Cloning progress

The blog report for May outlined plans to clone the parts of the MDB2 from the road roller which we
do not have drawings for. The first item to be tackled was the rocker covers and our pattern maker,
Bob Smith has come up trumps. Great news for the project and good to have Bob getting into the swing of things…

Because the next thing we would like him to have a pop at is the rather substantial and quite
complicated body for the fuel pump & governor. 
This is the casing from the MDB2 engine after it has been gutted:

It is quite a beast and it is not a pure replica that is required, as the fuel pumps themselves sit on top of the central block and as this is the block for an MDB2 and we need a unit for an MDB4 it will need stretching:

There is also an end cap, to go on the left hand end in the above photos:

And the governor itself (which sits in the right hand portion of the body) has two cast weights which and attached to another casting.

  Let’s all hope that Mrs Smith is a very tolerant woman!

Braking News!

Back in September Nutexa Frictions returned the band brake straps with their new Ferodo liners, which has prompted Rick to crack on with another sub-assembly. After a day of prevarication and elliptical hole measuring he came to the conclusion that it would be easier to replace a substantial lump of the compensating mechanism than repair it:

As it measures 2”x 1¾” it’s a fair old chunk of steel, and I think he enjoyed the challenge of machining on the radiussed end that no-one will ever see:

This is the sub-assembly drawing:

A bit more grey paint, two more new pins and it will be ready for fitting: