Real Enthusiasm.

Tues.19.02.08. The internal boot lining, boot box and lid are painted ready to join the rest of the components already in position. A few more hours polishing the vintage aero screens have produced further items adding notably to the vehicles retro presence. Chris has continued the build, adjusting where necessary. Primarily the twin back box brackets on the exhaust had to be altered then later balanced with the back bumper. This was not a simple task as the ‘Y’ shaped junction had to be widened slightly so the pipes emerged from the rear of car squarely and equidistant from the wings. The later additions of the petrol cap, luggage frame, rear view mirror and the freshly gleaming aero screens all shimmer reflecting gloriously against the deep green coachwork, particularly enhanced given a 'local' specific light brightening the chrome and blackens the paint. 

Weds.20.02.08. A former dashboard template has been resurrected to serve as a ‘dummy’ so that the wiring to all the instrumentation and gauges can be mapped out. Applying this method ensures that the extra ‘live feeds’ can be measured to be later incorporated into the original Triumph loom. By not using the master dashboard has also, unexpectedly, offered an opportunity of delaying the ultimate decision of its eventual finish. It would be sensible to wait until the carpets, seats, steering wheel, gearbox tunnel and door sections have been trimmed in the car to obtain a complete picture of the tonal qualities of the entire cockpit.

The niggling problem, on the rear of the dashboard, of cutting the cavity which would accommodate the overdrive switch has been rectified by some ‘tricky’ chisel work. The 14mm depth of the timber would not allow the switch to be surface mounted as this would foul the operating mechanism. A rectangular 30mm by 20mm section cut to a depth of 8mm was produced in order to countersink the complete unit into the rear of the board. An additional smaller piece was also formed to ‘seat’ the hinge and facia plate. By carefully chiselling by hand this exercise was successfully achieved. The switch now sits firmly yet comfortably on the dashboard becoming the conclusive element of Richie’s unrivalled craftsmanship.