Ian

Top work Mark, there must be a way of linking the lift arm up rather than having to have the wheels on the sickle bar.

You would be right Norm... Which is why I made this Not perfect but it should help the gasses flow in the right direction now Getting the down pipes from the engine to the 2 into 1 thingy was interesting, lot's of measuring, bending, welding and trimming a few mm's of here and there until it all fitted together.. The exhaust system is split into 3 parts so I can actually get it in and out of the frame.. Here's the front part on the bench getting fully welded up.. A couple of little holes like this to fill or it will be louder than I think it's going to be... Quite loud I'm guessing The rear section with the two shortened silencer boxes and some 1 into 2 pipework.. Here's the completed system, me thinks it looks quite mad

Fantastic job, she runs very well.. Quiet also..

It brings back great memories of my old Ital estate years ago that I paid something like £75 for as it had a small hole in the sill.. Only 55k on the clock as well.. After welding up the hole in the sill for some reason I decided to paint the floor with hammerite while the seats and carpet were out.. Roll on 8 hours later when the Ital was needed to get some food and booze... So the seats were quickly bolted back in and off we drove putting the heater on as it was a cold evening... By the time we had reached the supermarket (this was years ago and I can't remember which one), the fresh paint fumes helped my some hot air had gone to our heads somewhat.. It was rather strange to feel like you are floating while shopping.. Picture hands on the shopping trolley but feet no touching the ground sort of thing!!

Ouch! Maybe a little out of my price range... A man can dream though

Another exhausting update, but only a small one.. Working out how to get the down pipes into the big pipe without having any pipes in front of the radiator and making sure the down pipes are the same length has been fun! It's still work in progress but it's heading in the right direction The down pipes almost look like part of the chassis/frame from the front, but it may just be a slightly blurred photo that's creating the illusion

Congrats mate

Great photo's Doug, thanks for posting them..... I think I'd take the Alfa home... I'm sure I could find a use for the V8 engine

Nice work Ewan, you sure have got this restoration lark down to a fine art

Oh yes, so it was... Nice work Ewan

That's good news about finding another rear end Paul, Somerset is a nice drive.

Nice repair work Mark, I bet Finn is more careful when opening gates now

That's quite a haul, I bet it was fun getting those on sideways

Working out where and how to run the exhaust has been rather fun and a bit taxing on the ol brain cells.. Due to the engine being off-set to the left there's no space to run any pipes without legs getting burnt, so up the right side it has to go.. After all the curves in the frame I wanted a more industrial look to the exhaust, so I bought some rather big pipe Space on the right side is rather tight so to stop a leg getting fried or the right hand carb getting hot the pipe had to go through the frame! Thanks to Nigel's boy Karl who found me this rather big steel fitting which was welded into the frame.. It should be strong enough I'm not quite sure how the down pipes will tie into the big tube yet, but I'm working on it.

Nice T shirt mate, it will help us spot you at shows

I can understand the appeal of going for a romp on a tractor, I just couldn't bring myself to do it to one of mine.. Saying that I don't take it that easy on WN That's because I moved it

Not a great deal of progress, but I blame that on the heat as it's rather warm at the mo A couple of extra tubes have gone in the frame just in front of the fuel tank. They partly add some extra strength to the back bone, but also divert the eyes from the engine mount under the tank. We have been thinking about what to do about the exhaust and the lack of space to fit one in! There is no space to run any pipes on the N/S without legs getting burnt, there isn't that much more space on the O/S but there is space to make some.. er... space Anyway, to make the new system I needed to get some more pipe.. As the steel place is just over the road the GT came in handy Where's the best place to start an exhaust system? I trimmed down WN's 1st system till they were just stubbys sticking out the front of the engine (see the first photo) and then went straight to the back for a bit of exhaust box work.. To make them fit under the seat they needed a little trimming in length, so 2 1/2 inches came out. Both cans welded up and welded together. They will go a tad more forward so just the pipes are sticking out the back.. I looked out the workshop door yesterday to see a gent looking at WN.. It tends to happen a lot so I didn't think anything of it.. But when the said Gent said, "It looks much better in real life" with a strong Irish accent the brain thought I'd better think something of this... The said Gent was Noel who as you know is on holiday in the UK.... It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday Noel, sorry WN was not running for you to have a drive (pre book next time ). And thank you for the humbling words yesterday, when I told my Wife we both got a bit choked up.. The hooligan on the left you know.. If you hadn't guessed (or are just not awake yet) the kindly Gent on the right is Noel..

Nice work Ewan, the black frame and white side will look great

Thanks mate, it sure makes a difference when you have the right tools The Honda MadTrax now has a backbone.. Sorry about the rubbish photo, my phone camera is starting to have problems now it's getting on a bit. I'm sure all you bike folk know what these bit's of small tube are for.. These are old mounting rubber from a Ford P100 pick-up. After a bit of trimming.. They were perfect for mounting the fuel tank in the normal bike kinda way. With some cutting, shaping, welding and adding a captive nut the rear tank mount was made. The top engine mount taking shape, I just need to find a couple more bolts. To finish off here's the latest MadTrax video.. Enjoy

Hi all, before I lay out a large slab of cash on a new Mig welder I thought I'd ask if anyone has any experience of a Sealey SuperMig 180 or have heard any talk be it good or bad about them?

A bit of a Rural Pastimes nudge here, my passes have arrived and a flyer proudly displayed on my workshop door

Thanks Kev, my passes arrived the other day

The new bit of the rear frame has been sorted, I think your agree that "kick up" gives MadTrax an aggressive mean sort of look Of course as soon as the frame had enough strength put back in to take the weight of a person.. I just had to have a seat You know the saying of "A bad workman always blames he's tools".. Well in this case I can rightly blame my small Mig welder.. With the aid of a new welding mask and Nigel's 30+ year old heavy duty Mig I produced the best welds I have ever done This is the start of the lower rear engine mounts.. A couple of rear upper engine mounts.. MadTrax can now hold it's own weight up including engine

Happy birthday Nigel, I have to say your wearing your 101 years very well

Great photo's Paul, thanks for posting them Love the "Lowrider" grey Fergie