Building on Lotus 7 principles

[Iain Hall]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIuykJDx0Ig

[Iain Hall]

Stained the wood "Baltic pine" colour but it looks too orange to me so will have to pick a new colour for the next coat.

This image shows my Galley layout. On the left I have three individual drawers for cutlery, then a bigger space above for plates and bowls and a space above that for cups and glasses
the lower shelf is for teapot, and other kitchen stuff and the long shelf is for dry goods in plastic jars there is also a space behind the stove for pots and fry pan ect.

finally a picture of the piece of stainless steel I used to fill in the "spash-back" beside my sink, I was going to do this in PVC but thought that having it match the other side would look better and it certainly does!

[KCStudly]

It's starting to come together now. Looking good.

[Iain Hall]

some more progress shots

[Iain Hall]

Now that I have re-stained the timber a better colour I am much happier with the look.

Here I have fitted the TV in place and I am getting more and more excited about the way its coming together.
Into this small space I am trying to fit a battery, a charger for that battery, an inverter and a water pump and a 12 volt fuse block, its going to be a bit tight I think but I should be able to do it!

I have to put a catch on this door soon

[rebapuck]

The old cooler looks great now too. I'm glad you put the sink and stove on opposite ends of the counter. I see so many plunk the sink in the middle, cutting their counter space into little segments that are not big enough to make a sandwich on.

[Iain Hall]

The old cooler looks great now too. I'm glad you put the sink and stove on opposite ends of the counter. I see so many plunk the sink in the middle, cutting their counter space into little segments that are not big enough to make a sandwich on.

I'm chief cook and bottle-washer here and I have a background in food business so I am Really aware of kitchen ergonomics, which means that I thought a real lot about layout. and you are spot on about the reasons I put my sink on one side and the prep area in the middle

[Iain Hall]

Let there be light ! I have run the wiring for the lights and I am well pleased with the result The reading lights are actually bicycle headlights fitted with LED light panels and the two room lights are actually Lucas side lights off a Morris minor with the same LED light panel fitted I have tried theses at night and they seem to work quite well and I expect that they will be even more effective once I have fitted the ceiling which will be ale to reflect more light back into the cabin space. Readers may have wondered why there was no lip on the middle shelf in my galley well they need wonder no longer as I have now fitted the stainless front for that shelf this will be used for fruit and veg so a basket like front seemed like the best idea. I have also screwed down the stove and drilled a hole through the bench so that the gas line can go down through the space with the cooler through the floor and then forward to the draw-bar to connect with the gas bottle. The final picture shows the wall with its Styrofoam insulation in place

[MadMango]

Coming along nicely, and the darker stain looks great.

[KCStudly]

I am really liking the style and small touches that you are adding. Looks great!

[Iain Hall]

KCStudly

I am really liking the style and small touches that you are adding. Looks great!

The two others that are under construction here are using recycled caravan windows and will each have a more contemporary fittings but I want mine to be both functional and for it not to look out of place behind my Morris eight roadster that I am building


MadMango »

Coming along nicely, and the darker stain looks great.

Yeah I really like the colour too

[Iain Hall]

This is the space frame for Tear 002 being built for my brother Peter he will be fitting it out himself and we only have another day's work to finish the welding


I've been unhappy with the top of may doors because the gap was not consistent enough

I finally did something about the gap at the top of my doors which was simply too big in the middle of the top so I did the only sensible thing and cut out the top tube on the door and replaced it with a tube of a tighter radius that more closely matches the radius of the door frame.



I have also added a bit of bling in the form of glass crystal cupboard door knobs, these were only a little over $1 each on eBay and they really add a nice bit of sparkle to Galley and the cabin area. I have also installed the other lock into the RHS door which just goes to show how much I need to move onto putting in the ceiling and then the cladding

[noseoil]

Iain, really turning out nicely! I'm wondering about lighting in the galley & what you have planned for the fixtures or wiring runs. We use a single LED fixture in the hatch, but will you be doing anything interesting in that department?

[Iain Hall]

I do have a couple more of those Morris side lights that I may position above each side of the hatch but I think I will have to make mounts to get them facing the right way to illuminate the stove and the prep area because I think that focusing the light properly is really important. As to the power feed well I will break into the taillight cable (my taillights and license plate will be mounted on the hatch) and use the spare pair in the seven core cable for running the galley lights Every where else I have used quite heavy cable which should minimize transmission losses / voltage drop.

[Iain Hall]

I had to wait more than a week for my brother to help me pick up the Ply that I needed for the ceiling and now I have spent a couple of days fixing it in place. Its really good to finally have the cabin fully enclosed and its turned out to be a really nice and cosey space. and at last I can see how well my vintage lights work:

Of course the piece of steel that can be seen on the left of this picture will not be there once the glue is fully set because its just there to hold the ply tight against the cross tube while glue dries. I worked out it was better to have just two small holes that I can fill a line of screws that will eternally annoy me


The ply has something of the look of Burr walnut on the very smooth side I chose to use and while I was intending to just clear coat it I am thinking it would look nicer if I mix some of the Jarrah stain but diluted with clear so its got some of the wall colour but a few shades paler, the door linings I think will be done at full strength colour

To work out the right dimensions for the front ceiling panel I cut an off-cut and here it is test fitted

It took me the better part of a whole day to get this panel in place using a jack and a whole lot of swearing under my breath. the ply is actually a great deal stiffer than I expected it to be none the less it can be done as my pictures show and it will be immensely strong.


this final image is looking at the roof and the framing in the middle is there for my roof vent