Rear Suspension

I was a bit slack at taking photos of the back end...

Here's one of the suspension in place:

The long bolt through the bottom of the hub carrier is waaaaaaaay too long.  The IVA inspector will look for at least 2-3 threads past any lock nut, so I added 4 penny washers to the bolt, hacksawed the end off in line with the washers and then made rounded the bolt end with my Dremel.

The photo shows the arrangement of washers needed, from right-to-left: bolt head, flat washer, penny washer, bush, wishbone, bush, penny washer, hub carrier, penny washer, bush, wishbone, bush, penny washer, flat washer, lock nut, 2-3 threads.

Bolts at the front end have been inserted from the front, so I decided on inserting bolts from the rear at the back end.

Front Brakes

Front brakes were fitted next.  According to the IVA manual, EVERY nut / bolt must have a visible locking device - I love mechanical engineering, so opted for locking washers over thread locking compound.  I am sure that some weirdo chemist might prefer locking compound to locking washers, but I guess that's what makes the world go round...

Anyway, the attachment bolts needed shortening so that they are "clearly through" the caliper.  Here's an 'after' pic:

The brake line has to be fitted to the caliper first, then into the car body and then attached to the copper brake line inside the engine compartment.


Front wheels temporarily fitted into place:

That enabled the front wing brackets to align against the wheel rims and then the whole front end was torqued up and done!

Steering Track Rods

Steering track rod ends fitted.  IVA covers are required for the lock nuts on the track rod ends - these have to be fitted early in the assembly process.  The track rod end ball joint mounts into the front hub from below:

I checked for fouling of steering components during the full range of travel and the rubber boots just caught the lower wishbones on full lock.  I made 2 shims from steel and mounted them between the steering rack and the chassis, raising the rack by about 4mm and clearing the problem.

Front Hubs

Several other blogs highlighted the castor angle of the front hubs.  Here's another photo showing the geometry on the Ford hubs:

Fitting the front wing brackets to the hubs was tricky and I relied on the threaded rod and washer set up once again - it pulled the wing brackets into the hub nicely.

Here's an image of the fitted hubs:

The pinch bolts are remaining slack until I can true the front wing brackets against the wheels.

Steering Rack

I mounted the steering rack onto the chassis:

Jobs that needed completing:

-  Tap top wishbones with M18 x 1.5mm tap ready for the top ball joints.

-  Fit bottom ball joints from BELOW wishbone.  No washers fitted to these nuts / bolts.

-  Fit top ball joints leaving 48mm between centre of ball joint and inside edge of the lock nut:

Suspension - Dampers

I have opted for the ATR dampers and springs.  A quick phone call to Laurence at GBS helped with the installation procedure.  This shows what it should look like: 

At the top, the crush tube shortened and fitted to the front of the top mounting bolt.  The unit is fitted with the ATR emblem facing outboard.  Washers are added in front of the bolt face and the lock nut.

Suspension Build - Wishbones

Once the wishbones were loaded with bushes, I set about fitting them to the chassis.  Some of the Ford wishbones are sided; the rear upper wishbone, rear hub carrier and front wing bracket designed for the RIGHT HAND side of the car have notches on them: 

The pedals also go on the RIGHT HAND side of the car ;)

The front ended up looking like this:

I had to use penny washers to fill the gaps between the wishbone and the chassis mount whilst ensuring that the wishbone was mounted as centrally as possible in between the mounting points:

Suspension Build - Bush Installation

Job 1:  Unpack kit.

Job 2:  Build suspension.

This is how I did it...

Firstly, I fitted the bushes into the wishbones.  I don't have a vice, so opted for a different method - threaded rod, nuts and some hardcore washers.  Using an M10 threaded rod, I locked 2 nuts at one end then used the washers to keep everything square and true.  I smeared grease on the bush and made a nut, washer, bush, wishbone, washer, nut sandwich like this:

 And then wound the bush in using a ratchet and spanner:

After both bushes were fitted, I then measured the overall width using some calipers:

Then filed down the crush tube to match the overall width and squeezed it in using the same method.  This was repeated until all of the wishbones were fully loaded.

Delivery

Here are some photos of my kit arriving in Albacete from the GBS factory.  I think that is it fairly safe to say that the chances of anyone else choosing the same delivery method as me are slim, but if you do happen to go down this route, all you need is 2 x delivery drivers, 1 x baldy mate and his wife, a photographer and a couple of industrial skateboard-type things.

Intro

I am currently living and working in Albacete, Spain.  Whilst browsing eBay looking for a second hand 4x4 to pull a horse trailer, I came across a GBS Zero for sale and, after a visit to the factory and a test drive with Keith, I fell in love (with the car, not with Keith) and placed an order.

I chose the following specification:

Ford-based, narrow body
Aluminium panels, factory painted white with 2 black stripes
Zetec engine with ATR throttle bodies
ATR suspension

GBS fitted and painted the panels for me prior to delivery and had to complete a few other jobs which cannot be done after the panels have been fitted.

Then, in March 2015, I managed to get my kit delivered by a house removal company who were travelling from Worksop (about 2 miles from the GBS factory) to my nextdoor neighbour's house for his move back to the UK - as we say in the biz, you're better to be lucky than good!

And that's where my journey begins...