THE R NINE T BUILD DIARIES: ENTRY SIX.

With the tail section fabrication in the home straight, focus has returned to the tank – the most complex part of this ambitious R nine T build.

Superficially the skin of the curvaceous tank appears resolved but the equally laborious task of refining the functionality of the bottom half remains to be completed before we can align the two halves in readiness for welding.

The bottom half of the tank mounts on the re-designed frame, with a scaffold of surge baffles built in to cater for the increased fuel load. The lower half also hides most of the electrical loom, the fuel pump and the relocated ignition which will hide under a hatch on top of the tank.

Tucking the ignition into the top of the tank may be a small detail but with this build the devil is in the detail and this simple modification ate up a wheelbarrow full of man hours.

Once the bottom of the tank is massaged and trimmed into shape we can prepare the union of the halves, the last step in creating this special bespoke tank for our R nine T custom.

Next episode – Vaughn shares his Mums technique for annealing scones and Giorgio shows the simple 2-Step guide to setting fire to a welding glove with a rubber mallet.