CaptainBoom

I saw something yesterday that lowered my opinion of my fellow species. I had the misfortune of riding a train from London out to the suburbs at 7:30PM. The train was busy, I was walking through the carriages to get a bit of space (my journey was short and even though I now walk with a stick, I can stand for a while) I spied an elderly couple (I reckon in their 80’s) standing at the doors clinging on to each other for support. All of the priority seats were full of people younger than me glued to their phones watching shite. I leaned over and asked the couple if they would like to sit down. They looked like drowning people who’d been offered a rubber ring. So I made a bit of a fuss and asked some people to relinquish their seats for this couple. The dirty looks I received from people were quite something to behold like I’d just asked them to give up their first born child or something.
The experience left me feeling sad and grumpy.  Back when I schlepped to London every day, (late 90’s to 2013) people on the train (and I) had the decency to give up seats if someone needed it, without being asked/shamed into it. 

I blame the parents.

I blame the grandparents. 

I saw something yesterday that lowered my opinion of my fellow species. I had the misfortune of riding a train from London out to the suburbs at 7:30PM. The train was busy, I was walking through the carriages to get a bit of space (my journey was short and even though I now walk with a stick, I can stand for a while) I spied an elderly couple (I reckon in their 80’s) standing at the doors clinging on to each other for support. All of the priority seats were full of people younger than me glued to their phones watching shite. I leaned over and asked the couple if they would like to sit down. They looked like drowning people who’d been offered a rubber ring. So I made a bit of a fuss and asked some people to relinquish their seats for this couple. The dirty looks I received from people were quite something to behold like I’d just asked them to give up their first born child or something.
The experience left me feeling sad and grumpy.  Back when I schlepped to London every day, (late 90’s to 2013) people on the train (and I) had the decency to give up seats if someone needed it, without being asked/shamed into it. 

I saw something yesterday that lowered my opinion of my fellow species. I had the misfortune of riding a train from London out to the suburbs at 7:30PM. The train was busy, I was walking through the carriages to get a bit of space (my journey was short and even though I now walk with a stick, I can stand for a while) I spied an elderly couple (I reckon in their 80’s) standing at the doors clinging on to each other for support. All of the priority seats were full of people younger than me glued to their phones watching shite. I leaned over and asked the couple if they would like to sit down. They looked like drowning people who’d been offered a rubber ring. So I made a bit of a fuss and asked some people to relinquish their seats for this couple. The dirty looks I received from people were quite something to behold like I’d just asked them to give up their first born child or something.
The experience left me feeling sad and grumpy.  Back when I schlepped to London every day, (late 90’s to 2013) people on the train (and I) had the decency to give up seats if someone needed it, without being asked/shamed into it. 

I saw something yesterday that lowered my opinion of my fellow species. I had the misfortune of riding a train from London out to the suburbs at 7:30PM. The train was busy, I was walking through the carriages to get a bit of space (my journey was short and even though I now walk with a stick, I can stand for a while) I spied an elderly couple (I reckon in their 80’s) standing at the doors clinging on to each other for support. All of the priority seats were full of people younger than me glued to their phones watching shite. I leaned over and asked the couple if they would like to sit down. They looked like drowning people who’d been offered a rubber ring. So I made a bit of a fuss and asked some people to relinquish their seats for this couple. The dirty looks I received from people were quite something to behold like I’d just asked them to give up their first born child or something.
The experience left me feeling sad and grumpy.  Back when I schlepped to London every day, (late 90’s to 2013) people on the train (and I) had the decency to give up seats if someone needed it, without being asked/shamed into it. 

I saw something yesterday that lowered my opinion of my fellow species. I had the misfortune of riding a train from London out to the suburbs at 7:30PM. The train was busy, I was walking through the carriages to get a bit of space (my journey was short and even though I now walk with a stick, I can stand for a while) I spied an elderly couple (I reckon in their 80’s) standing at the doors clinging on to each other for support. All of the priority seats were full of people younger than me glued to their phones watching shite. I leaned over and asked the couple if they would like to sit down. They looked like drowning people who’d been offered a rubber ring. So I made a bit of a fuss and asked some people to relinquish their seats for this couple. The dirty looks I received from people were quite something to behold like I’d just asked them to give up their first born child or something.
The experience left me feeling sad and grumpy.  Back when I schlepped to London every day, (late 90’s to 2013) people on the train (and I) had the decency to give up seats if someone needed it, without being asked/shamed into it. 

Good selection of tunes I'd say

Been to the post office now to pick up the relay for the turn signals, just hope it works and fits.

Also got 2 books in the post, one about the history and possibly more about these cars and the other about the importer Philipsons who had the Mercedes imports in Sweden and possibly some of or even the whole of Norway as well. My car was sold new through them, and the recon engine in my car also comes from them. So this should be an interesting read, I hope, but it's in Swedish so it's tiring to read.

And as I expected and hoped in the Swedish book, there are pictures of taxis and the first one here is probably very similar to how mine looked during its working life in the 1960s.

The picture below is from Sundsvall Sweden, where when this picture was taken in 1964, 30 of the city's 38 taxis were Mercedes Benz. And all these in the picture are the same 190D as mine.

So I look forward to reading these.

Sunday 2nd October - and the weather was gorgeous in its colours and warmth, so I took the opportunity to get out and about while the season lasted.
destination ; Castle Acre, in Norfolk, via the Thetford forest - round trip about 125 miles . . .

Nor(se-)folk drivers seemed slower than ever, but when the road was clear it was a pleasant drive. The deciduous trees along the roadside just turning autumnal golds and red.  
 
^ 7th Armoured Division - Desert Rats.  From El Alamein to Berlin, via North Africa - Italy - Thetford Forest - France - Belgium - Holland
..stationed in Thetford Forest between January and May 1944, while they prepared for the invasion of Normandy.  This was the only time the division was in the United Kingdom in it's entire existence. The division sailed from Felixstowe on the 5th June 1944, with the first tanks landing on Gold Beach on the evening of 6th June 1944.  May your glory ever shine.
" May your laurels never fade. May the memory of this glorious pilgrimage of war you have made from Alamein, via the Baltic, to Berlin never die. It is a March unsurpassed through all the story of war.  May the fathers long tell the children about this tale"  Winston Churchill.

^ In this weather it was a pleasant trail through the trees to where the 'Desert Rat's training camp was.
Our next stop took us a little back in time  . . .

^ Castle Acre's Castle - built soon after the Norman Conquest (following the Battle of Hastings).  Although unimpressive in the photo, the site itself is ..because the scale and sharp definition of the earthworks of this round Motte & Bailey castle as well as it's outer bailey defensive embankments are so very intact.
 
 
^ even a composite of four of my photographs doesn't give an impression of three-dimensional scale of these earthworks  But as a reference Katie is the red dot parked next to the large house / museum to the far right of the photo
. 
  
I was also nice to walk the battlements and remaining curtain walls without health and safety barriers everywhere. The people in this photo help illustrate the size of this castle's bailey, but doesn't show anything of the very steep ditch that the present wooden bridge walkway spans. 
- - -
I then went around to the other side of this small and historic village, to the fantastical Castle Acre Priory ...

^ This site is again extensive with the church nave, seeming to me, of cathedral proportions. The audio tour was invaluable to explain what each chamber was used for and how.. from the church itself and the cloisters, to the dormitory (for up to 32 monks aside, from the prior), and the chapter house, refectory, infirmary, kitchen block, and two story latrine building, over its own stream ..to flush its contents away.  Being of French Cluniac (an order started in Burgundy) monastry (probably England's first) the architecture of each building is impressive at every turn with its masonry detailing superb.  Far too much for me to convey here, and of course much of it destroyed on the orders of Henry VIII / Thomas Cromwell in the latter 1530's . . .

  
^ Still, aside from the ground plan and some walls, masonry details have survived the past 900 years (..and subsequent changes like glazed windows) pretty well.
     
  
 
All in all a fascinating and most enjoyable day-trip into the past.  It's amazing where a TR can take you ! 
Our run back was via Downham Market for a cuppa tea with my friend Mathew, from the TSSC, and then I headed back to my local pub for Sunday roast dinner.  Katie  of course ran impeccably although by 9:30pm, when I got home it was a bit chilly driving around with the roof open.  Still I'm very much happier driving her, than a boring modern car.
Pete 
 
 
 

Now where have I seen those rear lights before..?

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

To all photographers:

 

You've got to love a good matryoshka sales picture, the more layers of device the better.  Hopefully one day we'll have a photo of a phone screen that's a photo of a computer monitor that's a photo of a CRT screen that's a photo of a polaroid that's a photo of slide.  The listing would no doubt be just as cryptic, the car being sold on behalf of a family member who doesn't know what the internet is and has somehow inherited said vehicle which, from the description, could be an 1899 Horsey Horseless, a 2004 Suzuki Swift, or shares in an ill-fated kit car company and three quarters of the mould to make the body panels with.

Harrison's History #56 - Daewoo Leganza
Mine's a @Mine's a Leganza! Leganza!

More to follow...

They say you should learn from the mistakes of others. I’m obviously a bit slow on the uptake, especially given another shiter’s recent experiences of old British metal. 
Not content with one car capable of throwing ruinously expensive bills, and timed perfectly to coincide with a global recession, I spent a load of my now near worthless pounds on this:

The best bit:

Back in a bit, there’s someone at the door in what looks like a white coat, holding something that looks suspiciously like a rolled up straitjacket.

All Japanese catalysts are more "valuable" to the thieves, as the Japanese environmental standards are higher than European ones-hence the better made catalysts. 
While on the subject, may I pose this hypothetical question: My Subaru has a keyless ignition system and I keep the keys in both a Faraday bag AND in the microwave at night. Furthermore, I've fitted a battery lock that prevents the car from being started without the bolt being replaced, which involves opening the bonnet, all of which would make quite a lot of noise and delay a potential thief. However, given my penchant for all things electrical, I don't think it'd be too difficult to wire the car's central locking and electric windows in such a way that when the 25 amp fuse pops, totally disabling the car, they'd lock and prevent the thief from opening the doors.  On my driveway this is legal (an Englishman's home is his castle etc.) but if parked on the public highway I'm not so sure...... I suppose fitting a small auxiliary pump (maybe an old screen washer one) to simultaneously spray petrol onto the thieves through the facia vents would be going too far, wouldn't it (or would it....?) 
Sorry to have gone on a bit!   

The bluebird returned yesterday after spending quite a while in the garage. 
 

 
Rear arches welded up, looking nice, with the trim refitted you'd not know they'd been done. 

Whilst it was in, a few other jobs were completed, namely replacement of a bloody brake hose to sort a binding caliper (which took several attempts to get hold of!) and fresh fuel line, stonechipping of the fuel tank. 
Now back in service and nice to be driving it again. £70 to fill up from almost empty. 
Next up, sort out the drivers electric window and the central locking. 

If you want anti-theft, buy an astra exclusiv.  Who wants the steel wheels, giffer trim and none of the gizmos 

No , it was take the day after he drove the Ariel Atom around the Top Gear track.

All the greats have a van. 
Van Morrison. 
Van Damme. 
Van Diesel. 
Van Gough. 
You can do it too, with Kangoo. 

So, back to the gearbox. I'm not rushing this. I could go quicker but I can't be arsed half the time. 
So leading on from the last post, I took both layshafts round my friends to get the circlip out of the mangled one. But we then found that the one without the mangled teeth, which had the circlip and retaining washers missing had worn quite badly where the needle rollers were able to float back and forth. The retaining washers are supposed to be a tight fit, you tap them in and out but in this shaft they just float about.
So I have one shaft knackered on the outside and one knackered on the inside. If I had to use one I'd use the one with better teeth, I'm sure a bit of play in the needle rollers would still last me a good while with the mileage I do with it. But there was a third option. Ring another friend who I knew had a couple of spare gearboxes. So I went over there on Friday and removed the layshaft from one of those. I slid the shaft gently out to check the circlip, retaining washers and needle rollers were all present and they were so I slid the shaft back in before the rollers had a chance to escape, bagged it up and brought it home with me. Sorry, no pictures but as I said before, it's just more pictures of gears. 
 
Also previously I was stuck with first/second synchro hub and first gear itself still stuck on the mainshaft. All the other gears just slid off but these last ones were sticking on what I assume is a slight burr on the mainshaft. Both gearboxes were the same and I assume this is normal otherwise Triumph wouldn't have made a special tool to remove them. Figure 28 below. 

You can't see what's inside but suspected it was just a fancy puller. It needs to be about 10 inches long to fit over the mainshaft. I have pullers but nothing that long. I found some for sale but they started at £40 and they weren't here now. As with all these jobs that need special tools, they don't usually need special tools they just need a bit of ingenuity. So I basically disassembled all the pullers I had and joined them together to come up with this. 

 
This just about worked on the gearbox in the garage but I just couldn't get it to stay on on the one in the car. As I say it's just so much fiddlier trying to work through that little hatch inside the car. More ingenuity was called for. 

This little tyre lever was just long enough that when I hooked the end behind first gear the other end stuck out the end of the box giving me room to clamp the G clamp on the end. I could use this first as a hand hold and then had just enough room to tap it with the hammer. 
Then I found the next problem. Up until now I had left reverse alone. It is up in the top of the box away from all the forward gears and I was hoping I wouldn't have to touch it. But you then realise first gear is bigger than the others, which is obvious when you think about it, and it catches on the reverse selector rod thing. 
This is the homemade puller just extracting first/second synchro. Reverse is on the top left. 

 
So reverse had to come out too. On both boxes.

So finally I got first gear out and as expected it had a few chunks out of it which I was expecting as the corresponding gear on the layshaft was damaged. Fortunately the other first gear is good so I now have everything I need to start putting it all back together. 
I mean I couldn't have stripped it any further. Look, no gears. 

As I write I have finally started putting bits back in. So far just reverse and first and I've cleaned up the first synchro hub ready but that's it. Slow but sure. 
I even have new synchro rings. Rimmers were selling them off cheap a few years ago so I bought a whole bag full. 

I've got ten spares. 

Well, I've got eight left now. To be honest the old ones looked OK but you might as well put new ones in whilst it's apart. I actually only changed first and second as they are the synchros that do all the work. You never have trouble selecting third or fourth however old the box is. 

I've had an accident.
Oh, and again
Top posting, but tissues required...

A bit of self-indulgence...

why did i dont know but haggled on price he wanted kings ramson but he needed space it was his late fathers car,but its got its good points it runs stops and starts really nice interior nice as your going get them still got its orignal lw,mw radio lol,rock solid underneath innerwings inside the boot,and parts i need are very reasonable used to over price ford panels be tax exempt next year,stood in lock up for 15 years and front window was smashed so damp air got to front wings but only bolted on, its had 90s repair on end off sills,its in my lock up be slow rebuld ,its not been botched so i think got a good starting point lol,wanted something get my teeth stuck into,am so bored so it should keep me busy