It's been a long time

It's been a long time since my last post, months in fact. Playing cricket once again took over my summer and not much has been down to the car. Now that winters here I have plenty of spare time to get back on track. So far since my last post here's whats happened:

• Front wishbones fitted
• Front springs and shocks fitted
• Steering rack and shaft fitted
• Rear wishbones fitted
• Rear springs and shocks fitted
• Rear hub carriers fitted
• Diff fitted

The front uprights I sent away with a mate to be blasted and sprayed come back untouched as the blast was too 'industrial' for the uprights and hubs. So I soaked the uprights in two gallons of vinegar for two weeks. The results were perfect. The photo below shows just how good they come up. I managed to get some paint on them this afternoon and should get them finished next week. I have decided to buy new ally hubs from rally design instead of tarting up the old ones. Also got the back plates of the drums in vinegar now ready to paint them.

The front suspension went together with no problems, the rear on the other hand was a nightmare. The hub carriers were no lining up witht the wishbones at all and the shocks seemed twisted compared to the brackets they were meant to fit in. I found out this is a usual Tiger problem. With plenty of fairy washing up liquid and brute force they went together. Really hope I dont have to take them apart again. No doubt I will though.

Next steps will be to order the wilwood front brake kit, get the drum back plates painted and fitted so I can get the driveshafts in and then maybe get the chassis on some wheels!!!

Here's a few photo's of the build so far

The vinegar

One of the uprights after two weeks in the vinegar

How it looks at the moment

Again

Front right (bad photo)

Donor parts arrive

My donor sierra rear end turned up yesterday along with the rest of the suspension pack from Tiger (ball joints, track rod ends etc). I managed to strip down the rear end in the afternoon and put a few coats of paint on today. The rear end was in pretty good nick and the bolts were easy to get off. I took the drum off first, then took the 4 bolts holding the back plate to the hub off, the drive shaft slid out and then I removed the diff. Happy days.

I started to rub down the drive shafts and diff lastnight, and finished them off this morning. Managed to get a few coats of primer on this afternoon and one coat of black on this evening. Will finish them both off tomorrow. The drums are shoes are in good condition as they have not long been taken off a Tiger. Will be ordering the diff bolts from ford soon so I can get that fitted and sort out the back end. Also have all of the suspension and steering to get on with so should be busy over the next month or so.

Heres some photos of the donor parts...

The rear end on the pallet

The drums (might purchase new cylinders)

The drive shafts and hubs

Few coats of silver on the diff

Just like christmas!!

The steering and suspension pack arrived Friday, was just like christmas in my garage. Havent had chance to get stuck into it yet though. I stripped down the old cortina hubs and brakes. Took some time to get the bolts loose, went through plenty of WD40. They have been sent away now to be blasted and sprayed and should be back within a week. Will have to find some time in the week to start on the rear suspension. Off to halfrauds today to get a c-spanner for the shocks. Few photos below of the parts...

Old cortina units

Stripped down and ready for blasting

Managed to get my hands on the chassis bungs and fit them

Next post should be the rear suspension fitted

Small update

Just a small update on the build......I am still waiting for the suspension and steering pack from Tiger so havent done anything in the garage apart from have a little clear out. Am hoping the parts will be here this week so I could make a start on Friday.

Fuel lines in

Just a small update about the fuel lines. At first I was going to run 8mm feed and 6mm return lines but was advised by tiger owners to run both lines at 8mm. I popped down a local plumbing shop and picked ut a few metres (only 90p per metre). I decided to to run the fuel lines at the bottom of the tunnel saving the top for the wiring loom. The 8mm pipe was fairly easy to bend but had to watch out for the pipe collapsing unlike the brake pipe. Before I clipped it to the chassis I wrapped spiral wrap around the fuel lines just incase over time they moved and rub on the chassis (also did the brake pipe while I was at it). I used 8mm nylon p-clips along the tunnel and then rubber lined s/steel p-clips at the rear end where I felt more support was needed. When both pipes were finished I was suprised how stiff and secure they ended up.

First fuel pipe done

Both secured

Next job is the suspension and steering. Just waiting for the parts from Tiger. Fingers crossed they wont take long.

Brakes lines done

Managed to get some time together to finish the brake lines. I used the ready made up automec brake line kit from tiger. Whilst looking at other people builds I noticed that not all people used a brake compensator, but used some sort of adjustable brake bias valve. I decided to go with the idea and purchased a tilton adjustable valve. Not sure how I'm going to lock it off yet for the IVA test.

Took me a while to figure out which route would be best for the brake lines at the front. Hopefully the route I used will be fine. I simply bent the copper pipe by hand around the chassis and used the automec brake clips to secure it. These clips where perfect for the job and real simple to put it. Just drilled a 6mm hole, pushed the plug into it, then the clip itself into the plug. They give a real secure hold of the brake pipe, would recommend these to all builders.

Below are some photo's of the build so far. Will be popping up to Tiger soon to pick up the suspension, steering and fuel tank etc.

Panels all fitted

Finally finished all of the panels for now. I've left the battery tray and top tunnel panel till later for easy access. Had to make a few extra ally plates on the tunnel panels as the ally sheets from tiger were slightly too short. No big deal though. Sealed it all up this afternoon and mounted the brake pedal bracket to the floor.

I had a problem with the pedals back plate which the master cylinder bolts to. It is slightly too narrow to fit four bolts through so I have put 2 through for now and will get it welded in a week or two for extra strength, hence why the driver footwell panel has to cut-outs on it. A few photo's below of the panels finished and sealed.

Panels all finished

Holes for the master cylinder

Sealant applied

Drivers footwell panel with cutouts for the back plate to be welded to the chassis

All sealed and brake pedal bracket bolted on

Next job will be to weld the back plate to the chassis for the master cylinder and get the brake lines in.

Need more hours in the day

I haven't had as much time as I would of liked over the last week or so in the garage but am pleased with the work I have managed to get through. After finishing the floor panels I decided to do the back panel and side panels. The back panel wasnt as difficult as first thought but marking the centre the of the chassis members on the panel was. I deicded to rivet the panel to the diagonal supports as well as the straight chassis members for additional hold even though it did take a lot longer. I got the side panels out of the way pretty quick and cut the sheets ready to rivet the central tunnel.

2 panels down, 12 to go

Back panel being marked up

Back and side panels complete

Tunnel panels layed up

Next stage is to try and finish off the panels this week and think about the floor mounted pedals and brake lines etc.

Had a spare few hours

Finished Uni early today so had an extra hour or two in the garage. I gave the floor mounted pedals a coat of paint and then decided to start on the panels. Decided to do the drivers side floor panel. Clamped it up and marked along the chassis. Got out the aviation snips and cut about 1mm inside the line. Filed down the edges, put masking tape roughly where the chassis members were and marked the centre lines of the chassis members. I decided to put rivets every 2.5 inches on the panel and centre punched the marks. I put the panel back on the chassis then drilled and riveted the four corners to secure the panel a bit better than the clamps. Finished drilling the rest of the holes then took the panel off to de-bur the holes. Wiped down both surfaces and applied a fairly thin bead of sealant to either side of the holes on each chassis member. Put the panel back on and riveted it all up. I must add I purchased an air pop riveter from Ebay for £20, this is the best £20 I have ever spent. Worth every penny.

Heres some photos of the process.

Clamped up on the chassis

Cut and filed to shape

Marked the centre lines of the chassis members

Markerd the 2.5inch increments and centre punched

Drilled through

Riveted the corners first then placed the rivets in

(stupid idea because they fall out when close the rivets)

Finished panel

I'll use the same process for the rest of the panels and hopefully get a few more done by the weekend. Will post up some more photos when I'm done.

Chassis painted

Just a quick update.....Finished painting the chassis this morning so going to give it a few days to cure properly. Also started to paint the floor mounted pedals and brackets. Got a few days now to plan the brake line routes and fuel lines. Heres some pics of the chassis and the first coat on the pedals (excuse the brush marks)...

Trip to Tiger

The day finally come to take a trip up to Tiger to collect the chassis. Picked the van up at about 8 o'clock, 4 and a bit hours later I arrived at the village of Throney. We loaded the van up and headed over to Thorney Toll to take a look at some other Tigers and have a word with Paul. Both Paul and Jim were very friendly and allowed me to have a good nose around the garage taking photo's of an Avon that was being built.

After the long drive back (too long), I arrived back at about 7ish. Unloaded the van and had a look through the parts. I noticed that the throttle pedal from the floor mounted pedal kit was missing, I spoke to Laura today and she said she will sort it out for me. Sunday morning after returning the van I started to prep the chassis for painting as I bought the chassis bare steel from Tiger. I managed to get the first coat of primer done by the end of the day and thats how I left it.

Heres some photo's of saturday and the chassis so far:

The van


A Tiger R6 (Ithink)


Another Tiger on display

The chassis

The chassis cleaned up and ready for the primer

After a coat of primer

Next up is to get painting of the chassis finished and start on the panels.