Fuel lines

 I've just realised I didn't post about the fuel lines! I hinted at what approach I was going to take, IE flexi lines to the back of the engine bay, then hard lines the length of the car, back to flexi near the fuel tank.

Here's the hard lines, starting at the engine bay;

I need to cut the ends shorter and spread them apart to allow the flexi hose to attach. From here they go down the side of the transmission tunnel;

Now they're at the bottom they are clear of everything;

They are mostly accessible from underneath, although I might redo the bolts from the other direction. I think some of them have the bolt trying to come through a panel!!

Once they're at the back, they're back up to get close to the tank;

Again the tails are only lightly in position here, they need to be split up to allow the flexi hose clamps to be mounted. I might even bend them vertically so I'm not interfering with the rear brake line which is also right there. 

They're fixed at maybe four points, but they are not budging at all. It does make me wonder whether they brake pipes need sturdier fixings as they move about far more than the fuel pipes do. I think I was going to use some adhesive sponge wrap on the brake pipe fixings so they don't slide about as much. 

HSR example

 While I was writing the previous post, I noticed a few things on the HSR pictures I have. First off;

This has several interesting points I'd not noticed before. First was the retaining strap for the bonnet, I plan on copying that although it's a bit worrying where it is as I'd have thought it would droop on the exhaust.

Second is the bodywork. In this case it's right up against the engine, which means it's not got the platform that I've had to build. It must have the battery above the passenger feet but inside the car instead of inside the engine bay. Having said that, the way I fitted my body the front panel actually sits dead centre rather than lining up with either front or rear, so I would have had to cut it either way. 

Then finally the exhaust is shown entering the bodywork, which is how I'm doing it. I can't see an exit point on any of the pictures though, I wonder if it's just pointing straight down. That would certainly make emissions and sound deadening easy to do, but I was kind of looking forward to a side exit exhaust. 

Next pic;

First off, I've just checked the MOT on this car and it expired in 2018. I hope it's being kept roadworthy, it would be a shame for it to disappear into history as yet another forgotten memory.

Anyway, away from sentimentality, the rear light set up is interesting. First, the two small ones aren't lights at all, they're just reflectors. That makes a lot of sense to me as I was really struggling to find anything that would fit in that opening. 

The indicators, stop and tail lights all make sense, they're standard fittings with two filament bulbs for stop/tail. But then I've realised the reverse and fog light aren't where I was going to put them, they're just mounted on the back end. That makes it so much simpler, as I can use standard square ones with the required markings. The rear number plate light is a nice touch.

Round the front is pretty simple, the bowls for the headlights are what I need to source from this years kit car show if I can't find them from elsewhere first. The front wheel arches have a couple of side repeaters, then the front side and indicator lights are as expected. 

Then finally this is a bit further up on the boot, showing the hinges and fuel cap. Nothing spectacular here although I do like the T hinges. I was going to find something chrome but a longer hinge, this way it keeps things a bit more compact. The filler is a clear IVA compliant one, nothing special there. It did also remind me that I need some rear view mirrors! 

Oh, and this car doesn't have a roll bar. So my back edge will be very different. Here there's just a black edge trim, but I need something a bit more roll bar friendly. 

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...