1 September 2020 More trial and error on fitting the body. Trial fitted the dash panel as that is also affected by the body positioning. Modified the frame so I could lift the body with the steering column in place. Put the steering column in place and then lifted the body and marked up where the hole for the steering column needed to be. A few refits of the body and further trimming and had something close to the final fit. Then I placed the body back on, aligned it with the marks and inserted the additional rubber pads to lift the body. I did some more measuring to make sure things were equal side to side – both for height and center on the chassis. The bonnet now just touches the VVT so I think with the spacer on the chassis I should be OK. Hoping to go down and see Soondra's Replicar as he has a VVT engine and has got it to fit with the standard bonnet. Also speaking to Andy and enquired about getting the new bonnet that has a bulge in case it doesn't work out. 2 September 2021 Spent some time refining the dash fit, it wouldn't come as far back as I wanted on the column as it was hitting the ignition switch plug so I took the dash off and cut another little hole for that. Pretty happy now with the dash and body fit, the dash will need to stand off the chassis brackets about 25mm which I have some square tube that will do nicely. Spent more time with moving the body about slightly to try and even things up as much as I can. It won't ever be perfect due to handmade nature of the bodyshell so I'm having to try and turn down my obsession with alignment. It's tricky as the bodyshell is very easy to knock out of position. 3 September 2021 Enough prevaricating, today I would drill the holes for the front mounts and also get the middle one in place. I spent time going round and remeasuring the wheel arch to tyre gaps and the over hang of the arches to the wheel hub centres. Adjusted some of my alignment marks on the bodyshell then rolled the car out of the garage. Checked all the alignments again then clamped the front mounting points and the rear valance to the body shell. Marked up the position of the two front holes, by finding a the best compromise between coming through the mount somewhere towards the middle, and keeping the top holes looking reasonably equal, I put masking tape down to mark and drill the holes, starting with a 3mm drill and then going up in stages to 9mm, I will be using M8 bolts and I don't want the bolt to be stressing the hole edge, just using the clamping force. I put a thin rubber washer under the washer to protect the fibre glass, there is a 2mm piece of rubber between the bodyshell and the bracket. I moved to the central brackets that need to be positioned once the body shell position is finalised. I glued some thin rubber sheet to the top of the brackets prior to drilling. AS I had spent so much time positioning the body I wanted it in place while I attached the brackets which made it more difficult than it might be. I had to lightly clamp the offside using a piece of wood to space it off the bulkhead chassis rail as it was naturally a little higher than the nearside, I clamped the nearside similarly so that the body was held in it's final position and spaced evenly off the bulkhead rail. I marked and drilled a pilot hole in the bracket and then holding the bracket in position used a centre punch to mark the chassis where it needed to be drilled. Then I drilled the same pilot hole in the chassis and then checked the bracket was in the right place using the drill bit. Then I enlarged the hole out to 8mm in the bracket and the chassis rail. Then I could bolt it onto the chassis which was fiddly with the body in the way. I repeated this on the nearside. Once I was happy with the bracket position I pilot drilled and then drilled them out to 9mm the same as the front brackets. Then I removed all the masking tape and placed bolts through the body and the bracket and tightened them up, I was then able to remove the clamps. Pleased with how solid the front of the bodyshell is now. I am waiting for some rubber blocks to build up the rear mounts and I will need to shape them to fit the body contours. I also checked the bonnet clearance over the VVT and it is just touching the bonnet but only just. I reckon with the spacers I plan to insert that will drop the body enough to make the clearance. I also spoke to Andy and I can get one of his new bonnets with a bulge if I need to. 5 September 2021 Been thinking about my dashboard, looking at some of the other built replicar photo's as well as going through my archive photo's of 50's racers. I think I am going to ditch the Mazda ignition switch and column stalk and move them on to dash mounted switches. It will clean up the steering column area, by moving all the controls on to the dash. For the IVA I will need to fit an immobiliser because I will not have a steering lock. It's not possible to easily access the back of the dash without removing the body, so I am planning to make a removable panel for the dash front that will hold all the instruments, switches and warning lights. I plan to cut out a large section of the dash front and make up an aluminium panel that will screw in its place. Took a trip down to the Beaulieu Autojumble in search of inspiration and parts. I picked up some Morris Minor bonnet hinges that I think I can use for the doors, dash switches, small round dash/map lights, retro reflectors, trim ring for the fog light. They will all need a bit of cleaning up but hopefully will give a nice period look. 6 September 2021 Cleaned and tested the switches, the nice thing with the old Lucas 3 position switches is that they can be wired up in a number of different way, so they can be used as on/off/on for indicator or off/on/on for sidelight/headlight. Had a session trying dash layouts using Fusion360 with an approximation of the dash shape I've drawn. Trying to fit the switches inside the IVA exempt area to the right and left of the steering wheel which would mean I can fit them without having guards around them. Also updated my wiring diagrams to reflect the change of switch positions, need to add circuits for heated seats and the map lights.
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AuthorThis is my first kit car although I've messed about with cars all my life. Archives
November 2023
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