Hi all, I have a backlog of posts and promise to load them soon.
Current status of the car is: the front end is plumbed
wiper motor mounted
heater mounted
Front suspension hubs and brakes fitted.
gear-change fitted inc ball joints
side panels (ali) fitted (front quarters to be done still as need access).
at the rear new hubs back from marlin are ready to be fitted, however handbrakes currently don’t work with them.

With the engine it is all reassembled, clutch replaced and gearbox fitted. currently its balanced just behind the car ready for mounting, which is next job.

Blog posts about all those stages and the galleries will be loaded soon.

However all progress is currently on hold as I have moved to Madrid for 3 months.Plenty of time to catch up on the wiring design I think.

OK awoke to the doorbell and a parcel delivery this morning.

My hubs have been returned from Marlin. Included in the box was the rad mount brackets I made only 2 days ago !!! Also now have the gear change ball joints and the replacement lower ball joint I needed and my new discs.

Will post photos later but the main differences on the hubs is one of the mounts has been removed and a tube welded to the hub for the caliper mounts.  The discs look the same but have a bigger centre cut out (Yes that does mean I needn’t have had the flanges machined earlier this year !!!).  Will fit them later and see what happens although I know I will need 2 caliper bolts which were a PITA last time to get as two of them will now need to be longer !!!

Anyway getting back to the title of the post, I now realise that for the first time since I started the build I am no longer hampered really by a lack of parts to do the next logical job.  The only bits on back order now are:

1. Hood (not needed till the end)
2. Grills for the GRP panels (not urgent)
3. Rollcage (well would be nice to get but again not urgent)
4. Wheel nuts (no reason they shouldn’t be here very soon as I can get them online myself in 5 days)
5. Cat Converter (not needed yet)
6. Sound proof Mats (not needed till the end)
7. Hinges for Clams (not urgent yet)

The other bits I need to do and source myself are:

1. Rear lights
2. Lighting connectors and bulbs
3. Fuel lines
4. Vacuum Lines
5. Cooling lines
6. Wiring loom
7. Washer bottle
8. Hydraulic Clutch parts
9. Seats and runners.

So no more excuses really why I cant get on with the build

I sorted out getting the right radiator (the donor radiator being too narrow) some time ago but apart from resting roughly in place I had never got around to properly fixing in place because I had been missing the top radiator brackets.

Anyway today I decided to fabricate my own, as I wanted it mounted to measure the hoses I need but also i realised that the rubber mounts off my donor (a W reg 25) were different and not work with the Marlin brackets anyway.

So I went around measuring up and working out my fixing and then fabricating them

Firstly I decided the correct approach would be to create L shaped bracket ala marlin design but to then create 2 holes the side mounting hole to match the points on teh chassis and M6 in size. and then the hole to hold  a cut down rubber mount in the top 18mm in size.

The 2 mounts off the donor are cut such that the outer skin is removed at the point it becomes one piece effectively creating a one sided grommit. 

The L shaped bracket should be made from a 35mm strip of aluminum.  The side mounting to the chassis is 38mm long and has the 6mm hole drilled at 20mm from the bottom edge and 17.5mm from the side edge. the fold at occurs at the 38mm point the top part is 37mm long and the 18mm hole is drilled 17.5mm from the side and 17.5mm from the inner end (the side away from the bend).  The bend needs to be leave the braket with a inner angle of about 100 degrees.

The rubber mount can then be easily pushed through the bracket (this will get tighter when the rad goes in trust me).

Then using the M6 bolt and a penny washer this goes on teh side nearest to the radiator and then the rubber mount is pressed onto the top spindle of the radiator.  This will be very tough but persistance will pay off.

Do this both sides and then ensuring the rad is in its bottom locating holes spring out the chassis mounts and thread the bolts through the holes. Then tighten with another penny washer and a lock nut.

The end result will be surprisingly solid.

sorry for the break,

Been away for 3 weeks I have done a few bits on the car since I have been back though, mind its a case of 2 steps back 1 step forwards at times.

Despite collecting parts I’m still waiting on some, e.g. gear change links, these would really help move forwards the build.

Also the rear hubs have gone back to the factory, the fittings for the calipers did not allow for the discs supplied to fit.  After an investigation of alternative discs, Mark decided a new set of hubs was called for which would allow for other discs to fit, this also means a re-pressing of the spindles and bearings.. 2 steps back.. one forwards.

One of our success’s has been the heater assembly, not only is this fitted but its very secure, I redesigned the adapter plate between the blower and heater matrix using ali sheet to reduce the size and mean a complex bulge in teh side panel was not needed. I also re-did the fixings for the blower to make it more stable.

The steering wheel was not such a success, the column was obviously crushed in during the accident with teh donor car, a new steering column is needed as it would not come back out. grrrr..

Finally managed to find the brake 3 way pieces Marlin could not supply as part of the kit.  so now have fitted my brake lines.

I still hope to mount the engine soon, in fact am debating hiring the hoist this week to fit the clutch and drop it back in.

Just back, umm now no longer have a living room or at least have a very interesting coffee table.

One of my bedrooms will become a temporary store until they go on the car in a month or so (depending on the rest of the progress).  Also have a garage full of parts inc my nice new wheels ))) mind am still missing the rollcage.