Not happy
Nosecone
Well, I left the car alone for a while as I was a bit daunted by the task of fixing it, plus I was more than a bit cheesed off with everything. Finally I got stuck in, took the engine out and welded in 2 new chassis tubes plus assorted brackets, took the opportunity to have a go at an oil leak while the engine was out, and generally sorted out a few other details.
I also had a go at repairing my nosecone, despite advice from many people about it being uneconomic!
It took some time (and swearing) to fix the nose, but I got there in the end. It was a bit expensive to do, especially as I gave in and got it painted professionally, but when I totted up the cost of replacing the nosecone with a brand-new one it wasn't too bad. A new nose would have meant replacing a load of brackets, and probably I'd have had to buy a new sheet of aluminium to make a new bonnet as the old one wouldn't have the same dimensions as the back of the cone. The bonnet gave me a lot of grief when I made it the first time around (I'm not fond of making bodywork...) and I had access to a huge metal brake then, which I wouldn't have now. Also, the cones I saw advertised were lower at the back than the one I've got, and would probably not have cleared the engine (it's a close fit even now!). Oh - and the new cone would probably have needed painting as well, unless I was extremely lucky with the colour. (These are my excuses and I'm sticking to them!)
So - here's the finished result...
Lathyrus 7, post-repair.
All I've got to do now is to get the front wheels aligned at my local friendly garage, plus the MOT is due next week, and then I'll be fully legal and on the road again!
