WEIGHTS: Useful info for Hawk build

I weighed many of the engine components during the rebuild. In addition I've weighed, or researched, or estimated weights of other components, all shown in the following two tables:

Table A

Component	weight kg	Comments
Engine, Rover V8	141.3	Powerlite starter, tubular manifolds; no power steering pump (detail see Table B)
Bellhousing	4.5	Weighed a similar type
Gearbox	40	LT77, weighed, w/o gearshift
Propshaft	4	Estimated
Axle , MGB Salisbury type	75	Weighed by others
Wheel	9.7	5.5J x15,  72 spoke; MWS data
Tyre	10.5	Avon 185VR15; manufacturer data
Leaf spring	9.1	Calculated
Coil spring	2.1	Calculated

Table B – engine detail

component	weight kg	Comments
block	31.8	weighed
crankshaft	18.2	weighed
cyl heads (pr)	16.4	weighed
flywheel	13.6	weighed
exhaust manifolds	8.2	tubular, estimated
starter motor	3.6	Powerlite
inlet manifold	6.8	based on Rover, weighed
clutch	5.5	estimated
connecting rods (8)	4.5	weighed
pistons (8)	4.0	estimated
crank pulleys	3.9	weighed
timing cover & oil pump	3.4	weighed
sump, oil pickup	3.2	weighed
camshaft	2.7	weighed
rocker gear	2.7	weighed
carburettor(s)	2.7	based on 2 x SU, weighed
fasteners	2.7	estimated
water pump	2.5	weighed
rocker covers	2.3	estimated
followers	1.6	weighed
distributor	0.9	weighed
	141.3

24 Oct	V5 received from DVLA last week. Number plates ordered straightaway and now delivered. Christopher Neils have made good progress over the last couple of weeks and a visit today saw the car freshly painted, though still with doors, boot and bonnet to complete. Very pleased with the colour – Mercedes Tealite Blue. Hopefully I’ll have it home by the end of next week.
06 Nov	Collected the car last Friday – very pleased with the paint job (thanks Kevin, at Christopher Neils). I’ve started to fix parts on, mainly lights so far. There’s a lot to do in the interior, trim, carpets and dashboard mods not to mention a right-hand handbrake conversion I’m planning to give the seat clearance from the hood frame location and lined up better with the steering wheel.
16 Nov	Overriders are now fitted front and rear, and the new reverse and foglamps. Nothing’s wired up yet though! I’ve had to spend some time fitting the tonneau  - due to kitchen fitting starting on 26th, access may be required to the garage – in which case, rain or shine, at least half the car needs to move outside. The position for the fasteners was clearly marked on the tonneau, though a couple needed slight adjustment. No great difficulty in fitting the lift-the dot fasteners in the tonneau, even without the special punch – it’s really not necessary. The male fastener pins around the back of the cockpit weren’t too difficult – each is located with a small fibre washer insulating it from the paint, and fastened through the fibreglass with a washer and locknut. Note that the fasteners supplied by Gerry were too short with only 10mm threaded length, and I obtained some with a 15mm shank which were fine. The front fasteners fitted through the scuttle top and except for the outer pair, landed just on top of the dash. This needed moving to allow locknuts to be fastened on the back. The outer pair of fasteners needed some spotfacing under the scuttle to allow the nuts to seat properly. I’ve now fitted the gearbox cover made for the BMW-engined Aces – it fits the gearlever position perfectly, which now has the Cobra rubber boot gaiter and stainless retaining ring.

25 August	Made a pressure bleeding adapter from some alloy bar, a piece of radiator hose and a couple of jubilee clips, and managed – with a bit of leakage from around the top of the reservoir – to bleed the front brakes. The pedal now feels much improved. I’ve offered up the sidescreens, shortened them and drilled and located the ferrules. I used a woodworking fixture to pilot the hole normal to the curvature of the door skin. I’ve bolted the ferrules through with 1/2” UNF nuts and capped off with rubber covers in case of an issue at IVA retest. I’ve discovered the screen alignment isn’t perfect –something to address after painting. I’ve made ferrules for the hood sticks – something missing from Gerry’s hood kit!
08 Sept	Today passed my IVA re-sit! A real landmark! The examiner – not the same one as for my original test – looked at all the points addressed, wheel arch extensions, different seats, locknuts on steering and suspension components, spacer on Panhard rod, wash bottle firmly tied. The rear fog lamp was tested, as was the field of view through the mirrors. The brakes were tested again to check nothing had got messed up. I’d arrived just over an hour early, but I was seen to as soon as I’d got the car off the trailer, and by the time my booked appointment was due, I was putting the car back on the trailer again, ready for home! Overall I found the IVA process fair enough, the examiners at Chadderton were polite, professional and helpful. Nevertheless it was quite stressful worrying about the possibility of a second failure! Other things – I finally collected the elusive cockpit carpet set and ‘BMW’  gearbox cover from Gerry at the Donington kit car show. At least this gave me an excuse to have another close look at the Ace on the Hawk stand. Using some budget carpet I already had I’ve been trimming the boot, complete with lift out plywood cover for the spare wheel . Nothing’s glued in place yet but loose fitted it all looks quite passable.  I’ve now made a start stripping down the body in readiness for painting next week. I’ll be sorting out ‘IVA’ parts no longer required, and I’ll add a list in a future post.
10 Oct	The car’s still being prepared for painting – I took a couple of pictures at Christopher Neil’s bodyshop. After three weeks DVLA seem to have discovered my application and a call from them this week confirmed it was being processed. Fingers crossed!

IVA - first attempt!

24 July	IVA yesterday. Quite an experience! A relatively small number of issues raised, requiring a retest already booked for September. Good news is that brakes, lights, interior and exterior projections all passed OK, the exhaust was quiet, just 86dB. Minor issues were that the connection to the rear fog light had come adrift, the washer bottle wasn’t properly locating in its holder, and some locknuts are required to augment the steering rack and front suspension attachment. A nearside mirror is required as the interior mirror was judged too small for an adequate field of view. Slightly more tricky, the Panhard rod fouled the diff cover plate. I hadn’t noticed this, and think it was only evident because I had a full tank of fuel for the first time. Should be able to resolve this with some additional spacers, but clearance is tight between cover plate and spare wheel well. I’d fitted the MX-5 seats and looped the seatbelt through the guides on the shoulder of the seats. This meant that the seat belt runner was higher than the mounting point, which means the seat is in compression in the event of an accident, which it wasn’t designed for and is unacceptable. I think if I remove the belt runner from the seat, or just swap them over, and remove the subframe I’ve used between seat and floor, I can make it acceptable. Needing a bit more headscratching – the rear wheel arches don’t quite cover the tyre as they should, which requires some ingenuity to attach some sort of narrow mudflap over the rear section of the arch. The front brake flexible hoses are stretched on full lock – despite having been supplied specifically as MGB upgrade items. I think I need hoses about 50mm longer. All this should be able to be sorted out in time for the booked retest on 8th September.
02 August	I’ve dealt with the more minor issues from the IVA test – steering and suspension bolts passing through the threaded plates supplied by Gerry now have locknuts, with some thread protruding. I’ve raised the position of the wash bottle so it no longer fouls the chassis, and secured it to the bracket with a cable tie. A connector had pulled off the foglight wiring, which I’ve re-soldered and checked. I’ve fitted the nearside mirror, and raised the position of the offside mirror so the rear view isn’t obscured by the rear wing (an unrecorded comment from the inspector). I’ve obtained some longer front brake flexible hoses which weather permitting I’ll fit tomorrow. That leaves a couple of issues over which I’ve exchanged some correspondence with Gerry: I’ve given the Panhard rod some clearance from the diff cover by fitting a half-inch spacer and longer bolt at the axle end of the connection. The clearance loaded is now around a quarter-inch, which should be OK even down to the bumpstops. Gerry was surprised and queried correct fitment, he’s only occasionally had to use a single spacer washer. Gerry was also surprised about the rear wheel arches – this point doesn’t seem to have arisen before. However, I have the correct wire wheel axle, adapter hubs, and the wheels and tyres supplied by Gerry. The track (which is easy to measure on the trailer) is the same as that quoted for the MGB. The photograph shows a cardboard extension fixed in place to show the extent of the non-compliance – which is a maximum of 15mm. After some deliberation I decided against progressing with the Mk.3 MX-5 seats. I felt their size might mean the seat belt still rubbed on the seat even if the guides were reversed or removed. I’ve got hold of a couple of early MX-5 seats in good condition that will fit more easily, without modification except to remove the adjustable runners, and with more room around the belts. The seats are smaller, with adjustable headrests. I’ve made a gauge to check the compliance with the IVA manual, for both minimum height and distance to seat belt anchorage. On both counts the measurement seems comfortably within the criteria. If the sun keeps shining today I should get them both fixed in. While fitting seats seems a simple job, the length of time required to do it properly shouldn’t be underestimated. Due to the location of chassis members the attachment bolts can’t always be fitted to correspond with the seat tappings, so some form of subframe is usually required which needs to be sufficiently robust. Although the seats in the Hawk don’t transmit the seatbelt loads, it’s surprising how much load does pass through the seat attachment – just try braking hard without the bolts in place! The omission of the adjustable runners isn’t an issue for me. The Hawk isn’t designed to fit large people, and while I’m not tall I need the seat as far back as it will go.
03 August	Fitting the seats: This took much of the day, but the seats are securely fitted and appear to be IVA compliant. The seat belts fit without rubbing the seats. I took some measurements to compare with IVA requirements: Dimension IVA requirement measured Minimum height, point ‘R’ to top of headrest 700mm 750mm Headrest height 100mm min 190mm Headrest width 170mm min 220mm Seatbelt mounting to seat centreline 140mm min 180mm Seat-headrest gap in lowest position 25mm max 0mm Vertical height, point ‘R’ to seatbelt mounting 450mm min 500mm
11 August	New front brake hoses are fitted. I’ve got some ideas for adapting the fluid reservoir for pressure bleeding, which is my preferred method, so I’ll sort this in the next week or two. Made and fitted the wheelguards required for the IVA. They’re quite rigid and don’t look too bad. That’s all the failure points addressed now.

Towards the MoT

26 April	The brake master cylinders have now been ‘bench bled’ (though without removing them), and the feel is much better. I’ve dispensed with the three individual fluid reservoirs. They were prone to leakage and made access to the master cylinders difficult. I now have a single reservoir bolted to the back of the wheelarch. The carburettor’s been stripped and cleaned, air passages and jets blown through, though with no obvious fault spotted. I measured jet sizes and replaced one of the primary jets with one from my tuning kit which better matched the size of the other. I’ve also measured all plug lead resistances and re-checked coil resistances, etc. and found no fault. I’ll have another go at running the motor next week and see if I can narrow anything down.
01 May	Made some passenger seat supports from aluminium channel, and also cut some for the MX5 seats. I’ve been trying to find a way of not drilling additional holes in the floor for the MX5 seats, but think this is going to defeat me. Gerry’s header tank and support bracket delivered. The bracket mounts it a couple of inches too low – it needs to be the highest point in the system. A couple of plates can be made out of aluminium to raise it up to the level where the previous tank was mounted. Other than that, the Rover top hose can be cut in two to fit both into and out of the header tank. The fan thermoswitch, I now realise, screws into the boss at the top of the radiator. All in all, the cooling system is simplified with fewer joints. I’ve fitted a valve in the fuel tank vent, one that operates both ways at a small pressure. This should help to stop the fuel smell, but was a bit expensive. At last a communication from Speedy Cables to say the speedometer should be ready by the end of next week. They really haven’t lived up to their name, this was sent to them on 21st February!
04 May	The engine’s been running again (after replacing a blown diode bridge). No sign of the previous misfire, but still a lot of top-end clatter to be investigated. Cooling system almost completely continent! The dwell’s checked OK at around 35 degrees. Checked the wipers with the engine running – unfortunately the fast speed isn’t sufficiently faster than the slow speed to comply with IVA requirements, so I’ve ordered a new motor. I’ve also ordered some switch identification stickers. Spent some time making seat brackets to adapt the MX-5 seats. The seats sit very low and are compliant with IVA requirements for seat belt height with a good margin – nearly 2 inches! More time spent bleeding the brakes. Hopefully getting a bit less spongy.
13 May	Fitted the new wiper motor, notable increase in speeds, though not yet checked frequency. Speedometer received back, calibrated, and fitted. Spent a bit of time tidying under the bonnet, and some time on seat frames and locations to aid transfer of the MX-5 seats. The fuel pressure gauge doesn’t work properly despite now being correctly wired. It really needs some advanced diagnostics, though currently I’m suspecting the sender unit. It seems to give an output voltage of around 200mV when the fuel pump’s on, which sounds much too low. I’ve been filling in forms and collating paperwork in preparation for sending off with the IVA application. Probably do this when I’m back from holiday in a couple of weeks. There’s really not too much left to do on the car.
10 June	Big step forward is I submitted the IVA test application a week ago. This coming Saturday I’m trailering the car to my MoT garage for a sort of pre-MoT and to help me balance the brakes. Worked out I needed to trailer the car around six times (maybe more) so in the absence of a very local hirer I’ve bought secondhand a neat Brian James four-wheel trailer which fits in the garage. I’ve spent a bit of time ‘snagging’ and getting things in order for the test, ensuring all wiring’s covered in convoluted conduit, bolts are sticking through nuts properly, and pipes and wiring are well supported. I’ve also obtained a new timing light and gastester to replace my 30-year-old ones which didn’t work any more!  I’ve adjusted the timing to 10 degrees BTDC static, vacuum advance disconnected. I think this is a reasonable starting point. I’ve adjusted the carburettor to give CO levels of around 3% which is well within the allowable for the age of engine. I’ve started to cut out footwell carpets from a roll I got cheap at a local autojumble. Although patterns are now made for my own, I’m not confident of them being finished before IVA test time. Still some niggles – the engine rattle being the largest, sounds tappety but I’ll get a view from Andy at Grappenhall Motors on Saturday. Not yet fixed the fuel pressure gauge, though I’m suspecting a faulty sender unit, and the float on my fuel gauge sender has sunk! I’ve sent for a brass replacement from Moss.
05 July	The ’pre MoT’ was a proper MoT – which I failed on brakes, rear brake and handbrake efficiency too low. The trip also revealed some persistent clutch drag which caused dome difficulty engaging first and reverse. A second visit with tightened handbrake didn’t turn out much better. I puzzled over it for a while – then realised I’d been misled into believing I needed a strong bias towards the front brakes. The set up I’ve got is MGB – the original MGB had single-line hydraulics, with no pressure limiting valve, so the balance bar setup should be 50:50 front to rear. However, my Hawk has a little more rearward weight bias, and has high friction (Greenstuff) front pads –so I need a little bias to the rear – not too much, which would upset the IVA. I’ve gone back to first principles to calculate the setup – I may send this to Phil to see if he thinks it’s worth publishing. I swapped the 0.7” master cylinder on the rear brake line with the 0.625” clutch master cylinder, and adjusted the balance bar to give approximately 53% bias to the rear brakes. This solved both problems – the clutch operating lever has more stroke and now allows quiet and easy engagement of all gears, and the brakes passed the MoT today! Rear drums have been drilled with inspection holes in case the IVA people are applying the letter of the regulations. The MoT emissions test showed that somehow my CO emissions were less than 1%. So much for the Gastester. I increased them to a healthier 3%! I’ve spent some time with carpets to make the interior look a bit presentable while I wait for Gerry’s carpet set to be produced, though there’s a bit more to do. I’ve sorted the fuel gauge with a new float. I’ve tidied up a number of loose ends in advance of the IVA test – which is booked for 8:00 on 23 July.