Last weekend about a 1 litre of paint was sprayed around to make things look pretty and because it is winter it took 6 days for the paint to dry.
Yesterday (6th), the gearbox was re attached to the front axle. These boxes are quite heavy and we employed the floor crane to support the rear of the box while the front was lined up on it's bearings and seals. A quick reassembly of the front cover that houses the direction lever and a bead of sealant run around the case, it was then bolted up.
Today both skid rails and left side wheel hubs went back on. The left rear is different to the others, it is a free wheeling hub. This allows the trike to be picked up at the front and turned without the rear wheels dragging.
The hubs fit on the tapered ends of the axles and to tighten them up a nut is spun on, it pushes the hub up the tapper and wedges it tight. The catch is keeping the wheels in gauge, the more you tighten the nut it pushes the wheels in and if not careful the it will end up under gauge. To cure the problem shims are used. In my case it is 1/64 gasket material, it's wrapped around the taper and cut so not to overlap. In the end it makes a nice tight fit and the axle can't slip in the hub.
I also picked up 2 sheets of marine plywood for the body work and had it cut to size for the running boards, sides and the top deck. It will be fitted for size and bolt locations, then taken back off and run through the saw to turn it into boards to replicate the original look then painted. To use real hardwood boards was cost prohibitive so the ply will have to do.
Ot is a great job. I look forward to seeing the updates.
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