of fixings, I think I need to add a couple more where the rear pipe goes vertical against the firewall. It can move up and down at the moment which won't go down well with the inspector. I just need to add ones on the bends to make sure.

Next job is the handbrake. The two rear cables come from the calipers and head towards the tunnel. I need to change the fixing brackets on both of those to bolt them to the chassis. They'll then come together into the balance bar which needs mounting in the tunnel. It'll need extending all the way down the tunnel to some sort of mechanism to turn it round into the handbrake. Sounds relatively simple as long as I do each section in turn.

 

Front pipes done

 Now I had an idea of what flares I need for the pipe, I could make a start. And it's gone really well if I say so myself...

The brackets worked really well, and once everything had been tightened the pipes are absolutely solid. I'm tempted to add some brackets between the pipes, and maybe wrap the pipes with tape where they sit inside the brackets. There's enough of a gap between the pipes and the chassis. Unfortunately the steering column had other ideas, so I had to do this;

This gives an inch or so all round the steering column. So it's on to the rears next. 

Just one last point before I head back into the garage. Everything I've done on the car has been done in segments, then I take the parts off and store them. This means that 'conflicts' such as the column above are very likely. Just off the top of my head I'm thinking the diff and the fuel tank will have fixings that need to occupy the same point in space and time.

If I had built everything on the chassis and left it there it would avoid conflicts, but the work would have been a great deal harder. I guess I've made the right call to do things in parts, I just need to manage the conflict as it arises. Oh no, I sound like middle management...

Brake pipes

Wow, this was a long time coming... so, on to brake pipes!!

This started well, the balance valve sits quite nicely alongside the master cylinder and is away from anything sensitive. Apart from the pipe bends being tighter than the flaring tool could handle, it was pretty easy to fit these two.

It was the next pipes that were confusing me. The ones above were double flared, a 'female' type pipe ending. But looking at my flexi pipes I could see that these were also female;

I initially thought that I'd gone wrong, so on to the trusted internet I went. There was lots of toing and froing, but eventually I found a 'bubble' flare;

This particular one was made using the AB tools flaring tool. By the way, I can heartily recommend their flaring tool, it does a great job and is very quick. 

So now it's onwards with the rest of the pipes. I'll be clipping them in at appropriate places, running them as required. The small pipes were a confidence boost, I think the longer runs should be a piece of cake. I just need to weld on some support tabs while I go, this isn't an issue as I've already done several long runs. 

I remember a story a while back about people who work on half-completed builds, they said that the chassis welding was often 'ok', but the pipes were done when the enthusiasm was there and so they are generally done to a very high standard. Wiring was the main thing that half-completed kits had trouble with. Fortunately I seem to have done things backwards, I got the wiring looms tidied up before I did the brake pipes! 

New plan for panel edges

 So after a few weeks of ridiculously low temperatures and 'other jobs', I finally got back in the garage. A quick tidy up, and I could have another go at panel trimming. It did not go well...

It's basically a lack of consistency. To get the same cut all the way along all the panels would need some kind of miracle. So I'm not going to attempt it. I'm going back to the original plan of using edging trim. 

I'm aiming for some padded trim, maybe thin neoprene or similar. It needs to go over the rivets, either using cutouts or thick enough to hide them.

Anyway, that's one job ticked off. Well, one job solved, not necessarily completed. Back to the brake pipes now. I have the new brackets drilled, I have them in the right position so I'll get them welded up. Then the solid pipes can start getting routed, and the handbrake cable can be worked on.

(Small update). OK, the tabs are now welded up, one of those jobs that I would put off over and over and just not get anywhere. I'm impressed with the welder that it just fired up and welded smoothly. Next step, brake pipe location. 

Some small jobs completed

It's been a little cold recently so my plans of getting an hour each day in the garage for either tinkering or exercise has turned into video game time for the most part. I've not got much done on the car but I have completed all the Uncharted games and about to finish the last Tomb Raider. Time well spent? No idea!!

Anyway, there has been a little bit of work done. First for the brake pipes, I've got a position for all the flexi pipes and now just need a bit of time and space in the garage to weld them in place. I also got the front handbrake cable to see how that will work. It's short, but that's expected. At least it contains the balance bar that is needed to connect it to the rear cables. I'll have a go at extending it then I can start on mounting the handbrake itself. 

The grub screws for the suspension arrived... and they're wrong. I should have realised the thread was too coarse to be regular M6 x 1.0. It's closer to 1.25. And of course, I can't get M6 x 1.25. A quick discussion on locostbuilders pointed out that an imperial screw would be better, so I've ordered the closest match. I'll try them when they arrive.

And lastly I finally managed to have a go at the panel trimming. The idea was to use a handheld router to cut a rounded edge in the aluminium. I managed to give it a go, and the results are pretty decent. I need to refine the process because I was using a wooden edge template. By the third cut it was no longer straight. I need to put together a metal former that I can bolt the panel to before I cut it. I want to practice as much as possible though, especially on the long runs. It looks really good over a couple of inches, and the join between panels is immaculate. But can I realistically maintain it over a couple of feet?

It did occur to me that it doesn't need to be on all panels or on all edges. In fact, it's probably only going to be the transmission tunnel edge. Even the side panels are either going on the outside or will have the fibreglass panel overlapping on the edge. 

(pictures to follow when I find my USB cable, it got 'tidied' along with the Christmas decorations...)

Brake pipe mounting part 1

 The flexi's have been positioned and I can now weld the tabs on (more on that later). Now I need to route the brake pipes. While I have the end points, I don't have the start points because the proportioning valve isn't mounted. Here is how it looks on the original car;

The valve needs to be on the other side though. Time to line things up and see how it goes...

Flexi brake lines

 Well, there goes another two months. I count myself lucky that I have a job during these times, but I also wouldn't have minded a bit of time to work on the car. I'd have had it done by now! Well, not registered, but definitely built.

Anyway, the flexi brake pipes arrived, and I immediately realised that the original brake pipe brackets were far too small. So I've had to cut them off and replace them with some more made up from 3mm steel. Still, it gives me an opportunity to route the pipes properly.

This is what I have on the outside and inside;

It seems quite a smooth line, with the connector routed nicely to the copper pipe. The outer works well with the steering left and right;

But checking this with other pictures suggest the pipes just go direct from the caliper to the chassis, with no support. That seems wrong to me, a loose pipe in mid air that has to have some flex in it? Not convinced.

I'll see what the locost builders reckon, and adjust as necessary. 

*** UPDATE ***

Turns out I was way off the mark! It shouldn't be fixed to the wishbone, the movement would cause chafing and therefore would be an IVA fail. So despite me thinking it's a bit 'odd', being held in free air is actually the right way to do it. I think I could get away with it if I used rubberised P clips to secure it, but it's adding a complication and possible failure point where there is just no need for it. 

Now the issue is that I measured the lines based on it going via the wishbones, and with that no longer being true I need to figure out how to route them while taking into account the extra length. They're about 5 centimetres longer than the 'standard' measurement, so 500mm rather than 450mm. I don't really mind them being longer, it's definitely better than being shorter! I just need to figure out where to place them. 

Results from the weekend part 2: The handbrake

 Putting everything together for the brake flexi hoses made me remember something I'd decided on a while back. To get the rear suspension behaving itself I worked out that the uprights should be 'backwards'. IE the left will be on the right and vice versa. 

This had the positive outcome that the suspension bracket could be correctly fitted, but had the negative outcome that the calipers were on the rear. When I was doing the suspension I thought it would be a minor inconvenience compared to the much bigger problem of redesigning the suspension.

The 'minor inconvenience' might be a bit more of an issue though. I also have the added complexity of wanting a dash mounted handbrake (see the post from last week). This means that custom cables were guaranteed but I'm really not sure whether this sort of safety device is easily DIYable. A quick post on Locostbuilders suggests it's not that much of an issue for two reasons. One was that many people have redone the Sierra handbrake in order to get it to fit. The other is that I can use more of the standard handbrake than I thought I could.

So this weekend I've spent a couple of hours freeing up the adjusting mechanisms on the cables. They took ALOT of work considering it's basically two nuts on a threaded tube!

The next job will be to put the suspension together (again!) and try and route the cable safely. The cable has got to come out the caliper towards the back of the car, then do a u turn on to the chassis (probably close to the brake pipes if I can get it to work). They then need to head up the centre of the car to reach the balance bar (oh yeah, I need to find out where that ended up!!), then onwards to whatever mechanism I'm using for the handbrake itself. 

I'm going to try and keep the rear cables as standard as possible, but the front one I think will have to be modified. After all, it's not even going to a handbrake! 

I'll get the rear rebuilt and take some photos so I can work it out... but that's it for this weekend. 

Results from the weekend

I managed to get some jobs done over the weekend, although the extra hour in bed did help. It does mean that there are no more light evenings, and it just gets colder from now on.

Still, jobs done. The first thing was to tidy up the hubs and uprights. They took a bit of a beating when I took them apart, in parts the metal was exposed. So back with the hammerite and black primer. It wasn't a major job, but it had to be done before things could go back together. 

The next job with those uprights was to work out the lengths of the brake flexi hoses. I had to basically build the suspension front and back on one side. That was an interesting experience, I'd forgotten how they'd gone together!! Still, after a few trials I got everything lined up and ready to measure. I had to get my shiny calipers out of storage too, the first time they'd felt fresh air since I reconditioned them and bagged them up.

I used the remnants of an extension lead to figure out the length. The wire was fed through the chassis brackets with the plug holding the end. The wire could then be routed to the caliper, keeping things smooth and not too tight. The fronts weren't too bad, just needed a bit of slack to cope with the steering and suspension movements. The rears needed a bit more thinking though.

The main issue is that the chassis brackets as suggested feed the flexi hoses straight out the side of the car. It's then a bit of a mission to get them back to the caliper without getting close to the wheel itself. This was especially relevant because my rear suspension setup had the caliper on the back of the disc rather than the front. This means both the hose and the handbrake would be heading towards the back of the car initially. 

After a few minutes trying to find a solution I decided to abandon the standard position. The plan is to have the flexi hose feed down from the caliper to the lower arm. Then pinned to the lower arm until it gets to the chassis. The chassis bracket will then be mounted at a suitable place, along the diff cage metalwork. 

I'll have to cut off the brackets and reposition them, not a biggie. At least it meant I could get the flexis ordered though, which is the first battle. I got them from Furore, they do custom flexis in a range of ends and colours for £20-£30 a corner (depending on length). I'm staying with the standard MX5 fittings, so it's a 10mm banjo on the caliper, going to an M10x1.0 female at the bracket. They come with a circlip and the copper washers so they should just bolt straight on. £102 for a full set, I was probably a bit over-cautious on the length but as they say, better to be too long rather than too short. 

Oh yeah, the handbrake. Separate post methinks...

Handbrake

 One of the things I've had in mind all the way through is the idea of an underdash handbrake. The demo HSR car had a handbrake right under the steering wheel, and while I was unsure about it being in direct range of my knees I couldn't argue with the clean look of the centre tunnel. 

The main issue is that it was still a handbrake, IE it was still the same handle and mechanism that would have been in the tunnel. This made it look odd (as well as the aforementioned knee impact). Other cars have had similar mounted handbrakes, and a quick google suggests there are much better options.

The easiest one to replicate would be the one used in some cars in the 90's. It was basically a pull rod inside a tube, attached to a cable and then on to the mechanism. 

There's a couple of things to consider though, the ratchet mechanism and the mechanical effort required to apply the brakes. 

The ratchet mechanism was achieved by having slots cut into the pull rod on one side only. To release the ratchet the handle would be twisted so the pawl no longer engaged. 

The mechanical effort needed some maths, based on the existing handbrake. The following measurements were made;

1. Distance from pivot to cable channel = 34mm.

2. Distance from pivot to handle centre = 240mm.

3. 19 clicks on the ratchet mechanism for full travel.

4. 45 degrees of travel for the handle.

The distances from the pivot means that the mechanical advantage is 240/34 or 7:1. IE the handle moves 7 times further than the cable. 

The cable travel is Pi x 68 / 8, or 26mm from stop to stop (the actual travel is less than that but I'll maintain the full travel distance for now). The same travel for the handle is Pi * 480 / 8, or 189mm. 

This means that I need to come up with a mechanism that moves 189mm on the lever, to 26mm on the cable. It shouldn't be too difficult, except that it's 'the wrong way'. The pull handle will come out towards the driver (front to back) whereas the cable needs to pull from back to front. A bowden cable would achieve this quite simply, but that would reverse the action without applying mechanical advantage. It would also add friction which would mean more effort and/or pulling distance. More than 7 inches is already a far pull distance, I wouldn't want it much longer.

I need to come up with a solution to apply the reverse in direction as well as operate the change in ratio. Time for some Fusion 360 I think!

Oh, for the ratchet mechanism, I counted 19 clicks on the ratchet. To have the same on the pull handle would mean 19 notches on the 189mm of pull, or 1 every 10mm. Not a problem. I need to have a spring loaded pawl to operate on the solid rod of the pull handle within the hollow tube of the slide. This is a little more of a problem but still not insurmountable. After all, I already have a handbrake with a pawl mechanism that I won't need anymore!

Bearings

 One of the things that has bugged me with the donor parts has been the wheel bearings front and rear. They didn't feel bad and were never highlighted as an MOT issue on the donor car history, but it seemed really strange to not replace them. The reason I'd not done them yet was simply because I couldn't get them apart!

Reading many forums seemed to agree with my assessment, they're usually so meshed together that they should only be taken apart if absolutely required. And it's very likely that some breakages and replacement parts will be needed. There was also mention of 20 ton presses, scaffolding poles as breaker bars, and all sorts of other stuff.

But doing some further research I could see that replacement parts weren't particularly expensive. On the front the bearing and hub were a single unit, as they are on the rear of most cars. Coincidentally they are actually used on the Mazda Demio/121 of a similar era (1990-2005). So while searching for MX5 front bearings gave a lot of very expensive options, a search for Demio rear bearings got lots of cheaper ones! A pair of hubs/bearings were £46 delivered.

Next were the rears. The stub axles were not going to survive, I resigned myself to that. The nuts were also going to end up in fragments on the garage floor. Fortunately the stub axles contain the CV joint so they're intended to be a replaceable item. These are MX5 items only, but a pair cost £31. They also come with replacement nuts so that meant I could go to town on those without worrying.

The last item for the rears was the bearing itself. Apart from wanting to replace the bearing anyway (the whole point of this exercise) the design of the stub axle means that the bearing collapses when it's being removed. So it has to be replaced. Again, Mazda makde things really simple and had this wheel bearing used by many cars. £25 for a pair, no problem.

This meant a full set of replacement bearings and associated parts was £102 delivered to the doorstep. That's pretty much spot on in my opinion. 

The stripdown was so much more effort though. The four hub nuts got the brunt of the angle grinder and powerfile, and did indeed end up as bits on the garage floor! 

I have a decent hub puller from previous car maintenance, so with a bit of encouragement the fronts came apart quite easily. The new ones will go on, and then torqued up as required.

The rear took much more work to do the same task. In the end I got my impact gun on to the hub puller and just gave it everything I had. The vibrations of the impact gun, combined with the immense pressure that a hub puller can apply, managed to press the stub axle out of the hub. After removing the bearing internals that had just collapsed as expected, the outer race was then hammered out of the hub. Finally the last job was to detach the stub axle from the driveshaft, it was just a spring clip holding it in the same as any other driveshaft so a few thumps with the hammer sorted it.

Once all the parts were cleaned up (CV joint grease is really horrible stuff!!) the parts can go back together again. At time of typing this update the bearings have been pressed into the uprights, and I've done some cleanup on the hubs ready to give them a lick of paint. They had been painted before but access issues meant it was a bit of a rubbish job. 

So that's it for the bearings, everything is where it should be and it'll be ready to bolt back together in the final position. Another job ticked off the list. Well, it was a job added and then ticked off, but it needed to be done! 

No pictures on this one, with the various bits of metal going all over the place and lots of hammering I thought my phone wouldn't last very long. In fact I was fairly accurate with my estimate, I had since found a bottle of beer with a severely dented cap, and I had a pencil torch that ended up in pieces and has been glued back together. 

Pedal setup completion

 Well, it's Sunday morning, the coffee is nice and for once the sun is out, so it's time to get up to date. I've done a fair bit of work over the last few days, actually a bit more than I expected to be able to. 

The first thing to update is the pedals. As I had put in the last update, I had a brake and clutch switch to add. The brake switch was an obvious one, I need brake lights. The clutch switch was an odd one though. Apparently it's to cut fuel on overrun, and it's not difficult to just delete it. So I have!! 

That leaves the brake switch. The action of the switch is to have it closed when the pedal is not pressed, and open when the pedal is pressed. When the pedal is in the MX5 this means it's mounted above the pedal, out of the way of the drivers foot. That doesn't work here as I've turned them over. So I needed to mount it on the floor. This is how I've done it;

It's out the way of the foot, and works as required. It also has the added benefit in that the screw fit of the switch is now the end stop for the pedal. Combined with the screw fitting of the push rod and I have full control over the pedal travel. Obviously where it is at the moment is very wrong, but once the system is plumbed in and pressurised I should be able to figure out a nice place for the pedal to sit. It 'should' only need maybe a couple of inches of travel to apply full force, so it'll be adjusted to do that.

Here's a better view of the same;

Next is the clutch pedal. No switch means no end stop, but the solution was much easier here. The book uses a bent piece of metal mounted on to the bolt itself. So here's the same for mine;

The adjustment is simply to rotate the metal until it's in the right place, then tighten everything up. The screw thread on the push rod also deals with travel. This also needs plumbing in and adjusting, I don't know how much travel is required here but clutches tend to move a lot further than brakes.

Finally the gas pedal was mounted to the chassis. This wasn't a complex one, just a U bracket on to the rail itself. It's spring loaded to assist with pulling the cable, and there's a screw fitted into the bulkhead to restrict travel. I must take a photo of the whole set up, but in the meantime here's a better photo of the final clutch/brake setup;

I am really happy with how it's come out, I'd done the back plate quite a while ago but not finished the process until now. It's had a coat of paint on all the parts and is ready to fit to the car. 

Extra job added

 While I was sorting the loom, I found two switches that I had missed. These are pedal switches, one for the brake and one for clutch. To be fair I'm kind of glad I found them, as I was a bit confused how to add the brake switch! At least reusing the existing switches should make it easier, no need to mess about with pressure switches in the lines. 

The bit that I couldn't figure out is how they worked. They are a very small travel switch, I couldn't understand how they could be fitted to the pedals and cover the full travel of the pedal. Then I found the original pictures from the MX5;

In both cases, the switches are mounted to the front of the pedals, not the back. So when the pedal is released the switch is pressed, and vice versa. Which makes a whole lot more sense as it means the pedal can move as far as it wants, and the switch can just operate on the first press.

Of course, it now means I need to figure out how to mount those switches. I've taken the standard pedals and turned them upside down, so if I put them back where they are in the pictures then the switches would end up in my heel!! I'll have to figure this one out, should be an interesting challenge!! I'll start with the build manual though, they must have come up with a solution for this.