...and on the seventh day he did weld

well I did anyway -
Sooooo I have now reduced the free flow boot ventilation to zero(ish) - i.e. the back end is all welded up now....
Fixed the right-hand A pillar lower hinge plate with a rather nifty butt welded repair section - even she who ignores the car thought it looked good...
Finally - three years after finding the left-hand wind screen corner was a bit dodgy it is now patched (still a little dodgy - but its 99% solid zinc coated metal and the odd spotty weld)
ummm that's it really - another five hours in the shed and my list of things to patch prior to the rollcage getting done is down to one little bit of the dash panel that is currently hiding behind the dash tube... will get at that when the current roll structure is out (hopefully the car does not bend in half.....!)

Next mission is to get the welds all finished and filled/primed - the old cage out and dolly made to trundle the little pest around on (the car......) so its going to be noisy for a while - my in-laws will be happy to se the back of me after that....

Oh and the quick rack arrived - 6 tooth pinion vs. the std 5 tooth = @ 20% reduction or there abouts (half a turn)

New Shocks are in Transit - watch this space

Onwards

the bomb Factory is Back in the game this weekend - progress is seen to be made - and I even took photos (now just have to develop the film - see previous comments re - luddite.) All this took 8 hours to do.... and it looks so easy in the books!

Rear wheel tubs - both are now in and welded - I also hacked them back a bit - still need final trimming and a bit of panel cream (delicate way of say ing they need bogging) looking at them there will be ZERO chance of fouling  the metal work when the car is at full bump - just need to find a flare big enough to cover them as I do not want people slagging off my fabricating skills and clunky welding - rust is all repaired on the right boot well  and the left boot well needs one panel folded up and welding on.

Made a patch for the left front corner of the windscreen opening - now I bet all you Fiat owners are wondering why that rusted out..... nope didn't think so - need to now remake the lip to support the windscreen and finish the welds etc etc.

After reading a number of comments on the inherent weakness of the front sway bar pick ups - I had another look at that area - sure enough there were more cracks in evidence - weld em up - now that should be okay for a bit - I can see that the front of the chassis is going to be an issue over time - the roll cage will help but the suspension loads are hanging out in the breeze - with the change to track rods at the front the cross car twisting load will be taken off the mounts so that may help a bit but who knows.

NEWS ITEMS

I have also paid for a quick rack for the car - watch this space for a monologue on fitting this item

Also in process are a complete set of Koni Coil overs - custom items - I will update when these hit the factory floor as well.

Ran out of welding gas so only got the one day in - good job to as I am obviously out of shape. The welding is still a bit off and on but I think its getting better - although the tin foil Fiat built the 128 outer skins with is a bit of a trial.

The bomb factories new home is coming along need to put in some lights and paint the inside and we can drag the old tart home (the car.....)

 

My estimate of having the cage in by September is looking a bit on the hopeful side of hopeful - October is more likely as it seems to take me 3 times as long to do a job as I guesstimate and the family are still apparently quite fond of seeing me - or least having me do stuff around the place anyway.

 

Okay back to the real world...

W

Update

In answer to fiatracer's subtle hint  below - it is beyond time for an update:

 

There is nothing new to report on the body work front - no time due to reality intruding into the weekends. butttttt I will back in the in-laws shed this coming weekend to get into the little monster again.... I cant hardly wait.

On the mechanical front there is a bit to report - yay!

• Shock absorbers - watch this space for a serious surprise (okay its about four weeks away but trust me it will be worth the wait.)
• Big (valve) Head - yup its a happening thing - the key to making these non cross flow heads produce more than their share of bhp is the head - so the bombfactory has made a deal on one - now that's worth writing here about!
• Header - no comment but we will make the stainless thing in the shed fit if it takes a month....

But the big news is the forthcoming bombfactory clearance sale of (mostly) Fiat 128 race related bits. Everything from Bilstein and KYB Shocks, camber plates, Kent Cams, coil over kits and springs plus some Honda and Ford escort rally bits - I need the space and the dollars so there will be some bargains for those in need.... I though I might pop them on TradeMe so keep an eye out of email me or whatever...

 

nuff for now - back to the paying job!

 

w