Monday, 27 December 2010

Well that well known auction site came good again! Now have some metal work to play with, a 1932 chassis in fairly good condition. I have located an IFS unit and some 'flat' rear springs to lower the chassis height. The engine although being in good condition having been rebuilt and not used will be replaced with a Ford e93A lump. (I just love making more work for myself)

Sunday, 19 December 2010

Little progress, but I suppose any is good! Had some thin aluminium sheet so laminated it to some  fibreglass board I had. Trial fit of the instruments, not too sure about the switch panel, may have to  'age it down'. Have at last managed to source a chassis. Came up on the well known auction site! Hoping to collect it this week, but as most of the south is still covered in snow and the temperatures not expected to get above zero for the next few days maybe unlikely.

Thursday, 25 November 2010

Very little to report I'm afraid. Just done a little 'Blue Peter' work. For some reason a chunk of body and the cockpit side had been cut away on the drivers side. Really not sure why, maybe for a roll-bar?? I was going to leave it for authenticity (another word for laziness) but it would change the dashboard fit, so all masked up ready to glass up. Temperatures about zero degrees at the moment so will have to wait until I have a day to get the workshop temperature up.
Have been busy on eBay though, Purchased all the instruments & switches needed for the dashboard. Couldn't be too fussy with them being 'age correct' but haven't spent a fortune either.



Saturday, 13 November 2010

Two halves now back together again! The cutaways for the axles not looking too tidy.......






Loads of filling and sanding now, plus a little bit more glass work for the body mounting plates & dashboard brackets etc. If only I had a chassis to put it on!

Saturday, 6 November 2010


New front bulkhead made from fibreglass. A lot lighter than the original steel one, but will give the nose section adequate strength.
Repairs made to tail section. The one advantage to it being cut in two is that it has made getting in to glass up the damage a lot easier. Also made for an easy transport in the back of a van.
This bit was real fun & games! It was just about possible to line up the rear of the cockpit edge, but due to a large amount of fibreglass being cut away in it's previous life mating the two parts together to get the alignment right took several attempts. Managed to get the first layer of woven fibreglass in place, but due to the dropping workshop temperature then decided to call it a day. (not me getting cold the resin!)

Friday, 5 November 2010

Rusted front bulkhead
First job was to reach for the angle grinder and remove all the rusty fixings. The front bulkhead was well beyond repair. (along with all the bonded metal plates)
The one that caught the eye
A chance look at an auction catalogue and Lot 511caught the eye. Just out of  curiosity,  the web was
trawled to try and identify the shell. All clues now pointed to it being a MK1 Hamblin Cadet.With a guide price of £15 - £20 it was worth a look. Four weeks later & a  whole day spent at the auction and the shell was mine.
Oh and a little bit out on the guide price, the wallet now £300 lighter!