The much awaited video!

A finish for the dash and a dash for the finish!

So it turns out that the wiring loom is a miserable job. The most annoying thing about it is that some of the things that it connects to, such as rear lights, need the body panels in before I can fit them, so I cannot connect them up until I fabricate those, but on the flip side it is much easier to fit the loom without panels on. This is one of a number of cycles that stop me doing work and have me left sitting pondering for great swathes of the day.

In an attempt to break one of these cycles I decided to fabricate the dashboard out of some of the 19mm walnut veneered MDF that I had purchased for this job earlier on in the project. I started by making a cardboard template of the dash's general shape using a trial and error style of work. Using this I then traced the outline onto my MDF then cut it out using a jigsaw. Before I started cutting I cut through the veneer along the line with a scalpel to ensure it did not chip and lift off with the saw blade.

Having done this I made sure it would fit by trying to fit it in loosely. While it was in this position I took the opportunity to sit in the driver seat and mark roughly where I wanted the dials to be positioned.


The next step was to mark up more precisely where the dials should go based on my estimates. Having done this I used an interesting hole cutting tool borrowed off a friend. I did not have high hopes for it but I was proven wrong as it cut fantastically clean holes. I checked that it was good enough on the first hole by slotting in my petrol gauge. With it already looking awesome after one dial, I removed it and continued to cut the other 4 holes.

With that done I could not resist dropping in all of the dials and getting a sneak preview of what it was going to look like.

With that done I set about rounding the bottom edge with a router. It is an IVA regulation that the bottom of a dashboard must have a 19mm round on it. I planned to veneer this later so instead of having a simple round I set it in by about a millimetre to form a smooth finish when finished.

This in fact went a little too deep meaning the finish, although still great, was not as need as I had hoped. Later that night I took it home and ironed on the veneer to produce, what looks like, a solid wood curve on the base of the dash.

The next stage was to stain the wood to the darker colour that I had previously envisaged the dash to be. With two coats of that on and dry, it was time to varnish. I chose a matt varnish as I thought it was a bit more of a contemporary slant on what is a classically styled car, but we will have to see how it comes out. I need to put on three coats and I am still waiting for the second to dry. Each coat needs sanding down before the next making the process quite long. However I will post pictures of the completed look. The next job is to set about making the central column which will be made from the same wood, so I may film the process this time and post it as a YouTube video (no promises).

I will get that other video of it starting up soon, that I can promise, but until then keep checking. Between 3-5 weeks left before I must have it finished so keep checking in, in the run up to the end.

A very necessary update!

So, once again without photos I am writing another post, but rest assured that you are not missing out on much as the car does look very much the same as before. I felt that I should give the update on the temperature sender problem. I managed to dremel out the remaining piece of thread, but unfortunately the waste piece of brass fell back into the cooling system. After much laboured though I decided that the best option was to leave the waste in there and keep an eye on the temperature of the engine to see if it was blocking, ultimately the worst thing that could happen is that the waste piece of brass is pumped around and chips the coolant pump, but the work involved in getting the waste out is about the same as the work involved in changing the pump and it is not a guarantee that I would be able to remove the material. Either way, I left it and with a cleaning of the coolant thread using the appropriate tapping set I managed to fit the new temperature sensor. This was on Thursday of last week. On Friday I connected up the remaining coolant hoses and filled the system with coolant, oil and the tank with a small amount of petrol, and with part of the loom wired in, I tried to start the engine. It did not go straight away but after a little fiddling with the fuel lines she started beautifully and has done ever since. No silencer on atm so the engine sounds like a v8 and I really can't describe the excitement felt when revving it. My mate Charlie helped me with a panel for the fuse box and battery on the weekend and having let the paint on it dry over Monday we fitted that on Tuesday and gave the fuse box its now permanent home. It looks very neat. I had to work today but went down to the car afterwards and set about constructing the cardboard templates for the body panels, I may be purchasing the aluminium tomorrow morning. My x-dt teacher has offered to give me a hand attacking the job of unscrambling and wiring up the loom tomorrow afternoon so once that is complete it will soon be time to get those body panels riveted on and start going over the final fix. All very exciting stuff! And to add to that for I drove it for the first time this evening, it was not very far as the shocks have not been tightened up yet so low ground clearance prohibits me from leaving my drive, but the 5 metre drive gave great promise of things to come. I am so very excited about this car now and with the end in sight a final push is all that is needed in order to help me achieve the end goal. I'll try to get a video of the car running up soon, and will keep you posted on further progress made.

She Starts!!!

more to come in the next blog post...

Disaster Struck/Stuck

In short yesterday a massive case of 2 steps forward 1 step back, which I realise is not quite the expression but highlights the situation very well. After a really productive day of work fitting coolant lines, the new alternator mount and a coolant reservoir, we hit real trouble as the old coolant temperature sensor broke off, blocking the thread and preventing me from inserting the new one. Massive set back, and I am not sure how to resolve it. Easy-Out tool does not work and it is starting to look like I may have to drill the old part out. To make matters worse in trying to remove the problematic component I managed to drop a piece of threaded rod into the coolant system. It is amazing how quickly a really good day can go so bad!

I'll keep you posted on the progress of the resolution...

It's all going on for the last time,I hope...

Ok so I am quite happy to admit that I was a little short in my last few blog post, but that is because I have been so busy doing the work that when it comes to recalling it I was finding it a little difficult to maintain the usual wadding that I use to make the posts a little less dull for those of you who aren't interested in oil sump modification and just want to see a few more photos. Well its Saturday today and I chose to spend a day doing nothing. I would like to claim that it was scheduled but in all honesty a sizable hangover left me as good as incapacitated this morning and so being the ever innovative and accommodating planner I rearranged my car building schedule on the fly. This has basically meant that I now have time to leave what I hope is an epic blog post full of entertainment, media and all round fun. I am also trying to give it a helping hand with the application of a bit of positive mental attitude. You can't say I don’t try.

So where shall I begin... this was another eventful week as the time came to get the chassis powder coated and oh boy was I excited. I should say at this point for those avid readers who don’t know me that well that this whole blog would be far more true to life if read with dusting of unenthused sarcasm powdered across all text just before reading. No but seriously I was quite excited. I am not going to go into the details of the powder coating process but here are the key points: it's a bit like painting, it's a harder finish, and you have to remove everything you don’t want to be coated as well as anything that could melt in an oven. We had to take everything off the chassis. And before people rush to point out the lack of forethought on my part I was very aware that this was going to have to happen I just needed to make sure everything would fit before I got it done. Either way, with a little help from the son of one of the garages neighbours, an enthusiastic engineer/scientist of the future, we had the car stripped down in about half a day, and true to their word North London Powder Coaters (link added to sidebar) picked up the chassis up at 10am on Tuesday morning.

At 11am the next day it was returned in all of its bubble wrapped glory and it looked great. A really nice glossy finish thanks to its finishing lacquer coat. The one day turn around for a finish that good was pretty awesome but it does come at a price, it would have been cheaper to paint but the time it would have taken doesn't bare thinking about and the finish would not be comparable to the results that I got from the aforementioned chosen method. That's me in the photo...

That same day with some help from my dad we got the wheels on and with a short break at around 6 for food, and to help get the rolls that I share the garage with, we set about getting the engine in as well. Incidentally the car had its first feel of the public road as we needed it out of the way in order to get the rolls out so we just parked it up.

The engine went in with a little bit of physical encouragement and I decided that it was only right to do as I had done upon removal and record the historic event. Below is the sped up video.

When it was all done Charlie came over with his really nice camera (no sarcasm there) and took some great photos while dad and I sat, with a beer and admired our work.

With that done it was a big step forward in the construction and it was followed by a slight dip in productivity. I got the brake lines in the next day and the pedals in as well. I also managed to get the steering column in as well as the radiator fan. Charlie and I starting working on the template for the dashboard and dial arrangement but it really amounted to very little productive work. In order to stave off this period of low productivity we set about fitting the fuel level sensor into the tank, a job which proved to be very tedious indeed which served to make it all the more satisfying when it was complete. That was where we left work for this week and celebrated the incredible progress with a regrettable volume of wine, but hey you only build your first car once... Here are a few more photos from the build progress and I hope that the prose in this post has been of a more satisfactory standard. Cheers for reading and check back soon!!