My Grandpa's got a new project.

[brian]

I have started to install the wiring trunking throughout the car, the underbonnet trunking is in place, the holes are to install a series of five control relays, the silver cannister is the flashing indicator thermal switch.

Front to rear cables will pass through a trunking within the floor tunnel to trunking at the rear.

[brian]

Work is progressing on the dashboard, it has a voltmeter and ammeter, ignition switch and lighting switch along with various pilot lights and a battery charging socket

The flashing indicators are operated by the colum mounted switch.



The gear lever operates switches mounted within the tunnel that select relays for forward and reverse.

Hand brake and pendulum footbrake have switches that operate pilot lights on the dashboard and stop lights at the rear of the car and also switch off the motor power relay so that the motor cannot drive against the brakes.




The bonnet also has a switch that will not allow the motor power relay to operate if the bonnet is not shut.

[markh15]

Hi Brian,
just a thought on tensioning the chain. how about using a deurailier(?) from a mountain bike or similar. These are spring loaded and I'm sure that one could be found on a scrap cycle and adapted to fit.  I thought of this option for the chain drive on my car, but fortunatly I didn't need to use it.
Keep an eye out for your local re-cycler / scrap man and ask if he has one  on the truck, or if he finds one to drop it off for you. It's worth a try.
Keep up the good work,
Best regards, Mark.

[markh15]

Hi Brian,
just read your post, yeah maybe spring loading isn't the best idea after all, maybe you could use the idea that I had for tensioners for my build but didn't use.  The drawings aren't complete, (no dimensions) as I didn't needed to complete them, but it might just get the grey matter going.
best regards, Mark.

p.s. just tried to add the drawings to this post but they are too big (apperantly), so I have put them on my toylander build website, (link under members) in the photo album titled 'Drawings' under 'Base Plate'  and 'Slider Plate'.
Mark.

[brian]

Hello Mark, thank you for your drawings, look's like a plan.

Very much as I had envisaged except I was only going to use the moving plate part with the body tub doing what your fixed plate does.

I was going to order the tension sprocket tonight but the company I have used in the past has a ?10 minimum order charge, so I'm onto plan "B" now, you got a plan "B" in your portfolio Mark.

[markh15]

Hi Brian,
any decent cycle shop or even Halfords 'Bike Shack' should be able to sort you a sprocket out.  Or there's always the scrap man option.
keep thinking, regards, Mark.

[brian]

Hi Mark, I have found a supplier that does not have a minimum order charge so I have a suitable idler tension sprocket on it's way.

A bit of DIY metalwork should see it fitted.

I stripped all the metalwork off the tub yesterday and gave it all the first of several coats of paint, just wants red crosses painting on the side and it would pass for an ambulance in it's glittering white undercoat at the moment.

Regards,

Brian.

[markh15]

Hi Brian, glad to see that you've sorted that problem out. how are you going about painting the body?  Are you spray painting or doing it by hand?
I gave mine 3 coats using exterior quality gloss, flatted with 400's grade wet and dy in-between coats, and left to harden off again for a couple of days. 
The paint was applied with small foam rollers made for gloss paint applications.  I found it was cheaper to throw them away than spending time cleaning them, as they were only a couple of pounds for four from 'Range' stores.
I am in the middle of adding to the blog on the website, and to the photo and drawing albums as well.
Keep busy, Best Regards, Mark.

[brian]

Hi Mark.

Yes, it's being hand painted, second undercoat on today.

Regards,

Brian.

[markh15]

Hi Brian, the plus side to hand painting is it's easier to touch up after a hard session with the walls etc!
Keep Busy,
Regards,
Mark.

[brian]

Hello all, a bit more work completed on the steering reducrion gearing.

I've got a bit of 50X50mm channel section aluminium in my scrap corner and as i cannot weld, [I have had to get all my welding done by a neighbour and I don't like troubling him too much], i have made a chain tensioning device from this after much sawing, filing, drilling and tapping.

[brian]

The parts were cut out as shown above assembled as shown below.

[brian]

This is the finnished product.

The adjusting screw is the long one stuck out at one end, this pushes the sprocket carrier along the channel.

The moving part, [the sprocket carrier] is held in place within the channel section by a countersunk M4 set screw tapped into the sprocket carrier who's head runs in a groove in the bottom of the carrier channel

[brian]

Here it is fitted in place on the chassis.

[brian]

As I have said else where in these hallowed pages, solve one problem and it is likely to throw up another, well, the tensioner has done just that.

The steering column has a universal joint at it's bottom to get the drive at 90deg. to the bottom of the chassis rather than the angled arm of the original design.

This universal joint was supported by a simple plain bearing of mild steel strip with the small driving sprocket of the steering gear being roll pinned to the shaft after the simple bearing.

I now find that because the drive shaft is not supported by a bearing at each side of the sprocket, the chain tension now that the tensioner is fitted, is tending to pull the drive shaft and sprocket out of line with resultant chain ride up and off the drive sprocket.

So I have had to make a better bearing for the universal drive shaft.

I have completed this tonight but not yet taken any photo's, I will post these later.

Regards,

Brian.