Grizz’s OCD Awesome ASTRO Van 🚙 Megane SCENIC 1.5dci 🚙 MX5 JEEP For Sale.🚨 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 USA Road Trip

[bezzabsa]

will a heat gun bring them back to 'as new' colour?

only ever seen the red & Yellow one

[SilverMachine]

On 20/04/2024 at 14:36, bezzabsa said:

will a heat gun bring them back to 'as new' colour?

only ever seen the red & Yellow one

i think a heat gun would do more harm than good, there not a dense plastic like bumpers, if anything i think id try some auto glym rubber and plastic restorer, but again i dont think it would do too much to the colour, may help to stop becoming too brittle though. if anyone has a sacrificial broken one that would try the heat gun bumper trick (and film it) id like to see how fast it would evaporate!

[jim89]

13 minutes ago, SilverMachine said:

i think a heat gun would do more harm than good, there not a dense plastic like bumpers, if anything i think id try some auto glym rubber and plastic restorer, but again i dont think it would do too much to the colour, may help to stop becoming too brittle though. if anyone has a sacrificial broken one that would try the heat gun bumper trick (and film it) id like to see how fast it would evaporate!

It would be interesting agreed!

Bear in mind though some of these (all?) get some right hammer from little kids smashing into each other & walls etc so they're not that "delicate" , plus Grizz' vintage model is in fine fettle i.e. it still exists!🙂

[kevins]

No idea about the peugeot but the streetKa has micro switches on the hood cover that won't allow the boot to open if it's not closed wouldn't be suprised if there is something similar in the 206 roof mech.

[grizz]

11 hours ago, jim89 said:

It would be interesting agreed!

Bear in mind though some of these (all?) get some right hammer from little kids smashing into each other & walls etc so they're not that "delicate" , plus Grizz' vintage model is in fine fettle i.e. it still exists!🙂

 

Agreed on heat gun. 
 

And Woody plastics are brittle. 
 

I will try plastic feed some time. 
 

It could work. 

[grizz]

11 hours ago, kevins said:

No idea about the peugeot but the streetKa has micro switches on the hood cover that won't allow the boot to open if it's not closed wouldn't be suprised if there is something similar in the 206 roof mech.

Peugeot is about to be weighed in. 
 

I have had zero pleasure from it. 
 

I really dislike it despite it being a nice car.

 

Seriously.  

[grizz]

 

Mate Kevin retires fully on 9th May. 

 

That means nothing. 

 

He has a ton of things to do. 

 

Last week he came to replace the front brakes on his runaround. You may remember he has a black T6 camper and helped me fetch the hateful 206 CC. 

 

Kevin is extremely methodical. 

First person I ever saw who actually reads the instructions. But that is how he does stuff. Having worked for railway support companies all his life. 

 

Order. 

 

 

 

Since I moved into this house in 2010 the rear driveway concrete strips have bugged me. 

So Kevin suggested we tear them up and move the drive over by 18 inches or 450mm at its apex. 

I also decided that after 13 years it was time to tear down and rebuild the BBQ. 

 

I will need help. 

 

I will need help

 

I will need help. 

 

Did I say that clearly enough? 

 

Keep reading and you may decide you can. 

 

Along with copious amounts of strong tea with little milk, Kevin fixed the brakes. 

 

Then we measured and marked out the potential new driveway. 

 

And NO, I don’t want to remove the shrubbery on the left against the boundary hedge. 

 

There will still be a curve, but it will be a solid slab rather than two strips to balance along, reversing down the drive. 

 

So we started measuring out the job 

 

19 meters and about 2.6 wide equals about 5.5 cubic meters of concrete cast. 

 

Checking the depth of the existing concrete test hole. 

 

 

Lay out. 

 

 

So the resulting projected outcome will look like this. 

 

I want to add an Arris rail three bar fence to the side of the small shrub bed to keep the shrubs contained. The plan is to use some large Metposts to hold the uprights. 

 

 

And if the grass regrows on the gap, this may be the look. 

 

I had wondered about putting a green colour into the concrete but have decided against it. 

 

 

And it’s still a no, no green cement. 

 

 

 

 

The plan is to plan and Kevin is project manager. 

 

I want to hire a mobile crusher to create all the hardcore for the foundation from the BBQ and concrete strips rather than buying in loads of the same stuff and paying for a dumpster/skip to remove all the spoil. 

I need to hire in a Mini Digger and then I NEED HELP I NEED HELP I NEED HELP I NEED HELP I need a capable operator for a day to dig, scrape, create the new foundation space and also move any topsoil into a specific place in the garden. 

Steel reinforcing to be added. 

 

 

I plan on getting the new concrete mixed on site, out on the street, by a dry mix rig and then running it through to the rear and casting the new slabs. 

 

My nearby neighbor has a1972 model  Winget dumper truck that he will let me use to run the concrete through from the street to the rear. 

 

This should be interesting. 

 

 

 

 

So…….. 

 

Needing a digger driver. 

 

Some time soon. 

 

[jim89]

36 minutes ago, grizz said:

 

 

Mate Kevin retires fully on 9th May. 

 

That means nothing. 

 

He has a ton of things to do. 

 

Last week he came to replace the front brakes on his runaround. You may remember he has a black T6 camper and helped me fetch the hateful 206 CC. 

 

Kevin is extremely methodical. 

First person I ever saw who actually reads the instructions. But that is how he does stuff. Having worked for railway support companies all his life. 

 

Order. 

 

 

 

Since I moved into this house in 2010 the rear driveway concrete strips have bugged me. 

So Kevin suggested we tear them up and move the drive over by 18 inches or 450mm at its apex. 

I also decided that after 13 years it was time to tear down and rebuild the BBQ. 

 

I will need help. 

 

I will need help

 

I will need help. 

 

Did I say that clearly enough? 

 

Keep reading and you may decide you can. 

 

Along with copious amounts of strong tea with little milk, Kevin fixed the brakes. 

 

Then we measured and marked out the potential new driveway. 

 

And NO, I don’t want to remove the shrubbery on the left against the boundary hedge. 

 

There will still be a curve, but it will be a solid slab rather than two strips to balance along, reversing down the drive. 

 

So we started measuring out the job 

 

19 meters and about 2.6 wide equals about 5.5 cubic meters of concrete cast. 

 

Checking the depth of the existing concrete test hole. 

 

 

Lay out. 

 

 

So the resulting projected outcome will look like this. 

 

I want to add an Arris rail three bar fence to the side of the small shrub bed to keep the shrubs contained. The plan is to use some large Metposts to hold the uprights. 

 

 

And if the grass regrows on the gap, this may be the look. 

 

I had wondered about putting a green colour into the concrete but have decided against it. 

 

 

And it’s still a no, no green cement. 

 

 

 

 

The plan is to plan and Kevin is project manager. 

 

I want to hire a mobile crusher to create all the hardcore for the foundation from the BBQ and concrete strips rather than buying in loads of the same stuff and paying for a dumpster/skip to remove all the spoil. 

I need to hire in a Mini Digger and then I NEED HELP I NEED HELP I NEED HELP I NEED HELP I need a capable operator for a day to dig, scrape, create the new foundation space and also move any topsoil into a specific place in the garden. 

Steel reinforcing to be added. 

 

 

I plan on getting the new concrete mixed on site, out on the street, by a dry mix rig and then running it through to the rear and casting the new slabs. 

 

My nearby neighbor has a1972 model  Winget dumper truck that he will let me use to run the concrete through from the street to the rear. 

 

This should be interesting. 

 

 

 

 

So…….. 

 

Needing a digger driver. 

 

Some time soon. 

 

I love a big project 😁.

Ten penny worth....

The dry mixer mate rigs usually offer a barrowing service with some young(er) lads wheeling it all & tipping where you want..

That dumper looks like a pull handle tip? So it will just throw it's contents out in one splodge, then you get to move it by hand 😬

That dumper also looks vintage & I'd be thinking of plans B C D for when it conks, dies, malfunctions etc mid job... seems a weak link to me...

Metposts for the fence posts? Recommend the concrete in proper hot dipped galvanised ones that you bolt the posts into above ground - not only do the posts last much longer as they're not in contact with the ground, but when they do need replacing you can just unbolt the old & rebolt the new...

Looking forward to updates already 🙂👍🏻

[grizz]

Forgot to mention 

 

https://youtu.be/aQSBAjznt58?si=eMBtjXS7XQPE1wJ-

[SilverMachine]

On 22/04/2024 at 08:51, grizz said:

And NO, I don’t want to remove the shrubbery on the left against the boundary hedge. 

help? er i'm currently probably closer to Scotland than you are to Belgium, (guestimate)  else id be round smashing up the concrete now ish lol i am down that way in august though, maybe there will still be something for me to do then?

excellent plans though, and if you decide you want green concrete in future i think yoghurt will accelerate moss growth!

Come to think of it i want a shrubbery too.

[grizz]

17 hours ago, SilverMachine said:

help? er i'm currently probably closer to Scotland than you are to Belgium, (guestimate)  else id be round smashing up the concrete now ish lol i am down that way in august though, maybe there will still be something for me to do then?

excellent plans though, and if you decide you want green concrete in future i think yoghurt will accelerate moss growth!

Come to think of it i want a shrubbery too.

 

I certainly don’t want growth on the concrete. 
 

That’s why I spend days cleaning it all every year.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I may have bought a Mercedes Benz SLK 230 this week. 

 

Foolish? 

 

Maybe. 

 

Collected it on Monday morning. 

 

Giving it to Sally. 

 

 

[grizz]

Saw a very nice vintage pedal car for sale this week. 

 

This is unusual in that it is a pedal car. 

 

Imported I believe from America. I could be mistaken. Tell me more. 

 

Chassis 

 

 

Previous rider is now 21 years old. 

 

So I got onto it with G3 followed by Zymöl polish. 

 

Loads of scuffs and marks that came off. Leaving it looking better. 

Unfortunately the stickers that were stuck on it years ago, and possibly a smoking house means that there is discolouration around the stickers. So removing them would leave marks showing the original silver paint. 

 

 

After an hour or more the result was pretty decent. 

 

Next job will be getting a kid to pedal it, rather than looking for a button to posh. 

 

 

 

Why do I do this stuff? 

 

No idea. 

[jim89]

59 minutes ago, grizz said:

 

I certainly don’t want growth on the concrete. 
 

That’s why I spend days cleaning it all every year.  
 

Which reminds me!

What's the plan for drainage off the new concrete 'runway'? 

Is there to be a camber & lose it to the sides? Or a defined exit "drain" (that might already exist)?

Just pondering 🙂👍🏻

[grizz]

10 minutes ago, jim89 said:

Which reminds me!

What's the plan for drainage off the new concrete 'runway'? 

Is there to be a camber & lose it to the sides? Or a defined exit "drain" (that might already exist)?

Just pondering 🙂👍🏻

 

Drain towards the lawn. Hopefully it’s not a problem waiting to happen. 

[grizz]

 

In other news. 

 

I spent two days detailing the paint on the Astro van 

 

Crazy?? 

 

Absolutely 

 

But you can see and feel the difference. 

 

I used Zymöl polish after a decent wax wash, and then wiping down panel by panel, a section at a time. 

 

Small circular waxing and doing 3-4 passes back and forth plus more concentrated waxing on any scuffs or areas that looked less than good. 

 

Very few people waste time like this these days. 

 

 

Beading is good. 

 

 

Finally 

 

Yes it was even better than before. 

 

 

 

I will get to the wheels again as it’s 6 months since the last time I polished and sealed them. 

 

 

Back to swinging my 20 pound hammer today. 

 

Stuff happening. 

 

 

[grizz]

Free cash. 

 

Who doesn’t like to find R100/€50/£20/$20¥1000 behind the couch or in a pocket of a jacket you were taking out for dry cleaning. 

 

So this week I was going to spend some cash in part preparation for the new driveway that will be happening. 

 

Free Cash is good.

 

Riagh? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in a bit when you guys have shouted enough to make me feed wanted.  

 

 

Got a truck to go collect. 

[bezzabsa]

thought of you when I saw this

https://www.facebook.com/reel/905646967604059

[grizz]

1 hour ago, bezzabsa said:

thought of you when I saw this

https://www.facebook.com/reel/905646967604059

Yes I like that. 

[grizz]

 

Back from my little trip today. 

 

Collected my latest Little Tikes car, a truck this time. 

 

 

 

 

On the way home I Also stopped at my friend Kevin to see his new DB12

He had it completely wrapped in clear and you could not tell it had been done. 

Wheels…… 325/30ZR21 

 

Absolutely beautiful. 

 

He is letting me use his 1972 Winget dumper truck with Petter engine. 

 

I grew up with these things around on building sites. 

 

 

Video. 

 

https://youtu.be/tsvgyXDxKUc?si=DoPhF5sDDD2WDlE0

 

 

Back in a bit for the Serendipity story. 

 

 

 

[jim89]

31 minutes ago, grizz said:

 

 

Back from my little trip today. 

 

Collected my latest Little Tikes car, a truck this time. 

 

 

 

 

On the way home I Also stopped at my friend Kevin to see his new DB12

He had it completely wrapped in clear and you could not tell it had been done. 

Wheels…… 325/30ZR21 

 

Absolutely beautiful. 

 

He is letting me use his 1972 Winget dumper truck with Petter engine. 

 

I grew up with these things around on building sites. 

 

 

Video. 

 

https://youtu.be/tsvgyXDxKUc?si=DoPhF5sDDD2WDlE0

 

 

Back in a bit for the Serendipity story. 

 

 

 

Might be a bit dumpergeeky but I think that's a Thwaites Orion? I have one in the yard! 😂

[RichardK]

On 24/04/2024 at 07:57, grizz said:

 

Saw a very nice vintage pedal car for sale this week. 

 

This is unusual in that it is a pedal car. 

 

Imported I believe from America. I could be mistaken. Tell me more. 

 

Chassis 

 

 

Previous rider is now 21 years old. 

 

So I got onto it with G3 followed by Zymöl polish. 

 

Loads of scuffs and marks that came off. Leaving it looking better. 

Unfortunately the stickers that were stuck on it years ago, and possibly a smoking house means that there is discolouration around the stickers. So removing them would leave marks showing the original silver paint. 

 

 

After an hour or more the result was pretty decent. 

 

Next job will be getting a kid to pedal it, rather than looking for a button to posh. 

 

 

 

Why do I do this stuff? 

 

No idea. 

Honestly, are we ever going to get away from SLKs on this forum?

[grizz]

5 hours ago, RichardK said:

Honestly, are we ever going to get away from SLKs on this forum?

Errrrrmmmmmm……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So…..?? 

 

 

Where was I ?? 

 

 

Serendipity. 

 

 

With planning to do the change to the driveway one of the things I wanted to do was retain the side bed down the side of the hedge boundary. 

 

 

So the plan was to put up a retaining fence, maybe three bars like an equestrian fence. Maybe some cleft Chestnut Arris rail. Some posts and support from some metposts driven into the ground. Though they can be a nightmare to drive in straight with all the best will and intent in the world. I was going to buy and get some materials delivered this week. Probably £350-400 in materials. 

 

Sunday evening I headed out to Sally’s place for dinner (chicken kebabs) and as I turned the corner 100 meters from her place, the house on the corner had a dumpster/skip out on the drive, with a load of materials in and next to it. 

 

 

Serendipity?? 

 

 

 

 

Of course I stopped up the road, walked back, rang the doorbell and asked if I was in time for dinner when the guy answered the door. He was game and said it would be ready in 20 minutes. 

 

Asking if I could raid the skip and pile next to it, after explaining that I was planning on buying what he had this week, he said “Help yourself “ 

 

 

VW Caddy Van to the rescue. 

 

First load. 

 

 

No need to kill the little van. Only 2.3 miles. 

 

 

I already had 5 large Metposts that I had scored from friend Kevin Kellys scrap pile. New, unused. 

 

Looking at the cost of materials, excluding20% VAT and delivery, 

Sunday night felt pretty good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serendipity and eyes wide open. 

 

 

 

Did you hear me mention FREE CASH?? 

 

 

 

Sorry about the delay. 

 

 

Been a busy day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grizz]

Quick update on this week. 

 

Various jobs to do, including getting the mini fence up. 

 

Laying out the pieces gave me a good idea of what it would look like. Imagination works well. 

 

 

 

Of course the shrobs needed some hard hacking back to get out the way because they do damage paint, especially on things like the van, even with light touch. 

 

Then I decided to cut the hedge back as well. So the day was over pretty soon and I still didn’t have the fence up. 

 

 

Stuff takes time. 

 

No cheap labour so I have to do it all myself. 

 

 

One full, stomped and compressed wheely bin later I stopped and headed out to do other stuff. 

 

I had also spent about three hours on the phone through the day. Job market conditions continue to be quiet. 

But have asked agency to forward my CV to a company for a job that was alive early February, then died, then came back to life as they had to employ a new manager who will now do the hiring. 

It is a market that I have not worked in before. 

Fingers crossed. 

 

But I do have a load of stuff to do here at home. 

 

 

 

Back in a bit. 

[SilverMachine]

excellent work again there! looks like some nice rustic fence stuff too. i need to wash and polish the cars but i dont think the pair will get the effort you put in on the van. (the fusion is fairly forgiving though the paint is still very good on that mostly) the audi although newer is red and therefore suffers the curse of being red. with the weather slowly improving (it was snowing at work briefly yesterday morning) im going to accumulate the bits n bobs to get them serviced, and i may even attempt the timing belt on the fusion dispite being told its a pig to do.... 22 years old and 70k and it still drives like new so think it deserves it!

[grizz]

Buy my POS. 

Drive it away

Don’t come back 

https://youtu.be/f5KRxX6fof4?si=uf_r2-GBP03rSmtn

[grizz]

 

Speaking of being busy. 

 

Getting the metposts in is a bit of a hit and miss some days. 

 

 

Three went in with the 20 pound hammer motivation and the last one hit a rock. 

Photobucket is being a dick again. Not uploading the pic of the bent post that I tried to force through some rock. 

 

 

 

Once the fence was up, I cleared up and tidied everything. 

 

Really happy with how it turned out. 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the driveway is cast, I will build a low retaining wall to keep the garden bed tidy. 

 

Thanks for checking in.  

 

[Jenson Velcro]

Looks great, particularly for keeping your eyes open and a few hours of your time.

[grizz]

On 27/04/2024 at 10:48, Jenson Velcro said:

Looks great, particularly for keeping your eyes open and a few hours of your time.

 

Thank you. 
 

Old habits are hard to break. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny how sometimes you can’t see the woods for the trees. 

I have no intent to sell the Astro Van 

Unless of course, someone else needs it a lot more than me. 

Chatting to my mate @craigrk this morning about various things including the Caddy and 206CC he reminded me that the Astro van is actually a Van. 

So why go buy another medium/small van to increase the Caddy equivalent capacity when I have one, paid for, taxed, insured and more importantly…., Loved. 

He actually made a really sensible suggestion that included getting rid of the Green Peugeot cheaply as is, roof down, for someone else to repair and selling the Caddy, replacing it with an early BMW Mini Clubman wagon or something equally weird or similar that’s been on my horizon for a long time. Cube, Soul, Cheap. 

So with s sheet or plastic it is a great tool. 

Next stop……

Some digging in the garden to move some soil. 
 

[grizz]

HAVING REALISED THAT ANOTHER MEDIUM SMALL VAN IS A BIT SILLY WHEN I ACTUALLY HAVE THE ASTRO ALREADY. 

 

 

MY ATTENTION HAS GONE BACK TO A CAR I LIKED FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS 

 

SO ITS A REASONABLY SMALL WAGON. 

 

ADVISE, DISCUSS, TUT, SHAKE HEADS. 

 

 

THANK YOU. 

[jim89]

2 hours ago, grizz said:

 

HAVING REALISED THAT ANOTHER MEDIUM SMALL VAN IS A BIT SILLY WHEN I ACTUALLY HAVE THE ASTRO ALREADY. 

 

 

MY ATTENTION HAS GONE BACK TO A CAR I LIKED FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS 

 

SO ITS A REASONABLY SMALL WAGON. 

 

ADVISE, DISCUSS, TUT, SHAKE HEADS. 

 

 

THANK YOU. 

Red Camaro thing?