While trying the roll bar out I noticed that the replacement panel in the sunroof have sagged a little, so I fitted the rear in place with a strap and board, then warmed the panel and raised it up until it was level again.
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In the quest to remove some of the hot air from the radiator, I had a wander around the local scrap yard looking for bonnet vents. None of the cars in had any, so was away to leave when my wife suggested we look at interior vents. We discovered some Vauxhall triangular vents and some Rover 75 teardrop ones. Once home we tried them for style.
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Have been using the car a couple of times a week for this month, so finally swapping the track rod ends I have had lying around. All I need to do now is have a final play with camber/castor then get them tracked up.
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A early finish from work, with a pleasant day, allowed me to go about fitting the vents I had found.
After playing with its position and some careful measurement I decide where I wanted the hole. I drilled a small hole through the bonnet from the back to make sure it would clear the wheel arch, internally, then using this as a datum point, I drew around the vent and proceeded to cut the hole out, firstly making a string of holes, then with a cutting disk in the angle grinder, then sanded it to size using the Dremel.
After a few trial fits and a little adjustment it fitted.
Then it was a case of swapping the coupé around and doing the other side, while doing this it is amazing to see how much difference there is in the sides of the car.
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Now I had a way out for some of the hot air, I turned my attention to the sealing of the radiator to the bonnet. This was to stop any air bypassing the radiator.
First thing needed was a mount for the seal along the top of the radiator, this was made from some aluminum angle and cut to match the bonnet curve, the small gap will filled by some "flap & bead" boot seal I got from Woolies-Trim.
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Once it was in place it was time to make a couple of templates for the side seals, I started with card to get the rough shape,then moved on to thin aluminum sheet to get the exact shape. This was then transferred to some sheet steel, ready to be welded to the hinge extensions at the side, the small gap to the radiator end tanks,will be filled with some rubber strips and again boot trim will seal it around the wires for the front lights.
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The first day of my Easter holidays was quite warm and dry, so I attached the sides I had made earlier. I tack welded them into position, then removed the bonnet to fully weld them on, and give them a quick coat of paint. While the bonnet was off I fashioned a scoop for the lower area of the radiator. It still needs a bridge piece between the grill area and the scoop.
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In typical Scottish weather style, today it decides to snow! So unable to work outside, I took the voltage regulator from the Coupé dash. This is a mechanical regulator designed to lower the voltage to approximately 10 volts to feed the temperature and fuel gauge.
I had bought a modern solid state regulator to replace it with and, even though it's unseen, I decided to make it look as original as possible. For full details of the conversion I have created a separate page here.
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