Tech TipsWe were plumbing-in the cooling system of our new Hawk 289 which is being prepared for its SVA test and we were trying to find an alternative top hose. We found one, which fitted quite well, it had the correct bore at each end and a bend that was in the right place - it was virtually spot-on. However, as we fitted it and tightened the hose clips, it kept trying to flatten out. We tried twisting it and rotating it to various positions but it persisted in kinking or flattening.
After a bit of thought, we took a length of bronze welding rod and wound a spring around a short length of tube held in the vice. The sharp ends of the wire were bent inwards so they didn't cause any damage and we inserted the spring inside the top hose. We re-installed it and it fitted perfectly without kinks or flats. The rod spiral does not impede the water flow as it tends to partly bed-in to the rubber after a few hours running.
I came across Neil Foreman's construction guide for his lovely Ferrari P4 replica as I was searching for something else among my pile of books. Recalling some of the common-sense articles he's written in the past, I thumbed through the guide and a few words he wrote about skills and attitude to leaming caught my eye. I'm sure he won't mind if I repeat them here:
"Do you need a degree in engineering to build a car to show -winning standards?" The short answer is, of course, 'No', but a positive attitude and willingness to work hard and learn is essential. If your immediate response to a challenge is 'I can't do that.' try changing it to 'I haven't learned how to do that yet'.
Do you need to be a competent mechanic? Well, most of us have tackled simple metalwork and woodwork projects at school and potential car builders living in the real world will be familiar with the basic principles of the internal combustion engine and general car mechanics. Even if this isn't the case, you'd have to be Robinson Crusoe to avoid contact with the millions of vehicles all around us that have become so much a part of our lives.
Just look around you - the odds are that there is a mass-produced steering rack no more than twenty metres from where you are right now. If you take the trouble to have a good look at it you'll see roughly how it works. We're not talking here about castor and camber, toe-in and Ackerman angles, just the basic principle of a steering wheel acting through a simple gearbox to turn the road wheels.
The same applies to every system on a motor vehicle. Ford, Toyota, GM and every other major manufacturer on the planet have spent billions developing reliable, cost-effective and, for the most part, well-designed cars. Learn from them and use that knowledge in your own build. Study the way that the components are mounted in relation to each other. Learn from the good ideas and make mental notes to avoid the bad ones. You'll soon be looking at cars from a different perspective - 'Is the oil filter easily accessible? Are all the instruments clearly visible? Will I lose a layer of skin from my knuckles every time I pull on the handbrake?'
There is no reason on earth why a kitcar should be the compromise many seem to be. With serious study and application of your skills, a kitcar can be as well designed, reliable and sophisticated as any mass production car.
If you can't be bothered to run a car up some ramps and crawl underneath to inspect all the mucky, dirty bits to see how and where they fit, then give up now and put this book in your next car-boot sale. Because from here on , the name of the game is Effort and Reward, and there is a direct relationship between the two. The reward is the proud ownership of a beautifully constructed, unique, head-turning vehicle built pretty much with your own fair hands and the effort is well, you'll know when it starts to happen.
You needn't look very far to uncover a gold mine of specialised knowledge and guidance on absolutely every automotive subject - books. Yes, there are thousands of them in librarles and bookshops in every town. From the excellent Haynes and Chilton series to more specialised (mostly American) publications widely available at shows, larger stores and from mail-order specialists
An initial investment in other people's know-bow will be repaid a hundred fold. For instance, a softbound book on welding techniques represents less than an hour's labour charge of a professional. You won't become an expert welder overnight but you'll learn how to get started and you can practise and experiment at your leisure. The same applies to paint and glassfibre, upholstery and trim, wiring and electrical Systems, sheet-metal work and machining.
An often overlooked source of information is catalogues. Finding a suitable part for a particular job on your car will often depend on your knowledge of what is commercially available. Take a shuftie through the kitcar and hot-rod magazines, you'll find dozens of adverts from specialist suppliers offering useful catalogues, often free or for the price of a couple of stamps. Send for them all. The information they contain, on parts, materials and equipment is priceless.
Forget that 'Old dog, new tricks' bull, many schools and colleges offer evening courses on a whole range of technical subjects. If you've never used a machine or filed a piece of metal, a little expert tuition and hands-on experience of basic mechanical engineering can be the introduction you need to get you underway. It's all there for the learning.
It can sometimes seem that everyone you speak to is an expert on everything from the creation of the universe to reptilian neuro-surgery. Everyone knows someone who has 'been there, seen it, done it.' My advice is - don't always take it for granted that information given to you by other people is correct. The diversity and complexity of modern car systems is such that even main dealers will sometimes resort to the box-changing method of fault finding rather than analysing the actual fault within a component.
Don't expect the poor parts assistant at your local dealer's spares counter to be able to explain the intricate working of your particular engine management computer. By the time you've studied the wiring diagrams and worked out how yours works, the odds are that you'll know more about it than he does. So do your own research and satisfy yourself that you understand what you're doing and why.
The car building learning curve is stunningly steep. Stick with it and your confidence will build in leaps and bounds, impressing your friends, and even yourself. Learning with a purpose can be fun."Words of wisdom from Neil indeed. Reading the manual reminded me just how beautifully engineered the NF P4 kit is. The accompanying photographs illustrate what I mean. He makes the chassis and carries out all the machining himself. I always tend to look at cars with a very critical eye, but I have nothing but admiration for the way Neil goes about the business of producing a kitcar.