If anyone has been reading this then you'll realise I've not put much up of late - the whole of this year to be honest. The reason for this that as the weather became colder and as we had about 8 inches of snow the garage was not the best place to be so all went on hold until spring. However I had another wobble in the cardiac area and the upshot was a couple of small procedures plus a new medication regimen which, touch wood, seems to have done the trick. What it is to become old and doddery!!

However I did start again and have made some progress which I will try to fit into these pages over the next couple of weeks.

Bodywork
At the stage I left off it was now important to start the fitting of the various panels. Now as I've said these were laser cut panels and not in pristine condition by a long chalk. However I was determined to use them rather than fork out another £500 or so and as I intended to paint the car the outer finish was not too important as it would be rubbed down.

The first panels to fit were the side panels at the front. Now most people would invest in a set of clecoes etc but not me - I thought I can do this without all this modern stuff with good old clamps. Well I did suceed but it would have been much easier with the clecoes. So if any of you are at this stage shell out the cash and invest. In fact all my bodywork was fitted without the use of clecoes.
The front on the off side (i.e. right side) had already been partially fitted by the previous owner and just required finishing.



This shows the panel in its partially fitted state. It was just a matter of clamping it in position and marking up where the centre of the top frame tube and other flanges from the other panels - eg bulkhead and floor - were and then deciding the intervals to rivet. As the chassis appears to be in imperial measurement I chose every inch. The marks were centre punched and drilled for the 1/8th rivets. It is important not to go right to the rear of the panel as the rear side panel fits under the front at the upright at the rear of the cockpit.
Both side were done this way. Easy to write but took quite some time to actually do. Using a hand riveter certainly makes you aware of any impending arthritis you may have in your hands!
Once done it was time to fit the rear panel - here's one in place



Once clamped in place I drew around the floor panel flanges and removed the side panel to mark up and drill where the rivets would need to be placed. It really is simple (suits me down to the ground) but does need some careful thinking. Again both sides were done. Remember to de-burr the back of each hole - I used a 16mm drill bit and just gently rotated it in the hole.



This picture shows the panel in place as it was fitted.

Next came the back - a case of OMG!. The panel I had was simply a half round panel and when placed on the back hung mournfully over it fitting nowhere - deep joy. Following Phil's mighty build manual it suggests having a friend drape over the back or taping it down. I found that some tape plus my bulk over it allowed me to mark up where the lower edge of the panel should go. This should be at the bottom of the top chassis rail and thus overlap the side panels - about 1 inch.



Here it is resting over the rear hoops.

The next stage was to draw the appropriate lines along the panel where it had been marked and cut along. If I had had the space and the benching I would have done this with a jigsaw however I ended up doing it by hand.



After this the panel was placed to see how good the fit was - this is one of a series of scary times experienced with the back panel.



It was now a matter of sorting out exactly where the hoops are and riveting through and along the side top chassis tube. This was done simply by measuring carefully and marking up. Aim to place each rivet in the centre of the hoop or tube.





The next scary bits are to cut the front and back of the back top panel. The back is to accommodate the rear wheel and the front to follow the sweep of the cockpit line. A cock-up at either of these points would be disaster and lead to cut wrists!

I started with the back of the top rear panel and worked out how the rear wheel would sit on the carrier and how far it projected towards the front. I calculated this distance by placing a straight edge on the rear of the tyre and measured to the back of the wheel hub. Ths was 3 inches. I then made up a hardboard template to fit on the hub carrier and fitted a bent piece of aluminium on the centre to which was attached a paint brush which was set back three inches from the hardboard plate. The following picture illustrates this



This was fitted to the carrier via the three studs and the paint brush loaded with red ink and turned through its range of motion to form a line on the inside of the top panel. The brush needed to be moved in and out a bit but with care a line was produced. I think there is a name for this sort of device but I've no idea what it is called. I then stood and looked at it for about 15 minutes before I had the courage to drill a series of 2mm holes through the line from below which would be the cutting line for the jigsaw. I then cut through and dressed the cut edge. Time to fit the wheel and see what a mess I'd made. Surprisingly all was well........



This is scary and I've spoken to other Pembleteers who had a similar experience.
Next up was the front edge of the panel. This presented a different challenge. I wanted the front edge to be about half way back on the top of the seat once it was in place such that leaning back in the seat would not mean hitting my back on the panel. I placed the seat and backrest in position with various padding and jiggled it about until I felt happy in that I could reach both the steering wheel and pedals comfortably. The back rest was now well under the panel. I then drew a line along the front edge of the backrest and removed the seat. I then marked a line 1 1/2 inches back from this. This gave me a starting line to work from but it is necessary to blend in the cockpit side into the panel as it goes up and over the top panel. I did this by eye on one side - anyone seeking perfection should possibly make up templates - then made a template for the other side from this line and transfered the line to the other side. Again using a 2mm drill I produced a line to cut to and out came the trusty jigsaw. I was pleased with the result BUT you may remember earlier I said I wished I had put in another hoop forward of the one that was already there as an additional hoop would have come to the front of the cut edge whereas I had about 6 inches of aluminium left unsupported. I'll try to fit a retro hoop at a later stage to accommodate the free edge.



This shows the cut edge just after cutting - it was dressed later.

Feeling pleased with myself I progressed to fitting the rear bulkhead. Now when I bought the unfinished kit I was assured all the panels were with it - however the rear bulkhead was missing so I had to make one up from scratch. I did borrow a template for a short wheelbase car to try but it was too narrow. I therefore made up my own template and cut and fitted it. It was not done as per Phils lent-back affair but upright.





This last shot is before the panel was rivetted into place.

This really now left the bonnet to be fettled. I placed it where it should go but was undecided as to whether or not to make the front end sit over the front cross member or sit behind. I want to affix the cowl to the bonnet rather than have it freestanding and in the end I have at the moment decided to leave the bonnet behing the crossmember. I simply marked up on the two lower edges a line to run just below the rivet line and cut off the surplus. I still have to dress these and will need to curve the lower edges to fit cleanly with the front panels. When done I'll add a picture or two.

The last thing to think of concerning the body was where on earth was I going to fit the rear lights. I have looked at many cars and seen the various arrangements from nacelles to rear plates holding all the gear but was still undecided. Then I had a lightbulb moment - very few happen these days. I had seen in a bits catalogue some plastic instument pods which could hold three 2 1/4 inch dials. I felt that if I could find some lights of this sort of dimension I could use these. Upshot was Car Builder Soloutions had some pods and were selling off some small rear lights in a sale. I therefore bought a couple of the pods plus a stop, rear light and indicator set. I cut out some aluminium to fit each hole onto which the lights were mounted. These were drilled and stuck in the recesses with Sikaflex. Each corner was drilled and then fixed to the rear side panel on each side. The following pictures show what I mean..













Now I know this will not appeal to many (indeed if any) but it overcame a problem I had been wrestling with for some time. I did not want the lights on a rear panel attached to the spare wheel and my fabricating skills are not too good and making good nacelles was a bit beyond me - I'm happy with it anyway.

Next step was the wiring - new page for this I think!! Also some problems which sprung up as the wiring progressed - so what's new with a Pembleton!