Now the front wishbones are hanging in position, the front hubs need some attention before fitment.
These were sourced early in the build from Ebay and were in need of a good clean before being re-painted with some black hammerite,
Out with the wire brush attachments on the electric drill and away we go cleaning up the hubs and removing general grim, dirt, surface rust which had accumulated over the years.
The wheel studs will need replacing with longer versions so I intend to apply the same methodology of removal that I did with the rear drive shafts and use a ball joint splitter and liberal doses of WD40 to break the seal between wheel stud and hub.
One thing I have learnt in this project is not to jump to far ahead of the game and then regret it further down the line when you come to do another task which is subsequently hindered.
I am constantly thinking of the implications of doing one task over another, working from home in a garage with limited specialist tools, space, time does influence how you approach the build and what order you do things.
this leads nicely onto carpet... why you say is he thinking of carpet so early in the build? well whilst the side panels are off and no scuttle or firewall has been fitted, access into the lower reaches of the footwell has never been better. Once those parts get fitted trying to fit carpet into a confined area will become all the more difficult.
So a trip to GBS was tagged onto a pre-arranged visit to Parents in Chesterfield and first Ice Hockey game of the season at Sheffield Steelers to collect the laser cut carpet set GBS produce for the zero.
First thing which catches the eye is - there are alot of pieces of carpet to fit and in turn a nice jigsaw trying to work out which piece fits where. However I Identified the pieces I specifically needed for this stage and set about getting them glued into position.
GBS do provide the glue for the carpet and a word of warning - ensure you have plenty of ventilation it is extremely whiffy and has a strong vapour. It is also very sticky stuff to apply - an old brush is ideal.
Apply liberally to both surfaces, leave for a few minutes then stick together. You have little chance for maneuvere once both surfaces are stuck together so be confident before sticking as it is messy to peel off.
So the footwell drivers and passenger panels plus the equivalent floor panels in were duly glued in.
I also want to get the centre transmission tunnel piece glued in before the side panels go on as they are large pieces which I anticipate will be quite difficult to glue in position with obstruction in place.
It seems an ago when I first picked up these two parts and assembled bushes into the chassis and respective pedals.
Now I have got some of the more fiddly, hard to reach carpet fitted it seems as good a time as any to think about fitting the brake and clutch pedals into position.
The two pedals pivot from a central shaft which runs through the bushes of each pedal, with spacers between the bushes.
The last larger spacer on the left (as you look at the assembly from the front back) needed some trimming in order to fit into the remaining gap but that aside these all went together well.
The brake master cylinder pin still requires shortening to length but until I have got the brakes fully setup I cannot finalise this length with any degree of confidence; but fitting these two pedals into position gives the chassis a more purposeful look and you can begin to visualise the driving position more clearly
The accelerator pedal fits later in the build hence why you cannot see it in the pictures below
