Fuel Tank... again

Took the tank back out again today. Some of the wires I'd bunched up to get them "out of the way", got "in the way" of the outlet at the bottom of the tank. 3 hrs later, it's all a lot tidier and back together.



Space is pretty tight but everything is secured and neat and tidy.



I forgot to take a photo but I also took the opportunity to place a fixing through the rear of the boot to secure one of the fuel lines which run behind it. I drilled and tapped a hole and from inside the boot and screwed a M6 button head with a big washer behind it through the rear of the boot with a spot of araldite to hold it in place. Once it dried, I had a stud to secure a p clip onto and hold the fuel line secure and away from the chassis member.

Once the tank was back in I refitted the boot lid. This has been fitted before but I've now finished and polished the edges and fed the wiring through it for the number plate light.

Fuel Tank

After messing about with bits of stainless steel to make a new brake fluid reservoir bracket, I got my finger out and got the fuel tank installed. I had to tidy up a few wires first as there's a few extra run to the boot area of a GD that I'm not using for my build, they're for things like heated rear screen for the hardtop, general accessories and because I'm using the loom provided by the engine supplier I've not used the connections GD provide for the fuel pump.



I also had to run a length of brake pipe for the vent on the fuel tank filler neck. This is fixed with small plastic p-clips and self tappers which protrude slightly into the wheel arch behind so I'll have to cut the ends off with a Dremel.



Fuel tank finally fitted. The top end of the straps are secured with jacknuts and the bottom end with a single bolt straight through the boot floor that's tightened up from underneath.



After all the effort I made trying to tidy up the loose wiring, it all got in the way of the bottom outlet on the tank so it needs a rethink. I may have to have the tank out again but it's good to see it all fitted and strapped down. In theory, I'm back in a position to have the engine running, I can't believe it's been 10 months since it last ran.

If you're wondering what the blue stuff is around the boot opening, it's masking tape that I used to hold down some thin strips or card used to space the boot lid away from the body to the same depth as the rubber seal. This was so I could position the hinges correctly to have the boot lid level with the surrounding body work when it's shut. That's been there a while as well !

Getting sidetracked

This is one of the reasons why this build is taking so long. With all the nice shiny bits under the bonnet, a plain old aluminium mounting bracket for the brake fluid reservoir just wasn't going to do !

Original on the left, mirror polished stainless steel one on the right.



It was made up from some stainless I bought off ebay, bent in a vice, drilled and then polished up a little.



I think deep down inside, there's a part of me that doesn't want this build to end, I keep finding things to change or improve on before it's even on the road. I'll tell you what though, the part of me that wants to drive this thing is getting pi55ed off with it !

Anyway, enough self analysis and on with the build.

Wiper Motor Park

I made up a mini loom with the right connections to get some power to the wiper motor to test the park direction. Pleased to say the motor ran smoothly and the wipers parked in the right direction. I was able to test slow, fast and off/park... quite exciting really !

Closure....

Ahhh, remember this..Fuel filler cap.. well I'm finally back round to the filler cap and I'm pleased to say it fits perfectly and you can't see the join. :-)



Once the tank is fixed I can join the two pieces up with some filler hose and finally tick this item off the list.



I've got a little more work to do on the cap itself, it needed a vent installing which involved drilling a hole in the side of the neck, tapping it with a 1/8 NPTF bit and screwing in a fitting which will allow me to install a length of copper tube (brake pipe) to act as a vent. The pipe run will initially rise inside the boot to stop fuel flowing down the vent pipe and then follow a path down and out through the floor of the boot. In theory, with the end of the vent pipe lower than the tank, this should stop fuel running out of the tank through the vent pipe if I'm ever unlucky enough to find myself upside down... scary thought and probably the least of my worries ! Incidentally, the 1/8 NPTF bit wasn't something I had in my toolbox and after a bit of online searching I was a little dismayed at the cost of buying one for a "one off" job. Ebay came to the rescue and I bought one from China for about £8 delivered !

Windscreen escutcheon plates

The windscreen has been on and off more times than I care to remember, It's now on for good, well the legs are anyway. Part of the final fitting includes filling the gaps where the legs pass through the body with silicon and then fitting these stainless steel escutcheon plates over the top. I've not tackled the silicon yet but the plates have been subtly bent to match the curvature of the body and and the fixing holes drilled and tapped. Rather than use self tappers or bolts through the bodywork, I've cut a thread into the fibreglass which some stainless steel button heads will screw into. There's no strength required to hold the plates down so this should be more than adequate and look a little better than self tapping screws.

Wiper Motor

Fitted the wiper motor and wiper spindles this week. The spindles have been on before when I originally drilled the holes for them but I'm now finding that bits are starting to go and stay on. I'd planned right at the outset to trial fit everything first and then put them away until needed, well it's approaching that time... finally !


The motor itself is easy to fit, just a rubber lined strap and a couple of bolts see it secured into place. A little more tricky is the bundy tube which the drive cable runs through and goes to each wiper spindle. I decided to bend the bundy tube to roughly match the curvature of the body in this area and cut it to length afterwards. I'm glad I did as now that it's all bolted up, everything seems fairly neat without any sharp bends which should lead to smooth running.


Of course it hasn't been tested yet and I could live to regret these words. The other issue yet to face is which way the wiper blades will park when the motor is switched off. There's a small plastic ramp inside the motor which dictates whether the wipers park on the left or right. Which way round the spindles are fitted also has a bearing on this, i.e. with the cable passing over the top or underneath the drive wheel. Although the motor came with a small note showing which way round the ramp was installed, I couldn't relate it to which way round I've installed the spindles so this will have to be determined by trial and error. I'm not the first to face this and looking at pictures on other's build sites it doesn't seem too difficult to change the ramp round, I just need to work out how to get some power to the motor to determine which way round mine will work.