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Part 2
Pre-emptive strike, although there was no problem with the bulkhead engine stabiliser mounting, in this case, I decided to strengthen it with a piece of heavy-duty alloy angle, while it was so easily accessible.
Re-assembly of the refurbished components on to the bulkhead, note the alloy panel to seal the old speedo aperture, obviously this will have to be drilled for the wiring harness and speedo cable.
I generally replace the rubber mountings on this type of front subframe with a good quality solid mounting kit. Illustrated are the tower mountings for one side. Easy to do when assembling everything, but I have fitted these kits to complete cars, it’s not as daunting a job as it sounds, as the body only needs raising about half an inch from the frame, in order to slide the lower tower mount over the hollow spigot, where the very large bolt passes through. On a complete car, I slacken all the mounts and do the job on a ‘side by side’ basis, normally only the bulkhead engine stabiliser and dampers have to be disconnected. It is wise to check the tracking after fitting such a kit as the body usually sits slightly higher than with old soft mountings. (Yes, that is the local cat creeping into the photo!)
Lower bulkhead mounting fitted to the hollow spigot on the top of the subframe tower.
As this shell began life as a potential rally car, we decided to stay with the theme and the main front to rear brake pipe runs inside the car, which is quite acceptable as long as it is properly fastened, clear of any moving parts and seat belt mountings. The process was repeated with the fuel pipe and battery cable. A word of caution, any fuel pipe running inside the car must be a one piece metal pipe where it is inside the body, any joins or rubber connecting hoses must be outside the front and rear bulkhead.
Pedal box and steering column in place, when fitting the column, always leave the rack mounting U-bolts slack until the column is secured in it’s bracket and the pinion pinch bolt is tightened, this allows the pinion Shaft to ‘centre’ and adopt the angle of the column. The same applies if fitting column lowering brackets.
While the red Hammerite was handy, I decided the floor of the car would benefit from a couple of coats, I found a small gloss paint roller, ideal for the job, and very quick.