Inserts arrived the other day, just thought to show the price, I could've got Capri ones but what's the fun in that !

This is what's inside, 2x new inserts and a lot of padding

So the plan was they'd pop right into the RAV4 towers but was not to be, I had to shave down the bearing locater, as they didn't fit in the lathe I had to do them by hand with a grinder being ever so light and checking as I go, they fit fine now.
The next part is cut the Capri tubes down, and since I need the threaded top part. The theory is to cut the tube in the area but not the same spot as the lower spring platform will be welded but hopefully have the welded tube hidden behind the platform.
The Celica inserts are about 35-40mm shorter than Capri so I cut the tube at the 100mm mark and then cut the top piece to size with the gland nut in so it doesn't bottom out

Tomorrow I've got a home grown tool I'm making to hold the strut tube while welding. It's basically a short length of RHS with holes cut on opposing sides with welded nuts and bolts to hold the tube in place, this should stop the tube from becoming bent . I will Tig the tube together once it's been tacked with a MIG

I hope this little tool will work with exhaust tubes later on...

I had the struts cut for the metal gland nut but it didn't centralise the insert so I did some cutting in the lathe but wasn't successful as I wanted..

So looking at my small pile of inserts I found a pair of alloy gland nuts but they were too small on the inner diameter do back to the lathe I enlarged the inner cup diameter, anyway I got a little carried away and cleaned them up to look better than new


After cleaning up threads on both parts there screw in nice and smooth

Quick question Marty - do you use a foot pedal with your Tig and what electrodes do you use? I'm going to start practicing my tig over the next couple of months on scrap I've got here.

At the time I bought my Tig which cost nearly $1000 and is ACDC so can do Ally, SS etc , I couldn't afford one with a foot pedal, I can convert it but will be a on/off instead of progressive.
Electrodes are red or blue top mainly, there's not much between them. When practicing it's best to have a bunch on hand already sharpened up cause once you dip is walk if shame to the belt sander. The best tip is have electrodes at or less thickness than the metal your welding. Also those clear cups are great to see more in tricky spots.
Practice on different thicknesses and write down your settings so it's easier to go to later , tho it's usually 1amp for every thou, 0.040th =40amp etc as a base line and pure argon for gas, not argonshield

Mark A , I suggest to get the best you can which will do all metals cause you never know when you'll need to make it fix an ally sump or stainless zorst system..
The supplier I use is in Perth, Hampdon welding, they sell stuff as good as boc etc but easy less price.
I buy the filler rods (also at the metal thickness of less) from them by the kilo, metal, alloy, SS, also silicon bronze for mixing such metals .

Got the heater box painted this morning using the mini spray gun, handy as I could do inside the box as well, letting it all dry now before partial assembly



I've found a bunch of heater cores whether they are good or not tho I wouldn't have saved them otherwise, will pressure test and if are good, well good !


As by the pics there's 3 types I have here, I will try to fit the biggest I can in there with the relevant foams.
On the front bottom edge where it fans to the foot area the box only has 1 directional ducting cap. I'll attempt to copy the shape on cad and 3d print the other side , honestly never knew they had these directional caps , this is the first one.
I'll be installing a small thermo fan instead of the standard bulky one, just for quietness and easy install .
On the shopping front I'm doing another to Rock Auto for factory flex brake lines and front hub bearings, can't complain at the total delivery price of $124 all up. brake lines and bearings are under the Mercury Capri 1974 , rear bearings are Ford cortina MK2 but I need to cross check the numbers..

While going the box of parts from the car which wasn't much looking for the the rubber isolators for the heater box which weren't there I pulled out the pedal pad set which is designated for a focus ST. With very minimal mods there for on escort pedals, as I only have the throttle pedal here ( the others are at the anodizer) , I decided to fit the pad

Simply slide the rubber grip over the pedal and screw it up

Next is to secure the stainless plate over it

And this is it ready to go


Still assembling the heater box adding density foam for sealing, I'll show this once done

After noticing the 4x standoff mounts for the heater on the car has only 3 speed clips, time to bring out the rivnuts again to make the mounting a lot more solid. I have ordered rubber isolators designed for motorbike fairings, they come in packs of 10 so I bought 2x packs for only $6, their be here next week.

I did have a MK2 heater core to go in the matrix but noticed a leaky fin and a tube was loose, I tried to Tig it back together but ended up blowing holes everywhere (😞) , oh well, I do have others and went for the mk1 core, I cleaned it up, rinsed it out and pressure tested with air and soapy water at about 20psi and it was good.
Next was to make a pocket for it to live in for the rest of ever. I used that layered foam that is cut to the shape of the item for safe transport . Anyway a lot of trimming and contact glue I made a good air tight seal.

Then made a full lid side insulation before the cover went on

And the final pic is all bolted together except the fan which is still in transit

man, thats too neat, esp the exhaust flappers for your TIG sticks.
Mine are still in the shipping box, oh well, thats a bucket list for next year, learn to TIG.
 
 
Can I suggest once you do start taking the coupe on the show circuit, maybe some mirror tiles on the carpet?
Just to show off the colour coded, 12V fanned, rivnutted  area 69  work of art heater? 
What colour are you going with the heater ducting tubes? Black seems a bit of a let down?