From "F### it!" to frivolity.

I often explain to those who care to listen that the workshop is a place of sanctuary - one of the few places (alongside the likes of forest walks with Mrs C.) that I can go and forget about all of the troubles that life tends to throw at you.  Well, that went totally out of the window last weekend.

Things started okay.  A package had arrived during the week that contained, amongst other 'goodies', my kunifer brake pipe.  I spent the morning re-acquainting myself with methods of bending and forming the brake lines, with mixed success (and a metre or so of wasted pipe.)  This was anticipated and I was relatively happy; beavering away, concentrating on something other than work.  Then the phone rang.  It was Rich from http://rkperformanceparts.com/.  The news was sub-optimal; less than ideal; an unmitigated shitting disaster.  In the process of renewing covers and giving the engine a full inspection he'd uncovered a horrible bodge and a cracked crankcase.  I did my best to sound like a grounded, well-balanced individual on the phone but I may have sworn a bit.  Or a lot.  Rich, quite understandably, wanted me to go and have a look so we could decide what to do with the thing.  At this stage I started to feel that it was karma - I'd sounded a bit myopic, smug even when I'd bought the engine so I was now lying in the bed that I'd apparently made.  Oh well.  Nothing ventured etc.

So, I tried to shake-off the news and carry on with some other work.  Earlier in the week I'd popped across to see the reigning Class F RGB Champion Al Boulton and exchanged a small amount of money for a very nice Gemini-sized car cover.  I'd had a good look at Al's lovely Spire GT3 too and he'd kindly lent me some AVO shocks to have a look at. I'd found that the clevis-bracket for the dampers was too tight to the axle tube to allow the Protech's that I'd previously bought to fit without modifications.  Hence, I wanted to have a look to see if another brand of dampers would solve the issue.  So, having dragged the already powdercoated axle out of hibernation and tried the AVO dampers for size I quickly reached the conclusion that the brackets needed to be cut-off and new ones added.  My fabulous day had just got even more fabulous.  Thirty minutes later and the offending brackets were cut off and smoothed back with a flap wheel.  Two, apparently pointless brackets also got the same treatment.  After a good tidy-up and another look at the brake pipes I called it a (sodding miserable) day.

I managed to make a couple of all-too-fleeting visits to the workshop during the week.  I managed to finish the first of the three hard brake pipes and make some decent progress on the second.

I also bolted-in the radiator for (hopefully) the last time.

Finally, feeling the need to feel a bit better about the project, I decided to trial-fit my race-timing device.  Obviously this is total nonsense, decadent even but as the car is meant to be a 'study' of old meets new I just couldn't resist.  It's not terribly valuable and has a crack in it but I think it's great and will sit quite nicely alongside the Digidash2.

Finally, I did get across to see Rich and the engine.  We've decided to chance our arm.  It might last forever or it might fall apart and lock-up the crank on the dyno.

There's only one way to find out.