A little bit of tidying up to make things symmetrical. The section chopped out to make way for the fuel cell was cannabalised to provide the patch piece. Most difficult thing was getting the measurements right!
Having removed the rear section and main hoopd, the roll cage is now fully out so I will finish filling holes in the interior now I have all the access I need.
Headed home to Norfolk for a weekend of carpentry and decided to take the Rallye. It’s the first time I’ve driven a Rallye on the familiar country roads around our house since I had the Series 1 and it was a good laugh to get out and about a few times in the car. The drive over the Peak District through the National Park rarely disappoints and made for a scenic backdrop for a few photos…
The driving emphasised that the standard Rallye suspension and handling is perfect for rural Norfolks largely rubbish road surfaces, delivering a huge grin enducing drive out. I think it’s a misconception that all of the work Lotus do to build great handling cars and well tuned suspension is a product of the Hethel test track. Real world driving on the surrounding roads is a big part of it too.
That said the Rallye’s natural habitat is certainly not motorways or dual carriage ways. On cam at 4000 RPM at cruising speeds is not a great place to be for any considerable amount of time. It’s a trip that’s also reminded me about those little jobs that still need sorting out…
Wanted to press on with things, so back at it again today. After load of measurements, I fabricated up these supports for the fuel cell container.
Capped off the ends to give a nicer finish – you’ll never see it, but it’s all about satisfaction about knowing it’s been nicely done.
Welded in the supports. Needs a bit of cleaning, but they’re solidly mounted now.
Next job to do some more plating to fill holes. As well as this there are a good number to fill in the floor plan and on the bulkhead behind the seats.
Another job ticked off the list as the seat mountings have now been adjusted on the seat rails – positioned, drilled, compression tube welded in, ground down and primed. EPAS is now ready to be chopped and have the Lifeline boss welded on, which means we have a steering position at last.
Finally finished welding on the steering column to make sure it has plenty of support. Started the clean up and prep for paint tonight…