Highland Sports Coupe project...

[Peter Naulls]

I temporarily removed the jig in order to fit the parcel shelf and upper part of the rear bulkhead. I have now halved the nearside panel of the jig (making an overlap join) to make it possible to remove it once the roof goes on. That could have been embarrassing!

   

   

At this stage it seemed sensible to remove the floor and cut the holes for the rear spring shackles & bolts. I also etch primed and painted the panel, including all the flanges. It was fitted back in with lots of screws and a bead of Sikaflex sealant. This acts as an adhesive (a bit of a "belt & braces" approach) and also prevents moisture getting into the joints.

   

The 4 brackets for the outriggers also support the back of the sills - transferring most of the weight of the body directly onto the crossmembers.

[Nick Turley]

Artwork coming together !

[Peter Naulls]

On to the scuttle and roof. I've kept the scuttle as short as possible to accentuate the length of the bonnet, taking care not to have a clash between the opening bonnet and the roof peak!

   

The roof rails tie all the door posts together and begin to make a structure. I added vertical battens above the doors to strengthen this area as this is a weak point on vintage Sevens; making the rail completely rigid lessens the chance of the door apperture racking out of square.

   

Once the roof rails are screwed and glued the jig serves no purpose and can be removed. Quite an exciting moment seeing the internal space defined at last.
The side-to-side battens are prone to warping so I always halve the timber for these and reverse one half. This means that if there is any tendency to warp the two halves tend oppose each other. 

   

   

I have deviated from Austin convention by making the longitudinal battens from laminated ply; because the roof is shorter on the Coupe the curve is more pronounced and bending ash was going to be problematic. I would never do this on a restoration ... but this is a special so I have more lattitude. The battens were laminated to the correct curve so none of the component parts of the roof are under any strain.

   



The ali housing in the roof peak is for the wiper. I've a feeling the upholsterer won't like this so we may revert to a wiper at the bottom of the screen. Keeping our options open!

[Nick Turley]

Beautiful looking work

[Peter Naulls]

Thank you Nick, I'm very much enjoying it.

Peter.

[Malcolm Parker]

Lovely job, coming along very nicely.
Regarding the windscreen wiper, it may be better at the bottom of the screen.  My Pytchley has a roof peak almost identical to the Highland Coupe with the wiper through the top of the RP screeen.   I find that at anything over 40mph the wiper blade shakes from side to side violently due to air turbulence and at normal cruising speed, about 50 mph, I fear the wiper blade will get ripped off the spindle.   It seems that the problem is caused by the roof peak, unfortunately I didn't have my wind tunnel testing facility available during design and construction!
The upside is that with the screen coated in Rainex any rain is blown off immediately.

[Nick Salmon]

The quality of this work is making me feel entirely inadequate and incompetent. More please!

[Dave Wortley]

Exactly my feelings Nick!

[Reckless Rat]

Interesting drawings on the garage wall ( see last photo)!!!

[Renaud]

Interesting drawings on the garage wall ( see last photo)!!!

Yes indeed but I missed that Bruce!