June 2001
Friday 29th June 2001
Great reaction to the pictures of the Fessie (below). Glad you all like the car so much. Believe me, she looks even better in the flesh.
Ordered a seat from www.motordrive.com, its not quite tailor made, but the next best thing. I'm 1.93M tall (6'4"), and I'm having difficulty finding a seat that fits my frame. Delivery should be 2-3 weeks. Also ordered a battery box, made from GRP and two sets of 10mm spacers from www.tas.co.uk, for the front and rear wheels. The car battery must be housed in a leak proof container, and although a tight squeeze, the battery I'm using should just fit inside the TAS battery box.
Thursday PM 28th June 2001
Rolled the car out of the garage to take some photo's. What do you think? Looks good doesn't she? Not quite finished, but very nearly...
Thursday 28th June 2001
Fitted the instrument pod to the car last night. It sits beneath the windscreen, where the windscreen demister/heater box used to locate. I've also pop-riveted cable tie mounts to the floor, and cable tied various cables within the cockpit to stop them from moving. Just need to attach the instruments to the loom, and she can run again. Still no sign of the water hose from Hosedirect 8(
I'm ordering a battery box tomorrow. They're £32.52 from TAS.UK.COM, which is a tenner less than Demon Tweeks charge!
Wednesday 27th June 2001
Completed the battery isolator switch box last night and mounted the box to the car floor. Tonight I'll get the instrument pod wired in, change the oil pressure sender over again, to use the pressure transducer, provided by GreenGauges, and then I can run the engine!! Good thing too, cos I'm fed up with wiring now. So fed up infact, that I dont ever want to see another piece of heat shrink sleeving or another crimp tool. No thanks, you can keep 'em!
Tuesday 26th June 2001
Called Hosedirect to see where my new bottom hose has got to. Its almost a month since I placed the order, and theres no sign of it yet. They claim to have sent the hose, and are now trying to locate it!
They've found the hose. Its at the factory still, and will be dispatched this evening.
More wiring tonight. A couple of 25W resistors to fit to the isolator switch, to load the alternator output if the isolator switch is opened whilst the engine is running. This prevents the alternator output circuits from blowing apparently. It was 26°C in the garage last night, and 27.5°C on Sunday. Hope its a bit cooler this evening...
Monday 25th June 2001
Another 2.5 hours last night, wiring again! I've now finished the isolator switch. I've also wired in the fuel pump relay signal from the ECU, and I've wired in the radiator cooling fan AUX2 output from the ECU to the control box. Made some enquiries about brakes from a couple of companies, watch this space for the results. Ordered a set of Perspex windows.
Sunday 24th June 2001
Another five hours spent wiring this afternoon. Its a painstaking process. Bought a windscreen from the local breakers yard. Its a clear Mk2 screen, with a few scratches, but I can live with that.
Friday 22nd June 2001
I've completed the loom from the control box to the ECU/Engine bay. I'm now installing the battery isolator switch. The MSA Blue Book says it must be accessible by the driver, and the FIA rules say that it must also be operable by a person outside of the car. So I've mounted the switch on the floor next to the control box, and I'll run a cable pull-release just below the windscreen, on the air-box, connected to the cutoff switch, so when the handle is pulledthe battery isolator will operate, cutting the electrics.
I should have the engine running again this weekend 8)
I still need to wire in the wiper motor, and a switch for it. I'll try to get just a single wiper mounted vertically, in the centre of the screen. Should be quite easy to modify. I've not bothered with a heater for the windscreen. Without the dashboard fitted, the heater assembly looked very big and very ugly! And I'll try to get a laminated windscreen off a Mk2 Fiesta this weekend. The Mk2 screen is thinner than the Mk1 and therefore should be lighter. Apparently you must fit a Mk2 windscreen rubber too, otherwise it doesn't fit the shell that well, even though the're the same width/height!
Tuesday 19th June 2001
Finished fitting the steering rack.
Tested the control box out, and I've started on completing the looms inside the car. Had to order some 30A cable from Vehicle Wiring Products, as Maplins didn't have any in stock in red or black. More gardening this week, so I'm not able to spend quite as much time in the garage as I hoped. Still making good progress though.
Check out the Moleracing web site for some exciting in-car video of Steve Miles 2.0 Zetec powered Formula Ford Van Diemen competing at sprints around this country!
Sunday 17th June 2001
Went to Oulton Park (near Chester) today for a thrash round in some Toyota's. Had great fun in the new MR2, some really nice opposite lock power slides in the wet.
Finished the ignition control box. Its ready to install in the car now. Just need to complete the ends of the wiring loom, so they use the ITC multi-way connectors. I'll get that done on Monday or Tuesday this week. Then I can restart the engine and conduct some serious testing of the ECU map etc.
Fitted the new steering rack this evening. Or rather I refitted it about three times. I had to weld a 19mm nut on each end of the rack, so I could turn it with a spanner, to connect the track rod ends to the steering rack. Then I found that the rack is too long, so I removed it, shortened the rack ends, and refitted it. But the track ends are still too long, so I need to remove the rack again, and shorten the rack ends by about another 5mm each end. What a pain! Still it wont need to be 'adjusted' again.
Wednesday 13th June 2001
Five new power relays and six switches arrived from RSWWW.COM (part id's 245-2093 and 316-822) so I've some more rewiring to complete, and with a bit of luck I can finish the cockpit loom off this week too.
Jim and I discovered that the DTA Control software has been updated, and a new version V24.1 of the DOS package is ready for download, from the DTA site. The Windows version is at V26.0, so if thats later than the one you're using, nows a good time to download it.
Tuesday 12th June 2001
The 2.0 Zetec camshafts have arrived back from Piper Cams (Thanks Warren). They've been reprofiled to their BP270 specification. They claim to give another 16 BHP on a standard 2.0 engine. I think what I'll do is wait a few weeks, till I've got the engine ticking over reliably, and then I'll fit them, as running them in requires a minimum RPM of 2500, otherwise they may be damaged. I've a very large Piper Cams sticker to place on the windscreen now. Hmm, windscreen. Not got one of those at the moment. Need to start looking for one soon.
I've received the refurbished XR2 steering rack from Burtons which also needs fitting. I may tackle that tonight.
Hopefully fixed the leak in the new radiator. I'd used blue hermetite on the 15mm 90° union that takes the return pipe from the thermostat housing, and the hot water just pushed its way past the sealant. I've now used PTFE tape on the union, so it shouldn't leak again. Refilled the radiator, and started the engine using a Caterham Zetec map, that Jim sent me some time ago. It actually revs when I blip the throttle, instead of just fizzling out.
Monday 11th June 2001 21:50 hrs
Progress
Well, we actually had the engine running for five minutes this evening. Watched the water temp rise up to 45°C, then found that the radiator had sprung a leak, so I switched the engine off and drained the water. Theres a small oil leak too, on the back of the Mocal remote filter takeoff plate. Just needs tightening.I borrowed a fuel pressure gauge from the Lucas agents in town, and found that I had 3.5 bar of pressure in the fuel rail. Hmm, a bit high. I connected a small hose to the vacuum takeoff pipe on the reg, and sucked, and the pressure dropped to 2.5 bar. I then released the pipe, and the pressure rose up to 3 bar, which is what it should have been in the first place. I tried sucking again, and it dropped to 2.5 bar, release the pipe, and it goes back up to 3 bar. Thats better.
I loaded the SAMPLAMB.MAP file which comes with the ECU software. It's a default file for getting any 4 cylinder engine running. Set the number of teeth on the flywheel to 36 etc etc, and tried starting the engine. It didn't want to run. So I increased the fuel map by 1%, and tried again. No joy, so I repeated this increase in mixture a further four more times until the mixture was rich enough for the engine to run. The tickover is still quite rough, and I discovered that unplugging an injector simply made the engine run smoother. Now I'd expect the engine to go on to three cylinders if I unplug an injector. Nope, not so. So I reckon theres a dry joint in the wiring in my control box, that's feeding the injectors (which are all wired in parallel) with +12V. When I unplug an injector, the overall impedance of the remaining injectors drops, and they probably start working properly because theres less voltage drop. OK, so a rewire over the next few nights, repair the leaky pipe on the side of the radiator, tighten the oil takeoff plate, and I'll give it another go.
I've learnt a lot today. One particular lesson is not to touch the exhaust manifold with the back of your hand. I now have a rather nasty burn on my right hand. Ouch!
Monday 11th June 2001
Wired in the Lambda (Oxygen) sensor heater element on Saturday morning. Plumbed in a breather hose for the rocker cover too. Made some small tweaks to the ECU map, which is now downloaded and ready for another run this evening. If we've got an overfuelling problem tonight, then I'll reduce the map points in the fueling map by 10% at a time until its running properly.
Friday 8th June 2001 21:30 hrs
I modified the wiring harness yesterday. I hadn't fitted the capacitor on the ignition coil bracket. Its wired to the coil supply, and is connected to ground via the bracket. I think its supposed to suppress any 'spikes' from the continuous charge and collapse of the high tension coil. Its probably contributed to a smoother running engine.
I've also refitted the capillary oil pressure gauge. Although the warning light goes off when the engine turns over, the Greengauges oil pressure gauge only read 10 PSI, which I wasn't happy with. Either I'd wired the gauge/sender incorrectly, or they're faulty. The capillary gauge registers 5.5 bar at 1000 RPM which is extremely healthy, and something less for me to be concerned about whilst I get the engine started etc. Next job is to connect the lambda sensor heater coil and do a run. I'd left it disconnected whilst concentrating on getting the engine running for the first time. This will probably also contribute to a better mixture, as its a closed loop system, and although you'd think a lambda sensor wouldn't need a heater, as it sits in the exhaust flow, it probably does looking from the results I've gained so far. I've downloaded the data captured from the ECU, saved it to a file, and I'll purge the capture log, ready for the next run. You can import the data in to a spreadsheet and produce 3D graphs showing throttle position against RPM and mixture etc. In fact you could probably spend hours generating graphs, and not actually make any progress on the car, so I'll leave that task for a rainy day.
Things are looking very good at this moment. The alternator bracket appears to be holding together. Water is circulating through my 'home made' water return pipe, so the engine is starting to warm up nicely. More news as it happens.
Thursday 7th June 2001 21:30 hrs
Success!
The engine runs! Albeit its a little rough, and pops and bangs so the settings in the ECU need tweaking, but it started first time, and makes the most gorgeous noise!!! I just can't believe it. Three years work culminated in the engine starting first time!!! What a night.I started off by completing the wiring in the control box. Three switches (double ganged) control the fuel pump, ignition coil and injector supply, and the ECU. Next job was to put some petrol in the tank. Six litres of Shells finest Unleaded. Then energise the fuel pump and wait for the fuel to start circulating. The pump took about ten seconds to change its note, then you could hear the fuel start to circulate round the hoses, and you could hear all the air purging from the system, and the pipes stiffened as the 3bar of pressure started to build. No leaks! OK, next step was to initialise the ECU and switch the laptop on. All the sensors checked out, water and air temperature at 16°C. OK, so fuel pump on again, ignition and injectors on, throw the starter switch, and cough, vroom, cough, pop, vroom!!! It ticks over! opening the throttle results in more pops and bangs though. After about 10 seconds I killed the ignition supply, and the engine stopped. No leaks, water level has dropped. Oil level looks OK, no water in the oil. Check the ECU, quick call to Jim Hearne to check if he tweaked any settings, and we discover that I've not configured the number of teeth on the flywheel correctly. Enter the correct value, tweak a few other settings. Try again, ignition on, starter on, and vroom. I can rev the engine, but its starts to pop and bang, and theres some blow back through the throttle bodies (spits flames!) so it just looks like I've still to sort the timing out. But it does run! And what a sound. Its got such a deep note! The thousand's of hours I've put in to this, and it runs. I'm over the moon, and finished the evening off with a beer and its off to bed, dreaming of the things to come.
Thursday 7th June 2001 10:00 hrs
Tonights the night. Fingers crossed. I'm going to buy some fuel on the way home from work, and if I can prime the fuel pump/filter without flooding the garage with petrol, I should have the engine running :D
Found a really nice looking Zetec-S site the other day, www.zetecs.com. The Zetec-S is Fords baby Zetec, fitted to the Fiesta and some Focii!
Also updated the Zetec Register over the weekend. More pictures of fellow Zetec owners, mostly from the USA.
Wednesday 6th June 2001
Fuel hoses arrived at work this morning. WTS133 Water temp sender unit also arrived. Fitted the hoses this evening. Also fitted the WTS133, and reassembled the thermostat housing to the cylinder head. Connected all hoses, and filled the radiator with water for the first time. No leaks so far! And the header tank appears to be high enough above the top of the radiator to allow any trapped air to be released. Fitted six toggle switches to the fused control box unit, and I just need to spend an hour tonight soldering a few wires to get the gauges connected, and then I can get some fuel, fit the spark plugs and start the engine.
Re-attach the exhaust systemcompleted 22.5.2001Fasten the fuel cell back plate and all fittings to the desired torque settings23.5.2001Run a fused +12V feed to the fuel pump and to the Lambda Sensor heater element30.5.2001Block the drain hole in the side of the radiator27.5.2001Move the radiator 1" to the off side29.5.2001Fit the new radiator hose29.5.2001Fill the radiator with water and bleed any air from the system6.6.2001Securely fasten the alternator bracket23.5.2001Connect the battery lead to the alternator charging circuit27.5.2001Fit the remaining fuel hoses6.6.2001- Fit the spark plugs
- Buy a couple gallons of petrol, and fill the tank. Test out the fuel circuit to make sure that fuel is re circulating
- Temporarily rig up the water temperature and oil pressure gauges so we can keep a close eye on them
- Fit a heat guard between the bottom of the sump and the exhaust manifold
- With fire extinguishers on standby, switch on the ignition, press the starter button, and with a bit of luck all hell will break loose and I will start the celebrations. 8)
Tuesday 5th June 2001
Sent the spare 2.0 cams off to Piper for re profiling. It'll take up to four days for them to get there, but by the time Piper have turned them round, I'll be in the position to install them and run them in properly.
16:40hrs Just rxd a phone call from Earls. The hoses and all other parts are now ready and are being dispatched tonight for delivery tomorrow. Hmm, better get some petrol(gas) in that case.
Monday 4th June 2001
Ordered the water temperature sensor from Webcon. Delivery possibly by Wednesday. Bought a new battery, a heavy duty one from Halfords, also ran a 3mm wire down to the starter solenoid, and the engine now turns over again. The old battery will be disposed of at my local recycling center when I next pay them a visit.
Saturday 2nd June 2001
I think I've found a water temperature sensor unit that will fit in the brass adaptor 1/8 x 27 NPTF that Jim Hearne made for me, and that will work with the Greengauges water temp gauge. It has a AMP-minitimer connector on the top, so it's looking like I've got this problem sorted. I need the characteristics of the Webcon WTS133 transducer to confirm that its the right part, and I'll have that information on Monday with a bit of luck. Its so frustrating at the moment. She's sat there in the garage, all ready to go, but because of one fuel line fitting, I cant get the plumbing finished. I tell you what, when the parts arrive next week, I'm going to have the engine running as soon as the last drop of fuel lands in the tank from the Jerry can, and its going to be celebrations all night!! I'm going to try to record the moment, so I can post an audio WAV of the sound of her starting and running for the first time 8)
Friday 1st June 2001
June? Already. Phew. Ordered a bottom hose from a company called www.hosedirectltd.co.uk. Delivery is a couple of weeks, about £40. They say that the silicon hose has wires in it, and it will allow me to bend it to fit in the gap, and it'll also allow for movement of the engine.
