In the end, the turning point was when I had completed the painting by hand of the chassis (I used a two pack, by the way) and could start to put bits back on.  The slow re-emergence saw milestones in the rolling chassis, the addition of the engine and drivetrain, and finally the painted body.  Understandably enough, the engine took the longest (since I had not been responsible for it’s dismantling) and thanks are due to a patient wife for letting me read my now oily copy of Radford in bed late into the night.  The body was finally fitted to the chassis in early 2006 and electrics added afterwards (a mistake as it happens, and one that I am rectifying at present).

By the Spring of 2006 the car was substantially finished.  After a series of false starts and a lot of cursing caused by hopelessly inaccurate BTH magneto timing, No.1 swung noisily into life on the 19th of May.  During that summer, a few minor gremlins - air leaks in the pressurised fuel system, elastic brake rods, high oil pressure (yes, high oil pressure!) and a cracked exhaust manifold took time to cure, and ultimately meant that I missed the opportunity of a debut at last year’s Prescott.  Work commitments meant that, after the initial restart, the car was over-wintered with little more attention.  I’ve since added brake lights, side lights and indicators, hopefully balancing visibility with discretion and a nod to historical accuracy.  All of these, together with the Klaxon are powered by a pair of small high capacity batteries located out of sight behind the instrument panel.  A set of headlights can be added in under two minutes, so we’ll see how it goes.  Oh, and I have to make a more authentic petrol cap.

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