... I had a few days ago went straight out of the window as soon as I walked into the workshop as I first occupied myself with stiffening up the front of the body with the addition of the metal brackets and washer plates. I know that it looks a bit aero-engineered and it's probably a bit over the top but that's the way I like it.

I've also sorted out the steering column steady..

...and decided to put the 2 small triangular brackets on the front of the rear bulkhead. The body frame is already quite rigid with the addition of the firewall brackets and the diagonal posts so anything else is a bonus. The rear brackets and the spreader across the rear of the cockpit will complete the cage.

The fuel pump has been mounted in the chassis and I've just got to add another fibre washer to the petrol tap on the fuel tank to get it to come to the end of its thread when pointing in the right direction - it's not important but, if it's completely off course it'll look as though that's how it's meant to be but, if it's only a couple of degrees out then it'll look wrong. I bit the bullet and actually took the whole of the tank and spare wheel carrier assembly apart to recess the ply panels on the spine - I'm glad I did because it was awkward enough with the panels on the flat and it wasn't so bad to take it all apart and reassemble.

I was just having a look at what stage of the game I was at last Christmas....

... and where I find myself today.

Progress has sometimes seemed a bit slow but I can see that the only really technical bit I'd completed by last Christmas was the gear-change conversion. The brakes and steering were still very much at the sketching-out stage. The tank hadn't been made, no friction dampers, radiator, pedal box, and so the list goes on.

The car is looking rather slim and racy - well, I think so - and I'm going to have to be very careful with the positioning of the headlamps and the way the wings finish at the front to retain the rakish look.

I can see, now I've been able to get far enough away from it to look at the picture as a whole, that the spare wheel is going to blend in quite nicely with the shape of the body.

I'm still going to try to get the fuel line in and re-do a couple of the hydraulic joints but New Year is the new aiming point, largely because today I discover that I haven't got the right pipe fittings to make a proper job of it. And talking of pipes, Learned Counsel was a bit concerned that the brake pipes seemed to be a bit loose in the end fittings before they were pulled up and, in comparison with a couple of the old Jowett pipes, he's right. I'll probably do a bit more investigation on that score.

So, as Christmas Day is only a couple of hours away, a big thank you to everyone who's found the time to read this blog and show their support; your interest has been very much appreciated.

A Very Happy Christmas and all the best for 2014.