1st August 2002
I've decided that it's going to be best if I just place all the wiring on the engine for now, rather than fix it all now neatly only to find a problem and have to take it all off again. It will be fine just dangling while I get the engine started.
So I spend the evening connecting up as many wires as possible/sensible. This includes plugging in the dash loom which will allow me to have water temp, oil pressure, and tacho gauges while test running the engine.
First thing, now that the engine mounts are sorted, is to fit the rectifier onto the end of the drivers footwell. Also the upper steering column is balance back into position since I will need to wire up the ignition switch.
It all looks like a big pile of wires, and is somewhat messy, but most things which need to be connected are now connected. I have also had to roughly route the remainder of the chassis loom which has been sitting around on top of the footwells. This is because I need to connect the radiator fan and switch, and water temperature and oil pressure sensors.
But I discover that I am missing the engine stop and fuel pump relays, so I'll have to get those sent very speedily if I am to meet my target of starting the engine over the coming weekend. Looking at the wiring like this also allows me to make use of talking to Mark at Westfield tomorrow to sort out any problems before the weekend.

2nd August 2002
Received some parts from Westfield - importantly, a longer piece of fuel hose to do the return from the fuel rail to the rigid pipe, and the plain nut for the bottom of the Weber fuel regulator.
This means I can finish off the fuel system fully, though I'll get it up to pressure and ensure there are no leaks before I fit all the heat insulation I made earlier.
Some more wiring can be done now, having spoken to Westfield I have worked out how the starter solenoid is wired to the motor. The positive from (the top of) the motor connects to the terminal marked "M" on the solenoid. The terminal marked "B" on the solenoid is connected directly to the positive terminal on the battery.
This is a little fiddly and I have to file a little off the tabs on the wires to get them to fit onto the terminals on the solenoid.
Final jobs for the evening, are to attach the oil pressure and water temperatue sensor wires.
Because the oil pressure sensor is so close to the oil pipe connecting the oil tank to sump, I have to remove the oil pipe to connect the wire. And once the oil has been filled, I won't want to do this again. Fortunately I notice that I need to pass the front part of chassis loom beneath the engine brackets before I do this. It's a simple enough job to do and attach the wire.
The water temperature sensor fits into a boss in the top coolant pipe. The connector on the loom has it's insulation cut back slightly to allow it to fit onto the top of the sensor. The sensor also requires an earth lead to be made and connected to chassis earth - I don't have the bits to do this right now, so will have to sort that tomorrow.

3rd August 2002
Fortunately I received the urgent parts from Westfield - I was missing the engine relays and cable for making longer ht leads - so I'm ploughing ahead with my plan to get the engine started over this weekend. I then spent far too long than is reasonable chasing around town trying to find some suitable oil, and getting some wire and spade connectors for patching some bits of wiring (the cable on the lambda sensor nowhere near long enough).

So first job is to make up the longer HT leads. This involves taking the coil packs off, and removing the wire parts of the leads. Then I cut new wires to the correct lengths, and re-insert these wires into the connectors at both ends (being very careful to mark which lead is which on the wires and the coil packs). Sounds easy as the wires "just" push in to the connectors at each end, but it's rather fiddly and takes quite a while.
Next I sort out the P-clips on the coolant pipes. These were all prepared at the time and just require some longer allen headed bolts which I bought this morning. So a quick chop of the bolts to make them the right length, and they are fitted, and the coolant pipes now fixed in position.
The fuel pump doesn't need to run all of the time, so it is controlled by the ECU - it will switch it on and off as it sees fit. This is done by patching in the brown wire in engine loom, from the ECU, to the positive feed side of the fuel pump fuse in the fusebox. To do this I made a small flylead, and managed to fit a male blade into the existing female one on the fuse feed. Another set of blade connecters at the other end allow the brown wire to patch in.
Final job is to make up an earth lead for the water temperature sensor. To do this I make a small lead with a large ring connector which will fit around the sensor, and a smaller ring connector at the other end which I will attach to the chassis.
Disaster stikes! The sensor has a tapered thread to ensure a good water seal, so it won't necesarily tighten all the way down onto the boss. Therefore I trial fit it with a view to fitting a washer beneath the earth lead ring. I just pinch the sensor up, but then find I can't undo it. As I try to undo it, the sensor shears - leaving the bottom half in the boss in the coolant pipe. Bummer.

Well that just puts the nail in the coffin of a very frustrating day, and probably ends my hope of starting the engine this weekend. I decide it best to give up for today, and rue my mistake. I suspect the only fix will be a new pipe as the thread is tapered so I won't be able to drill it out.

4th August 2002
After yesterdays disaster of breaking the water temp sensor, I decided that today I would go ahead with my original plan of starting the engine. Since the sensor sheared, chances are it has a pretty water tight seal in the boss, so it should be ok. The only downside is that I will have to drain the coolant down to replace the pipe - the alternative is to lose more time while I can get a replacement.
First job is to extend the wires on the lambda sensor. I tried to do this yesterday, but had to give up because my soldering attempts were an absolute mess! So I bought some crimp connectors to do the job instead - I'd still quite like to get the extensions done more neatly, but this will do for now.
After checking over all the connections a couple of times, it is time to put some oil into the engine, and crank it over for oil pressure. To do this, I firstly put some oil directly into the oil cooler - this will just help the oil to come back into the tank a little quicker since the pump won't have to completely fill this. Once I've tightened the connections on the oil hoses, the rest of the oil goes into the tank.
I am using a mineral 10w40 bike engine oil from Castrol (called Castrol GP) - I was advised to use 20w50 but couldn't find any, so this should be ok. The non-synthetic oil will not over lubricate the bores during running in, allowing them to bed themselves in nicely. I'll switch to a fully synthetic once it's run in.
Once the tank has a good dose of oil in, I take out the spark plugs, connect the battery, disconnect the fuel pump, and start to crank it over. A short while later and the oil is circulating around the system (i.e. coming back into the top of the oil tank) and the gauge is showing almost 2bar oil pressure. A good start!
After lunch I collect some petrol and add it to the bit which was left in the can that I'd already put into the tank. Next time to fill the cooling system. Since it a) might leak, and b) has to all come out again soon to fix the temp sensor, I just use plain water. Jim appears with a loan of his DV camera for the startup, and is conveniently on hand to help bleed the system via the top radiator breather hose. Once all the air seems to be out, I crank the engine a little more to get the coolant moving arounda bit. Then it's time to put the plugs back in and give it a try...

Turning on the ignition, the fuel pump whirrs. I turn the key and it turns over but is not keen on starting. There is definitely fuel in the system, I can feel the temperature change on the rail, but there isn't a sniff (literally) of fuel in the throttles. Pulling a plug out and cranking again reveals no spark.
A bit of head scratching and a quick phone call, and I realise that I haven't connected a main earth lead from the battery negative terminal to the chassis. This is attached to the chassis at the front, where there is a welded nut which is free from powder coat for this job. Unfortunately the earth lead supplied is just too short to reach this from the battery, so I decide that rather than try to make a new chassis earthing point, I'll get a longer lead. So for now, I stand the battery up to allow all the cables to be connected.
Time to try again. The fuel pump whirrs, the engine turns over a couple of times, and then fires into life! Except that very tractor-like noise reminds me that I've left the spark plug out, that I pulled earlier to check for a spark - we definitely have a spark now!
So I quickly turn the ignition off... but the engine continues to run! I rush around trying to think how I can stop the thing, then I remember the engine stop relay. I pull this and the engine dies. Relief!
I put the plug back in, and try again, but it won't start! Argh!

After another spell of trial and error, I discover that one of the immobiliser keys isn't registering with the ECU, and that it doesn't like having both keys next to the receiver.
So now I have an engine which runs, and seems to run pretty well. I don't run it for too long, but enough to check around for leaks, and let it warm up a bit and get down to a sensible idle. Needless to say it sounds great!
However, there's obviously still something not quite right, as I still can't stop the engine without pulling a relay, and the fuel pump is running all the time when it shouldn't be. I'll get on to Westfield about it tomorrow to try and track down the (wiring) problem.

5th August 2002
I spoke to Westfield about my engine running on problem. It turns out that I have wired the fuel pump incorrectly. Instead of patching in as well as the original feed, the ECU wire should replace the previous feed in the fusebox. This certainly explains why the fuel pump is running all the time (and the thought had crossed my mind as I was wiring it!), and probably explains why the engine is running on, as the patched feed is likely feeding power back to the ECU, so everything keeps on running.
So I re-wire the fusebox patch to completely exclude the previous feed, replacing it with the brown wire from the engine loom. I start the engine... and it stops on the ignition key now - hoorah! So that seems to solve those problems.

I run the engine a little longer, and this time am successful in getting some temperature across the radiator and into the lower coolant pipe, which proves that the coolant is flowing correctly and the thermostat is opening. Without a temperature gauge for reference, I won't run it up hot, I'll save that for once I've sorted the broken sensor out (which is weeping slightly when warm).

Westfield agreed that the simplest solution to the water temp sensor problem is to replace the upper coolant pipe, so they are sending me a new pipe and a replacement temperature sensor. I'll have to think of something clever for the earth lead, and be a bit careful tightening the sensor.

I setup Jims DV camera again, to make a short video of the engine running. I then sample it on the PC, and convert to an mp3. Go to the "Today..." link below to download and listen to the audio clip.

6th August 2002
The next sensible thing to do on the car is to pull the wiring off again and route & fix it all down properly. So I start doing this by disconnecting and removing the engine loom.
It's all so much simpler now I understand where everything connects! I start tidying and routing the cables, decide at which point on the loom it passes through the bulkead, and stick a large grommet on there. There is going to end up being quite a bulk of wiring on the engine frame just above the engine output and clutch slave cylinder, but it looks like I'll be able to tie them fairly well up out of the way.
I'm not totally sure about where I can/should locate the starter solenoid. Ideally I would like to mount it on the hinged ECU plate, but it seems that the cables from motor and battery aren't even long enough to get through the hole in the bulkhead - could be tricky.
I'm using some wire ties in the positions where I think I'll need to tie wrap the wiring to things. This allows me to change and add wires as I'm going along, then once it's all decided I'll tie wrap them all down.

9th August 2002
Another day off work to spend time on the car (and not on work)!
Firstly, I went out and got a new longer earth lead which will allow the battery to lie down in it's normal position, and still use the proper earth connection on the front of the chassis. Once this is connected up I determine the route for the long red positive feed to the starter solenoid - spot the deliberate mistake... I spotted it soon enough when, as I was passing the cable through, the positive lead shorted against the chassis! BANG! The sparks flew, as did I and lead. Fortunately I was holding the cable in the middle so just got a good twinge off it - and even more fortunately the lead landed on cardboard laid in the drivers footwell. I won't do that again in a hurry.
Next I look at the routing of the loom at the front. Because I am fitting air horns, the horn wires are too short, so I splice the loom open to get the wires to exit in a different position which will leave them a little longer.

Next job is to sort out mounting the bits which need to be attached to the ECU plate which I made and fitted earlier (20th July). The ECU, relays, and starter solenoid are what need attaching. The relays are just bolted through the blocks, whereas I fabricate a bracket for both the starter solenoid and ECU. The solenoid is fixed in the very bottom corner as this is as far as the battery lead will reach, but it's a good secure fixture for it which is important as it will carry constant live battery feed.
Once this is done I pass the engine loom through the bulkhead, and can connect up the ECU, and attach the relays to the ECU plate. The wiring is starting to look much neater now, but it's still looking a little complex where the wiring passes through the top panel. I spend some time wiring the engine loom into position - connecting recitifier, earth tab, etc.
I've also received a replacement upper coolant pipe and new water temperature sensor to replace the one which I sheared last weekend - however the thread in the pipe appears to be full of powder coat, so Adrian comes round and helps to tap the thread out (using his tapered tap) and fit the sensor.

10th August 2002
First job of the day was another mercy mission for parts. I got some coolant mix ready for the job of replacing the upper coolant pipe, and some blue connectors for patching the wiring loom back together for the horn connection.

So this is the first job on the car - to reconnect the earth leads I had spliced out of the loom so that the connections to my air horn compressor will be long enough to reach it mounted on the bracket I fabricated.
Another small electrical job which needs doing is to isolate the old fuel pump feed wire. This has been replaced by a feed from the ECU via a wire in the engine loom, which will allow the ECU to switch the fuel pump as necessary (i.e. it doesn't need to be running all of the time).
I'm actually a bit undecided on the best way to do this. I think it will be better to keep it on the upper side of the top panel as it will be more protected from water ingress.
Time to face up to the main job of the day - replacing the upper coolant pipe. I was a little concerned that this wouldn't be quite as straight forward as it should be, since when I tried to release the lower coolant pipe last week (before I'd put water in), it wasn't having a bar of it.
I released the P-clips on both upper and lower pipes, and tried the rear joint on the lower pipe but it wasn't budging. I then tried the other end of this flexible part, which is attached to the water pump, and it came off quite easily (too easily?).
I drained as much water out of the system as possible by raising the expansion tank, and blowing into various orifices! Once this was done, I could replace the upper coolant pipe. The new pipe is a slightly different shape to the old one, but it fits ok, just leaves the water temperature sensor at more of an angle.
I decide not to refill and bleed the coolant just yet... I need to get some advice on the right mixture to put in it, so I'll save it for engine re-start time.
The next fiddly job of the day is to sort out the heat insulation on the fuel pipes. Now that I have run the engine, I am happy they are sealed at full fuel pressure, so can cover them using the heat wrap I previously created (30th July).
To so this I have to disconnect the fuel feed and return pipes - fortunately there appears to be no fuel in the return and a delicate balancing act with the filter ensures that the fuel in the feed is safely extracted without spillage.
Fitting the heat wrap is a bit of pain - I really wish Westfield had fitted the rigid pipes a little more favourably, but nothing I can (or am prepared to) do about that now. Eventually I get it all fitted, and if that doesn't prevent evaporation/heating problems I don't know what will!
Final job of the day is to tidy up the HT leads using some convoluted tubing. They are going to be prone to some pretty high temperatures here, but it seems unavoidable, I hope it isn't going to be a problem. They look fairly neat and tidy now anyway.

11th August 2002
I don't think I've mentioned previously, that I can't re-start the engine for now because the main leads from the battery and starter to the starter solenoid are too short (given that I've located the solenoid somewhere solidly mounted). But there's still plenty of tasks with wiring to keep me occupied for now.

Firstly a couple of pictures of the main bulk of the engine wiring - the camera doesn't seem to like taking pictures in the area, as I think there are too many different things for it to choose to focus on.
So, first task worth getting out of the way for today is to sort out the lambda sensor wiring. The sensor screws into a boss at the end of the collector on the manifold, and I already had extended the wires for the first engine start (4th August), however I didn't extend them enough, forgot to put the heat insulation back on, and would like to keep the hole in the side for the wire as small as possible. So I chop the extensions off. This means I can pass the wires through a hole, down the inside of the bodywork, and re-extend them.
First, drill the hole in the side of the bodywork alongside the position of the sensor.
Now the first tricky bit. I want to keep the hole as small as possible so it will effectively grip the outer insulation on the wires. So I painstakingly thread the wire into the hole only to find it has gone the wrong way on the inside - the gap between the chassis and the bodywork at the front of the footwell is about an inch tops!
After a bit of head scratching (and some welcome distraction in the form of a visit from Alex & Rach!), I pull the wire out again, and this time thread it without the insulation. This is easier to guide and it comes out in the right place. Then I attach a long piece of wire to the lambda wires and pull them out again. This means I can put the insulation back on, poke it all back through, but crucially use the longer wire to pull them through the right way.
It works, and I pull the wires as far through as possible to make the connections on the inside.
The second tricky bit is making the connections to the ends of the sensor wires inside the engine bay. This is purely down to space, I have to strip and crimp the extensions onto the (correct) wires through the hole in the bottom on the engine bay, all done lying on the floor. Once this is done, I wrap the extended wires in insulation tape, and then pull them back through to allow the lambda sensor to be screwed into the collector.
Worth the hassle though, as the result looks very neat, and the insulation around the wires should hold itself firmly in position. I then route the wire across the back of the engine, and crimp the plug back onto the extensions at the other end.
Sorting the lambda sensor has taken ages, but still time to have a fiddle with some other little jobs, and continue the wiring theme now that the wires for the lambda are available.
I look at fixing the loom down around the ECU plate. I decide that the best way to do this is to drill a couple of the rivets out which hold the chassis side of the plate hinges and re-rivet them with loom saddles in place. This will allow me to put tie wraps through them and fix the loom down. I also fix one in place on the ECU plate itself.
While I'm on, I decide I might as well bite the bullet and start fixing the front of the chassis loom into position using tie wraps around the chassis tubes.
Firstly, I insulate the windscreen washer connector - won't be needing that but it's too much like hard work to splice it out of the loom right now, sorting the loom can be a future winter project if I ever get around to it. Then I start to attach it from the point where it passes into the very front chassis area, back towards the cockpit.
Final job of the day was to look at the coil pack and pulse air valve wires. These come out of the loom near the rear engine mounting bracket, and I have threaded them through this bracket a few times to hold them in place. This leaves the PAIR valve wire just perfect length and tension, and allows the coil pack (low tension) wires to pass very neatly down between the coil packs.

I seem to be spending alot of time for not much visible progress on the car at the moment, but I guess that's the way it goes when there alot of fiddly little jobs to sort out with getting wiring all neatly routed and attached. Nearly there though now, just need to sort out the starter solenoid leads and then I can finally attach it all down.

12th August 2002
Having spoken to Westfield about obtaining missing parts, in particular the leads for the starter solenoid - to both starter and battery, I can't finish the wiring off until I receive these parts.
Firstly I route and attach the loom at the front of the chassis. This passes along the diagonal brace across the car, leaving the connectors for the lights at the front corner. I also extract and fix the wires for the radiator fan and switch and secure them to chassis at the front. In between I haven't fixed it to the chassis as I need to keep the coolant pipes flexible for when I re-bleed the system, once this is done I can attach them.
Once the wiring is completed I will need to look at the dash, though I don't have that yet, and will be collecting it from the factory on Saturday. The other part which needs sorting at this time is the scuttle, so I decide to look at that.
The scuttle needs a few cut outs made to allow it to sit down properly on the bodywork and chassis. The first of these holes are from the return along the front edge, where the loom passes through the top panel - the flange needs cutting to clear the grommets.
The other cut out required on the scuttle is for the steering column. This one is a little trickier because it needs to be cut up the front of the scuttle as well as the return flange, and is quite difficult to measure.
Firstly I cut out the return flange as I can mark this from below. Once this is done I offer scuttle up and measure an approximate 15mm cut required up the front of the panel. From here, I can cut away a little and trial fit, then repeat until it clears.

14th August 2002
No sign of any leads from Westfield, but no major drama as I'm going up to the factory on Saturday so can stomp my feet a bit then.
Meantime I spend the evening marking, drilling (re-drilling where my maths went wrong on the measurements), and fettling the holes in the scuttle where it will be bolted down into the rivnuts which were pre-fitted in the chassis. This is pretty straight forward as by now the scuttle position is determined by the locating blocks on the top flange of the main body sides. So it's just a case of making sure that the bolts will screw cleanly into the rivnuts.

©2002-2009 David Hackett UDM4