June 2011

The aircon facia panel was not fitted, but in a box with some other bits. This had been hacked around and a replacement was ordered on last months order. I fit some rivnuts and it is quickly secured.

The replacement heater hoses and radiator bleed hose have also arrived, they look much better than the standard black rubber ones. The colour match to the Samco hoses is good and hopefully they will have an extended life when buried in the side pods.

The brake and clutch lines, the wiring harness and the battery cable are all fitted back on using the new P clips. I have also treated myself to some new tools this month one of which was an air rivet gun and this makes rivetting so easy. I use it for the electrics and hydraulics and realise that it is such a cool tool; you just want to rivet things.

I have also bought a Drill press – I will need that to drill the gear linkage and an Angled Die Grinder with a selection of 3m Rolock sanding disks.

The steering column seemed to bind in the bushes, despite polishing the shaft with wirewool and metal polish. The rubber locating lugs on the bushes are not correctly aligned with the holes in the carriers and I suspect the extra pressure is distorting them slightly. Rather than try and remove and refit, I decide to replace them. They were easily removed with a pair of sockets and a threaded rod. I flip the sockets around to install the new bushess and they slide in easily enough with the help of some silicon rubber lubricant.

Where the column goes through the bulkhead I will fit a seal. I got this idea from the ikom site. I find a similar seal on the Demon Tweeks web site and order one along with some heat resisting cloth. The cloth I will use on the luggage containers and cockpit sides to stop heat soak from the radiator pipes that run the length of the car.