I have come to a fairly big point in this project - and it's one that will free up a nice bit of space in the garage. No, I haven't decided to sell it on - instead it's time to get the engine out from under the bench and chuck it in engine bay. So, using my amazing muscles (and wheezing like an asthmatic 2 stoke), I "walked" it from one end of the garage to the other, managing to avoid coming even close to touching the bodywork. When you consider there's only just enough room to get my chunky frame past, you'll appreciate that this was some feat. Typically though, I have discovered that I have put a 2-inch scratch on the rear 3/4 which WILL need attention. So the spray gun will come out AGAIN when it gets warmer...
I turned my attention to the radiator and how I was going to mount it. The bottom slotted into holes in the valance and a couple of tie-bar bushes fit nicely on the feet and sit in the holes perfectly so I'll be using those. The top however, was a different story. There were 2 "L" shaped brackets on it with captive nuts which weren't fixed to anything so not ideal. Plus I could only find one now, and the large hole to locate the top radiator pin wasn't quite big enough for the new rad. So I thought a bit laterally - rather that bolt through the bodywork, which I REALLY didn't like the idea of, I could use a similarly sized bracket and build up the fibreglass where it would need to sit before drilling it and popping in a rivnut. It won't be under a huge amount of pressure so should be plenty strong enough. And that way it can be easily removed whilst also negating the need to drill through the existing bodywork. This made me happy.
So I set about the old bracket with the cone cutter, Clyde the Club Hammer and the angry grinder, then made a rough copy using an old "Ultimate Engine Steady" I had kicking about. They're a bit ragged to start with, but they won't be seen and I intend on cleaning them up a bit before painting and fitting properly. I chucked a couple of grommets in and they fit beautifully. Now all I had to do was to build up the bodywork with fibreglass by about 5mm. So I contorted myself into the engine bay and spent the next half an hour cutting, mixing and dabbing until I had a mound of fibreglass that looked like an oversized teenage zit. I will drill it and fit the rivnut once it's dried out. I've only done one side so far but I should be able to get in from the top once the engine's in. I hope...
The Engine. It's a bit dusty, but I can clean it. Oil Cooler removed for now so it will be easier to fit in.
Original (but re-purposed) bracket to mount the top of the radiator to the side of the engine bay.
And the one I made from the old Ultimate Engine Steady. Tidying up still to do...
