egret

Very impressive. You're making it look easy, and the part looks amazing!

I have a SWB T5 and I'm regularly impressed with how easy and relaxing it is to drive, and no that's not just in comparison to the spitfire! It's a bit tight in Aldi carparks, and you should definitely measure and possibly even write on the windscreen how tall the van is, but it's size doesn't really exclude it from very many places at all. Just makes them a bit more cosy.

Not really a bollocks, unless your my wallet! Today I took a rather exciting delivery, which is the outcome of an outbreak of seriously optimistic thinking. I'm going to have to survive on gruel for a while, but I think it'll be worth it when it eventually comes to fruition.

I remember reading something about BMW needing to solve the problem of fuel sitting in the tank for much longer because you use it so infrequently in the phev. Maybe the pressurised tank is to help solve this?

That's a shame about the issues, clearly the software industry's approach of rushing out products and fixing them in software updates is slowly spreading far and wide. It does look very good, and 60 miles battery range is impressive. It's about the same as my ropey old leaf!

Out of my budget at the moment, and very likely wouldn't fit my mk4, but there's a rather lovely looking GT style hard top and bonnet on ebay at the moment: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/376063269177?_trksid=p4375194.c101949.m162918

Some lovely modifications, and then someone has put those awful tiny foam pancake filters on the air intake!

This is something I've thought about hypothetically several times, the axle definition is the one I can't get my head around, although the requirement that "5 of these points must come from having the original or new and unmodified chassis, monocoque bodyshell or frame" is pretty key too. I feel like t could do with some more punctuation in there!

As someone with an annoying oil leak at the back of my head, I'd recommend the smear of hylomar trick, I regret forgetting about it.

The IAT sensor is mounted, a new waterpump manifold was acquired from ebay at a reasonable cost (with the excuse that it will replace the rusted out one from my spare engine) so that can be machined and swapped over, hopefully with minimal frustrations. An exhaust O2 sensor and controller is sat on my desk, but exhaust modifications have not been made yet. I had a slightly oversized slip on section with a bung made up several years ago that will clamp onto the exhaust pipe, but need to do a bit of fettling to get this to work with what I've got. The plan is to cobble something together to get it all in the right place, then take it to the local powerflow exhust place and get a centre section made up to replace all the (minor) bodgery and leave me with a nice shiny exhaust. I've also started modifying the wiring from a "what I had to hand" colour code, to the triumph colour system. Not a lot of work really, and will no doubt pay dividends in the future once all the wiring is no-longer fresh in my mind.

That looks like it's going to be very special. I particularly like the dashtop and dial cluster. My youngest commented on how my dashtop had deteriorated and was hinting that I should really do something about it soon!

I'd probably go dry powder as this covers everything except oil fires.

I re-did some of the wiring in an attempt to start neatening it all up, and added another connector to the speeduino enclosure. I now have a pigtail ready for coolant, IAT, and O2 sensors, and signal outs for a fuel pump and fan. I only have the IAT and coolant sensors so far, and I'm waiting on an M12 x 1.5mm tap set to mount them. I'm dithering about the coolant sensor location. The sensible place is to copy @rogerguzzi and mount it in the water pump housing, but that involves removing the water pump housing to drill and tap the hole and I don't really want to do that now that I've finally got it driving again, so I might put it off until winter. If I did it now then I can control the fan with the speeduino which would remove the thermostat and its annoying capillary which has it's appeal. As I said, dithering...

I've used the blowtorch trick to good success. Prop them in the BBQ and leave them to cool while the battery charges... I discovered the trick from Alan Millyard's youtube channel, he uses it in preference to wire brushes as it doesn't deposit metal on the ceramic.

I've used Milton precision engineering to do little bits and pieces of welding for me. They might be interested in helping? I'm afraid I don't have a good pillar drill or I'd offer the use of that.