jason_l

Another manic week at work, however i have stayed late a few nights so there is an update. Decided this week to crack on with the brake lines. After getting the new brake line and fittings at Autosport International and finding the time to get to my mates house to collect the brake falring tool and bender i had a few tests and got to it. This is the first time i have done brake lines with copper so was a bit slow at first but soon got the hang of it and now have some very nice brake lines sorted. Decided to start with the front lines first as these where quite straight forward, First thing to do was get the wiring front panel, suspension, radiator and fan removed. Everything seems to be in the way now so always takes longer than it should. I decided to use the old copper pipe i had from way back as a template and bent them up by hand to a rough shape and use the new stuff to make the proper lines. This seemed the most logical way to do it and actually apart from a few little tweeks here and there has resulted in some very good brake lines. roughly bent the front lines to shape..... Then following this as a guide i transfered it to the new copper lines, added the fittings and flared the end.... and the new line next to the template version.... and fitted to the buggy...... Then was time to start the rear lines. Decided to mount the brake bias valve behind the drivers seat. Its still accessible from the seat but is out of the way enough that it can't accidentally be changed. Will eventually box it in i think to make it look alot neater. was just clamped in place for the moment but i will weld the bracket on later when i strip the frame back down for powdercoating. Decided to run the rear brake lines along the drivers side chassis rail rather than down the middle of the buggy. The coolant lines take up most of the room down the middle so was best running them another way. Looks like its in the way but all will be explained later. So firstly made a rough template again, this time alot longer than the fronts.... Then made the proper line.... all held in place with automec brake pipe clips.... and then from the bias valve to the T piece.... and then each side on the rear. Bit fiddly doing the lines from the T piece to the rear calipers but got there in the end. The lines are set slightly in from the edge of the rear compartment as im adding some large air ducts to the side so the brake lines will be sectioned off from this later. Very happy with the brake lines though and now all i have to do is finish off painting the rear caliper on the left and put that on and once bled i have brakes Then started looking at covering the brake lines and wiring along the chassis rail. I know some people have had problems with radius edges along the top of the chassis as well so made sense to house it all in. So went to screwfix and got a 3m length of abs waste pipe. Cut a small section out to allow it to fit over the chassis rail and did a little test to see how it will work. Looks good i think.... So then went for the full length. I used a Japanese pull saw and it was actually very easy and the results are spot on. After a quick scrape along the cut edge its actually finished really well. So started by masking up the section i want to cut out..... Then literally just carefully followed the line and removed the small section with the saw.... and the other one..... I have shaped the ends so they run the full length of the chassis rails and the fit is very good. Still need to make some small end caps but its getting there. Its amazing how a small part can clean up the look of the buggy so much. Will keep all the wiring protected and will actually hide the fixings along the frame when i add the sides. Im thinking im going to make the sides from ABS plastic as its alot cheaper than carbon fibre and its going to be plastered with vinyl anyway so doesn't really matter. I only have a small piece of ABS but you get the idea of how it will go.... I then also removed a small section at the front to allow the nosecone to slot into it. Thinking i can hide the fixings for the nosecone under the tube as well. Paul (Legend) from work has also helped a bit this week to sand the nosecone down some more and we couldn't resist seeing what the green looks like that the body parts will be sprayed in. Still a long way to go on the nosecone but its a start. Well as you can see its been a busy week, hopefully going to try and continue at this pace as its houldn't be long and after cleaning up the wiring a little, adding the driveshafts and sorting the coolant lines i won' t be far off of a few video'sof it driving around the carpark at work Jason

Ha. Thanks. Sometimes i think i should just get it built as quick as possible just to get it finished but i just cant resist doing stuff over the top. Too much of a perfectionist. Not always a good thing i guess, always takes twice as long, or in my case about 20 times longer

Well thats over 1000 posts now, so that means i have been building this for FLIPPIN AGES!!!!!!! Well not really a big update but an update none the less! Last weekend me and Sarah went up to Autosport International and had a fantastic time, so much stuff on show and some amazing cars. Always good to look around these sort of shows as it always gives me idea's for parts and ways of doing things. Also while i was there i picked up some parts. Got all the brake unions i need (all in brass not the cheaper alloy ones) and a new roll of copper brake line as the stuff i have has seen better days. Also got a few fuel washers and other random bits. I also managed to pick up a few more random carbon fibre Formula 1 parts. There was a guy selling all sorts of Formula 1 stuff and he had some good stuff. I had to really stop myself from buying one of the wheels. I don't need it for anything but i just want one! Anyway i got a few more little parts. These are good to cut up and use as small mounting brackets and as they are carbon they are mega light. Been looking at continuing with the brake lines and coolant pipes and i have started to solder the coolant pipes together. Had a little test to see if the brake line clips fix ok to ABS plastic sheet and they seem to fix ok and are pretty secure. Think im going to run the brake lines along the top of the drivers side frame bar. I wanted to run them down the middle but its going to get tight with the coolant lines down the middle and is easier to look for another route. They will then be covered with a plastic tube along each side that will hide the wiring, brake lines etc. I had a go with taking a template for the front brake line but it didn't go to plan. Bit of a nightmare, i may have to remove the wiring loom and front panel so i can get better access as its a bit restrictive. Will have another go at some point, when i find time. I also added a small piece of fibreglass along the top of the nosecone piece. Looks ok and it means the wiring is now a little more protected, just need to spend AGES sanding the nosecone now and getting it all smooth and then look at fixing it to the car. Been dying to do more this week but its just been manic at work and i haven't wanted to stay late either. Im not really sure what to do with the buggy now. The workshop is getting very tight for space and im getting little done on my lunch breaks. I spend more time faffing about moving stuff and working out where to start than actually working on it so im considering moving the thing back to my parents house. Problem with that is i need to clean out the garage as its messy as anything and also im not sure how happy my brother is going to be with me as his jetski is in the garage as well and i know he won't be keen to share the space. My thoughts are that i will get more done with it at home as i can crack on in the evenings and if i need to take parts to work i can take individual parts in when i need to. Although it may be better leaving it at work, i just don't know?!?!? This snow is stopping me do anything on it now but not really much i can do about that, but i will crack on as usual when i can. Jason

Thanks guys. Its the great comments i get from you lot that keeps me going on it. On day it will be done. I keep saying 2014 but it wont take long and it will come round. I will just keep chipping away at it.

Haha. Well sort of, i still think of it as bodging on parts from other cars. Its just those parts are from VERY expensive cars.

Hi All, Time for some pictures i guess. Well been all over the place over Christmas and working on a few projects here and there but got a few hours put in on the buggy. Thought its about time i get it to a moving state so have started looking at the brake lines and coolant routing. First thing was to get a brake bias valve so i can install this when i sort the brake lines. This will be mounted in the centre tunnel behind the passengers seat, out of the way. I specifically bought it as it stated it was 3/8 fittment so would keep everything the same but it turns out its m10, not a huge problem but bit of a bugger. Also got the other caliper cleaned up and have begun painting it up. Just waiting till i can get over to my mates house now so i can borrow his brake pipe tools so i can get the brake lines bent up. Going to go for copper for the remaining lines i think, might upgrade to braided after iva but probably won't bother.... Then it was on with routing some coolant lines. I want to make sure that there are no joins inside the main cabin area in case a hose splits or leaks as its going to get messy. Been looking at using 28mm copper pipe and simply soldering the joins so everything is solid within the cabin area. Now i originally thought i was going to have to remove the engine to get the pipes in the cabin but if i jack the rear up i can just about get them in. Started running the hoses from the engine and down into the rear section and im happy with the results. I have started running the copper pipes down the middle and im just waiting on a new blow torch so i can solder the joins. started routing from engine..... pipes down to centre section, the copper pipes will be covered with high temp sleeving so you won't see the copper at all. side view.... and down the middle...... Got some hylomar on the thermohousing after a good clean and its now bolted up to the engine with a new thermostat in place. Also while working on the engine area i went off on a slight tangent and decided to knock up a heat shield for the manifold area. Plan is to make another one to defelct some heat from the coolant pipes as well. This was made from a side panel from a 2008 Honda F1 car. Bought a pair of these a while ago and have been thinking what i can use them for and it worked out pretty well. I have a few carbon F1 parts lying about that im going to use here and there. Firstly got it trimmed down to shape..... added some expensive heat shield material to the underside.... and then fitted in place....looks rather good if i do say so. Now im just waiting on a few more connections and the blow torch and i can hopefully find the time to finish off the coolant pipes and be a tiny bit closer. I have also been working on the nosecone and have re-enforced the inside and started sanding it down but its going to take ages before its done. Work continues! Looks like this thread has almsot reached 1000 replies also, flippin heck its been going on forever Ha Jason

This was made from a solid piece of billet, not made from another gearknob, i should know i made it . It has the correct toyota thread on the inside as well so simply screws into place. Good luck with sale buddy.

Right then, update time i guess. Now where do i start with this one! Have done a little more but has been hard frustrating work and have been so close to just packing it in and walking away at one point. So i was off work all last week, i have built up so much lieu time over the year that i have lots of time off now. So i take a week off work and spend it working on the house, got a bit done but would have liked to do more. Then Thursday last week i get a phone call saying that all the other technicians are on holiday on the Friday and there is nobody in the workshop. They wanted me to go in to cover, after a quick chat i decided to go in but spend the day working on the kitcar and only be there if the brown stuff hits the fan. Was a big mistake to be honest, everyone was told only to bother me if URGENT and i had people in and out all day with stupid requests. Needless to say i got hardly anything done. The only real thing i did get done was fit one rear caliper and get the brake lines measured up. Started by trying to fit the brake pads to the caliper, needed a rewind tool as the piston was too far out, bought that then attempted to fit the caliper and it doesn't fit! The hand brake mechanism actually fouls on one of the rear tie arms, was not a happy bunny. So i tried fitting the caliper on the other side of the car and it won't work either. At this point i was getting more frustrated! Then compared the handbrake mech from the mk4 calipers and the difference is clear...... MK4 is the bottom one and mk2 is the top one. So i fitted the mk4 mech to the mk2 caliper and everything is spot on and looks like it will work well. Still would prefer to use the mk4 caliper and i think eventually i will be going back to the mk4's. I have taken parts off them now and they are not worth much if i sell them so going to keep them and sort them out later. Think i will get take off point for the brake lines moved and remachined in a better location so they are useable, plus they are a third of the weight of the mk2 versions. So that was my day Friday, went home really frustrated and Sarah could tell i was pissed off. Then late morning Saturday Sarah got called into work so i thought now is my chance to make me feel better. Went in to work and just got on with it without any distractions. Got the rear number plate lights, rear lights, dipped beam, sidelights and main beam all wired in. Went home that day feeling so much better than the day before Wiring is getting more of a mess but will be fine when wrapped and cleaned up later..... Monday i got on the phone to Russ at Furore Products. He was so helpfull and i can't rate him highly enough. Got the rear brake lines and 2 of the front inside chassis lines ordered up from him in lime green of course. Im still unsure if i should do all the brake lines in braided or switch to copper?!?!? Then a day later these arrived at work...... and at lunch i got the front chassis lines and the rear fitted to the buggy, length is spot on and i just need some chassis clips to hold them in place. I haven't fitted the other side yet as i still have the other caliper to clean up and paint first. Also got the headlight wiring cleaned up, they look a mess so made sense to get them wrapped and cleaned up. This is what will happen to the rest of the wiring loom when its finished..... Im now in and out of work all over Chrsitmas so i may get a few more little bits sorted here and there if im lucky. I need to go by a scrap yard at some point for a few parts and if im lucky i may get a few bits for Christmas. So do i do the rest of the brake lines in stainless braided hose or do i switch to copper? I reckon im looking at about £100 for the braided lines. Sorry for the HUGE essay this time....... Jason

Ha, thats funny it feels like i have been building this for yonks! Thanks guys, will be done one day. Jason

Well its been a manic week with work and getting ready for half term when work goes mental, what with all the kids visiting and smashing up the exhibits meaning more work for me! Probably won't get much done this coming week but will try my hardest to get somewhere with it. Not really much of an update but always good to try and keep this regular and keep myself motivated to crack on. Been busy this week trying to get the micra ready for its MOT, one word RUST!!! and lots of it, but majority has now been welded/replaced and undersealed so fingers crossed it passes and i can get back to getting on with the Buggy. Got a few more parts ordered this week, seem to order a few parts now on a regular basis. Posty says that it won't be long and he will have delivered ever part of it. After the issues with the indicators i ordered some new switch's for hazard, rear fog and lights. Decided to go for toggle switch's as they look different and go with the buggy well. Ordered them from CBS and have got a special one for hazards and lights. Also ordered some loom tape as well. also ordered a dash sticker sheet so i can label all the switch's up properly so i know whats what, this was nice and cheap but has loads of stickers on it, alot i won't be using of course. bit hard to see in the photo.... Then laser cut a rough panel for the switch's and got them fitted loosely in place, the centre consol will be completly covered at a later date but this is just to see location of switch's more than anything... and in place..... I got a red cover for the hazards to make it stand out from the others and then got the stickers added to them.... Next job is to continue with the wiring of the switch's, lights, rear fog etc. Also Paul from work continued with cleaning up the mk2 golf calipers, one done one to go.... i removed the VW logo and sanded the front part down smooth as well for a better look. Then started getting a bit of paint onto it, has come along loads..... Ordered a load more wire, relays and some loom wrap that should be here in the next few days. Also have a small sheet of abs on order to see what its like as a material for making the centre consol and panels from. And thats pretty much been it for the moment, not much but at least its something i guess. Hopefully get the micra in for MOT this week and if all goes to plan i will be back on the buggy soon. Jason Well, not really much of an update but it keeps me motivated and keeps everyone in the loop as to whats what. Been continuing with the wiring and its going well, engine side of things are pretty much there, needs a clean up and wrapping but its starting to come together now. As im off this week i may go to the local scrappy and pick up a few parts like clips, grommits etc that i need for a few jobs. Bought a component box to house the ecu and wiring block to help keep them away from the elements. Just need some large sized grommits to get the ecu clips through. Has a waterproof seal round the lid as well that should help. Also bought a set of laser cut steel tabs from ebay, using these to weld to the frame for things like engine cover, wheelie bar etc Also while we where sorting out a load of scrap stainless that got sold off at work i managed to salvage a small stainless box, even has lock and waterproof seal around the lid. It has a few holes in it but these will be sealed and the plan is to use it as a lockabke storage box that will be fitted somewhere in the buggy. Probably go at the back next to the fuel cell i think. Apart from that i have just been doing the odd bit here and there, nothing much but a lot of planning and working parts out. Have the nosecone back in the garage to look at adding more fibreglass to the inside to strengthen it up, hopefully get it done sometime this week with any luck. And just for reference here are a few more up to date pictures, looking at the rear of the buggy i think i will add another structual bar to the rear quarter so i can add a side panel and covr the sides of the engine a little. Going to just tack weld alot of the brackets and parts on now and then look at welding them in for good when it gets stripped down later on. Jason

Well i haven't posted in a while but that doesn't mean i haven't been working away at it. Work has been pretty hectic as always but i have found time in between work and building my house to do some more on the Demon. Been spending most of my time sorting through the wiring. Now im not really that good at automotive electrics so its been a bit of a learning curve. Especially creating something from scratch but i have been sorting through it bit by bit and throwing myself in at the deep end has meant i have learnt loads. So far i have...... Horn circuit done Both fans wired in Reverse lights done brake lights done indicators done Engine wiring almost done. Speedo part way wired in (fuel gauge sorted, speedo sorted, sorting revs and it also illuminates as well) currently working through main lights Started it up on friday after finally getting the battery charged and fuel in the tank. Just hearing it start up makes it seem all that more closer, even though in reality im still a long way off. After wiring up the indicators i had a little test and it seems that something wasn't quite right. No matter what way i indicate all lights seem to flash. I spent a little while trying to get to the bottom of it and finally found that the mini hazard switch was the culprit. I got the wiring diagram from CBS and it looks like their switch's work differently. Was planning on using the standard mini style switch's but rather than redoing all the wiring i have decided to buy some new toggle style switch's that will now replace all the mini ones. Hopefully should be here monday/tuesday this coming week and i can continue sorting through the wiring. I have added 2 mini gauges in already and looking at the other gauges available i think im going to go for boost, oil pressure and oil temp. This will mean i will need to add a sandwich plate on the oil filter housing so i can have the gauge sensors mounted to it. I have a larger oil filter also that currently doesn't fit as it fouls on the frame so im thinking i will buy a oil filter relocation kit so i can move the oil filter to better location. Im planning on adding a oil cooler at a later date so this will help with that as well. Have also found a little time to contine with cleaning up the nosecone piece. Started by taking it into work and getting the flat piece i made trimmed to the size of the bottom and generally sanded it down, good ol Micra means i can now just fold the seats down and use it like a Van. Then it was taken back to my garage for the messy stuff to take place. Got the bottom piece bonded to the nosecone, was a little tricky with the shape of it but got it sorted in the end. Then started adding the Gelcoat, the main of it is now all covered, I still need to add some to the bottom of it but i have ran out so need to order some more. I need some for the rear cycle wings anyway so won't go to waste. adding the Gelcoat......... completely coated...... and once it was all dry, thrown back in the Micra ready to go back into work for sanding down....... Looks a bit rough but after lots of sanding, filling, sanding etc will look nice and smooth I have a few things to sort on the Micra this week, mainly lots of welding to try and get it through its MOT but i will be back on with it soon Jason

Its that time again, another update...... Well the last few months have been manic! Work has been hectic and it just hasn't eased up at all, just feel destroyed. Then spent some time getting the Roadster cleaned and sorted for JAE which was awesome. Then unfortunately i had to sell the car to put some extra money into the house. Really didn't want to sell it but it was either that or sell the Buggy!!! So the mazda went, will miss it loads but had to be done really. Now have £2k change to put into the house. Will miss it though, was an awesome car...... Picked up my new beast on monday evening, S reg Nissan Micra 1.0. It really doesn't compare to the 5 but is still fun to drive, its nice not giving a dam about the car and just drive it like i stole it. Just folded the rear seats down and im using it like a van and throwing all my building materials in the back. As its reduced my car running costs as well i now have more money to put into the house and the kitcar. and as its a bag of poop i don't need to keep cleaning it or looking after it i should have more free time as well. Anyway thats slightly off topic, now for some pictures....... Started looking at coolant lines. Decided to just go to the local scrap yard and pick up some 28mm hoses. After going through 3 honda civics i ended up with these.... Honda civic bottom hose's, they have some really good bends and are in not bad condition either, got all 3 for £5 which was a bargain i thought. Cut them up slightly and they look like they will work well to join the pipes at the front to the middle of the buggy. placed roughly to check they will work, will need to drill some large holes through the frame and add some protective edge trim.... Then have been continuing with sorting through the wiring. Not been doing too much with this as ever time i get some free time i spend ages trying to work out where i had left it. Anyway i have done a little more, brake lights almost there, speedo 1/4 wired up and started cleaning it up more. wiring..... Bought some new mini gauges, only 37mm across the front, should look nice when i have them all bought and fitted. So far have voltage and water temp and will be adding oil temp, oil pressure and boost of course. voltage gauge.... water temp gauge and seperate hose adaptor..... and where they will be getting mounted...... and then i have been continuing with a little bit of fibreglassing. All the resin i had ended up going off so had to be binned but have bought some new good stuff and some gelcoat also. Got one of the old windows from the house and slapped a few coats of fibreglass over them. When its set it will basically peel off and give me a completely flat sheet that will be used to join onto the bottom of the front nosecone. I may add a sepearte splitter piece later but not sure yet. Also have had some slightly bad news, i have to move the kitcar out of the work workshop. Space is getting really tight at the moment and i can't expect them to let me keep the car there. I have decided to do this before i am told to move it but to be honest it would only be a matter of time anyway. This means i have to try and find somewhere to store the car now and work is going to probably slow up on it, unless i can get it into my parents garage as then i can do more on it probably. To be honest im not happy at work at the moment so a change in jobs may be on the cards before long?!?!? Driving around in the Micra is making me want to get it built even more now so maybe i will work more on it to get it done.......... Jason

Holy crap i haven't posted on this for flippin ages! Didn't know if the topic was kept with the move but looks like its still here, Doesn't mean i haven't been working on it as i have just forgot to add up the updates. Almost at the point where i might start stripping it down for paint/powdercoat and hopefully start the final build now..... Jason