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Build Secrets10 Tips They Don’t Tell You in the Manual From the February, 2009 issue of Kit Car By Harold Pace Photography by Harold Pace
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 Consider buying a donor car...  Consider buying a donor car in good condition. Manuals usually dont give you tips on how to get the right raw materials, and if you have a single-donor kit, strong temptation exists to buy a wrecked/abused/rusty donor to keep the initial cost down. This can backfire on several levels. If the donor car has high miles or has been wrecked, you still will need to have the critical parts rebuilt before using them. Frequently, this costs more than buying new or reconditioned parts. Also, if your donor car has good parts, you typically can get a return on most of your original investment by selling the good fenders, interior panels, and trim that you cant use. We have known kit builders who actually turned a profit on their donor car, even after keeping the engine and gearbox, because good used parts are often worth more than a complete running car.  Buy a good torque wrench....  Buy a good torque wrench. Although many manuals simply advise you to "buy a torque wrench," there is a big difference between "tool bin" bargains and quality units. Generally, the beam-type torque wrenches with the long pointers are not overly accurate and should be avoided. A high-quality torque wrench is essential, because the chief cause of hardware failure is overtightening. This can lead to broken parts and premature wear. High-quality wrenches are available with either "click" settings that make a sound when you reach the proper reading, or with a digital readout. Proper care is essential--always store torque wrenches at the 0-pound setting for longer life. Also, torque wrenches that have been around for a while may need to be recalibrated. Check the yellow pages or at the dealer for the nearest available service. By the way, anyone who tells you they can feel the correct torque should not be allowed to touch your car. Correct torque settings, particularly on suspension and brake components, can be a matter of life and death.  Use only fresh fiberglass...  Use only fresh fiberglass resin, as it does not store well. If you have a can that has been on your shelf for more than a year, drop it in the trash can. When resin gets old, it picks up moisture and sometimes will not harden, even when used with plenty of catalyst. If it doesnt harden, you have a real mess on your hands--youll have to scrape away all that gooey stuff before starting over. Pouring more catalyst on resin that is not hardening will not help. The addition of more than the recommended catalyst to slow resin will make the resulting fiberglass joint brittle and prone to cracking. We recommend buying resin in smaller cans and keeping your supply fresh during a long-term project. The small cans will pick up less moisture, and you will lose less if you have to throw out a partial can. Also, buy lots of rubber gloves. They tend to have a short life, and you dont want to be in the middle of a project when your only pair comes up holey. Never work with fiberglass without eye protection. When brushing resin onto cloth, it is easy to splash a dab into your eyes, with potentially harmful results.  Use the right hardware. Some...  Use the right hardware. Some basic kits do not include hardware for attaching suspension, engines, and so on, while others supply dime-store bolts that may not meet your needs. Bolts that have no marks on their heads are for low-strength applications and probably have no use on a kit car. Bolts with three small hash marks are SAE Grade 5 (medium-strength) bolts, and they are OK for nonstructural applications such as trim and appearance parts. Six hash marks indicate a Grade 8 SAE bolt, which is much stronger in tension but more brittle. For high-performance brake and suspension applications, you may prefer NAS/MS (aircraft or military-spec) bolts. For a good description, consult Carroll Smiths Nuts, Bolts and Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook (Motorbooks International), an invaluable reference book. Every kit builder should have a copy of this book.  Just as important as using...  Just as important as using the correct fastener is ensuring that it is the correct length. The critical area is the loaded part of the bolt. This is the part that is in contact with the chassis or component. Never, ever have the threads loaded, as the sharp edges will act as a low-speed mill to wallow out your part, and they also form "stress risers" that can lead to fastener failure down the road. Military and aircraft bolts are available in a variety of grips (the part of the bolt without threads--the strongest part). The threaded part does not need to be any longer than the depth of the washers and nuts. A long length of thread that goes past the nut looks unprofessional, takes longer to install, adds extra weight, and is more easily damaged.  Don&8217t be tempted to rethread...  Don&8217t be tempted to rethread fasteners that are used in structural applications with a tap and die. These fasteners cut threads with sharp edges that are more prone to cracking and failure. When fasteners are new, they have edges on the threads that are rolled to prevent stress risers.  Protect your chassis and hardware....  Protect your chassis and hardware. Attach a thin piece of rubber on top of your floor jack to prevent your frame from scarring. Some jack companies sell pads, but be sure they will fit under your car (kit cars tend to be lower than "normal" cars or trucks). Use a brass hammer when tapping parts into place. This tool is softer than steel and less prone to marring the finish. They are available from better-stocked tool stores.  For reliable electrical connections,...  For reliable electrical connections, use solder and shrink tube. Some kit manuals only advise using a crimping tool on their quick-attach connections, but experienced builders will tell you these fail sooner or later (usually during a pouring rainstorm, and far from home). A soldering iron with a trigger is the easiest to use. You will need a small vise or a stand with flexible "arms" to hold the wire and connector as you solder them together. Be sure to cut a short length of shrink tube first, and slide it on the wire before soldering. Then slide it back, over the fitting, and use a cigarette lighter or other heat source to seal the tube over the soldering. When cutting away insulation from wiring, be careful not to nick the wires themselves, as this can lead to bad connections or breakage. Ensure that any connections that slip-fit toge-ther have plenty of slack to keep them from pulling apart. Use electrical tape to seal them tightly, but realize that tape will loosen over time, particularly in engine compartments.  Consider assembling your tube-frame...  Consider assembling your tube-frame chassis on a four-wheel dolly, instead of jackstands. It doesnt take long to make one out of lumber or metal, with heavy-duty casterssufficient for most kits. A dolly keeps your project mobile and your knees off the concrete (we guarantee this will catch up to you at about age 30). With a dolly, your project is also less likely to tip over. The dolly will probably be good enough, until you are ready to bolt on the wheels (do not install the engine/tranny while your car is on the dolly, unless you are sure it will hold the weight). Also, keep a scrap piece of foam rubber in the shop to kneel on when necessary (sold in fabric stores). Wheel casters are also handy, once the project is further along, as they can be pushed out of the way or repositioned easily. OK, we'll admit it--not every kit car manual is exactly a wealth of usable information. Some are quite good, but many consist of a set of amateurish line drawings and vague instructions such as: 1. Disassemble donor car. 2. Assemble kit with parts from donor car. Or, maybe you bought an uncompleted kit without a manual. This means the original manual was either such a timeless epic that the first owner couldn't bear to part with it or it was so worthless that he tossed it in the fireplace after trying to decipher the first three paragraphs. Guess which happens most often? We at Kit Car have seen hundreds of manuals and have come to know the good from the bad from the ugly, indeed. Here are some hints from the real world of kit building. Look out for running changes. We have seen many kit assembly manuals that were written when the first model of the kit was introduced. The kit has changed in detail several times since then, but the manual hasnt. Perhaps you have ordered an option that isnt covered in the book. The kit manufacturer may not catch omissions, since it doesnt have to read the manual to know how to build its own cars. If the drawings and instructions dont match the parts you have on hand, contact the manufacturer and make sure there isnt something it forgot to tell you. This happens quite often. If you can’t make heads or tails of the manual, always call the manufacturer or an experienced kit builder (this is where your friends in a kit car club can be helpful). Don’t just forge on ahead with critical components like brakes, suspension, and steering. Research vaguely outlined steps--a little extra time spent now will pay off in fun, safe driving down the road.
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Cruisin’ Carlisle
The big kit car dance in America is the annual Kit/Replicar Nationals at the Carlisle,...
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