Here I introduce Kim. Kim is at college in her third year studying Car and Motorcycle maintenance. I have known Kim for a number of years and when I mentioned that I wanted to build a car she was keen to offer her assistance and access to her contacts. Being a first time builder it is important to develop contacts and bodies to physically assist with some of the heavy work. Now the Murtaya is not a popular car in fact there are only 42 cars in existence and not all are completed yet so although MSC offer a phone support service. I wanted some local knowledge to help out and bounce ideas off. Kim was eager to help out and she turned up this morning dressed to work in coat, gloves, boiler suit and woolly hat and half a dozen layers underneath.
The weather was thick fog and damp but at last the snow has melted and I actually have running water now. I had removed the battery to charge it overnight and with the washer bottle still frozen it seemed easier to disconnect it and melt it out in the sink then clean out 12 years of built up crud. I also had found some blue liquid on top of the water coolant reservoir. Clearly the Coolant had frozen during the last few weeks and expanded out through the pressure relief cap so I decided to run the engine to test for coolant leaks or any damage the freezing temperatures (down to -14C) may have caused.
So the two of use suitably kitted up we made a start. We removed the Front Bumper and jacked the car up onto axle stands. It was then I realized the car has been in an accident at some point. The inside front wings were primed but no top coat. Closer inspection and a number of the bumper fixings were either missing, mismatched or glued in place. Annoying, but only because I could have talked the previous owner down on the price.
Front bumper now removed we could see how high we would need to get the car so that we could lower the engine and gear box to the ground and slide it out under the frame of the car. The problem now was lifting the car over 600mm. Currently we are 200mm short. The axle stands will go higher than they are currently set but the trolley jack wouldn’t. We decided to leave the car on the axle stands and whilst Kim made a start on the interior whilst I put the battery, now fully charged, back in the car and started up the engine. The car started up second time and I let it run up to normal temperature. Only problem was my neighbour, Carl, who lives three doors down was working nights and the car is anything but quiet. He even stuck his head out the window and shout me to knock the racket off. Unfortunately the car was loud enough we didn’t hear him so he gave up. It’s gonna be a bugger when I ask him if I can borrow some of his tools.
TECH TIP: The CKC build recommends that the front windows are wound down whilst the battery was still connected. It makes them easier to remove. I bought a car cover to put over the car so the weather doesn't get in the open windows.
We took the seats out and started work on the dash board and centre console. Beside the handbrake was a square black box. I asked Kim what she thought it was but she had no idea. But a flash of inspiration came to me it was the crash sensor for the Air bags. I disconnected it and started to remove the steering column cowling and the steering wheel so far it had all been 10mm spanner or socket, crosshead screw or press-fit fittings. However the steering wheel hub unit (incl. Air bag was fixed with Torx screws the drivers for which I did not have but would borrow them from work the next day. With the light failing we tidied up and put a cover over the car and called it a day.
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