'Fabrication'

Weds.14.05.08. There had been some forgotten items to add to the list that I managed to deliver late in the afternoon. Chris proudly showed me around the car where the new additions had found a home. Everything was how I imagined it to be; the panels, tunnels, wooden trim all sat comfortably together. But, there is a problem with the precise positioning of the switch assembly on the dashboard. It will be necessary to remove 2mm from the plywood backplate of the dashboard so that the switches, ignition, starter and cigar lighter rest at a more usable depth. The toggles on the switches fractionally miss the lip of the wood; but a heavy bunch of ignition keys would certainly damage the surface of the wood. It is possible to chisel or router this depth away but it is a task for a skilled person. I do not have any experience of such delicate work and would not attempt, or accept the responsibility. This is a job for Richie.

Yet, after some thought, I have been pleased by the way I handled the disc cutter, but even more so impressively the router when making the final dashboard, so I am tempted to tackle this problem myself. Rather than using a heavy router or a mallet and chisel recalling the near disastrous experience of cutting the recess for the overdrive switch being, ‘one that I actually got away with’, by luckily not splitting the wood by clumsily bish, bashing with the hammer; the lighter ‘rotary’ mini drill may be the answer. A fine cutting disc would be delicate enough to trace out the outline of the section; this then could be carefully chiselled out to expose the recess. Once the steel plate was in place the integral strength of the dash would be maintained.

Chris had also been working on the front of the car, principally the detail of the supporting bracket that will retain the oil cooler as well as the proposed method of attaching the electric fan to the radiator. In the manufacturers instructions the installation involves threading 15cm plastic needles through the matrix of the radiator via the fixing points on the fan assembly, these are secured by a specially designed nut which clamps the unit to the core of the rad. Colin Brockbank, after consultation with Chris suggests that the assembly could work loose due of the natural vibration in the car. Historically this has proven to be the case, particularly during ‘rallies’ and competition. A stronger solution would be to fabricate additional parallel brackets that would fix to either side of the original radiator mounting brackets to secure the fan without disturbing the core.

The suggestion of telephoning the manufacturer to request the theory behind their method ‘fell on deaf ears’. Perhaps Colin does have a greater understanding than the actual company produces the unit, or are we just looking for more work? To complete this area of the vehicle the inside of the nosecone is now to be clad with aluminium to act as deflectors for the flow of the air, but also to improve the aesthetics. The rough patterns have been cut but it will be necessary to construct a much more accurate template using ‘Daler board’: these will be passed onto the ‘mighty’ Colin who will fabricate the panels using 2mm aluminium.