14: The Aftermath

Following on from the final throes of the rebuild and then a jaunt to Russia I came back with quite a snag list

I'd driven to Russia & back on the 9.00×16 Petlas that were fitted to the Volvo C303 which donated my axles. They were so loud on the road that, well, as Dan explained:

So Dan, being the sort of guy he is, lent me a set of Michelin XZL's.

Upgraded the MegaSquirt firmware to 0.29v and put the proper coolant sensor info in so I can now see what the temperature really is and was pleasantly surprised to find that 99% of the time it cools fine with no fans whatsoever, in fact it seems to hover between 86 and 90 degrees and takes an age to get there from cold.

HypHose made me up a new set of PAS hoses for £25 which have remained oil-tight ever since.

Billing was a success - there and back with no problems and the fridge stayed cold all weekend too, result! :D

The jobs list as it stands:

    CV Gaiter needs replacing (still)
    Diff-locks need plumbing in - I have some cool little pneumatic switches from HypHose but they're so diddy I can't make the plumbing fit :( will need to do a trip back for some adapters I think.
    Snorkel needs connecting up what with all this weather we've been having :rolleyes:
    Dashboard needs re-doing, it's livable but lower than ideal. Plan is to move the electronics bit to the passenger side with the addition of mixed-D connectors and then have the controls & warning lights tight up against the front of the ceiling, and probably a bit more compact than they currently are.
    Input gear needs changing as do intermediate gear shims, there's a lot of transmission shunt.
    I should probably tune it at some point :rolleyes: there's a bit of a stutter on acceleration under certain conditions, not helped by the slack in the transmission so one thing at a time I think.
    Fan switch needs changing as it currently comes on as soon as the stat opens, not ideal.
    Water pipes need some proper joiners, what's on there is whatever ali pipe I could find that sort-of-fitted :unsure:
    Trans tunnel needs doing, Mike has offered to make in glass fibre once he's recovered from his moped injury so I'll probably go for that as I'm incompetent at aluminium folding in 3D and he's a God with resin.
    Wheel arches! :unsure: Yes I know, I know, it's very illegal... I looked round at Billing and while the offerings there were neat I'm buggered if I'm paying £140 for four very thin bits of molded plastic. Still weighing up options, and much as it pains me I'll need to cut the wings before doing anything arch-related.
    Anti-wrap needs doing before proper off-roading can commence, hopefully this won't be too far off.
    I need limit straps or longer shocks (who says leafers don't flex?) as I flexed it up with the new tyres and have tweaked a rear shock mount. It's only the one bolted to the portal box so a quick belt with the flatness adjuster and perhaps a fettle with the welder to add strength is in order. Didn't even have the revolvers on the back either, and the shocks are 13" travel.

Of course, we built a new race car and did it all again in 2008 and then again in 2009…