Ben Fung

Around 1pm this afternoon just heading down Battersea Rise to Northcote Rd, lovely subtle blip of the throttle as if there wasn't enough attnetion

Muppet factor has struck and we've now got 1/4 of a litre of gearbox oil in my new diff! So no doubt I've got to empty it out and refill it, now I'm hoping I can get away without taking out the diff and just removing the back plate in situ. Can I empty it out this way and should I be using some kind of flushing solution in the diff before emptying it out?

Have I got to look a little harder or is there a conspicuous absence of a fuel filter on the CC provided Duratec engined cars? I can't think of why you'd run without one so I'm considering installing one during the build, if my suspicions are correct and a fuel filter has been ommitted.

Chris - YHM Cheers!

Yup good advice here guys - Did the Dinitrol and insulation tape. I was about to order the grot traps RiF did and they looked looked pretty good but since I had some spare ali lying around I ended up marking out a template and shaped out a couple of blanking plates riveted to the footwells (after spraying with the Dinitrol of course).

You're not alone here, if you can get the extension bar/short key in, go for it! If you still find the skin in the way as we did, you might have to go the hard way. There are three major problems which come to mind. Firstly: Access to the bolt and the lack of ability to hand tighten the bolt. We found the advice to cut down the allen key was a great bit of advice, the alternative of a regular headed bolt is a great one but I didn't have one available (if you don't have an angle grinder don't waste time with a hacksaw you'll be there for ages - I learnt the hard way, just find someone you know and have them cut it for you). Secondly: The angle of the front mounting plate is at an awkward angle making it enter the damper spacer at an awkward angle and bind against it. The front mount plate can be bent a little to cater for the misalignment, we did it by getting the bolt in a little way into the damper and then you can lever the mount point a little so that it lines up with the spacer. Removing the bolt/spacer and 'lightly' smoothing out the inevitable burrs made sure that when it goes back in it does so a tiny bit easier, but worth the effort. Lastly: Once the bolt is through the spacer it no longer lines up with the threaded rear mount point. Once you've given the frount mount a bit of a tweak and remove the bolt you can probably tell from the chipped powdercoat on the rear mount where the bolt is hitting and accordingly where you need angle the bolt towards. The other thing you can do is to put the bolt in without damper or spacer and mark down the exact angle of the bolt so you know what angle it needs to be inorder to meet the threaded bush and also measure what length it is at when it meets the thread since it will drop in a mm or two and tell you when you'ev got it right. Once you've got that, get the bolt in and keep moving the damper around changing the angle of the bolt till you can feel that mm or two that the bolt has met the thread. Then give it a big old whack with your percussive implement of choice and then start winding it in and I do mean big whack because it really needs to meet the thread otherwise it feels like it has taken to the thread then pops back out unless you've gotten it to meet up completely. If it fails repeat the "wiggle, smash, wind" process again, it took us about five attempts to get it to take. It's still a 'mare of a job, but good luck with it! oh - found March's original post too link here

Yup pretty much exactly as you guys explained! The puzzle of getting the roll bar in round the diff, propshafts, et al was what ended up taking the time in the end anyhow. Quick job all in all. Re-checked the bag and it looks like the 12" was a misprint since the diameter of the bar and inner diameter of the bush were both 1/2".

Well that seems pretty conclusive, tape it is then. An easy, tidier and simple solution, we like those 😬 Cheers all!

Is there any benefit in applying something like POR15 to the chassis rails and underfloor of a new car? I've already used Dinitrol in the grot traps and between the side skins and was wondering if I should go the whole nine yards and POR15 the rails and floor. I realise I could just leave the powdercoat to do its job and then apply POR15 at another stage but was thjinking I may as well just prep the powdercoat then apply por15 over it during the build while everything is easy to access. Is this overkill or am I just being thorough? Think I also saw that some people have even sprayed pretty much all bare ally as well! Just trying to gauge where to draw the line in the sand, which I know is going to be different from persont to person, but I'm definitely interested in others opinions/experiences with the products they used and level of application to help me make up my own mind.

Thanks for the responses, the 1/2" sounds like I may have had a misprinted label and it is the orange bushes I have for the rear so guess I'll be getting the trusty mallet and profanisaurus out tonight to give it a crack then. Cheers all.

Yeah the hex drives have been getting a fair bit of usage already (though they still didn't fit for the upper mount of the left shock). The FIA bar, diff and pretty much all of the rear suspension went in today leaving the watts linkage and anti roll bar left to install, I've actually got another post on that here - Rear ARB - HELP ME!!. Had fun with the diff and found it a relatively painless task actually but rather laborious, let's just say the mallet has proven a trusty friend today, so the diff is in with <.5mm difference either side and i still plenty left in my repetoire of expletives. src="images/smilies/smokin.gif" alt="<smokin>" class="smiley">. As for spec the Duratec is waiting patiently in the corner teasing me to get on with it. How evil is it for me to consider bailing on a chiristening tomorrow and finish the rear end off?

Getting the rear end done on the car today (countless measuring and 'persuading' of bolts 😬) but got stopped when I got to the anti roll bar. The manual says that the rubber bushes that hold the ARB should be the same colour as a coloured dot on the ARB but sure enough there's not a dot to be found. Is there another way to know if I've got the right bushes for the ARB or vice versa? The bag the ARB came in just said - Rear Anti Roll Bar 12" Haven't had my eyes checked for a while but I'm sure it isn't a case of being colour blind.

My delusion is fast becoming apparent, but it has been fun so far. Just waiting for the next SNAFU to pounce Then again nothing worth doing is ever easy, right? I could be repeating this mantra for a few weeks to come. I like the idea of bare ali but I know I'm too lazy a person to polish the thing, think the finish in the end will be 'fine layer of road dust' regardless of colour for me

Cheers all! The cut down allen key was a gem. Just got through that two session nightmare myself yesterday. Don't know how you found it but the right hand side went in pretty easily, the left hand side? That's a whole other story! Think you guys were being generous calling it a pig, I prefer full blown rabid tusk baring boar of a job! Installing the top of the damper before the top wishbone made it easier to work with and I also marked the angle and length of the bolt when inserted (onto the masking tape I used to protect the shiny paint ) without damper/spacer helped provide an approximation of the angle it had to be to meet the rear bracket. A little percussive persuasion was also required to get the bolt through the last couple of mm of the spacer because of the same binding MH had, only then did the thread meet the bracket to allow the bolt to take itself in when turned, queue grins high fives and sighs of relief. And one hour?! Hats off, I'd like to call it "Damper Unit 0 - Ben 1" but at a ratehr considerable number of hours and cursing I'm happy to call it a draw.

The car is certainly starting to look part now! Keep the updates coming, I'm enjoying them and definitely learning too (both yours and Nigel's) I've been taking a few notes and adding them to the build manual, so I'm hoping to be armed with a bit of "other peoples' experience" by the time I start.