Seven - The magic number

 OK - so loads has happened since my last post. In terms of progress on the new stuff, I've been chipping away at it. Got both sides of the bodywork finished and cut out, and then moved onto the rear part and got that finished so thats all a good result! Then finally, my uprights came back, allowing me to do this: And then tonight I managed to find a place to sit! I'm also still working on the engine - I resealed the windage plate and the sump and all was going well, until I went to torque the final bolt up to spec and it snapped Leaving this looking mostly done, but I think I am going to pull it off again, re-clean, re-do and re-seal the whole lot. Alternatively - I am hoping Raptor might service and refurbish the engine for me. I'm really not crazy about the job, and honestly they would do a way better job of it than I will, with the added peace of mind for me. I'm just waiting on Andy to come back and confirm thats an option and I'll whisk the engine away to him

 SO this week things finally started really moving. First thing I did was re-assemble the differential now I have it strengthened and back from MK. Once it was back together, I cleaned and painted it with hammerite satin black and it looks pretty good! I then pressed in the nice new orange bushes and actually put it in the car!!! This was the main piece that had stopped me getting to doing bodywork, but its now out of the way. So tonight, I got on with trimming the bodywork. This is pretty nervewracking as one slip and it would be easy to make a big mess of it, but the manual is pretty good and along with some advice from some of the other builders I think I've done a reasonable job. Having a rose jointed chassis means that a couple of the measurements are slightly different to the manual. It'll look a bit scruffy until I take all the tape off and give all the edges a quick sand but I'm going to leave it as is for now as protection. Will do the left hand side of the car tom

 After all the excitement of putting the fuel system in, things went on a bit of a hiatus for a few days mainly because I was waiting for parts. I did manage a couple of bits - cleaning some rust, doing the first bit of wiring (installing a petrol pump plug onto the loom) and so on. I cleaned and painted my harmonic damper so it didn't look quite so much like it had been at the bottom of the sea; Before: After I fitted my ECU tray. This may need some light trimming but its good and solid. However this week, my diff housing and Sump came back!!! I then proceeded to have a huge fight getting the diff bushes out that involved a lot of swearing. I ended up managing it by using the time honored technique of hitting them really hard with a big hammer and a punch, but that was the most unpleasant job for a few weeks. Once that was done however, the side seals popped out relatively cleanly and then I got down to cleaning the mating surfaces. Once again, a painfully time consuming job scrap

 First thing to say is that as yet, none of the major bits are back from being refurbed or modified, so I haven't got the suspension on on done any of that exciting stuff yet. However, I have done a few more bits that were good to get out of the way. I modified, painted, and fitted the steering column: In the second picture there, I should probably add that yes, I did pretend to drive it and yes, I did make broom broom noises. There are two kinds of kit builders - those who admit to doing that and those who are lying. I finished fitting the fuel system at the back. I now have fuel lines running in conduit from the fuel pump to the filter and on forward, and then the return back to the tank plumbed in as well I have fitted and done the initial setup as recommended by MK on all the rose joints so the suspension can go on as soon as the uprights get here. I also cleaned and painted the gearbox in my home spray booth! Looks nice huh?! Well, yes and no. I am pretty sure I am going to ne

 I may have outsourced some of the stuff I was not really enjoying. I have bitten the bullet and sent my manky uprights and axles off to be reconditioned by people paid to do so, with the added benefit that they will almost certainly do a better job than I would. That's relieved the stress levels hugely, and turned this project back into what I wanted, which was a cathartic exercise where I can make a bit of progress every time I go into the garage. Over the last couple of days I have installed the fuel tank, modified the fuel pump bracket and got all that installed. This has meant learning a few new skills. I have never riveted anything before for a start! The fuel tank straps bent and fitted and the fuel pump unit fully installed and ready to go. I now have a load of things I could do. I can't make big significant progress until some of the parts I have sent away start coming back, but I can do a few little preparatory bits and pieces - trim, paint and fit the top half of the

While I said I enjoyed breaking the donor, I may have oversold that a bit. Pulling the engine out was deeply satisfying. Fighting with every. single. part of the donor since is somewhat less so. The car is from just before the turn of the century, so there is the best part of 22 years grime, corrosion, and just general gunk gumming everything up. The gearbox looks in great shape. It really just needs a good brush, a clean with some brake cleaner and then paint. Check. The engine looks OK. The previous owner assures me it runs fine and there is no reason not to believe him to be honest. Problem is he had already taken it apart a certain amount. That makes it a bit difficult to put back together but lets assume I can manage that with some guidance. The diff is fine. It's gone off for strengthening, but its in reasonable nick and its an LSD which is nice. The driveshafts, most of the ancilliaries and anything from the interior are fine. The uprights and hubs look like they are closer