Finishing off the side screens

Both sidescreens came back from the trimmers, nicely finished in black mohair and I have to say both have been done really well. I placed them into the doors and checked the fit. There is a small gap between the hardtop and the leading edge of the sidescreen on the passenger side, which can easily be adjusted. There were four pieces of pre-cut Perspex that came with the sidescreens and will be used for the windows. The front window is held into the frame by a U-section with three rubber blocks. However, before this is permanently fitted it needs to be trimmed to size. The front window was held in place roughly and the door closed so the screen could be marked just before the windscreen verticals. The front windows were removed and trimmed using a small band saw and the edges were then rounded off with a file and some sandpaper.

Pic one  - A sidescreen - the red blocks represent pieces of rubber.

Once the front part of the screen had been trimmed, the rear sliding part was fitted. I found the passenger side was a tighter fit than the offside and I had to remove 1/16^th   from the bottom of the sliding window so it would shut correctly. The front window was then fitted and pressed into the U-section of the sidescreen frame. The front part of the screen was blocked in using pieces of rubber, which were glued into place. These pieces of rubber also serve as a ‘stop’ for the rear sliding screen. I also placed two small rubber blocks opposite the screen to help keep it in position.

Pic two - The sidescreen finished.

Just a few more jobs!!

The car is nearly finished and there are still two fairly big obstacles in the way, these being the SVA test and the paint job. Both of these are new to me. I am especially dreading the SVA since I hate reading all the technical nonsense in the SVA manual, although TOTALKITCAR have a really simple and easy to read guide http://www.totalkitcar.com/tkc_article_125.php. I suppose it’s something I shall have to get to grips with. I know my car still needs working washer jets, an SVA-friendly dash with different type switches, also I still have a bit of aluminium panelling to do around the doors. Most of the SVA stuff can hopefully be overcome fairly inexpensively, but talking to other builders, it seems we all are nervous about this stage. Those who have been through there were no real problems at all. There is no doubt though that the test is probably the biggest worry for people, and also the correct filling in of all those forms for the registration. Everyone is so worried that they might end up with a dreaded Q plate!

I plan on doing a write up on how the SVA went and all the dodges involved, I also plan on doing a write up on the paint job. I won’t be painting the car myself since I just don’t have the equipment or experience, but I shall hopefully be involved in the preparation work. The hardest part about the paint job, is finally settling on the colour. For now there won’t be much to write about so I shall wait until I 've got the car through SVA. I shall then place fingertips back on keyboard if editor Steve Hole will be kind enough to allow me more space on TOTALKITCAR. (That’ll cost you – Ed)