First Start

I temporarily hooked up all the gauges on the dashboard, and tried a first start.  She turned over but no signs of firing.

A phonecall to Dave at CANEMS soon had her fired up once he uploaded a basic map for the LS7.  She will get properly mapped once down beside him on the rolling road.

I realised that the thermostat wasn't opening, so I removed it from the housing and using a kettle I confirmed that it was very sticky.  New one on order!

Oil Catch Cans

I finally got around to installing the oil catch cans.  I couldn't really decide where I wanted to fit these, but ended up fitting them just above the alternator on the passenger side.  Care will have to be taken when draining them down not to spill any of the collected oil...

I made a stainless bush and bracket to mount these to the cylinder head, also using the supplied twin bracket.  I used AN-6 fittings and hose to connect it all together.  Once mounted, and by following a diagram detailing the "dirty" side and "clean" sides, I ran the hose as neatly as I could, cut it to length and fitted the ends.  The only difference between my LS7 and the diagram is that the driver's side rocker cover only has 1 vent point so I used a T-piece to join to the passenger's side rocker cover.  I just have a few more clips to fit to ensure the hose doesn't move.

Power Steering

It seems like I haven't had much time in the garage over the last few months, what with school holidays, trying to be out and about while the weather is still good and other activities.  I have however managed some time so will try and provide an update as to what I have done.

I started working on the power steering column again.  I thought I'd be best to get the polished stainless cover to fit along with the stainless steel stalks.

The Corsa steering column took a bit to modify to allow the GD supplied stainless cover to fit.  Some of the plastic had to be cut off - this was done using a multi tool.  I trimmed just enough so that the cover would fit.  Interestingly, the bolt holes line up perfectly, which must be the same as the GD supplied Vectra column.

Since I am not using a key, I removed the ignition barrel, and also the steering lock mechanism.  I am using the CANEMS immobiliser and also a Battery Brain which has a battery cut off controlled with a remote.  I think that this covers the requirements of the IVA for disabling the car so I don't need the steering lock....

Since my Corsa column is adjustable, I had to trim the adjuster lever, and thread it to allow fitment of the GD supplied end.  This also meant that I had to modify the underside of the stainless cover to allow the lever to move.  The edges have been smoothed over with a file.  I also made an aluminium blank to cover the key hole in the aluminium cover, so it won't indent when covered with the leather.

I bought new indicator and wiper stalks for a Vectra B, since the Corsa ones are for a CANBUS system.  The Vectra B ones fit exactly into the Corsa column.  I cut the plastic stalks off, tapped out the holes to M6, and fitted the GD supplied stainless stalks.  I plan to use the wiring plug off the Vectra to plug into the new stalks, I just have to order new terminals to crimp onto the GD wiring.

When I had the steering column temporarily in the car, I marked and tack welded the Corsa universal joint to the GD supplied steering column assembly.  This has new been fully welded and tested to ensure that it won't fail during operation.

The next thing to do is to make the GD supplied aluminium steering wheel boss fit the Corsa column.  Typically, this is greatly different from the Vectra column.  The Corsa column has a bigger diameter spline, so the boss will require machining out, and new splines cut.  I will provide an update once this has been done.  I will be using the Corsa steering wheel for now.....

Rear Lights

I took time to fit the reverse light and fog light using the GD supplied stainless stand-offs.  At this moment in time, I am thinking to keep these on permanently since I know some people prefer them off.  I'll see what happens.

The body was drilled and long stainless set screws were used to mount the lights to the car.

I then finished off the wiring for all the rear lights using 5-way super seal connectors.

Shetland Classic Motor Show 2018

Since my car was looking so good, although not quite finished, I decided to put her to the local car show in Lerwick - Shetland Classic Motor Show.  I put her in the trailer, strapped her down and headed to the show.  I received very positive feedback from those I spoke to which is a reflection of GD's build quality.  Some photos of the very successful show can be found on Gordon Siegel's Facebook page here.

The car show is every 2 years and so hope to drive her there next time!

First Time Outside!

My tyres arrived - Michelin Pilot Super Sport 245/40/18 (Front) & 275/40/18 (Rear).  Chris came to the garage with his mobile unit, and fitted them for me.  Since it was a fine night, we rolled her out of the garage for her first true appearance.  She looks good!

Brakes!

GD supply AP Racing front discs and callipers as an upgrade.  They are 330mm x 28mm grooved discs and 4-pot aluminium callipers.  I assembled the disc to the bell using the bolt kit and fitted the callipers to the supplied aluminium blocks.  The stainless flexible hoses were also connected and fitted to the wishbones using stainless P-Clips.

Windscreen Vents

GD supply fishtail windscreen vents which I found were quite big and used up a lot of space in behind the dash.  I decided to manufacture my own to minimise space taken up.

I made a cardboard template and passed this to a friend who converted it into stainless steel.  By using this design means the hoses are well out of the way and allows plenty of room for the wiring and possible glovebox.  I polished the stainless escutcheons before bolting them to these vents using polished button head set screws.

Oil Catch Cans

I have been thinking about engine breathers and what to do with them.  I believe sometimes the N/S rear one is just blocked off, but I felt I wanted something different.  Scouring the internet and forums, I found some diagrams on LStech forums which I thought looked good and made sense.  There is a clean side and a dirty side, and people use catch cans to filter the vent to make sure oil doesn't pass back in through the intake.

I looked and bought 2x Racetronix catch cans which have a sight glass in them so you can see if / when they fill up.  I bought a double bracket too, but still undecided exactly where to mount them.

I bought hose and connections to suit and will update the blog once installed.

Throttle Pedal Wiring

Because the electronic throttle unit is on the opposite side of the bulkhead in the drivers footwell, I needed a way to get the cable and plug through without leaving a big hole.

I decided to design a piece that would allow this.  Basically I worked out what minimum size of hole I needed for the plug and then worked from there.  The cable itself, within the flexible conduit, could fit through a standard 20mm grommet.  This meant I could create a piece from aluminium to cover the hole up once the connector had passed through.  Again, I used Solidworks to design and a local company Ocean Kinetics to mill it for me.  I polished it on the polisher before passing the wire through it and fitting to the bulkhead with M5 button head set screws.  I had to dis-assemble the connector to get it through.

Heater Pipes - Installed

I fitted the GD supplied stainless heater pipes which are fitted to the chassis inside the engine bay.  This allowed me to fit the 90 degree heater hoses to link my stainless tubes to the heater matrix.  I used a stainless steel joiner along with stainless jubilee clips (not shown on photo) to join the hoses.

Car Electrics

I researched a bit on types of batteries since I wanted to get a battery as big and powerful as possible.  I decided to go for an Optima Red-Top battery which is a sealed AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) type.  This is designed as an ultimate starting battery which delivers "a strong burst of ignition power".  Measuring the battery meant that I cut a small bit out of the stainless battery tray to ensure it was going to fit.  I went for the RTU 4.2 version.  My plan is to use the front connections as a charging point linked to an Anderson connector in the engine bay.

I also have decided to fit a battery brain which cuts off the battery if you accidentally leave anything switched on.  This allows you still to be able to start the car once you switch it back on again.  It can also be used as an anti-theft device since it comes with coded remotes to switch it on and off.

I mounted this in the front passenger wheel well and made off the ends of all the cables once cut to length.  The photos don't show it, but I have fitted the battery clamp and connected the main wire to the starter too.

Brake & Clutch Fluid Reservoirs

I decided to use 3x single reservoirs for the brake & clutch fluid.  I also decided that I wanted to run the flexible brakes hoses inside the bulkhead so that they weren't in the engine bay crossing the steering column.

The supplied brackets for the reservoirs were just plated steel so the first thing to do was create a new 1-piece stainless steel bracket that held all 3 reservoirs.  I measured them and then drew up a plan using Solidworks.  The reservoirs I used have a float with test switch built in, which is an IVA requirement (along with the stickers).  They came with just a hose connection, but since I wanted to use flexible hoses, I removed the connection, drilled and fitted aluminium -AN4 fittings with o rings which could then fit to bulkhead connectors to go to the master cylinders.

Where the front, rear and clutch fittings come up to in the engine bay, I marked where holes should go for 90 degree end flexible hoses.  I could then determine if it was all going to fit.

Once the bracket was made, I assembled the 3 reservoirs along with 90 degree fittings.  This then allowed me to work out where on the bulkhead these could be mounted.  I used masking tape and drew on a grid on the bulkhead and fitted the bracket with double sided tape.  This allowed me to stick the bracket to the bulkhead and close the bonnet.  From the front wheel well, I could look in with a torch and look at the marked grid to see where it could be moved.

Because of the fuel pressure regulator, and bonnet height it doesn't fit perfectly as desired.  I had to offset one of the holes in the bulkhead coming from the high pressure side of the master cylinder.

I then connected up the fluid level switch wires and should now just require the stickers.