310 Encore Build (Colorado)

[Croc]

7 hours ago, IamScotticus said:

Note this box can be a moisture trap and rust the frame there.  Add a little vent hole on top.

 

um…..really?  
 

A pedal box is not a box.  It is open underneath to the footwell. So it ventilates  beautifully.  Adding a vent hole just creates a leak onto your foot or ankle in wet weather.  

[JohnCh]

1 minute ago, Croc said:

Adding a vent hole just creates a leak onto your foot or ankle in wet weather.

 

Hmm... Perhaps that's why his car developed rust in that area?  

[Croc]

41 minutes ago, JohnCh said:

 

Hmm... Perhaps that's why his car developed rust in that area?  

What his ankle or foot?  Developed rust?  Really?   I bet his rust came from a swamp in his garage.  Dehumidifier time!   

[IamScotticus]

Yes, swamp. You can add hurricanes to the equation.

I doubt a small hole of 1/16" will annoy the tootsies too much. The hole can be a gap in the seal between the lid and housing. And who drives in the rain? Mike, with as much seat time as you have, You've probably had plenty of wet track days.  Also, the mid-90s were not great powder coated frames.

 

Edited June 28 by IamScotticus

[jmaz]

I've finally gotten all the major mechanical stuff done.  Fair amount of head-scratching moments but no real problems.  I'll list some of the challenges, etc. at some point, but nothing that others haven't already written about in the various build blogs.  The only issue that might be unique to the Encore is the radiator hose routing, since the Encore uses a 420 radiator but has the Sigma engine's intake and outflow locations.  The hose to the bottom of the radiator runs right underneath the overflow bottle.  Without doing something to lift the hose, it would rest lightly on the steering arm U-joint.  I managed to lift it to rest just slightly clear of the U-joint using zip ties and a P clip, and I added some silicone tape around the hose to avoid rubbing if the hose sags.   The top radiator hose is squeezed tightly up against the top of the bottle, so there's not room to pop-rivet mount the bottle any higher.  I'd considered moving the overflow bottle to the RHS of the engine bay to free up clearance for the radiator hoses , but didn't like the idea of a plastic bottle with oil in it being that close to the headers.

 

 

 

 

[jmaz]

A simple "vacuum assist" for coolant fill

 

When adding coolant, I was finding that the rate at which the system was filling was going REALLY slowly.  This was after having disconnected the top hose connected to the heater manifold piping and having remove the plug from the top RHS of the radiator.  I could track the fill progress by running a long zip tie into the radiator plug opening, in dip-stick mode.   I decided to try to speed things up by sucking air from the radiator plug opening using this large 200cc syringe.  It worked well.  (The syringe isn't as giant as it looks in this pic.  It's about 8" long.)

 

 

Edited September 1 by jmaz
typo

[chrisp993]

Jim

 

Regarding the hose vs. steering u-joint, you could also rotate the steering rack slightly to lower the position of u-joint ... although this is a balancing act between keeping the steering column > u-joint > rack straight-ish vs. hose interference. 

 

Chris

[williamwashere]

1 hour ago, jmaz said:

A simple "vacuum assist" for coolant fill

 

When adding coolant, I was finding that the rate at which the system was filling…

Oooo, good tip on the syringe, I will have to remember that.

[jmaz]

Unidentified Connectors at Rear of Transmission Tunnel

 

Can anyone confirm the purposes of these two spade connectors?  These were zip-tied to the frame at the rear of the transmission tunnel, near the brackets for the handbrake cable.  As was done in one of the build blogs, I decided to cut them loose before pop-riveting on the tunnel cover so that they'd be available for whatever.  The 2-place connector has a purple-and-red wire and a black wire.  That pairing corresponds to an optional connector labeled "Power Socket" in the main wiring harness diagram.  The other, single, connector has a red/white wire, which mightbe consistent with being a 12V+ line that's live when the parking lights are on.  However, with ignition on, I get no (multimeter-measured) voltage with the single-wire connector grounded to the frame, and connecting between the purple/red wire and the black wire results in a strange-to-me cycling between roughly 0, 3 and 6V.  

 

 

 

 

[CBuff]

3rd level brake light?  Does the voltage change when you step on the brake pedal ?   I believe I have a similar spare connector zip tied under there.  I assumed it was brake light but never tested it or use it. (I connected into the rear loom for my brake lights )

[jmaz]

I'll test the brake-light possibility.  Chrisp993 had noted that there are also two unused spade connectors bundled in with the rear light wiring on the RHS inside the wheel well that can be used to operate a high-level brake light.  I had trouble finding these, since they were surrounded by the larger black connectors, all zip-tied in a cluster.

[TorqueSpec]

Those look like the connectors for the windshield wiper fluid bottle (and pump) that mounts in the boot.

[jmaz]

On 10/2/2026 at 2:04 PM, TorqueSpec said:

Those look like the connectors for the windshield wiper fluid bottle (and pump) that mounts in the boot.

I've been told that the two-wire connector is most likely an (unused) connector for a power outlet that can be installed in the rear bulkhead.  Here's the connector for the washer fluid bottle.  It comes up through the boot side, next to the bottle:  

[TorqueSpec]

Makes sense - just checked under my Caterham - I have a few unused spades, too. I do think one of them is for a high brake light, though I used CaterLED (on this forum) for mine, and they plugged into the existing brake wires. 

[Ian7]

On 4/22/2026 at 2:54 PM, jmaz said:

To be fair to CC, the assembly guide does mention that some connectors might be extra.  They just don't say which ones...

 

fun to see that nothing's changed in the 25 years since I built my kit LOL

Edited October 5 by Ian7

[jmaz]

310 on it's feet for the first time, and ready for the first attempt at engine start.  Need to make a few trips to the gas station with my 1.5 gallon gas can.  

 

Edited October 10 by jmaz

[jmaz]

First start today.   Some observations about this initial start process:

 

- Added about 4.4 gallons (~17 liters) of 91 octane gas.

- Charged the battery and connected it (positive terminal first).

- Followed the recommended procedure of disconnecting the inertia switch to allow the engine to build oil pressure without engine start.   After just a few bursts of cranking for a few seconds each, the oil pressure rose quickly to normal level.

- But don't forget the big red button.  I initially forgot that the ignition key doesn't control the starter.  duh.  Remembering to push the button helped more than my initial cussing.

- After re-connecting the inertia switch, it only took maybe 2 or 3 periods of cranking, for a few seconds with a pause between each, for the engine to start and then settle into a nice idle at around 1200 rpm.  Exhaust is surprisingly quiet at idle.  

- After 10 minutes of idling, the temperature gauge hadn't started rising at all, although the needle lifted slightly off its "peg" position when the ignition was turned on so it seemed that the gauge was getting power.  Air temperature here was in the mid-40's today, so I wasn't sure whether I had sensor issues, cooling system issue, or simply needed more time for the car to warm up.    I checked the connection at the temperature sender on the submarine, which seemed OK.  No loose connections at the temperature gauge.  Coolant in the overflow bottle had dropped to nearly empty though, so I clearly had some air still in the system.   Raising the front of the car, removing the radiator bleed bolt, squeezing the top radiator hose to burp some air, and then adding more coolant resulted in the coolant level being at or near the bleed bolt.  I also checked that the cabin heater's valve was fully open.  After re-starting the car and giving it a bit more gas (up to about 3000 rpm; per recommendation of Josh at RMC), the temperature gauge quickly registered a change and then inched up to a normal operating temperature.  The cooling fan started once the gauge showed roughly 100 C.  So, looks like all OK so far.

- The alternator warning stayed lit during the first start period where I had avoided applying any throttle at all (per recommendations).  The warning light went out later after getting the rpms up a bit.  

- The brake system warning light stayed on until I remembered that it also is lit when the handbrake is on.

- Took a little trip out of the driveway and around the cul-de-sac.  The driveway transition is pretty high so I took that at an sharp angle, and very slowly.  No bottoming out, fortunately.

- No leaks yet.

- Put on the hood/bonnet and nose cone for the first time.

- Opened a beer to celebrate.

 

 

[hahuang65]

@jmaza landmark day! Congratulations friend. Enjoy the first drive when you take it out

[williamwashere]

@jmaz That's so amazing! You're going to have such an awesome time in that thing. I love the color. It looks like you put it together really well, and for it to start so easily, you must have done something right. The white 7 on the nose is fantastic, and I love the triple stripes! 

[hahuang65]

Yeah I'm quite jealous of the Encore look.