With only 9 days to go to the end of the year I have failed on a promise I made to my wife......................to have my Cabrio finished this year!
Progress has been limited by the usual things in life getting in the way - illness, elderly parents needing looking after, my wife going back to teaching full time (and I mean full time - 70 hours a week!). So, progress has been a little slower than I would have liked.
Anyway, for those that are still interested I thought I'd post a few shots of key steps since May:
I've finished the new rear diff support bracket, and its all reassembled.
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Standard Sierra Diff, with Scorpio Style Rear Supports by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
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Rear Diff Mount Fitted by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
The Marlin GRP boot lid does not fit the rear tub very well so requires a lot of fettling and filling to bring all the shut lines parallel, and surfaces level........but I got there in the end.
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Making The Shut Lines Parallel by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
My original header tank did not work, as it was too low, so I made a new one from a surplus piece of stainless exhaust tube:
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Expansion/Header Tank by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
I was so pleased with it, I decided to make myself a new washer bottle, which I had to extend after Dave Kitson kindly pointed out it must hold 1 litre!
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Capacity Increased! by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
..and I've made a new set of stainless petrol tank straps:
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Stainless Fuel Tank Straps by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
Not achieved as much as I would have liked really......
.....but I did have a dabble with an Electronic Power Assisted Steering column from a Corsa, after another Marlin owner pioneered the idea. Its all ready to install, but it will have to wait until after the IVA, as it could lead to possible problems with a non standard item used in the steering mechanism :
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EPAS & Standard Sierra Steering Column - shown at the same length by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]
I've finally resolved a tiny fuel leak from the fuel tank output collar by having a new collar welded on, so I'm now ready to re-fit the fuel tank, and hopefully start her up again over the holidays - yeah!
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IMG_3356 by
Mike's Marlin BMW Cabrio, on Flickr[/IMG]