The snowy week off!

Well, we're back at work this week after a week working on the car.... well, trying to, anyway!

First off, we had to source some inlet rubbers to replace the hose we'd been using. A quick post on locostbuilders turned up a set from a great guy called Wyn, who promised to send them on next day for us, and rather than wanting any money, asked that we donate to a cancer charity instead. They arrived Wednesday (because of the snow in Wales they didn't get collected from the post office till Tuesday), and were just what we needed. We found that the clamps that came on them didn't quite lock onto the manifold liked we'd hoped, so we fitted some silicon hose clamps, which worked out great! The throttle bodies are completely solid on the manifold now, and there shouldn't be any air leaking!

While we were waiting for them, we decided to re-fit the body. This took way longer than we expected, as initially we couldn't get it lined up the way it was before on the trial fit. Then we had to add a load of rivnuts underneath the car to bolt the body up to, to keep it nice and tight. I'd also been sanding down the exhaust headers with the dremel, to make them a bit easier to get on the collector (before we had them on about 5mm) - this still needs some work though. We fitted the exhaust up after we'd received the rubbers, with the intention of running the engine, and found that the no. 4 exhaust headder and body were touching....... not good news! Fibreglass doesn't like getting too hot, so we needed to think of something......

Another post on locostbuilders, and another call to Ron, and we figured that we could use spacers on the headers, to move them out from the head, and hopefully clear the body, and / or cut a chunk out of the bodywork and glass in a stainless steel panel behind. So, we found a steel stockholder in Swindon, who cut up some plates for us, got a second set of exhaust gaskets, and went back to try... The steel plate was only 3mm, but once I'd drilled the shapes for the manifold studs and re-fitted the exhaust with them behind, it was a definite improvement, but not enough. Worse, although the no. 4 header wasn't touching, the no. 1 was! Chris at MNR agreed to make up some bigger plates for us, which we're waiting for, but we may need to cut the bodywork away, or ask MNR to bend the pipes. As we're trying to get everything done for the SVA, cutting the body may be the quickest option!

So, what else did we do with our week off? hmmmmmmm...... Oh yeah. Claire trimmed the harness holes in one of the seats (to stop the harnesses being rubbed on the fibreglass), cleaned the old rear hubs (they were soaked in a bucket of vinegar for a couple of days, before being scrubbed with a wire brush, rinsed and then baked for half an hour in the oven) - this was a much better result than we've ever had with the commercial rust removal products, and at 26p a litre, it's much much cheaper too! It did make the garage smell like a chip shop though....

Back to the bodywork, we fitted the nosecone (we had to re-make the ali brackets at the front for this), and it had to be notched to get around the radiator. This is where my sometimes less-than -accurate measuring and marking reared its head, and I took off a bit too much, so it left a visible gap at the back of the nosecone. After scratching our heads for a while, I suggested that we could rescue it by making a bigger cut, and filling the gap with wire mesh (we were going to use this for the front anyway). Not only would it look like we meant to do it, it would let some of the hot air from the rad and oil cooler escape, without going through the engine bay. The photo is of the half-cut holes. On Sunday we did all this glassing in, as well as a strengthening plate for inside the scuttle, which the header tank is going to be mounted to.

We finished clipping in the silicon hoses (which required us to fit the lower steering column), so they can't be rubbed on the chassis or anything moving, fitted the horn (a couple of times!), fitted the new water pump (the old one was still leaking, so we ordered a replacement from Burtons) - the alternator and everything had to come off *again*, made a start neatening up the wiring (shortening cables where necessary, and taping it all together), and fitting the bonnet catches - getting the shut lines right here was difficult, as the rivnuts hadn't gone into the chassis quite where I'd wanted them to - only a mm or 2 out, but that can make all the difference...

There must be some other stuff, but we're struggling to remember what it all is! It was a bit of a frustrating week, with the problems with the exhaust and re-fitting the body, and waiting for deliveries delayed by the snow. It certainly didn't help that it was about -2 in the garage each morning, we were wearing norgies, fleeces, walking socks and woolly hats all week!

The lights, seat runners and wheel studs finally arrived today (well, we had to go and collect them - you'd think this was the middle east, the way we coped with 4 inches of snow....), so we can get the seats fitted while it's high in the air, which means we can fit the steering column at the right height, which means we can cut the slot in the scuttle for it, which means we can permanently fit the scuttle (once we've also mounted the fuseboxes, relays and sorted out the wiring).... So, once the seats are fitted, it can go down on its wheels - that'll be another milestone..

So, as well as the work to finish the car, we need to start organising paperwork, to apply for the SVA. We're going to apply, and if we're nowhere near ready when the test comes around, cancel it and get our fee back, then go through the IVA. If we're ready but fail, we've got 6 months to have it re-tested under the old rules. If we're ready and pass, we can enjoy the whole summer hooning around in Ruby! We've not got anything to lose by trying it, so we're going to give it a go. We might be pleasantly surprised!! Watch this space for more updates, plus more photos (when we've finished some jobs and taken some)......