All the suspension components for the Sd.Kfz 223 were primed having been collected from the sand blasters. The chassis for the Sd.Kfz 223 was collected from the dipping firm. All paint and rust is now removed and will be painted with primer next week.
The gearbox from the Sd.Kfz 223 has been completely disassembled and cleaned and will now be jet washed to remove any old grease, oil and dirt. The differential stripping has progressed this week but is the domain of our apprentice Tom under supervision. This will be completely disassembled next week and the prep work for restoration will begin then.
The Sd.Kfz 261 chassis has not moved this week due to Dick being ill with flu. He plans to get stuck in again next week. The chassis should be very near to completion by the end of the week.
The front hooks, angled steering mechanism and water pump have been taken to our pattern makers. We need additional examples of these. No other originals have turned up so we are using the tried and tested route of making patterns, casting and machining fine tuned during the Renault FT and TSF restoration projects.
The latest graduates from our DWP education initiative were hosted down here, given a guided tour of the workshops and the collection and awarded their certificates for course completion. The highlights for them on the day (apart from their certificates) were some wonderful cakes and a ride in our Wiking Sd.Kfz 251. The next course starts shortly.
