Planning a dry build

Tues.08.08.06. During the morning Chris has finished the final fitting of the rear wings, he has also fine-tuned the rear quarter by completing the rubbing down of the edges of the boot panel. The aluminium strips that were the original method of fixing the wings to the rear body tub have been replaced by hidden, sunken, passive bolts. The edge of the boot space has been folded over and filled to form a smooth curved edge.

Later in the afternoon we tested the altered near side bracket with the screen. Success, the screen now sits perfectly, the folding movement now requires ‘less deliberate’ effort, all the angles are exactly right, flawlessly balanced, the rubber seal meets the scuttle top evenly, the shoulders of the scuttle are plump and rounded. We have reached the stage where we can seriously consider the new build of the car. It has been proposed that when the chassis returns from the powder coating process the body and wings could be assembled, in the unpainted state, over the chassis. This would enable any final checks to be made ensuring the additional brackets plus the other pioneering modifications are still in place.

Once completed, the wings and nose cone could be dispatched to ‘Gordon the Paint’ leaving the body tub and engine panels. This would enable the alterations to the cockpit and steering mechanism to be constructed on site together with the rest of the suspension, drive train, petrol tank, brake pipes, master cylinders and other ancillaries. It is a very important to reflect on whether or not to dismantle the car at this juncture (for painting purposes) or to totally finish the re-build having the tub and side panels painted already secured on the rolling chassis. The painted wings nosecone and bonnet could then be added, enabling the assembly of the rest of the vehicle being completed with potentially less damage to the car.

Today has been a real demonstration of the ups and downs of the project. With seemingly little effort we have achieved so much. I am looking forward to my first tin of chunks in a long time, but first, Becks.