Door Finishers

I wasn't too happy with the fitment of the supplied door finishers.  The front ones appeared to hit the door hinge when the door closed, and the rear ones....  I don't really know how they were supposed to fit.

I used some light gauge galvinsed steel I had to create a template for new rear finishers.  This was then used to create pieces in stainless steel.  After a bit of fettling I polished the newly created finishers.  I filled the small gap underneath with some hard foam I had from a flight case.  These are bolted through into the wheel arch using the bolt bonded to the leather rear panel.

For the front finishers, I marked where the hinges moved and transferred this to the supplied finisher.  I cut out a section - this was to ensure no stress was passed onto the mounting screws.  These were then screwed in and the door is finished!

Front Vent Mesh

The front vents need mesh fitted to close up the holes.  I kept a hold of the fibreglass pieces that were cut off when originally opened so those can be used for a template for cutting the stainless mesh.

I moulded the mesh around the piece then marked a uniform depth for cutting.  I used a few bits of PTFE as a spacer and a fine tipped marker to keep the same distance.  Once marked on the masking tape, I cut the excess with tin snips.  This was repeated for all 3 holes (Oil cooler area, 2x brake ducts)

The mesh was then stuck onto to the bodyshell using some black CT-1.  I tied some thin string through the mesh and pulled it forwards to keep some tension until the CT-1 cured.

Leather

I set on the leather pieces to try and see how they interact with the carpet pieces.  These are leather covered fibreglass and so are pretty much fixed in size.

These were set in with the tunnel and rear carpets in position.

The rear carpet has piping on the bottom which needs to fold onto the tunnel because of the size of the carpet.  With this length the leather topper either needs to sit underneath the piping, or on top.  A bit of a play around to see what looks best.. 

Since the leather tunnel topper is a fixed size, I marked and cut out for the gear lever.  I used a hole saw to go through the fibreglass and then a knife for trimming the leather.  I sealed the cut using a hot glue gun as I didn't want the leather's stitching to undo - although the gear lever stainless ring should hold it all in place.

Carpets

I thought I had better set all the carpets in to try and figure out what piece goes where.  There are a lot of different pieces!

Everybody else seems to start with the tunnel - so I thought I would start with that.  It was too long to fit in my cockpit, so the first step was to cut it to length.  I had to figure out where the taper fitted the tunnel best, then I could get a measurement to the rear to be able to cut it.  Once this was done the front and sides could be cut to length.  I then cut out the hole for the gearlever.

I laid in the side carpets and also rear caprpet to see how it was all going to line up with each other and also the fibreglass bodywork at the hinges and door closer.  Not going to be easy!  

Some of the piping appeared to be different to other builders, and the rear panel appeared slightly big.  I do have the sound deadening installed, but that shouldn't make it too different.  A bit more head scratching required.

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.

  

Fuel Supply - Complete

I fitted a couple of stainless P-Clips to the supply and return hoses that fit to the bulkhead fittings in the boot to satisfy the requirements of the IVA.

I was concerned about the smell of fuel in the boot of the car, along with the garage so I did some research online and came up with the following: 

• Standard rubber fuel hoses won't leak fuel, however the fumes will pass through them.  For this reason, PTFE lined hoses need to be used to prevent this.  I used Goodridge 811 Series PTFE hose. 
• The fuel tank requires to be vented for the filling and emptying of the tank in normal operation.  This basically means that the fuel tank is open to the atmosphere and therefore vents into your garage when the vehicle is at rest.  Normal production cars have systems that feed the fuel tank vents back into the engine through an emissions control system.  Since this is far too complicated to do, I chose a different method.
• I found a two way valve from Newton Equipment Ltd (TPV8) that states that the valve remains closed when the engine is switched off, therefore preventing fuel smells in the garage.  The valve allows the fuel tank to breath when both filling and emptying and can be mounted in any orientation.

I mounted the Newton valve inside the N/S rear footwell as high up as it could be mounted.  Hopefully this will clear the tyre!  This involved drilling a hole through from the boot and using some P-Clips to mount the valve.  On the outlet of the valve I fitted a standard fuel filter just more as a dirt filter to prevent dirt being sucked into the tank.  I used stainless jubilee clips with hose end covers.  I sealed the hose exit using some sealant to prevent water ingress.

Before fitting the tank and making up the last of the fuel hoses from the pumps, I covered the tank and boot in Silent Coat sound deadening pads.  These make a huge difference to the resonance of the fibreglass and the stainless fuel tank.  I really went to town with it, maybe a bit too much, but I didn't want to have steps in the carpet once it was laid.  I did the boot floor, wheel arches, rear bulkhead, main seating area, engine bulkhead and under the dashboard.  It has added a good bit of weight!

Once the fuel tank was in position, I cut the fuel pump wires to length and crimped the ends.  This will all require clipping into place, but I will wait until I finalise the rest of the boot lights.

The wiring harness from the pumps was run through the passenger footwell and clipped using P-Clips.  The heateed seat wiring was also joined in with the run.  This wiring will be covered with tape prior to the carpets being glued in position.

Roll Hoops Fitment

With the body in position, I decided it would be good to get the roll hoops fitted.  This is one of the jobs that seem a bit daunting, since you have to drill large holes in the cars body!

I levelled up the chassis as best I could, by jacking the chassis up and placing it on axle stands with packers on top - my garage floor is far from level!

This took some time to get the chassis anywhere near level, but I wanted it to be right.

From underneath, with the rear wheels off, I could reach to drill up through the innermost mount holes with a right angled drill.  I made a bushing to fit inside the 12.5mm hole in the chassis which allowed my 6mm drill bit to be central.  Once these 2 holes were made, I placed some masking tape across the width of the upper boot floor and drew on a straight line between the 2.  I then used my cardboard template to mark the other 4 holes that were required.

Once I was happy with the position, I drilled the 6 holes in the upper boot floor - 4 @ 60mm, and 2 @ 50mm to allow plenty of clearance for the base of the roll hoops.  These lined up well with no problems. 

Firstly I made a measurement device so that I could detect the hole centre, and how far off I was.  I used a nylon M10 top hap washer, slightly padded out with a rotation of tape (taking care to ensure the tape ends lined up) and an AutoCad created 1mm Grid with centre line.  This was stuck to the washer with double sided tape.  Next the awkward bit......

I placed masking tape onto the underside of the rear bodyshell, so that I could project upwards a plumb bob mark.  This involved climbing in the boot, twisting, laying on my side / back / front to try to see what the plumb bob was doing.  I held the plumb bob just above the marker and using the thumb nail of one hand, held the string to the underside of the bodyshell and marked with the other hand the central point.  I did this for all 6 holes, and then double checked them.

They all seemed not too far away.....

I then drilled a 2mm hole up through the bodyshell at each mark to enable the plumb bob string to pass through to get a real reading.....

There was only 1 hole that was around 3mm out!  I drilled a new hole just to the side, and then it was spot on.

Now came the twitchy bit.  Rather than go for the 60mm holes and 50mm holes which would give the required 5mm gap all around the roll hoops, I went for 50mm for the front holes and 38mm for the rear (the exact diameter of the roll hoops).  I drilled the 50mm holes first and opened them up very slightly with a drum sander so the legs could just go through.  I tried the first hoop in and it fitted!

I then drilled the hole for the rear leg (38mm) which again, after being opened up a little, fitted nicely.  Or so I thought.....

After I had fitted both roll hoops, I tried to tighten them down.  I realised that they wanted to pull forward slightly.  I had to remove them and elongate the holes towards the front of the car a few times until the hoops fitted.  This possibly means that the chassis wasn't perfectly level prior to the drilling!

Not to worry, once the required 5mm gap was drawn all around the bars, the biggest gap I had was 6mm.  Well within tolerance of the large rubber grommet that gets fitted along with the aluminium cover.  I still have to fill the hoops with expanding foam to help deaden the noise, and I probably won't finally fit the hoops until the boot carpet has been fitted.

All in all a job well done that was probably the job that I feared the most!