.. the simple process of attaching the new plate to the pinion carrier, was still work in progress. The holes for the 6 bolts were just a swire too big - no good for a propshaft - so I turned up a couple of over-sized pins, pressed them into the new plate and took a shave out of the holes in the carrier end to accommodate them.

The plate didn't quite go all the way home so an encouraging tap was administered. This knocked the end float in the carrier out of kilter (indicating that I hadn't got the assembly and adjustment sequence quite right so it was just as well) and, in taking it all apart to reset it, the tab washer broke and I'm blowed if I can be bothered to make another one. Maybe I could salvage one from a spare carrier? No, they're all seized solid. So I'll have to drill and wire-lock.

And in drilling for the wire-locking I went ahead without thinking and put the holes on the wrong side of the flat; they should be on this side...

... because the two surfaces abut and would crush the wire or not tighten up properly. What a blinkin' circus! Here's the finished job..

Next stop, the propshaft itself. I trimmed the old Morris Six one to size by taking a good 18" out and then removed the yoke from the surplus to re-weld in the shortened end. I was able to tidy it up in the lathe and preserve the original flange for centring.

Then the UJ's... every cap went on perfectly except the last (and the flying circlip will turn up in 3 years time) but I was quite pleased and decided I must be getting the hang of it; 1 in 8 is pretty good. And then I set about the tank. The sump had a few holes in it and one of the rims was perforated but the rest seemed serviceable. Well, the sump would have to come off for the repairs and that would give me the chance to have a proper look inside.

I didn't much like what I saw so, after a brief tech meeting with Learned Counsel, the upshot was that it would be quicker and easier to roll a new tank and whack in the baffles and end plates from the old one and with the aid of my flame thrower (the tank hasn't had petrol in it for 70+ years but I still had one eye on the door) I took the lot to bits and now have a kit of parts for the new tank.

I'm going to do away with the sump and just install a drain plug - I know it's not quite like it was but it's a lot of fuss shaping up a new sump and it's just another thing to leak.

And finally, I addressed the silencer. After much thought, I've decided not to have a selectable exhaust system - noisy or quiet - because again, it's just too much messing about and the only time I'd open it up to straight through would be to roar through the tunnel at Monte Carlo - I can always tweak the silencer to give it a sporting note at near full chat if I want to. So I've got another kit of parts - except the end plates which I haven't got round to just yet - ready for welding.

That turned out to be quite a long day.