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Popped down the body shop this afternoon to see how things were progressing as I was suppose to be picking it up tomorrow but this has slipped back a week.
First off thanks to Oddball for the basic seat mounting idea but as he didn’t patent it I’ve nicked it.
The drivers side floor mounts for the buckets all welded in place. These have had captive nuts welded in to enable me to bolt straight to the floor and keep the seat mount strong. The seat can now be mounted roughly 70mm lower than if I had mounted the seats on top of the existing OE Vauxhall mounts with the sliders removed, if you get my drift.
Boot full of all the trims and other items that are being painted in flat black, the rocker and belt cover are being done in white. Plus the fixed rear strut brace where it should be in the rear is also being painted in flat black.
The rear bar was welded in place with no extra plates as my body shop man said it didn't need any and would be strong enough with out them. His welding is fantastic and there is no way the rear brace will ever twist. I wasn't going to bother with it as it just adds extra weigh but I thought I'd do it as a precaution. The rear brace is the same material as the cage as I got it from RollCentre who made the cage, only cost £20.
Definitely not getting it back now until the new year but at least I’m getting everything done that I want doing including a few extra bits.
A couple of full car shots until I get up close and personal later
Both seat mounts now fitted with captive nuts so I can bolt straight to the floor with the side mounts before fitting the seats
Steering rack box section on drivers side now repaired and properly sorted so no more flexing and MOT failures from now on, it’s as solid as a rock
Bulk head now fully strengthen and rot replaced with metal
The new box section in the centre of the bulk head was made from my old roof and doesn’t look like it’s going to flex anymore. I was advised by Brett to get the seam stitched that runs top to bottom both sides of the car about 50mm behind where the steering arms come through so this is next on my welders list then it’s spray time and finally play time when I get to put it all back together minus a few bits of interior trim, wires, sound deadening etc
A friend of mine is breaking his Nova track project and a couple of weeks ago mentioned some harnesses he had which sparked my interest. All I knew is they were Safety Devices items which I thought was odd as they don't make harnesses. After I said I'd have them last night I picked them up today and found out there are Schroth Profi II items with the Safety Devices logo. Demon Tweeks sell a single harness for ?140 inc VAT and I got the pair for ?150, they are as new so I'm well chuffed.
The 'not valid' bit is the FIA approval not when the belts self-destruct
The Schroth belts have a feature called ASM but not all their belts have his
I'm hoping my welded rear strut brace won't be too far back so I can attach the harness shoulder belts and yes I know these belts shouldn't pass an MOT because they aren't EU marked but we'll see when the time comes.
I'm also going to get the optional crotch straps as they are only about £10 per side and this will make the harnesses a 5-point fixing.
nice harnesses, pretty sure the eye bolts will screw straight into the standard floor mount on the sill and rear seat mountings. the transmission tunnel youll have to weld plates and captive nuts. they look the same thread as mine (7/16 inch)
my belts arent kite marked either, but you may have read in the thread, they passed fine. tester said they look at operation and condition of belts, fixings and buckels, not labels.
my belts arent kite marked either, but you may have read in the thread, they passed fine. tester said they look at operation and condition of belts, fixings and buckels, not labels.
same as my tester said if there good enought for the fia then there good enought for him as iirc neither my seats or harrnesses have kite marks but both are fia aproved lol
Thanks for the comments guys, all computed and taken on board.
I know the eye bolt will screw into the OE belt mount in the outer sills as these are 7/16" but I'll have to buy a couple of stress plates for the tunnel and drill out the OE rear tunnel seat mounts to use as an anchor point. From Demon Tweeks; Schroth stress plate is £4.90 and Willans is only £0.80, both look to do exactly what I need.
Last night my keen eye (I know I’m very sad) noticed that David Walliams on Top Gear was using the harnesses I bought in the reasonably priced car, they must be good if they are used in that monster of a machine.
Today I mostly been in the shed sorting out my quick rack.
The Deflex rack mounts and rack damper unit that helps to stop steering wheel vibration
I also got my 7/16 Willans stress plates and a couple of spare eye bolts from Demon Tweeks this afternoon
I’ve also ordered the Schroth single crotch straps for both sides of the car so I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere in a hurry once I’m all strapped in.
Popping down to the body shop next Tuesday to ask the guys to weld the stress plates to the car.
All welding now complete including the eye bolt stress plates, spraying to commence next week. I've been told it will be ready for collection next Saturday 14th Jan so I'm keeping my finger crossed it will be.
Just received my new steering wheel I purchased from an auction that didn't hit reserve, I mailed the chap direct and we struck a deal including P&P. I'm chuffed to bits as it's exactly what I was after and it's virtually brand new.
I also placed my order for the polycarbonate windows yesterday from here www.plastics4performance.co.uk. I chose stock bond in rear and quarter windows with OEM style black screen borders and the front side pair complete with slider kit. I got free postage because I mentioned www.vxscc.co.uk as I'm a regional organiser and of course www.astra-mk2.com. I was told they have a two week lead time so hoping to get these quickly so I can get them fitted as soon as my GTE is back home.
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