Hood frame

Over the Christmas break I did a little work on the roof frame but forgot to blog - its not finished - and another pause before I go further.

The pivots either side are in place, spring side is locked in place and tensions the spring, the other end is free to rotate:

The roller does spin on its spring as required:

The theory being it can be moved into place while inside the car unfurling the roof as it goes:

All well and good - just still not decided on the windscreen mounting method...  the old sheet I was using as template material was not working - far too stretchy and not really letting me work out the shape of fabric required.

Still needs some more thought.

Update - discarded this idea, it's just too complicated and not really worth it compared with a simple surrey top or a more traditional roof frame. For now I'm sticking with a surrey top fastened to the windscreen frame and over the roll bar.

California style self rolling roof

Too much reading of Slomove's Birkini, His half hood is more for the California sun than rain protection, however - looked like an interesting concept so, not having much luck with my First hood design, I thought I would try and re-create it.

The concept is to have a hood which can be opened & closed while in the car, utilising a roller spring (roller blind) as the central support to furl and unfurl the roof fabric. No idea if it will work really...

First up the roller blind mechanism, I got one with nylon/plastic ends so they are easily dismantled  & modified - but possibly also slightly weaker? One end free wheels, the other larger end is locked in place & tensions the spring. I don't need the automatic position locking so the ball bearing & associated mechanism can all go:

Paired down the locking end with my Dremel to end up with the hexagonal nut which will slide inside the struts, reduced the height of one brass bush & reduced the internal height of the cage which holds the roll tube - the last part is to expose more of the central pivot shaft:

The locking end now will slide inside the support tube but will stop the shaft rotating. Offerred up the entire end components to check, may need some adjustment but looks ok:

The other end is simpler, this just free wheels; so modified to take an M6 bolt through the centre and will be simply bolted loosely to the other tube: 

Next up I wanted to try improve on Slomove's design a little and put a dog leg bend in the support tubes, this should ensure they don't impact comfort, hitting my shoulder, when the roof is open. A little prototyping with a coat-hanger to get the right shape then on to some 16mm aluminium tubes.

A RhoCar member kindly offered use of his pipe bender, I was impatient though, bought a spring bender and had a go myself. The bends are not perfect & not strictly identical, but will do the job:

When closed the struct sits back along the roll bar & away from the passenger shoulder. When open the top point reaches exactly half way along the roof line:

Few more parts ordered from Ebay & the next task is to work out exactly where the pivot point will be avoiding the internal structure in the side panels & drill some mounting holes. I'm intending to mount with a couple of rivnuts in the side panel and a threaded knob of some sort to make everything removable.

Update - This never worked properly, so I have not used it; its much simpler to create/buy a surrey/half hood simply strung between the roll bar and top of the windscreen.

Wind deflectors V2

I Started thinking about doors, but ended up re-working the wind deflector design. The door template ended up being incredibly long so really if doors are going on the hinge point should be further back than the windscreen pillar.

I only had enough 4mm PETG left for one side so built a template and one deflector to check it out - each deflector is about 2' tall & 16" deep. I ran into problems bending the PETG, the combined factors of colder ambient temperature and large area of plastic meant it was a real struggle to get enough heat into it and bend.. I may have to invest in a cheap heat gun for the other side & give my wife her hair dryer back.

The deflector comes back roughly level with the back of the steering wheel but not so far it impedes getting in/out of the car:

I took it out for a little test run - this is certainly an improvement over my first design, now I can feel the heater air around the wheel and less need for gloves especially on the offside hand. The 4mm PETG is very stable, no movement/flutter or vibration even at speed.

The next step to think about is a secure fixing against the side of the car & a simple hinge arrangement for half/full doors off the trailing edge. I think these deflectors will effectively be permanent, possible lift off doors to be fixed to their rear edge, possible re-enforcing aluminium U channel along the trailing edge.

Update - reverted to the original simple design for a couple of years now, don't deflect the wind as much as stop the front wheels catapulting anything from the road into my face.

Polyswitch for permanent live

I have an FIA cutoff/kill switch between the battery and the car for security purposes as much as anything. The downside is this means when the FIA cutoff is open no power to the immobiliser 'flashing led' or the radio memory. The option I'm taking is a polyswitch across the FIA cutoff to supply a continuous low current voltage event when the battery is otherwise isolated:

The polyswitch behaves like a self resetting fuse, permitting approx 3A current before it effectively breaks the circuit by heating up and increasing its own resistance. This allows a standby current to virtually everything but prevents the engine being started. Once the polyswitch cools down after a second or so its back to normal. I found one which is rated 16v 3A stable, tripping current 5A.

Functionality is

FIA switch open - (3A max draw) radio memory, immobiliser flashing light works, trips if you try to start the engine.

FIA switch closed - everything functions normally including starting/running the engine.

Fitting

Made up this mini loom and the loops go over either side of the FIA main terminals, the polyswitch itself is the tiny blob which looks like a ceramic capacitor. This ceramic part sits on a small aluminium plate to make sure when it heats up it cannot contact anything else:

Learning

This arrangement is not compatible with a full cutoff circuit that also grounds the alternator via a large resistor. If both the grounding resistor and polyswitch are left in place when the FIA switch is opened (key removed) the grounding resistor draws the tripping current permanently and everything gets very hot. (Learned the hard way - but before any magic smoke was released :)

I'm assuming the FIA switch is a break before make, so no simple way around this - seems you either setup the car with a cutoff that will actually stop the engine & not harm the alternator, or as I have now as an isolator switch which should not be opened when the engine is running.

Update - removed when the fusebox was next open and now these permanent feeds have their own direct fused circuit from the battery.

Badges - Fin. "Zero"

To complete the set (Roundels & Flags) some smart Chrome/Enamel metal lettering for the model name:

Its certainly nothing like the standard GBS Model badge, but I prefer it - just retro enough & hopefully will help with the standard  'What is it?' question when people see the car.

The acid test will be how long the letters stay stuck on!

Found online from here: Something Magic

Standard questions so far being:

• What is it?
• Is that as fun to drive as it looks?
• What type of engine, how fast does it go?

GBS Badges

I spent Saturday at the Classic Motor Show & while I was there picked up some pre-ordered badges from the GBS stand. Its a while since I went to the show - and I don't recall it being so massive before - it seems to take over the entire NEC now - not kits but classic cars/bikes/auto-jumble etc. I don't think I saw Lotus or any Sevens other than GBS.

GBS had the white demonstrator and red Mazda based demonstrator on show. GBS Facebook Show page has a picture of the stand, there were a few tens of thousands more people about when I dropped in mid morning:

I'm still not convinced on a nose badge & anyway the bonnet is already sporting Union Flags & don't want to get too busy.

Opted for the steering wheel centre and boot badges:

Custom 'Zero' model badge to come for that space under the GBS roundel later...

All change - Headlamps & Indicators

First up some new more discrete indicators, these are designed for motorbikes - the old sitting on the bench for comparison:

Headlamps I've taken a leaf out of various RhoCar examples and fitted some dominator 3.5" lamps. 

Reference shots for the wiring, I managed to keep the same loom just needing to remove and re-install the various plugs.

White - Blue/Red - low beam

Yellow - Blue/White - high beam

Black - Ground

 Comparison - new on the left, old on the right:

All installed and ready to go; I lined up the new lamps by first marking the pattern on the old ones inside the garage door, then without moving the car lining up the new ones. Hopefully thats good enough until MOT:

Took her for a test drive, headlights are fine, almost flush with the top of the bonnet now.
My 5 minute test drive turned into 90 minutes ;) ... down the A229 through Staplehurst, Goudhurst, Cranbrook road towards Tonbridge, hit the A21 then back along the A228 towards Yalding, up the hill and home..  a little nippy, a little wet too !  but good fun.

Indicators are flashing too quickly - so theres something amiss there - I'll have to check the bulb ratings on the new indicators presumably they are lower resistance?

Update - Turns out the original indicator bulbs were 12v 21w,  new bulbs are 12v 10w - so that explains the higher current through the indicator circuit and faster flashing - it must think a bulb is missing - new 21w bulbs on order but I'll check they don't generate too much heat before fitting permanently.

Checked I had no short circuits, left & right hand side seemed to be about the same resistance so picked up a replacement electronic flasher relay too which can switch 0.2-20amps - it doesn't care if the indicator circuits/bulbs are not precisely matched and gives a reliable regular flash. Downside is it won't change rate if a bulb blows.

Update - May 2014 - Although these lights look the part they don't give out a very good beam, noticeably less light than the original 7" reflectors. I'm going to try some extra bright bulbs, but if the issue is with the reflectors then the whole units may have to go.

Radio installed, horn push working, IACV re-wired

The primary change going on was the Radio installation, while I had the aux panel off I also re-wired the switches to show when side lights are on & in the process moved the IACV 12v feed off the Aux Fuse & wired up the steering wheel centre horn push

Steering Wheel Horn Push

This just needed the steering slip ring terminals connecting to the button & Orange loom line connecting to same. The column itself turns out to be grounded so no need for anything else.

IACV

The IACV was working fine but originally I took its 12v permanent feed from the Aux panel circuit. I reconsidered this thinking if the Aux fuse blew due to using the lighter socket etc then I'd lose tick over on the engine too.

IACV 12v feed is now taken from the Alternator switched 12v input (not the battery line, but the fused line to the alternator rectifier.

Aux Wiring

I Re worked the Aux panel wiring as I went, using alternate connectors, these pictures were for reference more than anything else so if I needed to revert to the original configuration I could. I left the crimped spade connectors on the lighting groups - purple, blue, green etc & covered with shrink wrap - theres no point disturbing things that are working fine:

Moving to 3x waterproof connectors with 4 pins each - roughly power on one, switch signals on the  next & stereo speakers on the last. I pulled in a new permanent live feed; Dip beam signal drives the fog lamp, side lights drives the illumination:

Re-assembly

Everything re-assembled & tested:

Night view, as soon as the side lights are on they drive the back lighting on the Aux panel switches as well as the dash clocks:

... and a better demonstration of the brighter lights when depressed (bottom left is the heater fan):

The only pending items now are:

A polyswitch fuse (on order from Ebay) to sit across the FIA isolating switch and provide power to the radio & immobiliser even when its red key is removed. This will let the Radio remember stations and the immobiliser led flash.

A simple high pass filter on the speakers to allow even more volume - depending on my experience using them though.

Revision to the fog lamp button - see post note on the dimmer circuit to work in full tale-tale/indication mode for this lamp to meet MOT regulation.

Aux Panel rewiring - dimming Savage switches

Re working the Aux panel wiring to both install the radio and fully setup the Savage switches so they glow on dip beam. The switches are double pole double throw - one side is used to switch the LED between full 12v and via a 5k resistor from the sidelights circuit.

I picked up the circuit from www.locostbuilders.co.uk, redrawn/coloured for my setup/cable colours. Each switch has its own resistor and separate led feeds from the device itself which should eliminate impact to the cars existing circuits.

This wiring means the lighting indicates when the switch is depressed, not necessarily that the circuit it operates is functioning (there is always a tradeoff)

Key: C - common, NO - normally open, NC - normally closed:

I tried 1k ohm resistors and 5k ohm resistors - the latter used here (but not great pictures) showing the  dim lit state on the left and with the fog lamp depressed on the right - showing brighter when its on: 

The wiring took an age & this is as tidy as I can get it. I'm not using standard automotive colours due to using up some cable I already had but roughly the scheme is:

Red - +ve ignition or permanent (the radio takes a permanent feed to remember stations)

Black - ground

Blue - lights +ve feed

Yellow - device out

All blacks terminated to the casing with a rivnut, and the +ve lines via a chock block:

Losing the light too much to take the dash off and adjust the aux feeder circuit; so the last job today was drilling the M3 cap head speaker bolts & pulling through the speaker cable from the dash area, through the tunnel & up into the boot space:

Post note:
On testing I realised my fog switch illumination was not a true tel-tale - it was wired to the side-lights for its dim and full brightness.

Update - re worked the switches and preferred switch dimming circuit later to ensure the fog lamp is a true tel-tale & standardise the switch wiring.

Speakers and Radio fitting

Speakers

I upgraded the speakers to a couple of 3.5" waterproof ones, a little better looking than the ones that came with the radio. I am also intending to build some simple passive high pass filters to try and mitigate the distortion at very high volume:

The obvious place is in the boot panel; while this is behind the passengers its also closest to ear hight and discretely tucked away so you wouldn't really notice them unless you were looking. Final fit is waiting on some M3 nuts & bolts:

Radio

I changed my mind on the radio location, instead of the tunnel top I'm installing it in the aux panel, this should give it a better angle and more chance of reading the display. Worst case if it doesn't work I can always create a new panel and set it up as before. The radio will be instead of the boost/engine map switch button for now, potentially moving forward if I wire up the horn on the steering wheel centre push boost can come back.

First shot is for reference before I unplug everyting:

Getting worse before it gets better; the vinyl was savable, carefully peeled back, template marked up and the hole cut with my Dremel. Position was limited by the existing hole, vinyl to cover up afterwards and enough space behind the panel for wiring and the back of the unit:

The Radio comes with a couple of stainless brackets for fitting on motorbike handlebars, I modified them and drilled mounting holes in the site to line up with my aux panel cutout. These were all drilled right into the plastic radio case while it was disassembled:

I thought through it enough to cut some fitting tabs from the cutout, but I decided on left/right instead of top & bottom so had to bend the whole panel flat to drill out and install the radio:

The Radio sits with the top edge proud and the bottom edge flush with the front of the panel to get as good angle as I can on the display. The pane is a little cluttered now, but reasonably neat:

The screws holding the radio are 16mm self tappers, cut down so they dont protrude into the radio case too far. The small circuit board is the PWM controller for the heater fan:

All ready for re-wiring.