Rob's Austin 427 Build

[MSumners]

I may very well be missing something, but is there a reason the inertia switch is upside down?

While we are waiting on the second batch of aluminum to be powder coated as well as waiting on delivery of several others parts to wrap up the brake lines we decided to get started on what, to me and as many others have admitted, the most intimidating part of the build - the wiring. Started laying everything out and got the first piece done before we had to call it a day. I'll call this a win. :-) Unfortunately we are under quarantine until Monday due to my son getting Covid a couple of weeks ago so I'll have to wait until then to get over to the hardware store to get the 1-1/4" bit to drill the 2 holes in the firewall. After that we'll get the wiring fed through the firewall.

Lots of connections to make!


Inertia switch mounted

[bldr.rob]

Had some time today to work on the rear brake lines a little more. Was able to get the lines run from the master cylinder all the way to each rear brake caliper. Feels good to get that checked off list. I'm not the best at bending the brake lines, even with a tubing bender and practicing on a metal hanger, but overall I think it came out ok. Definitely open to any suggestions before we tackle the front hard brake lines and the fuel lines on how to improve our process.

Here's our progress

Rear brake master cylinder


Rear brake line coming down inside of the DS footbox. I did this after seeing that there was some concern about heat from the exhaust with the line run down the outside of the footbox. I also noticed that several others had done this or if they were to do it again would have done it this way. Hopefully this is ok.


Rear brake line under DS seat and footbox


Rear hard brake line to flexible line connect on DS


DS brake line starting up and over to PS


I ran the brake line under the trunk towards the front/ just behind the rear cockpit wall because we are going with the FFmetals battery relocate box in the upper trunk. If I would have run the line from the drivers side over to the passenger's side along the 3/4" frame rail where the trunk drops from the upper section to the lower section, per the instructions, we would have had to redo it. Fortunately I think it can stay where it is.

PS side rear brake hard line connection over from the drivers side


PS side flexible line connection from the hard line to the caliper


I have not secured the lines to the frame yet. If anyone sees anything of concern, please let me know.

Thanks!

[bldr.rob]

I may very well be missing something, but is there a reason the inertia switch is upside down?

Thanks for double checking me. Before we installed this I looked at the instructions and at another build and I'd swear it showed that it was mounted button down. Should have asked the question. We'll get it flipped. Thanks!

[John Ibele]

Looking good, Rob, you're starting in on the part I'll have to face next ... I laid the harness out in the car, then decided to work on the dash before tackling the wiring. I'll be looking for updates as you go through the wiring process and I appreciate the detail you've included.

Cheers,

-- John

[BadAsp427]

A couple observations. 1st, the reason some like to do the corkscrew look is to use up excess rather than cutting and doing the double flair. Some say it is for "vibration" either way, it will work. I found that rather than using a "tubing bending tool" I just use a large socket, say 1-1/16 or so... Just bend the tubing around the socket as needed and you will get nice bends or corkscrews if that is what you want. You can use a smaller socket for a tighter bend, but be careful you don't kink it by going too small.

Some examples, these bends were all done using a socket.
IMG_1482.jpg Rear Brake T fitting.jpg IMG_2338.JPG

[bldr.rob]

A couple observations. 1st, the reason some like to do the corkscrew look is to use up excess rather than cutting and doing the double flair. Some say it is for "vibration" either way, it will work. I found that rather than using a "tubing bending tool" I just use a large socket, say 1-1/16 or so... Just bend the tubing around the socket as needed and you will get nice bends or corkscrews if that is what you want. You can use a smaller socket for a tighter bend, but be careful you don't kink it by going too small.

Some examples, these bends were all done using a socket.
IMG_1482.jpg Rear Brake T fitting.jpg IMG_2338.JPG

BADASP427:
I've followed your thread quite a bit. Thanks for all of the great tips and sharing your experience and knowledge, your car looks awesome! What a great idea to use a large socket! I'm not very happy with the bends I have using the tubing bender. Seems like the tubing kept slipping away from me. I have a piece of hard brake line that I've been practicing on - I'll do a test run with the socket and see how it goes. We still have to run the front brake hard lines so hopefully those bends will come out better.

[bldr.rob]

Quick question as I have noticed a few people doing this on the brake lines; is there a reason for the "corkscrew" effect as opposed to cutting and re-flaring. Noticed a few people doing this now and I am about to start the brake lines myself.

rthomas98 - as BadAsp427 noted, I coiled my lines because I didn't want to cut them and re-flare them. It's not difficult but does require a bit of patience(doesn't each area require that?) One helpful tip would be to try to practice on a wire hanger or an extra piece of hard line if you have it. I also used the wire hanger to trace out the path I wanted before working with the hard lines. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

[bldr.rob]

Looking good, Rob, you're starting in on the part I'll have to face next ... I laid the harness out in the car, then decided to work on the dash before tackling the wiring. I'll be looking for updates as you go through the wiring process and I appreciate the detail you've included.

Cheers,

-- John

Thanks John. It's slowly coming together. So far, and I don't want to curse myself here, but the harness connections haven't been as difficult as I had gotten myself all worked up over. I know I'm just starting on it and have a long way to go but so far, so good. I was quite overwhelmed when I first started reading through the directions from RF and thought I had a different harness, not enough wires, too many wires, you name it and I was thinking it. I stepped away several times to re-group and took it one step at a time. You'll get there too.


I hit a milestone today! Lit up the gauges on the work bench for the first time! Very exciting!

[erstanl]

While we are waiting on the second batch of aluminum to be powder coated as well as waiting on delivery of several others parts to wrap up the brake lines we decided to get started on what, to me and as many others have admitted, the most intimidating part of the build - the wiring. Started laying everything out and got the first piece done before we had to call it a day. I'll call this a win. :-) Unfortunately we are under quarantine until Monday due to my son getting Covid a couple of weeks ago so I'll have to wait until then to get over to the hardware store to get the 1-1/4" bit to drill the 2 holes in the firewall. After that we'll get the wiring fed through the firewall.

Lots of connections to make!


Inertia switch mounted

Maybe someone has already mentioned this, but I think that inertia switch is supposed to mounted red side up.

[bldr.rob]

erstanl - thanks for catching that! we did get it flipped over.

[bldr.rob]

Had a good day in the garage yesterday. For months I've been trying to figure out how to install the FF reservoirs for the brakes and hydraulic clutch. I wanted to add a reservoir, for 3 total, so that we would have one for the front brakes, one for rear brakes and one for the clutch. However, if we installed all 3 reservoirs with the brackets mounted side by side it would have been about 14-1/2" in total length and from what I understand, the front end of the reservoirs cannot be more than 12" from the front of the DS footbox to be sure they don't interfere with the hoot struts. So, after much forum research and sitting and pondering the predicament, I started working with a piece of sheetmetal to see what I could come up with. The first attempt was just a flat piece bent to support 2 of the reservoirs and 1 was mounted to the front of the footbox per the FF instructions above the accelerator cable. That didn't quite work because in order to keep the 2 reservoirs close enough to the footbox they made it near impossible to open the reservoir that was mounted to the footbox already. Next attempt I dismantled everything and started over. I really wanted to keep all 3 reservoirs together and mounted to the frame rail. But how to do that...... well I decided to offset and overlap the brackets. Hmmm. That might just work. If I did that I could actually get them to fit in the 12" space. So, here we go... A cut here, a snip there, measure, remeasure, clamp, measure, hmm this may work.... let's try a few rivets. So, what I ended up with is a piece that is 1-1/2" wide at the top where it will secure to the underside of the frame rail. It will stand out from the frame 3/4". My understanding is that this should help provide clearance for access to the tops of the reservoirs when they need to be accessed. PLEASE let me know if you don't think this will work. I also added pieces on the ends to help make it more stable. For the piece next to the footbox I will drill it and secure to the footbox panel with a small bolt. So far while clamped in place it seems to be pretty sturdy. I also leveled the brackets and tops of the reservoirs with the ground. The top of the reservoir at the front is about 1/2" below the top of the frame and then the others were set level with that one. Also, I'll cut the lines to the master cylinders down once this is set in final position. Let me know your thoughts if you think I need to add any other support. If everyone thinks this will work I'll get this sent out and powder coated. Thanks for checking it out!















I have more pix in my album if I need to post more to help answer questions.

Thanks!

[D Stand]

Looks like no issues from what I can tell.

[Fixit]

Looks good... as long as the caps aren't "proud" of the frame-rail, and level to the world you're OK.

[Fman]

Rob, FWIW...

What gauge sheet metal are you using for the bracket? That looks pretty thin, not that it would not work but it might flex quite a bit and vibrate when engine is running. I was less than 8" from the bracket with a CNC setup using a single piece of 1/8" aluminum which is solid and does not flex. If you wanted to have another option you could go with a Jamar that is more compact than your current setup. I might consider something a little more stout to hold the reservoirs. Just my .02 I am definitely no expert on this and I might overkill stuff.

https://www.kartek.com/parts/jamar-p...nd-clutch.html

[bldr.rob]

Looks good... as long as the caps aren't "proud" of the frame-rail, and level to the world you're OK.

Thanks John. There is actually 3/4" space between the vertical face of the frame rail and the vertical face of the bracket where the reservoirs mount to. Do you think that will work? Kind of hard to tell from the pictures but maybe you can see the offset here.

[bldr.rob]

Fman - thanks! The metal is 26 gauge galvanized. I was thinking if I could get it secured to the footbox it may be sturdy enough to work. With that gauge metal do you think it may not be thick enough to keep things from vibrating? I was hoping to use the FF reservoirs though since I have them. I really like those CNC ones though!! Thanks for looking at it for me!

Rob, FWIW...

What gauge sheet metal are you using for the bracket? That looks pretty thin, not that it would not work but it might flex quite a bit and vibrate when engine is running. I was less than 8" from the bracket with a CNC setup using a single piece of .090 aluminum which is solid and does not flex. If you wanted to have another option you could go with a Jamar that is more compact than your current setup. I might consider something a little more stout to hold the reservoirs. Just my .02 I am definitely no expert on this and I might overkill stuff.

https://www.kartek.com/parts/jamar-p...nd-clutch.html

[Fman]

Rob, personally IMO I would go with a .090 or 1/8" piece of aluminum and never have to worry about it.

[bldr.rob]

Fman - ok, thanks. I'll pick up something a little more stout. Appreciate it!

Rob, personally IMO I would go with a .090 or 1/8" piece of aluminum and never have to worry about it.

[bldr.rob]

Second times the charm? I took Fman's advice and found a local sheetmetal shop to cut a piece of 1/8" metal for me so I could try version 2 of the bracket for the reservoirs. This thing is STOUT! 1/8" is definitely the way to go. The shop was also able to include a 90 degree bend at the top so that I can mount it to the underside of the 3/4" frame rail. I've drilled and installed the brackets and reservoirs and have it clamped in place now. The vertical face of the bracket is 1/2" proud of the vertical face of the 3/4" frame rail. I did this to provide better accessibility to remove/ replace the caps. Please let me know if you think this might cause interference elsewhere. Reservoirs are set in place and leveled with the ground. The reservoir brackets are also set level with the ground. I'll cut the tubing and adjust the height of the reservoirs once I mount the bracket for the final time. Right now the forward reservoir is 1/2" above the bottom of the 3/4" frame rail. The wiring harness will also be secured to the 3/4" frame rail once this piece is finalized. If the forum thinks this will work I'll send it out to be powder coated. Thank you!

All leveled up


Back of bracket


Front end of the bracket is 11-3/4" from the front of the footbox

[bldr.rob]

Got a chance to get out in the garage yesterday despite the single digit temps here in Austin. Layered up and made a little progress on the wiring. First I installed the fuse panel. Took quite awhile to get the the bracket and second batch of aluminum back from the powder coater but everything turned out great! Very happy with the finish.

Looking up at the fuse panel. First I had to notch it around the bolt that holds the master cylinder bracket in place. Then I used 4 rivets to attach the panel to the 3/4" frame rail and it seems pretty solid but I may add another piece of aluminum on the front left corner to solidify things just for piece of mind as others have done. I think it could go without the added support, but it would probably nag at me later that I never did it when I had the chance so we'll add a little something to stiffen that corner up a bit


Next I worked on giving the wiring harness a little trim. It just bothered me how much extra/ unused wiring I was going to have so I started by cutting back the wiring noted for "Hot Rod Only". I left the tag on it and wrapped it with clear packing tap, in case I ever get back there again and wonder what in the world I did.


Next I cut each of the wires at staggered lengths and put heat shrink on the ends to ensure we don't get a short later on.


Next...wrap it all in electrical tape


Finally...taped it to the main harness and then doubled it back on itself and wrapped in electrical tape. All nice and secure.



While these aren't major milestones it helped move the project forward. I recently read on another builders thread...."make some progress every day, even if it is only putting in one rivet." That really hit me as I've been off and on with getting this done. Little steps add up to big results.