Mon.07.08.06. The mixed fortunes of the previous week have been partly forgotten as I am quickly realising that the project is so far behind schedule that it will be impossible to finish the car by mid October. Given this scenario, it would be prudent to secretly accept this fact, not to become wound up about the lack of focus or progress but seek consolation in the fact that ‘slow time is quality time’. We have persevered thoughtfully and diligently to solve every problem, cutting corners at this stage, just to meet deadlines, would result in an inferior end product.
In the morning I phoned Andy to re-affirm the essential repair work on the chassis. Over the weekend Chris, on reflection, thought he might have been a touch abrasive toward Andy suspecting he may have falsely indicated that he was dissatisfied with the quality of the workmanship.
“Tradesmen don’t like being told what to do, you know, they hate any form of criticism, listen, listen, I told him that all those patches fixed by ugly blobs of weld were shite, he should have cut out the corroded sections dropping in a fresh piece of metal instead of just covering the problem with a clumsy badly fabricated scrap sweepings from the floor: he’s also missed some of the essential end caps but wasted time by unnecessary crudely fashioned heavy lateral runs. Having said that, I did say some of his work was superb, so I think I got away with it. What do you think?” I gave a non-committal shrug of the shoulders, but quietly considered whether the comments would constitute ‘positive’ criticism? I am not sure: comfortably succeeding to insult his professional legitimacy as well as his basic welding prowess could fall somewhat short of a compliment. Tact? diplomacy? discretion? perhaps smoothing the waters may be required.
Arriving at Westmead I discovered another reason why Chris’s determined tenacity has to be admired. The windscreen problem that has dogged the project throughout appears to have been finally resolved. On Friday we had both accepted defeat prepared to settle for what we had. Too many precious hours had already been squandered in an attempt to fit something that was never designed for the car. It was time to sign off the screen even though it wasn’t perfect, we had to move on. However, on Saturday night, Chris had spent an evening with ‘Bertie’, with a bottle of red Burgundy, staring at the angled level of the screen, the travel of the folding mechanism, the seating of the brackets as well as the contours and planes of the scuttle, still searching for an answer to the problem. Smiling, he immediately told me that he thought he had ‘cracked it’. Examining his recent alterations I enthusiastically agreed. Chris had first of all shaved then moulded the scuttle allowing the near side-fixing bracket to sit as comfortably as the off side. The entire screen rests perfectly level, the hinged system operates much easier. We, or I should say Chris, has won another huge battle.
We spent the remainder of the day investigating various methods of joining the engine panel sides to the central body tub. The earlier ‘legitimate substance fix’, the success of fitting the screen, had injected extra energy into our powers of deduction. We were now thinking openly, laterally and ‘outside the box’ (not like a ‘fresh’ car, ‘out of the box’, ‘mint’, ‘proper’ but mentally strong with logic and insight). “We, first of all, must confirm the line of the body tub by extending the line of the bonnet to meet the top side of the front wing. The back of the panel will be cut away to allow the aluminium to be folded and screwed thus forming a solid, square profile. The engine panel could then be cut to meet this profile; the facing edge also being folded and screwed. Folds will be made on the top and bottom edges of the panel, again secured by screws, the wing bolts will pass through the panel supporting the other fixing points.
The joint created when both panels meet can later be filled to form a perfect, continuous line with the bonnet. Finally, to cushion the meeting of the three elements, the bonnet, the engine panels and the body tub, a protective rubber strip will be inserted into the joint, both for practicality and appearance” I boastfully, boldly assertively declared. ‘Love the many, distrust the few, but always paddle your own canoe’. (Margaret Thatcher or John Lennon, I’m not sure).
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