Ready for paint and decals

[Howstar]

May be a good idea to put varnish or some putuy in the ridges ,
1then spray roll paint it
2 remove the puty from in the ridges then paint inside with a small brush latter

[Healey75]

I bet the neighbours love you..! If you think think the primer shows up the imperfections then just wait 'til you get the gloss on the top, it's 80% preparation to get a good finish, throwing the top coat on is the fun bit! but looking the're looking good, I think these sort of jobs always look worse in your own eyes as you know where the dodgy bits are.

Re the black lines,I would go for car lining tape, it's a bit fiddly but easiest, since you need so little, suggest that you could cut wider tape in short lengths down to width...stick lightly it onto something shiny like a glass sheet and the cut with a craft/stanley type knife and a metal straight edge, peel off carefully and apply. You could also use black insulating tape, may not stick as well, I used a combination of the above on Val's 35hp Merc.

If you have a really steady hand the painting in is an option, but I could it would need loadsa care and patience, not something for the morning after the Sat night before

[Rapier]

That 35 is just wonderful - nice job! Looking forward to seeing it burbling along...

I went back to the drawing board yesterday and spent the entire day redoing anything that looked iffy, sanding, priming, sanding priming...Even removed the 300s Dyna-Float covers and dipped those in nitromors - had done it on the 400 and the lettering came up crisp and in great contrast. In hindsight I will strip everything chemically next time; is no point retaining those bits that may be sound substrate, as those have to be properly feathered in too.

My neighbours are fine.. There are a few rules I abide with that keeps them sweet. No noise until after 10h30...at lunchtime and at night, and in good african tradition quiet from lunch on Sunday.

[puddleduck]

Ended up with an off white that was a better match - RAL 1015 was just too yellow compared to my sample (from under the badge of the face plate, so had never seen the sun...); remains to be seen how it turns out. The block of the 300 is roughly 1015 though..I think the formula changed for 1962 anyway?

As an aside, the chap did a check on Clould White and pulled up the marine version, but not 2K..and in aerosols too. Having set my mind on 2 pack I stuck with it.

I have etch primer in aerosol called PXL, which I'll apply this weekend. Any tips for a spot filler?

Tried like hell to unsettle HumBug at Cardiff 07, with the '64 200 getting about 35 flat out and the leg still well buried, but to no avail...With it's mods HumBug is a bit too much of a civilised cruiser in comparison to Colliwobble! The '64-65 350 is only 30 cu.in. and a bit lighter than the '66 version (33 cu.in) that Chris runs on Thunderbolt, so suspect will see speeds slightly less than hes getting (which is?).

Not sure what speed Thunderbolt was doing with the 350, I was definitely gaining on Colliwobble (Steve may dispute this!) back in the good ol' Fritton days then I sunk the bloody thing! My guess is around 35mph. The balance of the hydro with this motor felt really good - as Thunderbolt is a 10' hydro C/D class, the 33cu.in. 350 is a little over the 30cu.in for a C class motor, but I guess the weight is about right. Do bear in mind of course we were (are) running standard lower units - a quickie gearbox would make a world of difference. I've rigged Thunderbolt with my 1960 300 Merc for this year.

[puddleduck]

forgot the photos - paint and decals done!

[Alacrity]

Have you got the Merc sparking now? I seem to remember it ran out of them at Cardiff.

[Healey75]

I recon Thunderbolt was doing maybe 3-5mph more than Colliwobble, I was flat out at about 34/35 mph, where I could catch up was on the corners so it was very even overall and great fun until Thunderbolt turned into a submarine, if we had kept at it longer I would have pulled away no problem as the water chopped up...maybe we should test this theory at Chertsey...?

[Rapier]

Found some Tank Traps for my 'period' Mercury fuel tank. These are great devices which hold the lip of the Merc tanks down...no more bungy cords...

[Rapier]

Started the 400 today, smooth and quiet for 45hp. Pumping issue due to the impellor not being checked, post replacement! Resulted in dropping the leg and a complete busman's holiday for a mate who grafted away while I worked. The 1979 loom worked to run the starter motor but didn't manage to fire 4 pots, we suspect the battery needs a boost and with a few spins might clean up the brushes etc. It hand starts after 2-3 pulls when cold, one when warm and stops when the kill switch tugged, so am VERY chuffed. All that effort makes it worthwhile, but a second brain and fresh hands was just superb. It means I might have the chance to do one or two things for the Cardiff rally that I thought I'd not get to in time, but will please me when done.