Go-Cart Milestone!

We've been waiting for a shorter tie-rod end so we could get the front wheels pointed in the same direction. It arrived today while we were enjoying 70 degree weather in the garage. The car wasn't too torn apart, so we put the new tie rod end on, tightened up the steering and suspension a bit and went for a short drive!

The car has no seats and the engine timing needs a tweak to improve the idle quality, but it was sure fun to get this thing moving for a minute! I made a couple more trips with a passenger before retreating inside due to approaching storms.

I determined that we will need an after-market gas pedal after all. I wanted to use the donor pedal to avoid the extra cost, but the pedal is just too touchy. We also realized that the brake lines on the front wheels are STILL too short. I now understand why people just buy the flexible braided steel lines, and that's what we'll be doing as well.

You may have noticed the pace of the build slowed a little during the last month. My assistant builder and I were called to duty as Santa's helpers on a little project. It's a lighted display case for 1:24 scale models. Our oldest son really likes mine, so we made him one for Christmas.

Now we're back to work on the Coupe. We wired up the radiator fan and tested it, and we removed much of the unneeded wiring under the hood and covered up the rest. We re-built the front wiring harness to add plugs like those used on trailers that can be disonnected. One plug on each side of the car will serve the headlights, fog lights and the blinkers.

We installed the horn (boy is that sucker loud!). We're also replacing four relays under the dash. I originally purchased relays that don't fit in relay mounts. The relay mounts make it easier to attach wires to the relays, and I thought that the slide on terminals I was using would be good enough. I've managed to pull a couple of the terminals off with very little effort, so we're making the change now before the dash goes in.

In the coming weeks we will be wiring in the wipers and the air conditioning, as well as the remote door openers. Happy New Year!