Work continued on the Sd.Kfz 261 chassis frame. The side rails are being rebuilt and have had the inner face refitted now that the internal strengthening have been plug welded in. The very corroded sections have been cut out and replaced. All have been welded up and have to be cleaned off with a soft pad grinder. The ‘good’ gearbox has been opened and inspected and found to be absolutely perfect. This has had barely any use at all – even the bearings are in good. All the gears have their original machining marks on them. The spare gearbox has been reassembled. It was worn but surrendered the input drive flange and the four wheel drive selector lever. The new seals for the good gearbox have been ordered and are on their way.
The work on the Zundapp KS750 continues. The final fitting of the newly lined fuel tank proved briefly successful until we realised the fuel tap was leaking. The main body of the tap had two very fine cracks in it. The old bad copy was fitted in its place pending the discovery of a good original example. We have located most of the sidecar heating apparatus but have yet to uncover an original exhaust manifold fitting for it. This will be left unfitted until a good example is located.
The research on the SARC MK III Marmon Herrington armoured cars in progressing very well. We have been the beneficiaries of original archive material from South Africa on the assembly of these iconic machines including a considerable block of registration numbers and detail about dates and production. A growing picture is emerging on the understanding of engines, chassis numbers relating to the assembly of the armoured cars and their components.
