... when you want it to, but has a vice like grip when you don't.

I didn't have any beeswax (I threw a tin out some time ago thinking I would never need it...) so I used a liquid car polish to build up a smooth and shiny layer before liberally spraying the front of the model with a silicone-based release agent.

A piece of masking tape indicated the cut-off line and I was all set. Fibreglass matting is horrid stuff; strands get everywhere and the sheet falls apart when you don't want it to. I persevered and ended up with an acceptable job that I left out in the sun to cure.

With hindsight, I should have covered the model with masking tape as that was the only bit that came away without a struggle. Chunks of the model stuck to the fibreglass, but nothing so drastic as to preclude repair.

It was also fortuitous that my impatience hastened me to remove the shape before it went rock hard. Anyway, I ended up with exactly what I wanted without it looking too much of a car crash.

The block tap on the MS and 6/80 engines has a bore of about 1/8" and nothing is more, er... boring, than sitting and waiting for the block to drain when required. I always disconnect the bottom radiator house and direct as much of the fluid as I can into an old bain marie. On the coupé, anticipating this future irritation, I've welded a substantial stainless steel tap with a ½" bore to the block's inlet pipe. The outlet of the tap is threaded internally, so I can attach a longer spout and direct the flow precisely.

I haven't been to a car show - one where you get locked in and not allowed to move - since 2007. I relented the other day and volunteered with Counsel to man our local auctioneer's stand. The Hillman performed perfectly in the 30° heat (and attracted a lot of attention). I think the problems I've had recently are now behind me. An upcoming round trip of ninety or so miles to Friston's 'Cars on the Green' (a happily informal evening event) will confirm my confidence.

There must have been five or six hundred cars attending the show, but very little to interest me except this gorgeous Volvo P1800 DHC which, rather surprisingly, started life as a hatchback - the P1800 ES. It would be the perfect car in which to tour Italy with Miss X - though I'd better stick to the work in hand for the time being.