Cylinder Re-finishing
Following an initial inspection at Harco Engineering, it was decided to go ahead and attempt the cleaning up operation following the welding of the port faces. One of the main problems with welding process is the amount of heat required to achieve this, the downside being that a small amount of distortion has been accrued whilst doing so. To this end the two mating faces were skimmed square and the ports then re-machined from their new datums.
Thankfully this operation has been a success and the mating faces cleaned up following a very small clean up and all the port faces machined well with good mating surfaces achieved.
The second and final stage is to correct any ovality in the bores. Obviously, we only want to remove the minimum amount of material but the bores will be slightly offset bored to correct any mismatch due to the new skimmed mating surfaces, this will then bring everything back into true alignment for cylinder centres.
Chassis Build
Now that we know the cylinders are fit for purpose we can continue with the next stage in the build, erecting the chassis.
I had a meeting at Tyseley at the end of April to discuss the way forward and plotting a course to make a start on frame erection. It was agreed that the best plan of action is to get all parts required ready before they make a start and to this end I’m currently reviewing the CAD model to ensure all parts are present and correct. One of the larger missing parts is the motion bracket, this is currently in the process of being modelled for poly pattern manufacture and hopefully, will be off for casting and subsequent machining in May.
Once we have all the parts either manufactured or on their way, Tyseley can give us a quotation for the build and we can really push on with the build in earnest.
Elliot CME