Fastcat

It's very likely that simple in-line filters were used, similar to those used in motor-cycles. Remember, the oil would probably be changed for each race and the petrol would usually be poured into the tank through a filter. They weren't like road cars which were (and are) expected to go for thousands of miles between oil changes. My '54 Austin Healey 100 used an in-line fuel filter in the fuel line so it wasn't obvious. Most motor bikes used a simple wire mesh filter in the return feed from the engine. There's no reason to believe cars would need anything different. Dave

Olivier, Most editors are wary of covering articles which have already been published on the internet. It's because potential readers can view the topic (and much more than any magazine can print) for free. That's why many regular magazine contributors only give a tantalising glimpse of their finished models with a comment that the full build will be covered in "XXXX" magazine. Inevitably this means that they work mainly on their own do their research privately. So don't be too disappointed if you don't find a sympathetic editor, particularly if you aren't a regular contributor to their magazine. I remember when I made my first tentative offering to Alan Hall. I went to a great deal of trouble to meet their article submission rules and spent a lot of time writing it until I was satisfied that it read well and looked good. It was rejected mainly because it was a civil aircraft! I also suspect he had his own team of authors and didn't want to depart from that. I didn't write anything else for many years until I was asked to do so by editor of a new magazine who then published several before going the way of many paper magazines. Therefore, don't give up but be prepared! It's not an insult to have an article rejected - it's just one of those things where your work doesn't tie in with the editor's thinking. Dave

All the best for your op. I had surgery for prostate cancer a couple of years back and I'm still walking. Can only agree with DMC. Let the nurses know they're valued, tell them. Dave

Very much enjoying this build and commentary. Sorry to hear of your encounter with Peruvian Death 'Flu. Could this be a feature in all Montessori schools? Our son lives in Norway, north of the Arctic Circle. You know - where the cold kills all the bugs etc. assuming you're not the first victim before it gets to the bugs. Both he and our grandchildren suffer from countless and nasty maladies every year during the school term. So much so that we're afraid to visit them during school time. I've suffered the nastiest virus's ever, including one that left me with Bell's Palsy for a while. How I wish that Bell had kept his palsy for himself! This year we went during the school holidays and had nothing, in fact we returned feeling healthy. Anyway, enough of the health scares, great work and interesting subject. Good luck with it and may you encounter no more nasties. Dave

Looking excellent and it's impressive how it looks with the bonnet open. There was, it's shown on the drawings and is filled by means of the big filler cap behind the driver. Extra fuel (or in some cases oil) would go in the tank next to the driver where it's weight would cause least imbalance as it emptied. The fuel lines aren't well shown although the front and rear compartments of the side tank are connected by a thin pipe beneath the car. In this car, it appears that the oil tank was on the left and next to the gearbox, where the mechanics feet would be. The layout makes a lot of sense in attempting to cram a lot of fuel, oil and driver into a very compact space. Dave PS: What a great workroom!

I know but you have to admit it would be kind of cosy! The racing Morgans usually stagger the seats too, in fact most two seaters do but converted road cars are generally a bit wider than all out racers. Dave

The engine was offset towards the original mechanic's side to allow the driver to sit lower in the car and also balance his weight. It also allowed the fuel tank to be placed next to the driver and nearer to the centre of gravity. This helped to counter the effects of changing centre of gravity as the tank emptied.See here for the reason: http://petergiddings.com/Cars/delage.html It explains in the first few lines why Delage used an offset similar to Fiat. Unless a gearbox with an offset drive shaft was used (or font wheel drive), the driver would otherwise have to sit on top of the drive shaft cover, raising him 10cms or more and increasing the drag and raising the centre of gravity. Incidentally, neither of these cars is a true two-seater. You'd need to be on very friendly terms with the driver to share the cockpit for any length of time! Dave

No problem Hannes. Please accept an electronic handshake. Dave

Hannes, I'm sorry but I don't see your problem with what I wrote. You clearly stated that it would have been the first single seater in the world and that was not the case. To then compare me to the writers in the mass media is very insulting. You were not quoted out of context. The world means the world, not the narrow confines of any organisation. Folks rightly or wrongly believe what they read and your sweeping statements of "facts" were simply wrong. You invite others to join the debate - small wonder they don't bother. I've no wish for this thread to descend into name calling and insults. I would however prefer to see facts rather than fiction. Go and take a cold shower! Dave

You under-estimate the importance of obtaining as low a ride height as possible. Harry Miller, having built one of the most successful single seaters went on to design a front wheel drive car which allowed him to do away with the drive shaft and seat the driver much lower in the chassis. He didn't do that for fun. Leon Duray won in such a car. A lower roll centre allows much higher cornering speeds. It's also one of the benefits of dry-sump lubrication. It allows the engine to be mounted lower and reduces the roll centre. Also, smaller diameter wheels help. Changing the yaw and pitch balance can be done in a number ways, the position of the fuel tank, wheelbase, suspension geometry etc. but lowering the roll centre is more difficult. Achieving a lower car and roll centre is the ideal of most designers. I love three wheeler Morgans and one of the most successful Morgan drivers was Clive Lones. He noticed that after the front suspension of his race car was bent while racing, making it lower, the car handled far better. He got Morgan to fabricate special cranked front suspension tubes, reducing the ride height several inches. This improved the handling so much and the factory was so impressed that production suspension was similarly modified although to a lesser degree. Have a look at modern Morgan racers - they literally hug the track. If it was good enough to convince Harry Miller, Clive Lones, H. F. S. Morgan and a host of others since, who am I to disagree? Dave

In 1927? Hardly. Such a sweeping statement ignores the facts. Pure single seaters were raced at Indianapolis in 1923 when the two seat rule was made optional. Have a look at the Miller 122 for instance. Also Delage used a converted two seater with a very similar arrangement. Dave

Offsetting the engine to the driver allows him to sit beside the drive shaft to the rear axle instead of above it and therefore astride it. Have a look at the drawings and you will see this. Many cars mount the engine at an angle to achieve the same effect. It also helps to balance the car. The fact that it was designed as a 2 seater helped but even in that form it would enable the driver to sit lower. Dave

Crazycrank, You're half right. When viewed from the driver's seat, the ones on the left of the car are as you've drawn. The ones on the right of the car have the flats on the opposite side of the wheel-nut ears so that they tighten up the same way relative to the chassis. One goes clockwise, one has an opposite thread and goes anti-clockwise. Dave

Hi activexp, Good progress with the 30/98. You can get instrument decals from Airscale. They're really nicely printed, come in a range of sizes and are very detailed. They're for aircraft really but if you choose carefully they look convincing enough in this scale. Alternatively there's loads of dedicated stuff for cars to be found on eBay. You'll probably find some registration letters too. Hiroboy sells some in 1/24 although they're quite dear. Seems a pity that a quite expensive model doesn't include a small decal sheet with numbers, instruments and badges. I think that they don't sell very many so it's maybe not viable to produce a set from scratch. I had the same when I built their Morgan. Kept searching through the box in case I'd missed it! Dave

Lovely little model. Pity 1/43 scale is largely ignored these days. Just shows what can be achieved in so small a model. Dave