Where possible I've tried to include all the problems and frustrations encountered in building the kit. I've also included the solutions to the problems, which, while not always very technical might help other builders of G27 kits.

Friday 1/10/99
Kit delivered during the morning. Not all components that should have been with the stage 1 kit actually arrived. Notable omissions from the kit were:

Decided to lay out all components on garage floor around the chassis to take first photographs of build and to confirm any missing components.

Nut and bolt pack opened up and bolts assigned to various components. It soon became apparent that a number of bolts were missing and some supplied were too short (e.g.) front lower ball joint bolts too short.

Saturday 2/10/99
Full bolt count carried out and email sent to Ginetta detailing missing parts.

Steering rack was fitted to chassis but thread on "U" brackets is very poor and will require changing before completion of car. It was decided not to do anything about the threads at this point as the rack would have to be bolted and unbolted numerous times during the steering set up stage.

Top wishbone holes required drilling out as these were supplied threaded and should have been plain.

Built up offside front suspension except for lower ball joint that requires longer bolts.

Problem: Stripped thread on lower wishbone mounting on front nearside due to using the nut to pull the bolt through the hole in the chassis plate.

Solution: All chassis holes were drilled out to the correct diameter to remove the powder coating which prevented many of the bolts being fitted. I would recommend that anyone who receives powder coated or galvanised parts drills out holes before attempting to assemble them.

Thursday 7/10/99
Tried to contact Ginetta regarding missing components but no joy.

Assembled rear hub to cast upright and fitted drive shaft coupling.

Start made on assembling differential mounting brackets and identified more missing M12 bolts.

Friday 8/10/99
Fitted the 4 off rear suspension bushes that had arrived with the kit to the lower offside wishbone.

Dismantled rear brake calliper to fit new brake pads.

Problem: Up to now the build has gone OK but the Ginetta manual, though looking very good, is short on some basic information.

Solution: Arranged to visit Ginetta on Monday armed with a camera to take detailed photos of a car currently under construction at the factory. I could also pick up the missing parts from the kit.

Saturday 9/10/99
Assembled pedal box on loose bolts to check that all parts were there prior to visiting Ginetta on Monday. Surprise, surprise some parts were missing.

Sunday 10/10/99
Fitted brake pads to both front callipers and found one of the callipers seized. Yet another parts problem for Ginetta to sort out for me.

Monday 11/10/99
Drove to Sheffield to take photos of car being built, sorted out some of the parts needed at S&T Motors but had to wait for Martin to arrive to go to Hoyland for remaining parts.

Came back with bolt pack, fan, one alloy wheel, 10 suspension bushes, new brake calliper, top radiator hose, fuel and brake lines plus an assortment of clips etc.

However still no idle jets, fan belt, prop shaft or coolant header tank

On arrival home took wheels and tyres for fitting and balancing.

Tuesday 12/10/99
Modified M12 bolts for fitting diff to mounting brackets. Diff was fitted to chassis after drilling out (slotting) front mounting holes in chassis plate.

Changed out lower front wishbone bolt that was previously stripped. Fitted clamping bolts to upper ball joint adapters.

Saturday 16/10/99
Fitted front offside brake disc and calliper to hub.

Fitted bushes to all rear suspension arms

Monday 18/10/99
At last, a day when it seemed I was making good progress.

Left rear hub split and fitted to cast upright. All wishbones fitted and bolts fitted loosely. Brake discs fitted to both rear wheels and camber adjustment set to ensure discs were vertical. Rear toe in adjuster not fitted yet due to needing to machine 1/4" off each spacer to prevent fouling inside of wheels.

Rear wheels fitted, its starting to look like a car!

Front nearside brake disc and calliper fitted to hub. Bolts for bottom ball joint and shock absorber mountings changed for correct length bolts. Shocks, springs and front wheels fitted, yes it really is starting to look like a car!

Saturday 30/10/99
Back to working on the car at last!

Problem: Set up rear suspension toe in as per the Ginetta manual but found that at its lowest point the brake calliper fouls the shock absorber. Checked correct fitting of calliper as per the Ginetta manual and it looks right. Manual says that cast uprights are not interchangeable so calliper must fit to the front of the disc.

Solution: Rang Ginetta, they didn't know what I was talking about as they always fit the calliper to the rear because it fouls the shock absorber if fitted to the front. (So why not change the instruction in the manual you might think? ….. I suspect that’s too easy).

A bit fed up at this stage I decided to leave the rear suspension for a while and concentrate on fitting the engine and gearbox together and fit the starter motor and alternator bracket. I then moved on to splitting the drive shaft couplings for overhaul. As expected the bolts refused to move so they got a good soak in easing oil and I got a good soak in the bath.

Sunday 31/10/99
Drive shaft couplings came apart with the help of a large hammer. The c/v joints were completely dismantled and degreased.

Monday 1/11/99
Repacked c/v joints with grease and fitted new gaiters and clips. When fitting to the modified drive shafts supplied by Ginetta another quality control problem was found. It seemed as though whoever shortens the drive shafts for Ginetta holds them tightly in a vice by the very end of the splined shaft.

Problem: The splined ends of the drive shafts were so badly burred over that it was not possible to pass the shaft through the couplings.

Solution: Very tediously with a small file each spline was recut on the end of the drive shafts

Rear cast uprights were swapped over from left to right and vice versa to allow fitting of the brake callipers to the rear of the discs.

*Note It is important to ensure that the correct drive stub shaft is fitted to the hub as one has a right hand thread and the other a left for fitting of the hub retaining nut.

Tuesday 2/11/99
Drive shaft fitted to offside and rear wheel alignment carried out on both rear wheels. On completion the suspension was jacked up to normal ride height and all bolts were tightened.

Brake callipers were fitted to both rear wheels and bolts torqued up to Ford spec. Brake flexi pipes were fitted to callipers.

Wheel hub to cast upright bolts were torqued up to Ford spec.

Rear springs and shock absorbers fitted.

Track rod end fitted to nearside of steering rack and rough alignment made to nearside wheel. Taking suspension through full travel showed that steering rack needed raising by packing with shims.

In trying to fit the track rod end to the offside of the rack it was found that the modified track rod end supplied by Ginetta had no thread cut in it.

Telephoned Ginetta who put a replacement in the post straight away

Thursday 4/11/99
Drive shaft fitted to nearside rear wheel

Fitted 3 way union to rear of chassis and ran in brake pipes to rear flexi pipes. Brake line run and clipped along inside of chassis rail to engine bay. 4 way union was fitted to offside of chassis in engine bay to take brake light switch and pipes to front brake flexi pipes. Metal brake pipe was bent to shape and clipped along chassis to nearside but pipe to offside needs to be shortened.

Fuel line run from rear of chassis to engine bay and clipped along nearside chassis rail. Fuel tank was placed in position and connected to the fuel line. Sender unit fitted to the fuel tank. Chassis was drilled to take fuel tank retaining straps and the retaining straps were shortened to allow easier fitting of bolts. The straps were painted for fitting later.

The engine and gearbox assembly was then fitted to the chassis. Rather than hire in an engine hoist to lift the engine into place it was easier and cheaper to slide the engine under the chassis then drop the chassis to the floor. As I already had the engine supported on a wooden pallet on castors it was a simple job to move the engine into position. With very little weight on the front of the chassis (wheels etc. removed) it was easily lifted over the engine. The only items needing removal to allow the engine to slot into place were the oil filter and fuel pump.

Friday 5/11/99
Chassis raised again to place on axle stands for fitting of gearbox mounting plate.

New track rod end arrived and was fitted to offside of steering rack. The suspension was put through its full travel and showed that the rack needed to be raised. Shims were cut from alloy plate and suspension retried. Set up steering for zero "toe in". Even with 9mm of shims on both sides of the rack it still toes in slightly with the suspension raised.

At this point I decided to contact the Ginetta owners club via the internet for advice on setting up the rack.

Tuesday 9/11/99
Completed fuel line run to engine bay and fitted flexible hose to the fuel pump and in-line fuel filter.

Gearbox was bolted into the Ford rubber mount,

Problem: Had another go at setting up the steering rack and as expected the threads stripped on the steering rack retaining brackets.

Solution: I cut off the existing studs from the retaining brackets and drilled out the clamps to 8mm. I then fitted some M8 stud bar in the holes and tack welded them into place.

The alternator was fitted to the upside down alternator bracket and the offset from the crankshaft pulley was measured.

Fitted shortened brake pipe to front offside calliper.

Started to fit the radiator assembly by fitting the fan to the radiator and the top hose to the engine.

Problem: When fitting the radiator to the brackets provided on the chassis, the bottom hose fouls the steering rack. The radiator needed raising approx. 1.5" to allow for fitting of the hose.

Solution: Stainless steel Tee brackets were purchased from the local hardware shop and bent into shape. These were then drilled and riveted to the chassis.

Wednesday 10/11/99
Radiator fitted to Tee brackets and bottom radiator hose fitted in position. Bottom hose was cut to length and refitted.

Problem: Just me being a bit thick. When I cut the hose to length I forgot to allow for the fan belt which now meant that the fan belt would pass right through the middle of the hose.

Solution: Easy really…….buy a new hose.

Fuel line run to engine bay was modified slightly as I felt it was too close to the starter motor.

Inlet manifold and carburettors fitted and rubber fuel lines cut to length.

Thursday 11/11/99
Tried to torque up the rear hub retaining nuts but no joy as it was almost impossible to stop the opposite rear wheel from turning. Decided to leave this job until the braking system was complete and that would help stop the wheels from spinning.

Friday 12/11/99
Torqued up all front suspension bolts except for track rod ends that will need further adjustment when I get this steering rack height problem sorted.

Sunday 14/11/99
Removed alternator and bracket and cut off excess metal which was fouling the bottom radiator hose.

Carried out final set up of steering "toe in" now that full weight of chassis is on the suspension.

Final tightening of rear drive shaft "star drive" bolts was carried out.

Drilled out holes on speedometer detector plate that fits between the prop shaft and the diff.

Problem: Me being thick again. I assumed that the holes in the flange were an equal distance apart, but they're not.

Solution: Not pretty but 2 of the 4 holes required slotting by 1/4" by filing out with a small round file.

 

Now waiting for the stage 2 (body, trim, electrics, options) kit to arrive

 

Wednesday 8/12/99
Body kit which was to arrive at around 2:00 pm actually arrived at 6:00 pm, better late than never. As I was due to start my night shift at 6:30 pm the shift manager who'd already been on duty for 12 hours was less than impressed when I rang to say I'd be late.

After offloading the kit from the van it was obvious that a number of key parts were missing. Should I be surprised?…….No!

Friday 10/12/99
The bodyshell had been laid loosely on the chassis when delivered so the first job was to roll the whole thing out onto the drive and lift off the body tub. Back in the garage the bodyshell was propped up against the wall to gain access to the underside to enable cutting of holes in the boot floor for the fuel filler neck and tank sender unit. I also used this opportunity to cut the holes in transmission tunnel for the handbrake lever and the bulkhead for the steering column. Mistake coming up but more on that later.

The chassis rails were drilled to accept the M6 body mounting bolts and the prop shaft was fitted ensuring that the speedo detector plate was fitted between the flanges.

The chassis was rolled back into the garage and the body was lifted into position with the assistance of my neighbour Trevor and his sons Ian and Mark.

Drilled up through holes in chassis rails through the sills and secured the body with M6 bolts

Monday 13/12/99
Handbrake lever modified slightly to allow it to sit horizontal on the transmission tunnel. Handbrake cable was secured loosely and various runs of the cable were tried to get the best fit. I was not convinced that the way in which the cable connects to the caliper under the rear suspension spacer looked right so rang Ginetta to confirm how they run the cables on their turnkey cars. The way I had run it was the same as Ginetta and they confirmed that this did not pose a problem with the SVA examiner provided the outer sheath cannot be chaffed by moving parts.

Hole cut in transmission tunnel to allow the fitting of the gear lever.

Rear Bulkhead drilled trough and secured bulkhead to chassis.

Tuesday 14/12/99 (Black Tuesday)
Referring to the Ginetta build manual for guidance the front bulkhead was marked up to accept the pedal box arrangement.

The engine side of the bulkhead was measured up and the steel bracket fixed to the bulkhead. Using the plate as a template I proceeded to drill holes down through the chassis and through the bulkhead for mounting the master cylinders. A slot was also cut in the floor to accept the clutch pedal. Moving to the inside of the car the pedal box was installed and the master cylinders bolted up.

Problem: It very soon became obvious that the pedal box was mounted around 50mm too close to the transmission tunnel and it was impossible to operate the clutch without my left foot catching the brake.

Solution: You'd have thought by now I'd have learned to ignore the Ginetta manual or at the very least to seriously question every dimension given. The complete pedal box/master cylinder assembly was removed and the bulkhead was re-fibre glassed to cover the holes previously cut. Measurements were taken which would allow the brake pedal to sit central in the footwell and the bulkhead marked up accordingly. Ginettas measurements were 12mm from the transmission tunnel to the edge of the engine side bracket, my own measurements made that dimension 60mm (not exactly a fine tolerance).

Tuesday 21/12/99
Completed fibre glassing the front bulkhead to repair the aborted pedal box installation.

Dashboard support frame was cut to size as per the Ginetta manual (after I'd checked the dimensions).

Problem: The frame was offered up to the body and it became obvious that the frame couldn't be fitted horizontal given the location of the brackets bonded into the windscreen pillars. The brackets were measured up and the nearside bracket sat a full 50mm lower then the offside bracket.

Solution: After trial fitting to gauge which of the nearside or offside brackets was in the correct position a small extension bracket was made up to raise the nearside and allow the support frame to be fitted horizontal.

The bulkhead was re-cut to allow fitting of the pedal box and the master cylinders were bolted into place.

Wednesday 22/12/99
Pedal box fitted and seat fitted loosely to enable a trial operation of the pedal assembly. Looks fine except for one thing.

Problem: When operating the clutch pedal my left foot totally obscured the hole cut in the bulkhead for the steering column to exit. Trial fitting the steering column confirmed that I either had to chop off my toes or mount the column higher.

Solution: Check the measurements given in the Ginetta manual then add the obligatory 50mm tolerance and re-cut the hole for the column 50 mm higher. Glass fibre the previous hole (I needed the practice anyway).

Called it a day (and a millennium) and went to collect a pair of 10 mm steering rack spacers which I'd had made up.

Monday 3/1/00 Happy New Year!
Trimmed fibreglass dash panel at edges to fit into recess.

Rear bodywork cut outs made for rear lights also cut out made in rear for fuel filler and the filler neck was fitted into the bodywork.

Brake pipe from master cylinder to front 4 way adaptor fitted

New hole cut in front bulkhead for steering column.

Problem: While pushing the car forward out of the garage to give better access to the rear lights I noticed that the gearbox was not in neutral. Obviously it shouldn't have been possible to wheel the car forward. A quick look under the car confirmed that everything looked in order but there was no free play at all on the clutch release fork. Having bought a reconditioned mechanical package from Ginetta I hadn't done the build up of the clutch and flywheel but releasing the bell housing bolts slightly did release the clutch.

Solution: Split the bell housing from the engine just far enough to ensure the clutch release bearing hadn't come of its guide during assembly. This was done but everything looked normal. The engine / gearbox had to come out again. (see later)

Tuesday 4/1/00
Flexible brake pipes connected from fluid reservoir to master cylinders and system filled with fluid. bleeding will be done later.

Friday 7/1/00
Contacted various local tool hire companies to hire an engine hoist, during the initial fitting of the engine the body wasn't fitted so the chassis had been lifted over the top of the engine to allow fitting without a hoist. This time with the body in place a hoist was a must. Can get one for next Monday.

Started to disconnect all ancillaries ready for engine to come out.

Monday 10/1/00
Hoist duly arrived and with the help of my friend John Hickford the engine was out of the car and sat on the garage floor inside 20 minutes. With the engine out and the bell housing split a number of measurements were taken. It soon became obvious that this set up was never going to work. It was noticed also that the starter motor gear could not possibly mate with the flywheel ring gear, this led me to believe that when Ginetta built up the engine they fitted the wrong flywheel. After a few phone calls to Ginetta and various measurements exchanged we concluded that the flywheel was correct but the starter motor supplied was for a Zetec not a Pinto and the clutch release fork supplied was for a V6.

Ginetta put a new clutch release fork and starter motor in the post the following day and these duly arrived on Wednesday

Wednesday 12/1/00
Clutch release fork was fitted along with a new clutch release bearing (just in case the original had been damaged earlier) and the starter motor was trial fitted. Everything looking good.

John came around again to help in the refitting of the engine and box. All went very smoothly though one of us had to work from beneath to guide the prop shaft splines into place while the whole unit was pushed back. This was because the prop shaft hadn't been split from the diff due to poor access to the bolts.

Slightly more fiddly was realigning the gearbox rubber mounting onto the chassis brackets. All in all a fairly easy job which is reassuring if I ever need to take the engine / box unit out again in future.

Friday 14/1/00
Started to bleed the braking system. Going well except for the handbrake doesn't appear to be holding on the offside rear wheel. Pedal also feels a little spongy, will have another go next week.

Removed dash panel and marked out for instrument and warning lights using alloy panel as a template.

Monday 17/1/00
Contacted local VRO regarding registration who will visit tomorrow afternoon.

Tuesday 18/1/00
VRO unable to come will call tomorrow

Wednesday 19/1/00
VRO official called and allocated a VIN (chassis) number. He also confirmed that under the current points scheme he believed I would be allocated a new registration (i.e.) V reg or W reg if registered after March 1^st.

Thursday 20/1/00
Swapped temperature sender on engine for the one supplied with the gauge.

Filled gearbox with oil

Bled front brake system and had another go at the rear. Pedal weight is now OK but I still cant get the handbrake to hold on the offside caliper.

Placed windscreen over the aperture and marked out for cutout. Allowed 5mm clearance all round. Trimmed aperture to size and fitted weather seal.

Friday 21/1/00
Collected high tensile steel bolts for seat belt mountings and also aselection of other useful nuts and bolts etc.

Collected new gear knob from local motor factors

Had to remove rear caliper to overhaul the auto brake adjustment system as still no joy getting the handbrake to hold. Now OK after overhaul.

Put together wiper mechanism and aligned roughly on scuttle to mark for position.

Monday 24/1/00
Cut out (trimmed) offside door aperture and taped door into position to estimate final position.

Tuesday 25/1/00
Fitted wiper spindles to scuttle. Despite being ultra careful with the drill and taping over everything in sight to avoid scratching the body I scratched the scuttle with the tip of a file…..bugger.

Fitted rear Ford Puma indicator lamps

Fitted new clevis pin to handbrake yolk

Wednesday 26/1/00
Final torque of the rear hub nuts after borrowing a large torque wrench and socket from work.

Drilled bulkhead for fitting of the wiper motor

Fitted bootlid hinges to body and marked out bootlid for fitting of hinge brackets.

Sunday 30/1/00
Collected choke linkage for the carbs from a friend. Fitted choke lever then installed choke cable from dash to carbs.

Monday 31/1/00
Car pushed out onto drive to carry out trial fit of the bonnet. Bonnet then removed and initial trim of rear flange was carried out.

While the car was on the drive I used the extra space to finish the fitting of the heater and connect up the hoses. The coolant system was then filled with water/anti freeze mix and checked for leaks.

Tuesday 1/2/00
Made a start on the dashboard wiring. Main area worked on was around the Sierra column stalk switches.

Main engine bay wiring loom was laid in position and connected where possible

Heater facia plate was fitted to centre console

Hooray!……some more parts arrived. Bonnet bolts, green indicator repeater lamps, fog and fan override switches.

Wednesday 2/2/00
Completed the dashboard wiring except for the fan and fog light switches. Panel light supply and earth connections also still to sort.

Battery clamps fabricated and fitted.

Battery earth connections completed.

Thursday 3/2/00
Engine bay wiring completed including fitting of the electronic ignition module to the nearside front suspension turret. It should be free from damp tucked away behind the radiator.

All relays were fitted after modifying the wiring to the relay panel as instructed in the wiring harness literature.

All fuses fitted and all circuits tested. 2 loose connections found on main wiper stalk plug, hazard warning and horn circuits were crossed over due to difficulty in identifying the difference between purple and brown wires.

Also found that wipers park in the wrong direction. Slight modification to the wiper motor wheel box will be needed.

Bonnet fitted roughly, will require further alignment later.

Bonnet release catches were to be fitted now but I was unable to drill them as they were case hardened. Surface of metal will be ground off later.

Friday 4/2/00
Wiring completed to all panel lights. Additional cable run in to accommodate oil pressure warning light as well as oil pressure gauge.

Fabricated throttle linkage and fitted it to the carbs.

Washer bottle and pump was fitted to nearside of chassis just ahead of the passenger door.

Major tidy up of garage carried out as I was starting to have difficulty in finding various bits and pieces under all the rubbish.

Sunday 6/2/00
Offside headlamp fitted

Monday 7/2/00
Martin Dawson from S&T Motors came up to deliver side screens and new clutch cable. We talked through the remaining problems with the build. At this point we identified that some of the parts supplied for the door locks were incorrect.

Nearside headlamp fitted.

Friday 11/2/00
Wiper motor wheel box modified to give correct park position for wipers

Case hardening on bonnet catches ground off and drilled out for attaching the release cable.