Tack-welded more bushings, brackets, and screws – full welding of these and a bunch of other stuff can only happen after the chassis is stripped down in preparation for paint. Speaking of that… that’s not far off. Midlana is different than Kimini, which had a composite shell. On Kimini, virtually the entire frame and every panel had to be finished and painted before final construction could start since the shell covered everything; once it was in place it cut off most access. However, with Midlana, the chassis can be painted first, then the drivetrain, suspension, wiring, and plumbing can be installed immediately, before installing a single aluminum panel. Because of that it means that some of the fussy panel prep (deburring, sanding, and chem-film) can happen later after the car’s a roller (probably want to install the floor panel early on though… and the dash.) So believe it or not, things will begin happening faster from here on out. My wife caught me staring at the dash, lost in thought about what’s left to do. The engine compartment’s filled up, that’s for sure. There are two blue hoses looking somewhat out of place at lower left; they’re the fuel supply and return lines that are dropped into a gas can when running the engine.
Here are probably the last pictures of the hummingbirds. Both are out of the nest, the stronger one for a week now, the young one since yesterday. I went out to check on them yesterday and very nearly stepped on the youngest who’d once again flopped to the ground – I put him up on a branch. Late today I found the mom feeding him on the ground again and when I tried to pick him up, he took off but could barely gain altitude. As of tonight he’s up in a tree, so they’re pretty much on their own at this point. Mom keeps feeding both as they continue to hang around. I guess it’s a sign of the tough economic times that the kids don’t want to leave, goofing off, eating everything, watching TV and playing video games. I think this is probably their last free week though. It’s been fun and we wish them the best – just hope they watch out for kids with BB guns…