GAITERS AND PORK PIES

Firstly I would like to thanks Peter, Carol, Dejavw and Sean for their congrats on my first engine start up, as moments go, they don't get much better, well, related to building a kit car that is.

Call me selfish or self indulgent, but I did find the time to finish connecting up the handbrake. I needed to order a nipple from CBS and whilst I was doing that I thought I might as well add onto the order, leather gaiters for the gear leaver and the handbrake. And whilst I was doing that I also ordered a pair of rear lights from Stafford Vehicle Components.

I didn't have the confidence in my soldering abilities to actually solder on a nipple to the handbrake cable, so I compromised and used a screw clamp nipple. Having tightened down the screw onto the cable as tightly as possible, I splayed out the wire as it exited the nipple and using plenty of flux and good old fashioned non fluxed solder, I applied it using just the flame from my mini gas soldering iron. The solder ran down between the the wire strands back into the nipple. For good measure I applied more solder into the hole opposite where the screw fits. I trimmed back the excess strands, and I now have a belt and braces job and am confident that the nipple will hold fast.

I finished of the job by P clipping the outer cable back to the chassis, ensuring that it would not foul the caliper or the swing arm as the suspension moves up and down.

The leather gaiters fit very nicely, they both need 3mm countersunk bolts to attach them, but I have yet to decide whether I use riv-nuts or regular nuts on the underside. Although more of a faff initially I think riv-nuts will make them easier to fit as now there is as not much movement to the handbrake lever to slide the whole top cap complete with gaiters into place.I do beleive that a nice wooden gear knob will be in my Christmas stocking on the 25th.

The rear lights are a reproduction of a Lucas pattern and were always referred to as Pork Pies, obviously their shape might have something to do with that. They will fullfill all my need as they incorporate indicators and number plate illuminations. I have already connected a length of cable to the loom with a six way connector block and now just have to route the cable to the back of the car in readiness to connect to the lights when fitted.