I can't believe how long it has been since I have written on this blog, and I can honestly say it's not because of the lack of interesting progress. If fact, quite the opposite, and the work has either left me no time to write or too tired to. After the first successful test drive the aim of the game was to work on the interior, the bodywork, and the loom. I also needed to get rid of the donor car, and with term starting on the 7th of Sept, and it taking up valuable parking spaces needed by teachers at the school, it would not be long before I was going to be registered in the bad books of many of them.
However, before I could get underway working on any of the above tasks, I was heading off up to Leeds for the festival, and an extended weekend seeing friends up there. I had a great time but upon returning I was asked to come in to school to help out with some work (unrelated to the car) in the run up to the beginning of term. With this work from 9-5, the need to get in contact with car scrap metal companies, and of course the fact that I was still trying to get as much done on the car before I headed back up to uni, that was a very busy week and not the easiest way to recover from a festival weekend.
Never the less I went along to the car at 5 everyday to soldier on through it. I turned my attention to the central column, and the handbrake assembly. My old DT teacher was in for the pre term induction week that week as well and really helped out, in fact he has been there after 5.30 for the last few weeks helping out; this has made progress so much easier.
The wooden top for the central column was made twice due to some badly made measurements by me and even with the correct ones it is still a very tight fit. The chrome gearstick ring could really have dome with being a little bigger. However after much jig sawing, drilling, routing and veneering the new one was made up and fitted.
While doing this we were also starting work on the body panels and electrics. The back body panel was the first to go on and looks great. With a bit of fine trimming and a lot of hammering it's a perfect fit.
Next to go in was the panel behind the seats and at this point it was important to ensure all of the eclectics running through the central column were secured and installed correctly. With all of that sorted I fitted the wooden central column with mastic and screws. I also fitted one of the aluminium side panels, I could not put both of these on before as I needed the access to screw in from underneath, a job that was difficult enough as it is.
With the central column in I could go to work putting in the gaiters for the handbrake and gearstick and start carpeting the interior. I had an order at this point that I had to logistically work to;
-Fit the central column
-Fit the side panels
-Carpet the bottom sides and back
-Fit the seatbelts
-Fit the seats
-Fit the outside panels
-Fit the dash
So I started working along that order:
While doing this we also focused on getting the headlights wired in properly and started work on electronics for the control of the fan that I had fitted to the radiator.
Finally I did some of the dashboard wiring for the dial backlights.
It was two weeks of phoning around and £50 before I finally got a company to come out to pick up a car that has no engine and no wheels, but finally today a company came from near Heathrow to do the job. I was, therefore, a little dismayed after all of the waiting to see them turn up in a flat bed truck little bigger than the car itself with no winch or crane capable of moving the car.
However, much to my surprise, and I think to the surprise of them a little, an hour later an engineless, wheel-less sierra was on the back of that truck. If you're wondering how, the answer is, "I don’t really know, but a lot of trolley jacks helped! Oh and some bricks for lubricant..."
So that is the situation as it stands, sierra is gone, interior is almost complete and the bodywork and electrics are following it all up with a promising air of progress about them. The car probably will not be complete by my birthday as I am heading back up to Nottingham on the 20th but it won't half have been close...
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