With the advent of Spring all of a sudden, there were a number of jobs that needed doing around the house and garden. The dog has developed the habit of visiting neighbours via various gaps in the privet hedge. You would think that butter would melt in there, but he has just cost me another £600 in fencing and two days effort erecting it.

Anyway, lawns done, fence up, garden furniture out, it’s time to get back in the garage.
The fluids I put in the car a couple of weeks ago have stayed in the car – no leaks from the gearbox, engine or water system. So next it’s brake fluid. I took a tip from Richard’s Lincoln’s blog (which I follow) and invested in a Gunsone Easybleed kit. If you are on your own it makes great sense.


First you need to remove the callipers from the rear and turn them upside down since the bleed nipple is at at the bottom rather than the top of the calliper. I simply flipped it upside down and placed it back on the brake disc so the piston and pads stay in place. Having flipped over the rear callipers, I filled the reservoir and connected the bleed kit to one of the tyres with roughly 20psi in it. 20psi is enough to push the fluid through the system quite easily. Then a couple of pumps on the peddle – which still felt rather soft. The reason for the softness: the brake light sensor was not sealing correctly. I removed it and added ptfe tape before tightening up again. I am always a little weary about over-tightening brass fittings, but this one needs to be really tight or it weeps.
I then bled the system again and put everything back together, including the threadlock on the calliper bolts. The pedal is much firmer now, and the handbrake adjusted.

Whilst the car is still open and accessible, I will put the fluids in. If there are any leaks then they should be easier to resolve without the firewall and scuttle in place.

First the gearbox oil – funnel and flexible tube from above once I had found the correct plug. It is the one below the reversing switch and toward the front of the car. The capacity is 1.2L and it will start seeming out of the fill plug once it’s full.

Then the engine oil – 5L of synthetic. Then the anti-freeze. Mixed 50:50 it took about 3.5L, but I expect to have to top up once all the air is expelled.

 Working from the front I then tidied and tie-wrapped the wiring harness right up to the bulk head. So the wiring is now firmly in place to the base of the firewall just below where the fusebox will be. So the next job is to sort out the wiring for the starter switch and ignition. I have chosen a savage type switch as a starter switch to match with the others – and because I quite like them. They are however, low current switches and won’t cope with starter current. A relay is needed. Here is the circuit diagram I have used. I mocked it up with some spare wires to make sure the light came on in the switch when the ignition is on and that the relay fired when the button was pressed.

Here is the mess of wiring for the final starter circuit. 

The winter is still here !!
Another 6 to 8 inches in the last 48 hours, drifting to 2 feet deep around the garden. I spend yesterday morning digging out to the main road and aiding the neighbours to do the same. It’s all now freezing solid so I am glad I did.

A bit cold in the garage, so I haven’t managed much. I started by adding some 4mm neoprene strip to the bonnet. Should help the fit. Along with some trim around the manifold opening.









Then the front indicators. A 10mm hole on each side and on they went. Sounds simple but I did spend quite some time making sure that the hole was in the same place on either side, and that it was between 350mm and 500mm from the ground for IVA.

In order to make sure I had the indicators the correct distance above the groound I also spent some time setting the ride height: front and rear.
Front as measured to the base of the chassis behind the rear wishbone – 130mm.
Back as measured to the base of the chassis in front of the wheel – 120mm.
Then I took it all apart so I can complete the wiring, and fill with fluids before I close up all the panels

Rather than work on the car yesterday I decided to drive my youngest daughter and her friends to Manchester in order to see a One Direction concert. 3 hours of listening to 1D in the car; 1 hour of chaperoning them into and out of the MEN Arena in the company of many thousands of very excited, squealing teenage girls; 5 hours of hanging around Arndale shopping centre….. but she enjoyed it – and that’s what matters.

So today a few hours in the garage. The first task was to position the bonnet correctly and mount the bonnet catches. The mounting of the catches was straight forward (although the 4mm rivets are quite difficult to pop with a standard rivet gun). The difficulty I had was getting the bonnet to fit properly over the scuttle and nose. I eventually managed to get it straight and square but there is a gap between bonnet and body panels on both sides. I will source some neoprene and bonnet locating studs to finish the installation (see future post).

 
With the bonnet located, I could work out where the hole for the manifold needed to be and it’s shape. The photo on the right shows a paper template I created to find a suitable size and shape. This one is the third or forth I made before I was happy. 

I then transferred the template to the bonnet and got to work with the dremel. I must admit to a moment of dread half way through the cutting process when I wondered if I had the template the right way around. But not to worry.

I was amazed once the bonnet was replaced, just how aggressive the car looks now with the manifold emerging from the side. 

Whilst I was disappointed with GBS for pushing old stock my way, I don’t want to halt the build whilst I argue with them over a replacement. 
Positioning the lower front lip of the base of the nose along the chassis rail shows that the cut-outs for the upper wishbone (either side) are not deep enough to allow the nose to sit properly on the upper mounting brackets. I approximated the amount of clearance I needed and drew up a template. After cutting and shaping the dash yesterday, removing some of the nose to extend the cut-outs for the upper wishbones didn’t take long.
Holding the weight of the nose on my trolley jack I then marked and drilled the lower mounting points along the chassis rail and installed some rivnuts. I used low profile M6 bolts and some large penny washers to finish the fix. Then I made sure that both sides were level before drilling the mounting holes for the upper mounting brackets.
The above sounds  quite straight forward but it has taken all afternoon. I still need to add IVA trim around the nose edge and also the upper wishbone chassis brackets as they are now exposed – but that’s for another day.

I’ve had a good day today. A long walk on Cannock Chase with the dog first thing. Lovely clear sky, a herd of deer and two noisy hot air balloons. Then spent some time with my daughter at the hospital and afterwards an afternoon in the garage. 

Last weekend I formed and bonded the scuttle. This afternoon I mounted the dash on the dash panel and installed the instruments.

I started by removing the scuttle, masking up the dash and checking the fit. Not perfect, but the scuttle is bonded and the dash won’t flex so I will have to live with it.  
As I am using the standard Smiths gauges and GBS loom, the instruments are constrained to particular positions. I considered other layouts, but I quite like this one and it saves having to de-construct the loom. 
The last time I was at GBS I asked Richard@GBS for a miss-cut gauge surround, which he gave me without charge. I had no intention of using on the vehicle. I wanted it to act as a template to position the gauges and cut the GRP.
Once I had the dash in the right place I used the gauge surround to mark-out the potential position of the gauges and to form an even profile to cut away the GRP around the steering column.
Now I had the dash in right position I double, and then triple, checked the gauge positions before getting the dremel out and starting the cutting. The router and barrel sander made easy work of the GRP, cutting precisely and cleanly much to my relief.
Before the dash finally went in, I covered the return edge with vinyl to hide the tabs, and put the gauges in place in the correct order: From the left Volts Gauge, Fuel Gauge, Water Gauge, Oil Gauge, Speedo Gauge, Rev Counter Gauge.

I am really happy with the final look.

If I am stuck with a nose cone that needs fettling to fit, then I am going to need some datum points to align it properly. The most visible is obviously the bonnet. To put the bonnet in place correctly it needs to be aligned with something. That something has to be the scuttle, which in turn needs the battery tray and firewall in place from which to take it’s shape. So I will start with the battery tray.

  
I have decided to use rivnuts on the back chassis member and bond on the front. This is because the rear chassis mounting points are shared with the firewall which I want removable. 
Having marked up the right position and installed the rivnuts I drilled out the mounting holes in the battery tray to 12mm to fit around the rivnut. That way the battery tray is absolutely flat on the chassis rails (others use flush fitting rivnuts).
The peddle box then needed careful positioning, and the pedal box lid bent to the correct shape. While I was at it, I also bent down the alignment tabs on the firewall ready for the scuttle. 
Note: I may change my mind about the bonding of the battery tray – with all of that wiring and fuel lines passing under here I may want it easily removable.

 These photos show the lack of clearance on both sides around the top wishbone. I had to pull the fibreglass apart to get the cone on this far and it physically rubs against the wishbone. I bought this kit after the mods to the nose cone were in production. GBS must have slipped me old stock because I believe (from RHoCAR posts) that this is the problem with the older cones. I need to check with GBS.

 The top of the cone lines up parallel with the chassis and in reasonable position for drilling a fixing hole, but the lower panel is not over the chassis cross bar and the sides snag on the wishbones. Disappointment. I would have likes to have completed fitting with the indicators today.

The temperature has started to go up a little today. Now 4 degrees and the 6 inches of snow that still remains has started to melt. I find it a welcome change to see snow on the ground. It changes the general mood, both of familiar places but also friends and family too. There has been a childish excitement over the last week or so, but I admit its wearing a little thin as times goes by.

But back to the Zero, where I managed a couple of hours before the cold got me again (whimp). I bought the new DRL (daylight running light) headlights from GBS which look great. The only minor issue is that the wiring is slightly different and as with most elements of the build, it doesn’t come with instructions.
The first photo shows the lamp with the H4 halogen lamp installed. You can see the two tails for the LEDs and the 3 tails for the dip and main beam from the H4. All of the cables need to route through the hollow bolt and through a modified IVA nut cover. I had to cut down the hollow bolt to allow the nut cover to sit properly. I decided to lengthen the LED tails to the same length as the headlight leads so they would reach the connector block. 
After threading all of the cables through, I bound them with electrical tape and crimped on the spade connectors (with a bit of solder to be sure). I crimped the ground for the LEDs and the ground for the halogen lamp to the same spade connector. Trial and error with a battery then led me to the following wiring connections:







                                     Headlamp         Harness
Main Beam                   Blue                   White
Dip Beam                     Green                 Yellow
LED / side lights           Red                    Green

Not much time today – and minus 3 this morning, so garage time is limited.
The washer bottle is simple job that I have been meaning to do before the engine bay became too cluttered. Ideally this can be done before the engine goes in and when there is plenty of space to swing a drill. I have mounted it on the passenger bulk head with a couple of rivnuts, slightly elevated from the floor pan to allow the water feed to loop underneath. I have also pinned the water pipe with a couple of P-clips.


I also wired up the heavy duty cables from the starter motor to the alternator and engine ground making sure that the powder coat was removed from the chassis for a good electrical connection. As with the washer bottle, this job is easier to do earlier in the build process as it gets fiddly in a cluttered engine compartment especially the alternator connector which is situated directly under the plenam :-(.

So cold in the garage this afternoon. Only 1 degree C, so I haven’t spent too long with the Zero today. First job was to tidy the wiring loom on the Plenam side of the engine bay now that all the sensors and cables have found a home.

 Next, the fitting of the Inlet Air Control Valve (IACV). I mentioned this a while ago in post Engine – Part 1. I am using a prototype IACV mounting bracket from GBS that I have decided to mount on the coil pack bracket. This seems a convenient place as it is close to the IACV output on the new plenham. I think it fits quite neatly here. As this is yet to be fully integrated into the GBS wiring loom I have also added some cable and connectors which I will run to the ECU.
Finally today (getting really cold now) I completed the high pressure fuel circuit from the fuel pump to the fuel rail inlet and from the fuel regulator back to the swirl pot. For the fuel regulator back to the swirl pot, I choose a route over the plenam and along the chassis rail and cable tied it down. 

My last job for today is the plenam install. On visiting the GBS factory a few weeks ago, Simon@GBS gave me the tip that the powder coated plenam chamber needs a little “black glue” to seal it to the cut down mounting plate. This prevents the plenam drawing in air through the sides of the plenam rather than through the throttle. 
Before I could do this, the fuel rail needs to be removed and the lugs that remain in the block. 

The plenam chamber and cut down fuel injector housing, then bolts into the block. 

The throttle from the original manifold then fits to the end of the plenam and the air filter onto the end of that.

 Before the scuttle and dash go in, I wanted to run the loom around the engine bay. I am using the GBS loom so it should be quite straight forward – assuming you understand the labels on the loom. 
The first (and simplest  is the connector to the coli pack – it can’t fit anywhere else, but you do need to remove the coil pack to fit it as it is so close to the water rail elbow.



The next one took a little detective work. TPS is obviously throttle position sensor, but the connector on the GBS loom doesn’t match the connector on the throttle. Then I found the adaptor cable.

 The Crank sensor was a guess. I think it goes here.

 To be honest I am not sure what this one is, but it is likely to plug in here. I can’t be absolutely certain but my reference photos suggest this to be the case and there are no other connectors of this type within reach of the cable.

 Here are the oil sensors. The top one is for the Smiths oil gauge and the lower one is the standard Ford sensor for the oil warning light.

 After opening the Emerald ECU box I discovered two more sensors – lucky because I was short of 2. One is the water temp sensor for the ECU and the other the air temp sensor that fits in the plenham. But which one is which? I googled the part number on one to find it was the air sensor (the one on the right), which meant that the one on the right must be the water sensor. Eat your heart out Sherlock.


Here is the water sensor in place on the water rail elbow.

 Here is the air sensor in place on the plenam.

I have no idea what this sensor is. It was already attached to the block, but I don’t seem to have a connection for it as part of the GBS loom. Can anyone help?

I spoke to GBS about the radiator fan installation. They don’t bother with any brackets to hold the fan to the radiator. They simply clip it to the front and tell me it shouldn’t work loose. I am a little dubious. The suspension on a zero is firm and our roads are full of potholes. 

Coincidently I received an email from an other RhoCar member who has been following this blog. He very helpfully pointed out that I had mounted the radiator to the chassis brackets using the radiator mounting brackets on the back of the radiator. Whilst this seemed logical since the holes all lined up, it turns out that the nose cone will not fit if you do this. Instead you need to use the front radiator brackets which means bending over the back ones. The radiator then fits between the chassis brackets rather that in front of them. This meant that I needed to re-size the water rails to fit, but I would rather do that now then when I come to fit the nose cone – many thanks Busby.
While I was fiddling with the radiator I decided to make a couple of small brackets to hold the fan in place. Here it all is with a little black hammerite to tidy it up.

A couple of other minor jobs whilst I am in that frame of mind.

Number 1 – the dip stick. Clamped the GBS extension tube in place and pushed the dip stick home. Simple as that


Number 2 – the Smiths Oil sender. There is a GBS fact sheet about this, but I found it less than helpful. It talks about an “adaptor” and there is a little brass visible in the picture between the sender and the block. As I don’t have an “adaptor”and the thread on the sender seems to match that for the block I have screwed the sender straight into the block.

Number 3 – water temp sensor. Not sure about this. There are two tapped holes in the GBS elbow under the thermostat housing. I have screwed the temp sensor into the top one, but what goes into the second? Another question for Richard@GBS.

Back to the garage for a few hours….

The next item for me is the water system now that the engine is in place.
Firstly the radiator needs to be installed so the pipe lengths can be accurately cut. Just 4 bolts (supplied in the kit) so no problem there, but the cooling fan has me perplexed. I can’t figure out how it is installed, especially since it appears different to others installed on similar Zeros. I will ask Richard@GBS.
Next, the old thermostat housing needs to be removed before it can be replaced by the new GBS one. A couple of hex head bolts and job done – I thought. Unfortunately one of the bolts was heavily threadlocked and I managed to destroy the hex head, so had to resort to sawing a flat-head groove into the top of the bolt to work it free.

With the old unit removed it was time to build up the new one. On my last visit to GBS I spoke to Simon who provided a valuable tip. Make sure the powder coat is sanded flat on the new elbow as any unevenness in the surface can cause water leaks. You can see from the photos that I have made sure that the top and bottom surfaces are sanded flat before applying the instant gasket and the gasket itself. There is no need to remove all of the powder coat, just to make sure that the surface is perfectly flat. Also make sure that the powder coated steel gasket (upon which the thermostat sits) is sandwiched between the paper gaskets.
Once the new thermostat housing is in place, the water rails and pipes can be installed and cut to size respectively. 

The coolant overflow tank was another straightforward install. 4 stainless rivnuts mounted to the engine mounting plate. Connecting up to the small bore stainless overflow pipe is simply cutting the pipe to length and securing with jubilee clamps and tie wraps. The longer of the two pipes emerging from the overflow tank is connected to the thermostat and the shorter is vented to the road – or at least directed in that direction.

This morning my daughter had the call she was dreading. The anorexia has such a hold that her doctor now believes her health is “medically compromised”. She has been admitted into hospital where they can give her 24/7 professional care.

Although admission was always on the cards if her condition did not improve, it still came as quite a shock to us all when she was given two hours to pack and present herself at the hospital. Whilst we all know this is for the best, it makes the transition no less difficult both for her and us, especially at Christmas.

I wish you a speedy recovery my love.

Now the side panels are in place, I could finally complete the routing of the from brake pipes. I took the precaution of covering the exposed areas with clear plastic tubing.

I thought this would be a five minute job – not quite because there are no drawings or instructions, just a number of brackets, bolts and washers. 
I pinched this photo from Dave Smeaton’s blog because I forgot to take a “before” photo (Thanks Dave – hope you don’t mind). I have labelled the components so you can see where I think they all should end up. As with most of this build, I doubt there is a right and a wrong, but if it seems logical then it’s probably OK.

Here is a photo with everything fitted so you can see the layout.
I fitted the tensioner first as this seemed the most straightforward and reduced the number of components left to choose from for the top and bottom bracket assemblies.

In order to fit the top bracket the inlet manifold had to come off first. On my Zetec the mounting hole was also being used for one of the engine winch eyes. As I am still using these winch points to move the front of car around the garage, I left the winch eye in situ.
The lower bracket uses the spacer [17] between it and the engine block. The alternator itself is held into the bracket with washers used as spacers.