[David G4EBT]

Thanks for the encouraging comment on the work in progress guys.

Though I took lots of photos, that in itself isn't enough to use as a 'road-map' when rebuilding, so I also made lots of drawings showing the location and interconnections of components. Fortunately, the Ekco service data includes excellent diagrams of the underside and top of the chassis, but not in enough detail to complete the re-build. As will be seen from the first picture, (IFT1 and V2/3 valve-holders) the chassis and wiring were in such a state that it wasn't possible to do anything other than a complete strip-down and rebuild.

The pictures alone couldn't be relied upon so I drew lots of diagrams, which hopefully, with reference to the cicuit as well, should enable me to see the job through to a successful conclusion. There's little point in peppering these posts with copious drawings, so I've attached just one to give an idea.

With everything removed from the chassis, I set about de-rusting it, treating it with rust inhibitor, then as with the PSU chassis, spraying it with acid etch primer and two good coats of Halford's Ford Dove Grey (which doesn't actually look anything like 'grey', but certainly fits the bill). To remove the rust In used a cheap Aldi 'Workzone' adjustable speed 'power file' (see pic 3 below), which has abrasive belts which last quite a while. The fourth pic shows the chassis half de-rusted to show how effective the power file is, and the last pic shows the chassis after priming and two good coats of top coat. I did the spraying on a warm day in the greenhouse, which is as dust free as can be. As the paint - like almost all modern aerosols - is water based acrylic, no nasty fumes to breath in.