1 January

A sombre start to the new year because of the tsunami tragedy in Asia. I feel very lucky to be not only alive and safe, but having fun building a sports car. Spent the day updating this website, and building a heatshield for the starter motor. The number of jobs left to do is dwindling, and the major challenge now remains getting the car past the red tape.

Have given up on the first certifying engineer. He hasn't responded to my calls either directly or through John Bosci. The new guy (Bruce) came around today and immediately made an impression. He arrived on a BMW trike he'd built himself! My son Ryan was there, and John Bosci also popped in to check out the new engineer. We were probably all holding our breath to start with as Bruce walked glumly around the car taking notes and asking questions. Eventually it became clear that Bruce knows his stuff, and that he was a lot more practical than the last guy. He had no problems with the seats or steering lock.

He also advised me that Standards approved four-point harnesses are legal and can be fitted for rego. This is great news, as I was going to fit retractable lap/sash belts for rego, and then replace them later. Bruce has already started the paperwork for rego, and when I asked him a question about instruments, he responded by sending a copy of the appropriate ADR by email within 12 hours. So I am now feeling a lot more relaxed about the rego process. Let's hope it's not unfounded.

The dash has been covered in carbon fibre composite, and apart from a few flaws, looks great. Unfortunately, I cut the holes for the smaller guages right in front of the dash hoop. This means there isn't enough room for the guages. To work around this, we made an ali panel to cover the holes, and will fit all the warning lights there. There are nine lights in all; seat belt hand brake, brake failure, indicators and high beam are all mandatory. Then there's ECU, alternator, and oil pressure warning. In addition to these, we have fitted a Jaycar gear shift indicator kit, which has three lights. We are using high intensity LED's for all these indicators, and boy, are they bright! We have been advised to rough them up with some fine emery paper to make them disperse a bit.

The Unifilter throttle body air filter kit arrived today (UR425 90). Looks good. It will save a lot of hassle as it bolts straight on to the 4AGE throttle bodies (I have to cut holes in the backing plate to fit). It looks like it needs a bonnet bulge to accomodate it, as it is quite deep. Don't know why Westfield doesn't supply the bonnet bulge already fitted, as most 4AGE's need them.

Valentine's Day. This is the 24th anniversary of the day Helen and I got engaged. Haven't regretted it for a minute! I fitted the air filter, and some small firewall panels. I had to trim the rubber intake trumpets a little, as they didn't fit inside the filter frame. This may affect the airflow, as the trumpets no longer have their rim or lip. Still, the main goal is to get the car on the road, and worry about performance tweaking later.

Ryan has mounted the instruments, and hooked up the seat belt light timer, speedo adjuster, and the Jaycar shift light kit. It all looks pretty good. We tried using white LEDs to light the instruments, but they throw very patchy light, so we are looking at alternatives including the humble light bulb!

Bought heat shield wrap from Revolution Racegear. I could probably get it cheaper somewhere else, but couldn't be bothered running around all over town looking for a $10 saving. The wrap is to protect the radiator pipes and rubber albows from the heat of the headers, which pass 25mm underneath.

We also bought some electro luminescent wire from Dick Smith Electronics. This is flexible wire that can be wrapped around the inside of the instrument bezel, and it throws a beautiful low light. We used red light wire, so the dash looks like a BMW. Great!

I haven't updated this diary for some time, so here goes. The instrument panel is finished and has just been mounted to the scuttle.The bonnet has been cut to size, and the hole cut for the air filter. The bonnet clips have been bought and fitted. I have also bought a bonnet bulge from Whitepointer Fibreglass. Today, I bought a used Nissan fuel filler pipe from Salisbury Wreckers, and have been attempting to adapt it to the existing fuel tank.The main legal requirement in Australia is for the filler to have a ULP restrictor.

I have decided that the filler cap must go on top of the tank, i.e. the filler is horizontal to the boot lid, not vertically on the rear panel. I have purchased an appropriately sized piece of marine ply (7 ply) for the boot lid. I will use the Suzuki motorcycle fuel tank filler cap, because it looks pretty cool! We are still in the process of fitting the body, and cutting holes for the exhaust exit, and mounting points.

The body is fully fitted, and hopefully I won't have to remove it again. I've had the main shell on and off about 10 times so far! The exhaust has been trial fitted and holes cut for the exhaust outlet and rear mounting point. I may have problems with the rear tailpipe supplied by JB. It's supposed to dive under the rear wheel arch and exit out the back, but it doesn't clear the wheel arch. I'l have to cut a hole in the rear wheel arch to let this one through, and I'm not going to do that. Also, we cut off the shoulder tabs on the body, and mounted the rollbar onto the frame. This is a lot cleaner. Westfield should just omit those tabs.

We replaced the broken speedo sender from the T50 gearbox. Total cost, $10 from the wreckers. We have also sourced a used charcoal canister from a Toyota Corolla. This one has the proper number of tubes (two!).

The lights have all been bought and mostly fitted. I haven't fitted the front indicators yet, as I need to consult the engineer about the legal placement of these. The Westfield kit comes with a couple of GRP stalks that attach to the lower front of the nosecone, and they look awful. So I'm hoping I can mount the indicators next to the headlights on the same bracket. It really looks finished with the headlights fitted. Wired up the horns. We also bought ali mesh and cut this out for the grille, with rubber strip under, and over the mounting points, to prevent rattling.

I picked up a pair of lap/sash seat belts from John Webster, who is also a Westfield builder. Thanks John. Also, cut out a boot lid from marine 5ply. Next step is to cut a hole for the fuel filler.

Bought a block of brass to adapt the fuel filler neck (35mm) to the fuel tank opening (50mm). Ryan has turned up a nice adapter, but is frustrated at his Chinese lathe. Bought a Whitepointer fibreglass shroud for the rollbar-mounted LED brake light, and modified it to fit the rollbar. Also purchased some fuel hose from Harvery Hose in Rocklea to attach to the brass adapter.

The letter from the Queensland Department of Transport arrived today, acknowledging I have started building an ICV (Individually Constructed Vehicle). The letter is pretty helpful with a detailed procedure for getting the car registered. I can't say the procedure is straightforward, but at least I have an indication of what I have to do when. So the next step is to have the car inspected (once complete), and if everything is in order, trailer the car to my local Police Station for a surrogate VIN ( vehicle identification number). After that, it gets complicated.

Cut a hole for the fuel filler, and cut the fuel filler neck to length. There isn't much room between the top lip of the tank inlet and the top of the boot lid, only about 120mm. I will use the screw cap from the wreckers for rego, as it has the 'unleaded fuel only' message moulded into it. Then I cut a fuel-spill plate for around the filler cap. Lance Widdy, a builder from the Gold Coast, dropped in for a chat. He's also building a westie, but with a worked 200HP engine. Should go nicely!

ANZAC day, a holiday here in Australia, and exactly two years since I ordered the kit. Nothing done on the car today. I have gone very slow on the project lately, as I was starting to let the stress levels rise as it got closer to rego. Helen said, if you're not enjoying it, why are you doing it? Good point! So I've decided to take it easy and have fun. Hopefully it won't take another two years!

Attached the high level brake light, and started painting the boot lid. Also attached the bonnet bulge and painted it hammercoat grey. Not sure whether I like this colour, but that's easily changed. John Webster dropped in this morning to pick up his seat belts. He's obviously ahead of me, so I gave him the JB rego bumper bars as well. It may be more than a month until I'm registered.

I finally decided I need a trolley jack. After some research, the best value seemed to be an aluminium race type jack from Hare & Forbes at Archerfield. The minimum height is 88mm, up to 450 mm with three and a half pumps to maximum. At a cost of $299, it was pretty good value, and I am getting immediate value from it. In fact, I think if you drive or are building a clubbie, you need one of these jacks. Also, I had the rear hydraulic brakeline replaced, as the joint was leaking from the master cylinder end. Apparently, the double flare was faulty.

With the help of the amazing trolley jack, I bled the brakes, fitted the tailpipe, and wound up the AVO shockies to increase the ground clearance. I also plumbed in the PCV & VSV valves to the air box, and cut out forms for the central console panels ( covering the trans tunnel). All in all a productive day.

The front cycle guards are attached. The Westfield-supplied cycle guard mounting brackets have three mounting holes matching up to threaded holes in the Cortina front uprights. These are M8 1.25 threads. However, the uprights have a domed face, so we machined up 10mm spacers from mild steel to mount the bracket. You could just as easily use several washers. The brackets are mounted using spring washers to prevent them shaking loose.

I attached the GRP guards using plated roofing bolts, which have a broad flat head. In order to centre the mounting holes, I drilled them from underneath, and this was made easier by removing the wheels. Another job for the trolley jack!

No posts for a while, but there has been a fair bit of action. The car has had it's first engineering inspection, but failed the drive-by noise test. A quieter muffler and intake has since been fitted. Also, it became apparent that the 4.44 diff was seriously worn. It sounded like a food blender at highway speed. A replacement 4.1 diff was sourced (thanks John), and fitted to the car by Ryan, as my cracked vertebrae means I am basically flat on my back for a couple of months. I will try to organise the next inspection for next week, and I will also attempt to keep the diary updated more regularly. I have changed the diary menu tabs to yearly, instead of three-monthly, which means I now don't have to update so many pages.

Like many people, we are spending a lot of time glued to the TV and internet for news about the disaster in New Orleans. It's incredible to see scenes like this coming from a modern country.

Today, I took the car to JB's place to do another drive-by noise test. The sound meter is 7.5 metres from the car, and I have to drive past at 50km/h, accelerating under full power from 10 metres out in second and third gear. Unfortunately, I still have some work to do! The only reading that was close was the last run in fourth gear. After the test, I dropped in at Harvey Hose Supplies at Rocklea, and picked up a length of 75mm intake hose, to attach to the inlet manifold. This is the restricted inlet manifold supplied by John Webster, another local builder who has already passed using this manifold.

I have an airbox from the old Corolla halfcut, and I attached the end of the airhose to that. It sounds a lot quieter. I only have to work out how to mount the airbox under the restricted bonnet of the Westie. Then I'll try the sound test again.

I managed to cram the air box under the bonnet, and took off for another sound test at John's place. John lives about 25 minutes from my place, so it's mostly an excuse to drive the car! Anyway, the results are encouraging. All the runs are about 8 - 10 dB below previously, which is enough to go for the proper test again. So I have booked the engineer, Bruce, to perform another test next Friday.

Some impressions from driving. The car is so low, I can touch the ground. Even the Camry next to me looms above me. People stare, they try to catch up and have a look. Trying to listen for noises from the diff or gearbox, but can only hear the engine, and then just the rushing air as I get faster. Third gear is a problem, maybe the gearbox needs work? Ride is a lot smoother than anticipated, takes speed humps easily. I'm steering too late. Must remember I'm sitting over the back axle, and can't wait until I'm next to the corner to turn in. Two cars nearly cut me off. Did they see me? Did they see me but not register that this is a car? Think I'll paint the car yellow after all. I still feel guilty driving this thing, even though it's using a Trade plate. It 'll be good to get the car going properly. It wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding with all the restrictions it's got on it. Should be fun :)

The engineer's inspection was scheduled for 11:00 am. John Bosci rolled up at 10:30, and Ron Wyldbore, another builder, showed up 10 minutes later. It's great to have support. Bruce, the engineer, was late however, and didn't arrive until nearly 12:00. Maybe he felt bad about being late, but anyway, decided I didn't need to do a brake test. Straight into the noise drive-by test again. This time the car passed, and the results will be sent to the Department of Transport for their records. They will then notify me, and I have to take the car over the pit at a testing centre. Probably Darra. So that's another hurdle down. I expect the DOT to find some minor issues, but hopefully all the major stuff is now sorted.

Pulled the panels off the car, and prepared them for painting. This means cleaning, filling and sanding the panels prior to painting. I wanted to paint the car in a titanium silver, but it was too hard to pick a colour. The yellow colours were easy to pick. So convenience has decided the colour will be yellow, with black nose and front guards. Anyway, if it looks bad, I can just repaint it. Doing it myself costs just over $200, as opposed to nearly $2000 having it professionally painted, so at least I've saved money there. Maybe a painted car will give a better impression to the DoT inspectors? Every little bit helps. Anyway, Ryan and I spent the day cleaning and painting the fibreglass panels. Hopefully it will look OK when finished.

Spray painting is a lot harder than it looks. We had very varied results, and found it difficult to get a consistent smooth finish. Most of the time we ended up with a furry, powdery finish. After adjusting the pressure, and re-mixing the paint to 1 part paint, 1 part thinners, it seemed to work a bit better. Anyway, the yellow is very bright. Should be hard to miss on the road hopefully. After experimenting with satin black for the nose, we tried charcoal hammercoat, and it looks brilliant. Nice colour match for the yellow, and easy to get a good finish. I've done the nose, front guards and bonnet bulge in charcoal. Maybe I'll do the rest of the car in that colour if we can't get a good finish with the yellow. Anyway, it looks great. A big improvement on the gel coat gray. All in all a tiring, but satisfying day.

We rented the spray painting kit again today to finish the job. The first attempt left patches where the paint didn't cover properly. Despite the poor finish, we have found we can get a good shine using cutting polish, as long as there is enough paint. I suspect that rental spray equipment is not properly set up, and that half the secret of a good finish is good gear, properly set up. This time, the yellow went on really well, but we had problems with the charcoal. Go figure! Tomorrow, I'll polish it up and see how it looks.

At long last the letter from the Queensland Department of Transport has arrived, and my car has been accepted. I can now display the compliance plate the engineer sent me. However, the car will still have to inspected by the DoT before it can be registered. I still have a few small jobs to do. Heat shielding, fuel restrictor, gaiters for the roll bar and for the steering wheel gap, etc etc. These jobs should take only a few hours in total, but I am suffering from build fatigue. I just want to drive the thing!

I have the date for the final DoT inspection. It is at Darra on the 9th December at 12:30. Just a bit after high noon. Not expecting an easy passage, as most builders report they find minor faults. As long as they're minor, that's OK. John Webster recently went through and was pipped for heat shielding on the exhaust, and some other minor issues, which were easily resolved, and he didn't even have to remove the car from the trailer on the second inspection.

So hopefully, mine will be similar. My wife and friends are telling me it will pass first go, but I don't have so much faith.

The fateful day has arrived. Christine, from the DoT help line, told me I can drive the car to the Inspection Centre instead of trailer it. All I needed was to carry a certificate of insurance (CTP in Qld), and a registration application form. I drove in to the AAMI depot at Fairfield and got the insurance cover note. With 2 hours to go until the inspection, I fitted heat insulation tape to the exposed exhaust tailpipe, and did a few other tidy up jobs. At about 11:00, I decided to test start the engine, just to make sure. Well it wouldn't start. Initially I thought the problem was the immobiliser sender unit. I knew we had a back up sender somewhere, but couldn't remember where.

A frantic search ensued, and eventually I found it. I tried to start the westy up again, but same thing. It was now 11:30, and I was starting to despair. I decided to try to jump start the car from my Subaru. It started and ran! I was going to switch batteries but it was now nearly 12:00. The air temperature was 34C, probably closer to 40C in the garage, and I was dehydrated and frazzled. I loaded a few tools and the required papers into a bag, and took off for the testing centre, about 10 minutes away. On the way, I noticed the speedo was not working. Also I had forgotten the camera. Things are not going my way.

I fronted up to the Darra Inspection Centre, and was asked to wait 5 minutes. There wasn't much going on. Anyone sensible would be inside away from the sun. I used the 5 minutes wait to try to fix the speedo problem. I suspected it was caused by a short in the Jaycar Speedo Corrector, as I had just shoved the thing back up behind the dash after the last calibration run.

My inspector arrived, and proceed to eyeball the car while checking a clipboard. The car was outside in the sun, so he told me to move it in under the shade. It wouldn't start. The expression on the inspector's face didn't give me much hope. I asked desperately if they had a spare battery. No. Jumper leads? No. Could he wait while I rang up one of those battery delivery guys? No.

He told me to sit in the car, while he pushed it under the shade. Turn on lights, Hi-beam, indicators, horn, reverse. All OK. He got another inspector to help push start the car, and it started. He looked happier after that, and directed me over the pits. He said he didn't think the tailpipe (lowest point) would clear the lip, but it did. I drove the car onto the brake test rollers. After a couple of attempts, and re-setting the machine, he said he thought the car was too light to register. He didn't sound upset, in fact he sounded impressed that it was too light.

After checking the handbrake, he inspected underneath and proclaimed it very nice. I was starting to entertain some hope now. He told me he was going to conduct a Tripple? test which involved him sitting in the passenger seat, holding on to a heavy guage. I guess it's a G force meter. Anyway, a short squirt down the road, and full brakes and he was happy. He sat there chatting about the Cortina brakes, and how he used to own a Cortina, and thought the brakes were better than his new Commodore. Then he said there were a couple of minor things wrong, but he wasn't going to pip me on them, and I should follow him to the office. He even complimented me on the colour.

It started to dawn on me that I had passed. I didn't feel anything except thirsty, It was so hot outside. He issued me with the exemption certificate, and I was on my way to Macgregor to get the plates. Now the Macgregor DoT is on Kessels Road, which is one of the busiest roads in Brisbane. I spent half an hour in heavy stop-start traffic with semis and trucks and fumes of all sorts, under a burning sun. The bitumen was radiating megawatts of heat back at me, and I was wondering how the little westy would cope with it.

The DoT guy checked out the paperwork, came out and inspected the car (checking the numbers matched), and issued me with the plates 198 IZI . I would have preffered 200 IZI, as it sounds like too easy, but I was happy. I paid him $545 for six months' registration (choke!), and got ready to battle the traffic home. At least the speedo is working again.

At home, I attached the plates and stood looking at it, trying to make myself realise it was now finished. Maybe a few glasses of bubbly with Helen tonight will help!

We took the Westie for a blat up to Mount Coot-Tha, about 30 minutes from home. I just love the sound of this car, especially at revs. I am gradually pushing the envelope as I gain confidence. It's ability to corner seems endless. I haven't reached the limit of adhesion yet, although I have scraped the bottom a few times.Will have to adjust the ride height a bit for two-up travel. The engine redlines at 8000 RPM, which seems mad. It seems safe to rev the engine up to that limit, although I think the power drops off after 7700 RPM. It sounds just wonderful at that level. The engine burble at low revs and overrun is fantastic. I just want to drive it!

I am looking for excuses to drive this car. Need milk? I'll get it. Bread? no worries. The only real worry is it has failed to start on two occaisions for reasons unknown. We suspect the battery needs a charge, or it's on the way out, or the alternator isn't charging properly. We'll have to sort that one out. It's no fun going somewhere and wondering whether it will start again when needed. I'm still amazed at the attention the car gets. Is this going to continue? We have had a few Christmas parties over the last week, and the westy seems to be the star attraction. I've given lots of rides to different people. Most of them love it. Some of them I think I may have scared. Great fun!