|
I enclose a few more ramblings and photos on the progress I am making in
restoring the late Warren Hasel's 1938 Series 5C Scout. Hopefully the next article
I write will advise that the car has been finished. The radiator has now been repaired and fitted. Unfortunately it needed a new core and the total cost was horrendous, £534 including VAT. I could have had a modern core fitted but it would have looked completely wrong as soon as anyone looked under the bonnet. I have beaten the dents out of the doors, rear wings and running boards and they have been primed and undercoated ready for spraying. The front wings were in a terrible state. They were held together with dozens of rivets and small nuts and bolts and then liberally covered with filler. After this had been removed I was faced with a major welding and panel beating job to replace all the cracked and rotten metal with new steel. After effecting the necessary repairs I have welded a new heavy duty steel bead round the edge of the mudguards, and this will, fingers crossed, hopefully prevent further cracking of the front wings. My company sent me abroad from 10th November to 22nd December, and again from 4th January until 4th February, so work on the car came to a standstill. Having returned from my three months business trip my wife and I went on holiday for three weeks in the middle of April, and on return I suffered a recurring neck problem, so work on the car has been further delayed. Due to this enforced four months lay-off it will probably be next spring before the car is finished instead of this year. The body was again removed from the chassis for spraying but my first trials with the borrowed spraygun were not very successful. Spraying the car with cellulose is an art that I haven't got the hang of yet, too much orange peel effect, but having rubbed the body down twice I hope it is third time lucky. The body shell is now back on the chassis and I have carried on with re-assembly whilst still trying to get a good paint finish. Having said this, I have got a good finish on the doors and running boards so it is just a matter of time before I get the body paintwork to my satisfaction. The chromium plating has been finished and I have re-assembled and fitted the radiator grille, dashboard and instruments and the windscreen. The windscreen was probably the hardest job physically that I have had to do, I followed John Chadwick's method of using superglue to stick the new rubber to the glass, and then fit the chrome windscreen surround over the rubber, but found that even using half a bottle of washing up liquid it was such a tight fit it seemed an impossible task. I solved the problem by using an old inner tube and making several very strong elastic bands which I wrapped round the windscreen. First slide the top windscreen surround down over the glass with rubber fitted as far as it will go, then wrap the large rubber bands from side to side which will pull the surround over the rubber (with the help of generous amounts of washing up liquid). Then fit the bottom windscreen surround as best you can and then wrap rubber bands from top to bottom. With a bit of gentle persuasion the entire surround will then slide over the glass fairly easily and the side fixing screws replaced. After having wasted two hours without the use of the inner tube rubber bands it only took me about fifteen minutes and was infinitely easier. A visit to Woolies has supplied me with various new rubber trims and wing piping, and I am now in the process of spraying the wings. I will leave fitting the doors until I have sorted out the wiring. Real progress is being made and I am looking forward to getting the car on the road next spring. I have had no response to my offer of the discarded wooden frame for use as patterns, so when the car is finished I will throw them away as I need the space. It was nice to see so many cars at the National Rally this year and hopefully Linda and I will be able to attend in our car next year. Safe motoring. |