Footwell Update

I sealed around the clutch footwell extension using some black sealant and bolted it up.  Hopefully no water will get through.

I also covered the pedals using non-slip grip tape.

Door Handle Return Springs

After fitting the doors and handle mechanism (GD had marked out the cut lines), it was clear that these need return sprins to aid their return.  Before fitting the machanism I drilled small holes ready for the springs.  Now that they have arrived, I had to partially remove the handle to get the springs fitted. 

The springs were fitted and the mechanism bolted back in place.

  

Safety Harness Mounting Plates

For the IVA, there needs to be a radius on the safety harness mounting plates that screw on underneath the car where the eye bolts bolt through.  This was rounded off using a file, then I buffed the edges a bit with the polisher.

These are fitted to the car using stainless self tapper screws. The holes for the eye bolts could then be drilled through ready to be finally fitted when the carpets are installed.

These were then roughed up with a scotch pad, sprayed with etch primer and then semi-gloss black paint.

Dashboard

I have set out the standard GD dashboard layout which was pre-marked on the blank panel. I used a hole saw the neat size of the gauges, however the holes will need to be opened up later for the leather to fit in.

Even though the dasboard is uncovered, it makes the car look ever more complete.

I may alter the position of the switches, but this will be looked at later.

Clutch Bleeding Disaster!

Now that I had my bleeding kit, I went ahead and bled the brakes.  Using DOT 4 fluid, the front and rear systems were bled without issue.  The reservoirs were left at the "Full" mark.

I moved onto the clutch bleeding where it apperared to bleed ok.  I tried the pedal and it all seemed good.  Again, topped up the resorvoir to the "Full" mark.

A while later, I noticed a small puddle of fluid underneath the gearbox bellhousing.  The clutch reservoir level had dropped. On investigating with a torch, and peeking in through only a few of the small openings, I could see that the fluid supply fitting had a small weep.  If you remember I made a fitting here.

Since this is all inside the bellhousing, and also the fitting was made to a short length for neatness, I couldn't tighten the fitting from outside the gearbox housing. (Hindsight would have been a great thing).

I managed to get a spanner fitted inside but couldn't turn it. I then got a 4" adjustable spanner inside and could manage to put a bit of pressure on to the spanner to try and nip up the fitting.  As you can imagine, you can't put very much force on with a 4" adjustable, but I managed to put enough on to break the clutch slave cylinder and release bearing!  Needless to say, the rest of the fluid poured out into the floor.

The only way to fix this was to remove the engine!

I had to undo the front support brace, the cooling water reservoir, exhaust manifolds, starter, undo the fuel hoses and wiring then it just lifted out!  The design of the housing has a thin section as the fitting goes into it.  Possibly been weakened before?  I think this is a Tremec manufactured cylinder, but not 100% sure.

What it should look like

Welded release bearing and new fitting

I managed to weld the piece back on, lengthened the fittings so they could be tightened outside of the bellhousing, and put it all back together again.  Bled the system and all appeared well.....  Watch this space!

Brake & Clutch Bleeding

I bought a Sealey Brake & Clutch bleeding kit (VS 820) which came with a universal adaptor for fitting to multiple reservoir types.  However I needed to make a fitting to be able to connect it properly to each of my reservoirs as the universal adaptor couldn't quite fit correctly.  This will allow me to bleed each system myself and without any spillage (hopefully).

I turned out an adaptor out of some PTFE to allow it to fit under the screwed cap of the reservoir, and also for the Sealey quick connect fitting to be bolted through it.