Spent a few recent weekends away from Projekt Spyder. My MG needed attention (the engine came out and went back in twice because I botched a head gasket job) and family obligations intervened.
Still, progress was made.
Karen helped me put the hood back on the other day so I could test fit my tank cover and sundries. It took a minute but the hood closes now, the turn-lock pins are installed and functional, the center latch is installed, the rubber bump stops are installed, the tank hold down straps are made, the battery and hold-down strap is installed, the ground wires are routed, the inner frunk is painted and so are the various cover plates, which I made.
At this point, the tank cover is in its final fettling stages, and I think it’s looking real nice.
Here’s a little photo-essay covering the last few weeks of spare (27) hours:
With the battery secured under the correct-style banded hold-down and black-painted wood block, I made two more similar hold-downs for the fuel tank.
Tank cover back in for final fitting…
Tried to latch the hood—no good! The tank vent and front edges of the tank both hit. 
Removed the offending brass bit (above, just off center,down and to the right of the filler cap). Shuffled the tank ends inboard a half inch and down like a quarter. Closure!
Then set about reinstalling the hood pins and installing the hood bump stops to get the edges nice and even.
The straps fit too. Barely. 
Here’s the Spyder Factory’s shot of one of their near-perfect replicas of 0090:
What’s so amazing to me is that the original tanks were even bigger—four or five inches longer to the front!
Still, a pretty decent likeness, I think. And now it’s down to the final-final stuff: welding in longer skirts to the ends of the tank (since I had to narrow the cover a little to clear the hood, the bottom edges of the tank are visible), a little filler, a newly-designed (and lower) vent, and riv-nuts for the hinge mounts and real tank mount. And paint. The tank will be hammer tone silver since I don’t even know what “terne plating” is.
I also need to source five correct-looking screws for my fake fuel level sender.
Onward.
Along Came A Spyder 