BITS AND PIECES

I decided that before I got stuck into wiring the dashboard, I would finish off some of the outstanding little job.

First task to be crossed off the list was to connect the cable from the new choke knob into the sliding connector tube that links with the choke cables from the two carbs. All three cables are located in a circular block by small nipples on their ends and rather than try and solder a nipple on the end of the new cable, I tried various methods of connecting the new cable to the one from the connector tube.

It was soon obvious that this approach wasn't going to work so I experimented with making a solder nipple on a spare bit of cable. By letting gravity pull molten solder down the last few mm. of cable it formed a perfect blob, or nipple, right on the end of the cable. Happy that I could do this again, I cut the new inner and outer cable to length, threaded it through an adjuster and made a solder nipple as before. I reconnected all three cables into the connector tube, adjusted out the slack and it works.

 

Next job was to fit the MSVA required plastic sleeves to the track rods, these are to protect pedestrians from the edges of the adjustment and lock nuts in the event of an accident. It required the track rod ball joints to be separated from the steering arms, so that the sleeves could be slipped onto the rods, but as they hadn't been fully tightened this wasn't a problem.

The louvered front number plate carrier flexed at the right angle bend and I could imagine it flapping up and down at speed, so I bent up a couple of 2mm strips and riveted them onto the underside, that should resolve a potential problem.

Final job of the day was to determine the configuration of holes that I wanted to drill in each of the silencers fishtails. I drew up two patterns of seven holes a side, one at 1.5cm and the other at 1.25cm centres and drilled them into scrap timber.

I have decided to use the larger centre pattern and drew out another couple of paper patterns which are now stuck to the fishtails and await drilling.

Dot punch, hammer and 6mm drill bit at the ready and tomorrow I hope to get that job sorted and then it's fitting the fuel level sender to the top of the fuel tank.