KEEPING IT MOVING ALONG

It's easy enough to allow a restoration project to stagnate. More than a few die part way through, when the owner runs out of enthusiasm, funds, or both.

Doing something, anything, regularly to, for, or related to the machine that's up on the bench is vital if it's going to progress to a satisfactory conclusion.

Whether it's daily, weekly or monthly, momentum needs to be maintained or the more you look at a stalled project, the less keen you'll be to work on. Trust me on this – I've been there, as have many others.

A once exciting project that's not been touched for ages soon becomes a white elephant which undoubtedly accounts for the numerous adverts badged as an ‘abandoned project'.

Whether it's something like fettling indicators as seen in this instalment, hunting down the required parts, sorting out who will paint or plate the components, or even just ordering those JIS cross head screws for the case covers, impetus is maintained.

Knowing that lack of inertia is the death knell of any restoration is key to making progress.

Even when you can't find the parts you know you have, the chances are you'll find something else you ‘put in a safe place', which is always a bonus.