Happy day! The car is back from paint :) It was with a great deal of trepidation that we drove over the to paintshop to pick up the bodywork. My brother had sorted a hired Luton out (cheers Clart) so we made an early start, filled it with dustsheets, bubblewrap and old duvets!! and made the 40 minute journey to see the painter. Unconventionally (and not recommended), I'd decided to have the body work sprayed off the car. This was so that every part of it would be in the new colour, rather than having those 'out of the way' places being red gel-coat, which would have clashed horribly with the new colour scheme should you ever catch site of it. It's taken me nine months to decide on a colour having considered every shade of red possible, candies, flips, you name it. I had wanted a metallic red, but there's just none available (at a reasonable cost) that didn't look horribly muddy. Saleen do a gorgeous red, but it's about 10 grand to get it done :-o! Anyway, after much consideration (spectraflair Silver was a close to winning) I ended up with the colour below. It's a 10 coat finish pearlescent blue :) It's gorgeous!!! It looks so deep you could swim in it and it still looks great in dull conditions, it looks amazing when it's bright! Despite wanting something different (the GTR was blue after all) I realised that it was simply the best colour for the job. It also means I've built a matching pair of GTR and Can-Am :) Just a few teaser shots, mainly because I stored the bodywork before taking the camera out - doh. Still, it will make the final effect more dramatic I guess.
So bodywork back into the workshop and covered/stored safely, I started to think about the next jobs. Given that I'd had to strip all the lock/latch/handle furniture off the doors etc. it seemed like a good time to think about fitting the central locking system.
Now, space inside the Ultima doors is very tight. There are quite a few central locking systems on the market of various design. I'd opted for the 'pistol' type actuator - more by luck of the draw than anything. Whilst they're obviously up to the job, they are quite long. Holding the mechanism to the door latch assembly, then offering up to the door showed that this was going to be rather a tolerance fit!
First problem was how to attach the actuating mechanism to the door latch. There's no room in the base of the latch plate to get a mechanical fixing in and you can't sandwich another plate between the latch and the inside of the door otherwise the latch mechanism will not protrude far enough out of the door to catch the striker pin. If this all sounds horribly confusing then it's because it is! :) Eventually, I decided that the only way to mount a plate was to weld it to the latch assembly. A couple of piece of 3mm steel strip were cut to fit, the galvanising was wire brushed from the latch and the two piece clamped in place taking care to ensure they were correctly aligned. A bit of welding later (surprisingly good for me!) and the two pieces were permanently joined.
With a base strip in place, it then remained to fabricate a couple of angle brackets which would hold the locking pistols. Some 3mm ally plate was used for the task and rivetted with 4.8mm rivets to the mounting strip. I could have welded a bracket, but I didn't have the necessary materials. Besides, with a fwe of these large rivets in place, these aren't going anywhere! With the brackets rivetted to the mounting plate, it was the moment of truth, where I tried to put them in the door. Almost, but not quite! A bit of trimming and bending was required (impossible to visualise as I was working by touch inside the door) to get the door latches back into their original positions, but I finally did it. Now it's hopefully just a case of wiring them up and connecting them to the alarm remote. Excellent. This took all afternoon, so more updates next week I'm afraid. Cheers!
Read back a bit to where I said 'just a case of wiring them up and connecting them to the alarm'. It sounds SO simple doesn't it. Well, reality check follows!
Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought. The alarm/immobiliser needed connecting up to the central locking system to test before I got too carried away with running wires etc. First job was to connect up the central locking solenoids and their controller to a 12V supply to check that they were working with manual operation, that is, when you unlock one side the other also activates. Which they did :) This also confirmed that the solenoids worked well on their mounting brackets and didn't bind etc.The easy bit done, I then needed to work out whether they were triggered with a +ve or -ve pulse. An easy one to test, by brushing the activating wires against either battery terminal. It's a good idea to do this with an in-line fuse or you may find out the hard was that the control unit doesn't like 12v up it's connector! :)
Once I'd established which way round things worked, I then had to refer to the wiring diagram of the alarm to establish which wires are used to supply the pulse to the central locking module. 6 wires are used in all (blimey) and took some head scratching, but once I was 'fairly' confident that I'd got the right ones, I jury-rigged the whole lot together in the car and tentatively clicked the remote keyfob. I suspected that things may not work properly given the miriad of sensors and switches that the final installation will required, but gave it a go nonetheless. Well what do you know, with a 'click-click' from the alarm control unit, the alarm disarmed and the central locking solenoids unlocked!!! :) Amazed I'd got it right first time, I labelled up the connections and packed it all away ready for final fitting. I couldn't install the system until the luggage containers are in place as these had wire conduits to take things from front to back of the car.
A welcome rest from wiring came next in the form of fuel tank prep. The tanks were unwrapped and before I'd spent too much time admiring the quality aluminium welds, I masked them up ready for paint. For anyone who thinks these tanks are pricey from the factory, just take a look at the quality of them. It's just not worth trying to make your own as a) they won't be as good and b) you'll realise that it's not worth skimping on them. Anyway, I etch-primed the tanks before using Hammerite stone-chip shield to ward off the potential damage from road grit etc. A couple of coats later and the tanks are ready to fit. Simple.
So that was the next job. The luggage containers had been pre-fitted before the body pre-fit, so I removed them from the car, as they were skin-pinned in place, and set about prepping the insulation and trim. If you're familiar with my GTR build, you'll know why, but basically, the feed and return pipes from the radiator run very close to the bottom of the luggage containers, so they can heat up a fair bit when driving. Not a problem as such, unless you decide to keep chocolate bars in them ;) On the flipside, they would double up as handy pie warmers I guess :) In the GTR I also insulated the coolant pipes (much to the factorys despair) but had decided not to do this to the Can-Am as anything that removes heat from the coolant is definitely a GOOD thing. Anyway, to help limit the potential heat ingress to the luggage containers, I insulate them using a high quality, thick, aluminised matting. This is edge-taped, then bonded to the containers using contact adhesive. All seams are then also taped as you really don't want the matting to come adrift once it's all sealed up inside the side pods.
That done (it takes a fair while), I moved onto the insides. Whilst the GTR luggage containers were bare ally, in keeping with my 'luxury' interior, I had bought some really soft suede-like trim that was sponge backed. It feels fantastic :) I toyed with the idea of velcroing these in place so that they could be removed for err...; washing I guess, but decided that I may as well bond them in permanently. I'll tell you this, at least velcroing them gives you more than one chance to fit them well!! :) That said, by the time you've laid up the matting for the outsides, you should be a dab-hand. The interior pieces were all cut and dry fitted before sraying the inside of the containers with permanent adhesive. The two sides panels were carefully laid into position (you only get one shot at this), then the central piece was put in place. The results were fantastic and befit the 'quality' interior that I'm aiming for. If you're thinking of doing this, you'll need two pieces approx 300mm x 300mm for the sides and another piece 750mm x 750mm for the main central section. Needless to say, this is per-container!
Before fitting the containers to the chassis, I made up heat mat sleeves for the air-con/heater send/return pipes which run through the luggage pods. Again, to reduce the heat conducted into them. These were wrapped around the pipes and temporarily cable tied into place ready for the container to be fitted. It's a lot easier to do this before you fit the containers and you can pretty much forget it if your side sill plates are on :) The usual sikaflex and rivet combination secures the containers in place. A cable-tie clip supports the heater hoses in the centre of the container and more cable-ties are used to secure the sleeve and finish the job.
Time flies when you're wiring and trimming, so another build day flies by. Next stage is to re-fit the side pods ready to get the bodywork back on. A long bank-holiday weekend beckons, so I'm hoping to get a lot done next week. Stay tuned....
Well, a long weekend awaits. Hoping to make good progress on the car, but the nature of these things means that most jobs take more time than you think - especially the detail stuff!
I had the aim of getting as much of the interior trim bits ready as possible, so in rather haphazard order, I needed to finish cutting the holes in the dash for instrumentation, switches and vents, work out the location of the stereo stuff (damn speakers haven't turned up though which delays one of the jobs I had earmarked for this weekend) and get the carpet template cut.
I tackled a small, less intimidating job first as I was still half asleep :) Ah, the joys of buying things on eBay! Given that the amp for the stereo 'install' was a bit of a last minute decision and I'd just shelled out yet more money on a load of speakers, I tried eBay to get hold of a decent amp at reasonable money. Which I indeed found at half the 'shop' price (well, it would have been had the shop in question not just slashed the amp price by 70 quid - doh!). The eBay ad. described the amp as being in 'As new' condition. Well, I pity the poor seller then because everything they've ever bought new must look as it it's been put in a washing machine full of gravel! :( There were chips in the paint and a sort of 'scoured' scratching to the casing. The electronics all seemed in good order, but the am itself didn't look that great. So I had a choice. Burn a tenner to send it back and try for a refund, or, cover the thing in carbon fibre :) I decided on the latter, because I couldn't be arsed with the hassle (although at that stage I didn't know that the same amp was available new for only 40 quid more). A few 'heated' emails written today have recovered a tenner off the price, so I'm happy all-in-all.
Anyway, I'm waffling. I stripped off the badges, removed the case cover and carefully trimmed it with C/F. I was very pleased with the results and it matches the interior. Blimey, could it be that I'm becoming influenced by the Max Power mob?!?!?!? - OMFG I believe is the appropriate acronym/txt speak :) After playing around with various mounting positions, I decided on the passenger side front bulkhead, behind where the footrest would be mounted. This was the most convenient position cable-wise and kept the power/earth runs to a minimal length which I gather is best for 'ICE' installations. However, you really should be able to access the amp to adjust it, which I could do with an access hatch in the cockpit, but there seemed little point. If I need to fiddle with it, then I can just do the usual and lay upside down in the cockpit with my head in the pedal box! :) I fixed some steel rivnuts into place on the central/diagonal chassis uprights and held the lot in place with M6 cap headed bolts. Lovely. A trip to Halfwits... I mean, Halfords later in the day relieved them off an amp cabling kit at a rather wallet-wilting 50 quid! That said, to buy pukka quality bits seperately worked out more expensive. For what was going to be a simple/sat-nav stereo system, this lot is getting on for a grand of budget - ouch! Still, it's in keeping with the 'comfortable road car' ethos.
Which leads me nicely onto the dash. As you've seen, I'd already made progress on this, but I still had some elements to find homes for that in truth, I'd forgotten. Namely, a lighter socket (for power outlet use really as I don't smoke) and the good old Honda starter button which now seems 'de-rigeur' in Ultimas since I installed one in the GTR back in 2002 :-o Anyway, after a while head scratching and playing with various positions, I found that a symmetrical layout on either side of the driver/passenger air-con vent holes was best. You need to take care to ensure that anything that you put in the dash (if it's non-standard factory stuff and layout) will not foul the chassis rails behind the dash. Fortunately, there's so many holes in the dash now it's easy to tell!
So with some degree of confidence I cut the holes and filed the notches to stop the lighter socket and starter button from spinning in them. A note on the lighter socket. This was a standard illuminated socket sourced from eBay for 6 quid (11.70 in my local motor factors!). That said, I wanted to replace the rather 'obvious' plastic lighter insert with rather more anonymous ally version. This looks far better and is in keeping with my upmarket interior. Another 6 quid spent courtesy of eBay (a car builders supermarket!).
Now, I had another problem, one which I was really going about the wrong way in terms of solving. Basically, the alloy switchgear that I was using, had very short threads with which to mount through the dash. I considered putting a carbon fibre insert into the dash and indeed, now have a metre square of 1mm CF autoclaved sheet in the workshop! But, I wasn't convinced that it would look 'right'. in fact, I thought it may look total pants!! So I decided another solution was needed. My brother suggested that I might be able to shave down the back of the dash (thinner dash meant that the switches could go through and still take their securing collars even when the leather trim goes on) with a grinder! Well, the grinder bit was rather 'industrial' as a solution, but thinning it out seemed the best bet. A 32mm chisel bit provided the answer with a piece of wood clamped in place to stop it enlarging the existing holes to take the switches. I managed to thin the dash GRP to about a mm with great accuracy meaning the switches can go in and the dash trimmed all in leather. Anyone want a sheet of CF? :)
Next up, an altogether more nail biting task. In order to keep driver and passenger, cool, calm and collected, I'd decided to install a further two air con-vents, making 6 in total. Two are mounted in the dash face, giving a direct cold blast of air to the occupants (the most effective at making you 'feel' cool), two are going in the dash top which are also an SVA requirement for screen demisting and the final two are going into the cockpit footwell sides to keep the legs and feet cool/warm. Obviously, this requires some modifications to the blower unit outlets and pipework, but more worrying, I decided late on that I'd put the vents in the cockpit sides. You see, the thing is, I'm talking crap ;) The real reason for putting them in this position is so that they can be seen! Having spent a small fortune on the Audi TT vents, hiding a pair under the dash (like the standard factory layout) seemed rather a waste, so in the footwells they go. However, the observent amongst you will have seen that those panels are rather expensively clad, not to mention tightly bonded in place, with carbon fibre. I was now faced with the prospect of cutting a pair of 82mm holes into the flawless side panels :-o
The first issue was of what to use to cut the holes? A tank cutter 'holesaw' would do the job, but was likely to tear the carbon fibre to bits and these vents only give about 2mm of overlap to hide any rough edges :( I could cut loads of small holes and file the remainder away, but I found that it's also fairly inaccurate (and I haven't got the patience ;). Removing the panels was not possible anymore, so what could I use? I ended up buying a hole cutter that could handle sheet steel/aluminium. This can cut holes up to 220mm in diameter so will also suit for cutting the holes for the speakers. An eye watering 50 quid from Screwfix, but after inspecting it on arrival, it's a good piece of kit with two cutting blades. There's plenty of these things on eBay or in cheap tool stores, but they struggle to cut metal (they're designed for plasterwork ceilings really) so were'nt worth bothering with. So I set up the cutter and tested it on some scrap ally I had that was covered in the carbon fibre. Thanjkfully, the tool cut like a scalpel and the resulting hole was neat as if it was laser cut. The carbon fibre didn't fray at all, so that was a great relief. Then again, I still had to make the holes in the actual sidepanels. So, deep breath and dive right in. A mistake here would be VERY hard to rectify without ripping out the panels completely. So I took my time and very carefully made the holes. Wiping the sweat from my brow (it was bloody hot too) I trial fitted the vents. They are, if I do say so myself, absolute perfection :) They look awesome too!! I love it when things happen like this where I've spent hours deliberating on the method and then it pays off well in the end. See the results in the pics below.
Blimey, what a load of copy about a pair of holes! Well, to bore you some more ('bore' you, BORE you - gettid? Ah, never mind ;) I'm not finished. The final pair of vents reside in the top of the dash to demist the screen. Straighforward enough you'd think, but no. Basically, either the Can-Am dash top is smaller than the GTRs, or the new Stack dash pod extends further back from the dash than the last one, because, taking into account the position and offset of the air-con blower beneath the dash, it's impossible to line the two vents up.
I tried all sorts of positions that would still allow the screen to be demisted, but there's only one that's workable. However, this wasn't as much of a problem as I though as the positions are diguised by the fact that the factory supplied vents are black and will be mounted on a black leather dash. I doubt if anyone (provided they haven't read this) will even notice. It's just that I'm anally retentive when it comes to stuff like this!
Having finally marked out positions on the dash top, taking into account that the vents can foul the blower unit underneath, the holes were cut using another set of holesaws that I'd acquired. Conveniently, the set came with an 76mm cutter which was exactly that needed for the vents. Once cut, I trial fitted the cockpit section to the chassis and inserted the vents. Careful measuring and marking was rewarded as I couldn't have got them any closer to the blower if I'd tried :) That's almost it for the dash - phew!
With a nose full of GRP dust, (it's amazing how long this stuff takes) last job of the day was to trial fit the stalks with the Stack dash pod. I needed to do this to determine the final upper steering column length as this needed to be custom made by the factory. To make life easier, I chopped the end off the standard steering column and tapped out the tube. By insterting a threaded rod, I could easily adjust the column length accurately to determine the final rod length. I could just weld this one up, but decided it was worth having an new one made. It's a pretty vital piece of equipment after all!
Not a great deal to tell really. I'd already fabricated a mount for the stalks which bolts onto the upper steering column flange. The stalks are held on in the same manner as the OE fitment, that is, with an M6 bolt through the top. I simply needed to make the correct hole position in the mount and tap it. Again, time spent carefully prototyping the positions paid off and the dash hole I'd cut fitted perfectly. The stalks are in an ideal position and the hazard switch barely intrudes on the view of the Stack display. Happy with my labours, it was time to call it a day and go home for a cold one. More on Monday....
Happy Mondays. Well, it is when it's a Bank Holiday! With the dash pretty much done, I spent a while regrouping my thoughts as to what to do next. I ended up tidying up the radiator wiring, inserting grommets, making the connections with the loom and filling the gap along the bottom edge of the rad itself with expanding foam tape. That done, I realised I was procrastinating to put off doing the carpet. Ah well, here goes....
Well, not a lot to say about this really. By know you should be able to guess what I did to fit it. The only issue was the carpet width, which is 'just' wide enough for the cockpit. However, with the lowered seat pans you actually need it to be wider to take into account the chamfered sides. The best solution to this, not to mention the cumbersome fitting, seemed to be to do it in two halves. One for the footwell area and one for under the seats.
It took a good deal of time and patience to get a good fit in the footwell area (Brian Stanley did this after he'd finished the car, so you really do have my sympathy for that Brian!!!) and then you have to make the piece for the pedal box area. Again, patience and triple checking pays off and a neat fit was achieved. I just hope it doesn't shrink! The seat area was, by comparison, a doddle. Basically two rectangles with angles cut at the corners to take into account the chamfer of the seat pans. The carpet was glued into place (thought about velcro but couldn't see a situation whereby I'd need to remove it?) with contact adhesive. This is trim adhesive so is strong, but will allow the carpet to be pulled out without damage given enough persuasion. That done (this write-up makes it sound like a five minute job, in reality, it's several hours!), I though I'd fit the seat runners. Err... except I didn't have any! I had seats, but realised that the runners hadn't arrived - doh! Never mind.
Whilst I was at it, I re-fitted the transmission tunnel. I needed to do this to take into account the carpet thickness. The rearmost section is marked with positions for the harness mounting holes, however, checking these positions paid off as they were in fact too high with the carpet in place. I checked by aligning a laser with the holes, then refitting the tunnel section. Then it was a simple case of markign the 'correct' hole position and cutting them out with a 20mm holesaw. I'm not sure whether to paint the tunnel or just polish it? Probably paint but I want a satin finish, not gloss. Anyway, that can wait for another day. For now, it's job done.
I ended the day by wiring up the amp ready for the head unit and speakers. I can't do much more until the speakers arrive, so more news next week when I'll take some pics of the whole thing.