Bonnet, Nose Cone, Dashboard and Propshaft 2.0

First thing first, I now have my correctly sized propshaft returned from GBS and it's a perfect fit. Took a couple hours to get in due to not being able to slot it in between the diff and gearbox and having to drop the diff out. Easy I thought. Well, turns out that one of the nuts appears to have stripped the treads or cross threaded into a loop to the extent that it looked to be coming undone but in fact was just spinning on the bolt. Anyway, after a bit of angle grinding, I got the bolt out. Bit embarrassing when someone stated that I got the engine running.....it was actually my 1kW generator.....if it sounded like that I would not be impressed.

Anyway, it's in and is looking good....if you ignore the wiring tape and mess, it still needs tidying up properly.













With that in, I hit the dashboard. Wanted to get this finished and in to start seeing what the car will be like when it's finished. If you've followed the blog religiously, you'll remember I bought some stainless trim to help cover up the mistakes/poor handiwork etc etc. Anyway, settled on black and covered the GRP with black too for the gaps. Finish product looked something like this:







From the driving position though, it covers part of the speedo...I'm not sure how strict they are with this as I shouldn't be driving at 100mph anyway....supposedly. Will double check this...












Gearbox also got filled with oil, the problem with this is the positioning of the filler plug. Not only is it a square plug (daft really, shredded knuckles getting that out!) it is also in the most awkward place ever! I had to bend a tiny funnel into the hole to get it in and then use a pipe to pour it in. 2 litres later and it's full, I'd lost track of time....
Top tip!
Do this before putting the foot well side panel on.




With the bonnet, an exhaust  slot needs to be made. I have seen numerous blogs where a template is made, so an off cut of card did the job nicely. Drew the outline, hacksaw and file and got the rough shape I wanted. I had to re-adjust too and open up the back end a little bit










Not a bad fit in the end. I finished it off with a bit of the thicker black trim so looks like a nice curved finish. Hopefully its fairly heat resistant, otherwise something may have to replace it.

I also used the same for the ends of the bonnet, looks good, keeping the orange and black theme running a bit better than the chrome style trim.








 
 

 With the bonnet trial fitted, I next decided to whack on the nose cone. This was fairly straight forward, I lined up the two A-frames on either side of the chassis and marked up some holes. I tried for a rivnut in here but the sizing wasn't right so opted for M10 bolts and nuts. Currently I have just a plain nut, however I may upgrade this to a turret lock nut when it's finished....unsure yet as I'd need spanners to get it off.

I have seen a number of ways to do the bonnet catches. One recommended way was to fasten the bottom to a bit of wood or spare aluminium and use blue tack to figure out the closed positioning.

Pre fitted left, fitted right.





In my opinion, the easiest way is to attach the bottom (mine ended up in the top chassis rail) and measure upwards roughly to where the catch should sit, then add 5-10mm depending on how tight you want it. I used ratchet straps to pull the bonnet down and still added 5mm on, better to be tight than loose!
I've also added a strip of 3mm neoprene to the bonnet surface to add a bit of cushion and to be compressed to ensure a snug, tight fit.


Well then, bonnet, nose cone and dashboard are in. It's looking so much more car like now. Next up is the exhaust silencer as I get closer and closer to firing it up properly now. Don't want to upset the neighbours too much! rotational photos....go!
p.s. ignore the front cycle wings on top of the rear arches, they're just stored there until fitting.

 

 

 

 

 

 Back in the garage safe and sound. I must say, seeing the car like this is just amazing and it's so hard to believe that 5 months ago, it was just a chassis. I have impressed myself with the speed at which this has been built, I am just looking forward to getting it finished and having a good drive in the sun with it.