GMT

 

 

 

 

 

 



Preparing the Chassis.
Part
1 The Ford Sierra Components
   

Now in 2010 we do not  have a JBA Factory producing any vehicle that has been evaluated in any articles in the various Kit Car Press magazines or approved by VOSA BIVA testing.

Please note these are the old build pages from 1999 to 2004 when we had a JBA Factory in full production from 1982 that was regularly featured in the Kit Car Press and complied with regulations including passing UK Vosa SVA/BIVA tests and TUV tests in the EU.
A 2004 JBA Engineering Ltd Sports SR kit has passed the new BIVA test in June 2009.

 Spanner Sizes
Spanner Sizes fits on the head of a bolt. 8mm spanner fits M5 bolt, 10mm......M6, 13mm......M8, 17mm......M10. 

Options

The chassis is normally painted by JBA in red oxide with a black top coat. 
However you can add additional coats if you wish or change the colour to match your cars final colour.
Remember to leave the chassis number visible to Vehicle Inspectorate examiners. Do not block it out with layers of paint. 
The chassis number on the Falcon Sports and Falcon TSR can be found on the nearside or offside chassis chassis leg, just to the rear of the front wheel. 

A few years back "Hammerite" paint was very popular, but many owners have since reported that is a bit brittle and was not resistant to stone chipping. However have a look at their website and decide for yourself link below. Many owners have used Dulux household paint on the chassis and are very satisfied with it, the one that is resistant to knocks by children's toys etc. Did you know that Dulux and Hammerite are both made by the same company ICI Paints.
Galvanized 
Some owners have had their chassis Galvanized, but the chassis must be stripped of paint and the bolt holes in the chassis should be fitted with a longer bolt to the depth of all of the threads and sitting proud of the chassis, otherwise the galvanizing process will block all the threads and they will need to be re-tapped. You can ask JBA for the chassis to be unpainted at the time of ordering your kit if you wish to take this option. You will need to find a firm with large enough tanks to accept the size of the JBA chassis.
Powder Coating
This is another option open to you.

What You Will Need 
Front and rear shock absorbers, front coil springs available from JBA and motor factors. Six nuts & bolts for shock absorbers see text. 
An M8 tap, spring clamps (Try and borrow these to save money) Available from motor factors and Halfords etc.

Re-New
Sierra ball joints, Anti-roll bar bushes. Consider steering rack. From Local Motor Factor.

The first thing to do once your chassis arrives is to set it up on axle stands and cover the Bumper Brackets front and rear with thick protective material as shown in Doug's photo below. This is to protect your legs as you move round about the chassis doing various jobs. Although some of the photos show brake parts fitted we are not at that stage yet. This is dealt with on the next page.

First fit the donor parts to the chassis, following the instructions in the build manual exactly, starting with the front axle assembly, remembering to insert the four Ford mounting bolts from the TOP. Then fit the Wishbone pivot bolt carriers. There are spacing washers in wishbone pivot carrier, they are for setting the camber and castor angle, but this cannot be adjusted at this stage, not until the Falcon is fully built and allowed to settle.

Drill the spindle carrier to accept the M8 grub screws supplied in the kit. You will have to drill a hole smaller than M8 to accomplish this. JBA uses a 6.5mm drill then use the M8 tap to thread the hole to the correct size.

The photo above is of Doug Philp's Falcon. His method of fitting was as follows.

  • Mark position of the hole so it will come into contact with the bush

  • Remove bush from spindle carrier and drill 6.5mm hole in the spindle carrier.

  • Refit bush and re-enter drill till it stops against the bush, then drill a small dimple into the bush.

  • Then remove bush and tap out hole to 8mm to accept grub screw.

  • Clean bush and spindle carrier of any drill residue.

  • Refit bush and secure with grub screw. The grub screw should be flush with the sides of the spindle carrier. Use a shorter grub screw, if it is protruding.

Two Adapter Bushes

Photo above shows the two bushes, the left is upside down, the one on the right is the correct way up.
Fit a conversion bush (supplied in kit) into each spindle carrier then make a dimple in the bush through the hole using a narrow punch or other object and secure with the grub screw. 

Conversion bush above, shown placed in a spindle carrier.


This nut on the spindle carrier needs to be capped by a plastic nut cover.
Source:- Vehicle Inspectorate, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen. JBA Falcon SVA Test 27-04-2002. 
Where can I buy these SVA Nut Covers. See Suppliers Page.

Fit the ball joints into the conversion bushes, remember the washer as per manual. The front dampers are fitted along with the front springs. You will need spring clamps for compressing the springs to fit onto shocks.
Note the silver coloured Spacers used either side at the bottom of the red shock absorber.

 

The bolts you need for the front dampers are 10mm metric for the bottom, but the top one may need a British bolt with a slightly larger diameter than the metric bolt. I just can't remember the size offhand.


This nut on the bottom of the shock absorber needs to be capped by a plastic nut cover.
Source:- Vehicle Inspectorate, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen. JBA Falcon SVA Test 27-04-2002. 

Thanks to Brian McKinstry for sending these latest two photos, showing above a nut covered by a nut cover and a selection of various sizes of nut covers he bought from Tifosi in the photo below.

 

Where can I buy these SVA Nut Covers. See Suppliers Page.

 

 

Fit the Sierra steering rack and anti roll bar. 

Picture on the right shows anti roll bar location points on the JBA chassis.

It is well worth renewing the steering rack as it comes complete with the exception of the ball joints, price in 2003 about £30.00p. 

These Sierra ball joints should be renewed as well, remember you are building for the SVA test. 

 

 

Also renew the bushes in the anti roll bar. 

Now we move onto the rear of the chassis. The instructions in the build manual are for fitting the complete unit in one go. This fits onto the plate in the chassis in photo above, using the Ford mounting bolts.


I have copied Doug Philp's build here. Doug had stripped the whole backend down. Some builders do a complete refurbishment and renew all the bushes, others don't if the bushes are sound. If you are unsure have a mechanic friend check it out. 

Here the differential is fitted to the subframe.

 

Then lined it up to the JBA chassis and fitted it using the Ford bolts.
This was fitted minus the rest of the Independent Rear Suspension parts

The IRS parts were next along with the rear springs from the donor Sierra, the round spacers that were supplied in the kit are now replaced with square spacers welded to the chassis by JBA. Also added were the bump stops and coil springs again from the Sierra. The rear dampers were fitted and the drive shafts connected to the diff and hubs. 

Above is how it looked from the front. 


Make sure all chassis components are tightened up properly and use an anti seize compound such as Copperslip on all the bolts, available from motor factors.

Although some of the photos show brake parts fitted. This is dealt with in the next page.

                                                                                    

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    Photos Courtesy Of Brian McKinstry, Doug Philp, JBA Engineering Ltd and Patrick Wilson.

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