Reassembly begins: Pedals and steering are fitted.

After several days of detail work on the interior fiberglass panels, it came time to start installing some parts on the car. One of the advantages of having a fully disassembled car is that you can choose the order of parts installation. Old Italian cars were never made to be worked on so one of the many challenges is figuring out the exact order of installation to keep other assemblies from interfering with your progress. In the case of the Dino the very first part to go on is the brake and clutch pedal assemblies. The photos will show what great access there is when the dash and windshield are not there. It would be a nightmare fitting these parts to a finished car.

Here is a link to what this assembly looked like when we started:

http://dino246blog.blogspot.ca/2011/07/special-visit-gives-project-boost.html

With the pedals in, we had to re-fabricate some trim panels and fit them in place. Fabrication is always a slow process where days pass and it appears nothing gets done. 

After the pedals are installed the next step is the steering column and steering rack. Again the order counts for a lot here as, you can see in the photos, a little final carpet and vinyl trim had to be installed before sliding the column through the bulkhead. For the observant (and for those who actually read the posts rather than just skim the photos and judge from there) the brown/gold material you see on the splines is not rust but rather anti-seize compound used during installation. 

Again here are some more photos of these parts before restoration:

http://dino246blog.blogspot.ca/2011/09/nos-parts-steer-us-in-right-direction.html

http://dino246blog.blogspot.ca/2011/05/we-went-too-far-with-ignition.html

Lastly Paul in this image is not making engine sounds and visualizing a trip in the Dolomites. Rather he is demonstrating an important technique for assembling the steering components. With everything in the steering system just a little loose, the wheel is taken several times through its full 3 turns of travel. This settles light tight spots by 'centering' the system. This procedure is repeated several times as all of the components in the steering system are torqued down. Following this practice will ensure that the steering is light and free of any tight spots.