Manky's Pop.

[poprodder]

soon be on the road.

[panthershaun]

cool  I've got a few day's off coming up, planning on hitting the Pop hard, need it on the road this summer...

[Manky Monkey]

See you out there on the tarmac soon then Shaun! 

[Manky Monkey]

Only a couple of days to go before the re-test & a lot left to do.
I need to replace the rubber servo hose, then we'll re-bleed the brakes again. Terry's coming up on Friday to final-fit the fuseboard & check everything over one last time; but meanwhile, I've got an awful lot of sheetmetal work to do.
I've spent the last 2 afternoons creating a multi curved panel to fit down the side of the gearbox & around behind the brake pedal. We need to make as much room under the pedal as possible to allow for pedal travel, so it's all a bit complicated. Propped in place, waiting for Mr Lunatic to weld it now.

[panthershaun]

looking cool, could do with your trained looney in my shed....

[Archie]

looking cool, could do with your trained looney in my shed....

You can have me! I'ze been learning how to welderize and I knows how to use a rattly canz

[spanners]

looking cool, could do with your trained looney in my shed....

You can have me! I'ze been learning how to welderize and I knows how to use a rattly canz

                                 PROPER JOB,,,,,

[Manky Monkey]

Yup, you're very welcome to Archie. I'm not sure Loony's house trained yet.
Just when I need his weddling skills most urgently, he's hit a busy patch, with several jobs on the go. I'm not as stressed out about the re-test as I was over the first one, but still erm, a little concerned!
After Mr L welded the footwell panel in this afternoon, I made a curved section to fill in the area under the steering column mount. I've re-worked the bottom mount since the first test, so that instead of hanging from the bulkhead, it's now incorporated into the tunnel. Looks much tidier & flexes less. At this point I discovered the universal joint at the bottom of the column was fouling the metalwork. Good job I checked before we welded everything up. A few minutes of fine adjustment with a pointy stick & a big 'ammer soon fixed it.
I've refitted the curved panel under the dash that I made a while ago, so just need to fill in the bits in between now.
Space is very limited in the footwell -there's literally just room for my 2 feet on the pedals. It's ..."snug".

[one arm bandit]

looking tidy, how did you come to be a postie and not a sheet metel engineer and fabricator??

[Manky Monkey]

  The hours are better.
I really enjoy forming sheetmetal -it's quite therapeutic ...unless you have a deadline to work to!
I'm wondering about raising the bottom edge of the panel under the dash -it cuts right across the cut out section around the steering column. I think if it was level with the top of the column cut-out it'd look better, but the passenger side has to be that height to cover the wiper motor & brake servo. I know -worry about it after the test!

[one arm bandit]

i see what you mean it needs to look somewhat simetrical to look right, cud you not just take out an upside down U shape from the steering coloum and follow the line of the coloum down with the infill piece if you get my drift, so for the test it doesnt need to be all linished up nice and looking finished, just fully welded and to a safe standard???

[Manky Monkey]

Good idea. That sounds like a plan.
The commercial vehicle SVA test that we're taking doesn't actually test anything inside the cab, other than the brakes, steering  & general construction.
When I was a teenager I used to regularly see lorries being driven through my home town of Newbury in Berkshire, coming from the factory in Southampton & heading, I think, to the Dennis fire engine & dustcart factory in Guildford. They'd be just a grey primered chassis with the driver sat in a seat perched on top, wearing waterproofs & a crash helmet. I think the commercial test was intended for vehicles like that, before the bodywork was added. So it doesn't test external projections, lights, glass, seatbelts etc, just the rolling chassis & the mechanical parts fitted to it.
That test was phased out in October, but because we got the Pop in the system before the closing date, even though we failed first time, we get 6 months to re-test it. 

[one arm bandit]

i see, so its more of you have to get it passed within the six months aswell then. seems stupid to phase it out with all these new kit cars on the market that are just a chassis, although not commercial its got to be along the same lines of test??

[tbone]

I won`t be around next week, so good luck for Tuesday.
I wanna read some good news next time I log on 

[Manky Monkey]

The commercial test's been phased out so now cars & commercials do the same test -the BIVA. If we don't get the truck through the old SVA in time, we'll have to start again under the new system, which is far tougher. We'd have to wheel it back into the workshop, strip it down & start again to comply. Not sure I could face that.
Arrived at the workshop late this afternoon to find Terry T had been there since mid morning. He's finished the wiring & checked everything works. The big bundle of wires next to the fuseboard, under the passenger seat, has been tidied away & looks much better. That was one of the failure points on the last test as they said it could chaffe or short out. Thanks Tel. I owe you a huge favour!
Both Loony & Terry had to leave early, so I carried on by myself for a couple of hours. Cut all the parts for the trunking to cover the wiring loom, along the side of the gearbox tunnel, ready for Loony to weld together.
I also cut a bridging piece to join the 2 sides of the gearbox tunnel together, below the dashboard. Everything's held together with masking tape now, awaiting welding. Just got to extend the previous section to meet it & that's the tunnel done. Because the chassis is "Zedded" at either end, the engine & gearbox sit higher than they otherwise would, which is why the tunnel seems so big. The rear bit still sits level with the seats though.