In recent posts I have been cleaning up and painting the Mazda parts. I have now completed the gearbox and steering / suspension parts, as well as making a start on the engine. I have a new clutch to fit which is best done with the engine and gearbox out of the car. With the impending arrival of the kit a massive tidy up operation (not my favorite activity) needed to be undertaken to ensure the chassis would fit. I think I have overdone my tool buying slightly and will probably need to find alternative storage for things like the shotblasting cabinet and air compressor. I have also sorted the remains of the Mazda in to parts I will need, parts I can sell, and parts I will chuck out.
So, lets get something to work on...
The GBS factory is some 200 miles from my home in Southampton so an early morning was called for getting me there at about 08:30 in my hired Transit. The first van I was offered by the hire company had a faulty door catch so I had to take a different slightly shorter one, causing a little worry that the chassis might not fit. Luckily it did but, to be fair, only just. I then captured Keith and Richard at GBS and quizzed them on every aspect of the factory car I could think of. They have almost completed their Mazda demonstrator which we spent some time pouring over. Just so we know what we are working towards here, here are some pictures:
A slight disappointment in that the headlight cases and front upper wishbones were missing from the kit of parts, but GBS will send them on when they are ready. I'm sure I will have enough to work on so I won't miss them yet. GBS are going to modify the prop, drive and steering shafts and send them on to me as well.
Back home and with the chassis moved to my tiny garage, and all the other parts scattered around my flat, I set to work getting to know what I had to work with. Along with the chassis and wishbones, the kit includes the nylon bushes and crush tubes, and the relevant bolts and nuts to fit them together, pedals and associated fixings, lights, and of course all the body panels.
My plan to start off the build is roughly as follows:
Fit the differential
Fit the wishbones and shocks
Fit new bearings and bushes in the rear uprights and fit them
Fit pedals and master cylinders
Install brake pipes
With everything accounted for I set to work on the differential. I have cut off the old mouthing lugs but need to drill 3 holes in the top mouthing bracket. The diff is mostly made of cast iron so it is not easy to lift up to the chassis to locate the holes. I managed to do it by positioning it on an old box and progressively adding more bits of wood underneath it to lever it up high enough. It fits nicely but I have yet to drill the holes.
Wishbones next. Inserting the nylon bushes and crush tubes was first. Bear in mind that I have not done anything like this before so I was glad to find Richard Lincoln's blog with a detailed explanation of how to do it. A bit of Copper Ease and the bench vice and I soon had the hang of it. I just needed to spend time on each one being very careful to ensure the bushes went in precisely square so not to deform them or shave off any nylon. I now need to fit the new bushes and wheel bearings in to the rear uprights and order the shock absorbers.
One aborted attempt to fit a rear wheel bearing has convinced me that this bit is difficult and I will seek advice before continuing. The new wheel bearings cost over £35 each so I don't want to trash any unnecessarily.
Looking at what I have done and the time I have had to do it in, there doesn't seem to have been much progress made. I will wheel out the excuse of a few foreign business trips taking up the time... I will have more to report soon.
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