Gear Lever : I'd been struggling to find a gear lever that liked and was sensibly priced, so decided to make my own. I got some 14mm stainless steel bar from my local metal stockist, £10 for this and stainless steel sheet I needed. I cut a thread in one end of the bar for the gear knob and filed a flat onto the other end, drilling two holes to mate with the stub on the gear box. Using an old bit of aluminium I played around with different angles until I found the right position for me. I used a hydraulic press and pipe forming gauge to put the bend into the bar and finished with a polish and a gear knob I found on E-Bay. Overall I'm pleased with the result, it feels solid and look authentic.
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| Interior Door Panel |
Door Panels: Next job was to make the door panels and fix the door latches into place. The door panels are made up of 3 mm plywood. I fitted the door seal around the edge of the body work and made a paper template. The ply was cut to match the template plus a couple of mm. I clamped the door panel in place and trimmed it down so that it is just touching the door seal to form a watertight barrier. I also drilled out the holes for the door latch matching with the pre-cut holes in the door shell. i have put a slight bevel on the edge of the panel to help with the seal once the leather cover is applied.
Here you can see the door panel with the latch fitted, the large washers behind the latch are to simulate the leather covering that will finish the piece. The holes in the panel are for the clips that will fix the it to the door. I'll also varnish the panels to give them a level of waterproof. If you want detailed instructions on positioning and fixing the door locks there's a really good guide here on Mike's page.
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| Latch & Lock in Location |
The next job is to position the lock that the door latch will mate with. This is held only by copious amounts of fiberglass and once positioned cannot be adjusted. The lock is fixed to a piece of steel that follows the curve of the panel. I used some steel tube as a spacer on one side and some washer to finish the spacing behind the nut. With the latch in the fully closed position and the door in its ideal alignment, smooth with the body of the car, I held the door in place with a quick grip. Once happy that everything was right, I made up some wooden blocks to loosely fit into the gaps and applied loads of P40 and left it alone for 24 hours.
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| Wooden Blocks & Filler Applied |
Engine Side Vents: I've also fitted the O/S louvered vent on the engine bay. I fitted the steel vents to wooden batons that have been planed to give the correct spacing. With epoxy resin on the wooden batons I held the vent in place with a couple of quick grips to allow the resin to dry. The vents can then be unscrewed to remove for painting - this is easier said than done on the drivers side as the brake servo obstructs the access.
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| Holding the vents in place while resin dries |
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