Jim 123

Hi Rich, Jonathan's advice is a good starting point and may be the cheapest. A few things also to consider... Once "hooding vinyl" edges are cut they tend to fray and open up as you would imagine. Any cut edges will need to be reinforced with strong stitching. Hood material is also a devil to work with and you'll need a pretty robust sewing machine for any DIY. I spent a day trying to make simple door straps for my 7 and gave up, but that was mainly due to the fact I've never used one of these things before. A local upholsterer might give you a reasonable quote to make the cuts in the original boot cover that are a little oversize for your roll bar He could then make up 2 squares of hooding vinyl with neat 40mm apertures to mark in situ and stitch onto the upper surface of your boot cover with a neat finish and reinforcement where needed. Hooding vinyl is different from furnishing vinyl, but is you can source / get samples on EBay. Will you have similar problems with the roll bar rear diagonals?

A nice piece of engineering. Re Marcus's comment, if the tray base is mild steel, have you thought about sticking a magnet on the underside to help keep loose tools from reshaping the bodywork.

Can you describe where you are looking to trim the boot cover.? From your description it's pretty difficult to figure out which area you are going to trim.

Chris, I can't locate the thread but there was a posting on here about 6 months ago which a vibration on a new build turned that out to be a dodgy engine mount. Thr original culprit was thought to be the gearbox touching chassis.

I believe there is an internal shaft inside the wiper tube. Maybe try holding the revs to produce the resonance and see if anything changes with the wipers operating?

Maybe try putting a slice of rubber/cardboard in/to the small gap between the gearbox and chassis to see if the gearbox is touching with the engine revving

Oooops sorry for the typo. Yes "on the car".

Alan, I'd be interested to learn if your hunting issue has been cured with the new plugs?

Might worth getting the front wheels balanced "other the car". I wouldn't recommend this for the rears but it is a safe option for the fronts.

Out of interest what make are the plugs?

The Allen key bolt in the 12 o'clock position holds the rim in place. There is a concealed lip on the bowl in the 6 o'clock position that also hold the rim in place. With the Allen key bolt is removed gently prise the rim forward at the 12 o'clock location and it should come free. When you reassemble, firstly locate the fixing in the 6 o'clock before refitting the Allen bolt.

The metal hex should still be intact and removable. It may be worth double checking that you have the "right" plug socket for the Duratec. Specifically, a socket that has an external diameter to allow the tool to fully engage around the hex of the plug. Some plug sockets can foul inside the plug recess on the head, and don't engage fully engage the plug hex which often results in the ceramic getting fractured.

Lambda is a good starting point. Have you had the plugs out? The tips should all be dry and burning with a light grey / straw discolouration.

You're right. The Modine is the thing around your oil filter base. The front connector takes a hose from the Modine to the T piece. The rear connector takes a hose to the top connector on your heater.

Over this winter I found my heater OK with screen and doors on but no roof. My lower body kept warm, but I found a pair of gloves useful as you'd expect.

Have you checked that your heater matrix is free of any trapped air?

I'm not sure that carpet is normal on the outer drivers side. Normally carpet is only on the transmission tunnel. As said a picture would help.

Have you left the steering rack clamp bolts loose for now? I recall that these don't get tightened until the column assembly is lined up and in place. Keep an eye out for clearance between the column where it passes under the belt tensioner.

I got an email from Frost's re POR15 Fuel Tank Sealer, any use? http://www.frost.co.uk/faq-3-step-por15-tank-repair-seal-tank-guide?utm_source=2017_04_21_POR15Tank_FAQ&utm_campaign=2017_04_21_POR15Tank_FAQ&utm_medium=email

You may want to try fitting the factory hood as proof of concept before you get the grinder fired up. Your idea of reinstating the brackets sounds an elegant solution. However you need to factor in 2 considerations. Firstly, the alignment of any reinstalled hood stick bracket holes will need to be bang on to the originals. This is because of the shape of the hood which is dependent on the hood sticks sitting in the correct position (the hood material is not very elastic). Secondly, when you eventually get the factory hood erected properly, you might be surprised how much mechanical stress the hood sticks and the mounts are subject to, which could have some bearing on your spec and placement of rivets. Best of luck. It sounds like your build is going to be a masterpiece of detail.

On the Softbits website, interestingly they show the popper base for the half hood fixing strap fitted to the hood stick holes in the vertical mount. This is combined with slits being cut in the boot cover which, although a minor detail, does not look very professional. This treatment negates having to drill the body for the standard hood popper which doubles as the half hood strap fixing. Removing the vertical mount might be a one way trip that would preclude hood sticks being used in future, and if you drill the body for the half hood fixing it will not be in the correct position for any future hood fitment. Is there any mileage in cutting slits in the boot cover, but trim the vertical mounts in duck hooding material for visual appearance and then fix your popper bases to the vertical mounts?

I recall that the fan is meant to come in about 92 degrees. This may be in the build manual. My Sigma tends to run at 80 when warm pretty constantly.

I think the Handbook advises that you should not touch the throttle until after the engine fires up.

Well done Rob. A great video. The suspense in waiting for the engine to catch was worthy of an Oscar nomination.

I have a Sigma oil pressure sender in my hand. It has a normal hex head for spanner fitting. Is a special tool needed because of access?