Moved under it's own steam

Yes, that's right...the J15 drove out of the garage under it's own puff. I meant to video it, but was so excited I forgot. That's not all that's been going on though. I've genuinely been doing allot of thinking / head scratching over the hinging of the rear clam. The decision was made some time ago to forward hinge, but there are so many variables such as; how do I secure the sides, where should the hinges go, how does the rear lock down, how is it going to fit around the exhaust, clear the wheels, etc, etc. best bet was just to bite the bullet, fit the hinges (bought from a local Chandler's) and get on with it.

So, here goes, the story thus far:

First off, the strength of the central tub where it spans the car behind the roll hopes is thin. Again, it's probably ok, but I wanted to be sure that the heavy rear clam would be held securely, so, I fabricated up some brackets with some M6 riv nuts.

 These were then bolted to the chassis, and the central tub dropped down on to them...it seems straight forward, but getting the height exactly right was a bit of a pig.

 Hinges attached...job done.

Moving onto the sides and rear securing......

Rather than add more catches, I opted to go for some locating lugs...Put simply, they pop in to the rear of sills, and stop the fibreglass springing out when the rear is closed.

Finally, the very rear.....This ended up working really well..using the existing bar that comes with the kit for the rear hinges (if you want to hinge the clam backwards), I simply added some protective plastic 22mm tubing, then made some cut outs in the fibre glass that act as a clip. you get a nice reassuring thud as it all closes.

Finally, to keep this lot down, some spring clips....

Moving on...all the rear lights are fitted (but not wired up yet). Again, I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I ditched the lights that came with the kit, and went for some e marked LED units. They are slightly smaller, but I think they look good with a bit of di-noc to form a surround. Number plate lights x 2 (also LED), and the fog and reverse lights fitted on some simply aluminium brackets....End result looks like this:

If you have been reading this blog, will know about my fight to use the image split rims I refurbished. To do this the arches needed extending. I had a few attempts of home made arches, but alas, could not get it right....So purchased some mini ones!. They are not quite finished yet as they do need tome cutting and bending, but you get the idea. The end result is exactly what I was after, an aggressive stance and an increased track, which should further help the handling...I think it looks rather good if I do say so myself.

Last pics....but it shows the access you get to the engine with the hinges where they are.

Until next time!..........