OK, so I had a few hours spare yesterday, so dropped into the workshop to say hi to Frank. Clearly you cannot come in and NOT do something, so I've fitted the rollbar and the rear mounted brake light.
The rollbar itself is a bit of a story. The one that came originally didn't fit at all. Apparently having the two arms that attach to the back of the car not quite perfect isn't unusual - they can be pretty easily bent a little (not too much - it is a rollbar after all), and you can fit spacers if you have to. The problem with mine was that it was the main bar (that goes from side to side in the car, and is MUCH thicker and stronger) that was out. By quite a bit.
Turns out there was a breakdown in the process in the factory. The guy responsible for putting it all together didn't follow the Standard Operating Procedure, and was tacking the bar (ie. welding little spots on to hold the pieces in place) in the jig, but then removing it and completing the job off the jog. Now when you heat these things again, everything can shift, so the final geometry of the bar tended to bit a bit of potluck.
The next batch were all a lot better, and in most cases now go straight on no problems. My new one goes on find (a little bit of filing required), and the two arms are close, but there's still some work to do there.
With the bar and bootbox in temporarily, this was a good opportunity to fit the rear stop light. Given the height of the main stop lights on the rear guards, and the overall lack of height in the car, I'm guessing this is the main indication to people behind you that you're stopping. I've read a few stories of people in clubmans being rear-ended, and the explaination was that the guy behind was so interested in the car, he forgot to stop. So a bright red light may prove useful.
Anyway, it's an easy matter to position the mounting bracket, drill a few holes, and get it all stuck on. Again, learnt a few more things, like how to pick the right drillbit, and how to thread a hole (slowly and with patience).
Now that this is done, it can all come off again and be sent off for chroming - again, Kerry will do the honours. Should look great when it comes back all shiny. And yet another thing to shine in the eyes of people coming up from behind so they don't hit me.
The rollbar itself is a bit of a story. The one that came originally didn't fit at all. Apparently having the two arms that attach to the back of the car not quite perfect isn't unusual - they can be pretty easily bent a little (not too much - it is a rollbar after all), and you can fit spacers if you have to. The problem with mine was that it was the main bar (that goes from side to side in the car, and is MUCH thicker and stronger) that was out. By quite a bit.
Turns out there was a breakdown in the process in the factory. The guy responsible for putting it all together didn't follow the Standard Operating Procedure, and was tacking the bar (ie. welding little spots on to hold the pieces in place) in the jig, but then removing it and completing the job off the jog. Now when you heat these things again, everything can shift, so the final geometry of the bar tended to bit a bit of potluck.
The next batch were all a lot better, and in most cases now go straight on no problems. My new one goes on find (a little bit of filing required), and the two arms are close, but there's still some work to do there.
With the bar and bootbox in temporarily, this was a good opportunity to fit the rear stop light. Given the height of the main stop lights on the rear guards, and the overall lack of height in the car, I'm guessing this is the main indication to people behind you that you're stopping. I've read a few stories of people in clubmans being rear-ended, and the explaination was that the guy behind was so interested in the car, he forgot to stop. So a bright red light may prove useful.
Anyway, it's an easy matter to position the mounting bracket, drill a few holes, and get it all stuck on. Again, learnt a few more things, like how to pick the right drillbit, and how to thread a hole (slowly and with patience).
Now that this is done, it can all come off again and be sent off for chroming - again, Kerry will do the honours. Should look great when it comes back all shiny. And yet another thing to shine in the eyes of people coming up from behind so they don't hit me.BTW: Apologies for the poor quality of the photo - I'm still on the hunt for a new camera, and the phone camera is having to do for now.
people.
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