360S S3 "Yellowjacket" Build in Upstate SC

[Yoram]

More Alignment Prep:

Was initially a bit concerned about the accuracy of the digital level.  The specs claim 0.1º resolution and 0.2º accuracy.
Tested it first prior to performing actual alignment tweaks, and it seems to be repeatable within +/-0.1º which should be sufficient for our needs.
The "Zero" function is very handy to establish a reference for subsequent relative angle measurement.
Also measured the absolute lateral floor slope at the front and rear wheels with the digital level and the cross-car L profile to ensure no significant twist in the suspension.

Got 0.2º in front and 0.3º in back, sloping in the same direction, which means a twist angle of 0.1º which is negligible.

The alignment specs are:

Toe-in: 20' +/- 10'.
Camber: 2015 guide:  -1º 20' +/- 15' ;  Josh Robbins recommendation:  -1.5º to -~1.75º
There is no spec for castor and per Josh the standard configuration of 2 washers at each end of the lower wishbone rear bushing and 2 washers behind the front bushing is spot on and best left alone.
Set my targets:  Toe-in 20' (0.33º), Camber -1.5º (1º 30').
Since the steering arm is located vertically about mid-point between the lower and upper balljoint, adjusting camber will have major effect on toe, but adjusting toe will have minor effect on camber, so started with camber.

Final prep step was to fill and load the water ballast to simulate curb weight in front, and to roll the car a few times before rolling it onto the "slip tiles".

 

The following details may prove a bit tedious, especially if you are not too much into Trig, so feel free to skip....

 

Camber:

Camber angle measurement is using the digital level, first on the cross car L profile to establish the horizontal reference and zero out the level, then on the uprights of the T-frames near the center of the wheel.  Initial LH camber measured on target at 1.4-1.6º while RH measured 1.0-1.2º.
ATAN of the ratio of upper balljoint thread pitch (1.0mm) over height between wishbone balljoints (220mm) yields 0.26º, which is the fixed step size in camber adjustment on a Se7en (one full revolution of the upper balljoint housing).  Therefore increasing the RH camber by ~0.5º requires ~2mm (2 balljoint turns).

Raised the front of the car on a jack stand and used my newly acquired balljoint separator to disconnect the RH upper balljoint.  Turned it in 2 turns and reconnected.

Have not found a way to torque the upper balljoint nut to spec but with the balljoint cone seat it has inherent torque retention.

After dropping the front down on the wheels I rolled the car again back and forth a few times to let the suspension settle, vinyl tiles notwithstanding...

Before confirming the final measurements I proceeded to tweak the T-frames for the positioning and locating of the nylon spacers and for their contact on the rim until I was confident I was getting repeatable readings.

I also tested the camber readings by swapping the T-Frames side to side.  The readings were within 0.1º.
Finally, decided to verify the digital level reading by measuring the distance between the tips of the uprights and subtracting from the average (fore vs. aft) distance between the horizontal extrusions.  1/2 of this difference (20mm) divided by the height of the upright (800mm) equals 0.025, or ASIN of 1.43º.  This compares pretty well with the 1.5º measured on each side by the digital level.

 

Toe:

Toe measurement was done by measuring the cross-car lengths between opposite tips of the horizontal extrusions, one measurement between the front tips and another between the rear tips.  Half the difference between these two lengths divided by the horizontal extrusion length (800mm) equals the ASIN of the toe angle.  The 0.33º target equals a length difference of 9.3mm.  I used a right angle triangle to project, or transfer each tip of the horizontal extrusion onto the cross car L profile.  A single measurement is required per test -- the distance between the marks on the L profile which is the length difference (pic below).

 

 

 

Toe adjustment is done by rotating the inner tie rod while holding the outer tie rod end.  The inner tie rod has wrench flats which are accessible after pulling its boot back (pic below).
Initial toe reading showed substantial toe-out (more than 10mm length difference in the wrong direction).  However due to the short steering arm the adjustment is quite touchy so it did not take many turns, but quite a few iterations, to reach the target.

As I expected and hoped, there was no need to readjust the camber after adjusting toe; both sides stayed within 0.1º of their last settings.

 

 

Steering Wheel Centering:

After reaching the target toe setting, used visual comparison of the lateral gaps from the lines of sight along the horizontal extrusions and the rear wheels to center the steering wheel.  The goal is to get the LH and RH gaps to look equal with the steering wheel centered -- the two pics below attempt to show that.  Adjustment is done by turning the inner tie rods by the same small amounts (small fractions of a turn) in the same direction and verifying that the steering wheel does not drift from center.

Final adjustment may still be needed based on driving.

 

 

 

 

Alignment Results:

I repeated the camber and toe measurements several times "from scratch" to verify repeatability.
My final (for now) alignment settings are:
Toe:  0.3º per side (9mm delta on L profile), steering wheel centered to the best of my method...
Camber:  LH 1.6º, RH 1.5º

 

My front wheel alignment is done, and now I'm finally, truly, ready for the wings (to which I've been looking forward with some trepidation...).

Hopefully the next posts will not take this long....

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Yoram

[MV8]

The box levels are great and cheap. The zeroing function is nice too. I buy another every time I misplace mine so now I have three.

 

I use twine/string and jack stands front and rear, across the side walls to where the taught string barely touches.

Edited September 8, 2023 by MV8

[Yoram]

I found both front and rear wings to be tricky and quite nerve wrecking because of the many opportunities to mess up the finish or even the wing itself.

Also, keeping the wings off improves access to other assembly and setup tasks and reduces the risk of accidental damage during the build.  That's why I delayed them until as late in the process as possible.

I have all four of them installed now with minimal blemishes (a sigh of relief) and will cover here the decisions and steps I took.

This will be broken up into several posts based on pic file size limits.  Will start with the fronts.

 

 

Front Wings

 

The front wings mount on tubular stays attached to the front wheel steering knuckles.  The first decision required is whether to use fasteners per the 2015 text guide or adhesive per the IKEA guide.  I considered first adhesive because it is the current direction and offers a cleaner look, and contacted several sources for information.

After some learning and based on drawbacks in cost, surface prep, reliability and maintainability of the adhesive approach, I decided on mechanical connection of wings to stays with M5x0.8 stainless steel screws with low profile hex socket heads, neoprene and flat washers, and nyloc nuts.  My goal for this solution is to provide a soft clamp over a relatively large area to reduce stress in the fiberglass, and still look decent.

 

Wingstay Prep:

Drilled holes for repeater light ground on underside near outer edge of each front stay.  This proved premature on one side...  more below.

Bent each stay a bit to bring the horizontal lengths to be perpendicular to the wheel.

Installed the wheels for reference. Used level with chassis cross beam as reference, water pipe for lever, and masking tape to protect the stays.

Cut and inserted sections of silicone tube (16 mm ID) onto the horizontal lengths to serve as cushions for the wings.

Cut out the front silicone tubes around the repeater ground holes.

Marked the centerline of the tire on the silicon tubes to help ensure the wings and bolt holes will be centered vs. the wheels.

Decided the locations of the holes considering the centerline mark on the stays, their horizontal segment lengths, and the width portion of the wing which can contact them -- centered about the centerline, 100mm apart on each stay.  Drilled the stays (8 holes total) with the holes pointing toward the wheel axis.

 

 

 

Wing Prep:

As first step measured and marked the lateral centerline (symmetry line) on the underside of each wing.  This centerline will need to coincide with the centerline marked on the stays.

Installed the repeater lights to ensure nothing I do next interferes with them.

Next decision is longitudinal positioning, or "clocking" of the wings on the stays.  The IKEA guide suggests 80mm from front edge of wing to wingstay.  I believe this is incorrect as it results in the wing being positioned too far down in front and too high in back, not offering enough splash protection and looking goofy.

I chose 30mm from the leading edge to the stay.  This position looks good and offers better splash control but is marginal for the repeater ground wire to reach the stay.

Positioned each wing on the stays at the 30mm position while lining up the centerlines and secured to the stays with masking tape.

Marked the front holes only through the stay holes from the underside -- centered laterally and 100mm apart.  Removed the wing, drilled in it slightly oversized front holes from the underside, reinstalled and verified screws fit through.  

Realigned the wing and tightened on the front stay, marked rear holes on the wing again through the stay from the underside, then took the wing off and drilled from the underside.  Reinstalled and ensured all 4 screws fit through.

 

 

 

 

Repeater Wiring:

The repeater light has 2 wires, a short ground wire which needs to be attached to the front stay with a sheet metal screw, and a positive wire which needs to be threaded through the front stay to emerge near the upper balljoint and be routed along the leading edge of the upper wishbone to inside the chassis. 

I found the proper sequence (in case you are using fasteners) to avoid redo's and frustration to be:

1.  Have the wing loosely bolted onto both stays (4 screws).

2. Drill the grounding hole under the front stay such that there is room for the sheet metal screw, washer and ring connector near the outer washer and nut retaining the wing under the stay.  This hole may need to be offset from vertical.  Verify both screws - ground screw and wing screw - and related fasteners can coexist in the limited real estate under the stay.

3. Extend the ground wire to reach the grounding screw (I used ~3" of new wire with new ring connector and butt-crimp connector attaching to the cut existing wire).  Do not tighten to the stay yet.

4. Remove the sheet metal screw and the wing attaching screws from the front stay, keep the rear ones on.

5. Thread the positive wire through the stay, to emerge through a hole near the hub.  I did this by threading a bicycle brake cable in the opposite direction, light butt-soldering of the ends of cable and wire, and gently pulling and maneuvering the positive wire through the hole near the hub.  Once through you will need to gently unsolder the "Econoseal" spade connector at the end of the positive wire to allow it to insert properly into its female counterpart on the chassis (see future post "Headlights etc.").

6.  Once the positive wire is routed through the stay, connect the ground wire to the stay with the sheet metal screw (I also added a copper washer), taking care to avoid damaging the positive wire.

7.  Insert back the wing securing front screws, again taking care to avoid pinching or scuffing the positive wire.

 

Securing the positive wire to the front wishbone is best done after it has been bundled inside the chassis with the headlight and turn signal wires and inserted into the Econoseal connector (future post "Headlights etc.").

 

 

Repeater positive wire being pulled out of the stay by soldered bicycle brake wire:

 

 

 

Ground wire attached to stay:

 

 

 

Wrap-up:

Tightened the 4 wing-to-stay screws hand-tight, making sure the outer washers are centered relative to the screw heads.

 

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Yoram

[MV8]

Looks good. Interested in seeing how well the leds hold up on cycle wings.

[Yoram]

1 minute ago, MV8 said:

Looks good. Interested in seeing how well the leds hold up on cycle wings.

Indeed!  As well as many opportunities for continuity issues, in the best British tradition... We will find out hopefully soon... 

[Yoram]

Rear Wings

 

I have to admit that drilling and riveting the protectors to the wings was probably the hardest and most nerve wrecking part of the build.

But here are the steps I followed to get the rear wings on the car:

 

Planning:

Reviewed protectors, piping and rivets.

The kit does not include washers for the back side of the wing protector rivets but I decided they are needed.

Assessed workable size of the washers.  Washer ID should fit M3 bolt.  OD constraint is the radius of the fiberglass ""fold"" along the body interface and the location of the holes in the protector along that edge.  For the protector's inner edge to line up with the wing's, the washer OD should be up to 8mm.  Ended up ordering from Grainger stainless steel washers M3 ID, 9mm OD, 0.8mm thick based on availability.

Also, per advice in Chris Collins' blog, reinforced by Josh Robbins, ordered M5 plastic bolts and nuts for the body connection (from Bolt Depot).

These provide a weak link protecting the body skin in case of a minor mishap with the wing.
Decided to forgo protective films for the wings and nose cone.

 

Wing prep:

1.  Cut out the radius link slot with rotary Dremel tool.

 

 

 

2.  Laid out and cut the piping for the wing protector and attached it to the underside of the protector with electrical tape.

 

 

 

3.  Rivetted protector onto wing (see pic of installed wing further below).  Several challenges:

• Need to ensure inboard edge of protector lines up with inboard edge of wing.  Not easy, as you start at the inboard bottom corner and work your way up the inside trying to keep the alignment while overcoming the curvature of the wing.  After 3 rivets up the inside egde started riveting along the bottom and outer edge to help hold the curvature.  Ended up needing to sand off about 1-2mm of the protector edge towards the upper inside corner; used a Dremel Contour Sander.
• Pre-curving the protector does not seem practical since without rollers the risk is creating a visible fold in the protector.  Chose to proceed without minimal pre-curving which creates a challenge to overcome the curvature with each successive rivet.
• Need to line up the piping to fit; used electrical tape underneath beforehand to help keep the piping generally near position.
• Difficult to place the washer on the underside when trying to insert the rivet while bending the protector.  Ended up gluing one to the underside with superglue.
• On LH wing ended up with the protector inner upper edge protruding around 1mm beyond the wing.  This would cause the upper part of the inner wing to not sit flush against the body and/or the protector edge to cut into the piping.  Sanded the excess edge off with a Dremel linear sander.

4.  Cut the body piping and attached to the wing with electrical tape.

 

 

 

Wing installation:

Installed wing on car with nylon bolts (and nuts in the rear holes) and the supplied wide washers.

 

 

 

 

 

LH wing:  One of the pre-drilled mounting holes lined up right at the trunk floor level, precluding inserting a bolt.  Fixtured the wing temporarily to the body with bolts in 2 other locations and drilled a new hole from the inside through the aluminum skin and the fiberglass wing about 1" from the misaligned hole along the arc.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Yoram

[Yoram]

Water Bottle Bracket, Full filler Cover, Taillights

 

These steps are a bit related to the rear wing installation so we will mention them here.

 

Had to drill 2 "unplanned" new holes in the washer bottle bracket and one "planned" hole through the body skin to be able to fit the washer bottle between the boot lip and floor.  Installed RH corner boot wall carpet piece under the washer bottle bracket and fuel filler cover.

 

 

 

 

 

Installed taillights and secured each loom with a nylon clamp onto a nearby wing mounting nylon bolt.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

[mrmustang]

Given your fantastic attention to detail, I'm surprised there is no rubber "finish" grommet in the drilled hole for the wiring harness on the taillight install as shown in your last picture attached .

 

 

 

Bill S.

 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by mrmustang

[Yoram]

16 hours ago, mrmustang said:

Given your fantastic attention to detail, I'm surprised there is no rubber "finish" grommet in the drilled hole for the wiring harness on the taillight install as shown in your last picture attached .

 

 

 

Bill S.

 

 

Bill, thank you for the kind words.  Indeed, I didn't think that one was functionally needed (and none included or even shown in any of the guides).

The wire loom has a sleeve, is secured close to the hole on both sides, and the hole is in fiberglass.  However, I will make it a point to try to add one.

The hole ID is 33mm and the connector OD is 32mm, so the grommet will need to be stretched over the connector after the connector was passed through the hole, and then the grommet would be installed.  Hopefully Ace Hardware will come through...

I will update the post  once added.

Cheers!

[Yoram]

Exhaust

 

Exhaust installation was pretty straightforward with the following details worth noting:

- hooking up the two springs connecting the primary exhaust pipes to the collector/cat takes some effort

- installing the muffler is better done prior to installing the RH rear wing

- muffler ground clearance is a concern in a Seven (I tried to maximize it)

- there is no good way I know of to secure the Lambda sensor loom to the footwell

 

 

 

Here are the steps I took:

1. Installed collector/cat on the primaries.  Compressed the connecting springs as much as possible with 4 zip-ties each and used pointed toggle pliers to force them over the hooks.

 

 

 

 

2. Once the collector/cat was installed, torqued the primaries to the head.

 

 

 

3.  Installed the muffler rear bracket and isolator on the chassis near the rear wing.

4.  Installed the muffler.  Need to exercise care not to scuff the wing while maneuvering the muffler into the cat outlet pipe.  It may be safer to install the RH wing after installing the muffler.

5.  Rotated the muffler on the cat outlet pipe so as to maximize ground clearance (within reason -- outlet pipe is rotating up as you do this) and tightened the clamp.

 

 

 

Rear bracket and isolator: 

 

 

 

6.  Installed the cat heatshield and the Lambda sensor.

 

 

 

7.  Secured the Lambda sensor loom and connector to the chassis diagonal.  Decided not to attach the loom to the outer chassis rail or the footwell so as not to damage the footwell heatshield covering.  I suspect I will get some feedback on this one.

 

 

 

Next (very brief) post:  The counterpart: Intake (airbox).

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Yoram

[JohnCh]

8 hours ago, Yoram said:

- there is no good way I know of to secure the Lambda sensor loom to the footwell

 

 

I drilled out a lowered floor rivet, then riveted one of the spare cable tie wrap mounts in its place.  Lousy photo, but it should give you an idea.

 

 

-John

[Yoram]

3 hours ago, JohnCh said:

 

I drilled out a lowered floor rivet, then riveted one of the spare cable tie wrap mounts in its place.  Lousy photo, but it should give you an idea.

 

 

-John

John, thank you.  As you can see in my last pic, drilling out one of the existing floor rivets would be quite a detour/bend back and I don't want to drill out any skin rivets.

In general I don't like the idea of drilling out rivets in rails/tubes as the back bit remains in the tube.  I realize you don't hear it rattling about over the general racket of a Seven but still...

I will be watching the loom over time and see...

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

[Yoram]

Air box

 

Installed the intake seal on the bottom part of the air box, with the ends at middle bottom of the intake.  This job was a bitch!

Installed the air box with the air filter on the car.  Used 3 wide washers inside the box under the nuts (same parts as for the rear wings to body connections).

Left the pedal box covers off for pedal stop adjustments after start-up.

 

 

 

 

 

[Yoram]

=== SPOILER ALERT ===

 

I am currently running about a week behind posting about progress in chronological order.

However, today (Saturday 30th of September) I've reached a significant milestone, so I will jump right into it and postpone reporting prior progress for a bit later.

 

Prep for Start Up

 

Tried to charge the battery with the trickle charger but it wouldn't charge.  Josh Robbins pointed out that it is delivered dry and needs acid fill.  Duh...

Bought 2 quarts at NAPA, removed the battery from the car, filled it up (took near 2 quarts) and set to charge at 6A.
Filled engine oil -- 5 quarts + 600cc = 5.3L Mobil 1 5W50.

 

Raised the front jack stand height by ~1"" to slope the car back a bit to help coolant fill.  Tightened all hose clamps and loosened radiator fill plug.  Filled coolant (no heater) -- 4.5L Motorcraft Yellow prediluted.  ""Pumped"" the main coolant hoses (squeezing by hand) and watched air bubbles out into the expansion tank.

 

 

 

 

 

Installed the fully charged battery -- 12.73V.
Filled 5 gal of QuikTrip 93 Octane "Top Tier" gasoline from brand new container.

Mounted the wheels to signal the car that we're serious, but left it on the jack stands in case need to access hoses or wires or look for leak sources underneath.

Connected the battery terminals.  All kinds of lights and dials came on!

Took a little while to figure out what are all the On vs. Off positions and turned everything off.  But so far everything seems to work!
Connected the fuel line.

 

 

Start Up!!

 

Turned the ignition on for ~5 secs and turned off; repeated maybe 30 times to prime the fuel line.
Pulled the inertia switch connector off as well as the spark plug connectors -- realized that should have cranked the engine first to lubricate it before priming the fuel line, so wanted to avoid any risk of unwanted ignition.

Proceeded tp crank the engine for the first time (with no fuel).  Love that red button!!  Kept cranking for close to a minute - it cranked strong and built oil pressure up to near the 3 Bar mark.
Reconnected the inertia switch and pressed its top button.

 

Drum roll....

Pressed the start button and the engine kicked in immediately and settled right away into a reasonably smooth ~600 RPM idle, as if I just shut it off after a trip!!

No sputtering, no hesitation, no shut down.  Surprisingly civilized sound level and smoother idle than I expected!  Strong oil pressure and gradual rise in temp, as expected.

Video accessible at the enclosed link (I hope it works... please let me know if not) shows that actual very first start up.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q5jh0a9p557abp9fqmzt5/IMG_0375.MOV?rlkey=y3gub64k1zt7ncjyqbpnjcwrm&dl=0

 

Note gauges:

 

 

 

This was truly a flawless start up!

I let it run for less than 1 minute and turned it off.  Oil level was at bottom of dipstick and water level was near bottom of expansion tank.  No leaks anywhere.

Topped both up and restarted.  Ran it for another ~1 minute, stopped and topped up the coolant and oil again.
Restarted and let it run for a few minutes until the radiator fan kicked in and out a couple of times and then I turned it off.  No further topping was needed and again no leaks.  Never touched the throttle.
Ended up filling in total 5.7L oil and 5.3L coolant. *

*  OCT 5th EDIT:

Oil:  After consultation with Josh Robbins I drained 1.25 quarts for a final fill capacity of 4.75 quarts (4.5L).  My dipstick calibration is judged wrong based on known fill specification and my actual fill.  I will be adjusting the calibration by shortening the dipstick guide hose.

Coolant:   Ended up adding coolant after the maiden drive (see a couple posts down).  Final fill quantity at time of this writing is 7 quarts (6.6L).

 

 

Tomorrow I will drop it on its wheels, torque them to 63 ft-lb (left the torque wrench on the driver's seat...) and take it out for its maiden little drive around the neighborhood!

 

It's a beautiful thing!!  

 

 

Big Cheers!

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Yoram

[panamericano]

Congratulations!  You'^{ve got to be feeling good about that start up.}

[11Budlite]

Congrats Yoram, your car came at really nice!

[Yoram]

Nose Cone

 

My plan for today was to install the nose cone and bonnet, get the car on the ground and go for a short and leisurely Sunday afternoon drive around the neighborhood.

I thought the car did not need to be driven before looking  "complete".  A matter of decorum....

Well, our maiden drive is delayed because I got in a fight with the nose cone and it consumed several hours of Dremeling out the anti-roll bar and lower wishbone clearances and trying to line up and engage the four diabolical "screws".  They have cute coin turn slots but no way I can engage one with a coin between my fingers...  ended up using a stubby flat screwdriver.  A satanical concept this fastening method.

Eventually I won that fight and got all four engaged and all suspension clearances good.

But I lost the one against the self adhesive foam strip that goes across the back of the nose cone under the bonnet.  There was no way I could peel the F-ing backing off the F-ing adhesive!!  I got so pissed that I threw the damn thing in the trash and ordered some 1/2" wide x 1/8" thick high density black on Amazon, due to be here tomorrow.  Once it arrives it will be time to futz with the bonnet.  Hopefully with less drama.  It's amazing how smooth and effortless the start up went compared to these dumb bits.

 

OK, the nose cone is on, no scuffs, and I feel a little better now...  Now expecting the maiden drive within the next couple of days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S., an upcoming post will cover the headlights and front turn signals.  As you can see they have been installed (prior to the start up) and all work fine.

 

 

Cheers!

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Yoram

[fastg]

The diabolical devices are called Dzus fasteners, You can buy drivers designed for these type of fasteners. You can get cheaper ones on sites like Summit Racing. 

 

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/group.asp?GroupID=HARDDZUS

 

Graham  

[Yoram]

4 hours ago, fastg said:

The diabolical devices are called Dzus fasteners, You can buy drivers designed for these type of fasteners. You can get cheaper ones on sites like Summit Racing. 

 

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/group.asp?GroupID=HARDDZUS

 

Graham  

 

Thanks, Graham.  Found some on Amazon too, cheaper yet (with Prime free shipping).

 

[Yoram]

   Maiden Drive!

 

My wife and I went out today (Tuesday, 3rd of Oct) for our maiden drive!  Drove a leisurely 2-3 miles or so around our neighborhood, got accolades from some school kids…
It was awesome!!!  We were both grinning the whole time like idiots.  Got once into 3d gear for a short distance…

 

Key points from the drive itself:
- throttle response is not bad but then again I barely used any... I know I need to calibrate the TPS and idle
- brakes are heavy as expected (not bedded in and no booster)
- steering is delightful
- clutch is almost on/off.  Will get used to it.  Disengages and engages fine.
- shifting is great
- oil pressure perfect
- coolant temp quite high - leveled off pretty quickly at ~100C; granted we were driving very slowly
- no speedo response.  I know this is quite common and traceable usually to either the gap between the sensor and gear, or a bad ground.  Will chase this tomorrow.
- no unusual noises except what seems to be the coil cover occasionally touching the bonnet — it lifts up some on the no screws side.  I’m envisioning a small custom hole and a zip tie clamping it to the loom, or just leave the dang thing off.  An underperforming component should not get a free ride.  Sir Colin would likely not have one to begin with.
- my wife loved being in charge of canceling the turn signal...

 

After the drive:
- oil level barely registering on the dipstick, hot or cold. I know I have the specified 4.75 quarts in the system.  You can see a trace of oil at the very bottom, below the flat area. I suspect the dipstick hose is too long (or there was an undocumented change in sump capacity...)
- coolant level started near max mark before the drive and ended up after the drive at bottom of the expansion tank.  I guess more air being purged.  When it cooled down I filled it to the min mark, started it and let it idle for about 10 min.  The level did not drop again.  When it cooled down again I filled it to near the max mark.
- no leaks of any kind

 

Will be chasing next the oil and coolant level issues and the idle and TPS calibration.

 

Our neighbor took a short iPhone video in our cul de sac;  I'll see if I can have the hi-res version posted on Dropbox or such and include a link.

The pic below is a stop-gap from before I dropped the car on its wheels.  It does show the bonnet on for the first time...

 

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Yoram