Tub problems

Fri.23.03.07. Ever since placing the tub on the rolling chassis yesterday many other ‘glitches’ have been exposed. The tub cannot be situated in the correct position unless drastic alterations are considered. Having moved the engine back a further two inches the front panel of the engine compartment now meets the bell housing, as a result the slave cylinder rests much too close blocking the bleed nipple preventing any adjustment. In fact, the tub is one inch short of its original location point. The inspection hatch for the rear leaf spring and the access adjustment for the handbrake mechanism are also out of line.

For several hours Chris had struggled with the assembly of the front wing because both the lateral and longitudinal planes were not compatible with the engine side panels or the bonnet. This subsequently meant that the outrigger brackets were ‘proud’, making it impossible to accurately align the front wings to the tub. By the time I arrived at Westmead his mood was dark because once again another beneficial modification had caused, potentially, enormous problems. The wings would not fit, the beautifully elegant flowing lines of the vehicle had been destroyed instantly, the image taking the form of an early cubist tableau by Georges Braque, the Burlington was again, through the eyes of Chris, very close to becoming a basket case, a fire damaged insurance claim, or even a revenge attack by a small, local psychotic madman with a lump hammer.

I attempted to offer some hope to this desperate situation by stating that, if back in September, the body work, wings, bonnet and tub had been in total harmony, logic should re-affirm this conclusion, in other words the same scenario should apply today. 

“What if we cut away sufficient of the offending obstructive material, perhaps that may allow the body tub to sit freely on the chassis, creating ample adjustment for all the components: this would also ensure that every other body panel should also fit precisely?” After a few moments of internalising, chin scratching, a little cog grinding my suggestion was preliminarily accepted. I also realised that far from being an engineering genius I was only regurgitating much of the analysis from the previous before, ‘déjà vu’, but of course I felt obliged not to mention that fact. I must be learning something.