So a while back the clutch pedal had broken, which meant just 1 thing ' Jay, can you fit the car in soonish at Snodhurst to fixy fixy'?
Dick kindly picked the car up as soon as they'd made room by mending a couple of other 'kits' and we agreed a slightly more extensive plan of action.
The pedal would be repaired ( obviously ), but they'd also pull out the back end to send the diff away for a check/overhaul if needed - which with no dedion/tank etc would allow me to repaint the rear chassis rails.
I popped down one Sat morning armed with plenty of epoxy mastic and was really pleased to see that it had held up really well since i'd done it 3 years back - nonetheless it was an opportunity not to be missed, so I slapped a good couple of coats over the rear but ran out of time to do the dedion.
Jay suggested that we could just get it powder coated - a good idea, albeit murphys law dictated that they weren't doing 'black' for a few days, which kind of rolled the timing back a tad.....still if its worth doing, do it right. So when it came back i asked the guys to slap a coat of epoxy over it as clearly its the part that seems to attract the most crud under there.
Aside from the diff being checked the other main aim was to fit the new bonnet, some will recall that the old one had parted company with the car and was more crazed than its owner. Go on take a guess, did the new one fit like a glove? Nope. It had a frigging gap between the bottom edge and the chassis rail. So we pondered, pondered some more, eyed it up and decided that we'd make ( i say 'we' ) some flared sides, that way 'we' could lose the gap.
Boy did they look big, and shiny - way too shiny....'err shall we powder coat them' ? Good idea and a very cost effective one at that! The flares weren't designed to take away under bonnet heat, they were to lose the gap, plus protect the rollcage that had been mullered by stones thrown up by the front wheels. 'Shall we give the 'coaters' the cage too'....yep, a no brainer.
So the sides and cage went away and came back a week later looking top notch.
With the rear end part assembled ( diff was back from its health check) the boys took the car down to powerspeed for what should have been a quick fix on a blowing 'zorst'. Turns out that it was going to be a quick fix and with a deadline looming ( track day ) i dug deep for a complete new system - ouch.
Jay didn't hang around, the clock was ticking, just 2.5 days were left to the 'soft deadline', kindly dropping other bits n pieces and rushing down to pick it up and get it back ready for an early start the next morning. With 2 days to go there were a number of odds n sods to get done; fuel pumps, final rear end assembly needed sorting, the new bonnet had no catches, side repeaters needed sourcing/fitting, new harness needed fitting and a general nut and bolt....and the cage needed to go back on.
I picked the car up on the Sat morning and wow did it look good, looking past the fact that the bonnet has yet to be properly 'Gulfed' it looks fresher 'up top' and i know that underneath its in more than good shape too. All that i need to do is epoxy mastic the front bones ( ran out of time before) and give the nose a good cut and polish - then with the bonnet painted ( and maybe a side graphic it'll done.
We had a minor hiccup on the Sunday with clutch issues, but with some clever redesigning and welding that problem should never occur again ( bugger am i tempting fate)?
Pics below, sorry not the best ones - but didn't want to leave it longer before saying THANKS.
In the last 12 years of owning kits i've gradually learned a lot about these/my car, but having the 'Snodhurst Collective' to provide ideas/support and their expertise is invaluable - add in their contacts ...'don't worry we'll get that machined', 'don't worry we know a bloke that can..'
The times i've heard ' Don't worry, we'll sort it'......guys maybe you need that as a sticker/motto?
So, Jay, Chris, Dick - thanks for all your efforts and help, and advice.
so piccies;
Pass side/exhaust/flare
Drivers flare
Pass side
