Column Switches

This diagram has to be the most helpful I've ever seen. This combined with the writing diagram and the Pilgrim manual has made wiring the column switches fairly straight forward. I've only blown 1 fuse when I let a loose wire touch the chassis while testing the indicators.

Fitting the boot

The boot isn't a bad fit, but it isn't perfect. I had to remove the edge all the way around to make it fit. It won't be visible when the boot is shut, and since it is a dark colour I don't think it will be too bad when the boot is open. I have bought some gel coat from Pilgrim to touch up the edge if needed.

I bought the wrong boot seal. It is door seal, i.e. (Side Seal not Top Seal), and the same seal is used for boot and door. The lip around the boot aperture needs to also be trimmed - basically removing the return lip and cutting back so the boot trim sits close to the edge of the aperture. It must be fairly close so the seal doesn't prevent the boot from closing

Next is to fit the two hinges to the top. Very nervous about drilling holes in the body. "Measure twice - cut once"... more like read manual, watch video, think about it, measure, measure, measure again, think about it some more and put off until tomorrow.

Body

The body is now sitting in the garden waiting to be dealt with:
 - Attach the boot lid
 - Attach the bonnet
 - Cut holes for lights
 - Start to work on those flash lines!

Heater

The heater is from a mini, and while it small and fits under the dash is only has one speed and is fairly pathetic. I may change it for a VW Polo heater that has a lot more power, but needs some "modification",

There is a second photo showing the other side, i.e. the plumbing but it so blurred I have to re-take it!

Fuel pump

To start the engine I temporarily connected the fuel pump. Now I have a better understanding of how and where the body fits to the chassis, it is clear the fuel pipe needs to go through the chassis:

Simple...

Alternator

Fitting the alternator should have been an easy job. Simply take the Pilgrim Alternator bracket and fit to the Rover V8, then attach the alternator... Sadly, the alternator pulley didn't line up with the water pump and so the bracket needing cutting back to allow the alternator to slide back.

Since the alternator is situated on the other side of the engine then it needs a slight modification. This involved removing the 3 long bolts and rotating the front section - this allows the pivot bolt to sit at the bottom and the 3rd bolt hole to be top-right as shown:

Now the alternator, fans, horn, temperature sender, oil pressure sensor, and coil are fitted the loom can be tidied up and tied down around the front end of the chassis:

Cooling fan

Before plumbing the radiator I checked the 2 fans were working and were indeed sucking (or pull) fans, i.e. they pull air from back to front so when mounted on the back of the radiator they will pull the air through. Sadly they were blowing (or push) fans. Switching the polarity made them spin the other way, but due to the way the blades are made they don't work so efficiently in reverse. I returned them to Pilgrim who supplied a single big fan - which when you work out the surface area is bigger than 2 small ones (and cheaper too!).

I made some simple brackets and attached it to the radiator:

Plumbing the engine wasn't simple, and the Pilgrim hoses supplied didn't fit the Rover V8, so I returned them and used some flexi hose. For anyone wanting the detail:

 - Bottom of Rad connects to bottom of water pump

 - Top of Rad connects to front of manifold (where thermostat is housed)

 - Back of water pump to connects to heater (via a T piece - see below)

 - Heater return connects to the back of manifold

 - Expansion tank top and bottom to small pipes on rad top and bottom

My thermostat housing has a bypass outlet to allow water to flow to heater. Trouble is I had no where to connect it as the back of my water pump had only 1 outlet, so I simply put a T piece.

Next is to fill with 50/50 antifreeze and water and check for leaks.