Scott, I am indeed a very fortunate chap to have Amanda’s support and encouragement. Over the Christmas period she has had no time to come and help on the build, but now that most of our visitors have come and gone that might change in the next couple of days - fingers crossed she will return to brighten my next post.
Having taken time out to enjoy Christmas celebrations I’ve not spent so much time in the garage. What time I have spent has been reasonably productive, as working out how best to route the wiring needed “thinking time”, which I was able to indulge on the train to and from work.
So - the wiring. I sorted out the wiring on the left hand side of the engine bay. Some of the leads were quite long and all the slack was in the engine bay, so I've pulled that back through to the tunnel. I created a loop of spare cable above the gearbox, where it won't be visible and should be reasonably well protected. It can be held firm with some cable ties so that it won’t rattle or escape down the side of the gearbox.
Although I know it will need to be removed later I have also fitted the exhaust manifold, mostly because I want to check that I don’t run any cables or pipes to close to it.
At this point I've run into a small problem, as the dip-stick has to be removed and then threaded back into the block between the exhaust from cylinders 1 and 2. The trouble is I can't work out how to thread it back into place and still connect the support strap up to the fixing at the top of the engine (could this be another opportunity to play with the pipe-bender?). No hurry to fix this. Since taking his photo I've also moved the live feed from the battery to the starter motor, routing it higher up around the top rail so that it is further away from the exhaust.
Next up was fitting the radiator so that I can install the cooling system. I thought that the fan would attach to the radiator with self-tapping screws which I generally distrust and avoid if possible. Happily I found that the plastic bodywork of the radiator is tapped and the fan is attached with bolts. Same also for the fixing to the chassis / fins. Also bolted the horn in place, again securely bolted through a rivnut. I can be clumsy from time to time, hence the cardboard protection.
I’m cautiously confident when approaching the “plumbing” as over the years I’ve installed several domestic water and central heating systems. Taught by my Dad of course, and although we had our fair share of mistakes (including accidentally connecting a new loo up to the hot water system instead of the cold) I’m sure he’d have a few tips for me when approaching this next challenge.
The build manual appears to be quite clear and I manage to identify the various bent pipes. I do note that my aluminium pipe D does not have the downwards bend at the front, fingers crossed this will not be a problem. Pictured below is the first pipe to be be fitted, silicone hose J from the bottom of the radiator. It just passes above the gaiter over the steering rack, and connects to pipe L. Not sure how I make sure this stays clear, perhaps it will be more sturdy when I tighten up the jubilee clips later.
From pipe L there is a bend, pipe I, which connects to the water pump at the front left hand side of the engine. This pipe needed trimming slightly.
Next up was to fit the top pipe from the radiator, to the hockey-stick pipe F. With this in place I see there is some choice about how to route pipe D, which joins up with the lower pipe L, but also connects to the heater and the expansion bottle. Pipe D is the thinner pipe from the bottom right hand corner of the photo, above the water bottle and below the hockey stick pipe, heading forward towards the radiator. It should have bend that dips down to the lower radiator pipe, but I will have to use a section of bent rubber hose to join these up.
I can’t work out accurately where to place pipe D until I have trial-fitted the scuttle, and there’s not much point doing anything more on these cooling system pipes until I get that sorted out. It’s a good start and I can now make final adjustments to the cables with confidence, knowing enough to avoid interfering with pipes.
At this point it was time for Christmas presents (the mug, not the Rum which is a very old bottle from our honeymoon and has been loitering in cupboard in the garage).
More updates later!