Current progress and pipe fixing

A short update as I have a spare few minutes. The side panels have been cut in line with the back panel, and folded to allow a 20mm section to be rivetted to the back panel. The sheet metal brake that I cobbled together and initially thought was 'a bit rubbish' has actually worked really well. I think the only issue I had with it was the lack of a sturdy base, but it turns out clamping it to the chassis itself provides more than enough stability to fold the aluminium.

I've ended up with panels that are really nicely folded (I'm amazed how well they came out to be honest!), and will butt up against the back panel nicely. The next job will be to cut the notches out of the bottom for the seat cross members, then drill the rivet holes. The inner panels need a small crease added, the outer panels are straight so no more folding needed.

I think the engine fit on the weekend is out of the window though, the wet weather is (literally) putting a dampener on that task.

The next thought on my mind was pipe fixing. Inside the transmission tunnel I've welded some tabs that are intended to carry all the necessary wires, pipes, etc from the front to the back of the car. The tabs are quite substantial, and are done at quite frequent intervals in order to ensure everything is nice and secure. But while that provides the chassis anchor, I hadn't looked into the final fixing. For wiring this just needs to be some sort of protective shield with a cable tie, pipes need something a bit more substantial that is bolted in place.

There is going to be four pipes in total, two brake and two fuel. They will all be copper/kunifer pipes, hopefully I have enough! The runs from front to back are surprisingly short, maybe a couple of metres for each? The bigger issue is the fixing. The normal approach is for a small nylon bracket that the pipes can clip into, but they are hideously expensive (£20 for 10 the last time I checked!). But I now have a 3D printer, so I could actually print some. I'd have to design them from scratch, and I need to consider that 3D printed parts aren't as strong as nylon parts. But they are effectively free (ish) which is always good in the Locost theme!

The other option is P clips. As above, I had thought they were quite expensive, but someone has sent me this link;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Nylon-Plastic-Clips-Fasteners/dp/B01IHSEO5I/ref=asc_df_B01IHSEO5I/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=256110

Which refers to P clips that are much cheaper. Less than £4 for 50 P clips seems to be a good price. Of course these are only for single pipes, but I was thinking for each fixing I could use a combination of four, laid out as;

qp
db

IE four different directions so the holes line up in the middle. I think it'll need some sort of stand off to keep the clips away from the tab, but that's not difficult.