I have just been told the car is up and running again, but due to somewhat inclement weather it could be Monday before I can collect it.

Tech specs for the engine are :

355 HP CHEVROLET 350

This 350 Chevrolet utilises a new or re-machined four-bolt main bearing block, and produces dramatically increased power output when compared to the standard engine. This is achieved by increased compression, high flow aluminium cylinder heads, and a performance camshaft.
Cylinder heads - aluminium assembly – high performance and reduce weight
Compression ratio - 9.5:1 (approx.)Camshaft - performance hydraulic with .468” INT and .480” EXH valve lift
Engine assembly fitted with:
* Aluminium dual plane intake
* HEI electronic distributor with vac. advance
* Iron water pump
* Chrome crank and water pump pulleys
* Damper assembly
* Edelbrock 600cfm carburettor
* Roller tip rockers
* 14” Chrome air cleaner
* Internal regulated alternator
* Chrome alternator mount
* Performance ignition wire set and spark plugs
* Oil filter and mount
* Engine mounts
* Thermostat and chrome housing
* Starter Motor

So the engine tune went well! Not ;-(

Turns out the engine had suffered a bit too much since it was rebuilt back in 1999 and is now mostly rusty inside. Water ways were blocked and valves were either stuck or not sealing leading to no compression and pressure leaks into the water system.


So rather than try to recovger teh situation a new enging has ben acquired and will be winging its way back the Cobra over the next few days. Hopefully then we can finally get it out on the road properly.



Bang goes my Xmas presents for the next few years ;-)

The Cobra is currently at the engine tuners, in the mean time the garage is full of a Dax Rush ;-)

The garage cam is still on occasionally and progress on the Rush can be seen here.

Well that's it! Finished, MoT'd, SVA'd, Registered, Taxed and insured. It has just had it's first 'proper' run on public roads, I still have to work out what to do with 4th and 5th gears!!

It now just needs a full engine tune up, the stone guards fitting to the rear arches and another wash and polish.

Now that the Cobra is pretty much finished, some of you may have already noticed that the garage cam has changed.

The Cobra has been moved to a secure location so the next project can be started.

In the mean time you can can continue to see what goes on in the garage via the web cam and Thomas' Blog which is here.

Before we finish here I thought it would be nice to see who has actually been visiting (amongst the almost 5000 hits) so I've set up a guest book which you can sign if you wish, any information you leave will stay with me and feel free to use nick names etc.

To sign my guest book please visit here.

To view my guest book please visit here.

The next big date coming up is 28th October when the DVLA wish to 'inspect' my car and then issue a registration number. It can then be taken on the road.

Why is it that whenever you take a really good picture there's always something left in the background. Roll on the number plates and the sunshine!

The full picture is here.

DVLA now have all the relevant documentation to issue a registration document and hence number plate and road tax. There will be one final examination to confirm the cars details for registration then we should be just about ready to put it away for the winter until it warms up a bit.

In the mean time - just in case Mr VOSA is reading - I've been fixing a few thing suggested at the SVA that would benefit the car. Above is the re-routing of the ignition wires away from the very hot exhaust, the final connection now protected by a nut cover.

And below an additional mounting to provide extra stability to the rear fuel pipe.

Here's a picture the end of one project an the beginning of another. The Cobras penultimate trailer journey and the start of the Dax Rush project in the background.

I received 2 more forms to complete today and I'm about to arrange yet another inspection - this time with the DVLA, this is more administrative so there's no fail as such. The result will be a registration number and that means it can be driven on the road anywhere.

It has today passed its SVA.

I just need to go and see the DVLA to get a registration number.

All done, just waiting for the SVA on Wednesday.

Dashboard is back in and everything seems to work, except the white Voltmeter which is still awaited from Dax.

I have adjusted the speedo to assume 8 magnets instead of 2 and it seems quite steady at 70 (no wheels on, it was just run off the ground). I have also adjusted the fuel sender so it shows around half a tank full which is slightly under what's in there. Just need to replace the steering shaft to the steering rack and put the wheels back on.

Then I'd better run through the failure list and double check before Wednesday 15th Oct.

Hopefully that's a compliant gear knob!!

Well it's been rather wet and windy recently so I haven't done much on the Cobra. However I did get a date for it's retest - 15th October at 13:00.

In the mean time the Sierra has had most bits removed and the Rush should be arriving in a couple of weeks or so.

Simply by adding a 'magic' plate made by Craig the drivers door now closes with it's correct double click. Cheers Craig.

Some details of what's been done for SVA failures. Still got Doors to do and exhaust holes in body.

More magnets and a better positioned sensor.










Battery cable covered.










Easy to reach brake adjuster!










Cable entry into boot lid.










Cables protected.










More cables protected










Fuel pipe re-routed.










Cables tied up.










Sensor cable tied up.










Washer pipe clamped in place










Gap bridged










Loom attached with Sierras connectors










Dax air vents made compliant










Fog light cable protected.

Finally most things are fixed although the L200 is still squeaking a bit.

The Cobra steering column now feels rock solid and just needs the intermediate shaft to be cut to length and replaced.

The dash wiring is fairly well covered on conduit of various types. As soon as the replacement voltmeter arrives the dash can probably go back in.

The offside handbrake has been adjusted, it took a full turn so was obviously not set right before.

The speedo sensor has been moved a bit and some additional magnets added to get a more accurate and stable sensor reading.

The doors still need to be done and some spacers under the floor by the seats are needed.

Oh! and we have a new donor on the drive.

Well nearly back to the Cobra, had a bit of a disaster on Sunday ;-)

1. Feed to cold water tank broke (old age, just perished - plastic).
2. Water came through into airing cupboard onto house alarm.
3. House alarm fused and set itself off.
4. No attempt to turn it off would work.
5. Internal siren went off warning of a fire - same system as alarm.
6. Rang ADT who said they would be out on Monday about 13:00.
7. Siren still going off, rang again, spoke to engineer said it would dry out.
8. It didn't.
9. Four hours after water leak the man arrived to shut down alarm/siren.
10. A good cup full of water came out of control box when lid removed.
11. This was 16:00 just as B&Q etc close.

At the same time.

1. The power tripped.
2. Lunch was being cooked.
3. Garage doors are electric, can't get to tools.
4. Manually opened garage, door swung up a bit quick and clobbered my bad knee.
5. Once power was back garage door won't fully close except manually.
6. Moved L200 in front of garage for the night, fanbelts/pump screeching again.

Back to this again ;-)

As I go through the various failures I'll keep a table updated of progress.

The L200 seems to be fixed and I have all the parts to sort out the Cobra. Better go and do something then I guess ;-)

I have to replace the alternator on the L200 before I get back onto the Cobra. Most problems now have a solution but just need some bits to arrive first.

Today has been spent trying to track down another Sierra steering column. I've ordered a selection of wire tidying bits and started clearing up the garage ready for the next stage of Cobra development. Feeling comfortable everything can be resolved.

I feel sorry for my mate Kev who's missing out on a coffee until it's finished.

Awoke at 05:00 this morning, not really my time of day, half an hour before the alarm and felt terrible, however I never could get going until about 11:00 and several coffees so that was not a surprise. A quick cuppa and a bite to eat, loaded up the L200 and at about 06:30 Thomas and I set off, me in the Cobra, Thomas in the L200. After about ooh! 200 yds I decided I needed to put my jacket on, so I surprised Thomas and stopped.

From there on in I was constantly listening for creaks, knocks and hisses but none transpired. It did however seem to be getting colder!! Several times going past lay-by’s I thought about stopping and getting in the nice warm L200, but I persevered and we eventually got to Gillingham VOSA at about 07:20 – for an 08:00 appointment.

As nothing really had gone wrong we had nothing to do but wait – my nerves were at this point on edge to say the least and Thomas and I sat in silence.......

At about 08:00 we were asked to come outside and the 4 hour test started, within a minute we had failed as the doors did not latch in two stages, I thought that was it but the test continued and we had a very good morning with a very friendly and supportive examiner. The guy had been transferred from Derby (I think) as Gillingham had a backlog and he knew the (in)famous Dave Brooks who had given me so much great advice on the car.

We then went through every stage of the test and ended up with a list of what the examiner said were minor fails. Although some may cause me some aggravation over the coming days and weeks.
OK here's the full list -

Washer pipe came off bottle under pressure.
Space between chassis and floor needs filling (under seats)
Seat belt mountings require evidence of strength
Gear knob not radiused to 3.2mm
Indicators and hazards inoperative - (he saw them all working early in the test)
Door latches only single stage closing
Contactable edges less than 2.5 mm (rear reflectors, air ducts on side)
Wiring into boot lid needs a grommet
Wiring to rear fog lamp needs protecting
Wiring under dash uninsulated passing over sharp edge
Wiring behind centre console needs securing and tidying
Steering column mounts no locks on nuts
Excessive movement on steering column
Fuel line to carb needs re-routing
Exhaust holes in body too small
Front indicator wiring not restrained
Speedo sensor wiring insecure
Rear fuel hose needs evidence of suitability
Battery cable requires protection
Park brake inoperative on off side
Speedo erratic above 40 mph

Nothing drastic I think, we knew about the cabling issues and the steering column.

Noise test was 95Db with standard Dax exhausts, steering self centering was OK, brakes were fine apart from parking brake on one side, emissions were ok (off side was close to limit though)

The problems are -

The parking brake because it's a pain to get too.
The erratic speedo because it wasn't on the way there and we now have it calibrated.
The door catches as they are standard Dax ones.
Seat belt mountings unless I can get a statement from Dax they are ok on this range of chassis.

2 hours to go and I'm about to leave !!

Less than 24hrs to go!!!

64 hours to go till SVA.

All done except for the replacement indicator switch. No leaks of fuel or water and the engine starts with no obvious exhaust leak.

I shall now get bored I suspect before the big day next Wednesday.

Here is a picture of the revised bottom hose, it now goes over the steering rack. The rack has been moved back flat with the chassis and the fuel pump modified to allow some gap so we don't have any 'questionable' adjustments for the SVA.

I've also removed both sets of headers (exhaust manifolds in UK speak - but it is an American engine) added some copper gasket seal and used some spring washers to ensure a tight fit against the cylinder heads.

Refilled with coolant so we'll see if we have any leaks in the morning. I need to create a new fan mount as the new route of the lower hose gets in the way of the old one.

Some pictures taken on the way to the MoT. What smile !!

Since the MoT I've drained the water and petrol in order to move the bottom hose and modify the fuel pump. This will allow the steering rack to be put back against the chassis and hopefully cure the steering roughness. The wheel turns smoothly as does the rack but when connected they suffer a bit.

The exhaust manifolds have been removed to find that the bolts are too long so some shorter ones or some washers will be going on soon. This may have been the cause of the exhaust leak and rattle.

The rear lower wishbones need tightening up but IO don't have a socket to fit so I now have some deep sockets on order.

No new pictures, unless the inside of a side pipe excites anyone.

It's passed the MoT ;-)

Two new fans fitted, they cut in at about 75 deg C which is probably a bit early, but at least no blown fuses and no overheating.

MoT on Friday, so did some more testing today. The speedo wasn't working, the fans don't kick in when it gets hot and there's a rattle near the drivers seat.

It turns out that the fans are blowing fuses (30A fuses in fact) so I've decided to replace them - hopefully before Friday.

Old picture of the fans by the way.

Speedo has to reach 20mph before it starts to work apparently which I've not done yet.

Pretty much ready for an MoT and the SVA.

Got to adjust the headlights and maybe polish it ;-)

Just been tinkering today. Front indicators are on and seem to be at the correct level. Bonnet is on and closes after a bit of adjustment to the curved bracket. Windscreen wipers were fitted and promptly moved the wrong way!! damaging the paint work. I had to remove the wiper drive and reposition the parking tag. Whilst doing that I lent on the exhaust a bit too much and broke a rivnut, I'll have to find something a bit more substantial. Wipers now move the right way ;-)

The rear fog light is too low so I bought a smaller one which is actually bigger than the current one!

I picked up an air wrench in a sale and now only need the air pipe to fully test the air compressor that I bought at an autojumble last weekend.

Here we go ;-)

Only a couple of parts to fit and a bit of tinkering and we should be able to drive it out of the garage.

Phew! Oil leak looks like a loose oil pressure gauge pipe ;-)

We now have one door on - so only one to go ;-)

Doors need to be fitted and adjusted then the interior trim added.

Not much left to do now before the 10th September at Gillingham.



Oh and we have an oil leak ;-(

SVA - 10th September 2008 Gulp!

Both side pipes are on, just completing the foot well carpets, should soon be mobile ;-)

Oh, and Thomas has ordered one of these.


Anyone got a pre '89 Sierra? No really.

Quite a lot going on recently, carpets finished and seats in. That means the dashboard could be finished if only the replacement white voltmeter would turn up!

If I ever do another car it will not have carpets, they have been a nightmare.



Anyway, at last I've moved onto the side pipes, This required a 5" square hole in the body with no way of measuring it from the outside. Ah well they'll just have to be a bit bigger ;-)

The four way side pipes 'push' onto four separate down pipes from the engine - yeah right !! Not only do the four pipes not line up, they do NOT push together. The offside pipes eventually went in with a bit of encouragement from a very big hammer. The nearside didn't want to know so we'll go into battle with them again tomorrow LoL.

Whilst all this has been going I applied for SVA and had to prove I was an amateur builder. Application is made to VOSA an agency of the department of transport and they tell you amateur build status has to be proven to the satisfaction of the secretary of state for transport - that must be some big wig in the government ;-( Scary!!

Anyway that proved a little more difficult than I thought. Firstly they didn't agree with my engine specification (for noise testing levels) then they wanted copies of all receipts and pictures of the build stages. 100 copies and 82 photos later they say it's not enough and asked for more information on the build including a statement of how much the previous owner had done and a detailed list of what I had done.

The previous owner had intended to move to Spain so that may have been a wee bit difficult. I decided the best way would be to talk to the secretary of state or at least his representative at Swansea. A couple of phone calls later to some very nice people in Wales and I had been declared amateur - phew! Apparently my car looks like one built by a very well know professional builder ;-)

I should get a date from Gillingham SVA centre in the next 10 days or so, I'd better get those doors on.

The passenger carpets and seat are now in, a couple of drivers side carpets to go.

The suspension has been raised a bit.

Some more carpet has gone in but still not finished, then there's the boot to do!

Some carpet going in, unfortunately even though I'm using a spray on contact adhesive there's not much of the old vapours to make this part of the build any more fun. In fact waiting for glue to set is as bad as watching paint dry.

The dashboard has a temporary voltmeter in that is black unfortunately but at least now it shows some volts.

Not much happening visibly at the moment, transmission tunnels are in, second handbrake spring is in. I'm just laying out the carpet at the moment.

Front suspension needs to be raised a lot and the rear a little.

Hmm, beginning to look very much like a car now ;-) SVA has been applied for, some tidying up to do to the cockpit, then just need a private road!

After the momentous engine start I'm working my way towards Single Vehicle Approval (SVA). Not much to do but a lot of fiddly bits now.

Had to move the steering rack in order to miss the fuel pump! I have replaced most of the bolts on the suspension, the ones not long enough to pass SVA.

Fog light is working, fuel gauge is working, one seat is in, speedo sensor is in but needs wiring up.
One seat, carpets, seat belts, bonnet, doors, exhausts and wheels to be fitted.

Oh! and I fixed the leaking fuel tank - I hope anyway.

Having got the engine to turn over yesterday it was only a matter of time today until I got around to putting the plugs in and leads on. As I wanted Thomas to be there when I started it for the first time I spent some time replacing some bolts that weren't long enough. So when Thomas arrived at about 15:30 I was more than ready to turn her over.

As you can see from the video below, it started quite easily! Well after a bit of subtle video editing of course. Initially nothing happened and we were scratching our heads thinking of who to ask next when I thought - Oh! no I'd have to check all the wiring again!! So starting with the two connectors right on top of the engine that I should have connected together months ago we tried again. The result as they say is history.