Weds.23.08.06. Miracles can happen. I arrived later in the afternoon to discover that Chris, like myself, was thoroughly ‘jacked off’ with the frustrations of the previous few days, so, after a sleepless night he had laboured long and hard to correct the building faults on the car. He had re-cut and strengthened the front tension bar, which in turn had re-aligned the engine panels. The nose cone also met the bonnet perfectly, the wings hung straight, the entire car looked a picture. The rear wings were added later to complete the re-build. The disasters, frustrating misunderstandings of ‘Shite Monday’ then ‘Tantrum Tuesday’ fade into insignificance when such a successful day occurs. The troubles encountered on the bodywork have now been put to bed. It is difficult to contemplate that all of this work had been started back April. We have displayed true resolve to reach this point but seeing the finished article, imagining the vehicle with mirror like paint, ‘finished’ by immaculate trim, has given us both a sense of great satisfaction.
The chassis still needs to be ‘paint’ protected, the latest order to Rimmer Brothers ratified plus many aspects still entail further research, but there is only ‘good work’ in front of us. We can definitely open a tin of chunks and treat ourselves to a double helping of evap.
Thurs.24.08.06. The relief of yesterday has extended into today. The project can now be approached with enthusiasm plus renewed vigour: the light bulb has been switched. A gentle rub down of the wings before they are sent to Danny was mandatory, but the main focus of the day was spent inspecting the engine investigating the extent of the damage.
The car has been stored for 15 years in a damp, leaking garage. The bodywork and chassis have obviously been affected, but, uniformly the engine has suffered. The expansion plugs have popped out exposing water in the cylinders. However, the removal of the sump revealed the big end and main bearings had very little wear or damage.
The bore after the first rebuild had been increased to +30 whilst the main bearing measured -10, the big end bearing being –20. Although rusty, the crank appeared fresh, the pistons themselves were scar free, the piston rings were clean and the little end was tight, movement free. The engine was, in fact, in much better shape than we could have imagined. ‘Engine Tekniks’ at Westhoughton are recognised as the premier local ‘spanner men’ they will probably be the choice when the engine is ready for dispatch. For an approximate cost of £200.00 the work includes, to pressure clean the block, re-grind the crank, replace the cam, re-new the shells, skim the head, polish and re-seat the valves, and finally ‘set the engine up’. The engine parts that we require will be added to Rimmers order. All being well, the definitive requisition should be posted by the weekend ensuring, hopefully, that the new parts will be delivered sometime next week.
The extensive list of ‘nuts and bolts’ for the final re-build has also been compiled for Brabbin and Rudd, of Darlington street, Wigan, a local, trusted, reliable supplier. There will no doubt be in the future ‘extras’ but at the moment the total cost will be £10.70p.which appears to be a ludicrously small amount of money for such an extensive order.
* 2 x 6cm x M8 for the bumper bracket and wing.
* 4 x 6cm x M4 for the retaining bumper bracket and wing.
* 24 x 2 cm x M1 for the bonnet hinge.
* 12 x 4cm x M10 to secure the body tub to the chassis.
* 50 x 4cm x M8 to fasten the front wings, rear wings and nose cone to the central tub
* 4 x 2.5cm brass x M2 for the bonnet hinge and retention brackets.
* All the relevant spring and repair washers and locking nuts.
This exciting day was only marred by the ‘ever present’ threat of the DVLA pissing on our chips. All the thoroughness of creating the list for Brabbin and Wood, assembling an extensive order for Rimmer Brothers, gathering the data for the engine parts, wading through endless websites for the ‘best deals’, collating information on suspension configurations, ignition systems, carburettor specifications and considering design values of internal trim, instrumentation, raw materials as well as the trappings could all be seriously undermined because they are inevitably subject to inspection by the DVLA. By delaying registration, or worse still, demanding an SVA check the DVLA could seriously jeopardise the entire project. I still remain optimistic that this should not be the case but Chris has grave reservations about even the slightest contact with Swansea.
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