So with the bulkhead fitted, and the clutch and brakes piped in, I was ready to give the old (new??) girl a spin! I knew the engine ran smoothly, but had no idea how the gearbox, axles or suspension were going to perform. There was only one way to find out, so after placing a couple of cushions on the fuel tank as a makeshift (and somewhat precarious!) seat, I fired her up and took her for a short spin around the garden. This was the first time she had left the shed since I started stripping her down in March 2020.
In short, she drives like a dream! There were a couple of brake line leaks, which I quickly fixed, but the gearbox sounded sweet, and all gear changes were slick and easy. I have since put a few kilometres on the (not yet installed) clock, driving the chassis around the local roads and fields (I did make up a somewhat more solid bench-seat out of a few planks, as perching on a cushion above spinning prop-shafts wouldn't have gone down well with Health and Safety!).