Day 13, unlucky for some. And unlucky for any major progress. I started the evening with the aim of getting the cycle wings on. I ended the evening with only one, half done.

To be honest, I’m probably 90% done on it but the problem is the 10% left is getting the indicator wire through the wing stay. This is a task that is quite clearly ridiculously stupid and hard. Frustrating as well.

Drilling the wing-stay and the wing itself is nerve racking and time consuming, but not the end of the world.

After I had accidentally stripped the connector from the end of the wire and lost it down the tube and eventually got the wire out of the whole only to find that I couldn’t pull through the insulation sheath, I decided to give up for the evening. Hopefully it will all be easier with fresh eyes.

UPDATE: 1. The manual suggests that the indicator wire is covered in heat shrink and that it should be shrunk ahead of insertion – this is not true! You can add your own heat shrink, but the covering supplied is just plastic and makes the wire pretty much impossible to thread the wire through. 2. It’s easier to get the wire through if you remove the connector first. However, you’ll need a soldering iron or a crimp to re-attach the connector after threading. 3. The grommets that need adding are again impossible to achieve if your using the wire covering that is supplied. (Some people would be tempted – and this isn’t me you understand… – but some people might just put the wire through with no covering on it and then give the impression that the cover is on by threading it onto the wire once it’s out of the tube and pushing through enough to make it appear it’s going all the way through. Other people – again, not me of course, would also declare the grommets impossible to put in place and cut and glue them into place to make it appear they are where they should be. I don’t condone the actions of these people of course – just wanted to make you aware of the lengths some people will go to – tsk.)

Tomorrow, I’m due delivery of the final engine hose and the bolts to enable me to complete the rear suspension – which will likely be a really nice distraction as well.

Today I fitted the breather bottle elbows. I used a 19mm wood drill to cut a whole front centre of each bottle and then just squeezed the elbow into place. I had had confirmation from Tim Ward at Caterham that these catch tanks can be fitted ahead of IVA and that the breather tube coming from the top, center, left side of the engine goes to one of them and the mysterious hose coming from low left side of the engine goes to the other.

I glued the trim around the cycle wings and also around all the right hand suspension apertures. However, I made a right mess of the suspension trim and because I had incorrectly used this trim internally on the car, I had to use several shorter pieces on the front right cycle wing. Nether is therefore as neat as you would ideally want but it’s done and so it’s another thing ticked off the list. I didn’t have enough left over for the top front wishbone aperture but, in all honesty, with the bracket, bolt and wishbone all butted up against the bodywork, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be possible anyway. I might be getting Caterham to solve this one for me.

I had a quick line up of the cycle wings onto the wing-stays and also put a tyre in place. Was good to see the final effect as it will look in the coming days. If my rear suspension parts don’t arrive tomorrow, it looks like I might have to be brace and drill and fit the front wings on.

As a final task, I set about doing some tidying of wires, cables and hoses in the engine bay. Some of it is starting to look OK now – certainly more presentable. There is just one more hose to fit now and the catch tank is all ready to receive it!

It would be really nice to get the rear suspension done so that I can put the seats and centre console in place but until my next bag of shortages arrive, there’s nothing I can do about that.

I also filled out my IVA application forms today. This means that I really do have to get the build complete by end of October now so that I don’t mess up the schedule.

Live when in the garage, or the previous days entertainment if away! Feel free to contact via Twitter @CheesyUK or phone if you’ve got the number!

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