01-06th
What with the garage empty, it was time for some cleaning. A horrible job, the garage itsself is actually old and rather badly made. Asbestos roof (!) and probably subsiding, everything was covered in a layer of brick dust after a repair earlier in the year which meant getting everything out, gasmask on, brushing everything down, and given a good hosing down with the pressure washer.
The floor was also bare concrete that had seen many years of oil, muck and paint spills, so detergent and a hand brush, plus a screwdriver to chip the paint off was required. Not the most fun way to spend a weekend.

My first purchases to put on the 'costs' sheet which I KNOW will be a terrible idea. I should just ignore the costs as it'll only give the missus more ammunition and make me feel bad but anyhow. first on the list is:

-1 tin of white emulsion
-1 tin of garage floor sealer
-2 tins of light grey garage floor paint

When everything was dried, the Garage walls were painted white, and the floor coated with sealant. Once that was dry, the floor paint was done hopefully this'll allow the floor paint to stick properly and not lift up when I start putting any weight on it. a few evenings work there as each stage had to dry...

The garage, before floor painting. I should have got a shot before cleaning as it was filthy..

7th-10th
Got the floor painted (2 coats) in the weekday evenings. Didnt get much done at the weekend as i had parents visiting at the weekend, and the front porch being remade.

The lovely clean new floor

11th
Sent off the cheque to MNR for my deposit today! Theres no going back now, I feel quite nervous at the prospect of the build now. I changed my original idea about buying pretty much the whole lot in one go, and am now going to buy in 3 'Stages'.
Stage 1 is the chassis, donor parts, body kit, and extra chassis parts like fuel tank, wiring, pedals etc.
Stage 2 is the engine, and all engine related parts.
Stage 3 is all the finishing parts. Seats, wheels, mirrors etc. these will probably be bought individually.
Predicted delivery date of the chassis stage is around the end of May, so plenty of time to refurbish donor parts (groan).

I discovered a fella on Locostbuilders forum is building a VortX (Fireblade) and lives in a neighbouring town. I'm going to pay him a visit and get some reference shots of his build to help myself visualise things before it all arrives. Im trying to read as many build manuals from different companies to get a feel for how these things generally go together. the online MNR build manual is only half finished so hopefully Marc can complete it before I get to that stage!

12th
Went to visit Graham in the evening, who has been building a Vortx since November and lives pretty local. Got some very handy tips from him on how to do things, things to buy, and what I'll need. Time to visit my parents and 'borrow' some kit i think! (My dad collects cars and has 3 garages full of stuff). Also got some very handy photos of his build for reference.

13th
Took my sierra uprights down to the local garage on my estate to get them to undo the 41mm hub nuts!
Upon knocking the hubs out of the uprights, I discovered that on both sides, one of the bearings has stuck to the hub. I cant shift it so it looks like I need a bearing/gear puller...

An effective way of 'persuading' the hub from the upright, plus cursed stuck bearing!

17th
Even though I havent even got the car yet, I splashed out on some wheels! DOH!
Halfords had a special offer on wheel packages, and had some Team Dynamics rims with tyres on for 400 quid. you can get the rims themselves from demontweeks for 360, but even with cheapy tyres on you'd be looking at around 460-500 so it was quite a good deal. Not great tyres though, I'll get some Toyo boots on later!

Pro Race 1.2 Powdercoated gloss black

24th
Went in search of some front bearings to replace the ones in the donor uprights. To me the original ones looked perfectly okay but apparently re-using the hub nuts is a BAD IDEA since they have a plastic nyloc bit. I think of all the things you dont want coming loose on a car, these are pretty high on the list so even though the bearings are good, replacing all the bits is a good idea.
I Decided to go and have a look around a local motor factor that i'd never visited before, taking the bashed out bearings with me in case of confusion. Blokey behind the desk said '25 quid'. I said 'for both front sets?'. 'no, just the one'.. 50 quid to replace them?!.. I made my excuses and scarpered..
Went to Halfords which was nearby, and found out they had them on a special offer, 20 quid for both fronts! much better..
So 2 recommendations for 'Halfrauds' in one week? I wonder how long that will last...

26th
Wheels arrived!