Having got the chassis and the rest of the kit in place either in the garage, or the house...its time to get started.....
I have started by getting all the aluminium panels de-burred, as the laser cutting process seems to have left some sharp edges etc. I'll have to do the same with the stainless ones too. They all seem to fit up ok, with a slight angle bend required here and there to sit flat on the square section tubes of the chassis.
Looks like I'll need to get a differential soon, as this seems to be a good starting point for most including GBS.
See chassis in garage on tressles in photos below.....panels only resting on chassis at this stage.....
After a very early start at 0515hrs and a steady trek down the M74, A66 and A1, I arrived at GBS around 1030hrs.
The guys were very busy, which is good to see and I had a browse around the workshop to get some more hints, ideas etc.
Having taken the engine and gearbox down with me, Richard arranged for me to take these over to the welding/fitting shop to try them on a chassis to see how things were going to fit up, and also knock up some engine and gearbox mountings. See photos below.
All looks pretty good, with only a couple of issues which look like they'll need to be dealt with.
Looks like I'll have to sort out a different gear linkage than the standard one, due to a foul on the chassis vertical and top tubes. Richard has suggested an option, so hopefully this is not insurmountable.
The standard inlet manifold won't fit, so I'll be going with the motorcycle carb option. GBS can do a manifold to suit.
Also at some point, I'll need to get a prop shaft to suit the FIAT gearbox to a Sierra diff.
Got the van loaded in the afternoon and headed home, getting back around midnight.
See next post for kit in garage......
Got the van today, and have loaded the engine parts for measuring up at GBS.Early start tomorrow to get down there by 10am ish... garage pretty much ready too...
Looking forward to it....
So its nearly time to collect the Zero kit. Van is hired and I'll be shooting down the M74 this Tuesday the 21st to make some last minute choices and bring the project home.
I've been stripping down the FIAT 1995cc Twin Cam engine which I acquired from a chap in Kincardine earlier this year. This was apparently from a FIAT Argenta, so is one of the later variants of this brilliant engine. One which has won (in one form or another) way more world rally championships than any other and, having had a 1585cc version some years ago, I know how good these power units are.
Hope to have the majority of the engine cleaned and painted (where necessary) prior to Tuesday, leaving just the ancillary stuff to buff up and re-fit.
See pics showing the engine when bought and clean-up progress....Halfords engine paint and some thinners being the main ingredients here.
More to follow soon!
