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Progress has slowed this
month due to holidays and two important rally dates that we
had to attend. Following the steam clean the Albion has now
been shot blasted and painted with a thick coat of Hammerite
type silver paint. It shows the benefit of removing the
mechanical units as many of the parts would have been very
difficult to get into otherwise. It can now be confirmed
that the chassis frame and crossmembers are all in good
condition, although there is some heavy flitching repairs to
the frame around the bulkhead area near the rear engine
mounts.
Meanwhile Tam's men have repaired much of the rear end frame
lower deck level around the platform area with a lot of new
metal going in. The staircase has been removed and repairs
to the basic structure have been made.
On the mechanical side John and I have removed the steering
box, which is an Albion unit of the worm and sector type.
John and Davie have now stripped this down to see if they
can get to the bottom of the heavy steering. Apart from one
of the bearings showing signs of surface rust, probably due
to prolonged periods of inactivity, the parts inside the box
appeared to be in reasonable condition. A new bearing will
be sourced and fitted.
John, Davie and I have stripped down all 6 wheels. We had to
fight them all the way, thirty years of inactivity
effectively welding the inner tubes to the wheels. The
wheels, locking rings and flanges will now be sent away for
shot blasting and painting.
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