Beardmore Bros New Project Update 12th May 2003

New Project Update 12th May 2003

Update 8th June.

The chassis has been blasted, etched and powder coated gloss black. I am now doing a final fit of all the aluminium panels and drilling all the required rivet holes in the chassis. These panels will then go for powder coating and then final assembly can begin. Pictures of the above will be on the website in the middle of June.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. A lot of the work has not required photographs.

The chassis is now welded. This took 2 weeks! I had to finish all the welds which I had only tacked. Tig welding is neat but time consuming.

My engine wiring loom is now crimped but not quite to the standard I would have liked but it is OK. I actually borrowed a set of crimps but was not happy with them. I then found an electrician that would do the job and he used the same crimps that I borrowed! These are only £18 from RS Components so I will buy one.

The making of the fibreglass panels has caused a lot of problems. There was not a lot of progress with the fibre glass firm so I decided to get my panels back and then at least I could either do them my self or get them done else where. The firm had actually made a mould for the front panel and boot but had not popped the original out. So I picked them up and tried to pop them out. The front grill was first, but it would not come out. The release agent had not worked and the paint and filler was stuck in the mould. I destroyed the original panel getting it out and had a mould full of paint. It took my hours to clean it all out.

After the problems of the front grill I actually decide to save the boot and bonnet and cut the fibre glass mould off. Robin was not happy (neither was I ) that he had to re touch the panels.

Apparently panels for moulding should not be sprayed in cellulose, it reacts with the gel coat, nice of the fibre glass firm to tell us. We are now spraying the panels in 2 pack primer and top coat.

Robin has nearly finished redoing the damaged panels, then he has 4 wings to finish off. The chassis will hopefully be blasted and powder coated in the next few weeks. I have fortunately had lots of jobs to do while I was waiting for the panels.

There are 23 pictures on this page, posted 12th May 2003

The flywheel with pins in for the crank position sensor for the
engine management. These were originally going to be on the front
pulley but the diameter of the pulley was too small. The larger the diameter the
pins are on the greater the accuracy of the system.

CrankPosition Sensor Bracket

This is the bracket for the crank position sensor. It was difficult to make the bracket
to get the sensor position accurately.

TDC Position

This little piece of steel bolts on and lines up with marks on the
flywheel to give me top dead centre, full inlet lift and full exhaust
lift on cylinder one. It is very useful and saves having to find TDC
everytime.

Floor

While the chassis was stripped I turned it upside down and fitted the floor.
I had to mark every bolt hole in the aluminium to match the captives
on the chassis. The chassis was very difficult to tip over, indicating
a lot of the weight is low.

Assembly

While I was waiting for my panels one of the jobs was to assemble the suspension.
All the bolts are coated with Copaslip. The bolt on the left is an old bolt
which is slightly tapered and is useful for lining up spherical bearings and
spacers and holes.

Fitting a rubber boot.

Rubber boots are fitted on the spherical rod ends. These are tight and difficult to fit.
First put the threaded part through one side hole as shown.

Boot fitting.

Then get a screw driver and lever the boot over the body of the rod end.
A bit of lube on the rod end helps.

Plated Parts

Many of the small steel parts were plated.

Waxing Parts

Even though the parts are plated I still put wax into the corners.

Rack Centre Boss

This shows a clever boss that enables me to centralise the steering rack
when ever I want. The aluminium boss bolts to the pinion and lines up
with a mark on the rack housing. It also stops the UJ at the correct point to enable
the pinch bolt to slide straight in.

Rod end spacers.

Another little job, making stainless spacers to fit on each side of the
spherical bearings (in the dampers and on the pushrods) for the rockers.

Rear Wings

These are steel wings being modified so fibreglass ones can be made.
The bottom one has a reprofiled arch due to the wheel being further
back and up.

New wing flange

The wings would not fit perfectly, so I had to cut off the original flange
and make a new one which fitted. My body also has reprofiled fixing flange to
allow more tyre clearance. It is important that the wing fits perfectly as I want
my fibre glass panels to fit without flexing when they are bolted on.

Wing Underside

The underside of the wing had small gussets welded between the flange and
wing to ensure the flange is at the correct angle. It can easily get pulled into
shape when the wing is bolted on. I want it correct in the relaxed state.
Gaps are also glassed up with fibre glass paste.

Shaping the wing bulge.

Due to the trye moving up so far into the wing it needs a different profile.
This is the start of the work to make the bulge. Steel is welded on.

Shaping the bulge.

The gaps in the metal were stuffed with newspaper and the whole lot covered
in fibre glass paste.

Bad fitting front wing.

The front wings are low light fibre glass items but do not fit very well.
The bulge is too far out.

Front Wing Cut Up.

I had to cut the front wing so I could pull the side in.

Reprofiling the front wing.

Due to the front wheels being further forward and up I had to
reprofile the opening. It was also important that the tyre cleared
under bump and lock. I made a hardboard profile and taped
this onto the wing.

The underside of the wing.

A new wing lip is formed out of masking tape and card. I then
applied glass fibre paste, let it set and peeled away the card.
Gaffer tape (or any shiney smooth tape) is applied to the card and hardboard to
prevent the glass Faber sticking.

This is the front panel mould. It is supposed to be green all over.
The white areas are where the paint and filler has stuck. It took me 6 hours
to remove all the paint. First I scraped it off with a small screw driver, then 1200
wet or dry and finally a T Cut.

Boot and mould cut off.

This is the mould cut off the boot. Again the mould should be
green but paint has stuck to it. Fortunately the boot is not
badly damaged.

Removing the mould from the bonnet.

Pulling the mould off the bonnet. Fortunately there was only one
layer of glass on the bonnet so it came off a bit easier. However there still
was a lot of grinding and swearing!

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New Project Update 12th May 2003

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	Update 19th February 2003	Update 20th March 2003

Update 8th June. The chassis has been blasted, etched and powder coated gloss black. I am now doing a final fit of all the aluminium panels and drilling all the required rivet holes in the chassis. These panels will then go for powder coating and then final assembly can begin. Pictures of the above will be on the website in the middle of June. Sorry for the lack of updates recently. A lot of the work has not required photographs. The chassis is now welded. This took 2 weeks! I had to finish all the welds which I had only tacked. Tig welding is neat but time consuming. My engine wiring loom is now crimped but not quite to the standard I would have liked but it is OK. I actually borrowed a set of crimps but was not happy with them. I then found an electrician that would do the job and he used the same crimps that I borrowed! These are only £18 from RS Components so I will buy one. The making of the fibreglass panels has caused a lot of problems. There was not a lot of progress with the fibre glass firm so I decided to get my panels back and then at least I could either do them my self or get them done else where. The firm had actually made a mould for the front panel and boot but had not popped the original out. So I picked them up and tried to pop them out. The front grill was first, but it would not come out. The release agent had not worked and the paint and filler was stuck in the mould. I destroyed the original panel getting it out and had a mould full of paint. It took my hours to clean it all out. After the problems of the front grill I actually decide to save the boot and bonnet and cut the fibre glass mould off. Robin was not happy (neither was I ) that he had to re touch the panels. Apparently panels for moulding should not be sprayed in cellulose, it reacts with the gel coat, nice of the fibre glass firm to tell us. We are now spraying the panels in 2 pack primer and top coat. Robin has nearly finished redoing the damaged panels, then he has 4 wings to finish off. The chassis will hopefully be blasted and powder coated in the next few weeks. I have fortunately had lots of jobs to do while I was waiting for the panels.
There are 23 pictures on this page, posted 12th May 2003
The flywheel with pins in for the crank position sensor for the engine management. These were originally going to be on the front pulley but the diameter of the pulley was too small. The larger the diameter the pins are on the greater the accuracy of the system. This is the bracket for the crank position sensor. It was difficult to make the bracket to get the sensor position accurately. This little piece of steel bolts on and lines up with marks on the flywheel to give me top dead centre, full inlet lift and full exhaust lift on cylinder one. It is very useful and saves having to find TDC everytime. While the chassis was stripped I turned it upside down and fitted the floor. I had to mark every bolt hole in the aluminium to match the captives on the chassis. The chassis was very difficult to tip over, indicating a lot of the weight is low. While I was waiting for my panels one of the jobs was to assemble the suspension. All the bolts are coated with Copaslip. The bolt on the left is an old bolt which is slightly tapered and is useful for lining up spherical bearings and spacers and holes. Rubber boots are fitted on the spherical rod ends. These are tight and difficult to fit. First put the threaded part through one side hole as shown. Then get a screw driver and lever the boot over the body of the rod end. A bit of lube on the rod end helps. Many of the small steel parts were plated. Even though the parts are plated I still put wax into the corners. This shows a clever boss that enables me to centralise the steering rack when ever I want. The aluminium boss bolts to the pinion and lines up with a mark on the rack housing. It also stops the UJ at the correct point to enable the pinch bolt to slide straight in. Another little job, making stainless spacers to fit on each side of the spherical bearings (in the dampers and on the pushrods) for the rockers. These are steel wings being modified so fibreglass ones can be made. The bottom one has a reprofiled arch due to the wheel being further back and up. The wings would not fit perfectly, so I had to cut off the original flange and make a new one which fitted. My body also has reprofiled fixing flange to allow more tyre clearance. It is important that the wing fits perfectly as I want my fibre glass panels to fit without flexing when they are bolted on. The underside of the wing had small gussets welded between the flange and wing to ensure the flange is at the correct angle. It can easily get pulled into shape when the wing is bolted on. I want it correct in the relaxed state. Gaps are also glassed up with fibre glass paste. Due to the trye moving up so far into the wing it needs a different profile. This is the start of the work to make the bulge. Steel is welded on. The gaps in the metal were stuffed with newspaper and the whole lot covered in fibre glass paste. The front wings are low light fibre glass items but do not fit very well. The bulge is too far out. I had to cut the front wing so I could pull the side in. Due to the front wheels being further forward and up I had to reprofile the opening. It was also important that the tyre cleared under bump and lock. I made a hardboard profile and taped this onto the wing. A new wing lip is formed out of masking tape and card. I then applied glass fibre paste, let it set and peeled away the card. Gaffer tape (or any shiney smooth tape) is applied to the card and hardboard to prevent the glass Faber sticking. This is the front panel mould. It is supposed to be green all over. The white areas are where the paint and filler has stuck. It took me 6 hours to remove all the paint. First I scraped it off with a small screw driver, then 1200 wet or dry and finally a T Cut. This is the mould cut off the boot. Again the mould should be green but paint has stuck to it. Fortunately the boot is not badly damaged. Pulling the mould off the bonnet. Fortunately there was only one layer of glass on the bonnet so it came off a bit easier. However there still was a lot of grinding and swearing!
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