Ignition Lock and safety switches.

Back in the '80s smashing an ignition lock off a car and hot-wiring it proved a simple challenge, achieved with little more than a length of scaffold tube and a penknife. Not that I would know anything about that of course. Of course not. No not even a little bit. Well maybe a very little bit. Okay I wired a few cars - well more than a few. But all for legitimate reasons.
So why did it take me so long to get the lock off the Nissan Micra racecar? Well I didn't want to smash it, that's why I suppose. I needed it undamaged, so it was a lot of cautious grinding and levering to remove it intact. Regulations state that the steering lock must be removed so there is no risk of the wheel locking during a race. The Micra has an immobilizer as standard, and not knowing at the moment how to overcome this I have elected to keep the original ignition switch, but it needs to be relocated so that it is still within the reach of the driver when belted into the seat in a harness. My arms are longer than those of the boy child Thomas who will also be driving, but some careful re-routing of the existing wiring should allow it to mount on a bracket welded to the transmission tunnel by the handbrake for left handed operation. The BIG RED BUTTON will be fitted alongside - this is the kill switch for emergency engine stops. This isn't a requirement, however I think that it will be easier in the event of a problem, for Thomas to hit a big red button than to worry about shutting down fuel pumps, ignition circuits etc.
Regulations do however require a kill switch mounting outside of the car on the scuttle panel, so that the car can be shut off by the track marshalls in the event of a major crash or rollover, so one has been ordered off Ebay for the princely some of £3.49.
I have also ordered the petrol tank. This is a bespoke 5 litre aluminium tank, which at £65 has cost me almost as much as the car did, but worth every penny as it will bolt straight into the gap where the wiper motor used to sit, saving a lot of time and hassle.
Next job tidying up the wiring, then the old fuel tank can come out. Things are progressing nicely.