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Doodle's Progress Report
by
Pete Willmin
Generally the build continues well though at a slow pace.
I’ve been playing around with a number of ideas, some of which I’m
quite happy with.
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Armrests
I’ve
had armrest in mind for the longest time and have finally got
round to sorting them out. The knock-on effect of course, is that the
fairing/scuttle over the dash had to be re-thought. The armrests are
both comfortable and practical. They prevent the arm reaching the
exhaust pipes; provide a placing for my indicator stalk (more later),
I’m able to run the electric cabling from the back of the car
underneath it and it’s somewhere to sit! They’re made from the same
mahogany as the other parts of the car so provide a visual continuity.
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Fairing/scuttle
This had to be remade, as it is wider than the body of the car. It
took
two goes and lots of stuck together templates to get it right, but has
finished up pretty much as I wanted. The hands and arms should be well
protected from the wind – hopefully! The aluminium edge has been
finished
with micro-bore copper tube – it took two goes to get that right too!
The tube was split down its length using a 1mm cutting disc in a small
angle grinder in a rather Heath Robinson style set-up. Rather hairy to
do but possible. I heated the tube up to get it as malleable as
possible that also got rid of the rather garish shellac coating.
Bending round the fairing was a bit of a nightmare as half way round
the tube just collapsed on me. Second time around I worked from that
difficult corner outwards VERY slowly and the tube went on a treat.
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Steering wheel/steering lock
The
steering wheel in from an old Dyane (ebay). I
stripped the
rubber
from the central spoke but kept it on the circumference. I welded a
plate with a large hole in it into the central spoke for the steering
lock. The binding is not too difficult but takes up way more cord than
you might imagine! It’s really a fourhanded job. Having someone passing
the cord through and through as you attend the tension and straightness
of the wrap is invaluable. The steering lock is a rather crude but
effective fix. A length of tube welded to the underside of the steering
lock; the lock has been disabled as the car ignition is in a different
part of the dash. A long piece of octagonal brass rod slides into the
tube and then is manoeuvred upwards through the back of the steering
column (a cross piece through the brass rod prevents it from passing
through too far) and a lock is slipped through a hole in the end of the
rod to prevent it slipping back through. The steering wheel moves about
20mm in each direction with the lock fitted.
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Indicator
I found a Scimitar indicator stalk on ebay that had the complete set of
functions I needed. The only problem was that the steering column of
the 2CV had a much greater diameter than the Scimitar. I spent quite
some time thinking of ways to fix it to the steering column then I had
one of those ‘light bulb’ moments in the shower (a great place for
finding solutions!) – why fix it to the column? It now sits on the
armrest, pointing vertically just beyond the steering wheel where it
falls easily to the fingers. The wiring passes through a hole in the
armrest and thence to the dash. I fitted a rubber gaiter to it to keep
it weather proof.
Back panel
I‘ve
change the shape of the side panel at the back preferring a curve
to the straight cut bottom of the plans. It will need some support as
it doesn’t have the flange that the original has. And that’s about all
for the moment. I’ve altered the back top of the car but it’s very much
work in progress at the moment. Hopefully I’ll have finished photos by
next ePAG. I must say I’m having the best fun building Doodle and can
see why all you folk out there building away are so passionate about
your builds. I think I’ve really caught the bug too!!! |
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Best to all,
Pete W.