There's nothing like fitting the engine to give you a sense of real progress, Patrick says. With the Rush, the engine and gearbox go in as a unit, followed by the propshaft.

A word of warning here. Don't think you can simply lift it in with the help of a couple of hefty mates. Do rent a hoist, says Patrick. You might even be able to borrow one on a Sunday from your friendly local garage. "Don't try and do it without," says Patrick. "And do make sure you've got a proper sling on it or decent quality rope, don't use the washing line. An engine and gearbox swinging three feet off the floor can make an awful mess if it's dropped. Believe me, I've seen it done.

"Of course, those hefty mates can still be a big help in guiding the lump into place, but don't expect them to lift it."

With the engine in place it's time to fit the steering rack and steering column following the instructions in the manual, followed by the pedal box and brake master cylinder. There are no particular difficulties here and the order isn't critical.

"Once you've got the steering column in place that defines the position of the steering wheel" said Patrick. "Then you can adjust the pedal height to suit your stature, although final settings are much more easily established when sorting out your seating position later on."

Once again, it's time to look around for all those little things which can be done at this stage with easy access, but will be more difficult later. "The handbrake can be fitted early, its just a matter of two bolts….and you might want to think about where you are going to fit the horn and some of the other ancillaries where you have a choice." Patrick has chosen a particularly neat and tidy horn installation on a front chassis rail behind the radiator on our car.

One of the next steps is to build up the front suspension in place. Once again, this is a straightforward job with clear instructions in the manual and requires no special tools.