BAD NEWS

 I am pulling the engine. The test drives showed low oil pressure and a very tight engine. I drained the oil after 10 miles of driving and it was black!! I dropped the pan and there was a thick black sludge in the bottom of the pan with sparkles. Not good. Better to do it now and maybe save some parts. It's all stripped down and I'll pull it out in the morning. I'll report back on what I find.

TEST DRIVE

I got it together enough to crank up and drive. Great day!! Please excuse my edit booboo.

Still lots of wiring to do and install of lights. I'll be able to get it registered and tagged then.

SIMON SAYS "TAKE A GIANT STEP"

Yesterday and today it finally all came together. The back body got sanded and buffed, near side door installed and the windscreen installed. Wow, I have a car now. Some simple wiring, some antifreeze and a steering wheel and it's time for a test drive. Oh, and a drivers door.

Speaking of doors. During a past restoration the doors must have been refitted on the badly sagging chassis. When I screwed on the passenger door the latch didn't reach the catch with the new flat chassis. I added a 1/16" shim behind the top hinge to pivot the door down and back. It just does catch now but I'll try shimming the catch or move the latch to get a better bite.

FUEL TANK

The tank looked nice on the outside but it had a couple of leaks along the front edge (usual spot). Looking inside with a borescope I could see the rust and decided to do a seal job on it. I chose the KBS brand sealer kit and it looks like it worked just great. Took 3 days to do the cleaning, etching and sealing with waiting to dry time. The sealer takes 4 days to dry so it's a week long job.

BONNET FINISHED

A big day today. I got the bonnet all buffed up and installed.

WINGS MOUNTED

Finally mounted the wings for the last time. Lucas 1130 sidelamps installed. I used rubber fender welting between the wing and inner wood panel.

WHEELS AND TIRES

I had the wheels sandblasted and then I painted them with VHT silver wheel paint. New Metzeler Block K Sidecar tires are mounted and we are back on our feet. I corrected the paint where it dripped and now for color sanding and buffing.