Week 36 - The Build

 After last weeks efforts it's now apparent that all the big jobs are done. Just another million little but important jobs left to do!

First on the list is wiring up the bilge pumps and the fan control. The kit comes with a pre wired switch panel for the pumps. As well as the switches it has a small fuse box, a switch for the nav light and a 'fan on' indicator light.

Here it is in it's unmolested state!

The first job is to add a hole for the radiator fan switch. The avid reader will recall the radiator fan should come on with the ignition but I've added a switch so it can be turned off and also a relay operated by the original fan relay to override the switch.

Next job is to wire it all up!

And here it is done. For ease of fault finding all the control wires are yellow!!

The next little job is to fit the windscreen washer bottle. This uses the bottle from the Fiesta and is mounted in the bow compartment next to the fuel tank. It had a good overnight soak in bleach to clean it all up before fitting. Here it is.

The next job is to fit the interior rear view mirror. A problem here is that the windscreen is from a Mk6 Fiesta and the mirror came off a Mk7 Fiesta. The mounting lug on the screen is different. 

Here is the mirror and a mounting bracket that fits the windscreen. Next week will see the new bracket attached to the mirror. It will involve the angry grinder!!

Week 35 - The Build

 Back again after another few weeks away on the boat! Quite slow getting back into it as I try to remember what I was doing and what I planned to do!

Something thats been on my mind for a while is the radiator fan mounting. At the time it seemed to obvious place for it was in front of the radiator as there didnt seem to be room behind it as it would be in the Fiesta. Engine cooling is something of a concern as the engine is almost totally enclosed within the hull. So the first job is to move the fan. The only way to do this is to first remove the radiator which means draining the cooling system. The only place to drain it is into the hull where a gallon of water disappeared under the engine. The fan housing neatly clips into the radiator and it all went back in fine.

Second job is to modify the dog clutch for the water jet drive. At present the clutch will only engage when the two parts are quite accurately lined up. This is no good as they generally wont be lined up. The plan is to chamfer the face of the cup to encourage smoother engagement.

Here is the unmolested cup.

and here it is after some chamfering..

It doesn't look that different in the photo and actually doesn't make that much difference to the clutch either! More grinding required!

Also been looking at the bilge pump wiring. Its a bit of a mess at the moment but is poart of next weeks jobs.