... was taken up with the fuel pipe. I was hoping that I could get some fittings for the ends of the 8mm pipe but everywhere I went I was met with blank looks so I turned them up myself..

Just before Christmas I awarded myself a set of tipped tools for the lathe as I was having problems parting off. The general tools are excellent but parting off is still a bit of a game. I'm told this is a common problem with small lathes as they lack the rigidity of their larger brethren. Aluminium, brass, bronze; they're all fine but steel is a bit of a nightmare if it's not particularly good quality. Anyway, having fiddled about with the reel of 8mm pipe, I noticed a huge difference in 'body' between the new and the original fuel pipe. The new stuff seems very inferior and is easily deformed if you're a bit enthusiastic with the pipe cutter whereas the old stuff is quite stiff. I salvaged a piece of the old, soldered on a new end and that looks as though it's been on the car forever..

The colour's right as well. Then the fun began - I should really have done all this before I started playing about with the body. I would have avoided whacking my head on the propshaft, getting tangled up with the brake cables trying to drill the hole in the cross-member and generally cursing and swearing about being too old to be grovelling about under cars. There's nothing more carefully calculated to drive you insane than when, with your hands full at the critical moment, your glasses slip gently down your nose and fall to the floor.

First stop was the new fuel pump. I messed about trying to make various fittings up but finally resorted to using as a joiner, the braided hose that Learned Counsel had given to me. I'm sure everyone knows that wrapping the part to be cut in insulating tape and using a disc cutter gives the best results. It took me a minute or two - after making a complete dogs breakfast using end cutters - to remember that..

From the fuel pump, the line continues through a hole drilled in the main cross-member (a really tight grommet holds the line in place and helps to steady the rubber mounted fuel pump) and on to the secretly located fuel tap just inboard of the door..

The hole will be hidden under the carpet.

I made the bracket without giving it a lot of thought so the wood screws which secure the whole show to the beam, are hidden by the fuel lines. That's clever. I couldn't be bothered to make the bracket again so the assembly was a bit of a Chinese puzzle but I got there in the end. From the fuel tap the line then goes round the corner and up to the second fuel filter..

I've yet to do the final connection to the float chamber and add the 'P' clips to the line.

Whilst I was busy under the car, I noticed a view that a rabbit might have just before the rear axle delivers the coup de grâce..

Well, if you're under a car for most of the day, this is the sort of thing that begins to occur to you.