Fiesta Duratec Hillclimber

[grahamb]

Originally Posted by PumaWestie

How much is left to do? We keep thinking its nearly there and then you post about more mods...

Working through the snag list still.
Car still not turned a wheel under its own steam, waiting to bleed brakes and clutch. Need to run the engine up to operating temp to make sure cooling system has no leaks. Extinguisher needs refill and I need to plumb it in again in the engine bay as the induction is now on the front on the engine. Air filter needs buying. So not much really but my new contract has me stuck in Somerset 3 days a week so its difficult to find the time when back home.

So I'm not modding for the sake of it. Engine conversion was only part of the overhaul.

[grahamb]

Bled the rear brakes last night. One man operation using a vacuum compressor rescued from the WEE skip at work.

Draws the fluid through from the reservoir, and works reasonably well. I had to take the calipers off and orientate the bleed nipples to the top to make sure that all the air was expelled.

And at first I couldn't draw any fluid through, which baffled me for a while. Then I realised I'd pressed the pistons fully inside the calipers, which prevented any fluid from travelling around the inside of the calipers. Soon fixed by pressurising the calipers using the compressor, to force the pistons back out, and the once reconnected, bleeding commenced.

[grahamb]

No progress last night.

The Micro Scalextric turned up (for the kids you understand) and we spent most of the evening rescuing cars from under the furniture. Damn they're so quick, and the magnets in the motors pull them down on the to track, so the kids just squeeze the trigger and scream hysterically as the cars fly around the circuit. Very highly recommended.

Now I just need to build a replica of Mira, Aintree, Thruxton, Snetterton, etc to get some practice in for next season.

[FLoads]

If you use the stairs you can build a Shelsley Walsh and check the "downforce" from the magnets.

[grahamb]

Bled the fronts on Friday evening, and then finished the lower rear engine steady bar, which braces the rear of the engine to the front bulkhead, using some brackets I migged and a simple adjustable steady bar using some threaded tube and M10 rod ends.



I'll have the brackets powder coated once I've proved that they'll stand up to the abuse. There is a second engine steady bar, that runs from the top of the gearbox, also to the bulkhead, so by lengthening one tie bar against the other, I can essentially lock the engine solid, thus preventing any movement.

Unfortunately Tony Law had to remove the tie bar in the picture to accomodate their manifold, and the tie bar was meant to sit in the centre of both the brackets. So for now I've added alloy tube spacers to the bolts that pass through the brackets, so I can torque them up without squashing the brackets.

I've also re-routed the flexible hydraulic clutch hose inside the car, so its away from the heat from the exhaust manifold on the rear of the Duratec.

[grahamb]

Bled the clutch last night. Took about 3 seconds using the vacuum pump. Not sure how its supposed to feel when I press the pedal, and I've no indication of any movement like I would have had with a cable clutch. But there is resistance to the pedal movement, like I'd expect to feel, and theres no 'orrible noises, so hopefully its working. My concern is the size of the master cylinder to the capacity of the slave. I'm running a 0.75" master, which gives the least amount of fluid movement compared to the other masters I had lying around, so I'll only know when I try to drive the car at the weekend for the first time.

I also finished cleaning up the four inner wheel arches, and sprayed them with some fresh stone chip.






M-Sport are sending me a pair of inner cv joint boots, which I should be getting today. When I went back to Ford for the complete boot kit, they were quoting 5-10 days lead time (minimum), so I politely declined.

[PumaWestie]

Just curious. Why is your engine steady bar not fitted between the clevis brackets rather than in single shear on the side of them?

[DaveK]

Did you not spot the exhaust manifold in the way

[grahamb]

Originally Posted by PumaWestie

Just curious. Why is your engine steady bar not fitted between the clevis brackets rather than in single shear on the side of them?

Please pay attention at the back!

[grahamb]

When I get an evening spare I'll probably make new brackets.... but spare time is what I dont have very much of at the moment.