... I'd been shopping, done the washing, cooked the week's rations, been to a bit of a petrol head's beano with The Ambassador's Daughter and then out for a spin in the Austin to deliver some parts for a chum's Riley, the weekend had gone. Still, you bump into the nicest people (I must make an effort and do the front wings for the Austin).

I was up a bit earlier on Monday and whilst I had a moment or two, I ordered a battery, whizzed up a battery box and set it into the rear floor. Folding 4 sides of a box is always a bit of a caper but luckily Counsel looked in for a cup of tea and held on to the bench whilst I levered the last 2 sides into position.

There's about 6 or 7 inches clearance between the bottom of the box and the pinion carrier - it's going to have to be a pretty big pothole to get that sort of travel on the springs, so I think I'm safe.

I've also ordered a few metres of 170 amp cable to get going with the ignition circuit and, whilst I was on the phone to the people who sold me the alternator/dynamo look-alike, I asked about fitting an ammeter in the line. It all got rather complicated what with different sorts of ammeter wiring configurations for this and that and I quickly lost track. However, chap was a bit puzzled as to why I would want to fit an ammeter and not a voltmeter - the latter being a much easier and straightforward installation and apparently a great deal more useful in this context. I couldn't answer that question because, pressures and temperatures I can understand but volts, amps or ohms on a gauge might just as well be pounds of carrots as far as I'm concerned; as long as the needle goes round to the same place every time, that's all I want to know. I had a quick look for a suitable voltmeter and it looks like I might have to do the usual trick of making up a face and finding a suitable bezel for a more modern instrument.

The other job I managed to squeeze in was to assemble the radiator brace. It's a jolly useful piece of metal - a simple inverted channel section - because you can hang stuff from it like the horn - the horn I'm using is a bit of a monster at a couple of feet long and needs something fairly sturdy to support it.  I'm also able to strap to it the temperature gauge tube and I can put the bonnet centre hinge mounts at each end.

I should take delivery of the battery this week and the cables will be on their way as well so, by next weekend, I'll be that much closer to firing up. I don't know how many times I've thought that that moment was just around the corner and then I've realised that something else has to be done first - the exhaust for instance. See, I'd forgotten about that.