8 Valve Ed, Rene & Jones - I do seem to spend a lot of time checking the weather forecast.
For me, the biggest disadvantage of working outside is the all the packing/unpacking of tools, parts, etc.
I'd love to be able to simply stop working, leave everything where it is, then come back later and pick up where I left off.
I didn't want to rent a garage as I spend too long away from my family working on this car as it is.
At least if I am just outside it is not a problem to quickly get hold of me for anything.
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Yesterday:
OK, a bit later than usual, but I did manage to get a bit of work done yesterday despite the wind.
Grille:
No photo, but although all the car covers remained in place, my lovely new grille was "blown out" of the bonnet.
It was only held in place with some tape and I think the cover itself was pushed into the bonnet opening by the force of the wind.
There is a slight bend in it, but this should straighten out when it is finally fitted.
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Gear Box Tunnel Seal:
The good news is that the rubber seal I ordered turned up.
The bad news is that this is no longer supplied "shaped".
( As it needs to make a 90 degree turn from "up" the sides, to "across" the top of the bulkhead. )
A quick question for the Spitfire owners, I assume you have to cut the seal like so.
Rather than fold it at the corner.
Once I know the answer to that I can finish off drilling the mounting holes in the bulkhead.
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Hand Brake Panel:
I carefully removed the masking tape from the seam sealer, but it was still a messy job.
So I simply left this to dry for a bit longer before I put some paint on it.
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Wart & All:
I've always tried to cover my mistakes, as well as my successes, on this build thread, so it is confession time.
I mentioned my wife struggled to lift the rear frame, floors & rear arches "combo" the other day.
( Note: No offence to my wife, I was breaking into a sweat lifting my side. )
As we tried to lift it clear of the bulkhead, it was dropped
onto the bulkhead.
The net result was this section of filler was knock out.
This was covering the expanding foam I put into the void beneath where the windscreen was cut off.
After I simply covered the foam with filler, I noticed
Swifty always covered his foam with fibreglass matting
before adding filler.
The good news is that the ideal time to fix this mess is while the bulkhead is off the car.
So I removed all traces of the filler from both sides, leaving just a fresh layer of foam.
( Sorry the photos are not great. )
Getting the first layers of matting on was a very tricky job as the gusts of wind kept blowing everything away.
Still, at least I have made a start.
So I'll finish that off another day.
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Bulkhead:
I painted around the holes I drilled for the gearbox cover, plus the rest of this side of the bulkhead.
The next step will be to get a layer of stone guard paint over this area.
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Rear Wheel Arches:
I also painted over the three small areas I was working on the other day, on both sides.
Again, these small areas will also be covered in stone guard.
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This is going to be a family day, so these is no car work planned.
So until next time, take care, Paul.