Scottie, Mr T & Michiel - Cheers gentlemen.
I don't mind small progress, as long as there is some progress.
Seeing Michiel's 'moon rover' video does convince me this is the right thing to do.
If I just stick to the jobs required for that for now, I'll worry about the rest later.
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More Little Jobs...
Gearbox tunnel cover
I mentioned before that the brace I welded to the back of the bulkhead is in the way of the gearbox tunnel cover.
I need this to sit flush so I can see what repair work is required on the inside edges of the bulkhead.
So I cut & welded three sections of box section like so.
I then welded this to the existing cross brace.
With allowed me to cut out the middle section.
Which in turn allowed the gearbox cover to sit flush against the bulkhead.
Now I can make a list of repairs which will include things like this.
( I just held a bit of wood behind the holes to make it easier to see in the photo. )
I am currently considering getting a new tunnel cover as the one that came with my donor was not in great condition.
There is a plastic cover available that comes in black which would also save me the hassle of painting this white one.
I guess there comes a point when I need to pick my battles if I am ever going to get this finished.
Battery Box
Unfortunately this is another one of those things where I am actively making more work for myself.
I don't mind buying something new to save me some time, but I can't ignore a previous bodge and hope for the best.
There had been a half hearted attempt to repair the battery box by simply welding something over the top.
You can see the new metal through this hole in the original battery box.
Also the engine bay edge of the box looked very "bumpy" on the inside.
Now I have already seen repair panels welded over rust on this bulkhead.
I've also spent a long time removing and repairing / treating every bit of rust I've found so far.
Which meant that if I was going to do this job properly, I had no choice...
Whilst I know this will be a pretty big job to sort out, I'm pleased that I cut it all out.
Because, sure enough, there was a rusty mess where the repair was made.
So now I have a gaping hole in the bulkhead where the battery box used to be.
( There is some white plastic in the bulkhead to make the hole easier to see. )
I will take my time making a cardboard template and then build the new box in metal.
However, I did spot something in my recycling pile that might come in handy.
Dash Support
I made another bracket to hold the driver's side of the dash in place.
This fits in the same way as the one I made for the passenger side.
The only difference is that the driver's side is also connected to the steering column supports.
After all the work I have done so far on this dash section, it is now really solid, miles better than I expected.
Heater Control Panel
I drilled two holes in the dash so I can bolt the new panel for the heater controls in place.
There is a "step" in this area after I bent a section backwards.
For now I made a quick fix by clamping and angle grinding some washers.
They then fitted in here.
And the plate with the nuts could be held like so.
There is still a bit of fine tuning to do here, but you get the general idea & I might weld the whole thing in place.
However, I can't put any holes in the new panel until I have the wooden dash fitted so I can line it all up properly.
Until next time, take care, Paul.