March'04

[ Up ]

6th -7th March, NEW TOYS - Sexy Rubber !!

Spent a few quid on a new set of rubber for the summer, some nice 175x50r13 Yoko 048s. The local tyre fitters looked at them with some interest when I took them in :-)

Too maintain Dorisses reputation for "Aaargh you can't do that!" wheel choices these horribly expensive tyres have been fitted to some fabulously cheap wheels... Yep, 8 spoke Wellers (in matt black)! Interestingly though, they weigh 1 kilo less per wheel than the A008s on the 13" Superlites, but that may just be the quantity of fluro orange paint ;-)

Seems a shame to fit them to the car, they make the hallway smell gorgeous !

Click to see the rubber.

13th - 14th March, Action - Interior design.

Finally it's time to start sorting out the interior, so a prototype dash layout was constructed from MDF, then the old dash ripped out ready for a bit of a tidy of the wiring loom - may take some time...

With the dash out, a couple of rusty bits were welded up, and while in there with the MIG, I decided to weld the cage into the front bulkhead using some nice solid 25mmx25mm box with 3mm thick walls. Having started burning the paint off the cage, it seemed rude not to tie it in to a few more bits of the shell, so I used solid chunks of 3mm steel to the screen pillars, the top of the B posts, and the side panel, under the window. This should stiffen things up a bit!

With all the welding done inside, several newspapers and a few rolls of masking tape covered up the glass, and the whole interior got a few coats of primer, then nice simple matt black.

Something has gone wrong here, it almost looks respectable !!!

Pics of the interior

22nd March, Action - Roofing.

Now that the cage is welded to the shell, there should be a bit less flex, which is handy, as over the last couple of years a crack have been spreading out from each corner of the sunroof hole.

After much deliberation, and a beer or two, the spare roof cut from Bernard 5 years ago was finally called into service, and assaulted with the grinder to separate the roof from the gutter. To leave a few more options later, I marked Dorisses roof for cutting, leaving 5 or 6 inches around the edge, then nipped around the new hole with a jigsaw.

The new roof is quite a nice fit on top of the old edges, so it's really tempting to find some secure discrete fixings to leave it removable as a nice big sunroof and easy access to the area behind the seats. Until a final plan is sorted a couple of self tapping screws seem to provide a suitable fixing ;-)

See the roofery

[ Back ] [ Next ]

NOTE AVI files compressed with the DivX codec, free from www.divx.com

Diy fuel injection by MEGASQUIRT www.msefi.com

For General V8 info try http://www.v-8.org.uk/forum/

For sensible Spag stuff visit www.spagweb.com or for madtech mayhem try www.magicspanner.co.uk

Looking for more Mini info ? Then try the Internet Mini Encyclopaedia www.ime.org.uk

Norfolk n Goode Pies, Your Favourite Farmyard Faces In Tasty Pastry Cases. http://www.norfolk-n-goode.co.uk

This page last modified 04/02/2008.