Steering column (upper and lower)

Two 12mm holes were drilled in the upper steering column mounting brackets. These were drilled towards the top to allow maximum leg room for the driver. The steering column is adjustable so it will be possible to lower it if required.


Sturdy 12mm socket head bolts were used to securely mount the upper steering column. Initially the grey plastic bush at the lower end of the upper steering column was chafing on the chassis mounted cylindrical bracket (tube). To minimise this I used a file to smooth the edge of the tube - removing a hard lip of powder coat and slightly radiusing the edge. Finally a smear of grease was added to the inside of the tube prior to assembly.


The lower steering column simply bolted in three places: to the triangular tube at the bottom of the upper steering column, the steering rack, and in the middle the rose joint bolts to one of the side chassis tubes. This rose joint mounting was left loose as it may need to be removed to install the engine. When it is ready for final assembly a thread lock solution will be used.

Steering Rack

Time to mount the Tiger quick steering rack. This is achieved by using the two clamps, each with a rubber insert. The clamps, as supplied by Tiger, are nothing more than bent pieces of steel. The rubbers each have a split underneath to allow it to be passed around the steering rack.


First the clamps had to be painted with black Hammerite and then measured for drilling the bolt holes. With the holes drilled it was simply a case of bolting through, while making sure that the rubbers were in the right position on the steering rack iteself.

Wiring Loom

When you open the Tiger provided wiring loom it can look a bit daunting. The fuses and relays are obviously on the branch that comes up through the battery tray, but what about the rest? Finding which was the front and which was the back was achieved by identifying the large black alternator plug. Also, the wider double brown wires connect to the starter motor.

With the loom fed through the transmission tunnel the next step was to cut a hole in the battery tray to take the rubber gromit which is already on the loom. To cut the hole I used my trusty hole saw with a 41mm blade. Overall this work well, but like drilling the holes in the aluminimum panesl for the seat belt bolts, the teeth did tend to snag. It was a bit easier on the battery tray as the aluminium is thicker. Next time I think I will use a step drill for cutting circular holes through the aluminium panels.


Next it was time to start attaching the loom to the chassis. For this I used cable ties, cable tie mounts and rivets. The ties and mounts from Screwfix. Once the loom was attached along the inside of the transmission tunnel I then moved on to do the rear and finally the engine bay.


To identify each of the wires I used a number of wiring diagrams: the ones in 'the book', plus a couple sourced from the internet. None fully matched the actual colour coding and make up of my Tiger wiring loom, but by a process of elimination I worked out what each wire is for. I also took the opportunity to label each wire as I went. This should make connecting the wiring loom to the various items later on that much easier and quicker.

Fuel lines fitted

I've now finished fitting the copper fuel lines. As the engine will be fuel injected there are two lines: feed and return. At a later stage the ends will be terminated with fittings allowing connection of the relevant fuel hoses. On to the wiring loom next...