Bonnet and Nose Cone Finished

Finally after much drilling, filing and swearing I've finished fitting the bonnet and nose cone.

The nose cone needed some cut-outs making for the lower front wishbone as well as the steering arm.  Bolts were added on each side and one underneath to mount it to the chassis.  I used epoxy to add a washer to the outside of the body around each hole.  This tidied up some rough edges (where the fibreglass started to split due to it being thinner in certain parts) and also spreads the clamping forces more evenly.  The lower bracket had to be extended to reach the lower part of the nose cone.  I think this is due to the fact that the nose cone sits slightly forward of its normal position to accommodate the Tiger alloy radiator, which is already inclined to the maximum.

With the nose cone in place this provided a reference for the bonnet.  This had to be cut quite a bit, very carefully, at the scuttle end.  In its natural position there was the usual huge gap on the drivers side, between the bonnet and the body side panel - maybe 25mm or more at the scuttle end.  I evened this up and now I have a small, but even, tapered gap each side.  The only down side is that the bonnet is trying to rotate back to its natural rest position.  This causes the front of the bonnet to rise up where the inlet bulge is.  This wouldn't be so bad on the version of the bonnet without the bulge because the spring clamps would pull it back down.  However, this is not the case with the asymmetric bonnet that I need to house the throttle bodies and air filters.  Hopefully it will settle after being clamped in position for an extended time.  If not, I might have to look at other solutions.  Possibly a couple of dowels and locating holes between the bonnet front and nose cone rear.  Anyway, I am glad this chore is over.

Tiger has made a good job of reworking the main body tub.  It is a big improvement over the previous version.  It is just a shame the bonnet and nose cone are not yet up to the same standard.

Self tapping screws were sprayed with satin black Rustoleum paint and used to fix the grille to the nose cone.

Cutting the Hole for the Exhaust Headers

Before the body work was fitted a template was created out of pieces of card.

Copied to card a larger piece single.  Reference point was marked to ensure it would be in the right location on the chassis (measured from the upper wishbone bolt and top of the upper chassis rail.)

Checked on the chassis with the exhaust headers in place.

Used as a template after the body work was fitted.

Marked out using a chinagraph pencil (already learnt that even wipe clean whiteboard markers will not come of white fibreglass!).

First whole cut (actually drilled and filed).

And exhaust headers trial fitted.

The pipes were a tight fit and so the hole was opened up some more, whilst trying to ensure an equal spacing all round.

After removing the headers, refitting and tightening fully, the pipes were lower than before so a little more had to be cut off the bottom and rear.  Hopefully the gap above the pipes is now not too wide.  Maybe later on I'll make a metal trim to hide any sins.

Fitting the Main Body Tub

Before the main body tub will sit down on the chassis a hole needs cutting for the steering column and the unused Sierra pedal box mounting brackets need to be cut off.  Some Hammerite was applied to the bare metal to prevent rusting later.

The lower part of the dash (only used during lay up of the fibreglass) needed to be trimmed off. The front edge of the front body sides were trimmed equal and vertical.  The body would now sit down on the chassis.  It is a very tight fit.  It seemed easiest to 'hook' the body under the rear chassis and then pull it down forwards.  There was a lot of creaking from the fibreglass, but it seems I got away with it, without any permanent damage.  Large head rivets were then added under the chassis rear and sides, as well as the top rails under the bonnet.

Couldn't resist cutting a hole for the shiny aero fuel filler and trialing the steering wheel.