... have continued to take up most of my time so car stuff that's involved me - even going out for a spin - has been a bit thin on the ground. Fortunately, not everyone has been so unproductive.

Leon has fashioned this adapter plate so that his Coventry Climax engine will take an Austin 7 starter motor...

.. and gearbox.

I'm not sure of all the technical details but I know a new flange had to be welded onto the flywheel and the assembly balanced. I believe the final version of the adapter plate will be a bit thicker than the one shown. I don't know what's had to be done to the bell-housing but, watch this space.

The Great Collector is busy with the bonnet of his Vulcan at the moment and you'd have thought that was enough to keep a chap happy, but you'd be wrong. A 1928 Alvis TG 12/50 has appeared on the ramp...

... and someone's going round with a sheepish grin on his face!

My efforts have been concentrated on replicating the gear lever for a chum's 1906 Rover. I've got to apply a bit of heat to bend the stick in the right places and then fabricate the handbrake and some of the bits that make up the quadrant.

The main bit of the quadrant is going to be re-cast from an original which is in very good condition..

.. and I've worked out that these are the bits I need to fabricate to complete the assembly along with the spring-loaded twink that is the ratchet on the handbrake. That should keep me occupied for the next few evenings and distract me from the other projects. I've been using a very simple CAD programme to draw up various general arrangements but, unless you're doing that sort of thing on a daily basis, I find it's always a lot quicker to pick up a pencil and paper - I couldn't even begin to generate a drawing with a CAD system like the one above.

I can never remember which axis is 'X' or 'Y' for a start.