Firstly, I must thank my co-builders who have gone ahead of me and blogged their experiences; together with comprehensive photos. I am looking at their blogs and hope to learn from their experiences.
I have gone as far as I can to install my electrical add-ons. The control box will be mounted just in front of and below the controls for the handbrake and reversing gear control lever, with easy access for the driver; until I have the seat and top assembled, the details will have to wait. The wiring has been secured with lacing cord in the manner learnt from wiremen in the defence industry in the 1970's - a bit of history re-created?
All the lights on the rear-facing towing light panel can be driven from the battery via the control box switches: side lights, number plate lights, left and right indicators, fog light, stop lights (driven from a pressure switch on the hydraulic brake circuit). The key on the control panel disables everything driven from the battery, including the burner; I hope this will deter any joy-riders (or grandchildren?). I have yet to build the light clusters for the front of the car, so they can't be tested yet; only a connector strip has been included.
The boiler has been painted with high temperature paint. The piston blocks have been given a second coat of the same paint while it was there. The chimney flue also got a coat. The boiler is about as heavy as I can manage - I have re-discovered the usefulness of a barrel hitch which I learnt a long time ago; a single loop supports the boiler while a belt keeps it from toppling while using a block and tackle to take the load.
The fittings are in place but not yet sealed using Steam Seal. As advised by another builder, the lower fittings are protected from damage using packing spacers on a dolly. The warning from STW that one boiler had been found with the top welded on upside down was taken into account - my boiler is OK, thank goodness. Like other builders, I am going to have fun assembling the insulation and cladding for the boiler. The sheet work is not high tolerance work, so some fitting (filing, cutting and hammering, and making a loud noise) will be needed.
In due course, I hope to re-direct the exhaust downwards from the back of the boiler, rather than following the original T-shaped flue design. To enable this alternative. I shall need to cut some slots in the smoke hood while I can get at it. At the moment, there appears to be space for it, but I don't know if the space will be taken up with equipment we have not yet received. It would be nice to include a heat exchanger for pre-heating the boiler feed water, and save on fuel.
In my "spare time" I am making an A-frame for towing. I think the material I bought is made of a higher grade steel than I expected, as my drills get blunt quickly (although it might be a case of the bad workman blaming his tools).
I have the woodwork for the seat, which I shall tackle when the boiler has submitted to my efforts. The wood will probably be painted green to match the rest of the paintwork, but not yellow which is reserved for fast moving parts.
We have received a flyer for the local gym, which I have ignored. Weight training can be achieved by lifting the boiler. Running can be indulged in by rushing down to the tool store in the village to replace tools or buy any I don't yet have. There are no plans to do a lot of cycling.
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