Bodywork Fitting + Other Stuff

Fri 2nd - Mon 5th Apr 2010 - Work time = 22hrs ... Build Time To Date = 156hrs

Easter weekend ... Sandra and Amy in Cape Verde so lots of time spent in the garage! A long list of tasks completed this weekend:

1. Tidied up wiring to the rear lights, adding some cable tie mounts etc.  Whilst the rear body was off I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage ... the way the body is formed it looks like a big water trap!  I also added wiring for a high level brake light that I plan to install in the roll bar.

2.  With the rear body off and side panel off I bled the brakes again ... easier to access things without the bodywork.

3. Next more drilling of the bodywork ... this time the fuel filler.  Overall a fairly easy task but I took my time to make sure I got it right.

4. Attention reverted to the interior to fit the tunnel covers.  I decided to rivnut all these on so that it will be easier for future maintenance access.  I'll probably need to get the rear one off to adjust the hand brake at some point. The wire at the rear is one ofthe additional cables I ran when I installed the loom ... this one is intended to power the intercom and headsets.

 

5.  Bouyed with enthusiasm I set about fixing the bodywork.  First task to drill the holes in the scuttle to line up with the rivnuts in the chassis rails.  There are only 4 fixings for the scuttle ... I decided 2 more were called for, so added one extra one each side ... no chance the scuttle will fall off now!

I pretty much followed the manual for attaching the bodywork.  Attaching the rear arches was a bit tricky ... an extra pair of hands from Henry made things easier and he played a blinder acting as "trigger man" whilst I held the flexible drill attachment to drill the holes.  Ended up with 8 bolts attaching the rear arches ... more than the manual but it looks about right.  More rivets on the underside chassis rails and engine bay rails and then it was just a case of bolting down the scuttle.  Lots of silicone sealant around the scuttle ... there's a small chance it will keep some water out!

The car is starting to get bigger and there is less room to move around now.

6.  Next job to fit the strange shaped fillets in the rear arches and front bulkhead.  These are intended to keep mud etc from filling up the void between the bodywork and the side panels.  Prior to fitting the panels I filled the ends of the void with expanding foam ... I hate that stuff ... minor panic which I realised I had inadvertantly squirted some of it down the side of the car!  Thankfully it came off with no damage!!!

7. Whilst bleeding the brakes I noticed that the wiring around the throttle bodies was slightly fouling the throttle linkages.  I removed the trumpets and rerouted the wiring to the injectors and air/water temp sensors ... it was lucky I noticed this issue ... it would have caused a major problem later on.

8.  Next to fit the lamda sensor.  The sensor came pre wired with a 4 way waterproof AMP connector.  Unfortunately this would mean a huge hole in he bodywork to feed the connector through.  Anticipating this issue I had ordered a new AMP connector from eBay and it was a simple job to cut off the old connector feed the cable through a small hole in the body and fit the new connector.

Things progressing along nicely now though I'm still thinking I have another 40-50 hours work left.  In anticipation of continued good progress I downloaded the IVA forms to start reading up on what I need to fill out to book the IVA test !