Turns out when there's just a snag list left it gets difficult to post something on just one subject. So this is a bit of a mix of tasks.
Firstly the handbrake. The new cable arrived and... well basically it was completely different! Shorter sleeve, longer cable, narrower ends that wouldn't fit in the bracket, basically completely useless if it had been going on the Seat Cordoba it was designed for. Thankfully all I needed was the inner cable, so a quick swap around got me back to a working cable.
Following recommendations from the Locostbuilder lot, I went for a 'non solder ferrule', basically a screw threaded sleeve with a hole in. I went for the DIY option as I didn't think any online were really up to the task (they were more like bike brake cables than anything that would hold a car). Once I'd got the bits and put it together, I found I had to pull everything tight to get it bolted in place. Not a biggie, more or less inline with the rest of the car. Ten minutes of swearing and plier-wielding got me this;
The ferrule and bolt extend 10mm either side of the bracket so they're not going to come loose. And the cable is clamped from both sides so is secure. Once the caliper side and handbrake itself were adjusted I was able to apply braking force with five clicks of the handbrake. I think any tighter the calipers would start to drag, but five clicks seems good enough. Of course, it has to actually pass the brake test but given I was able to wrench on the handbrake without the ferrule budging I'm happy that it's now complete.
The final job on the handbrake cable was to fix it in place, I've added a bracket to one of the clips holding the brake line in place so that's not moving. I've not secured it anywhere else though, the stiffness of the cable doesn't allow it to move at all.
Next job, seats and seatbelts. First off I've made a boo-boo, I've used up the seat bolts! I had to get some more longer ones, because by the time it gets through the seat, the frame, under the car, through several washers and a nyloc, there wasn't enough exposed thread. I've got some longer bolts now, but there is a small fly in the ointment...
I got the seatbelt bolted up;
The shoulder fixing actually worked well with the edge protector. I'm not clamping directly on to the protector, there is actually a washer and a collar inside the fixing. However it's such tight tolerances that the fixing doesn't turn, I might add one more washer just to stop it catching on the protector.
The second belt fixing looks fine on the inside transmission tunnel, apart from it being a pain to bolt up it seems happy where it is.
The fly in the ointment comes from the belt clip on the outside. As you can see from the photos there's zero clearance between the seat and the side. While this shouldn't be a problem itself (the seat is soft after all), the seat frame is catching on the buckle. Even if Mr IVA was OK with it (the seat wouldn't move that often) I'm not happy.
However it appears that it just needs the seat lifting a little to clear the belt clip, and the belt clip itself needs to be solidly mounted (rather than using a collar to allow it to turn). I've cut some 5mm plate spacers to go under the seat rails, along with the longer bolts that I had to order anyway should put the seat a little higher and clear the belt. I did need to check the seat belt position though, hence the black box in the above pictures. The shoulder strap needs to be a certain distance above that reference point, thankfully I'm about 50mm clear so an extra 5mm on seat height won't affect things.
The next subject is the overflow pipe for the engine cooling;
Not exactly exciting, it's sharing the cable clips I've used for the wiring. Metal plates bolted to the engine and printed brackets to keep them secure and abrasion free. I'm happy the engine wiring and cooling is now IVA friendly, I have a few more brackets to fix in place but that won't be difficult.
While I was taking pictures I realised I'd not taken any of the bonnet position brackets;
The three corner brackets maintain the profile of the bonnet against the body, and the bottom one is a slider so as the bonnet comes down, the loose sides get pushed out and into position. And talking about positioning;
This is a rubber handle to hold the bonnet in place, with this engaged the bonnet is quite tight and rigid which is a good thing. It needs a rubber trim along the edge just to hold it a bit tighter, but at least that's all set. Well, it would be if I could find the other one!! I can't find the passenger side one, it'll be 'safe' somewhere. Shouldn't be difficult to fit once I find it.
And so to the nightmare of the current work, these blasted arches;
Trying to apply fibreglass upside down meant I got more on me than on the arch! I've managed to get several layers on both sides, and it 'looks' strong enough but I'm really not convinced it's hard wearing. The passenger side in particular seems to crack really easily. It doesn't help that the bonnet flexes, the edge is quite narrow, the aforementioned 'upside-down-ness' of it all. It'll get through IVA but may be the first thing that needs 'repair', I'll keep a roll of duck tape handy in case something goes missing on a drive! Long term I think it might call for some more printed brackets for stronger support, a bit like what the wire does now but a bit 'more'.
The rears are actually behaving themselves just with the fibre reinforced filler. Part of that I suspect is because the body is so much more rigid, so I'm tempted to just add another layer of the filler and smooth it flat.
I think that's all the little jobs I've done over the last few days. Many of the jobs need repeating on the passenger side (I have a tendency to do work on the more accessible side because getting to the passenger side usually needs the car wheeled out of the garage). I still need to start the car and check it runs. I need to fill the fluids (brake/clutch fluid and coolant). I do need to find some black paint for under the bonnet, that should be a lot easier to work with than the car paint that will be visible.
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