June 28th 2012 - Windscreen & Fuel Filler

I can't believe how long the car's been home without making any significant progress (All I'd done was to fit the mirrors onto the windscreen frame).  However, the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the village prompted a day off work - half of it to be spent working on the car.

The build manual says that the wiper system and heater should be fitted into the scuttle before the windscreen goes on, but I wanted to put it on now for several reasons:

1. It would be easier and safer to drill the mounting holes with nothing in the way underneath
2. It wouldn't be difficult to remove again to take the scuttle off
3. It would be really visible progress to spark the enthusiasm

I started with making up a pole with a G-clamp attached at each end to allow the screen to be clamped in place the required 1007mm from the rear bulkhead.  The screen was then attached to this after the masking up the area to be worked on.  Masking tape was also used to prevent the base of the screen from slipping out of its moulded channel.  The two windscreen pillar/mirror assemblies were then offered up, the best position found and mounting holes marked and drilled.  It was then simply a matter of bolting them on and joining the posts to the screen with grub screws.  All in all, easier than expected:

I haven't decided whether to make holes for the heated windscreen cables yet, as Westfield seem to assume that you either have a (optional extra) heater or use the heated windscreen as there's only space for one switch on the dashboard.  I'll probably run the wires anyway and maybe make another hole for the switch, as I'm intending to make one for a 12v socket anyway.

Flushed with success, and still with a couple of hours before the start of Torch festivities, I decided to make a start on fitting the fuel filler cap and associated pipework.  I started by cutting the filler pipe down a bit so it would fit, making sure to leave it long enough for it to be located with jubilee clips, but short enough so it could be fitted in quite a tight space.  This allowed me to trial fit it and accurately mark the hole to be drilled in the bodywork.  Once again, this was chain-drilled over-cautiously, requiring a LOT of time-consuming filing to make the hole large enough. Once done, assembly and mounting of the cap and pipework was straightforward.  Other than a bit of pushing and wiggling, all that was required was six small holes and to tie the cap retaining cable.  Neat.

Some significant progress at last then, prompting a "doesn't it look almost finished" photo opportunity once the rain had stopped: