Instruments

 Another side task, mounting the instruments. As mentioned before I'm reusing the speedo, rev counter, oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge. These used to be in a nice self contained unit, but as always I want to make things a bit more awkward for myself!!

They do split up quite nicely, I just needed some way of mounting them on the dashboard. First step was to fix them to a back panel, similar to how they're done on the MX5. In may case I just wanted a flat panel, preferably plastic as I don't want wood anywhere and metal would be conductive. So I managed to find a chopping board that worked out quite nicely!!

I'll trim it down a bit, but at least this is the four gauges fixed together in the positions they are going to be on the car. Next step will be to cut corresponding holes in the dashboard, trim them with the 3D printed bezels that I had designed a few weeks back, then put some clear plastic in front. Then with the aid of some aluminium brackets, this panel will be mounted directly behind the openings, then wired up.

As a precursor experiment, I also 3D printed some round sleeves to go round the dials. I wanted to know the minimum thickness of plastic that would be rigid enough. I printed three sleeves between 1mm and 3mm wall thickness. 1mm is too flimsy, it'll just distort and fail. 3mm is really solid and possibly overkill for this. 2mm is good though, sufficiently rigid without being excessive. I'll build a suitable sleeve to go from the bezel to the gauge. 

I also need to mount some illumination for the gauges. At several points there are openings for filament bulbs to sit and light up the gauges. The MX5 cluster had them in the right places, I just need to replicate the process then power them along with the side lights. Or at least I think it's the side lights, it might be the headlights. Basically those dash lights will be the lights-on 'telltale' required by IVA. 

I also need to make some stand offs. To give the speedo enough room, the other dials are raised by 11mm. In most cases this is covered by the standard mounting hardware, but the rev counter doesn't have anything comparable so I need to make some small sleeves to go round the bolts. I suspect more 3D printed options will be fine. 

The other indicators (fog, hazard and main beam) will just be individual panel mounted lights, I'll see what's for sale at the kit car show for those. 

Oh yes, the kit car show, a little over two weeks now. I need to get my shopping list sorted. 

Lights and electrics

 

Doesn't it look pretty? Despite the hole cutting being extremely nerve-wracking, the headlights went on well. I've left the chrome finishing rings off for now, partly because I couldn't quite get them fitted and partly because I don't need them on at the moment. I need to get the headlights powered and then the alignment sorted. 

This picture also demonstrates how the grille will split into three, with the centre portion exposed and the two sides being rounded metal 'half of a lampshade'. 

So, on the subject of power... now that everything is in place, including cable bases, I need to get started on the wiring. The best place to start is probably the grounds. I'm thinking the following;

1. Headlamp earths joined together.
2. One ground to the left hand indicator/side, and a second to the right hand indicator/side. 
3. Same on the back, two separate earths for each side of the car. 

I can get all that terminated on each connection, then run back to a screw fixing. I had planned on getting the earths put through the multiplug connector, but I am wondering whether a chassis connection would be safer. 

(Later that night...) It did occur to me that yet again I'm forgetting the side indicators. I probably would have noticed them when I got started, but the earths need to start from there and work their way round to the front. And I also need to get some terminators for the screw fixing, I'm not convinced I've got anything to hand.

Wheel arches

 I've known for a while that I have to add wheel arches for this car to pass IVA and be usable on British roads. But it's taken a while to get to a point where I know what size arches are required. And by the looks of it, they need to be quite sizable;

This pic shows 100mm sticking out from under the arches. Given the tyres are only 185mm wide that's about half the wheel sticking out. It's clear from the photo too, the rule comes down to the centre tread block. 

Now, I'm not worried about suspension geometry or issues around track width, basically because the Haynes roadster chassis was built to spec. But I still need to make up arches.

This is the MK HSR;

The arches are basically huge, but I think I'll need to recreate them. This is a long term task though, I don't know how to make them, what to use, etc. Retasked water butts was one of my first ideas, then maybe aluminium arches. Both come with pros and cons. I did also think about ready made arches, for example of the old Mini. But having done the measurements it's clear that there are no off the shelf options. Well, there are JDM drift options, but they're more than I've paid for the car! 

Gap fill finished and wiring fixings done

 First job for today was left over from yesterday. I did run out of Tigerseal, and that led me to a fairly normal horrible experience with Euro Car Parts. First shop doesn't do counter service on weekends, but you only find out because of the paper sign on the door! The next nearest shop obviously got their foot traffic because the queue was out the door. And as for the state of their sales equipment, you have to laugh because no other company could stay in business with that sort of comical display!

Anyhow, now I had Tigerseal I was able to fix the wiring bases. The regs say 300mm gap so I spaced them at 250mm;

For the most part I positioned them as high as possible, particularly round the wheel arches. But along the side of the car I simply couldn't reach high enough, so the last photo shows where the clips are. That position from the bottom of the car is coincidentally how far I can reach!! 

Anyway, the Tigerseal will not be letting these go in a hurry, regardless of temperature or vibration. I'll let them cure overnight, then I can start wiring the lights in.

Next job was the gap panel. After a lot of fettling, it worked really well. First it slots in on the passenger side, then it can be slotted in to the drivers side before centering;

A bit more work to cut it round the roll bar;

And then some holes drilled for fixing. I also wanted to see how the bending had impacted the surface, so I took the wrapping off this one;

I think it looks really good, and the surface is pretty decent. I do need to sort the middle gap, maybe smooth down the welds so it fits flatter. 

I also did wonder about wrapping this part in leather. The back edge on Healey's, Cobra's etc tend to have a padded section for comfort and aesthetics. So I could do the same here. Not sure yet though, so I'm going to leave it there. I do need to slightly enlarge the screw holes though, the rivnuts have gone off centre as they usually do and only the centre one actually screws in! 

And of course I had to drag the car out into the sunshine;

It still looks a bit weird without wheels. Oh, the wheels... 

Gap fill panel folded

 

Well, the other fold worked a bit better, and it fits quite well. Now I need to profile the two ends to fit round the existing panels and chassis. Unfortunately using the multi tool and powerfile is quite noisy, so I need to think about other jobs to do. 

The lights are ordered so marking a cut line is needed for the headlamp assembly. I suspect a paper template will be appropriate to find the centre, but I can't cut the final shape until the bowls arrive. I can also screw the lights into place. 

One job I could do is glue the cable bases into the bonnet. Tiger Seal is great stuff, but it needs to be warm and a new nozzle is required each time. I'll do the same round the back too. I did have a plan of using small pieces of fibreglass and resin, but I think the Tiger Seal will be just as good and easier to apply. 

I do need to decide how much wiring will be attached to the body though. The front is easy, it makes sense to put the wiring connector near to the hinge. The rear has plenty of options though. I could put the connector in the boot and keep the wiring short, or I could put it near the front and fix most of the wire to the body. I think having the connector up front might be better to be honest. Either way the wiring will be coming down the drivers side between inner and outer panels. 

I also need to finish the riveting of the side panels, but that's also a bit noisy. While I am gluing the wiring bases I can cut the rubber for the bonnet support. But I also need to add the rivnuts before the rubber goes on. Hmm, looks like tomorrow is going to be lots of little jobs. 

Gap filling / shoulder workout

 I made a start on the rear panel yesterday, I'm not sure whether the panel or my body got more of a beating! A metal brake would have taken a few seconds and got it spot on, but for the length of the panel the cost would have been silly. So out came the blocks of wood, numerous clamps and the mallet!

I've done one fold, the most visible one, and it looks pretty decent. Time will tell whether it looks ok when I remove the protective film (plenty of scope for creases and dents), but one thing I did realise was how much stronger folded aluminium is. Even with one crease it's gone from being so flexible that it's unmanageable, all the way to a remarkably sturdy object. Once the second fold is in I can see it being very effective as the top edge, it should make the back part of the body super strong. 

I may have also tracked down the headlamp fixing kits, although there are still some outstanding questions. I've got two options. The first is a fixing kit from uklandroverspares. This is a metal bowl and a 'normal' screw based fixing kit for the headlamp itself. £38 but it doesn't include the chrome ring trims.

Alternatively there is a kit from Tudor for £60, that includes the chrome ring trims but is a plastic bowl and a 'clip-in' approach for the headlamp itself. Given that the chrome ring trims are £30 on their own, it means either £60 for plastic clips or £68 for metal screws. For the sake of £8 am I going to leave myself with an inferior fit? 

All of that was going to be completely redundant because I was waiting for the kit car show to see them in person, but I'm now not as convinced. Given that Europa was one of the main sellers at the last show, their prices are slightly higher. I guess I'd be paying for the privilege of seeing the item before I buy it, but given the amount of research I've put into it I'm fairly happy with buying them online.

Gap filling part 2

 The first step for this was to 'put a piece of wood in there' and work from that. Fortunately the piece of wood got me 95% of the way;

A section of standard sized CLS actually got very close to the required height. It also made it very clear that a right angle will work so much better than a curve, it'll fit better in the corners.

To prove that theory, I got some thinner timber to replicate the top service, and profiled it round the roll bar and the bodywork;

Now I have a pattern for the aluminium. I'll need to add curves to the corners but I expected to do that anyway. And I need to trim the transition corners too, here's some rough marks I added;

Because the fill gap was very close to the size of the timber, it also means I can use the same timber to shape the panel. It'll need two long folds at the top and bottom. The bottom will be about an inch deep and will form the chassis fixing. The top is maybe three inches deep and will be shaped round the roll bar, then I'll use rivnuts to fix to the body lip.

The only thing I need to consider is the gap filling in the corner. As you can see from the above close ups, there is a gap that needs to be taken up by the front face. But I only have about 5mm to play with. What I will need to do is get one side in first, push it further in that needed, then get the other side in and shuffle it to the right position. It will literally be just a 'tuck but it'll be enough to hide the corner. It doesn't need strength, the side panel is rivetted and glued to the chassis frame that is just under the body. 

Oh, that frame... I found an issue last night. The screws I used on the underside of the body edge has actually lifted the body slightly, such that it's no longer sitting on the frame. It's particularly noticeable on the passenger side dash panel, if you put your hand on it the bodywork visibly bows. If an unsuspecting passenger were to use that location to balance against, it's not going to be a good outcome.

It shouldn't be too much of an issue to fix though, I just need to add some rubber to the relevant sections to tighten it up. To be fair it would have been a good idea anyway to stop any squeaks or movement in the body. 

So tonight I can start cutting a suitable length of aluminium and forming it to shape.