Time and tide waits for none, and the little man, now less little, must be getting fed up waiting for Grandad to get on with his train?
Now at last the season approaches where time
will be made, come what may, for "the project"! My earnest desire being to finally complete the chassis before next Spring.
There has been something nagging away in the back of my mind for a while now though. Whilst the original idea of using the toy motor and gearbox may have seemed a mildly sound one, I failed to take into account the lack of speed available and the dreadful "power drill" noise the engine makes when underway, or that over time both issues would become utterly intolerable to my grandson and the builder!
I'm afraid that a health issue now demands fairly regular appointments at my local hospital, and at my last visit, while poddling along the winding paths twixt the car park and clinic I was steadily,
and quietly overtaken by a very large lady riding on an electrically assisted, but otherwise conventional looking wheelchair! As moving aside in gentlemanly fashion entailed stepping off the kerb, I had to take care where I was putting my feet and without raising my gaze, observed perchance her chassis as she passed me by!
Epiphany!...
..."Ah, hah! now
that is what I need!": I exclaimed!
I could only have been happier if she had actually run me over, for then I could have had an excuse for an even closer look at the undercarriage arrangements!
Later searches online however proved to be both bewildering and frustrating. There are an enormous variety of motor and gearbox combinations available, along with a whole raft of technical information that is utterly meaningless to me. Then there seems to be an even greater confusion of prices in this particular field too? I am ruefully forced to accept that none of the "buy it now" or "best offer" quotes can even be considered, let alone any attempt made at justification!
Well my boy; looks like we are stuck with a growling snail for the foreseeable...?!
That was until this Thursday afternoon; when I chanced upon a nearby shop that I had previously been quite unaware of. One that specialised in Personal Mobility.
The lights were all on inside, revealing a grand and mountainous clutter of machinery and spare parts, but no entry could be gained. A hand scrawled notice on plain corrugated cardboard hung outside and stated:
"I am open but if door is locked I'm only five minutes away so try again later or phone ... on ..."
So I did ...
...and came away with this:-
Wphworrr - what a beast!
Even just turning over at less than 12 volts it has a massive amount of GRUNT, but runs as
smoo-o-o-th as silk!
It will sit perfectly between the frames, both vertically and horizontally. Even the axle length is spot on, so should be a breeze to fit?
It almost seems as if it were made to fit the model?!
But the best bit of all;
If it doesn't work out, it won't have made much of a dent in my wallet!
Pete.
It's when you get caught making noises together from the other end that you'll get into trouble..
hehehe
