The list gets smaller:

Fettle the Accusump valve connection (easier access with the body off).

Sort out the alignment of and fix the exhaust back boxes.

Check the clearances of the body mounting holes.

Clean / Vacuum Chassis.

Clean / Polish Engine.

Remove temporary gearstick.

Remove temporary fuel supply.

Drain cooling system - remove top hose - move top of radiator back 4".

Check bolt torques of transmission / driveline components.

Preparing for Body Fitting - 3

Sorted out the nearside wheelarch compartment panel as per the offside. I then set about modifying the transmission tunnel top mounts. These mounts don't have a fixing for the body but are used to space the body properly off the transmission tunnel. The problem is that they can foul the inside radius of the tunnel. The solution therefore is to take a grinder to them:
I removed material in stages and checked by holding the mounts up against the inside of the tunnel until they were OK. I erred on the side of caution and took off slightly more than needed.

If you are going to do this and use a grinder then make sure you wear a respirator - if the rubber gets too hot it will produce fumes which are certainly not good for you!!

I now have a small list of things to do before fitting the body:

• Fettle the Accusump valve connection (easier access with the body off).
• Sort out the alignment of and fix the exhaust back boxes.
• Check the clearances of the body mounting holes.
• Clean / Vacuum Chassis.
• Clean / Polish Engine.
• Remove temporary gearstick.
• Remove temporary fuel supply.
• Drain cooling system - remove top hose - move top of radiator back 4".
• Check bolt torques of transmission / driveline components.

Preparing for Body Fitting - 2

Found some time to prep and paint the other lower sill - that's both of 'em done now: Having received a consignment of jack-nuts the other day it was time to turn my attention to fixing the wheelarch compartment panels. The jack-nuts were fitted into a rebated hole: Six jack-nuts were fitted - 3 per side:
Whilst I was at it I also fitted jack-nuts to the footwell extension panel:
4mm thick closed cell neoprene rubber was then fixed to the extension panel with impact adhesive:
I then trial fitted the extension panel to check it was sealed (high powered torch in the footwell - turn out the garage lights - and look for light coming through from the engine bay side):

I then removed the extension panel as it will foul the chassis when fitting the body. You can only fit it once the body has been fitted.

The same 4mm neoprene foam was stuck to the inside of the wheelarch panel:That's the offside panel done - just the nearside one left to do.

I now need to think about mustering the troops to get the body on. There are few small jobs left to do over the next few days but essentially I am more or less ready for the body to be fitted.

Oh..... nearly forgot.... I painted the battery tray as well!

Preparing for Body Fitting - 1

Time to cut a big hole in the body!! This one is for the gearshift. If you are going to buy only one new tool for the body - make sure it is a dremel with all the attachments. The radius gauge and a saw bit made short work of this job..... very neat edges too.

The next job was to sand down and paint the lower sills matt black to disguise them - one of the downfalls of deviating from the common colour choice of black!

In between coats I fixed the various strips of chassis foam:

Contrary to popular belief you do not need any on the diff carrier as it is further away from the body than the tunnel top sheet. But you do need to remember to stick two strips on the boot support bracket:With one lower sill painted I was quite pleased with the results - although it might look a bit odd at the minute is should look OK once the body is 4 inches of the ground and not 4 feet!

Just need to do the other one now.

Main Body Loom - 4

Time to finish off fitting the main body loom. I tidied up the section where it emerges into the engine bay with a couple of p-clips a la GD. I then spent the best part of an hour getting the large grommet to fit!. I had made things worse for myself as my additions to the engine loom meant that there were more wires passing through the grommet and therefore less flexibility in the grommet:

A single p-clip tidied things up a bit in the boot although there are still a lot of wires to run yet. I'm going to leave these until I fit the lights, fuel pump etc.

I wired up the horn to include connectors easily accessible at the top rather than fishing around underneath once the body is on:

The twin fans have a connector each, but there is only one connector on the supply from the loom so two had to become one:

Not much left to do now before the body is fitted!! So the next batch of parts has been ordered for collection mid may and will include: fuel tank, steering column, lights, dashboard loom, dashboard and roll bars.

Main Body Loom - 3

Time for some more wiring. First off was to fit the rear section of the main body loom. This connects to the front section of loom in the passenger footwell and is p-clipped to the bulkhead: The loom is then p-clipped to the floor adjacent to the tunnel: Before disappearing through the rear bulkhead into the boot: Next came the slightly confusing bit. The front part of the loom runs forward for the lights / fans / horn. It exits from the n/s engine bay and runs under the inner bonnet lip: Looks obvious in the photo - but as you can see in the previous photo it is not visible normally. The main part of loom then runs across the front of the body p-clipped to the bonnet hinge pin moulding:The plug in the foreground is the connection for the fans. Inside both the weelarches the wires for the lights pass through grommets but the wires for the repeaters have to run to back up inside the wheelarches???:I would have thought it simpler for these wires to run from the dash, through the bulkhead into the wheelarch compartments - but hey ho - that's the loom I've got and I'm not going to pull it apart! Having run up the inside of the wheelarch the wires finally run though a grommet into the wheelarch compartments: Just need to sort out the bit of loom around the heater pipes.

Leaking Brakes & Clutch ???

Despite my best efforts to induce a leak in the hydraulic systems over the last week by repeatedly applying excessive pressure to the clutch and brake pedal..... none was forthcoming!

So with that done the temporary hydraulic connections were disconnected and the pedal box pressure hoses re-fitted to the bulkhead fittings in the correct location:

Seeing I was now not planning on removing the body to sort leaks I fitted the tunnel top sheet after cutting a hole for gear stick:

Lastly, looking for something to do I fitted some stainless steel studding for the engine bat battery studs:The time for fitting the body to the chassis is getting nearer..... just need to fit the remainder of the main body loom (still waiting for some grommets) and paint the sill returns matt black.