[Mick O'Malley]

Today I decided to attack the scuttle/dash/steering column/heater area.

I'd removed the windscreen and wipers yesterday and, as the column went through the dash, I attacked it first. Pretty straightforward, but time consuming and fiddly, as the builder had wisely fitted a second support, bolted to the substantial pedal box, for the outer column. This home made bracket included a single bolt attachment for the Mk1 Mini heater which otherwise simply sat on the transmission tunnel. I'd fitted one of these in my first Phaeton, blanking off the passenger side outlets so that all the heat went to my feet, or on start up with the flap closed, to the sole screen demister vent I'd fitted to my side. It worked a treat.

As access to the back of the dash was seriously limited, even when I performed my upside down in the footwell contortions, I next drilled out the scuttle's pop rivets, which gave just enough access to wangle out the heater and disconnect and remove the clocks and switches. The wiper rack fought me for a while but blacksmith methods saw it yield. After stowing these bits away I sat on a cross member in the engine bay and began removing the loom and solenoids, feeding the former back through the bulkhead into the footwell. There seems to be an awful lot of wiring for such a simple car? I'll remove it all carefully, even though I'll be fabricating a replacement a la Monaco from a Spitfire loom I have in the shed. I love wiring! Today's contortions having taken their toll on my ageing body I called it a day.





Regards, Mick