Build day 3

Steering column

Today I drill/cut the holes to re-locate the steering column for the Zetec engine. I disassembled the two halves of the bearing housing on the firewall/footwell wall and removed all the steering column apart from the shaft which fits through the dash.

I used the housings to work out dimensions and found the outside holes for the bolts are 9mm, 60mm apart and in line with the centre of the 40mm hole for the bearing which is located 30mm from each outside hole.

I then cut a new shim for the new hole and two blanks to cover the inside and outside of the old one. I tried to  use a holesaw to cut the 40mm hole and struggled with it, vicious bloody thing, I ruined two shims before I gave up and used a hand jigsaw (so call me old school).

Bottom left is the original

I was a little concerned with the stability of using the holesaw when it came to the car so I made myself a guide/template from scrap ply which worked well.

I worked from the engine bay side because I felt it was much more accurate to measure out on the aluminium than the fibreglass. Also I used the top of the sheet as the reference which is why the old location probably looks a little canted.

So with my new holes cut, I re-installed the bearing, shim, and housings to the new location and re-assembled the whole column.

Inside the footwell looking up

You may notice the steering rack is not installed completely; the rack mounts were missing from the pack so I am waiting for these mounts to finish the steering. I also need nutserts to move the bearing between the dash and the footwell bearing; a visit to Trade Tools I think.

Diff

I am still working towards the rear suspension installation so I got out the wire brush and cleaned the diff and painted it.