Friday - Part 2:
Next I had a look at the side mirror mounting point on the passenger side.
Note:
You can see another 'edge' than I thought was going to be BRG, but should have been black and ended up a messy grey.
Made an initial cardboard template for the access panel and marked up the main panel for a slight trim in the corner and some fixing holes below the panel.
Cut the access panel out of milled aluminium and drilled all the holes required in both panels.
Despite giving the main passenger side panel an extra trim before I started, I still ended up with a problem corner.
Not a great photo angle, but this is leaning over and looking down on to the top edge of the rear corner of the passenger side.
Part of the problem is that at this point, the join of the cockpit wall and the body shell is almost flush.
So I needed to trim a bit more off, which was tricky as the rest of the panel was already screwed in place.
Thankfully, I was able to carefully tidy the edge up without accidentally running a metal file across the body shell's paintwork.
By this point, I'd spent many hours cooking in direct sunlight, bend over the body shell trying to fit everything as best as I could.
The fact that in some cases, each screw was taking three drill bit changes to fit was not certainly helping.
So when my wife suggested we ate out, I gratefully took that as a sign to pack up for the day.
Before I post the 'reveal' shots, remember this build is not a quest for perfection.
So whilst these panels may not be perfect, they are miles better than the Tetroseal finish I had before.
Notes:
- I didn't actually notice the fold line where I had to trim the corner edge, so I'll try to hammer that flat next time.
- I will be adding an extra horizontal row of screws along the middle of the panels to eliminate any possible vibration issues.
So
'two outta three' sides completed, but technically '
four outta five' panels fitted.
Until next time, take care, Paul.
