[Mick O'Malley]

Several times since my last post (three weeks!) I've done small jobs on the project which haven't been worth reporting, and some on the A352 which have proved a distraction. I also visited the Beaulieu Spring Autojumble which yielded front and rear indicators which I've neglected to photograph before this post. Next time!

Anyway, the net result of my labours has been to arrive at the point where I could at last mount the body on the chassis, or so I thought . On Friday I'd finally bolted the mini petrol tank in place, having had to wait a few days for the windscreen washer tube I've run from the breather stub down to the bottom to arrive. The tank's four bolt mounting and the tight fit of the filler neck have resulted in a satisfactorily rigid result , although the filler isn't quite central, more retro charm.



Yesterday I very carefully marked the side rails of the frame next to the factory seat belt and body mounting tappings, transferred them to the body underside, measured the offsets and drilled 13mm holes through the floor sandwich. More on this below.

Today I surgically cleaned with acetone the mating top face, the limits of which I'd marked with a felt-tip, then cut and applied the self-adhesive foam strip which hopefully will prevent the two rigid surfaces from drumming.



I then turned my attention to the brake pipes which a previous owner had cunningly mounted so that they would chafe on the return flanges and outrigger holes they pass through. Genius! I carefully straightened and recurved them where needed and added a couple of home made P clips using split tube between them and the pipe. I'd come across a similar problem when I ally-skinned my pre-lit Westfield Seven. The master mechanic who'd built it had routed both the brake pipe and the handbrake Bowden cable over the top centre of the diff, the only place where they could be (and were!) crushed against a transverse spaceframe tube. Brilliant.

Crap photo' alert!





Recruiting my son the body was clapped on the chassis for the umpteenth time and checking underneath revealed perfect mating, apart from the tops of the rear suspension turrets where I'd forgotten to stick the foam. Aaaargh! That will wait for another day now. Probing my new floor holes confirmed that the above mentioned marking and drilling had been accurate. At least I'd got something right .

Regards, Mick