MadaboutKitcars

Definitely not, World-Class, but water pump pliers usually only have one or two young anyway, and it was her first of course.
(I am trying to find out who the father is, and have narrowed the list down. I am hoping to find out without resorting to DNA testing, which may prove expensive)


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Brilliant!

What you have, sounds like a good compromise Ian.

The beauty of the one I have Ian, is the fact that I was given it for free, ages ago before there was any need of one.

When I realised that calibration was not the answer, I dug it out for use.

Ollie and Paul, thanks a lot!
Brilliant stuff!

Mick O'Mally, go to this website, if it does not inspire you, set fire to your build!!
Some REALLY good interior pics.


https://grrc.goodwood.com/race/historic/goodwood-greats-jaguar-d-type-photos

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Nice pics Mick, mucky and scruffy as they are, it captures the sheer
essence of "originality" and makes them look awesome!
Like you say good for them.

Btw, did you notice the tax disc in the D-type set of pics?
It made me think of you!

Ed, in my "Jag-driving days" way back, I considered buying webers for my engine,
but the price even then was way out of my price range.

I shouldn't have been able to afford Jags even, but bought cheap
wrecks and renovated them.

Grateful for the pics Ian! You must have enjoyed your trip.
I expect Mick O'Mally will be studying the blue D Type cockpit!

Ha Ha!
I once thought the same when I saw a pic of an XKSS in a museum
and it had a set of wire wheels on it! How awful was that!

Wednesdays work

I had a really good day today.
I started to panel out the interior in alluminium.

And I managed to complete all of the passengers footwell.

I first cut out cardboard panels to use as templates, and started on the gearbox panel first. For some reason, this panel seemed to take forever to make shape and fit. It was lunchtime before I had it in the car.

All the other panels were much easier by comparison, and by 4:30 I had them all in, complete with 35,000 rivets.

The footwell panels, although they have all these rivets, are only held in place by about 8 self-tappers, so will come out really easily if they have to.

But the impression is given that in order to remove it, you'd have to drill the rivets out. Not so, they are all dummies.

Like most things on the car, the riveted aluminium panels are all an illusion.

Here are some pictures:

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Dave, as far as I remember I built the duck to straighten out the vertical part of the sills on Spitfires and GT6's, that ALWAYS seem to be bent over having been jacked up in the wrong place!
But as you say, it has so many bending uses, I would not be without it now.

Mick, that is a good price for a bending machine, looks very much like mine!

Thursday

Well, I worked most of the day on the car, and the intention was to panel out the drivers footwell.

However, as it turned out, I probably had the worst day I have ever had on the build, and certainly the most labour intensive waste of fu**ing time.

The area I am working on is so complicated in angles and curves, which is why I seemed to get nowhere. I had a cardboard pattern which was a perfect fit, then I cut the same shape from aluminium,and it was so far out, I had to scrap it!!

I eventually got the gearbox panel made and in place, and the right side panel in of sorts. The centre section which will go under the pedals, I worked on for hours, in and out modify, in and out modify, and then it finally hit me that I could not actually do what I had spent hours trying to do!

And the reason was, had I put my panel in place, the clutch pedal would not operate all the way to the metal. My panel would have robbed it of the needed space it required. At this point, having worked all day and achieved virtually nothing, I packed it in for the day.

I will get what I want eventually, but I'll have to re-think the operation, and how I will achieve my aim.

On a positive note, I now know what I can and cannot do, and will not repeat the mistake.

Tomorrow is another day as they say........


Some pics:

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Where did you post these A352 pics Paul??

Thanks for the link WCA, and thanks for the words of encouragement
Ed, y cymro and Paul.

Of course bad days happen, its gone now, and I'll have that little job done before the weekend is out I'm sure.

If you are reading this Mr Christmas, well done with your A352,
it looks fabulous, and get posting! I'm certain we would all love to see more pictures.

Saturday

I took 8 valve Ed's advice and took Friday the 13th off, having had such a crappy day on Thursday.

Today however, was a big success. I nailed the drivers footwell really well.

I put a lot of thought into how I was going to tackle the job this time and it paid off.

The problem was all the curves and angles were difficult to replicate in one piece. I studied the footwell again and then it occurred to me that Triumph must have had a similar problem to mine as they never made it in one piece either, but several pressed steel sections spot welded together.

So they made it in small stages, so that is what I did, smaller easier to make panels.

I was telling a friend of mine about trying to panel behind the pedals with alloy, and how hard it was to bend the metal to shape, when he said

"well, how thick does the alloy need to be?"

We both grinned like idiots and simultaneously yelled out " Baking foil"
So that is what I used, I stuck foil on behind the pedals with trim adhesive, it hides the steel, and it doesn't look at all bad. At least I can truthfully say that the cockpit is all paneled out in aluminium!

To be honest, I don't think that the bit where the pedals are will be visible from outside the car once the dash is back in and its all finished, but if it is, all that will be seen is alloy..............

I am looking forward to doing the central tunnel as it is more accessible and easier to do. Looking forward to something is surely a good sign............

Some pics:

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I've had that air riveter since the Magna Carta I think, and haven't used it for along time, but with so many rivets to do (and still do) I've found it invaluable. The alternative being those ( and I have several) hand riveter things that make your fingers ache, or the trellis expanding type ones, (I have those also) that will not fit into confined spaces. Air power wins every time!

I take your point Paul, at least I still have the option of painting it, but as I said earlier. I don't think it will be visible after all the trim is in the cockpit.

Monday

Bet you have aching hands Dave! Air power is the answer.

I have worked on the car most of the day and it really does not look much different, but I do feel I have achieved a lot, in fact I know I have.

Most of the "work" has been the 7 "p's"

Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

I spent hours measuring, re-positioning the trans tunnel slightly, planning and scheming,and forming "cunning plans". Due to my car being 5 inches narrower than the original Jag, my handbrake had to go a little more in towards the centre of the car so's not to intrude into the passengers leg area, this has caused problems with the final top trim positioning, and of course made the whole job a lot more difficult. (Par for course on this build)
But I am used to this now hence the lengthy 7 P process.)

I think I now know how best to construct the trans tunnel so it looks right, and is reasonably easy to do.

Somewhere along this route, I decided to do something that the "Attention to detail" Gods had been demanding for a long time now.

I drilled 236 small holes in the bodywork. Yes two hundred and thirty six holes.

Starting to look like a Swiss cheese you may think?
Not really, as the holes were drilled in the centre of each fake rivet that the body shell came with. ( Not all the way through, just "blind" holes)

The rivets which I used to construct the centre divider and all the rest of the interior look right because they are real, and have the characteristic little hole in the centre, but the ones in fibre glass don't, and it looked a bit suspect and fake.

It no longer looks that way, and I think it was worth the effort. Once painted the drilled- out rivets will look much more believable.

It has to be attention to detail every time. Which I believe is the main difference between a believable car,and a hastily chucked-together kit car.

Very time consuming, but I think worth it for the difference in looks at the end.

I now have the wooden strips which will finish off the trans tunnel at the edges.

Here are some pics:

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Not in time for Stoneleigh Gary :-)

Or put another way, Foxtrot Oscar :-)

I knew that Petrolman!!