Brooklands March

First things first, on Saturday I spent a couple of hours re-discovering the car under the pile of build
associated debris and tools that has accumulated - I don't claim to be the world's tidiest worker! In the
process I was able to work out just where I was with the build.

On Sunday the first thing was to fill the master cylinder and and do a basic bleed to get fluid right
through the system. This was a pain, as my "bleeding" tools were all desined for bigger bleed nipples.
however we were soon getting clear fluid through with no air bubbles, and no leaks from any joints.

I then proceeded to start fitting the steering column. I have clearly got the bulkhead wrong as the locking
bracket at the bottom of the column is inside the cockpit rather than outside, and the rubber "gaiter"
won't go over it. I'll just have to make another gaiter that is wider. Also, the upper mount is awkward.
The U bolt that clamps it to the chassis rail is OK, but the steering lock housing is angled across the top so
the upper parts of the U-bolt go through the holes at an angle - I'll have to make up an angled mating plate.

As my father-in-law was down, I press ganged him into helping. Whilst he pressed the brake pedal I was
able to do up the front and rear hub nuts and test the brake efficiency. The pedal almost hits the floor,
but not quite. More worrying, the pedal gets stiffer if you pump it, indicating air in the pipes, bad
connections or a knackered master cylinder - lets hope it isn't the last one. I'll leave this for while to give
chance for the seals to settle.

I then decided that I need to sort out the loom and get it in so that I can go for an engine start (or at least
turn it over so that oil is pumped around). Before that I need a battary as the one I have from the Citroen
is too big and fouls the handbrake mechanism. Anyhow, I replaced the fusebox with something from the
20th century and started making connections. The biggest problem I have is that Mr Haynes' wiring
diagrams show a diagram of the loom structure rather than a true wiring schematic showing which wires
are connected to each other. This will make it harder, for example, to find the 12V provided by the
auxiliary key position circuit for powering the fuel pump. I expect much fun with this bit!

Started off by making up an angled bracket to attach the upper steering column
mount, painting it and fitting it. I also took the opportunity to paint the ignition
unit which was chipped.

Then it was onto the wiring. The engine has electronic ignition so there are three
boxes to house somewhere, the ignition control unit, the voltage regulator and the
coil pack. This also complicates how the 2CV loom and the BMW loom will connect
together. So a lot of time today was spent poring over wiring diagrams trying to
work out how what connects to where. I think I've got it sussed now and then
worked out where the main 2CV loom had to go within the chassis, and then
mounting it.

Mounting the BMW ignition parts will be a challenge. On the bike these are fitted
on the frame underneath the petrol tank, and thus directly above the engine. This
dictates the length of wires going to the multi-plugs, which are bespoke items. I
will thus have to fit the ignition control and voltage reg within the engine top
panel. The coil pack is too big to fit and is constrained by the length of the
special ignition leads, so I will have to mount it beneath the front curved rail.

I have also found that the battery I have is too big to fit in its allocated space as
it fouls the handbrake lever - it is an aftermarket job and the 2CV standard item
will be smaller but I am considering going for a motorcycle job as they are
smaller and lighter - the only question is whether it will be powerful enough to run
all of the car services at night (ignition, lights etc.). If not I will need to find a
physically smaller car battery.

More wiring. Connected up the ignition switch, column mounted switchgear and brake switch by drilling
holes through upper bulkhead. The loom was also fixed in place.

Next item was to look at the placement of the electronic engine components and how they wired into the car
loom. I spent about an hour thinking about how to do this, having to consider access to other engine
components, heat dissipation etc. In the end I decided the best bet was to mount the control unit on the
engine mounting bracket and the voltage regulator within the upper cover. This means I will have to extend
the loom from the cam position sensor to the control unit. ran out of time so that is tomorrow's job.

Lengthened the ignition control unit loom and mounted unit itself on the lip
of the engine mount tube. Mounted the voltage regulator to the underside
of the engine top cover over the cooling grille. Fitted the coil pack to the
underside of the from bonnet hoop and started making up the loom to
connect the coil pack to the control unit (which I just cut when stripping
the bike). Once this lot is done all I "should" need to do is connect the
starter wires from the 2CV loom, connect the +ve cable from starter to
battery and make the earths and we should be able to turn the engine
over.

Still wiring (sigh). Went and got a battery that will (just) fit this
evening as well as some other bits and bobs I needed. The wiring is
almost finished now, all I need is a piece of 25amp wire to link the 2CV
loom to the starter motor positive and I should be ready to try and turn
the engine over on the starter. The reason the wiring has taken so long
is that I have been careful to try and route the wires neatly as I go
along. I think that there is nothing worse than an engine bay that looks
like a rats nest! having said that, the entrance to the top cover of the
engine will be "busy".

I couldn't go into the garage last night so I spent some time working out
how I could lay out the instruments. the panel for this is quite small as
so it took some juggling. I want a speedo, tacho, fuel gauge, oil
pressure and temp. I spoke to Speedy cables who do all Smith's sales
and support, and they said they could make up a dual oil presure and
temperature gauge which helps. You can see in the photo what I ended
up with. The inner circles are the hole sizes, the outer is clearance
either for bezels of for lamp bodies behind the panel.

Now we're getting somewhere! Went and got some heavier wire (25amp) and ring ends etc. from
Hafrauds as well as convoluted conduit etc. On Friday night I wired in the engine earth and made up the
wire running from the starte motor +ve to the main loom, which is why I needed the 25amp cable. I
couldn't resist it and with the battery connected I tried the ignition key. Blow me down if it didn't trun
over on the first attempt. You have no idea how chuffed I am with that. I started making the battery box
but didn't quite finish it before SWMBO winkled me out.

So the next item is to finish the battery tray and then sort out the fuel supply so that we can go for a
start.

I don't feel to have made much progress this weekend despite spending several hours in the garage. I
finished the battery tray first, attaching it with button head set screws rather than rivets as I have a
feeling it may need to come out before the build is finished. As you can see from the photo below, there is
minimal clearance between the handbrake strap and the battery, but enough that there is no risk of them
fouling each other.

Next job was the carbs - I can only describe this as a pig of a job. The barrels of of the engine are
staggered, the offside one being further back (which is obvious if you think about it). The carburettor here
fouls the brake caliper if the standard BMW rubber grommets are used, so the carb has to be re-oriented
towards the gap between the caliper and the front chassis upright. So first thing is to get some fuel
resistant rubber hose with 40mm diameter (I got mine from a place that does spares for commercial vehicles
- trucks to you and me) and then cut new grommets with and angle at both ends. Try this and repeat unbtil
you get the right horizontal and vertical angle to allow the 50mm right angle to slot between the caliper
bolts and the inlet pipe to not foul the handbrake levers on the caliper. Copious swearing helps. Repeat this
on the nearside so that the angles match although this is easier as the barrel is further forwards giving
better clearance.