A very busy week, so this will be a quick entry into the diary.

The windscreen wiper motor mounting has been done - a tube with a plate and captive bolts in the (hopefully) right place.

Whilst we wait for 6/80's new wiring loom, we thought we'd tackle the reluctant starting of the Tickford bodied Hillman Minx. The compressions are in the mid-70's so when we get the head off I expect we'll be decoking and grinding in the valves at the very least.

I opted to strip the veneer from the dashboard and add a piece to conform to the shape of the scuttle. With a heat gun, the veneer came off easily enough, but getting the glue residue off was a morning's work.

Although I used plywood from the same sheet, having left it in the workshop in the yard, it seems to have swollen in some areas. The new piece is doweled and glued. When I get a minute, I'll apply the veneer I have left over - there's just enough by about ½".

My week has been taken up by an emergency order for two sets of ROV frames. I elected to collect the material - a 170 mile round trip - as I didn't have a week to wait for delivery. The machining of all the parts takes three days, so Chumley is in for a bumper hamper as a panic order bonus on top of his charges.

And The Great Collector is off to a flying start. We're barely three weeks into the New Year and a new addition to the stable will be arriving shortly.