Luv2Wrench

It is interesting that as you strip it down it looks more doable. Obviously we know you've already done it and it looks great, but when first seeing it... well, it look like a lost cause. Now that it has been stripped down, it doesn't look so bad.

Nice touch with the bolts, those really look good. It is a subtle difference but when everything in the engine bay is done the same the effect is just right. When something isn't period correct, it stands out pretty bad. I'll be having that issue with the Metz (hopefully soon) and I'll be trying to get that radius turning gadget I found in Asheville working on the Hendey.

What he said. Assuming the picture you posted isn't original, then I wouldn't let a horrid implementation of the aprons sour you on the idea... I think they could look sharp if done right. (do understand that if you do the aprons and they don't look good, I'll edit this response to say that I recommend against doing them.)

Yeah, that really looks good and it only looks better after Spinneyhill's picture of a "real" Mark II. I keep going back and forth between them and it is truly mind boggling... you'd think that *something* would be misplaced or not scaled correctly on the model... not so. The 'L' is a nice detail... I would have placed it further down to the chrome bar, roughly in line with the 'C', instead it is a little higher up. If you look at the "real" Mark II you'll notice that it is also a little higher up. I guess that's the difference between aligning on centers and edges. Great detail.

Great job! I see now that just bending over the brake line is easier than making two parts.

Great pictures and narration! From where I'm sitting (and I'd probably have a different opinion if I were there holding the wing) is that I'd do the patch in two pieces. I'd have a tube for the rounded section and flat sheet metal for the rest and assemble the two "in place" on the wing. I'd have a smaller OD tube/wire go into the the existing rounded section and also into the new 'tube' to help indicate the tube and hold it. Then weld in the sheet metal and a little lead filler and/or body filler to match the profile on the rest of the wing.

Roger, 6 months sounds great! I know a lot of people these days like to "binge" watch things and finish whole seasons of a show in a few weeks, but I'd rather enjoy your story over 6 months rather than 6 weeks.

Roger, do you have any thoughts on the pacing of your posts for the story? I wouldn't mind if it went fairly slowly. You say it took 15 years to restore the car and while I don't think I want to wait that long... I could wait a year or so for the story to be played back out. I think I'd rather it went more slowly than quickly. Maybe one or two posts a week?

I have a feeling this is going to be another fantastic journey, thanks for allowing us to go back in time and join the fun!!!

Well that certainly worked out!!

Yeah, but that would be cheating. You might make a significantly longer section (maybe 2x or 3x) and try bending that over a similar radius (with the solid wire in the rolled area as keiser suggested). The bigger section will give you some leverage and over the length of the bend (which, of course, not be consistent) you'll probably find a section that fits nicely.

Looking good! I'm pretty envious of you being able to drive down to Moss and get parts. Is that Eastwood AC or DC? If it is AC then you might be getting fairly good results as the switching plays havoc with your ability to keep a constant arc. Spatter is usually low volts or high amps. You mentioned burn through so maybe less amps would be better. If you don't have control of that then it might be difficult to work through. If I remember correctly... increasing wire speed increases amps, so maybe try a lower wire speed.

Seems like a lot of wear, were you expecting that much or was that part of the problem? Will you change the mixture when you break it in the next time or run it for a shorter period?

Looks like you've made great progress over the Holidays! I like your indent tool and it looks like something I'll need to make some time in the future.

Yep, the common tube is "single ended" and I've been waiting a bit for the double ended tubes to be more popular and come down in price. It has been a couple of days now and I'm still amazed at the amount of light these guys put out. I spent the day cleaning again because everything is noticeable and having a "hospital operation room" amount of clean white light begets having everything super clean. I almost welcome the old days of gloomy light where you couldn't see all the flaws.

You can go to Goodwill or another thrift store and look for a large leather handbag. Remove the straps and other bling and fill with sand.

OK, I didn't think about that but it makes total sense and explains why I felt like it was twice as bright.

Still haven't gotten back to work on the car but I have been working in the shop. I bought a 5600W 220V heater off CL just before Christmas. It needed a 30amp 220V circuit so I added that and got it to a roughly central point in the shop. Since I was going to have the panel open and crawling around the attic, I decided to add another 220V and 120V to the area that is rapidly becoming the "machine shop". Once wired and connected the heater ran great for about 10 minutes. After futzing around with it and troubleshooting I determined it was the thermostat doing its job... just way before it was actually warm in the shop. I took the heater apart to see if I could find anything obviously wrong (and get a part number) and it looked fine. I then realized the thermostat is located in the bottom of the heater and effectively sealed off from the outside. Unbelievable design flaw. I cut a nice hole in the side so that the thermostat could actually be affected by the outside air and it has worked wonderful since. This is a fairly common heater (ProFusion, Dr. Infrared, etc) so if you have one and have issues controlling it with the thermostat... well, now you know why. Second big task was to replace my rapidly fading (pun intended) florescent shop lights with LED bulbs. I've been putting this off for the last year but that has actually worked in my favor as LED bulbs prices have come way down. I got a 25 pack of 4' T8 tubes for $150. They are double end tubes so you hook up one end to hot and the other to neutral. My units had one end running hot to one bulb and neutral to the other with the far end tied together. I was hoping the LED tubes would work that way but they didn't. As such, I just bound one end to hot and the other to neutral. It was fairly easy to cut out the ballast and then tie those wires together. The far end that was connected together was done so with a short wire. I needed to remove one of the tombstones and remove one end of the wire. Getting it out was pretty simple as you just needed to stick a small gauge wire in with it and pull them both out. Then cut a new section of wire, strip it and slide it right in the tombstone. That end would be my neutral (arbitrary but the wire was white...) and the other hot. Got them all done tonight and the difference is incredible. Hard to judge but it easily feels twice as bright... very close to being too bright. From a lumens standpoint it should have been about the same but from what I've heard the fluorescents fade substantially over time and mine were old enough that the ballasts were failing. Really glad I got this done.

Ah, you're right, now that you've circled it in red, I do see them. I agree with your nephew, it looks like some metallic has sought freedom in the clear. That's probably why it shows up when you have a narrow light source. You could ban flash photography

Looking good!! Looks like you've moved from the garage into the house, that's a great idea now that it is cold outside. Don't forget the kitchen is great for parts cleaning (dishwasher) and the closets are wonderful places for hanging parts. I saw a video where a body guy was tackling a job that looked impossible... huge impact on one side of the piece. He put the dang thing in a press and pushed 90% of the damage out. He basically pushed opposite of where the damage came from. Multiple "dents" and "creases" released themselves as the major damage was pushed back out. I tried that on the MG TD rear fender and it worked fantastic. I think the trick when you have a big distortion is to not hit it with a hammer but to be able to impact it in the opposite way the damage was caused and with a constant push force rather than small localized impacts (hammer). You can clean up what is left with a hammer.

That's fairly typical when I create something of that complexity. I figure if I can get it close to working then a few tweaks will usually get it all the way there. Hopefully that's the case for you as well... it certainly looks like a solid tool.

You'll need period correct clubs of course... hickory shafts only.

Roger, all really good creators have things that, in their eyes, don't measure up. It could be possible that if I were there and you carefully showed me an A/B case, I might also see what you're talking about. As it is, with the two pictures you've show, I can't see the issue. I can imagine at the level you work it is hard to always be satisfied but do know that your audience is amazed at what you've done.

You're just making the cantilever piece over, right? Obviously you'd like it to be perfect the first time, but making that piece again isn't too bad. When you make it a little shorter, might you also add a piece to rest against the saddle? Perhaps make the piece that hangs down thicker such that it naturally rests against the saddle? Looks like that would provide a lot of support to offset the downward force from the cutting tool... though I may not understand how it works.

WOW! What a great surprise!! Thanks Roger!