Having successfully passed the SVA test, I could now make a few minor alterations to the car. First thing to come off was that awful Sierra steering wheel. This was replaced by a much nicer 320mm-diameter Momo Shuttle wheel. As well as looking and feeling a lot better, the smaller steering wheel makes it much easier for the driver to get in and out of the car, as there is now more room between the bottom of the wheel and the driver's seat.
With the steering wheel off, I removed the scuttle panel and fitted the new Italian Sportscar mirrors I had bought from Merlin Motorsport. I also relocated the relay box further up the metal dash panel - away from passenger's legs and changed the wiring in the relay box, so that the radiator cooling fan switches off with the ignition. Years ago, the cooling fan switch on my Ford Escort stuck on, causing a flat battery, so I've since been rather wary of fans that still run with the ignition key removed. The final job with the scuttle off was to remove the rocker switches and to glue the new black leather dash trim in place. The dash looked a bit bare before, with its large expanse of red GRP and I think the new trim is a big improvement.
Update - 28/07/00: Anyone using these mirrors should get some better fixing screws before fitting them. The supplied, black-finished screws started rusting after 3 weeks! End.
To improve the looks of the front of the car, I fitted a radiator grille to the nosecone. The grille, made from 6mm stainless-steel woven mesh, is held in place by hidden brackets under the nosecone's central horizontal bar. Apart from looking better - it hides the fan's wiring and ugly mounting brackets - it also gives protection to the radiator from flying stones. The stainless, laser-cut Quantum badge was also fitted to the central nosecone bar. These badges are usually mounted on the back of the car, but to be different, I fitted mine to the front.
I was rather concerned at the amount of heat in the engine compartment. When I got back from the SVA test, I removed the bonnet to check that all was well. About 6 inches of the choke cable outer casing had melted above the exhaust! Also, the brake master cylinder was too hot to touch, which I didn't think would do the rubber seals and the brake fluid much good. To reduce the temperature, I covered the exhaust headers with Thermo-tec exhaust jackets - rather expensive, but effective. I also drilled 8 holes in the bonnet, to let some of the hot air out. These 45mm-diameter holes were then finished with cut-down loudspeaker bass reflex tubes, with more of the stainless grille mesh bonded to the underside of the bonnet. As well as having the desired effect under the bonnet, these mods also reduced the heat in the driver's footwell, which is a very welcome benefit.
As recommended by the SVA tester, the front wheel inner bearings now have protective covers. Glyn emailed me the part number (ISHU 038 - Dust Cap, 73mm) of some plastic bearing covers that had been used by another Xtreme builder. They're from an Ifor Williams horse box and were readily available from a local trailer and towing centre. Whilst working at the front of the car, I also added some extra support struts (made out of 8mm stainless-steel studding) to improve the rigidity of the front cycle wing brackets and made some mudflaps out of some 6mm-thick rubber matting.
Update - 03/09/01: Fellow Xtreme builder James Davis contacted me about the bearing covers. The holes in his kit's uprights are smaller (64.5mm instead of 72mm) so the plastic covers do not fit. However, the original metal Sierra bearing covers can now be used in the later uprights. End.
The other improvement recommended by the SVA tester was to improve the rigidity of the seat mountings. Although the seats were deemed to be safe, they did move more than I would have liked. Also, the floorpan flexed slightly when getting in and out of the car, causing a rather embarrassing "clink-clonk" noise as the metal sheet moved up and down. To stop this, 2 lengths of slotted channel ( also known as Uni-rack, Uni-strut or Metstrut) were fitted across the whole width of the chassis, under the 2 rows of seat mounting bolt holes. They were fixed to the outer edges of the chassis floor by using 8mm rivnuts at each end. With the 2 channels bolted to the chassis and all the seat mounting bolts bolted through the channels, the seats don't move at all and the floor is now silent and much firmer.
While I had the seats out to fit the channels, I added a set of seat runners and spacers to the passenger seat, so it could be moved back and forth like the driver's seat. This will hopefully allow shorter passengers to rest their feet on the front of the passenger footwell, for greater comfort. It might also give them better protection from the wind, as they will be able to move closer to the windscreen. As both seats now move, cleaning the seats and interior trim is much easier and both seats are now at the same height, which looks better.
The new steering wheel, mirrors and leather dash trim.
Thermo-tec exhaust jackets to reduce under-bonnet heat.
Front wheel bearing covers (from an Ifor Williams horse box!).
Bonnet vents (cut-down loudspeaker bass reflex ports)
The new grille mesh and bonnet vents.
6mm stainless steel woven mesh grille