Bub lives, breathes and moves on its own .. just

Apologies for the length of this Bubdate but I've been a busy bee..

The last proper Bubdate saw the rollcage fitted and painted with Zinga galvanising coating, the tub had been painted, and the engine had been run with the twin carbs (for a short time) but there were issues with the engine, the wiring was all to cack and the whloe project is clearly fractal in nature like all projects are, i.e. the more detail yoou look at the more you find .....

Note: Videos are at the bottom - I was too busy doing the jobs to take many photos or videos

While Bub sat out for a few days to help the zinga coating cure properly, I cleaned up the workshop and finished off the seat bases. The didn't need much, a wee bit of welding to finish off the frmes then painted in black paint so they look fresh. Then Bubit was dragged back onto the ramp and the reassembly started.

Roll cage:

• The zinga coating is excellent and will take a lot of abuse but it feels horrible and rough so I got some silver smooth hammerite and put a couple of coats of that on. It doesn't look perfect but that's because I'm pants at painting!
• One the paint had dried overnight, I loosely bolted the cage back in and trimmed a bit more dashboard before bolting it up tight, refitting the seats and checking I still fitted in ... phew, yes I do!

Seat belts

• Plan A was to simply fit new standard inertia reel seat belts as I wasn't going to race the car adn 4 point harnesses are a serious  pain in the arse on the road. Problem: the roll cage was 1" too far forwards for the reel to fit properly and I don't trust the odd arrangement recommended to relocate them. Answer? Retracatable 3 point harnesses.
• These are clever bits of kit. A normal 3 point harness with a normal car type lap belt but instead of the shoulder straps mounting solidly to the car or cage it comes with an inertia reel which can be mounted at a range of angles -  the locking mechanism is adjusted for vertical and horizontal angles so bolting it to the standard rear seat belt mounts was a cinch. For access to what will be rear load area, the inertia reel has a set belt clip arrangement so the 2 can be separated.
• One fly in the ointment is that the lap belt was too short. Sure I could get it done up but a thick coat or a big lunch and I'd be screwed. Answer? After a call to the manufacturer the advice was to make extension plates 25mm wide and 3mm thick to the length required. I raided the scrap bin and made a set up each 4" long which is perfect for the centre belts but an extra 3 or 4 " will be better for the outer ones. Simple cheap and easy to make.

Engine

• With the engine still out, I took the opportunity to rewire the charging cables. The normal ones are nasty and the cable from alternator into the loom is waaay too small. A new 16mm cross section welding cable was taken from my stock of stuff. Alternator to starter motor then on to the battery all with proper terminals crimped and soldered. the alternator only puts out 55A, I want every one of them to run all the shit I'll be fitting!
• The exhaust (upright stinger with baffle for the legality) is a performance item, big bore with equal length headers for proper scavenging and ceramic coated for looks and longevity. No heating options .. brrrr - I'll be using my old motorbike heated fleece for the cold days
• test fitted only to find that the bottom of the bulkhead got in the way ... engine out again, trimmed and put back in. 30 minutes and sorted. 
• Next problem - 2 of the rear exhaust studs are too long, Bugger. Luckily new ones are cheap and readily available so I collected them and set about removing the old ones. Stud pullers are great until they break .... one stud came out fine but the other needed heat and the old 2 nuts against each other schtick and then it sheared. Typical! A 15 minute job had become a 2 hour one. Drilled, tapped and sorted.
• Using copper, reusable gaskets and copper nuts the exhaust is in 5 pieces and fiddly to fit. took me about 30 minutes then it was all nipped up, baffle inserted with a self tapper to keep it secure and the engine was ready to fire.

Ready, steady, fail

• turned over ... no noise ... hmmmm ... into my normal diagnosis; air, yes, fuel (split pipe, fuel pours out) yes, spark .... AHA, the condenser wire had come off! back on and it fired straight up. NUTS, no charging ..... charging exciter/warning wire had come apart ... plugged back together and full charging ...NICE
• with the engine running it was time to get Bub to move under his own steam for the first time in 4 months 
• The nasty noise wasn't the fan belt it was the fan rubbing on the housing - a little pushing and pulling adjusted that nicely.
• With or without baffle? With , definitely with ... boring I know but its noisy enough

 If you're still reading then Mazal Tov ...

What's next?

• oil change with new sump plate with sump plug for easier oil changes
• tidy up the engine wiring
• finish off headlights
• replace front suspension which turns out to be knackered
• service brakes, new pads/shoes, fresh fluid
• Test drive .... 
• start with the fun stuff ;-)