Despite the wife being in hospital (again) at present, I managed to drop-off the now disassembled Flying Flea off at the blasters today for the commencement of restoration over the coming weeks............I did however note a crack on one of the frame welds so once back from there this will need to be brazed back up...........

Engine meantime has been rebuilt using my spares pile as a resource.........crankshaft assembly and piston were good enough for re-use and within limits plus the bore still on standard which was good news......gearbox had minor wear but was able to rebuild via selective assembly from the spares pile...........

Cleaning up the smaller parts takes time and this is my current mission when not at the hospital..............

Already colour-matched the paint (SCC No.2 brown and slightly different from the James ML restored last year) which my local automotive paint supplier will match exactly.........all new parts required already sourced and in stock............

Here's a reminder of what the Flea looked like when acquired......sold off by the Army in 1956 and civvy registered.......on the road until the early 1970's...........she is first contract however and originally delivered to the WD at Cambridge in 1944........