Bank Holiday in the Garage!

 You wait months for an update then two come along at once, in the space of a week.... sorry thats just how it is.

I will start this one with what i have been up to this bank holiday weekend. This weekend saw the Stoneleigh kit car show, and i didn't go. The weather on the Sunday was dire and the 4 hour drive with no roof was just no doing it for me. I looked into getting a train but i would have had to remortgage my house and set off a week prior, according to the ticket website. So time with the family it was, with a some quality time in the garage during these lovely light evenings. These are my most favorite times in the garage, i always get something productive done and some quality soul and blues from the local radio.
So the last few evenings have been well spent in the garage with my first task to finish the carbon fiber panels following the dash along the top of the doors.

These are really easy to make up. First i made a crude cardboard template and checked that it would not void anything like the door catches or door seals, then once i was happy with that a second neater lined version was transfered onto 2mm acrylic plastic. I used plastic as it wont absorb water and go out of shape if it gets wet and it will also wrap in vinyl easily. The plastic was actually cut from a section of flat channel trucking that is used for the likes of cooker hood extractors and bathroom fans. Either way its cheap as chips and cuts easy without shattering.

 Once that was cut out and trimmed to fit round the door lock, i just wrapped it in the same carbon fiber vinyl that i covered the dash in. Attention to detail also here making sure the direction of the carbon effect twill was continued along the door card panel also. If it went in the opposite direction it would have looked very odd, to me anyway.
  The then finished door strip is held in place simply by using lots of self adhesive pads stuck all the way along. I did have to use a heat gun on the broad end slightly on both the panels just to add a little curve in order for it to sit against the dash nicely, but over all i'm pleased with how they look and fit. I had always intended to fit these since i did the dash in the vinyl, and its not something i'v seen on many other Cobras, so another little custom finish for my car.

Next on the niggle list was the rear mounts for the
harnesses... or at least i think this is what it is. When i'm driving on rough road surfaces i'm getting the occasional but irritating rattle from what i now think is the rear harness mounts. At first i though i had an issue with the passenger door latch as it wasn't as easy or smooth as the driver side so i spent some time fettling with that not long back. However on my last drive out i was still getting irritated by the noise, so in a desperate attempt to solve the noise i'm going to start to insulate and secure anything and everything i can. The rattle only seems to come from the passenger side and when driving so i presume its when their is no tension on the belt fixings that the metal knocks and chatters..... so solution time, i hope!!!

I took loads of strips of the same self adhesive pads that i used for the door panels and then used them to wrap the eye bolts that the harnesses clip to. My theory is that this will stop the metal on metal contact so should help stop any chatter coming from them, however i haven't been out for another drive yet so i'm not 100% sure this has worked, or if this is even the source of the noise, it might still be the passenger door lock. I will need to take a drive out with a passenger who can hold the door and listen out at the same time if the noise persists.

until the next update enjoy the spring weather.... forecast heavy rain for the next week, Joy!!!