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Fasteners and Frame
The first job was to mark out the positions for the lift the dot studs on the bodywork. The measurements around the bends at the rear of the tub were a little off but I started at the doors and worked backwards, then started in the middle of the tub and worked outwards. The ones on the corners were then drilled half way between the outer ones rather the the 125mm as described. It turned out to be about 115mm so close enough.
The studs provided were not the self-tapping ones as expected but were M5 with nuts provided. As I had already built the boot and permanantly attached some wooden fastening strips for the hood it was not possible to get to the back of all of the studs to attach the nuts. Because of this I decided to drill and tap the holes so that the fasteners could be screwed into the fibreglass.
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The building of the frame proved a little trickier than I thought it would be. The hinges were already tapped so I had to pass a bot up into the hinge. This meant removing the boot and unfortunately there was a block of for the boot directly where the bolt needed to go. Eventually I managed to attach the rear hinges. The front ones were fine and after inserting the hinge pins the hinges were finished. The build manual indicates that the hinge inserts into the frame should be crimped in place. This seemed a little permanent for me so I deciced to use small M4 socket screws and drill through the frame into the hinge insert. This was then tapped to M4 to accept the socket screw. Although the socket screws are visible they won't be seen when the hood is up or the hood bag is on.
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The build manual also recommends modifying the C clips to just act as guides rather than clips. As they hold the frame fairly tightly I thought that I would leave them to clip the frame. If that causes problems I will modify them later. They were fastened to the body by using M5 countersunk stainless socket screws, and I did have to open up the countersink recess to ensure the frame didn't contact when in place.
The webbing was slipped on although this will not be attached until a later stage.
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Hood Bag
The hood bag is not really a bag for the hood, it is more just a neat cover for the frame and is very easy to fit. I just lay it in place and marked with chalk where the lift the dot studs were underneath. I then punch out the holes with the special punch and attached the fasteners. There is a correct orientation for this with the 'dot' at the bottom. Nigel and Findhorn Cars was very kind and lent me the punch free of charge. They are an expensive purchase just for one job and it probably saved me hours of heartache and swearing. I did just a couple at a time, working symetrically from the rear until they were all attached.
The last job was to screw on the male press-studs onto the side just to keep it neat. The mohair quality is superb and it finishes off the car beautifully.
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Hood
The hood was relatively straightforward although a litte awkward. Firstly job was to fit the hood rail. This sits on top of the windscreen and is held in place with over-centre catches. By masking the windscreen and attaching the foam to the top of the windscreen I test fitted the rail. The flanges for the fasteners needed a little bending to make them nearer to the windscreen supports and I also had to cut out a section around the interior mirror. I marked on the flanges the position for the over centre catches and then added a a few millimetres. The flanges were then drilled and tapped for the M4 fastening screws for the catches. These needed shortening a little to stop them rubbing against the windscreen supports.
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I marked the centres of the hood, the rear body tub and the hood rail and laid the hood over the frame.The hood was fastened to the rear hoop using the velcro fasteners and I clamped the front of the hood to the windscreen. I marked the position of the lift the dot studs onto the hood and initially punched the holes using a pair of hole punch pliers. This allowed the hood to be held tig onto the studs to save removing the hood each time to stamp out using the LTD punch.
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After all the holes were punch I removed the hood, punched all of the holes, and fitted the female LTD clips. The front of the hood was attached using a second pair of hands and some contact adhesive. This held well whilst I folded the hood under and inside the hood rail.
There was also a loose piece of hood fabric that fastened to the hood rail ensuring complete coverage to protect the windscreen.
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Sidescreens
The side screen mounting brackets came as a set of components and needed making up. The hinges need cutting down to the width of the chrome mounts and also drilling. As this would be easier with a pillar drill I once again visited my Dad's engineering business. We drilled the stainless steel hinges and counter sank them to accept the small screws provided.
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The hinges were to be sandwiched between the bracket and the windscreen but on the outside of the side screen. I also needed to make some brass sleeves for two of the screws to allow the assembly to slot into the windscreen frame.