Day 14: steering column

I should have sorted this out after the engine installation, and before the radiator, intercooler and general plumbing. It's not impossible at all, but getting spanners and torque wrenches into the right places is trickier.

It's a good idea to leave the steering rack quite loose, as it does need a bit of tweaking to make sure the column and universal joint (UJ) are nicely lined up.

From R-L: steering rack, universal joint and clamping bolts, steering column (econoseal cable connector visible, not joined up yet)

The steering column finds it way through the engine bay easily, through it will mean a bit more cable-tying to ensure there's nothing touching the column by the RH side of the engine.

The upper steering column fitted fine through the dashboard, but here's some things I found that helped:
- make sure that the upper and lower columns go together easily before you put anything onto the car. The inside of the upper column was rather rough, and needed a bit of cleaning
- I found that gently holding the top of the upper column with a pair of grips (with padded protection) worked. Holding the spanner and twisting back and forth with gentle pressure meant the upper column appeared through the lower bush and located onto the top of the lower steering column
- put your car keys in and turn to "II" position, to disengage the steering lock (before you snap it off!)

The upper bush (which fits into the dashboard) was a pig to get in. I sprayed a lot of rubber lubricant in, but it was very resistant to go in. In the end, it was more brute force than anything clever - but it's a fragile fitting, so be careful.

Finally all in place

The clamp is easy to fit. Yellow witness marks courtesy of Maybelline yellow nail varnish! (Because the car is worth it)

Day 2: waxoyl, front suspension start, and heater

A bit of a frustrating start, as I don't have the IVA parts that are needed to:
- put around the indicators
- cover the ends of the steering racks
So I couldn't complete the front suspension as planned. But some progress made.

I Waxoyled the chassis, focusing on the areas where the frame meets the aluminium panels. The Waxoyl plastic hand pump turned out to be a waste of time, not maintaining enough pressure for more than a few seconds of fairly violent and messy squirting, but that may have been user error...

In the end, I warmed the cannister up in a bucket of hot tap water, stirring regularly and eventually achieving the consistency and appearance of melted garlic butter. Then, it's very easy to paint the frame/skin joins with a 1" paintbrush. The white spirit solvent runs into the gaps, and then evaporates, leaving buttery wax behind. Before the engine goes in, I will go round again, from underneath, and make sure nothing was missed. And also the gaps between the skins around the cockpit, which I will resurrect the hand pump squirter for one last go!

The steering rack is easy to sort out.

Cross-member for mounting the steering rack

And the lower wishbones went in. A couple of tips:

1. make sure the chamfered washers are 'back-to back', i.e. the chamfered edges are on the outside of each pair

2. it is a real squeeze to get the washers in, but they will go in. Essentially, you're fighting against the bush, which is pushing outwards. I managed it by pushing the bolt through the first (rear washer), and then gently tapping the front washer into the gap using a screwdriver blade and rubber mallet (sounds like high-risk tactics, but I mean really small taps). The Coppa Ease that covers everything will help them slide in place

3. once you think the washers are seated properly, then you can gently drive the bolt through them, and beyond through the chassis

4. by contrast, the front arm is much easier to get the washers in. If possible, clear the threads out in the chassis before you start - mine had a bit of paint/swarf which needed clearing.

RH lower wishbone, rear bolt, not tightened up

RH lower wishbone, front bolt

And another coat of varnish on the boot plywood floor, both sides.

Then, I fitted the heater, which is easy. I did run a thin line of clear sealant around the plastic lip at the top of the heater, and about half way down the sides - it looks as if rain could possibly get in along the top, and then run down into the heater casing. This squeezed nicely into place when the bolts were done up.

LHS, heater & fittings

Inside, LHS, heater vents. The two electrical plugs fit together easily

On the inside, the heater vents can be spun around the face the right way (I went for a jaunty angle - see above).

Hopefully, Derek will get me the missing IVA bits tomorrow and I can finish each front corner suspension.l