Kit 17 and 18.
THE PENULTIMATE – FINAL – LAST KIT
WELL ALMOST, MAYBE, NOT SURE

I was quite surprised when the last kit arrived, February 15, since I had not received an e-mail from ModelWorks advising such. But very happy none the less.

There are a lot of parts in this kit, mostly tubing, fittings, brackets, switches, and the like. The control panel looks very impressive with the legend panel and the brass pressure gauge, a little mixture of the new and the old. There are some nice brass trim items; like the brass body trim and the brass pedal surrounds. The brass dash bumper for the tiller is a nice touch. The wicker basket to hide the burner is quite nice, adds to the era of the car.

Also; there are several modification parts that will need to be installed. New crank bearing flanges that will incorporate the valve linkage. This modification will give our cars more power according to ModelWorks after testing on the prototype. There is a new brake pedal bracket to change the amount of leverage against the brake master cylinder for better braking ability. Also, the spring modification was included. I have already reported on this build.

There are new rear axle half shafts with hubs and spacers, these are stronger as the prototype had a bit of a rear axle problem, the axle ends broke off, leaving the rear end of the car in the dirt. Since ModelWorks doesn’t want to see us getting our rear ends dirty, they have supplied the new parts.

There will be a superheater for our boilers, hence a temporary bypass tube is supplied so we can steam up if the superheater doesn’t arrive before that time. Also; not all the instructions are included at this time but will follow up shortly, according to the letter that came with the kit.

I know a lot of people were getting worried about the car getting finished, and ModelWorks has had some corporate worries, and the build is taking longer than originally anticipated, but I would like to point out that ModelWorks has always done right by they’re customers. They are quite concerned and proud of producing a quality piece. The craftsmanship of all the components has always been top shelf. The fact that they were improving the prototype and passing these improvements on without extra cost is a tribute to they’re dedication.

Since there is a lot to do, I will be reporting on the final assembly in chapters and will have a lot of pictures. Final Kit – Chapter – Engine Modification; will be my first attention, as the engine must be finished before I can install the boiler.

Happy Building

Rick