A Business Deal...

December 2007,

Another aspect of our current task is to run the project as a business and therefore buy and sell cars/car parts to fund the building of our present 7. Part of our research for this included looking through local papers, ebay website, autotrader etc for anything that may be suitable for us to trade with, which after many weeks lead to the discover of another 7 type kit car for sale as an unfinished project. The MK chassis had had quite a lot of work done to it and included nearly all of the components to make a complete car bar the steering components, wiring and seats. Priced fairly competitively at £850 and located nearby at Crystal Peaks we decided a viewing was in order to asses its condition.

The viewing took place on Saturday afternoon and after being reasonably impressed with what we saw and some discussion with Jim, it was decided we would buy the car in the view to finish the build as quickly as possible with the remaining initial capital we had and then sell it on to recoup the majority of the money required to be paid back. This would allow us to finish the original car at a more relaxed pace and would hopefully make it a better car as the result of our experience gained working on the MK. This would also mean the majority of the money would be raised in one go rather than us constantly having to chase up small parts deal to recoup the rest of the investment.

After arranging a suitable time the car was picked up by trailer the following weekend and after some negotiation a further engine and gearbox were included in the sale for the original £850 asking price. Work would now be concentrated on the MK for the first part of the semester to get the bulk of the wok done with the aim to have it finished and sold by sometime in May.

Gearbox Overhaul

November 2007,

The next major component to be overhauled was the gearbox, this also originally came from a mk2 escort and this particular one is from the 1600 sport model which featured closer ratios than standard. The gearbox was purchased through eBay and collected from near Meadow hall. The first job once it had been picked up was to thoroughly clean it up and check for any damage.

The original plan then was to replace the oil seals & gaskets whilst checking over the gears and synchros as much as possible from the top of the box without removing them. This was duly started but whilst replacing the tail shaft gasket one of the clips in the gear hub slipped out of line meaning the main gear cluster would need to be removed completely to reassemble it.

This was a fairly major job but would mean we would gain a more in-depth understanding of the workings of the gearbox and meant we could check over the rest of it more thoroughly.

The job was started by rotating the tail shaft and then removing the lay shaft which would allow the second gear cluster to be lowered down into the bottom of the box and hence allow removal off the main cluster and input shaft. These components could now be checked over properly and it was then found that two of the synchro rings where worn out and would need replacing before the gearbox could be rebuilt.

Engine Overhaul Part 1

November 2007,

With the cylinder head awaiting work to the valve seats, the engine bottom end could be examined and overhauled as necessary. This involved removal off the sump and front & rear engine covers, the crankshaft and conrods cold then be checked and the torque settings on important fasteners confirmed.

Before refitting the front cover a new timing chain was fitted and the engine camshaft timing checked using a dial gauge and crankshaft timing disc. This setting can also be altered afterwards as the camshaft was fitted with a vernier pulley which allows precise alterations to the timing without removing the pulley. New gaskets where then fitted with a smear of sealant to the new covers and new oil seals where fitted to the front and rear covers. A new water pump was purchased and this was fitted along with the front cover to the engine.

The sump has yet to be refitted as it will require some further modification by introducing a network of baffles to the inner surface with the intention off preventing oil surge under hard cornering.