Since I will have 0 time tomorrow other than bleeding before the party/date night, I snuck over this morning after my girls left to prep the passenger door. I got the rubber handle nub no-rattly-thing in, door handle in as well as the latch.
Moss sells mirrors specifically intended to mount in holes that the side curtains generally would. They're relatively expensive and rectangular (ugly to my eye). I rolled the dice and bought a normal, round pair. It works.
As my alarm to leave went off I took a look at the front end and couldn't resist yanking the tape off.
There's a lot of tape stuck under the beading. I guess I have Xacto work ahead of me...
NOHOME
MegaDork
12/8/19 8:18 p.m.
Indy-Guy said:
First drive too?
Yeah, that was my thought...howditgetthere?
Indy-Guy said:
First drive too?
Yep! Drove it out of the garage, down the driveway and into the street. Ended up in the street because the brakes aren't bled enough. Decided to not take it out with almost 0 brakes.
Full story from yesterday. I spent most of the morning making pancakes and got to the shop sometime around 11 with a splitting headache. The passenger door gave me fits, I suppose just so it fit in with the rest of that side but it finally mostly behaved. The fitment isn't as good as the driver's side but it's pretty good.
Next step was fitting the strikers. Check. The passenger side is a bit sticky so I'll adjust it but the driver's door is like buttah. I had asked my dad to show up sometime around 2:30 or 3 for the first attempt at a drive. We did a quick and dirty bleed of the clutch just to get fluid down to the slave and did the same for the brakes.
It started up no problem at all went into gear after pumping the clutch a bit and drove right out of the garage no problem. We attracted a lot of attention from passersby and they seemed to enjoy the spectacle. The end of the driveway is relatively steep and after just getting myself stopped with traffic coming by, I decided to just test reverse and put it away.
Right after I parked it, my wife and daughter showed up to surprise me so the Healey came back out, my daughter went for a 15 foot ride and then insisted that she go play in the E21.
Great day. I needed it for my Healey mental state. I was still miserable with the headache after that but I decided that flipping the mirror over looks much cooler.
Punch list:
- Hood
- Trunk
- Various little fasteners for the shrouds/supports
- Windshield
- Lights
- Final systems bleed
Proof that it moves under it's own power.
I'll be back at it tonight. My goal will be to get the trunk mounted and maybe even get the latch to work (which I wasn't able to before sending it to paint). Depending on how long that takes maybe the windshield?
Tonight will also have me pulling the Miata into the garage for the first time so I'll have some cleanup to do as well.
https://flic.kr/p/2hXywLR
I want to go for a ride in the spring
Patrick said:
I want to go for a ride in the spring
You got it! Is the video working?
I don't see video 3 posts up
Patrick said:
I don't see video 3 posts up
Strange. Not sure why it won't work. Just put a link in the post instead.
Long day yesterday that ended with driving home from Erie in a wicked snow storm. Sub 30 degree nights in the shop aren't terrible but they don't make me want to hang around either. The trunk lid is on and latches. I really need a new hinge (can't remember which side off-hand). One of the studs rusted off and I couldn't fix it welding a bolt with the head sliced off to it.
I took a few minutes to put the $20 non-smashed trunk lid on the Miata as well as lay the free bumper in place. The silly thing started on the first crank no problem.
The Small Axe shop is rather colorful right now.
Things are now kind of tight to be working on the Healey but I really needed to get the Miata out of the driveway. Once I get the E21 up on dollies, I'll push it all the way to one side and move all the crap along the driver's side of the Healey and will have plenty of room.
The challenge for next winter might be to see if I can fit the Healey, E21, Miata AND Elmore in the garage. The tape measure says it's physically possible but it would mean no room at all for work to be done.
In reply to AxeHealey :
Red, yellow, green, blue...all you need is orange and purple now! 
In reply to slowbird :
Deal. Techno Violet E36 M3 and an orange Miura coming right up.
I went over first thing yesterday to get the windshield installed. All went well until I unwrapped the plexi.
It was wrapped tightly in large bubble wrap but the protective film was removed and there are tons of scratches all over. Some of them even catch a nail. On top of that, one spot had shipping tape directly attached to it. I've sent these pics to the company I bought the kit from and hope they'll send me a new one.
Either way, I mounted the plexi and it looks gooood.
I'll trim the aluminum to match the profile of the plexi but I may wait for the potential new piece in case it's slightly different. Although I was disappointed with the damage, I am pleased with how sturdy everything is.
dougie
Reader
12/15/19 10:42 p.m.
Congratulations! All that hard work is paying off the, your car's looking great. That first drive should wonderful.
NOHOME
MegaDork
12/16/19 5:33 a.m.
Remind me why not running the factory windscreen?
Pete
dougie said:
Congratulations! All that hard work is paying off the, your car's looking great. That first drive should wonderful.
Thanks, Doug! Can't wait.
NOHOME said:
Remind me why not running the factory windscreen?
Pete
I suppose there are a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I always loved the look of the 100S. Other reasons: The old frame is nasty, the glass needed to be replaced and this car will never have a top on it anyway.
It would appear that someone wanted in the Daddywagen. Bastard.
It was like 18 degrees out last night but I dragged myself over to the shop. I pulled the wiring through the tail and front marker/turn signal boots and smushed on some bullet connectors. I think the intent is to actually just crimp the wires directly to the light base but I prefer connectors. Next was various screws that help to hold the shrouds on.
I had the torpedo heater running towards the front of the shop near the Miata and at around 9:40 I decided to go stand by it and fiddle with the Miata. The driver's side light won't go down all the way and I tried figuring it out but didn't. The mechanism is obviously off another car (it's white) and no panel is fit correctly so I may never get it to work. I then pissed around with the rear bumper, looking at what I'll need to whip up for mounts.
Very little progress made all around but at least it was something. I'm no longer putting much pressure on myself with the Healey. I technically drove it in 2019 as was my goal and we're truly in the thick of winter so there won't realistically be an opportunity to drive it for some time now.
NOHOME
MegaDork
12/19/19 9:32 a.m.
Cold shops don't work for me. I basically have an infra-red sun in my shop else it would be empty Oct to May.
NOHOME said:
Cold shops don't work for me. I basically have an infra-red sun in my shop else it would be empty Oct to May.
I know that once I have a heated shop, I'll never be able to go back. At this point I just tell myself I don't have another option. When the temp drops into the low teens or single digits though, I don't bother.
