HINDSIGHT IS A WONDERFUL THING....

To all who read this,

Before I embark on my own "labour of love" as start my build i thought i would post the question :-

If you could turn back time what would you have done differently when building your engine?

This could relate to painting or mechanical or even what sundries you have used (oils/tools etc)

This may stop myself and others from stumbling into the same problems and issues.

I'm a firm believer that a good engineer is one that shares his problems and discoveries with others making for a deeper pot of knowledge to use when you stand there scratching your head in disarray when you can't figure something out...


nick

Hi Nick
The first thing i should of done is made sure i had a workshop all finished with a seperate bit for spray painting before starting the build as i started building a workshop halfway throught the build and everything got jumbled up and lost plus i lost the place i was at with the engine.

The second thing i should of done is painted sub assemblies ie built up the tender and then the hornplates with the bearing blocks in the correct place and then paint the whole lot. I painted the tender and hornplates seperatly and then i fitted the 2 parts together and everything got scratch and paint chiped and the i fitted the crankshaft bearing blocks to the hornplates and the same again it chiped paint and then i was left to paint all the bolt heads.
So i would proberly under coat most of it as i built the engine up and then take the engine apart and paint it in Big sub assemblys.
The third thing is not to keep telling the better half you will do the house repaires next week as that week comes and then you say i will definatly do it next week and so it goes on and before you know it you have one very pissed of better half. So get all the house repairs out the way first so you are free to get on with the build.

I think that is it i hope it all made sense lol
Mark

Mark,
Point 3 noted...
You wouldn't believe the amount of people that have given me advice on how to deal with the other half..
makes me chuckle..

i've already built the mother of all workshops...
it's formally called the summerhouse...(at the moment)

As for the painting part this is exactly why i posted the question..

many thanks
Nick

Tef, I absolutely agree with the reference to the tender parts, another thing I'm going to say is this, the 2 pipe fittings that go on the top plate of the "water tank", once these are in, I've found it an absolute beeatch to put in those fiddly arsed rivet bolts sooooo, I'm off the the Earls Barton Rally tomorrow and I'm hopefully going to get some M3 allen panhead bolts, I'm going to wang those in instead of the rivet bolts right through the top section, this is so that I can tighten them easier from the OUTSIDE using an allen-key, once done, I'll fill in the holes with filler, sand them off with a dremmel and voila, job'll be a good un, I've also fitted chequered plate on the top part of the water tank so it looks nice, bit if a sod to do but just a little time n patience and it's all good now. But as you were saying about spraying a bit, getting the next kit, fitting it, chipping paint etc, I got enough money together to get kits 7 8 9 and 10 together for that reason, stick the bloody lot together then spray it as Big Al said, in etch primer and go from there..

LilyJack

One thing i have found is that you need plenty of containers so you can keep all the parts for each kit seperate persil tablet containers are good for small parts and screws. When you are assembling then taking apart for painting you could soon get in a muddle.

Keith

Hi guys
I agree with all But in my. As for me I would of started about 3 years ago And said sod the car

Hugh, thats EXACTLY my thoughts. My only regret so far during this build is I wish I'd done this bloody years ago. Whether you make a complete showcase finish or a "will do for now" engine, it's all YOURS. Everything that's gone into it is from your own hands, your own efforts and your own time.It's a good feeling as it starts coming together let me tell you!!

LilyJack

Lillyjack You forgot the plasters and blood that gose in

HughB, not all of us have hands the size of JCB shovels mate. I haven't had any blood from my fingers yet, only my ears from "her indoors" being a little unimpressed with me being down me workshop of 16hrs at a time n coming back up half pi**ed haha!!

Regards..

LilyJack

Hi guys
I think you may like this one .Put a screw in all the holes or tape over them . When you paint as they will clog

As for Mr Lillyjack Like it