June 13th
Having
got the core of the suspension there, I moved onto fitting the diff. This fits on a couple of long threaded rods.
The problem was that when I suspended the diff from the top rod it refused to lie in the centre of the space between the two bushes that carry the bottom rod, to the extent that the required washers don't fit. I think I'll have to ring Westfield again.
I decide to finish off the day with mounting the steering column and rack. The column is easy, although there is a supplied aluminium spacer that just won't fit. (It's about 8 mm think and the available gap is 1 mm.)
Having failed at that I also failed with the rack, for which I only have one size of mounting bracket. That is, there should be a small one and a large one and I've got two smalls.
Oh well, time to phone the parts people again. I'll just give up for the day!
June 14th
I phoned
the technical department at Westfield today, to ask about a few problemettes, such as the mysterious bush on the
cycle wing supports. The chap there is called Chris Masters and he was very helpful. I've heard of Chris elsewhere
and it seems he holds this side of things together at Westfield single-handed. Amongst other things he suggested
fitting the diff by using some BFI. That is, using a large screwdriver to lever the diff to a more central position
so that I can jam the washer in.
It sounds brutal, but I must admit it works and the diff you can see here is now fully attached.
He also says that the spacer on the steering column is essentially optional. This is good but I think I'll hang onto it as it might come in useful when trying to fit my overlarge frame into the car.
Later on, I decided to fit the spacer under the top steering column mounting. This means the wheel is slightly higher than normal, which equates to what I always do in cars that have moveable steering columns, such as my Fiat. This might mean that I have to modify the dash when I get to it, we'll have to see.
While
talking to the parts people at Westfield, chasing down the rest of the parts, they ask me what the batch number
of the lower rear wishbones is. Apparently, they've lost a pair of "short" ones and are wondering who's
got them...
I can't help but feel that this whole business is going much too easily, I'm sure there are problems to come. One niggling thought is the clutch cable. It was installed by Westfield in the chassis, as part of the pedal fitting I guess. However, it looks a mile too long. I have come across things elsewhere where people say they have had a real problem with this. You can just see the cable in this photo, sticking right beyond the front of the chassis.
It's Tom's birthday today, so I'll have to update the bit on the "who" page to say that he's now 14.
June 15th
I've
got this niggling problem with the brake pipes too. Although they were all mounted by Westfield in the chassis,
there are long "tails" at each of the four "ends", if you see what I mean. These will have
to be looped around to connect up to the flexible pipes that connect to the calipers.
In this photo you can see the tail on the brake pipe and the bracket that will eventually hold the end of the flexible pipe. (You can also see the caliper, lurking in the background trying to get in on the act.)
This is all very well, but I can't find a brake pipe bender anywhere. One place said they used copper pipe all the time these days so they didn't need benders anymore. The pipes on the Westfield chassis are definitely not copper, they seem more like steel. I suspect I am going to have to do it by hand and when I mess it up, by some copper pipe.
The other issue with these is that the front pipes, which you can see here, are attached to the front flexible pipes (the ones going to the calipers) through the bodywork. At least, that's what it says in the manual. The odd thing is that there is a mounting bracket, which you can also see in the photo, that is clearly intended for the pipes. What's more, the pipe has a chance of reaching this bracket and clearly won't reach the appropriate position on the bodywork.
in case you've got to this frame directly and can't get out, go here