John Bonnett

Soldering needs three hands and generally I'm able to hold the iron in a vice whilst operating pliers and solder. In this particular case the vice wasn't possible but I suddenly remembered the clamping system I made a few years ago to hold a panel while planishing. It worked a treat.

The second photo shows a saddle for a cable tie. I've been using these for some time now and find them really convenient for holding the loom or pipes. The saddle is either screwed or rivetted down but whatever is being clamped can be detached by simply snipping the cable tie.

Quoted from toolmaker

very neat john boy great job, hope your keeping ok.

Ian, good to hear from you. Hope you are enjoying your well earned leisure and finding time for the projects.

cheers

John

Quoted from Nick Jones

That's not original mate....... - much too tidy! 🙂

Nick

Do you know Nick, if I'd stuck to original, two or three fuses and far less cable it would have been done weeks ago. Sometimes I question why I have to deviate from original. 🙂

I see it's now two weeks since I promised photos. Well, since then the dash and power board all had to come out to rectify and oversight and whilst it was out fit additional plugs and sockets. But all back now and still everything works! The worst of the wiring is I I hope now over

Although I had checked the circuits on the bench, it was a great relief to find that with the dashboard wiring reconnected to the distribution board the circuits including the two speed wiper with self-parking all worked. I've paid particular attention to gathering in all the earths to fixed studs and running back to the battery. The main loom to the rear of the car is already made up and ready to go in. Photos to follow.

Quoted from TOG

hello John great to see progress being made, can I ask has your dashboard been modified speedo and rev counter look different to mine.Will pm you in next couple of weeks  TOG

The risk of accidentally  damaging the paint is quite a worry Nick but I try to put that to the back of my mind.

The instruments with the exception of the tacho which is BMW K1200 are new Smiths Eclipse purchased from Speedy Cables.

Quoted from yorkshire_spam

It's looking great as it goes back together John!

Probably the best stage of any restoration; the re-assembly and knowing you're on the last lap.

Fitting the pedal box was fairly awkward because the fixings are a bit difficult to access. The rotisserie once again came to the rescue allowing the washers to be dropped on and stay where they we put while the nut was started. To stop the screws dropping out, I held them in position using a couple of rare earth magnets. It was a time consuming business but all the fixings are now tight and another job ticked off.

Right, back to the matter in hand; the G15.

I think I've won the battle with the steering joints so I've been able to clamp the column in its final position. The column itself is a hybrid;lower part Imp and the top part 1500 Spitfire. This gives the benefit of the column mounted switches. The dashboard has been offered up and fits quite nicely to the column cowling.

Quoted from Nick Jones

 🤔 Best buy a big bottle of T-cut.......

Surprising what there still is left out there.  A neighbour has some sort of Austin 7 tourer though it doesn't get out much.

Nick

When I expressed my concern about how I was going to collect it, the same friend suggested a large bucket and shovel 😀

Quoted from thescrapman

There is a connection between Austin 7's and Triumphs.

The Austin 7 archives are kept at TSSC HQ in Lubenham.

One of my colleagues mentioned it, he also runs the Austin 7 specials register as well.

That's interesting Colin. Thank you.

Quoted from Jonny-Jimbo

I'd love to do an Austin 7 (grew up opposite an Austin specialist called Available Austins, sadly now long gone and the site turned into a generic car sales place)... but the cost of a 7 does surprise me, even in poor condition.

You're not wrong there. Not only cars but secondhand parts are eye wateringly expensive. Trouble is, we've been spoilt with cheap Triumph spares.

It came up so I bought it but I'll do nothing with it until the G15 is finished.  I'm thinking of building an Austin Seven Special to trial and compete in the Bert Hadley Championship which is very relaxed and low key.

https://www.pwa7c.co.uk/hadley.php

ps

I've just bought a new car. A close friend assured me that all the blemishes will polish out so I had no hesitation with getting it I've no idea why its upside down

Hi Nick, many thanks for your concern but all is well chez Bonnett apart from a lack of motivation brought on by an icy workshop and other constraints. However, progress is being made albeit one step back for every two forward.

The electrical panel is now reassembled and mounted in place, hopefully for good this time. My latest tussle has been installing the steering column. The problem has been the big angle of the steering joint which caused the u/j to bind up. By ensuring that the two u/js were absolutely in phase and relieving the yokes where they bound up I now have a smooth steering, lock to lock without any tight points. Even with the rotisserie access hasn't been great but we've done it and another job done. I believe that to seal the hole through the bulkhead where the column goes through, Ginetta used a flap of rubber. I've refined the idea using a piece of lorry inner tube and a bit of sheet aluminium.The pedal box with the master cylinders can go on next followed by the dashboard and wiring up.

Quoted from byakk0

Happy New Year John, and a belated Merry Christmas from the States.

Sometimes even backward progress is positive progress. Heh, only an optimist would say that! 😎
Looking good my friend.

And a happy New Year to you Hazen. Let's look forward to good health, good progress and getting our cars on the road.

Quoted from TOG

Happy and peaceful Christmas To John Bonnett and all followers of this topic. PS John Keep the Posts coming the finer details are of great interest to me as we approach the new year and  the late start of my project  Regards  TOG

Thank you very much for your very kind wishes and mine to you. Let's all look forward to a good and healthy new year.

I will of course keep the thread updated as progress is made. This particular restoration has been punctuated with delays and at times it has been difficult to build up a head of steam to keep moving the project forward. For various reasons, not much has happened in the last month apart from having to re-do and re-think jobs that I had thought were finished. I had totally forgotten to install a cooling fan which meant the radiator had to come out. On offering up the fully wired and fitted dashboard I found that it clashed with the heater, so the heater has had to come out. Prior to that, I had modified the base plate for the electrical components to allow clearance for the demister ducting but that became a bit of a dog's breakfast and no longer needed because the heater had to be removed. So I decided to make a new base plate. None of this has done much for the motivation. But, I'm glad to say that the radiator complete with fan is now back in situ and I have made a new base plate. The question of the heater has yet to be resolved. I shall be attacking the project with gusto after the festivities and expect a lot of progress to be made in a short time.

As always, thank you one and all for you encouragement and please accept my very best wishes for a happy Christmas and a fruitful New Year.

John

Quoted from Beans

That looks it's going to be a really nice car 😎

Thank you. I hope so. I've taken a bit of trouble to make the rear suspension adjustable and get the caster spot on at the front so I'm hoping it will repay me with some half decent handling. Colour is very subjective but I think the Signal Yellow really suits the car and I'm very pleased I decided on that colour rather than my other choice of Guards Red; both Porsche colours.

I'm in no great hurry to finish it but all being well I'll have it done by the Spring so that it will be ready for the Ginetta 60th celebrations next year. Having said that, I'm quite excited about firing up the BM engine and indeed the first drive. With only a 100bhp it's not going to be a quick car on the straights but I'm hoping it will make up for that through the corners and just be an enjoyable drive.

It's the same fitting as a sealed beam if that's of any help.

Quoted from mpbarrett

John,
Lovely colour, suits the shape well. The head lights look large for the body, will the bumper cast a shadow from the beam or is it an effect of the camera angle?

cheers
mike

Thanks Mike,

The headlamps are correct but you are quite right about them being masked. However, the headlamp pods are on slots and can be slid upwards to give an unobstructed beam but this was done probably just to get round the minimum height for headlights regulation.

The front lamps are now all in and for the most part wired which has taken the bulk of the time.


The drop down panel that accommodates the fuses and relays is in place only temporarily I fear because it hasn't left enough room for the demister ducting. I'll have to modify it to allow the ducting to pass between it and the end of the heater.

The next photo shows the heater in place. Routing the water pipes is also going to be a challenge.


The final picture shows the wiper motor and rack. The threaded studs are fixings for the dashboard and are nicely masked by the wiper assembly which will make it impossible without modification to use the special fasteners that I made for the job.



So a couple of steps back are going to be needed but nothing too radical needed.

Quoted from BiTurbo228

Thanks you flatter me hopefully it'll come along a little quicker once the body's sandblasted on Monday (or, rather, the stuff I'm doing will actually look like something's changed).

Credit where credit's due. You're doing a cracking job. Do keep the posts and photos coming. It's a great read.

Quoted from BiTurbo228

Wahey! Looking good John glad to see it marching forwards (although that does increase the likelihood of you finishing two restorations including an alloy-bodied special in the time it's taken me to do just the one...)

Ah yes, maybe but remember that I live a life of idleness, have no job or young family and can work on the project whenever I want which is actually most of the time. You are coming on really well with yours and hats off to you for what you're doing. In every aspect it is a massive job and a huge achievement.

Thanks Chaps. We're marching once again.

I've made a start on the bit of the restoration that I've been really looking forward to. Bolting all the clean shiny and new bits on. The grille is now in place and the radiator fitted. Indicator lamps and side lights to follow.