April 1999

tarted to order many of the parts I need. I aim to order the main things I need this month so I'm only left with seats and trim to do. Well here's hoping.

5th April

I finally fitted the windscreen and got all the brackets to line up with the white stripes. At the bottom edge of the windscreen in the centre there is a bracket which ties in the bottom on the screen to the top of the dashboard. So the windscreen had to be central from side to side otherwise the bracket would not sit between the gap in the two white stripes. In the end I had to place a shim on the right hand side of the vertical windscreen frame where it bolts to the scuttle frame to push the frame over enought get the bracket to line up centrally against the white stripes.

Fitted the wiper arms and worked out how to fit the wiper motor assembly. I've ordered some steel to allow me to fabricate the brackets I need to fit the wiper motor to. I also fitted the fuel regulator in the engine bay and plan to fit the other engine bay items before the engine arrives. At least if the holes are drilled if I need to remove items when I come to fit the engine at least they will be easy to refit.

Drilled out and fitted the windscreen washer jets, and all the switches on the dashboard. Took a roll of film in the afternoon sunlight so I'll get these up on the site as soon as they're developed.

6th April

Ordered the instruments today e.g. the speedometer, tacho, fuel gauge etc. plus some 'P' clips and steel I need to fabricate some brackets. Tried to order a battery too, but no one seems to stock the one I want. So a few more phone calls needed in this department.

7th April

Ordered the windscreen washer bottle and pump, a rear foglamp and the hazard warning light switch. I also bought two rubber bobbins to mount the Holley fuel pump to.

8th April

Eventually found somewhere where I could get the battery so I ordered one, plus a stainless steel battery tray. The battery was a Compton 670 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), so it should do the trick nicely. I was recommended a AC Delco which was a sealed for life battery, but it was difficult to get hold of, so I went for an alternative.

11th April

Picked up the roll hoop which I'd return to John at Crendon to get it chromed. I also picked up the wiring loom and a custom made bracket to secure the top fixing of the seatbelts to. This bracket increases the height of the seatbelt take off point to comply with SVA regulations. If fits on the rear bulkhead behind the seats.

I fitted the roll hoop this afternoon. I packed the inside of the tube with carpet to stop and vibrations/resonance coming through from the differential. John said this could be a problem if not done. Certainly easier to do it now, rather than once the car is finished. I also made a bracket for the boot stay and measured up were it needed to go. I'll complete the installation of that probably next weekend.

17th April

Fitted some of the items on the engine bay today. I drilled and located the solenoid on the driver's sided bulkhead and fitted the fuel line from the regulator to the boot. Where I clipped up the fuel line using 'P' clips I used plastic coated clips and put a piece of larger tubing over the fuel hose. This was so the fuel hose will never chaff or get cut by the clips. I also fitted the windscreen washer bottle in the passenger side bulkhead just near to the wing vents.

I finished fabricating the bracket and support strap for the boot stay and make sure that if fitted and worked properly. I painted the brackets in readiness for final fitting.

18th April

I spent all day working on fitting the windscreen wiper motor. I had to make a bracket up to support the motor. I wanted to move the motor up as high as I could on the passenger side. It locates on the scuttle and I angled the bracket so the motor would lay pointing backwards and give more leg room. I don't want the passenger catching their knee on the edge of the wiper motor. The bracket and retaining clips took most of the morning to make and make sure they fitted properly. I also took some more photos of the car which I will post on the site as soon as possible.

22nd April

Worked on the sender unit for the petrol tank. I had a sender unit that had an adjustable arm. The instructions supplied with it had a suggested a length dependent upon the height of the tank. I measured the height of the tank and it showed that the arm should be 141mm long. I measured out the arm length and taped it together for the time being. I trial fitted it in the petrol tank and the arm float kept hitting the sides of the tank because the arm was too long. I decided the best course of action was to make a template of the tank and try to work out the required length for the arm that way. What I ended up doing was actually wiring up the fuel gauge to the sender unit and working out the empty and full stops in relation to the size of the template I'd made. Although this took a bit longer to set up and get everything wired up, this was extremely easy to do and produced very accurate results.

23rd April

Installed the sender unit into the petrol tank and trial fitted the tank today. Can't finally fit it in place just yet as I'm waiting to finish off the wiring around the tank and want to make sure I don't need to get to this area again before I fit the petrol tank. I also spent time fabricating some metal strips to add to the demisted vents where they butt up against the underside of the dash. The vents I'm using are from a Triumph Spitfire and just need a bit of extending to make them fit better.

24th April

I managed to grab a couple of hours on the car today. I managed to finish off one of the demister vents. This entailed extending the current vents by riveting strips of metal to them to get a neat flush fit around the underside of the vent. It took quite some time to shape and file the strips to fit, but I'm pleased with the end result. I've only got the other side to do now, which I plan to do tomorrow.

25th April

Spent all day on the car today. Managed to finally finish off the two demister vents for the windscreen. They are now drying after I sprayed them. I painted in the inside of the cockpit area. Although most of this will not be seen I think it is worth the extra time to cover up any bare fibreglass. I installed the Holley red top fuel pump and fitted an in line filter. I also managed to put in the rear wiring harness and connect it all up, so things are moving along nicely in the boot area.

29th April

Installed the front section of the wiring loom today. I just temporarily fixed it just in case it needs moving a few inches either way. I made a bracket to hold the coil and installed the bracket and coil in the engine bay. I also fitted the positive feed from the battery, which is in the boot, to the solenoid. I placed a battery cut off in the line too, just in case of emergencies.

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