The splash panel has been cut back and hammered flat(er). Since it's not a structural panel, I'm not bothered about the loss of the folded section.
The front suspension mounts are cleaned back and ready for the next stage. The brackets are just sat in place so I could get a feel for what things will look like.
The end I can get to for the cross member has been capped off.
A wonky patch on the passenger footwell has been replaced. I've no idea why I left this in place previously!
I've made a start on closing in the front panels to help stiffen the front end. The other two triangles will be done when the cars the right way up.
The remains of the heater tray have been cut out at last, and the area cleaned of paint and underseal. There will be a new tray going in once the engine's on it's mounts.
The shell was now the right way up again and looking something like a car too. So I've moved on with getting the engine mounted.
There's not a lot of room around the engine once I mocked up the steering column! Somehow I've got to fit 3-1 manifolds, the steering column and an alternator in there somewhere!!
So the next thing to do was to start on the front engine mounts. The gearbox mount will be done next. The front rails were strengthened with 2mm thick plates to help take the weight and to add a little more to the general strength of the shell.
I only got as far as making card templates for the engine side of the mounts, so that's what I'll be starting with today. The chassis side of the mounts will be 3mm plates welded to the new rail plates. This way the mounts are kept small, and with a hard plastic bush in them. They're the same things as I intend to use on the suspension, so if I find the mounts too hard, or that they transfer too much vibration I can get softer ones without having to alter anything else.
