Body bracing

 I have got a lot done in the last couple of days, unfortunately it's all under the skin. Literally, as in it's the support for the body skin. 

So it starts from the front, as mentioned the front of the body would come directly where the battery and coolant reservoir need to sit. So from this;

To this;

It still needs tidying, but it had to be trimmed before I could do anything under the body. With the frame top fully welded and flattened down, I got it clamped underneath the body, then at each corner I created a stand from the frame to the chassis. It'll make more sense once I take the body off and I can fully weld everything, but as of now the body support is 100% done.

Oh, no it's not... I'm still missing one support for the front of the body. This will be where the bulkhead ends up. It's the same process though, a slightly curved piece of metal joined by two vertical supports. I'll do that last one before taking the body off and welding it up.

While I've been working on the body I have been thinking more and more about how to fix it. I am wondering whether trying to maintain a smooth surface is worth the effort, or whether I should just drill and rivnut the whole thing. At the moment gravity is the biggest player in the 'keeping the body in place', at least for the top frame. Another time for that one I think.

While this work was super productive, visually there is absolutely nothing to show for two days in the garage. So just for something to look at, I put the steering wheel on;

Despite being ridiculously dusty, the column and the wheel went on with no modification to the body. This was a big surprise as I thought it might need something. Even with the column clamped in the right place it was fine;

The only thing I need to deal with is the cowl. The IVA inspector would have a field day with an exposed key lock, so I planned to reuse the cowl. The bottom half went on no problem, but the top half had nowhere to go. So it turns out I do need to cut the bottom lip of the body. And luckily the steering wheel controls also sit proud of the body so I can keep the lights, indicators etc.

But the dashboard was a different matter;

This dash that is currently perched on top is meant to sit behind the wheel, but it's not even close. Even if I trim the dash depth I am almost certain it will stop the indicators working. But to be perfectly honest, I'm not overly bothered. I just don't like the look of it. It works fine in the white demonstrator as that is meant to be a modern take on the car. I want something a bit more traditional, a bit more 'home made'. Even to the point where I don't want anything behind the steering wheel, I want things to be mounted in the centre. Or I could follow the Healey inspiration and just have the rev counter and speedo behind the wheel, at the '10 and 2' position relative to the steering wheel. The original plan had been to reuse the MX5 cluster, although again that isn't going to work now, not unless it gets embedded deep into the body. Perhaps I ought to look at taking the cluster apart and seeing what mechanical parts are used for the rev counter and speedo. That could be an interesting side project. 

So next job, finish the one support bar, then remove the body and just go to town on the rest of the weld joints. I've got front, back and body to fully weld, then paint. Oh, and the bonnet crossmember that is already rusting due to being outside, that needs paint as well. It just goes to show how quickly things rust, especially welded joints. 

Oh, and I need another tank of gas so I'll have to sort that out sometime.