Well, the car is finally due to go to the factory for it's pre-SVA safety checks and SVA test. With last weekend being lost to business commitments, I'm still left with a few jobs to do before that can happen - gulp!
The first outstanding issue was the horn operation. You know, sometimes it's much better to go away, sleep on a problem and then come back to it. Often the solution will present itself and will be far simpler than you initially thought. So it was with the horn. The problem I had with the switched live system was solved with the simple addition of a relay. That way, the existing loom connections to the horn unit could be used (ie. with the switched live where the horn button would be), I just used a relay with a switched earth to trigger it :) The nice thing was that all the wiring was in place to do it. I did realise that one of the horn buttons was knackered though. Not sure whether this was my doing or whether it was like it - but have sourced a replacement from eBay. In the meantime, I removed the offending button and blanked the hole, just in case the SVA examiner was fussy about one button not working (which would be fair).
With the horn done, I could fill in some dash gaps, starting with the head unit hole. I'd bought a blanking plate from eBay and with a bit of leftover carbon fibre trim, plugged the hole and improved the aesthetic.
I also removed the warning light surround plate, to radius the edges and fit the warning light panel for SVA. The button head allen fixings I'd used were replaced with countersunk versions to comply with the protrusion rules of the SVA. The plate is within the threshhold by .2mm (to be exempt from radius, the protrusion must be less than 3.2mm from the dash face), but I though it safer to radius it too. It was handfiled and I was so pleased with the results that I'll probably keep it on!
The dash aircon vents were also finally put in place. These look excellent and work very well. Turning the ally ring closes/opens the vent whilst the direction is controlled by the usual tab and vane affair. All in all, I'm really pleased with the look of the interior at this point which is befitting of the 'Supercar' image I was aiming for.
Wth the dash done, I moved onto the harnesses and seats. No great story here, just be sure to fit the harnesses first. The only exception is the turnbuckle belt, which has to be fitted whilst you put the seat in otherwise you can't get the turnbuckle through the slot in the seat. Just bolt the rest in place with the bolts/nylocs and washers provided.
Finally, the seats. Now these can be a pain if you don't prepare properly. Basically, make sure that the runners are parallel to each other and that the fixing holes at either end are the same distance apart as the holes in the floor (350mm in this case). That sounds obvious, but the securing holes for the runners in the seats are pre-bonded in place and can vary. A couple of millimetres is enough to get you cursing when trying to get the runner bolts in through the floorpan! You can tack weld the bolts to the runner track, but yuo need to be careful not to heat distort them which will affect their operation. Anyway, it didn't take long to fettle the runners so that they dropped straight in :)
With the seats and harnesses in place, I could finally put all my efforts into perspective regarding the interior and I'm really pleased with the results. It strikes (to my eye at least) a great balance between function, style and luxury, with nothing that looks parts-bin or donor (even though some of it is ;).
So last job was a quick check of any other potential SVA problem areas. I added some rubber trim to the side scoops in case the examiner thought the edges were too sharp, btu that was about it. The car was very carefully loaded onto the trailer and the cockpit covered with some heavy duty polythene sheet to keep the weather out should it rain. The car was then manouvered into the sunlight for the very first time where I found (annoyingly), that I had poor panel colour match on the cockpit section. So once it's back from Ultima it will be back in the paintshop for a re-re-spray! Ah well, at least it will cover some of the workshop scars that it's picked up along the way :)
So it's time to wave goodbye to the old girl for the time being. I'll take her to the factory in Hinckley where the screen will be fitted and readied for SVA. Fingers crossed!
Well, the car is finally still at the factory being prepped for SVA. They're hellish busy at the moment, so my initial SVA date had to be pushed back until early May :(
Never mind. It did give me a chance to reflect on the outstanding jobs and to perhaps take the opportunity to use the factory's expertise to help finish things off. Whilst I'd sent the car up there with the intention of them purely fitting the windscreen, I decided to get them to re-trim the doors (which I wasn't 100% happy with) and to fit the side screens which are critical to get right to ensure that the roof goes on OK. So this is jsut a quick update to show a few shots of the re-trimmed doors. The main difference is along the lower seem, which no longer scallops along the edge. Apparently the professional trimmer who did them thought they were a complete pain too (so I felt better about my efforts :) and the central holes were modified with an additional fillet piece to wrap around the apeture.
So as I write this, I'm still anxiously waiting to get the car back. Looks as if it will be around May 9th - fingers crossed! :)