Dippy

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Haha! I wrote that! I wonder who gifted it? (No me!)

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Pure topshelf porn for your/my Christmas viewing. Thanks Secret Santa, you know me better than my own family!

Just look at the centre spread.

Even the lesser pages look good.

 
If you squint a bit that last pic looks just like my old senator.

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

You’re a lucky man, those Motoring Which annuals are great, my 1970 one is my second favourite book in the World.

Thanks ASSS very happy with my present a 10mm ratchet spanner a funnel and some excellent old reading material that will keep me busy over xmas.
my dog still likes smelling the bag it was wrapped in so it must have had something nice in it before.

Cheers mystery shiter, off to dunk tunics caramels in my coffee.

Wow! My secret Santa was amazingly generous! Thankyou 🥰 been up since 0600 with the small groovys 🤪

If you had more than one of each colour wire the other wires  will feed the next light in the circuit.

Sent mine last week and received a package for Dippy today, my dog took a lot of interest in it giving it a good smell. But hasnt tried to steal it yet as we do keep catching him grabbing presents and running off, he has even opened a couple as well.

Ha, to me that looks like one of those OMG replicas of a Lamborghini made from an MR2 and loads of isopon and plywood.
Money truly does not buy taste

Sent mine last week and received a package for Dippy today, my dog took a lot of interest in it giving it a good smell. But hasnt tried to steal it yet as we do keep catching him grabbing presents and running off, he has even opened a couple as well.

I also made a battery box. I used 1.2mm aluminum. Still not finished, as I'm waiting on a mate for some nice brass aircraft rivets for the corners. Failing that I'll just weld it.
 



I used my bead roller with my homemade joggle dies to put the straightening bead into the sides. Sooo much nicer to form ali than steel




Had to cut a length of angle to fold up the second stage of the box

Then I made a dimple die to make some feet for the base. This was ali too as its softer and less prone to making marks on the sheet. Ideally I'd have not done these and instead just joggled another pad into the bottom to match the sides, but if I did that it wouldn't have fitted in the metal brake!!! 







As well as the awaited rivets for the securing the 4 corners, I plan to drill a hole in either end of that cross bar and run R-clips so it can be easily slid aside for battery removal. Of course, that plastic backing will be peeled off later to avoid scratching it whilst I'm still building

Since my life has followed a nearly unrelenting course in project, “good-intentions”, “nice ideas” and general chod accumulation ever since I was about 14, I’ve decided I’d concoct all my projects into a haphazard fleet diary, for your amusement and viewing pleasure. My reports are likely to be sporadic, as and when I find time. 
Coverage predominately will flit around my current stable, but I'll show some past vehicular activity too.
I'll go into each in turn in the coming days and weeks, but briefly for now my current fleet comprises:
 
1959 Ford 100e. Bought as a rolling shell in 2015. Built it up myself with all-Ford bits: 2.0 Pinto, type 9, GP4 MK1/2 Escort goodies up front, Bilstein 2.8 Capri struts on coilovers, 105e axle out back, RS turbo Recaros. Looks rough as fuck but it's solid and sorted underneath. Some don't like it because it's old, noisy and smelly. I love because it's old, noisy and smelly. Want to build a fast-road head for this soon really, but skint. Hardly needs to be quicker anyway.
A lot of work to build, about 3 years, but immense fun to drive. 100% never selling!!!
 

 

1991 Saab 900 16v Turbo. Bought last Summer, suspiciously cheap with a hot running issue and a heap of paperwork. I did the head gasket and rebuilt the head with new exhaust valves, stem seals, thermostat etc over lockdown. Also fitted new calipers, discs, pads and hoses all round, and replaced the NSF inner wing/driveshaft tunnel back in February.  Embarrassing MOT last month reveals more weldage is needed elsewhere, so that’s next for it and shall be reported in the coming pages


 
 
1995 Citroen AX Jive. 1.0 4 spd. Hilarious to drive, immensely French, ripe but not rotten, wearing something akin to a peeved expression. Needs a few odds and ends but otherwise a goer. Back-up car in case my existing daily shits itself or something. Anyone spare a boot latch actuating rod and gear knob?

 

 

 
2005 Clio 182. As close to a daily as I get (cycle to work). Not really Autoshite, or even very “me” frankly, but I’m convinced these are the last proper French hot hatch and soon to be daft-money, so I finally snubbed two years of looking-not-looking at them on eBay and bought this the other week. I'm 27 so many could argue it's a "quarter life crisis". Newest and quickest car I’ve ever owned, so probably not the wisest first choice to exercise modern car ownership.
 

 
But my current main project, sapping funds and time and social life in equal measure, is my 1963 Ford Falcon 2dr sedan, so I'll post up the progress to date of that in the coming days.
or now, here's a seller's shot of when I bought it.......
 

i think everyone who's sent a name in now has a match,
Normal Santa fuck up rules apply again this year, like every year
1. If I've forgotten you shout up
2, If  I've given you own name shout up
3, If you have issues with  the address shout up
4, Any other fuck ups shout out 

Traffic chaos at Hadlow, workmen have just shut the A26 completely to dig the road up... without warning the bus companies or creating diversion for artics.
It is entertaining watching the lost art of the three point turn outside our house as cars turn around. A MINI did it in seven and is holding the record.

The one thing that people often forget about rising classic car prices is the running costs. If you're buying to invest, then you have to buy a low mile and immaculate example. Then leave it in carefully controlled storage so there is near zero deterioration. 
Storage costs are a pretty fixed amount. So a car has to be worth a lot for it to outweigh that cost. For example my storage is really cheap at under £50 pcm, but that's still nearly £600 a year. 
By the time you've added in maintenance, insurance and repairs, you're nearly at a grand a year for each. Very few cars that are affordable for the average person will be appreciating at that level. So it still is the case that many cars cost more to own than any potential extra over what you paid originally.
Even super exotic stuff like a Ferrari F40 is eye watering expensive to own. The fuel tanks are rubber bladders. These deteriorate both fuel and naturally, so need replacing every 3 to 5 years. Naturally they're not cheap and requires expensive specialist work to do. Likewise the cambelts are an engine drop job. 
Trying to make money on classic cars is a bit of a mugs game imo. 

I don’t know rose tinted glasses and all that, what seemed like a great time in 1988 in the sun sat in your dads Granada Ghia cruising along listening to Paul Young ‘No Parlez’ transcribes to 32 years later cashing your pension in at 55 and laying at a funny angle in your 50’s welding up the sills. 

A lot of the drop in prices is due to the time of year.  Nothing is less appealing than dealing with a classic's 'character' when it's pissing down and pitch black.
The June sale is when people can imagine the wind in their hair/ sunny trips to the seaside in Dad's pride & joy, etc.
No point having money on the bank at the moment... you may as well re-live your youth with a Stag/ XR3i et al and almost certainly get your money back in a few years, if not make some.