Body panels

 Well, after the much needed tidy up before Christmas, things seemed to get very quiet. I guess that's what Christmas does to you!

The main parts done recently were the two side panels. These were infill panels where the seven chassis doesn't reach the Healey body. It was a fairly standard thing, basically copying this profile;

A gentle curve at the bottom, coming up to the plastic tub. But as with most things I couldn't follow it exactly. You see, the rear portion of the tub had two angles parts that line up with the metalwork, except that they didn't line up with mine so I cut them off. Which means the metalwork has to come further up the side, essentially to the occupants shoulders.

Therefore the gentle curve at the bottom tapers to the corner, then it's a flat section for the rest of it. And as pictures make more sense than words;

They will be glued to the metal frame at the top, and form the rigid support for the body. I might add some screws along the top edge, I've not decided yet. 

Here's a better picture of how the sides look;

This is with the seats in position and most of the panels in place. It's really looking like a place to be now, rather than just an open mass of tubes.

One more panel now, the bulkhead/firewall. Not a difficult one here, just a need to bend a fairly long sheet of metal in two;

With this rivetted in place there is now no path from the engine bay to the cockpit. OK, that's a small lie, I still have two gaps to fill in;

Basically a small curved section, round a right angle and up to the bulkhead. Small pieces, easily created and fixed, and they will preserve the curve. The same design can be seen in the first photo, but it's well hidden under the dash. The only danger I have here is the mating edge to the curve, if I don't get it right I have two aluminium panels perpetually doing a 'nails on a chalkboard' thing as they move against each other. 

So that's it for the build, but not quite for the posting. I've seen a few things on the HSR pictures that are interesting...