Spare Parts 1991 06 OCRI

Constructors Car Club
I
The Constructors Car Club
Magazine
,
Issue 1: Volume 4
\U!J/
S
\""'''''''~.'
,:"..', }lf11r~
~
.i···~
The Constructors Car Club
Magazine
Junet99t
Issue 1: Volume-l
In This Issue
Club Officials
President
Derrick Halford
Secretary
Patrick Harlow
Meeting Minutes
3
Presidents Report
5
Club Cars
7
For Sale
7
Fronte' Flash
9
Treasurer
Steve Dorrington
Oub Meetings
The Constructors Car
Club Inc. meets at
7:30pm on the second
Tuesday of each month
(except January) at
St. Bernards College,
Waterloo Road, Lower
Hutt. Prospective
members or others
interested in building
their own cars are
welcome to attend (the
club does request a
donation of $2 towards
running the meeting).
Meeti ngs generally
include a guest speaker
or demonstration,
followed by general
discussion and supper.
Who's Who
... 10
CCC's Roving Reporter
... 13
Why Indeed
... 15
TheAlmac HF
... 17
Crossword Solution # 1
... 20
All club and magazine correspondence to:
The Secretary,
Constructors Car Club
c/o 186 Major Drive,
Kelson. Lower Hut!.
--- --- - - ------l
I
Club Products
MeetingMinutes
April 1991
Videos
$5.00 for each hire
Frank CostIn
Ibis Kit Demonstrat/on
Chevron Kit Demonstrat/on
Mike CostIn
and others too!
Magazines
Sports Car Talk Vol 1 $8.'00
Sports Car Talk Vol2
$10.'00
Sports Car Talk Vol 3
$10.'00
Member Car Profiles
- $3:00
Spare Parts back Issues - $1,'00
Olhertlems
Club Sweatshlits - $25.'00
Radio Hats - $25. 00
Club Logo Patch - $200
Insulation Tape - $1,'00 per roll
CHAIRMAN
Derrick Halford
Ph 644-016
SECRETARY
Patrick Harlow
Ph 650-993
Members Present
Neville Baxter,
(new) John Bell,
Keith Bloodworth,
Stephen Burr,
Philip Derby,
Steve Dorrington,
Dennis Eteveneaux,
Bruce Eyre,
Kent Garnons-Williams,
Jack Hadley,
Derrick Halford,
Patrick Harlow,
Roy Hoare,
Tim Hutchinson,
Robin Jury,
Serena Lockwood,
Brian Main,
John Mander,
John Marechal,
Alex McDonald,
(new) Don Morgan,
John Noys,
Bruce Penlington,
Alan Price,
Mark Rowse,
Garry Stanley,
Keith Taylor,
John Thompson,
Rob & June West,
John Wilson,
Ian Bloodworth,
Darryl Cooley,
Roger Dunkley,
Stevan Fisk,
Colin Hainsworth,
John Hill,
Terry Hvid,
Ian Macrae,
John Mansfield,
Richard Mills,
Rex Parker,
Ron Robertson,
Alan Stott,
George Ulyate,
Bernard Wright
Nonmembers Present
Neville Bolten,
Chris Hadley,
BluWhitley,
Warren Barnard,
Mark Bond,
Malcolm Diamond,
Rob Ritchie,
Chris Kane,
Shane Sutherland,
Bryan Lawrence,
Tony Stoker,
Patrick Thompson
The meeting opened with the following visitors being warmly welcomed ...
Neville Baxter is a general car enthusiast and he owns a 1950 Alvis
that he is restoring to its former glory. Chris Kane is a member of the
Alfa club and is thinking of building a kit on Alfa running gear. Richard Mills owned an Daytona buggy which he sold to buy an Alfa.
Now he hopes to buy another kit car.
Garage Tour
All prices include GST
2
June 1991
A garage tour has been arranged and five cars have been picked
out. A Manta Montage, a speedway saloon car, a Countess, an AImac TC and Archer. As the Montage, Almac, and Countess are almost finished it should be a good trip. Meet at St Bernards college at
1.30pm Saturday May the 18th.
Spare Parts
3
Next Meeting
The next meeting will at the Wellington Ambulance center to see
their vehicles and to hear them talk on chasiss safety design. Members will be phoned and told of the arrangements.
Costin Cup
John Bell and Neville have been working hard at working out a formula still based on what Frank Costin originally aluded to. This year
it will be a Challenge Cup as opposed to a Race Cup. It will still contain the theme of Efficiency. Permission is to obtained from G.M. to
use their carpark. John asked for five volunteers to test out the Formula. At this stage it will only involve petrol powered cars. At this
stage cars will be handicapped on their weight and engine size. Later it is possible that the Kilowatt output of the motor will also become
a part of the formula. Both John and Neville hope that the Formula
will cover all cars fairly so that anybody can join in. The Challenge
will develop as time progresses.
Oil Products
George Ulyate has organized some oil products for us to purchase
at a reasonable price and are as follows ..
SE rated
SF rated
SG •
4ltr
Presidents Repon
..........JUNE
Well, whats happening to this little club that was started by a few
people just a short while ago. I was not privileged to be among that
select group, but was aware of what was going on, and attended the
first "official" meeting.
It seems that each month the club grows just that little bit more,
new faces appear all the time, but what amazes me is that, with one
or two exceptions, we all keep coming back for more, which is really
great.
Those that have fallen by the wayside are missed, but even those
tend to keep in touch, one way or another, popping up at displays,
phoning to ask how things are going, or just chance meetings in the
street.
WHY, if we can find out we could bottle it!!
What this does mean though, for us poor old folks, is "know the
face, can't remember the name". Now it is easy for you lot, I sit out
front and spout off at length, (alright, alright, too much I know!!) so
you get to know my ugly mug, but what show have I got!! a veritable
sea of faces .....
$10-00
$14-00
$33-00
As these prices are 10-12% cheaper than normal retail bring along
some money and take home a pack.
LV. V.A. Low Volume Vehicle Authority
They are now up to the point of having a draft constitution. It is
hoped that this group will eventually be the go between for all L.V.
cars (ours) and the MOT. They had several meetings of which we
have been involved.
Welding Course H. V. Polytech
Alan Price has organized a course of welding for all those interested. he is prepared to take members through a course that covers all
!ypes of welding or if people wish to concentrate on only one type he
IS prepared to cater for that as well. In the general course Mig, Tig,
Arc and gas will be covered. The cost of this is $145-00 which is
works out at roughly $13-00 a night. All those interested should see
Alan.
Continued Pg 6
June 1991
So if I do hesitate, Hello er, em etc. PLEASE help the old codger
out!! I do try, but age gets us all, it will be your turn next, remember..... NO, see told you!!!!!!
I must admit to getting a bit carried away with the forming of the
LWA, the new Rules & Regulations, & of course our dear old friends
down at the MOT over the last few magazines and meetings, I apologise for this, it must be getting real boring for you all. So, that is all I
will say on the matter for this month ......... what was that, blasphemy
do I hear??
For those of you who decided that the garage tour was not their
cup of tea, boy did you miss some interesting sights. The Manta,
with Wankel power now, is a mean looking machine, bites too, as
Patrick, among others, found out as they tried it for size, how's the
head Pat?
Loved the Lambo, looking good, even if the design is older than
some of our members, incredible as that sounds, and on the road for
Christmas, according to John.
The Archer, well Bruce, you have a real classic looking sports car
Spare Paris
5
their, I really like its lines, this is my sort of car. Somebody (see can't
rememberwho l !) asked if they could get a mold off the body, courtesy of Alex, well, I would be in for one too, think about it.
Why would anybody want to make a wooden car? well it would appear, several, but this was the first one I had seen in the flesh, so to
speak. It looks so easy to do, I think I might start again this weekend.
Should be finished in a month or two!!
AJ ...... The RX? speedway special. If this guy can work out how to
make a car go round left hand turns, hands off, he MUST know how
to make it go straight too!! If you want too learn about chassis dynamics, handling, squat, steering offset, cambers etc. corner Alan
Martin (corner, get it!!)
Back to Seaview, did you see the Bond? well I want it!! any advice
on how to talk the better half around, please. Not the nicest looking
open top around, but a classic in its own right. and there wouldn't be
many in New Zealand, or anywhere else, come to think of it!! I will return Gary ..
MAY CLUB NIGHT.. ... another one to remember, pity we didn't
have the camera's to record this one too, but a good excuse to invite
Sybil Lupp-Archer & Lionel Archer back again. The stories that these
two could tell, the way in which they were told, what lovely people.
We are a very lucky club that we can get people like this too give us
their time. Power to them, not that Sybil needs much more!! any volunteers for navigators? Thank you both once again, and can we
book you for same time next year, you will know what the XJS can
really go like then, with the new airbox etc!!
Club Cars
Mander grand Tourer:
John Mander says
1) this vehicle will have an even more secure passenger cell than
the much vaunted Mercedes. There being more steel around that
area.
2) Another safety aspect in the event of brake failure and a down
hill runaway situation. The driver will be able to switch off the ignition
without fear of locking the steering as the ignition lock will be situated inside the drivers door.
3) This car will incorporate not one but five airbags. Four of which
will contribute to the safety of the car at anyone time. These will be
built into the tyres.
Electric Hybrid:
Keven Stevens is trying to continue this project but finds time and
money a restriction. Now he has all the motors and is in the process
of sorting out the electronics. Once this is done he intends to start on
the drawings.
Three By One:
John Bell The car is now fully mobile and is up to the Warrant of Fitness stage. Currently John is in the fitting a rear window and a vynal
roof. The problems that he was having with the brakes have been
sorted out and all the upholstery is almost finished.
ForSa/e
Jag Rear End,
Ford Falcon 6 cylinder motor and Auto gearbox.
There are also some Bedford van bits and pieces too.
MeetIng Minutes ... Cont
Queens Birthday Rally
Graeme Barrett in Greytown has extended an invite to us to attend
a Queens Birthday rally that has been setup with another club.
(Missed the name, sorry) It will cost only $60-00 for three nights accommodation. Contact John Wilson for further information.
Phone Bruce 377-153
At this point the meeting closed and we settled down to an entertaining night with Cybil Lupp/Archer and her husband.
Secretary
X
Patrick Harlow
6
June 1991
Spare Parts
7
~~~
We've got all the pieces
ROAD £JI1IID TRACI
ACCESSOBIES LTD.
458 HIGH STREET. LOWER HUn, N.l. Phone (04) 664 51 5
Fax 691 096
SEE US FOR:
-. Spoilers
- Bodykits
Louvers
Carbs
Manifolds
Stereos
Helmets
Overalls
TheFronte~Rash
My Fronte' Flash started life as a humble, wrecked 3 cylinder 2
stroke powered machine, dropping bits on the way to its new home,
my place.
I had rescued it from a friend of mine who thought that a car was
for driving from A to B, constantly, never requiring oil, water, air in
the tyres (is that what those little stems are for, she said!!) or any otherTlC.
Needless to say it took 18 months of hard work to straighten it out
(it "fell" off her drive on to its side!!) and get the engine to perform
anything like it should. This included a new silencer, courtesy Damien (Mike the Pipe) Gruenwald, and a re-spray, courtesy Roy Hoares
work and Derrick Halfords now dusty red garage!! and a new set of
brakes.
The car now ran quite well, great fun to watch the rev counter spinning out to 8,000 with no problems, cornering on rails as they say,
good fun on the flat, 100 Kph plus, but a 360cc 3 cylinder does not
handle the Wainuiomata Hill too well, being passed by cyclists can
be embarrasing to say the least.
So, I took to it with an angle grinder after 6 months of these frustrations.
Harnesses
Radar Detectors
Nuts
- Bolts
Well, to start from the top, I decided to re-power the machine, and
the decision was made to fit a Honda Civic EB1 engine and transmission unit, mid mounted a la the Hoare Urba Car.
To make it fit, the original engine transmission unit was removed,
and a EB1 unit offered up to the engine bay. It was obvious a fair bit
of the firewall would have to dissapear, plus a percentage of the inner wheel arches.
YOU NAME IT WE'VE GOT IT!
OR WE'LL GET IT!
This would mean converting the rear engined 4 (alright 2+2) seater into a pure 2 seater, as the EB1 is going to sit in the rear seat
area, with the gearbox/final drive positioned right on the original axle
line, a pure mid engined set up.
The next step is to fabricate an engine cradle to pick up the original mounting points, which will also include new mounts for the rear
suspension, hopefully with the assistance of one Roy Hoare, who
has a certain amount of experiance at squeezing Honda units into
small holes!!
~ome in and talk to Grant or Stuart
More to come ............. John (wanna buy a hat) Nays.
Spare Parts
9
---r--
------~-----~--~~~-~
ccc~ RovingRepoJter
- Scorpio
Quote from Roger Russell, Technical Manager for Mazda NZ Ltd;
referring to the new vehicle design rules, "they are very limited and
look like becoming a complicated and confuSing mish mash. Whats
more, they leave New Zealand motorists to buy cars inferior in a number of ways to those available in Australia."
LTD
For all your clutch, brake and
general automotive parts needs.
Now at three locations:
LOWER HUTT
421 Hutt Road
666-070
UPPER HUTT
28 Montgomery Cres.268-350
859-075
WEWNGTON
45 Vivian Street
Open Saturday mornings 9 - 11 am
Pointing to the new Mazda (of course) 121, he says that if New
Zealand legislation was the same as in Australia and ADR cars were
imported, the vehicles would have anti intrusion door beams, mounting points for child safety seats, more internal padding, evaporation
controls on the fuel system, an exhaust catalytic converter, anti theft
locks and anti-theft linkages in the doors as well as more engine power from the same sized engine.
"If such a step is not taken and we continue to develop along the
path we are heading, the development of new vehicles and the design changes will leave New Zealand in a unique and difficult position where we can not obtain the advantages of being associated directly with one well recognised vehicle standard."
What he does not go on to say, as it would not suit the company
in New Zealand, is the down side to all this.
We agree that NZ cannot afford to stand on its own in this area,
but we do not want to align with Australia, and it's ADR's either. Look
at the restricted number of models available in Australia because of
their design rules.
More power from an engine fitted with catalytic converter? at a
cost of higher fuel consumption, the last thing we need with so much
of our fuel imported. The same with door beams, more weight, more
power required to move the thing, burn more petrol.
or contact
Jack Hadley (in club directory)
~iscounts forCCC membtilrs
But, the one that really annoys me, we do not want catalytic converters, in fact they should be banned in New Zealand.
They were developed for California, where they had (have) a
smog problem.
Automotive Importers of
Moprod, Supra, Precision, Redaeccl, QH.
Now, come on you clever ones, my understanding of things chemical are limited to say the least, but, while cats. cut down on some obnoxious gasses, my understanding is that they increase the output of
the gasses that are causing the hole in the ozone layer.
Now, we don't have a smog problem, do we?? but we do have a
problem with the ozone layer. Now do you see why we should ban
Spare Parts
13
Whylndeed
catalytic converters.
So, why do we, the car buying public of New Zealand, have to put
up with uninformed garbage being printed in Australian magazines,
by uninformed, but no doubt highly paid, people, who are really only
pushing their own boat. (sit down lan, we are not talking boats
again!!)
THE GARAGE TOUR.
Listening to Allen (I go round in circles) Martin talking about suspension design etc, totally absorbing, can we have a club night on
this one please Committee Members.
A rotary powered Manta Montage would have Bruce Mclaren spinning in his grave, (rotary, spinning, get it!!, never mind) but if it goes
as well as it looks, Gary (anyone wanna Bond?) Stanley will have a
real nice car on his hands, but its gotta be yellow Gary!
Patrick (where's everyone gone?) Harlow almost missed this one,
got stuck at the Port Road intersection, looking completely lost, but
then, who would expect an Irishman to find his way anywhere!
Talking about Irishmen, if you want to go anywhere, don't follow
the Club Pressy either, he just goes round in circles, he likes driving
that much, he ALWAYS finds the long way around!
The Countach is looking real good, and I reckon it is going to be a
race to see which one hits the road first, John (No, no, hold the
spraygun like this!) Mansfield or Steve (wanna sign made) Burrs version.
Bruce (I only spend $100 a month) Eyre has a fair amount of work
to do on the Archer, but it has classic lines, a real sports car looking
profile with that abrupt cam tail. I like it.
Last car of the day was the JC Midge of ??, where we were accosted by Her Majesties man in blue, in his community cop car, good job
he new one or 2 people in the club, and didn't book us for parking
all over the road/pavement/peoples gardens etc. Thank you Mr Ulyate Sir ........
Alex ( I am building my own Cobra, and it will be finished soon,,6
years on!!) McDonald of Almac Fame, has to get out of "the top
shed" by the end of July, so if anyone is looking for parts, now would
be a good time to approach Alex, you might get a bargain or two.
14
June 1991
Yeeup! it's me again. Not so easy to get rid of, even if I do spend a
lot of time buying Ferrari Books. I am not really a Ferrari fan, I just
happen to like them, and anyway the books were on special, like
cheap.
To get back to the brass tacks, I have done so many little jobs
since I last wrote that I cannot recall them all. The engine, gearbox
and back axle were set up in the chassis and mockup made of engine and gearbox mounts. The parts were made in steel and fitted
temporarily. The length of the driveshaft was calculated an the necessary work carried out by Roy. I was pleasantly surprised by the reasonable bill.
It was now possible to line up the drive train and locate the various
mounts in permanent position. At about this time I got hold of a Honda Civic radiator and mounted it in front of the frame. Originally I had
it sitting at an angle with the idea of having a hot air exit through a
vent in the upper body. I had a change of heart, it would not look
right on the car, so the radiator mounts came off and shorter tubes
made up for the radiator to mount vertically.
The next step was to make a start on the framing for the bo.dywork.
I had visions of a tubular base with the sheetmetal tacked to It a/a
super/eggera, you know, like Aston Martin. I spent hours bending
the tubes all to no avail. By the time I had done it all the logical solution was to use sheet metal for the whole job. Fortunately the lesson
was learnt at the expense of time rather than a large sum of money.
At this time I decided it was prudent to have the stage on~ scrut!neering done. The arrangements were made, and at the appointed time
three sages arrived at my door. I had fitted some items to the chassis
so that they could see where I was going. It also made it possible to
check a few things I had not thought about. Just as well I had the
urge to do it. Well, there wasn't much they did not look at, poke at,
pull at, and ask about. Keeps a fellow on his toes I'll have you know.
It took all of three hours, and there was nothing that escaped the evil
eye(s).
The net result 'was that the frame passed the test. A few suggestions were made and as a result I now have an anti-intrusion bar on
either side of the cockpit and the dash brace and framing have been
redesigned and fitted.
A true test of my skill, or perhaps lack of it, was now about to unfold. I had for years admired the efforts of hot rod builders. Those
chrome-plated firewalls were a thing to be beheld ... beholded ... ah
what the hell, they were good to look at. How did they do it? I was
about to find out.
Spare Parts
15
The Talmac HF
The first thing was to get some sheet metal, followed closely by
some large empty cardboard boxes. I finally figured out it would be
easier to make the bits I wanted out of cardboard, and then transfer
the shapes to steel once I was satisfied with the fit. This seemed to
work ok. Having established the parameters of the steel section of
the body, I decided that the steel bulkheads should be flanged to
take the rivets that would attach the side panels. After several hours
of tap-tap-tapping I finally had a fairly good representation of a
flange round the edge of the piece that would eventually become the
top of the firewall. By now flanging was a snip, why even managed to
roll a curved section without the steel curling all over the place. Having done the first pieces, the former behind the seat was tackled. It
too is in three sections, oops, four sections. All this being necessitated by the space frame. One lesson learned here, when you next design a chassis bear in mind that you may want to get in there with a
drill at some stage. You cannot drill the panel rivet holes before you
start!
Oh, the fitting and filing that went on! It was all worth it in the end.
While this was going on I also made the sheet pieces that would
act as chassis braces and dividers between the cockpit and engine
bay, and cockpit and fuel tank bay. These required a bit of thought,
but were eventually produced without too much bother. Well, not too
much anyway. I did have to remake the rear one because I cut the
hole too big the first time.
At the time of writing, the chassis is complete, welded, primed and
the underside is sheeted with aluminium. Seat belt mounts and the
seat are fitted, although the seat needs modifying to cater for the
belts which will pass through the sides to ensure they work as they
are supposed to.
Enough for now. It has been hard work, with more to come!
SO YES, WHY INDEED.
Based of course on the Almac bodyshell described as a TC replica, designed to fit on a slightly modified Triumph Herald chassis.
Going back in time, I made my first mistake in not reading the brief
instuctions that Alex supplied with the bodyshell, I bought my shell
from a third person, and didn't get these instructions until later, from
Alex McDonald (AI Mac, see? for new readers, new members and
the general ignocenti) himself.
So with little knowledge, I bought my Triumph Herald. It turned out
to be a Mark I, not recommended, but we survived.
Later I purchased a Triumph Toledo, well, I was talked into it by
Bruce (this is not an abandoned vehicle) Penlington. I found out why,
he wanted the carby, dashboard and most importent, somewhere to
wreck it!!, but for $50.00, half the cost, including hire of a trailer to
get it to my place, I figured I wasn't being robbed.
I had already wrecked, well, finished wrecking, a young friend had
really started the job with his, so say, driving! a Fiat 125.
So, here I was, a garage full of bits, some instuctions from Alex,
and not a lot else unless you include enthusiasm, of which there
was, and believe it or not there still is, heaps.
With help from Roy (draw it on the floor with chalk) Hoare, the chassis was cut, my bit, and welded up to the correct dimensions, Roy's
bit, and the body fitted. Then it was un-fitted, fitted, un-fitted, well you
probably know the story, this went on and on as bits were made,
tried and modified.
With the decision to fit the 1500 cc engine from the Toledo, I also
decided to fit the front brakes, stub axles and hubs from the same
source. The stub axles were a breeze to fit, of greater diameter, carrying larger bearings, they had to machined back on the shoulders
(thank you Roy) to retain the same wheel offset, but were a straight
swap for the original Herald units in the way they fitted the Herald uprights.
The front brake drums were a different story. The decision to retain
drums, rather than go to disc brakes, was taken to try and keep the
car in character with the overall design, but, obviously, the larger
drums would prove of benefit in the stopping area. So, to the problems encountered.
The Toledo backing plate was a straight swap with the Herald
units, but on fitting the uprights back on to the suspension, it was
16
June 1991
Spare Parts
17
-
---.,...----I
found that the steering arm ball joints fouled the plate, where it is
pressed out to clear the brake shoes and drums.
Solution, very carefully use the gas torch to cut a section of the
pressing out, clean up the edges, and weld them back into place, recessed.as far as possible whilst still clearing the shoes and drums.
Simple.
Next problem, the heat from the cutting/welding melted the alloy
metal which formed the boss that the brake adjuster pivoted in. Discovered when only one cut had been welded, thankfully, a new boss
was fabricated and fitted.
Finally, spacers, approximatly 5mm thick, placed over the bolts
between the upright and the steering arm, completed the job, giving
sufficient clearance around the ball joints.
New engine mounts were fabricated, sitting on the front suspension towers, and Fiat (of course) engine rubbers were used to hold
the engine about 6" back from its usual position.
This made it neccesary to chop out the main chassis members to
clear the bell housing, which were then plated back up by Roy, otherwise the engine sat to high for the bonnet line.
The radiator surround supplied was fibreglass, and I used this as
the basis of a pattern to have an alloy one cast by Neales Foundry.
They also cast up the headlight support bars and wheel spacers
from patterns that I fashoned in wood. Currently they are casting up
some door hinges in bronze, once again from wooden patterns,
which I hope I can finsh well enough to do the job, and maybe even
get them chrome plated, more on these later.
Now came a very interesting interlude, the wiring harness, made
by, you guessed it, me.
I also made up a battery carrier to fit down on the nearside chassis
rails, which has the advantage of being "out of the way, but accessable", if that makes sense. It also leaves the bulkhead clear to fit the
Herald heater unit. (Age makes the bones grow cold!!)
The dashboard was cut from alloy plate by ........... Roy, from a hardboard template that I had painstakingly fabricated, which I then threw
away!! The instruments and switches fitted just where I wanted.
Not wanting a key type ignition switch, I have fitted a 2 posit.~n toggle switch. The first position is for accesories, the second position
pulls on ignition, with a red button from a printing machine for starting. A battery cut out switch, complete with diode protection for the
alternator, will be fitted protruding from the nearside bonnet, with a
removable key. Neat, no problems ........ You are kidding, of course.
Alex McDonald fits a bar across the scuttle area, just in front of the
door cut-outs presumably to reinforce the body when the doors are
cut out, well, the dashed speedo cable wants to go right through the
middle of said bar. Cut the bar!!!!!! but just to keep the dreaded
scroots happy, weld bars of similar specification above and below
where the piece has been removed, leaving a hole for the dashed
speedo cable to pass through.
When it came to fitting the speedo cable itself, I figured a hole cut
in the transmission tunnel would make fitting a lot easier. Hole cut,
cable connected at both ends, I decided to fit a small cable clamp to
prevent it from fouling the clutch operating foot.
Now, to fit said clamp, I needed 2 hands. Slide down, head first
into footwell, drill clearence hole, screw clamp over cable and into
place. Great, now get 0';'1 again!!!, approximatley 15 minut~s later,
by now getting real panicky, I force my legs over the nearside door
and extricate myself, complete with plenty of bruises and scraps on
shins, hips and tummy.
Next time, remove the steering wheel first!!
After working out which pin led to which light/gauge on the Fiat instrument panel, containing speedo, electric rev. counter, petrol tank
gauge, water temperature gauge, petrol low warning light, choke
warning light, hand brake warning light, ignition warning light, lights
on warning light, main beam warning light, and indicator warning
light, I know why they call it ELECTRICKETY, and I still forgot low oil
pressure warning light and panel lights! !!
Having driven a couple of Almacs fitted with the Herald engine and
gearbox, I was not to keen on how the gearchange extent ion had
been done, simply cutting the remote, extending it, and bolting or
welding the extent ion in place, so that it "hangs" a long way out from
the back of the box.
Be warned, buy more fuses than you EVER think you will need, it
will save you a trip or 10 to the local auto electrician to buy replacements, maybe!!
So, always one to take the difficult way if there is a choice! I ~sed
the Fiat 125 gear lever, which is mounted directl~ to the chaSSIS, e~­
tented the operating arm from the gearbox and f!tted. an e~ra.englne
mount from the bell housing across to the chaSSIS ralls, to limit the
18
June 1991
Spare Parts
19
engines fore/aft movement, which could have resulted in un-wanted
gear changes!
In theory, and in practise, this worked very well, until I drove the
car!! I then discovered that, because the pivot point of the gear
change lever was below the point of take off for the operating arm,
rather than above as on the original, the gear change pattern was reversed!
Now, with practise I can manage this, and could always say that I
had planned it this way to deter thieves, but truth will 'out, and it is
painfull to drive, "where am I, where do I move it to next??".
So, the bodyshell has to come off once more, when I shall attempt
to fit a 128 Fiat gear change lever, which has the pivot/take off points
in the correct configuration, and is still chassis mounted. Now, to anybody that can spell configuration okay, this little problem of gear
change adaptation should be a breeze .... Then again, ROOOOOOY,
HELP!!!
PARTS FOR YOUR
KIT CAR OR SPECIAL...
SEE LANCE GANDY at
136 Eastern Hun Rd
Opposite Taita Railway Station
ph 675366
Continued next issue
From complete vehicles to
the smallest part. ..
TRY US FIRST
Solution to CCC Crossword
No. 1
20
June 1991