Hi all,as some of you know, I've been flat out doing a 57 panel patina monster for the last 18 months so I figure its time to share the highs and lows.So here goes..

The bus is a 1957 Dove Blue panel that was advertised on DSK in July 2011.It looked good,the usual rust,but for me it ticked the major box,ORIGINAL PAINT!! Turns out that the guy who was selling it had bought it from the first owner,he'd done nothing with it except drag it home so I like to think I'm the second owner or at least the second driver.

Well its been a while since I added to this so here goes-

After getting the panel back from the blasters we continued  the work,now on the rotisserie..All pre 59 or so buses use an open long shift rod that is only supported at the front by a metal spring open to the elements so I decided to change the set up to the later style enclosed shift tube so the rod is supported by 2 plastic bushes.This was a hell of a lot of work as the hole in each I beam and the front and rear tophats had to be enlarged and the rigid tube bashed in.Before the shift rod was installed for the last time I filled the rod itself with grease,this acts as a vibration dampener and gives the gear shift a more solid feel.

After last weekends progress and also receiving my 74mm DPR crank in the post this week I was amped to get back out into the man cave and spend a little more spanner time on the oval. The DPR crank is an awesome bit of work. It's a stock 36hp crank that is welded and offset ground to give the extra stroke. It also has counterweights added and is heat treated to stress relieve the crank after the welding process. The end result is a very affordable 74mm crank.

 Nick Bentley's Badass Rat Oval

Nick Bentleys 56 rat oval is a regular part of the South Australian scene and can often be spotted at events and meets. Sporting perfect patina, a big Type 4 power plant, all round disc brakes and a close ratio box not only does it look badass, it's lots of fun to drive too. Here's a bit more about the man and the rat straight from the horses mouth...