I can still see well enough to drive

Another weekend of good progress, only slightly marred by a trip to A&E (foreign readers: that's Accident and Emergency, aka ER). More on that in a bit.

It started well: I bolted in the rollbar, after dithering for a while about whether to upgrade to grade 12.9 bolts. In the end I decided that, although stronger under static load, they are more likely to snap (as opposed to bend) when overloaded, and that 8.8 would be the safer choice. This was straightforward, except for drilling through the steel plate where the roll bar mounted. This munched through several drill bits, and it didn't help that the local hardware store had run out of 8mm bits. (They helpfully put some 7.5mm bits on the 8mm rack, which obviously I didn't notice and so bought several the wrong size).

Next I put the radiator on. I think the brackets had been welded onto the chassis in the wrong place, as they required quite a bit of bending (I decided against using additional brackets in the end, as I didn't want to push the radiator further forwards). Trial fitting the nosecone revealed some contact at the sides, so I followed the Seven tradition of weight-saving by trimming the radiator down at the edges. I'm not sure but I think I may have mounted it 1-2mm too low, as when I fit the nosecone over it, it doesn't quite sit flush at the top of the chassis. A little further fettling may be required here.

The radiator looks very big here, but that's just the angle. It's not really the width of the car.

On Sunday, Emily ventured into the garage to help with fitting the fuel tank. We installed the pump and fuel guage without too much difficulty, and then started trying to fit it in the chassis. This was a fairly tight fit, and the chassis-adjustment tool (hammer) had to be deployed on several occasions. Finally, we got it in.

Fuel tank in. I will probably install some brackets at the sides as there's not much to prevent side-to-side movement at the moment.

Today didn't result in much visible progress, as I first spent an hour doing things (plugging the reverse light switch into the gearbox) that would have taken 10s with the gearbox out, but now requires removing panels that had been riveted in to get the plug onto the sensor. Next I started trying to identify the many wires and hoses coming off the engine. I made more progress here than expected, ending up with only a few unknown connections.

Engine with some additional bits in place.

I notice that it looks like everything will fit under the bonnet, without the need for the bonnet scoop. My hope is that I can avoid using the scoop - I'll talk to Peter about this. I guess it will mean higher engine temperatures, but on the other hand, it will look nicer (in my opinion - I suspect Jason would disagree), and the visibility will be better. I guess I can always try it and see how it goes.

While finishing up, I started wiping down the engine with some degreaser. Unfortunately, I got a drop splash off and hit me right in my eye. The degreaser is fairly nasty stuff (POR-15 Marine Clean) - it's acidic, and the sticker on the bottle says to wipe it off skin immediately to avoid burns. It doesn't mention eyes, presumably because no one would be so careless. This stung a bit, and after rinsing out with water, I noticed some haze and blurring in that eye, so off to A&E we went.

A&E were keen to take down my details, first on a form, and then on a computer, but less keen to actually do anything. It was two hours before anyone actually looked at my eye, and gave me a saline drip to rinse it out. (Hint: don't get acid in your eye, and with luck you won't have to experience this. It's unpleasant). Apparently the cornea is slightly burned (right in the centre, unfortunately), but it should heal and I should completely regain my vision in that eye in a day or two. Fingers crossed.