Dinky Cooper Bristol 233

D063 : Dinky Cooper Bristol 233

As purchased
Red plastic Hubs

D260 : Dinky Cooper-Bristol 233

Complete but badly repainted. Hard and cracked rubber tires. Purchased on eBay. The first task will be to disassemble and strip the paint. The strip down was straight forward. The rivets were drilled out using a #43 bit, followed by a larger size to break the rivet top. Care was taken to ensure the initial hole was centered and breaking the rivet top did not damage the chassis. The choice of a #43 bit was that it could be re-riveted or tapped and screwed. The ends of the axles were tapped flat and the wheels removed. One end of the axle was originally tapped over and this is the end that was tapped flat. A small hammer and anvil is ideal for this. The next stage is to strip the paint and I use aircraft paint stripper. It is very corrosive so no getting it on your hands or breathing in the fumes, but it does work very well. A good wash in soapy water is good enough to prepare for new paint. For some reason the white paint used for the driver was difficult to remove, a little sand blasting may have helped. Casting marks were removed and a coat of primer and several top coats were applied to wheels and body, the base plate recoated in black. A little paint here and there and reassembled using small threaded screws. Needs only the number applied to the sides.