BB August 2

Yet another evening in the garage, my cup runneth over! Finished pulling the rivets and dressing the rough
edges etc. Next job is the seatbelts.

In the normal design the seatbelts run behind the main hoop, which acts at the upper mount. Because I have
move the seats forwards, seatbelt length is at a premium so I chose to be different. I replaced a couple of
the rivets either side of the centre with 12mm seatbelt bolts, and then fixed the B pillar brackest on the belts
top the underside of the hoop. such that they act as the runners. Hard to describe, but see the photos for
clarity. It worked well (good job really as I had cut the metal at that point).

To end the evening I fitted the fuel filler cap (or half fitted it as I didn't have the 4mm countersunk socker
screws I needed).

Got a few more hours in on Saturday. I went to Scottys in Huntingdon and got some M4 bolts/nylocs for the
fuel filler and some more M12 bolts for the seatbelts.

Fitting the fuel filler went OK, but when I filled up with fuel there wasa leak at the joint between the pipe
and the tank neck. Looking at it there are two flanges (one either side of the neck) where it was formed.
These had to be removed which was a pig of a job now the panels are in. However, once done it was all
sealed and I was able to put enough fuel in the tank to run the engine again to get some oil moving around it.

Next job was the horn, which I attached to the battery box and I adjusted the off side carburettor so that
it wasn't touching the drive shaft gaiter.

At this point I decided that I would fit the exhaust manifolds. The reason is that they now come with a
balance pipe for the 1000cc engines which goes through the cowling, so I need them in place before I do the
bonnet and cowling. Problem was I couldn't get them to fit, it was almost as though they had been over bent
(and they are nicely done, obviously with a mandrel). That snookered me, so I abandoned that in favour of
the rear seatbelts.

After much thought, I have decided how to mount the rear seatbelts using brackets that come with the
seatbelts themselves.

Spoke to Phil today about the manifolds, he doesn't think they sound right so I've packed them up this
evening and they'll be posted back tomorrow.

If you remember back a while, I had brakes that worked, but needed to be pumped up, so I borrowed
Mark's Eezibleed (sic) to try and fix them. Everyone that has used one of these has raved about them for
shifting airlocks, and having used it I can see why. Basically it uses the pressure from a tyre to
pressurise a canister of brake fluid (in my case, LHM) which is connected to the top of the master
cylinder reservoir via a snall siphon tube. The whole thing is airtight, and it means that you can bleed the
whole system single-handedly.

When you open a bleed nipple, the tyre pressure forces fluid around the circuit in a constant manner.
Sure enough there were loads of air bubbles in the front circuit, probably as a result of the loops in the
brake pipes between the master cylinder and the gearbox. This is a relief as if there hadn't been any it
would have meant removing the master cylinder, however I haven't yet tested whether the brakes work
any better, so fingers crossed.

Finally got some time in the garage today. After re-acquainting myself with where I had got to, I
decided that fitting the bonnet was the next item on the list. This needed an inch trimming off each
side but length was correct. the awkward bit was moulding it to fit the bodywork correctly without
creasing it. I need to get some fasteners of some SVA friendly type to hold it on with.

Next job was the fillet at the top of the scuttle, I made one but wasn't happy so did it again. I also
needed to shorten the light stalk as it fouls the scuttle. Wasn't sure how to do this so I posted a
message on the builders forum. Almost immediate response as just to cut it short, , remove the
remaining rod from the knob and and then re-affix it. Easy.

And so to the seats. I spent a long time playing with these working out just where to fit them, the big
question then was how to fix them in. The backrest needs to tip forwards, but I am also conscious that
when using the clutch I will put pressure on the middle lower backrest with my hip. In the end I've
decided to mount a 40mm block across the floor to keep the backrest at the right height, and then put a
25mm square tube across the lower back. In the ends of the tube will be captive lock nuts into which a
bolt will go as a pivot. At the top will be a plate for it to lean against

I'll take some photo's next time so that you can see what I'm blathering about.