I've previously tried to contact David by email. I've talked to him in general at exhibitions. Neither elicited any what you might call "enthusiasm". Having failed to receive any reply to my nth email I phoned. I had a really good response, and his staff are amazing and amazingly well informed, particularly the lady or ladies who answer the phone. I spoke to David at length about a project to use one of the milk wagon underframes for a planned ro-rail milk tanker. He spent a lot of time working out what I'd need and identifying the parts.
Unfortunately David doesn't "do" emails. He says that he doesn't have time. I've also had a "deep and meaningful" conversation with him about Slaters insulated hornguides, as the new type are simply not adjustable. I couldn't change David's mind about the suitability of the new version but he offered to produce a batch of the old version if I could get enough people interested which, in my view, was a positive reaction. That fell by the wayside because there is an alternative available now.
Now, maybe it shouldn't be so but that's the way of things and I, personally, am very grateful that we have Slaters for all they do for us. That's not to say that everything is fine and dandy because it's not, but it must be worth a phone call if there's an issue to address. If that fails I'll climb back inside my bubble and not say another word.
I wish I could offer some suggestion about your Slaters build but it's not a prototype or model about which I have any knowledge or experience. This is a frustrating experience, I'm sure, and I'll be interested to hear how a phone call goes.
Brian