Bit overdue on an update, but Stuart's been busy evenings & weekends (in between parental duties

), with the occasional help from me, beavering away at the little odds'n'ends that need doing before the engine can go back in.
Cheap & convenient it may have been, but the engine bay paint did need a bit of a touch up once the dust had settled (literally

) and once viewed in daylight.
Trouble is, as the painter-man agreed to do the job in 2-pack, with mask etc but without extraction (his decision), he ended up a bit icky for some time after doing this job, so declined our request for him to come back to fill in the gaps
Plus, there was a fair bit of dust & overspray that had settled in the paint, but he did warn us of that. This was rectified with a bit of compound (not too much tho, as he'd left some areas a bit thin) and some additional paint from the aerosols we had made up.
He also took the hinges, battery tray and supports away to spray at his place, but these also need a bit more paint.
Now the engine bay has been titivated, the next job was to get the brake lines in. We bought some new bits but decided to have a go at making the long one that goes across the bulkhead ourselves (note - most references to 'we', 'our' and 'us' mean Stu

).
Bought a cheap(ish) flaring & bending tool at the NEC last Nov just for this, and after a few failed attempts at getting the flares straight, ended up borrowing Blue's proper kit. Thanks Blue
Not bad for a first attempt - well done that man

(the masking tape was used as a guide to get the shape)
and hey presto, with tape removed....
'We' used various pics of original, or near original spec restos to get the route and bends correct, so followed them where poss, but found that the original pipe was routed diagonally across the 2x access holes in the inner wings, so re-routed it around those holes. Still got to finish painting the brake booster, so will get the other lines finished when that and the master cylinder are back on.
We've also given the front suspension a fresh lick of paint. Could have gone the replating route, but didnt completely disassemble the front end, so decided just to go with paint. Some parts are still to be replaced with new, so havent painted them (hence the rusty bits still fitted

).
Rebuilt spic'n'span trans, courtesy of that man Blue again
