It seems likely that by the time I get to the end of the current project, this blog will be longer than War and Peace (587,287 words) as I've hit the ¼ million mark and the fun's just beginning - well, I think so anyway.

This is the back of the nearside rear brake cylinder and shows the handbrake operating mechanism. I think it's a really clever design. As the horizontal bar is pulled by the brake rod, the two short vertical bars are pushed outwards by the pins rolling in the recesses. The short bars work directly on the shoes to push them against the drum. The horizontal bar is shorter on the nearside and lacks the eye for a clevis pin because the knockmeter went a bit off course. I'll weld the parts back together again and if that's not entirely successful, it's an easy part to fabricate.

The hubs withdraw from the axle casing with the back plates and half shafts attached once the nuts are removed from the bolts holding the hub carrier to the axle. Curiously, these nuts were 13mm and the front suspension was Whitworth and BSF.

The nearside hub shows signs of having been attended to in the past and by the look of the half shaft (which is in superb condition and a work of art) it may have been replaced at some point. Either that or the bearing.

The offside hub has not been so lucky. Although it was a lot easier to take apart - the countersunk screws holding the brake drum in place weren't rusted in unlike the nearside, and I didn't have to chisel off the brake cylinder retaining bolts - internally it looked like it had been standing in the village pond and there was still some water in there..

I had a couple of bits of luck - I spotted a steering wheel on the web for not much money and snapped it up. There appears to be some sort of splodge repair going on but it's the hub and locking device that's important as I'll probably make my own rim. It certainly looks in better condition than the one I picked up in Devon.

And on the same day, I tripped over this set of hub caps - something I lack. I'd seen a set before but wasn't quick enough on the uptake and missed them. These look in better fettle. The headlamp rims might also come in handy though I haven't decided what to do about those as yet. The choice is to have them blended into the front wings or have them as separate items on mountings in a more vintage style. There's a way to go before I have to think about that in any case.

Going back to the front subframe, I'm going to pop along to see Chumley and get him to make up a couple of pieces for this extractor. It's for removing the splined tubes that carry the lower wishbones. It'll be great if it works.