Interior Trim

Originally I was going to go for the 'stripped out racer' look, but in the end I changed my mind and bought the interior trim set from Tiger.  This consists of a centre tunnel cover, carpet for the rear bulkhead, full length fitted floor mats, gaiters, aluminium and vinyl for the outer cockpit sides and carpet panels for the forward tunnel sides.

As I have the Rally Design gear remote I needed the hole in the tunnel cover for the gear lever to be further forward than normal.  I posted Tiger a paper template and they made up the tunnel cover to fit.

First job was to cut the aluminium side panels to size.  Once one was trimmed correctly it could be used as a template for the other side.  A piece of vinyl was cut and attached using contact adhesive.

The end result has turned out quite professional and looks really good in the car.  The panels themselves were fitted using black pop rivets.  A little silicon sealant was added on the runs between the rivets.  The idea here is to try and minimise any vibration of the panel when the engine is running.

With the carpet glued, using spray carpet adhesive, to the rear bulkhead and all other trim items in place, the cockpit starts to look really nice.  I need to get an angle welded in the gear lever (to clear the dashboard) before I fit the gear lever gaiter.

Next will be fitting of the seats and harnesses.

Aluminium panelling (nearly) completed

All alluminium panels have now been cut to size, drilled and attached with Sikaflex and rivets. The only exceptions are the upper sides of the upper rear quarter panels, the transmission tunnel top, transmission tunnel passenger side as well as the battery tray. These will be attached later, only after access is no longer needed, e.g. to mount the gearbox, bodywork, etc.

The aluminium was cut using standard, new (sharp) tin snips, filed where necessary and then deburred using the pen style deburring tool. Rivets were spaced at 75mm intervals, or less where the distance was divided to provide an even spacing less than 75mm. Sikaflex sealant was used relatively sparingly, making sure the drilled holes were covered, prior to rivetting.

After fitting the panels I ran a bead of Sikaflex along the joints that needed it. Masking tape was applied about 5mm each side of the joint, a thin bead of Sikaflex was run along the joint, before smoothing out with a very sticky finger and finally removing the masking tape.

Overall I am quite pleased with the finish. There are few bits where I would do it differently if I were to do it again, but isn't that's always the way.

Aluminium panelling started

Aluminium floor panel for the driver's side now cut to size and drilled ready for riveting. The passenger side floor panel had been cut too small by Tiger. One quick phone call and Tiger sent a replacement within a couple of days.