An Edwardian car

Leafing through Constructor Quarterly for modeling ideas, I came across this beautiful old Edwardian car (apparently a 1908 Panhard et Levassor). It was originally described by the late Keith Cameron in Constructor Quarterly #1, and rebuilt by Graham Jost, who in a letter in CQ #112 said he "did not find the instructions particularly easy going".  No more did I...

Here is what I had after the first burst of building activity:



I came close to giving up at this point, because I could not for the life of me figure out how the steering column was meant to be supported.  And also because I knew that I had prose like this to look forward to:

"The rear side panels of the passenger compartment are made from two 3-1/2" Strips, formed in their lower 1-1/2", two 2-1/2" Narrow Strips, and a 2-1/2" x 1-1/2" Plastic Plate, all held in place by 3/8" Bolts and four Washers spacing them from Obtuse Angle Brackets (slightly flattened) secured to the first and fourth holes of the 3-1/2" x 2-1/2" Flanged Plate."

But I persevered, and reached a point where all was done but for the passenger seat and motor.  A good point for a photography break:
    

I made one improvement to the model as it came to me: the doors open!


Here is how I mounted the steering column. It passes through an elongated hole in the footboard and then through a 2-hole coupling bolted to a short axle rod, which is held in a 3-hole coupling to its right, which is bolted directly to the footboard.  By rotating and sliding this short rod in its coupling, the 15-tooth gear's orientation and pressure on the contrate gear can be adjusted at will (up to the limits imposed by the elongated hole's size):



The remaining problem with this arrangement is that the 15-tooth gear can "wander" and climb off the contrate if enough steering pressure is applied.  I don't know how to fix that without major changes.  Using a simple coupling where the orthogonal axles meet to hold them in place won't work because the small contrate doesn't allow enough room for one; but there's no room for a large contrate in this design.  I decided to let it be and rely on the driver not to apply superhuman force to the steering wheel.

The joys of eBay

Recently I won an eBay item entitled Antique Meccano Erector Set with Wood Box.  The parts are quite varied, some from the nickel era (pre-1926) and some from the dark green/red era ('26-'34), with a few Erector interlopers mixed in. The box is not marked in any way, but its compartments are well proportioned to take Meccano parts, and I have a feeling it is indeed a Meccano (perhaps Gilbert Meccano?) product.  I am putting these photos here in hopes that an expert may shed some light on the matter.

The box is quite beautiful, to my eye.  Front, back and side:
      

The first sight of the open box is quite spectacular.  The lid has a stiff board with the keyholes used in Meccano stringing cards, and a set of parts still wedged in some of the holes.

 

The box contains three removable trays, two of which have a cutout designed to make room for the Boiler part 162.

  
  

The set in all its glory:

The sprockets, eccentrics, gears and other brassware were a fairly good haul for the price:

And finally, here are the interloper parts, mostly Erector if I'm not much mistaken.

Thank you eBay for satisfying my acquisitive mania once again, and helping fill my poor house to the bursting point with heavy rusty metal of dubious resale value!