The Show Must Go On!

Hi and welcome back.

It's been a very productive week / couple of days and happy to report that essentially the car is about ready for the big show.

I took a conscious decision to finish the cosmetic bits, basically everything that people will see, so getting the scuttle, bonnet, nosecone sorted etc.

Painting first, in the end I bottled out of doing it in my garage because the temperature was very "hit and miss" and It was too great a risk. A mate of mine let me into his work after hours, they have a fully functioning spray painting booth, so I utilised that for the usual fee ( up to 5 packs of chocolate digestives in case you're keeping score). He was very keen do it for me.... and whilst it would have bought me some extra time, I was adamant that I would be doing everything on this car, so I'm not going to wimp out at the last minute! Glad I did, because this is some of my best work yet, and the nose cone turned out acceptable in the end. 

First thing I did was chuck them all on the car...

Very orange! Might need to tone that down, but I have a cunning plan to add a bit of black contrast to it... Watch this space

Also note the new rear lights, in their final position, albeit not wired up.

Next job, install nose cone. Fairly easy as I'd Pre-drilled the holes. Just bent the tabs back and job done

Then turned attention to fitting out the scuttle. Instrument panel first

The foam doesn't half make a mess, it gets everywhere, but I suppose you won't see it. 

After that, the rest of the shiny bits

Ended up with a bit of a gap underneath the instruments, which I'm not too happy about, so will need to find some way of filling / sealing that doesn't look too naff.

I did start to try connecting up some of the switches at that point, but promptly blew a fuse and decided it wasn't worth rushing and it can wait until after the show.

I used rivnuts on the upright face of the scuttle and attached that to the ally bulkhead.

Finally, bolt all the panels in place and grace the nose with its glorious badge, hey presto- ready for the show!

Next couple of days, the focus shifted to making sure it goes on the trailer and can be secured, trailer lights working, sourcing a car cover etc.

Had to use a bottle jack on the ramp to get the exhaust to clear, but apart from that it drives straight on and off, which is ideal. The trailer was a sound investment.

Tied down and ready to go...

So we're pretty much ready for the show now and about 86% complete overall! And as a happy coincidence, the remaining jobs to completion aren't that much - wire up lights, roll cage and seat belts, riveting the transmission tunnel together, tidy up wiring and fix the air filter in place - and that is pretty much it! (Pesky clutch notwithstanding)

It's crept up quick, but might need to think seriously about IVA now....

Thanks for reading