Thanks to all for your kind words. If I am being honest and my own harshest critic, it's definitely a "10ft paint job" but for a first effort in a single garage. it'll do for me.
Typically, I set aside a really nice day to put what I hoped were the final coats on the bonnet and doors, and after 3 light coats (not enough as some of the primer is still showing through), I ran out of paint... I will get some more and finish them off but it's still frustrating.
So, in an effort to "turn a frown upside down", I decided that it was time to bolt a couple of bits on to the shell. Why? BECAUSE I CAN NOW!! First up was the heat shield for the bulkhead. Given that the one that was on there when I bought the car looked like an old piece of carpet which had been stuck on with silicon sealant, I thought something a little more suitable would be required. After some advice from a Midas forum member (thanks Roy!) I picked up some adhesive heat shielding from Europa Spares and after cutting it to shape, I gently laid it on. I did get one crease in it (which looks far worse in the picture than it actually is) but it won't be seen much and once this stuff is on, it does NOT want to come off...
I followed this up with my captive bolts for the pedal box. I had constructed this from the old cut-down bolts that held it in place originally and a broken disc shroud from the spares box. I hammered it flat, bent it to shape and welded the bolts on before painting it. It slid into place really easily and attaching the pedal box was simplicity itself from then on.
I was on a roll. My next thought turned to the brake master cylinder and the PWDA valve. I popped the master cylinder roughly into place and next up were the brake pipes from the cylinder to the valve. I'd bought these from Mini Spares rather than make my own as they're an odd size, so they came ready bent to shape. I fitted them to the valve first before offering the valve up to the bulkhead. The previous braking set-up was a mixture of single line and utterly knackered so this was all binned and replaced with dual-line. This meant that the PWDA valve needed a home on the bulkhead, and typically this was exactly where the throttle cable used to sit. Modifications are underway to alleviate this issue.
Finally, in went the bracket which the steady bar bolts to. Again this was a simple case of popping a couple of bolts through the bulkhead and connecting them up, albeit with a strangely contorted body upside down in the footwell in brutally hot sunshine. I will bolt some more stuff on soon!
Heat shield on. Ignore the crease - it looks a lot better in the flesh!
Captive bolt bracket for pedal box attached. Garage ingenuity made this!
Bracket for master cylinders. It's starting to come together...
Reconditioned "Yellow tag" m/c, PWDA valve, those nice looking pipes from Mini Spares and the steady bar bracket all in place and ready to go.
