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420S Rainy Season Build in Western Washington


Timberline

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2 hours ago, Timberline said:

The build guide gives no indication for orientation either. In fact, the build guide rarely touches any of the harnessing, routing, or connectors.

 

I wonder what they provide their builders for instructions…?

 

They are British, so alcohol! :918766748_biggrinjester(1):

  • Haha 1
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Chugging along! Went for another drive today around the block with the front wings installed. Odometer ticked over to 000001. Celebrated the occasion by putting on the nose cone. Made a couple minor scratches to the paint. That is amazingly easy to do, thankfully they are in covered places.

 

I've been ignoring this issue, but my fuel gauge doesn't come on, shows nothing. Is there a connector I am supposed to connect somewhere for this...?

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1 hour ago, Timberline said:

I've been ignoring this issue, but my fuel gauge doesn't come on, shows nothing. Is there a connector I am supposed to connect somewhere for this...?

 

A few things come immediately to mind. The first two are quick and easy.

  • Due to the design, the fuel level sensor can't access the last 1.5-2 gallons in the tank.  How much fuel have you added? 
  • Have you reached under the dash to confirm the gauge is plugged into the harness and the connector is fully seated?
  • If the fuel assembly is incorrectly clocked in the tank, it can prevent the float from reaching the last several gallons in the tank.  Checking this requires removing the boot floor which can be maddening. 
  • There could be a break in one of the wires or the sensor is dead.  This also requires removing the boot floor, then pulling out the multimeter to diagnose.  

 

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Too bad the easiest one isn't the issue.  It could also be a duff gauge.  If Bruce has one on hand, that's easy to swap out and check.  During my build another local owner had a bad oil pressure gauge that he confirmed by borrowing my unused gauge.  

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I wanted to share my bond process as maybe it'll help out another builder. I did go with the M3 08115, there is no substitute for a dedicated 2 part adhesive. Good bonds are ones that have constant clamping force applied during cure, so I went with a different securing method:

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A couple pounds of shot over the wheel center was a feel good (a lot like the tape method), but the rare earth magnets directly over the wing stays were great. They applied a bunch of clamp up right where it was needed. This method really frees up other options because you can do it on the ground or can remove the wheels (taking care about wheel center).

 

One thing I didn't like after getting too far into the process was cure temperature. It was 40s and 50s during the cure. Technically its okay by 3M, but I did hit all the adhesive with a heat gun initially and after 12/24 hours. If they fail, I'll just blame it on the temps, definitely not my methods...

 

I was able to drive around with the magnets in place after 24 hours. Note: the sound of one sliding over and snapping to another while driving was a horrible sound!

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Next thing I need to look at is steering connection and direction. I did a couple turn adjustment after my first drive to get the wheels closer to neutral, nothing fancy. I was happy with the shake down drives after that.

 

However, this last drive, I started to notice steering center drift. I ended the drive with center on the steering wheel moving about 10 degrees to the side. Everything still feels connected, but I am very concerned and need to fix this before driving again. Any ideas on this would be much appreciated.

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Great idea!  I've become a big fan of rare earth magnets over the past year and have used them in various projects but hadn't thought about this.  Are you sourcing from Amazon or do you order from somewhere with better and more consistent quality?  If so, please share :)

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2 minutes ago, Timberline said:

However, this last drive, I started to notice steering center drift. I ended the drive with center on the steering wheel moving about 10 degrees to the side. Everything still feels connected, but I am very concerned and need to fix this before driving again. Any ideas on this would be much appreciated.

If this was sudden, as if something moved, check that both ends of the steering U-joint are tight.  The quality of mine wasn't great and without a lot of clamping force, I can see it slipping.  Other than that, check torque on everything in the front end. 

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Just now, JohnCh said:

Great idea!  I've become a big fan of rare earth magnets over the past year and have used them in various projects but hadn't thought about this.  Are you sourcing from Amazon or do you order from somewhere with better and more consistent quality?  If so, please share :)

 

Nope. Borrowed the magnets from a friend. Though I did shatter one... maybe I should find them a replacement...

 

Lots of caution was needed as they could do damage. I did all the magnet handling on the other side of garage and stuck stacks to a shelf. That was when I broke one.

 

Snapped my fingers a bunch of times too :D but I think it was worth it for the bond clamp up.

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Small question for a rainy day: has anyone else had to trim their windshield wipers?

 

Both of mine are about 1/2 inch too long and hit the top and side of the windshield trim. I am planning on trimming them, but would like some reassurance.

Edited by Timberline
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