You live and learn
 

After waiting for three weeks for my hub adapters to arrive from the US, I've just had a card from Parcel Force telling me that I owe £34.99 Import VAT plus an £8 Customs Clearance fee. This adds ~25% to the original cost of £175 for item and postage.

I can look on the bright side that I paid £27.50 for a set of wheels with good Michelin tyres.

Never mind, it's only money..............

They should arrive tomorrow so I shall provide an update regarding quality when I have them in my hands.

Arrived at last
 

The hub adapters arrived this afternoon. They do look good and are rather tactile if you like machined aircraft-grade aluminium.

They each weigh just over a kilo. The wheels that the maker suggests (such as the BMW Mini) have an offset that compensates for the width of the adapter - ~27mm. It will be interesting to see how the wheels fill the arches. We shall see in about 6 months!


The new 12mm wheel lugs that I bought will need to be trimmed by a couple of mm so that they do not sit proud of the adapter face. Another job to add to the list............

So, for an all-in cost of £210 (I did receive four, by the way), are they worth it? Ask me in a couple of years.

Funnily, they do come with a "lifetime guarantee". I'm assuming that if one breaks, then my "lifetime" will end at roughly the same time, so I doubt if I will ever claim on that one.

Hi, they look good and more substantial in comparison to the cheaper ones with the sliding bolt arrangement. Combined with your wheel and tyre cost that is still cheaper than wires, easier to clean and maintain as well. Your photos have also reminded me that I have boxes of wood flooring to lay amongst other things before I can start any build. I did however manage to get the Vitesse up on four axle stands on Monday to see how much chassis came with my purchase. What I can see looks OK.

Yes, I laid all the floors prior to buying my donor! Part of the agreement if I remember correctly.

Let's see some pics of your chassis. It's always good to have before and afters.

Interested to see how high these go. Interesting that they come up when I have just blown a packet. Sod's Law I guess.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alloy-Whee...item25778c6425

A bird in the hand......
 

Not much time in the last two weeks thanks to the arrival of a puppy.

One good thing about every car item being clean or new is that I could fit my bushes whilst entertaining the dog and watching Scotland v New Zealand, i.e. in my living room.

Although there were no orange poly bushes in 1952, I think the combination achieves a rather fetching retro look.


Some proved harder to fit than others, but I got there in the end.

Wow, that's all looking super :smow: Nice work.

Maybe i can do this sort of stuff over christmas... do you keep the paint in the spray canister with a piece of cling film on the top? Do you keep paint at home?

I've found paint quite forgiving when storing. I do keep it at home before using, and I would take off the chill with a heater if I was going to spray during the next three or four months. I use two moisture traps which helps as well.

I am tempted to leave my chassis for now and concentrate on the smaller parts that will be easier to spray and store.

And the rebuilding begins... :cool:

Gary - it is a good feeling to see all the parts stacking up. I wrapped mine in bubble wrap between priming and applying the top coat and stored them in the loft. They have now been re-wrapped ready for taking to the workshop to be used one by one. I am now faced with a big Meccano set. And, like during my childhood, there are no instructions. Can't wait. I hope to get the suspension towers bolted to the chassis this week and at least make a start on the front corners. That will be a landmark in my mental build diary.

Paul - It does indeed. It's a brilliant feeling to have turned that corner. I shall be putting the complete rolling chassis together during the cold months. I anticipate that progress could be reasonable, but we shall see.

I went on canleys site and took snapshots of the exploded pics...

O, before your thread leaves the front page have you been doing much?

Thanks for asking, Gary. The answer is no and yes. The reason for the "no" is this -


He is taking more time than I anticipated and is a bit too young to be left on his own, so those spare moments when I was sneaking to The Glade are no more. I would take him with me but the resident dog isn't at all friendly to other dogs.

However, I have been using this short break to indulge in some auto retail therapy. I have stock-piled just about everything I need including a Spitfire MkIII cam that Canleys have managed to get a small supply of. Other items include new electronic distributor and final engine bits such as push rods and followers. Now, the only major item that I don't have is the harnesses. This is because I am undecided as to which option to take.

I am currently making some space in the garage/pantry/washroom attached to the house so that I can have a small bench. I can then assemble all four suspension corners before attaching to chassis. Small jobs in a warmer environment might be sensible in the next three months.

The other minor hold up is because I gave my M12 wheel lugs to a local secondary school. I thought it would make a nice project to shorten them and chamfer the heads. They are doing a good job but it is taking longer than I anticipated because there is little money to keep the lathes working.

Very nice O, if we were around in the day more we would certainly have a dog... for christmas i will be getting 4 tyres and 3 shts of ply to make floorpans and bulkhead. I don't think many of us are doing a great deal at the moment!

They sound like the perfect Christmas presents. Last year I got some bullet wing mirrors, and for my birthday this year I got a pair of P700 headlights.

Let's keep things ticking-over during the holiday period. All progress is good progress (that sounds like a work-house slogan, but given that I am often cold and hungry down at The Glade, it's probably appropriate).

:amen:

I'm sure it will be a big help to get your suspension done at "home".

Good luck, Paul. :)

Progress at last
 

Well, the milestone has been reached and I have started bolting bits back together.

I managed to grab three one-and-a-half-hour sessions at The Glade and suspension and uprights are in place.



If I am a good boy tonight and am not too worse for wear tomorrow, I may even get the anti-roll bar fitted.

That's all looking very slick indeed. Nice work. :)