Firstly, a confession. It’s taken me this long to seal that water pump inlet. After various combinations of gaskets and event an attempt with silicone RTV sealant it still leaked in one form or another so today I went back to basics. I sanded it down with 320 grit, then 500, 800 and 1000. Whereas previously I was using ‘fine’ then 1500 grit. I’ve only used one gasket, the round thermostat cover one and it appears to have sealed. Let’s hope for its first dry night!

Between sealing attempts I’ve trimmed and fitted the steering column cover but removed it for now – I want to get the middle steering column extended by a couple of centimetres. I’ve also secured the wiring on both sides of the engine bay.

Still a bit more to go on that front – the MAF wires need extending and front/side indicators routing.

With the wiring largely done and the earths connected, there wasn’t anything stopping me connecting the battery. So I did. After a quick test it seems the following is working:

• One sidelight (think a bulb has gone)
• The horn
• Windscreen washer pump
• Hazards
• Switch backlighting

And the following definitely isn’t working:

• Headlights
• Windscreen wipers

Guess I’ll be breaking the multimeter out. Motivated by the mild amounts of success I was having, I decided to plug the dash in. Low and behold, it came to life!

Wow those LEDs are bright! I think the warning is for the lack of fuel, or at least I hope it is. Obviously, the sensors need configuring yet – I’m pretty sure the coolant isn’t that cold. It did show the alternator output light worked, as does the handbrake switch. The rear fog warning comes on when the rear fog is switched on (fog light itself not fitted yet of course), but I can switch it on independently of the lights which I think is an IVA fail. Nothing a simple relay won’t sort out. The indicator err… indicator works so apart from the full beam that’s all of the warning lights accounted for. Oh and the rev lights dim when the lights are switched on. Couldn’t see any backlghting but I also didn’t check.

Looking forward to getting it fired up now.