Next job to complete was the "boot" floor. I had fiddled around for ages trying to work out how I could get the floor fitted, and still have access to the fuel pumps and filter. In the end I plumped for cutting the supplied floor into three pieces. Two "ends" and a middle removable panel. This helped with the fitting and after a very enjoyable few hours it was done. I sealed the edge of the floor with Sikaflex and made up a seal with Sikaflex for the removable panel to screw down onto.

Not the best set of pictures but it looks like this:

I did say I would add a picture of the instrument cluster with the rubber seal. I am quite pleased with how it covers up my hamfistedness cutting out the aperture.

I mounted a small alloy bracket to the scuttle and with a Tie Strap the cluster stays in place.

I have also added pictures of the reinforcing for the bonnet catches and the rear view mirrors. I wanted to make sure the mirrors were mounted solidly and didn't vibrate. 

I had fitted the binnacle and bulkhead some time ago but left the instrument cluster fitting as I struggled with how I was going to get it to fit into the right place whilst getting a good finish in the opening I needed to cut out. This was my solution. With a small disc cutter I cut out a large part of the area where the cluster would go and then with a file, sanding blocks and the disc cutter I got what at best could be called a good fit. The reality is the opening I had formed was pretty ropey. Although the instrument were all visible it just looked scruffy. I saw some "D" shaped soft rubber door seal on one of the stands at Stoneleigh so I had a length. I split this down the curved section and put it on the binnacle and pushed the instrument cluster against the flat section.This looked much better. With this done I took of the rubber strip, wrapped the cluster in cling film and holding it in place Filled the area around the cluster with expanding foam.. Once dry this gave me a "tube" the cluster would slide in and with the rubber strip back in it makes a reasonable job.

I will add a photo of the front when I can find it...

June 2013 sounds a long time ago and is! So, whats been going on? Well quite a lot. Firstly I managed to fall off a horse and wrecked my right shoulder. Torn tendons, rotator cuff and other soft tissue damage, surgery followed and a hefty recovery period. Whilst of sick I was made redundant so all in all a crap period in my life! However, after accepting the car build was going to be a bit of an issue I relaxed and carried on anyway..... with one arm strapped up it was at best amusing.

So, to pick up somewhere near where I stopped. I completed the radiator install and decided to have the air cleaner in front of the radiator so that it got a good cool charge. So much cutting and fitting I ended up with this:

Over all I am pleased with this set up, Plumbing the hoses etc all went well. All the parts came from JJC Racing who were a great help.

To correct my omission regarding the nose cone...

I am planning a fairly aggressive front wing for hill climb use to make sure I can ensure I have good turn in. I also wanted to have the nose cone hinge so that I can have access for service and repairs. I bought again from B&Q some heavy duty stainless door hinges which could be disassembled and the parts arranged to suit my needs. They were £20 but they work a dream. As my proposed front wing will be fitted to these mountings I used M8 bolts to make sure all the downforce would go through to the chassis without being lost in any flexing.

Next step is to bond the alloy strip with resin and matting to spread the load and stop the nose cone cracking where it is mounted.

I decided to leave the last jobs on the loom to focus on the cooling system and fitting the radiator. 
My solution is an Escort (OHV) radiator (back to my roots). Mine came from Dave Simms Automotive. They were helpful with accurate measurements and a reasonable price.

To mount the radiator I used some fine B&Q stair nosings alloy angle. This gave me a good start to develop the mounting.

This was as far as I wanted to go ahead of fitting the air cleaner and cooling fan. Having proved my concept I moved onto... The nose cone fitting. Clearly I had done this already but not put it in my blog!

With the fuel tank all fitted and both pumps working there was nothing left to do but add some fuel and give it a go. A quick look round and on with the ignition and crank and... it started! I was shocked. The engine quickly settled into a decent idle so I had a quick look round to make sure the ignition light went out and the rev counter worked and everything did! With no radiator and the exhaust blowing badly as it was held on by very few nuts and no gaskets I switched it off. I have to say I felt exceptionally happy after all the hours that have gone into the car it now sounds like a real one. After all the excitement it was back to the list of jobs?

As my car has the full cage fitting the throttle pedal and cable was more complicated by the large bracket which locates the cage at the base of the "A" pillar. To get clearance of the master cylinder reservoir and steering column I needed to move the top bracket on the pedal towards the middle of the car.

With this done I could drill the scuttle to fit the cable. I didn't want to cut or modify the standard throttle cable so that replacements would be easy and the reliability better. I developed from some alloy tube and alloy angle this solution.

Fitted it looks like this:

The pedal feel is good although I may end out with a small spring on the pedal to help with the return of the pedal. We will see.

With this job out of the way its more wiring to tidy up the loom to finish the job once and for all (Probably not).