New Pace 427 Build

[guye]

Cool! Thanks for the prompt replies Richard and Craig!

You are right Craig, I certainly WON'T be regularly driving my Cobra snow, dirt tracks, wet weather (although I live in Melbourne, and drive on Victorian roads, so who the hell knows!).

[TheDoc]

Hi RGF,

What tyres are you running?

Most suppliers on the GC can't source the recommended Sumitomo HTR Z rear tyre size in Australia.

I know Craig imports them but I was hoping to source a tyre that is readily available in Australia so I don't have to wait a month if I get a flat.

---------
Recommended TYRE sizes --
Front: 245/45R17 25.7” (653mm)
Rear: 315/35R17 25.7” (653mm)
---------

David

[400TT]

David, we supplied RGF's tyres as well.

You wouldn't need to wait a month, we airfreight them over in just over a week if in a rush. Two weeks is the usual wait time as we usually combine the tyres into a larger shipment.

[RGF]

Hi David,

Sorry for the slow reply. I am running the Sumitomo tyres and have 245/45ZR17's on the front and P315/35ZR17's on the rear.

Cheers,

Richard

[RGF]

Now that my right arm is out of action for a while, I thought I'd get some build update photos posted. The build is going well and quite a lot has been added. I'm waiting on windscreen and some other parts, which will arrive this week. Not that I can do anything with them for now, but I'll look at them and picture them fitting on to the car once I can get back to building it.

I made the decision to take the body off, which really helped wiht fitting the radiator and cooling hoses. It also allowed easy access for fitting the wiper motor, the seatbelts and the final (it's been in and out at least three times) fitting of the fuel tank







Fuel tank seal cut to size and fitted


Fuel tank fitted


And I've insulated the cockpit to within an inch of its life - this stuff has to be the stickiest substance known to man!!

[RGF]

Radiator is plumbed in - at least it's connected to pipes. I couldn't see how to do this without the body off


The brake & clutch header tanks are fitted




And now, I can't seem to open a new album of photos (possibly it is a moderator issue??), I'll have to stop. As soon as I can post photos into my album, I'll do some more updating.

Anyone know why this has happened?

Richard

[Cobra01]

Hi Richard

Your build is going really well and its a credit to you.

Will the car be ready for the Nationals in October

Brad

[RGF]

Hi Brad,

Thank you!

Unfortunately there is no way the car will be ready for the Nationals. I tore my right bicep off the shoulder (don't ask!) and am out of action for at least another twelve weeks, which is about Nationals time. So there won't be any progress between now and then, unless I can make a spectacular recovery.

It is hard just looking at the car sitting there, waiting for the next step. Plus my windscreen arrives on Wednesday!

How is your build going? Will you be ready for the Nationals?? You might be the first one on the road.....?

[RGF]

Here are some more images of the radiator plumbing (I just discovered Boxhead's great post on how to upload photos, so I a on my way again: thanks Boxhead!)



On the lower hose, I needed to alter the radiator shroud slightly to get it to fint on correctly

[RGF]

Okay, so still getting this right... Let's see if this works

[Tonus72]

Looks great.

Thanks for the update.

Are there any major issues taking the body off and on? Looks heaps easier to work on with the body off - what are the down sides? other than storage...

Cheers

Tony

[guye]

Yeah, what Tony said. How hard was the body to remove (and replace - although you haven't done that yet)? Any other downsides?

[RGF]

Hi Guy and Tony,

Getting the body off was fairly simple to do. Not necessarily easy, as it needs three people (or more) ideally to ensure that the sides come around the chassis and that the back can come up and off first - at least that's what we did.

Once it was off, I sat it on cushions and supported the body in the centre of the dash and the rear behind the firewall to stop it being stressed while it was off the chassis (about three weeks).

Putting it back on is definitely harder, especially since I now had the radiator in place (I took it out before we took the body off). Also you need to make sure that the body aligns correctly on the chassis and that the flanges sit correctly behind the rear firewall and dash. But basically it goes on exactly as it comes off. Getting the flanges behind the dash and rear firewalls is certainly tight and needs some maneuvering and pulling to achieve. But this probably ensures that it does sit correctly on the chassis each time you replace it. We ended up taking off one of the front plastic flanges from the nose to make it easier.

But it went back on after a bit of maneuvering. Again, it is really a four person job.

I am very pleased that I took it off, as I could get to things with far, far greater ease (I mean it really was MUCH easier), but I am not in a rush to take it off again - though I probably will at some point.

Basically there were no downsides, except the removal of the flange, which if this has to be removed on yours, I'd do before starting to put the body back on, as the glue needs to be cut and it is tough on the guys supporting the body while this gets done.

Cheers,

Richard

[Tonus72]

Thanks Richard.

Good tips...

Tony

[guye]

Thanks Richard.

[RGF]

Hi,

I'm looking for a little bit of help. Can anyone who is building an AP help me with the following please:

1. Where does the fuel pressure regulator fit on to the chassis to avoid the exhaust system. I am fitting an underbody exhaust, and have a Holden engine

2. How do the driver's seat sliders fit on to the seats (how are they positioned so that they are in the correct position? Do they need to be fitted in the fully forward, fully back or mid points to get the sitting correct?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,

Richard

[TheDoc]

Hi RGF,

Craig has some drawings for precise measurements on all floor holes. When positioned in the "correct" position there is about 25mm clearance between the seat frame and driver side wheel arch. There is then the ability to move the seat a fair way forward and a slight way back.

Check the spacer size if not using seat sliders on passenger side. I originally had shorter length spacers and couldn't understand why my seats were rubbing on the passenger wheel arch despite all my floor measurements being spot on with the diagram.

Im yet to tackle the fuel system and will wait for the manual update on this section to start.

Hope the shoulder is feeling a little better.

Dave.

[400TT]

Richard, just emailed you the extracted pages from the manual for seat mounting. Sorry, I thought you had this section.

The fuel system is one of the last areas we have been working on and ironically the GM normally aspirated engines are the last type we have sorted.

I should have that section of the manual finished today. Will email it through when it is done.

Working hard to getting a full manual update through in the next few days. We are only at 430 pages and 50,000 words. So there will be a lot of information there for you.

[RGF]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the guidance. Do you have the plans in a form that you could send on to me? Would be useful to visualize if it's possible. Thanks also for the explanation. Shoulder much improved and I'm getting back into the build again now.

Craig, thanks for the update. Can you resend the email from this morning, as it hasn't arrived (let me know if you want me to send my mail address in case your email has gone astray or to the wrong Richard).

Looking forward to the updated manual and the details on the fuel system too.

Just got my seats padded so I can start to fit them and then get the pedal box fixed into the correct position for my feet.

Cheers,

Richard

[deano59]

any pics of your seats done :-)
cheers dean