Well, quite a lot of progress to report for once as John and I spent all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday mornings working on the Mistrale. The most significant thing was the final decision about the location of the radiator. Ideally I wanted this at the front of the car but wanted to avoid the situation that apparently occurs on cars like the MGF and Elise, where the extra volume of cold water in the system causes problems with shock cooling. Although this may be unique to the K series engine, when coupled with the limited space available in the centre tunnel, it made the front look less attractive. The possibly controversial decision to put the radiator behind the rear bulkhead was taken, although the rear bulkhead may have perforations to aid flow. The advantage of this location is chiefly that the Fiesta radiator, fan, thermostat etc. can all be used - a great benefit I feel. In order to mount the radiator, it was necessary to get on with the mounting of the removable lower frame that sits below the engine. After some swearing at the pillar drill, the rear mounts for this were made although a little needs to be trimmed off the gearghange mount before the front ones can be made. There was also progress on the gearchange and transmission tunnel, both of which are nearly finished - the photos should give you some idea of how it works! Finally, a scrap TR7 yielded what looks like a nice, compact handbrake which will be easier to incorporate than the Rover item, although a VW Camper van handle might be promising. At the end of the weekend, I mocked up the rear panel in cardboard - hope you like it!!
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