johann morris

Oh, as usual, after months of searching and just as I finish, a possible supplier of the correct plate has been located.

All of a sudden it has grown and made, what would appear to be, a massive leap forward. The remainder of the resin has arrived, so I can now cast the tyres on road wheels. next job is to get the upper hull in place and start fabricating the engine deck. Jon

Evening All, I have started fabricating the track guards, they are not as straight forward as one would think and as I haven't got the machinery neccassery to bend steel angle there is a lot of fabricating to do. The retaining brackets are a multitude of different angles and took quite a bit of research but I think that they are some where near. I haven't had any luck finding the correct steel for the guards at a sensible price, so at present I am just going to use modern diamond tread plate but I am making them in such a fashion that if some plate in the correct pattern does become available, it won't take much to change them. It took ages to find a horn of the correct diameter and I thought the chrome effect would look quite flashy in a combat situation. The piece of tube sticking out is a stop for the drivers hatch and will have a rubber bung in the end when I have made it.

Thanks for the thought mtskull, it's something that I have never paid much attention to, how it works is a mystery and for others to decide but I suppose, as in real life, it depends on how your face fits. As for fizzers, I have no idea what that means. Jon

Sorry it didn't work very well so I have changed it to a youtube video https://youtu.be/LyIzzA4MhoU

Thanks all, hopefully the detail will add to the realism of my creation. Today, was the day, when it was all tested. Sorry for the sound quality in the video, it's the camera's fault. Everything worked as it should do, there were no oil leaks, so I am a happy man. Although there are some small modifications that I am going to make. Now that the engine has a load on it, even if it is no where near what it will have to deal with, it's exhaust note has changed and is quite pleasant, in a noisy sort of gruff way. https://youtu.be/LyIzzA4MhoU

Personally, I don't see a problem with what you have done. Keep up the good work. Jon

Evening All, In truth there's not a lot to show you at the moment, I have stripped the front interior out of the tank in readiness for testing the final drive set up and I am in the process of reinstalling everything but this time the drive chain will be in it's finished state. I have rebuilt the final drives and waiting for some parts to be delivered before I can fill the steering box with oil. I am on the third and final version of the steering box filler cover, that's it, no more changing my mind. I have also made a more representative version of the Morse key holder, as it was pointed out earlier in the thread that this item was originally adjustable, well now it is. Jon

Sorry, I am not sure that I understand the question, do you mean for the gun sight? Thanks, I was indeed very lucky to be taught in the old school of engineering and I am very lucky to have the space to create but it is never too late to learn and there are plenty of small projects waiting to be undertaken. Jon

S Still very nice and looks like a well done project, lets just hope that they are honest regarding what it actually is unlike some others. Jon

Hello Alfie and welcome, I like the DKW, it's very nice indeed. Jon

I don't know about hobby weld I use the large commercial bottles. Jon

I bought one new for £80 and it was well worth the cost, especially looking ta the amount of welding you have got to do. Jon

Not wishing to teach granny to suck eggs but have you come across these regulator I use a fair amount of gas and the company that supplies me had been using them some time and reckoned that they were saving a fortune on gas. I bought one off of the bay and I reckon that my gas usage has dropped by a good 50%, I am to say the least very impressed. Jon I

Unbelievable!!

Evening, I thought that before I get too excited and cast all ten, I had better see if they fitted first. They still need fettling but I am pleased with them. Jon

And the results are in...…...It looks pretty good to my eye, a bit of fettling when it's cured but on the whole I am pleased with it. There was a bit of leakage due to a small gap between the base of the upright and the base in one area but now that the resin has filled the gap it won't happen again. You can see in this picture the line of the retaining bracket and that the resin has coated both sides. Jon

Fantastic vehicle, I shall enjoy watching your progress. I bought a 300tdi engine for my project but fitted the jag straight instead, I was considering putting the 300 in my Bedford if I cant find a Bedford 6 pot. Jon

Evening All, I thought that as I was making moulds, I might as well make the mould for the suspension arm radius bump stops. The 7 larger holes are there to allow the polyurethane to coat both sides of the steel retention bracket and bond through the holes. Hopefully it will work, tomorrow morning I shall find out.

Evening All, A week of lock down done and I heard on the radio it could last for 13 weeks, so progress will slow right down but it will continue until the materials run out. I have finished the mould for the drive wheels, it's made on the same principle as the return roller mould but bigger. I am worried that because of the amount of polyurethane required, about 6.5 litres, it will have problems filling from a single pour and although I am loth to use a double pour, I have constructed the mould with two pouring holes. Jon

Bloke near me built a barn to keep cattle in, he never owned or had any cattle, then he applied for a house so that he could be on site 24/7, still no cattle. Then he applied to build 4 luxury holiday chalets in some woods above his house, extended the barns so his son could dismantle 4x4's. Recently he has carved up more wood land and extended the road ways for more holiday chalets, without planning. He is one of a group of locals that belong or have close links to the community council or as I refer to them "those that can do no wrong". As one ex-councillor told me, build it first and if someone complains, then apply for retrospective permission and 99% of the time it will be granted as the council can't afford court cases.

You will struggle to insure a 17 year old on a classic policy unless you want to pay a lot of money, I have tried with my 17 year old son and given up. I use Lancaster insurance for two of my Land Rovers and Carole Nash for another but neither company would insure my son to drive. Jon

Evening All, I hope that you are all safe and well. I haven't done much since the last update as the sun's been out and it's time to get the garden done. I have started the polyurethane casting mould for the road wheels but I am waiting for a new cutter to arrive for the milling machine and at the moment it takes a little bit of imagination to see the finished item. Apart from that, I now have eight track return rollers with tyres on but not finished, as the polyurethane takes about eight days to go off and I can't finish machine them until they have hardened. Jon

Evening All, Well, I finally got my arse into gear and cast the first tyre on the return roller. It went fairly well, the only problem being that it was quite hard to free from the mould. I used a silicon release agent and as I couldn't get the roller to release from the base I ran a stanely knife around it, which scuffed the face but not badly and I can tidy it up, so no problem really. I spoke to the supplier today and they suggested using Vaseline, so I have used that on the one currently in the mould. Jon

Fantastic information, thanks for posting it. Jon