MadaboutKitcars

Scottie, there seems to be an issue with your pictures - they no longer show in your posts...

Pictures showing fine for me

yes and for me too, what's up alpha?

I can also see the photos and the dash is looking good.

Photos are now back up for me, no idea what happened...

Damn computers, at least with an old Triumph you can always blame the Prince of Darkness...

And that dash is looking spectacular scottie!

Thanks for the encouragement fellahs, glad to hear your problem is resolved Alpha!

Don't worry Alpha, I couldn't see Scottie's pictures last night either, just the little oblong image icon.

Dash is looking great Scottie, your on-the-road date is looming. Daunting, eh?

Yes I suppose it is Mr Towed, but it just underlines how absolutely naive I must have been to have thought it would be finished for the last Stoneleigh!

Most of the things I have to do to the car now, will be very much on show, so I can't rush it.

Although the dash looks right, its still got to be stripped right out again, so I can do the hidden reinforcing behind it.

I have the doors to sort out, the rain channels to put in place, the locks for the doors, and all the interior paneling, not to mention the inner wheel arches, the list goes on, but so will I,
and each day brings the big day closer. :-)

Tuesday PM

I went out to the car to start stripping the dash back out, when I realised there was one more small outstanding job to do, while it was still in place.

I had forgotten the mirror fixing rod, which even the crappiest replica's have, well, this would never do!

Back down to the scrapyard with my micrometer, where I found a couple of feet of 6mm steel wire, (solid).

Over the years I have developed the "kicked puppy" look when I ask "how much do you want for this?" so he gave it to me for nothing. There is a whole long list of stuff I've had for nothing, as I think he feels sorry for me.

So my cunning plan actually works.

Anyway, the scrappie will eventually get to see the finished car, as I will take it there to put on his weighbridge. I'm itching to know what it will finally weigh.

I think he will be quite surprised to see what I've managed to make with his junk.

Anyhow, I brazed a little foot on the end of my 10 inches of straightened out wire, drilled a couple of holes and now it looks ok.

Pics:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Nice touch, that dash is looking great! Lovely attention to detail.

are you selling your house, Scottie...

Scottie lives in a tent in the garden with his car!!!!!!!!!!!

If only Gary!

I think froggyman's closer to it, I seem to spend more time in the tent than in the house!
I sometimes view the tent as the "emporium of torture" and often dread going out to it!

But I have to keep going now, or I will just own a pile of junk!

I went into the workshop at 7pm to do some upholstery work, lit the wood burning stove sat next to it whilst it was getting going and that's where she found me fast asleep at 11pm curled up on the rug with a pair of spaniels. So a comfortable work environment is not always condusive to getting much done, plus the fire had all but gone out and I was a bit chilly. I must admit that productively has slowed with the on set of winter I'm outside all day and don't feel like doing anything once home, so you have my respect for your work ethic and unrelenting ambition to make it like you want it. Ed.

Thanks for the kind words Ed, but I have to be honest, some days, I just cannot face going out there into the cold, and find other jobs to do that can be done up in my workshop, or down in my garage.

Well it is a garage, and years ago when I first moved into the house I parked my car in it.

What a luxury that was, as since then, like most people I have accrued a mountain of crap in there, like drying machines,freezers, weight training machines and kit, bikes etc.
And now, there is like an alleyway from the main front garage doors to the door at the rear, and I have to labour at times to keep that clear!

Okay, when I first stripped out my Spitfire donar last year, I was just going to build an XKSS type of car, and leave the gear lever, handbrake etc intact. Then I decided to go all the way, so I modded the gear lever and fitted a Jaguar one, ditto for the handbrake, which was also offset to the left as per.

At that stage, with a sinking heart, I realised there was no going back, so I hacked out the steering lock, and also got rid of the Spitfire light and indicator stalks.

I then loosened all the steering column off and cut 2 inches out of it. as it was nor far too long. (without the stalks and lock)

At the same time I ordered a new nylon steering bush.

Fast-forward to the present, now I have the dash in its final position, I can now alter the steering column length to its finished
geometry and fit the new bush.

So that is what I have just done, now its all tight and shipshape with no play. I am pleased with this because I suspect I will be relying heavily on the steering wheel to get in and out of the car
due to the cramped cockpit dimensions!

It will become a lever and a steadying bar to aid my entry and exit!

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

I love a good fit bush

;-)

Oh WCA you ARE AWFUL!

Did you just post a picture of a semi tightened nut at the base of a solid shaft that you slid into a hole with a bush around it? That's what I like about folk that get stuff done, they are completely insane!
Re your laberynth of buildings, at least you dont do what my dad does and keep extending the garage each time his car won't fit in well more precise he gets me to extend it. Concrete section at a time thing is we are nearly into the park at the back now and he has just bought a lathe so in spring we are going forwards and up the drive. He has told my mum its just to fit a lintel and one wide electric door , but I have seen how many bricks he has bought. He is well into his seventies and still craving more work space it must never end.

Later Thursday

I sympathise with you Ed, not sure what the answer is there!

Well, I went back out and ripped out all the dash, boo-hoo!

I made two steel bridges and got them in place to strengthen the scuttle where I had butchered it, I plasti-cuffed the loom up to it, and lashed all the loose ends, connections and instruments to the windscreen, out of the way.

All this was such a pain to do, working in a very uncomfortable position, half upside down, etc etc that taking pictures was a real no-no, and out of the question, so I didn't do any.

But I have taken one of the end result, which is not pretty.

Having done all this work, which as ever, took much longer than planned. the day was over, so I packed it in.

Next job is to trial fit the modded gearbox cover, then build some sort of frame around it, so I can brace the scuttle from the chassis up, similar to what Triumph did, but without the dreaded "H" frame...........

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Horrible weather Monday morning



Okay, so I continued this morning with getting the gearbox cover ready for fitting. I noticed that some of the captive anchor clips for the fitting bolts were missing, so rather than try to source some, order them and wait days on end, I just made a few.
I trial fitted the cover several times, each time chopping out more material the fouled the Jaguar gear lever, until I got it right.

Way back when I devised my side exhaust system, I ordered a sheet of heat insulation foil type stuff, which I had intended to cover the passengers floor with to stop their feet cooking. After some summer trials when I left the engine running for 20 minutes or so, then checked the said floor, I was surprised to find out that it was hardly even warm!

Just goes to show what a half inch air gap can do.

And that was with the car stationary. So my insulation material became redundant. That is until now.

When I took the gearbox cover off in the first place the insulation that Triumph provided which looked like a plastic bag full of used tampons--- (I'm sure all you Triumph owners know what I mean) having been on the car for over 40 years just fell apart, so I needed a replacement, which is where my foil stuff came in handy.

So I cut to shape, and lined the cover with it. Should work okay.

It is now lunchtime, so I will fit the cover later.
Here is a visual record of my mornings work:

[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

later Monday

I went out to fit the gearbox cover, and had 10 of the twelve bolts in position
after 25 minutes.

HOWEVER, the remaining two bolts , took another 2 f**king hours!

Basically, it took all afternoon.

I cannot ever remember having to do a worse job. I thought I had had shitty jobs in the past, but they pale in comparison to this bastard.

I will not go into the finer details of the excruciatingly painful saga, except to mention cut and bleeding fingers, broken drill-bits, VOLUMES of extra-ordinary foul language, cramped impossible body positions etc etc.

BUT, the bloody thing is in the car now.

Another day, I will start to build the scuttle bracing frame, and panel out the interior in aluminium. And hide the Triumph gear box cover from view.

And then it is going to start looking like the car it's trying hard to be.
(Or at least what I'm trying hard for it to be)

Watch this space.

One picture represents all that pain!!

[IMG][/IMG]

I feel your pain, Scottie. It was such a pita job trying to get the holes lined up with the anchor clips that my gearbox cover is only held in with a pair of self-tappers at the lever end and friction at the bulkhead end. It's stayed in place since July 2013 though.

Keep up the good work and you'll be on the road by Christmas...

I'm glad you wrote that piece Mr T! I was wondering if it was just me that had an ar**hole gear box cover!!

Well, mine's held in very well now, I hope to hell I never have to remove it in the near future.

Scottie - Sounds like it was a nightmare, so at least it is done now.

So far I've only got the horizontal gearbox cover holes sorted out.

The only advantage I had was the fact I had to repair all the edges of the bulkhead, so I could drill the holes to match the cover.

Where did you get the foil matting from?

Initially I wasn't planning on insulating the cover, but it does look like a good idea.

Good luck, Paul.