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Spent the day wrestling the body work and cab floor into submission.

I've found it easier to pop rivet the pieces together then bolt into the chassis rails.

Doing this i have a nice sturdy construction with no rattles and a nice solid sound when I tap it.

I'm just trying to decide how best to paint these separate items; paint them off the vehicle and risk marking them as I bolt them into place, or paint the underside, fit to the chassis and mask before spraying the finish coats?

I'm sure it will all come together in the end.

Another project within the wider build today.

While fitting the cab floor I thought a handbrake would look good. Nothing too flashy, just a turned rod fitted to the seat panel to the drivers left.

But I got absorbed in the idea and it kind of grew into a functional lever on a sprung pivot so that it can be set at an up or down position. Oh and I just had to make the release button something you could press.
It is a bit in the way of the drive battery but nothing that is causing a problem.

Very nice addition Mick.

I made my handbrake the on/off switch for the electrics

Take care.
Charles

I was looking at that Charles but I concentrated on the spring detent. I guess it could make it again, but I tend to make things up as I go along and try to do things in one take lol.

I made a new gear lever base and knob this afternoon too, which looks good. I'll post a photo tomorrow.

This is the new gear change lever and base, there are a few different designs on the various models.
I like the look of this one so chose to do it on mine.

Continuing with the controls I made the high, low range
Lever in a similar way to the others.

I made an alloy base for it to pivot in and hopefully carry a microswitch to activate the electrical system.

I thought about Charles idea to power the electrics using the hand brake. Having already done that assembly I decided to use the Hi-Low range lever instead.

Fitting a microswitch and return spring was relatively easy. But I needed a way to keep the switch in the off position when the model is static.

So I set a magnet into the gearbox housing to retain the lever in the forward position, then spring tension holds the switch on for running.