Finishing a couple of jobs

 One thing I've struggled with throughout this build is finishing tasks. It's quite clear from my to-do list that I have more than a dozen jobs that I've started and not finished. In a way it's a good thing, as I can test out theories and make sure I'm not going to get caught out. I'm working on them early enough that I can make changes if required. However, at some point I need to do jobs that I can finish. So I picked a couple of easy jobs to finish the weekend.

First was drilling the holes for the seats, no pictures as holes aren't exactly exciting! I did need to get them centred, and I am tempted to sleeve them. Not necessarily for strength (the bar they're sitting in already has a welded sleeve in it) but more to centre the bolt. It's another job where I've put things together well enough with the car in bits, but now the inside and the outside of the car are more than an arm width apart I'm starting to regret some of my ideas. At least the holes are drilled and are waiting for the seats. I want to do one more trial fit to make sure the runners move freely, then I can think about getting the seats covered. Oh, this is one case where starting a task early pays off, at least this way I can check the runners are good before I risk getting the leather dirty.

Job two was the injector wiring. I managed to snap a connector very early on, and put it aside for another day. Well, Sunday was 'another day' so sorting that became a job. First mission was getting the loom out, it's basically trapped by the fuel rail. I had to unbolt the fuel rail, but it's never that simple! When I unbolted it, it didn't move at all, the coolant supply for the air intake was blocking it. So that had to come off as well. I finally managed to get the short loom out and on the floor;

I laid the new connectors on top to check for length, and at this point I should have spotted something...

Yep, with the connectors being cheap chinese knockoffs I found that they couldn't even keep the two wires consistent! The top one goes black orange, the bottom is orange black. 

Fortunately I was taking photos as I went, and it was easy to match the colours to the right side. Not that it should matter, fuel injectors aren't polarised as far as I know.

Anyway, after a few fiddly bits and a lot of loom tape, I'm back to this;

Four new connectors and a lot less grease and muck. This can now go back on the car. Oh, one thing I needed to check, the loom will get reasonably warm where it is, not exhaust temps hot but at least engine hot. I needed to check the loom tape heat resistance, thankfully it's ok. But as with a lot of things I'll find out for sure when the engine is started.

Dammit, I've just realised I didn't finish this job either... nup, I won't think like that. The job was to replace the connectors and that's done. Putting it back together is a separate task.

Going back to my to-do list, neither of these jobs were actually on my list! They were on earlier lists but not the latest one. And two more jobs need to be added;

1.  Clean the rocker cover. I noticed it's filled with sawdust, fibreglass offcuts and no doubt plenty of metal filings, none of which should go anywhere near an engine. I need to give it a good scrub and degrease, maybe a lick of paint (probably just black as I'm not overly bothered about getting it shiny).  
2. Service the engine. I've still got a cam belt, water pump and everything else to replace, along with some new oil. It's not a difficult job but it is mucky. 

Actually, there is a third job, inspired in some way by the latest Tools n Track video. I left some of the engine loom connected to the fuse box, mainly the alternator and starter motor wires as well as some of the sensor wiring. But it's a big thick bunch of wires that is a lot shorted in the car than it would have been in the donor. I'm tempted to open it up and see if I can thin it out, as well as shorten the wires to fit better. I know I'm making more work for myself but I think it'll be worth it.