Wheels and Tyres Ordered

I've ordered some wheels and tyres from Tiger.  Once I collect these I'll be able to get the car on to its wheels.  The front uprights and hubs to be finished in the meantime.

Previously 6.5" rims were the widest that could be fitted on the Avon and still be compliant with IVA regulations (so that the tyres did not protrude outside of the rear wheel arches).  This is with 195 width tyres.  However, Tiger has now updated the Avon bodyshell mould and 205 width tyres can now be fitted on the rear.

I am going for 205 on the rear and 195 on the front, all on 6.5" rims.  In theory you could now fit 7" rims such as the popular Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2.  However, I have chosen wheels with 6.5" width as they were cheaper and will allow me some leeway with the wheel arch spacing.

Five wheels ordered (15" Team Dynamics Tornado S) - one rim spare for touring or as a spare in case one of the other four is damaged and this style is discontinued:

 
and four tyres (Toyo T1R):

I did want the new R1R, but they are not in stock for 195 at the moment.  I'll go for something more sporty next time.

Futher Modifcation of Suspension Uprights

The front and rear dampers were fouling the brackets on the rear uprights as well as the lower front wishbones.  The 'corners' were filed round and then painted with Hammerite.  Care was taken to remove the minimum amount of metal, so as not to damage the structural integrity of these components.

Handbrake Cables

The Tiger provided handbrake cables need some modification before they will fit the Avon.

Firstly, the end of each inner cable was adapted.  This involved soldering each cable near the end so that the ends would not fray when the cable was cut through.  Then the white 'hook' was cut off.  This allows the inner cable to be removed - necessary to be able to thread it though from the brake back plate from the wheel side.

The other end of the outer cable was adapted by unthreading the hollow bolt and then cutting the white tube down.  A shorter piece was cut from the hollow bolt and this was screwed back into the now shorter white tube.

A comparison of before and after is shown in this picture:

The shortened hollow bolt screws nicely into the tube on the chassis side of the brake back plate.  Only downside is that the adjuster thread/nut arrangement is no longer there - adjustment will now have to be done at the handbrake lever end of the cables.

The balance bar originally provided by Tiger was too thin.  It would not allow an 8mm hole to be drilled for the handbrake lever bolt and still leave enough metal to retain its strengh.  I called Tiger about this.  Turns out this thinner bar is used when an inner (third) cable is used to connect the handbrake lever to the balance bar.  As I will bolt the balance lever to the rod that is already attached to the handbrake lever I need the wider balance bar.  Tiger sent one of these to me.

An 8mm hole was drilled for the bolt and then two 4mm holes were drilled to accept the handbrake cables themselves.  The locking bolts were clamped onto the cables and after some adjustment the hole handbrake set up was operational - with full handbraking force coming into play after two or three clicks.