Ian

Thanks Joseph, even more special effects and other bits coming soon
Yeah MadTrax has changed a bit since I started it all those months ago, and looks all the better for it.

Nice idea , i play around with camera mounts quite a lot , i feel that the steel bearings may create an audio issue though , maybe slices of bicycle innertube over them will give a smoother and almost silent track as the camera rolls along .
Take a look on a popular auction site at the 12v remote winch switches , You could be riding by on a tractor and opperate the tracking motor from the seat to get a shot as you pass by .
Or simply be pushing a new engine on a trolley into the workshop and get a shot following you as you go .
If you add a vertical bar near the end of the track , as the trolley nears the end the bar would catch on the tripod head handle and swing the camera around to follow you as you move away giving the effect of having a cameraman opperating the set up .
And as you already are using bits from a battery drill , why not simply make up a capstan winch using strimmer cord running around a pulley at each end of the frame with one end tied to the trolley and the other attached with a spring to keep it all tight for better movement when under power .
The battery drill is an amazingly good experimenters tool as bolts can be used to attach all sorts of pulleys / discs etc to the motor easily .And the variable speed and use of 12v batteries make then portable and safe to play around with .
A friend used a stripped down drill with a bent bar in the chuck to opperate a robotic fishes tail , the bar rotated around and the bend swung the tail from side to side , simplicity itself really .
 
.
 

Thanks Richard, having a "proper" Mig welder certainly has helped with the welds. My old "hobby" Mig just didn't have the oompphh behind it.
 
Not much to report, both er... foot/leg guards have had an extra bit of tube welded in making sure the shape matched the outer tube.
And one side has been treated to a coating of steel mesh...   That should do the trick.
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all..
 
A bit of trimming, re-shaping and carefully grinding back the welds later and the tank fits again.
 

 
 
One of those little milestones, the first squirt of paint on this project..
 

 
 
An even bigger milestone.. With the frame work finally done it was treated to a couple of coats of the red oxide stuff. The poor light in the workshop made it look like a very dark thin coat!
 

 
 
But the biggest milestone yesterday was getting the frame in it's top coat, a very classy shade of satin black
 

 

 

 
 
All I have left to do now is everything else, which is quite a bit
 
 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

Evening all, I have started a little project that I have been meaning to do for a long time, a panning camera jig thingy..
This should make my videos look more professional and hopefully make them more enjoyable for you all to watch...
The first part needed was the gearbox out of this very old and abandoned kiddies electric car..
I forgot to get a photo of the gearbox so here's a pic of what remained of the car when I'd finished cannibalizing it.
 

 
 
While dumping the remains of the car on the rubbish pile I thought I'd have a quick look at the scrap pile...
Hhmm... Those tubes could come in handy
 

 
 
Back in the workshop some choppy weldy later, a 8 inch wide tubular track was made.
 

 
 
Now I needed something to roll along the track, a sliced up cart axle and some used bearings got things rolling..
Yes I did commit the sin of welding the bearings to the axles, but the bearings feel the same as before the welding so hopefully all will be well.
 

 
 
Something to mount the camera would be handy, so an old tripod got the chop.
 

 
 
To motorize the contraption I am using a CB radio power pack, a New Holland tractor wiper motor and the speed control gubbins from a rechargeable drill that has knackered battery's.
 

 
 
The two axles were joined together by using a cut down New Holland tractor wiper motor bracket which just happened to have the right size hole to fit the tripod cut off.
As you can see the wiper motor isn't fully fitted yet.
 

 
 
The idea is the wiper motor slowly winds a length of string onto a shaft and pulls it along the track..
The speed control does work but the motor does make some squealing sounds at slower speeds.. Something to have a think about..
I will add the electric car gearbox to slow things really down whilst doing time lapse filming.
I hope to have it all fully finished and tested tomorrow, so stay tuned
 

 

I really like the special effects in the video . Really great progress too. I have just been looking through the complete post and I can't believe how much it has changed in appearance.
 
Joseph
 
 

Hi all its that time of year again  with my businesses I've expanded the winter maintenance Side and for the first time I'm doing it in comfort here's a vid of it's first grit iof the season !
 

Evening all..
 
A bit of trimming, re-shaping and carefully grinding back the welds later and the tank fits again.
 

 
 
One of those little milestones, the first squirt of paint on this project..
 

 
 
An even bigger milestone.. With the frame work finally done it was treated to a couple of coats of the red oxide stuff. The poor light in the workshop made it look like a very dark thin coat!
 

 
 
But the biggest milestone yesterday was getting the frame in it's top coat, a very classy shade of satin black
 

 

 

 
 
All I have left to do now is everything else, which is quite a bit
 
 

Evening all..
 
A bit of trimming, re-shaping and carefully grinding back the welds later and the tank fits again.
 

 
 
One of those little milestones, the first squirt of paint on this project..
 

 
 
An even bigger milestone.. With the frame work finally done it was treated to a couple of coats of the red oxide stuff. The poor light in the workshop made it look like a very dark thin coat!
 

 
 
But the biggest milestone yesterday was getting the frame in it's top coat, a very classy shade of satin black
 

 

 

 
 
All I have left to do now is everything else, which is quite a bit
 
 

Evening all..
 
A bit of trimming, re-shaping and carefully grinding back the welds later and the tank fits again.
 

 
 
One of those little milestones, the first squirt of paint on this project..
 

 
 
An even bigger milestone.. With the frame work finally done it was treated to a couple of coats of the red oxide stuff. The poor light in the workshop made it look like a very dark thin coat!
 

 
 
But the biggest milestone yesterday was getting the frame in it's top coat, a very classy shade of satin black
 

 

 

 
 
All I have left to do now is everything else, which is quite a bit
 
 

Brought out another one of the machines yesterday for a little garden clearing. 13hp chipper shreader. Noise but dose a great job towed with the old faithful Westwood. 

Just back from Northampton, been to collect a 1948 Pilot I bought some time ago. I had one when I was a student and always fancied another that I could use a a period towcar for hauling a tractor. It has been in a bubble for 9 years, I winched it on to my trailer but now have to get it to start to be able to take it off the trailer on my own.

Last Saturday up and out by 6-45 for a little trip out to the Honister slate mine. Myself and a mate to marshal on the Veteran Sports Car Clubs Lakeland Trial. Competitors come from far and wide to take part. In cars rangin from a 1914/20 Vauxhall A Type special to a 1930 Lea-Francis P type.
 We found ourselves high above the Slate mine workshops and visitor centre at the finish of the section. It was one heck of a steep climb and I was thank full we could drive up in the Disco. 
To say it was chilly up there would be an understatement.  A cold, North wind blowing over the mountain top. I was pleased I had the foresight to take my quilt lined tank suit. 
  Here's some photo's I manged to take of some of the cars waiting to return back down. Passengers had to walk for safety reasons.
 
The view down.

 
Cars waiting to go back down.

 
1928 Chrysler 75 4 ST Tourer.

 
1930 Frazer Nash Super SPORTS.

 
1930 Ford Model A Special on the left. 1930 Austin Ulster 2nd left.  Far right. 1929 Riley MK IV.

 
1921 GN Touring. An interesting chain drive arrangement to the rear axle. Also no valve gear covers or front brakes.

 

 
 
1930 Austin 7 Ulster.

 
Not sure about this Ford. Could be a '29 Model T or '29 A.

 
1930 Austin 7 Special

 
1925 GN Anzani. Again chain drive and no front brakes.

 
1935 Austin 7 and 1921 Ford T Special.

 
 You may have noticed the lack of front brakes on one or two cars. These cars went down attached to the front of the Land Rover shown in the first photo;
 
 

Hi All here is my early Christmas Present from that big man who appears at Xmas time hope you like it    

Morning all, let's start this update with a very good reason to buy a decent Mig welder...
 
As I've been going round welding up MT's frame there has been the odd weld or three to tidy up...
This was gone with my old MigMate hobby welder, and even though I was welding from underneath it looks horrible and not very strong!
 

 
 
But once it was all ground back and hit with my Murex TradesMig 165 it looked like this
So there ya go boys and girls, bin the hobby Mig and get something more trade like but nothing new (Made in China) and cheap... My Murex is at least 20 years old and will outlast me I expect
 

 
 
A heat shield has been made from some thick ally to stop the exhaust cans from melting the seat..
The rear mounts are just captive nuts welded onto the seat mounting plates..
 

 
 
The fronts were mounting brackets that I think used to hold the bodywork on..  Strong with a threaded hole.. That will do nicely
 

 
 
Slowly the frame is getting weled and cleaned up..
 

 
 
Some more strength was added a the front where new tubes meet old... Yes the square plate is offset, but so are the lower tubes..
 

 
 
 
By this point I was starting to get bored with the "weld, grind, weld, clean off some rust, weld, grind, weld, grind" side of things, so I dug the fuel take out and bolted it in place..
 

 
 
Even with the bars, gauges etc bolted on you could see down inside the tank from the front which really bugged me.. So it had to be covered over but I still wanted some air to blow under the tank..
 

 
 
The last bit of my first (and very rubbish) mig welded came in handy once again, this time donating some louvers.
 

 
 
Some cutting and welding later...
 

 
 
Welded on the tank though a bit of trimming is needed....   The tank will fit in place as it should, you just can't get it on
 

That's a hell of a big space James, I'd need a golf cart or a Why Not to get from one end to the other!

Morning all, let's start this update with a very good reason to buy a decent Mig welder...
 
As I've been going round welding up MT's frame there has been the odd weld or three to tidy up...
This was gone with my old MigMate hobby welder, and even though I was welding from underneath it looks horrible and not very strong!
 

 
 
But once it was all ground back and hit with my Murex TradesMig 165 it looked like this
So there ya go boys and girls, bin the hobby Mig and get something more trade like but nothing new (Made in China) and cheap... My Murex is at least 20 years old and will outlast me I expect
 

 
 
A heat shield has been made from some thick ally to stop the exhaust cans from melting the seat..
The rear mounts are just captive nuts welded onto the seat mounting plates..
 

 
 
The fronts were mounting brackets that I think used to hold the bodywork on..  Strong with a threaded hole.. That will do nicely
 

 
 
Slowly the frame is getting weled and cleaned up..
 

 
 
Some more strength was added a the front where new tubes meet old... Yes the square plate is offset, but so are the lower tubes..
 

 
 
 
By this point I was starting to get bored with the "weld, grind, weld, clean off some rust, weld, grind, weld, grind" side of things, so I dug the fuel take out and bolted it in place..
 

 
 
Even with the bars, gauges etc bolted on you could see down inside the tank from the front which really bugged me.. So it had to be covered over but I still wanted some air to blow under the tank..
 

 
 
The last bit of my first (and very rubbish) mig welded came in handy once again, this time donating some louvers.
 

 
 
Some cutting and welding later...
 

 
 
Welded on the tank though a bit of trimming is needed....   The tank will fit in place as it should, you just can't get it on
 

Good morning all I haven't posted much in the last couple of months been busy with my now young family and work so time is at a premium , for the last five years I've had my workshop in an old tram shed in Sheffield as this has served me well  and my friends who restore busses it's time for us to leave due to our land lord wanting to expand his business in to our building which this has gave us a final push to go due to the roof  been in such a bad state ( it leaks )   So we have been on the look out for a new building in view to buy so we have found our new home which is clean and dry and secure , since me Nathan and Sam started packing things away it's amazing what we have found things we thought was long gone . 
Any way I've being buying pallet racking to utilise space so we can have things in the air here is a few pics so far more to come