November 18th 2012 - Dashboard switches & lights

Not much progress this weekend due to Matthew having a new and much more powerful go-kart which he kept pointing forward for almost 50% of the time, bending two steering arms and a bumper in the process!

Given the limited remaining time and the need to keep some momentum on the build, I opted for the easy indoors job of fitting the warning lights and switches to the almost-time-for-it-to-go-on-at-last dashboard.  This was simply a matter of working out what goes where and using a craft knife to cut holes in the vinyl where there was already a suitable size hole in the aluminium backplate.

For IVA, the switches will need labels which, in theory, Westfield should have provided.  I can't seem to find any though, so it will probably require a quick browse of the Internet.

Full complement of lights and switches look easy to read..... without the steering wheel in the way!

November 11th 2012 - Scuttle back on

After the simple task of shortening the heater input/output pipes and making two holes for them to connect through to the engine bay, the scuttle assembly was finished.  Now a lot heavier than it was, it went back on without fouling anything.  Its now quite busy under there, but seems to fit together well.

Scuttle back on.  Dash an trim trial fitted

The manual says the optional side trim panels should be fitted before the scuttle is secured, so out came the seats and the panels went in after cutting out the holes for the seatbelt anchors.  At this point I trial fitted the dash and the pad on top of the side to see how they will fit together.

Work then came to a halt as I couldn't find the required "peel" rivets to attach the side trim panels.  Should look good when its done though..... provided the seats will still move when they go back in.

November 3rd 2012 - Wipers & Heater

For once a reasonable amount of time available and good progress to show for it!  I'd actually fitted the wiper wheel boxes a couple of months ago, but managed to kink one of the aluminium pipes through which the wiper rack feeds whilst attempting to put the required (quite tight) curve in it - not an uncommon problem judging by comments on the WSCC owners club forum.  Rather than try to get another piece from Westfield and probably have the same issue, I bought a metre of 10mm copper pipe off eBay on the grounds that it is a) cheap (£3) b) easier to bend and c) long enough to have 2 or 3 goes.  Inevitably, one go was enough - made easier by cutting it slightly long, bending it, then cutting to the right length.  I then removed the nut from the kinked pipe, put it on the new one and hammered a suitable socket into each end to flare them.

During this process, I fitted the wiper motor to the bulkhead after putting the latter back on the car temporarily to find the perfect place for it - high enough to miss the ECU and relays, low enough to not need a tight bend in the aforementioned pipe.  The motor had to be removed again to feed the wiper rack through the pipes and wheel boxes (adding grease in the process), but it was worth the effort:

Wiper motor, rack and wheel boxes from inside the scuttle

Next job was to fit the washer jet.  The manual says there's an indent in the scuttle to indicate its position.  There wasn't, so I used a photo I'd taken on the Westfield stand at the Donington kit car show as a guide.  I also moved the washer tube from the washer bottle to fit it on the washer jet - my logic being that this will be difficult once the heater's in.  I'll need to think about how to route it over or through the bulkhead later.

Wiper spindles and washer jet

And so the heater came out of its box.  Once again, the photos from Donington came in useful to confirm which way up it goes (no picture in the manual) and it simply bolted in to the middle of the scuttle, as near to the top as is possible.  It was then just a matter of adding the pipes to the demist vents and the outlets  which will point into the footwells to make motoring in freezing (i.e. British summer) weather more bearable.  

Heater.  Hope it works

Unfortunately, time ran out before I could make the holes through the scuttle for the pipes to the cooling system.  That will have to wait until next time, which should then allow the whole (now heavy) assembly to go back on the car.  Now that will be progress!