I have been looking forward to this for so long, to finally get the chassis to powder coating. This step just makes one feel that the car will soon in the final assembly. A day of welding, preceded by final time the engine and gearbox back into the chassis to ensure the battery fitted where we wanted it and all mounts were correct. I must admit that coming from 36-38 degree heat wave in Japan to a crisp Christchurch last winter cold snaps was a shock, but pile on the clothes and keep busy was the survival mode. It’s becoming so familiar imaging the end product and in doing so subtle changes occur and major re-think of the electrical system combines to keep constantly improving the car.
This week was one I was so looking forward to but obviously there were so many factors that could change and not obtain a very significant part of the build. The K24A motor was fully re-built more than five years ago and had simply sat in the corner waiting to actually do what it was intended to do…start!
I was really lucky to have Evan Morgan solve the engine loom problems with a plug from a Honda Jazz Loom that he connected to the K24A loom. This while I am writing seems such a simple task, but it took nearly eight hours. Evan was extremely confident in the loom, however we were not that confident in the car loom being about to match Evan’s work! Well it proved to be true as the car loom had a mind of its own and many hours of searching and testing still left doubts hanging over the Friday start.
Friday 10:00am Evan arrived, attached his laptop to the ECU and loaded a startup program. I would love to say it started immediately but with many head scratching options it finally came to life…what a week!
2nd May 2018
Christchurch has certainly become my second home in New Zealand after Wainui Beach; the last visit saw six great days fabrication at McGregor Motorsport. Scott and Delwyn have moved into a factory minutes from their home and now the steady stream of visitors, new builds, modifications to existing cars has a real buzz of energy. For me, it was seeing several milestones completed on my car and working alongside Scott and Mark was as always very positive indeed. This video edit is an overview of the progress, I head back to Christchurch next month and I am sure that we will be starting the motor for the first time…a sake moment
It was an epic escape from the heaviest snow fall in nearly 25 years. To simply get to the airport from my home in Kanazawa to Osaka is normally a 350km journey. But I had to go north to come south and 650kms later I was at Kansai Airport ready to fly to Christchurch.
It is now 9 years ago that I sent the money to confirm my order and have McGregor Motorsport build me one of their Mach7 cars. Looking back at my first blog entry Monday 2nd March, 2009 I would never have predicted that in March 2018 I would be doing it all again.
This time it’s very different and certainly far more demanding than 2009. I only committed to a new build to support the new owners Scott and Delwyn and to make an entirely new car. This has been a ground up project, the new chassis and suspension had been in development for several years. We all agreed to go Honda powered, and while it’s been extremely challenging on a new canvas which would become the 2018 MMS MACHsr7 prototype.
So, where are we at…? I am back in Japan but in three weeks I will once again be in Christchurch for what I believe is the most significant event of the entire process. I will keep this under wraps but it’s a major step forward in having an exciting new McGregor Motorsport back in business. The culture has changed with new faces, new ideas and a positive future ahead.
February was recorded in video as usual….it was a great time!
It’s always inevitable in any project that little things punch far above their weight, but it’s the little things which really become the cornerstone of every successful project. This is perhaps why I enjoy project management, working in corporate Japan in MRP2 Manufacturing Software sales, installation then as an instructor emphasizing nothing beats having your “ducks in a row”….
There are no shortcuts to perfection, it does require a team who are all on the same page and when a commitment is made it should be completed as requested and within the time allocated. Scott is one of those people who makes his goals and will push through to ensure all is completed to not only my standard but often well above what I had expected. The learning curve of the new owner of McGregor Motorsport has been a challenge; this is the nature of all custom car builders. Dealing with demanding clients, sub-contractors, suppliers and most importantly balancing one’s own life can be daunting. Fortunately we both believe in doing it right, not afraid to think outside of the box, prepared to accept our limitations but never waiver from our passion and belief of custom car building.
With an entire new chassis design there will be and are problems that arise and need to be solved. The issue with larger engines is the space is the same so fitting is always a challenge. Being creative or pulling ones hair out is one solution but the grinder and a welder can quickly fix those sleepless nights.
Now we have a clear space, well still tight but it’s workable.
It seems that the cardboard box gas tank mock-up has now been replaced, well nearly. It was simply a matter of looking at the trunk space, or lack of, then centre the tank. This allows the cool central gas filler, no spare wheel to stop that! The traditional tank that lay across the entire bottom of the trunk could not be accessed once the body panels were attached…so a quick sketch over coffee and Scott was quickly on-board with the concept. We also won the bet on capacity with Mark by nearly 3 litres compared to the old gas tank design….yeah!
Having a custom car being built 9,000km’s away is all about communication. Weekly if not daily contact bridges the distance and enables almost a long hand on approach. Being my second build from a distance I learnt so much from the first which can only make the second not just as good but simply better.
Scott having just purchased the company has picked up the ball and made the right progress. The transition has of course been a road full of bumps, surprises, disappointments, but these are simply expected and one can only have a positive attitude to never lower standards or expectations. Scott has been remarkable in this respect; each hurdle has just been another challenge. Time delays, promised actions, challenging financials, come with becoming an owner of a business.
May has been a month of re-grouping and focusing on what we as a team can achieve; I have made a few very simple requests and the aim is to check them off step by step. The Engine is our primary focus, with so many parts missing or simply not up to standard we have gone to high quality bolt on parts with a proven history…this avoids the frustrations of building custom one off parts that may or may not work. We are back on track….no more used bolts and nuts of assorted sizes but a standardization through-out the build.
