Mike Macartney

I am not sure that is correct. By not soldering the connection to the bullet connector you are liable to get a high resistance due to corrosion. On my V8 MGB I soldered all the bullets. I assumed the hole at the end was for the solder to flow through to join the bullet to the wire? I also feel for you with the panel fits. It took a frustratingly long time to get panel gaps acceptable. Your doing a great job. Mike

Hello Paul, Nice to hear from you. As you may have read in my posts, bad breathing health made me have to give up any work in the workshop. All I seem to be able to do now is look at the computer, read and watch the TV. It took me over a year to stop getting frustrated about not doing anything, but have now got used to it. Being on oxygen for the last couple of years seemed to have helped me from getting much worse. I only heard from the new owner once since I sold him the Humberette. I hope the the posts I have made have, or will, be of use to you and others. Mike

Joe, what a PITA! What broke and caused that? Mike

You maybe surprised how much they fetch at a specialist auction.

Roger, If you decide to sell them you may be best asking the advice of an auction house that specialises in toy cars. Mike

Hi, Thanks for contacting me. I have sent you a PM. Mike

Joe, I used that "One Shot" sign paint a number of times in the past when I was restoring motorcycles. It also seems to last. Jane came down with a tin she found on the shelf in my workshop, to use to paint the metal frame of an outside table. That must of been a couple of years ago and it brushed on very well, covered in just one coat, and the paint on the table still good today. Mike

Joe, your method of restoring/rebuilding the parts before you put come to put the car back together is similar to the way I restored the two MGBV8's I restored. As I took the parts off the original car, I restored or rebuilt them and put them on the shelf, before I removed the next part. It worked for me and made putting the cars back together much quicker and very satisfying. Keep up the good work. I am still really enjoying reading and seeing your superb workmanship on this forum. Mike

Joe, I thought the misalignment was a deliberate mistake to make sure we were all paying attention! Mike

What is the next day??!

Joe Your comment above caused me to laugh out loud. That's the story of my life! Mike

Roger - The work looks great. Just a thought about the spring rate. Could you cut a slot in the area of the spring leaves that are hidden by the leaf below and the leaf above to weaken the springing? Mike

WOW - A really nice set of candle holders!

Well Ted, so I am not the only one who see's the 'funny' side of some of the posts on the AACA forum. So far I have managed to keep most of them to myself. I am not sure whether UK humour is the same as US humour. I can't see the problem with a joke between friends when we don't mean any harm by it. Mike

Don't tell me Joe you are loosing your bearings!

I used a sprag clutch on the electric starter motor for my 1903 Crestmobile. A sprag clutch is a roller bearing that will only drive in one direction. When going in the other direction it freewheels. To reduce the speed of the starter motor I added gears and a cog for the chain. The starter motor I used was a BMW 2002 one, only because there were a few here in my daughters second hand stores!

Just brilliant Joe. When you mentioned earlier about the numbers I wondered how you were going to do it. I would never have thought about using the press.

Joe, that has spread the load nicely. Mike

Even with instructions, when it says "do this", they never seem to tell you why you should "do this" which I find is important in many instances. With regards to the 'rest' for the dial to sit in, while you 'press' the numbers in. I think I would be much better to have curve machined in the block, rather than a vee for the dial to sit in, so as to spread the load. Joe, you don't want to spoil the magnificent work you have achieved so far for a little more machining.

Hang in there - it can only get better! Most of us have hit low periods in our restorations.

Hi Gary, After following this amazing build from the start. It was great to view the video, which I really enjoyed. At the end of the video I was surprised that 48 minutes had passed, it felt more like 15 minutes. From now on I will never look at aluminium bodied cars the same way as I have in the past. I now appreciate the amount of work that goes into the fabrication of the bodies. Thank you for taking the time and trouble in sharing your excellent work with us. Best regards Mike

Wow Gary, a work of of art, just beautiful. You should be very proud of what you have achieved. Mike

I agree, it would be a shame to hide all that wonderful intricate workmanship.

It is great that Roger takes the time and trouble to document and photograph his work for all to see. I for one look forward to every one of his posts. Mike

Joe thanks for the information on getting over the problem of the broken drill. Your last post is a great example to me and others of attention to detail and accuracy. Mike