Driver's Side Tunnel Panel

First, a note on the number of rivnuts to hold the panels in place. For what I read online (should have looked for this before) was that these panels aren't structural. As such, they don't need to be spaced at 10cm. Some people even just put a rivnut in each corner. So, the passenger's side will remain with one rivnut each 20cm and the driver's side will get the same treatment.

Started the session by finishing off the passenger's side. Enlarged a bit the panel hole for the gearshift pivot bolt to get in. Took some time fiddling with the gearshift to get the bolt in, but made it.

Then tried fitting the driver's side panel but wasn't able. I've been assembling parts of the car in an order that is not the usual one. This has allowed me to drive the car sooner. It has caused difficulties in several other occasions. This is one of them: the peddles and the panel shape make it impossible to go in. Since disassembling the peddles is out of the question, I had to look for an alternative. Cutting the panel under the dash allows me to get it separately and it will go almost unnoticed. Out with the cutting disk for the dremmel, drew a line and cut the panel in two.

The big part fits nicely and still got three rivnuts pressed in the chassis during this work session. The small part still does not fit. At least now I believe the panel can get fit by just removing the throttle peddle, which is not that bad. I'll have to remove it anyway to get the scuttle permanently fixed. Below a picture of the big part in place and the hole for the small part, another with the small part on the left and how the big one looks in place.

So, this side will still take another session to get finished. And probably will postpone the small bit for when I get around to the scuttle and/or side panels. So that I can tackle the rear wheels toe alignment first.