Things were starting to take shape. I started on the cooling pipes and more electrics.

Most of the original wiring was not needed so was cut out. Things like electric windows are not needed in a car with no doors nor windows. Some had to be put back after it was discovered that some of the systems are connected to other unrelated systems. I'd like to take credit for the electrics but it was my good friend Jez from the owners club who is actually responsible. Jez helped me a lot during this project.

Firewall

My idea for the firewall panel is beginning to take shape.

Handbrake

This was my first attempt at doing the had brake cable using the brackets that were welded on. As you can probably see this wasn't going to work.

This is what I came up with to solve the problem. Much better and actually works. There are many bits on this car that didn't fit or work but this was by far the worst, however this is what makes every robin hood unique.

A bit of brakes

It took me a few attempt on ebay to find the right master cylinder. Eventually found this one. Without a brake servo it remains to be seen what the braking will be like.

With the master cylinder in I decided to trial fit some brake and rule pipes. These would later be moved due to reworking the handbrake cable.

Alternator

Because the original arrangement of the xr4x4 had the alternator on the left of the photo it had to be moved to allow the steering shaft through. The only other place was to place it on the opposite side. After cutting up the original bracket I had to create another bracket from angle iron to act as an adjuster and belt guard.

Steering Shaft

So with the seats trial fitted it was time to move on to something less interesting.

The steering shaft was always going to be a difficult problem to overcome because with a pinto the shaft is just 1 straight bar from wheel to rack, but due to the size of the v6 it just wouldn't work. So after a lot of searching and head scratching I eventually found something called a pillow seated roller bearing and a universal joint. I cut the shaft and added another universal joint so that it would clear the exhaust manifold and then follow down to the rack. Another problem down. A few hundred left to solve.

Seat mount idea and ground clearance

I was never very happy about trusting my seat anchorages to just the stainless steel floor so this was my first idea. Underneath the car are another 2 pieces of box section that run from side to side of the car. One at the back set of mounts on both seats and one at the front. This would also give me something more solid to attach my seatbelt to on the inside of each seat.

As you may probably guess, ride height is going to be a bit of an issue with this engine. Not only that but I would find out towards the end of my build that this engine has a few more problems to throw at me.

Trial fitting panels always makes you feel better after a hard day when you can kind of see what the end has in store.