Imprisonment - Day 82

Imprisonment - Day eighty two
Thursday 11th June 2020

Cars - 28
Motorbikes - 0
Bikes - 5
Dog walkers - 2
Walkers - 0
Runners - 3
Horses - 0
Horse walkers - 0
Molehills - 0
Cycling temperature - 10.3c

Well I'm glad to say my tyre was still up this morning. I still find it strange that some mornings there's hardly anybody about and on other days they are all out. Yesterday there was hardly anyone around but this morning there were lots including Double Dog who I've not seen for a few days now.

Work on the Bentley got off to a flying start as I sewed the leather to the 1/8th aluminium rod for the piping for the top edge of the dashboard and the drivers side trim. I had to sew it standing up with the sewing machine on my Black and Decker Workmate as the aluminium rod is 70" long and I did not want to bend it. Sewing the piping turned out to be a simple matter and soon I was covering it and the underside of the dash with Time Bond. The piping stuck to the dash a treat and I moved on to fathom out how to turn the corner on the drivers side trim. This too went well. I then had to fit the brass half round strip. Although I had measured it accurately and added a bit for luck when I bought it but when I came to fit it it began to become apparent that it would be better if it were 1 1/2" longer even after my adding my bit for luck. So I managed to solder on a small piece which I cut from the original which I'd taken off the car. I soldered the two together with a small piece of brass strip underneath for support. Drilling the holes in the half round strip and grinding down the screws heads as small as possible was a doddle.

Before the final fitting I decided that I would fit the wooden facia to the dash a simple operation with just five right angled brackets and five screws. The problem was getting to them. Taking them out last week was easier than I thought it would be but putting them back was not so. The first on the nearside was easy then they got progressly more difficult. The middle one was done by sticking the screw on to the tip of the screwdriver with a bit of Bluetack and gently offering it up to the bracket at the top of the dash bearing in mind I'm lying upside down in the foot well. All was well until it went through my mind that I must not tighten up the screw to much as stainless steel screws into hardwood tend to sheer as they have no tensile strength and just as I thought that it snapped. Fortunately the hole it the bracket was quite large to accommodate old fashioned screws so with a bit of maneuvering I managed to get another screw alongdide the broken one's thread. The most difficult one was the one on the drivers side as it was obscured by the switch panel I spent a good half an hour getting nowhere so I decided to take the panel off and the bracket was screwed in place within seconds. I have decided while the switch panel is out that I will renew it as its been added to over the years and a new one will be a lot neater. It seems that when I do one job it tends to lead to another especially as I've time to do it as in normal circumstances I'd have left well alone.

With the dash screwed back into position I fitted the leather covered brass strip and the leather covered aluminium piping along the top of the drivers side trim. All in all it was a perfect job until I noticed that the strips of foam in the side panel had contracted after being stretched into position between the leather and the backing fabric. Not wanting to take the brass strip and piping off I spent an hour coaxing the foam upward to the top of the trim. It's nearly there but I ran out of time and will finish it off tomorrow. I wiil also fit the windscreen back on tomorrow and have already asked for Ros' help to guide it over the bonnet. While Ros is around I think we will fit the hood back on too as this is also a two man job especially as I don't want to scratch the paintwork.