VICKERS MK6B's resto

[colin jones]

Thankyou Petr. Now that I have put my shaft aligners in and the bearing plugs, it all comes together really really well. Basically, if the shafts that I made line everything up and the spacers are correct then there is every chance that this fabricated gear/diff housing will work. If I get a chance over the weekend, I will clean up the gears, shafts and bearings and install them for a look see.

[colin jones]

I have now got the main box welded together.

[colin jones]

Everything is fitting and aligning well.

[colin jones]

Such a pain I just ran out of mig gas so I thought I'd start doing the sump.

[Lynn Eades]

Played your guitar lately Colin?

[Russ Gregg]

I am quite capable with a welder, mill and lathe, but I am still impressed as hell by this. I would have thought distortion while welding would have given you a fair bit of grief and you would have maybe been better machining a finished weldment but you have obviously planned your assembly and managed heat very well. Again, fantastic project.

[colin jones]

Hi Lynn, yes as a matter of fact, my band had a Pub gig last night.
Hi Russ, I had little to no distortion. I tacked everything in place first and kept my bearing plugs and rods in place the entire time. I also tack welded it down to a heavy plate to keep the top flat at the bottom ( the top of the trans was at the bottom and that is what I tacked) I used a series of clamps and did small sequence runs like tightening a head and let them cool naturally. I kept checking measurement as I went and also welded flat bar spacers where I thought it might warp and to my surprise it came out very good. The sump won't be a problem as it has now got some independent strength. The only part I need to be careful of now is welding the bearing housing in the centre as there will be a fair amount of heat go into it but I will have to again do short bursts. It's annoying doing that as I'm a bit impatient when I want to get something finished. After the sump is done I only have the side wing parts bolt holes and stud holes. All going to plan.