tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54262362012-01-26T22:35:47.677ZA day to day update on the restoration and maintenance of a 1962 morris minor and a 1976 Commer PB. Classic car restoration, parenting and general hobby engineering tooRuperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.comBlogger2301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-78578508988920237112011-11-07T22:12:00.008Z2011-11-10T18:29:36.989Z

The day-to-day automotive activities at little yellow towers have built up a critical flow.The Mrs has a new job, and I have a new job - and the pressures of family and work life are such that both parents need to be at different places, neither of which has a decent train line. So the automotive arrangements are thus:I ride the bike to work.Mrs uses the Skodaat the weekends when kids need

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-47816172250661300902011-06-25T22:20:00.005+01:002011-10-15T19:09:30.449+01:00

Molly's MOT that is, all was fine except, well it was all bad. Over a sheet of failure. Now Moll is no garage queen, she gets used in the rain and not maintained enough, but a full page?! It turned out that most of the failure was due to a coincidental Morris Minor feature. Morris Minors have two fuses, one for all the things which are on all the time, and one for all the things which are only on

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-7408711762235092302011-06-25T08:37:00.003+01:002011-06-25T22:22:45.240+01:00

A few weeks ago I decided to get out and spend some quality time with the kids. So how better to do that but to take them crab fishing! I remember doing this as a kid and pulling loads of the things out of the sea. So ebay supplied some crablines,  half a pound of bacon from tesco along with a picnic and we were off to Fife. I don't remember this being so hard but after a couple of hours without

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-63458916356467457552011-06-25T08:23:00.002+01:002011-06-25T16:43:12.100+01:00

Hardly seems like a year since the last bout of mot madness, but here we are again. Jessica was done a couple of weeks ago. She got a fail on the brakes which was quickly sorted. So Molly is in now and I really have no idea what will happen. My pre-checks were ok but you never know. Neither of the cars have had much use over the past few months, mainly due to the new arrival being in the way.

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-47314315026660777182011-05-08T23:01:00.002+01:002011-05-09T08:27:02.575+01:00

So the past month or so has seen Jessica getting gently re-commissioned. We have had a couple of issues to sort. Firstly, the overheating problem came back. I put some effort into this last summer but as its very hard to pinpoint,I was never sure if i had cracked it. Turns out i hadn't. So i went through a full refresh of the cooling system and so far so good. I swapped out the fan belt too and

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-47787559227287799552010-12-07T21:44:00.005Z2010-12-14T14:18:03.125Z

As some of you may be aware, we have had a little snow in Scotland. Well to be honest we've had a lot of snow. Now Scotland is known for the rubbish weather, but this is ridiculous.SkodaMolly I've spend the past couple of weeks shoveling snow and ice. I had planned to switch the cars around and get Molly in the garage so I could get some work done on her. Oh the best laid plans... The quantity

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-77006828030815743262010-11-03T22:52:00.005Z2010-11-05T08:38:43.997Z

It's about this time of year I like to wrap up Jessica ready for winter. Don't get me wrong, she's not going to be forgotten about for the next 6 months. The cover comes on and off about 10 times between now and the spring. But what with weather being what it is, its best to get these things sorted sooner rather than later.Oh and yeah its a spangly new cover from Just Kampers. Cool.It even has

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-181572164933744652010-10-25T20:31:00.006+01:002010-10-25T22:21:38.318+01:00

Autumn is a time of change, rain and darkness. One of the big things is the garden activity. Basically the garden needs to be cleaned up before winter. Which is our case was a bit of a pain seeing as how I haven't tended the garden for about 3 years.The other contributing factor was the impeding failure of the fence at the end of the garden, and the fact that the neighbours have just put up a

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-38370747871219474322010-09-04T20:12:00.003+01:002010-10-26T08:44:11.597+01:00

I often find myself cruising round the area, minding my own business. Now I must admit it's often in Molly so hardly inconspicuous, but then again sometimes I find things like this. A beautiful example of Vauxhall's finest, towing a Portafold fibreglass folding caravan if I'm not mistaken.Then there was this thing. Says landrover on the front, but looks nothing like the forward control landrovers

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-84497415032624219682010-08-29T22:57:00.009+01:002010-10-25T20:26:06.472+01:00

I have been dismayed to see the increase in vandalism in the West Lothian area...... is how the letter would start, if I were to write it. However I won't be writing it as I have something of a soft spot for some of the local Street Artists. Don't get me wrong, tagging and mindlessly daubing public spaces with paint don't do anyone any favors, but our local artists seem to have a pretty wicked

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-10534848718555921732010-08-29T21:20:00.008+01:002010-08-30T12:46:34.932+01:00

A year or so ago I bought myself a trailer which I had intended to use to transport the awning and other stuff on trips away with the van. That plan never really came to fruition, the trailer has come in handy for trips to the tip though and has helpfully adorned the garden.The other idea I had was to hook it up to Molly for camping trips away. Of course this requires a tow bar (done that!) and

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-62251338413159367632010-08-22T21:37:00.006+01:002010-08-22T22:23:26.979+01:00

The retro addiction takes many forms, one of which is how to substitute perfectly acceptable modern things for cooler (less practical) retro ones. One of the things highlighted as something we needed (while we were away in Kinross) was a wind break. Now these things can be bought for about £10 from Argos, but we'd end up with a floppy plastic thing which wouldn't be in keeping. So when this

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-79742946356363282172010-08-15T21:43:00.015+01:002010-08-23T16:40:38.071+01:00

We have just been lucky enough to have a week's holiday. Now how does a classic car enthusiast relax? There is only one thing to be done - Road Trip! Now is the time to admit that after ten years of living in Scotland, we had never made it further north than Inverness. So we took a week and decided to head up north. The first stop was at Rosemarkie, a beautiful little camp site on the banks of

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-33754262974243447792010-08-07T14:24:00.001+01:002010-08-15T21:43:17.126+01:00

You get a couple of Commers all together in one place. This weekend there were 43 of them. Yes it was Commerfest, the 50th anniversary in honour of the humble Commer van.Friday night saw us travel the 240 miles down to Yorkshire, to find the celebrations well under way. On Saturday morning, we awoke to an amazing sight, Commers as far as the eye could see!Saturday night was the main event and

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-15979737099522385832010-07-24T20:15:00.007+01:002010-07-24T22:20:03.127+01:00

As some of you may know, I have something of a retro theme when it comes to cars. The retro-ness often leaks into the house. As with many retro activities, timing is important, the best way to get the best in retro stuff is to do nothing but sit and wait. A few years ago, a friend of mine was clearing out his house and had an old bedroom suite to get rid of, not good enough to make the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-27768735899102311702010-07-06T20:14:00.009+01:002010-07-24T22:23:49.536+01:00

Well last weekend the family toddled off to Fuerteventura for a week's basking the the sun, eating cakes and generally having a Summer holiday. Unfortunately, being a grumpy old man and ginger means that such a trip away would be absolute hell for me - I know because it was last time, and the time before, so rather than spoil their fun - they went and I stayed. So what was a chap on his own to do

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-53787076325230022852010-06-28T19:58:00.002+01:002010-07-07T07:44:38.719+01:00

So where did we leave it? Oh yes, Jessica had scored an MOT and was basking in the sunshine. Well Molly did stirling work and passed her own MOT a few days later which made me very happy. It also got me thinking about how annoying it is to have two MOTs on the same day (funny at first then not so funny after the first year or so). Maybe I need to delay one or other of the fleet to save my nerves

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-44887925304426879242010-06-20T00:27:00.003+01:002010-06-20T00:36:47.946+01:00

Jess has an MOT! But Molly doesn't...Jessica failed first time round with a misaligned headlight and a leaking exhaust, that was quickly sorted. Molly has some similar niggles, but she can't get retested until Tuesday.

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-46957785722487312812010-06-16T22:56:00.001+01:002010-06-16T22:57:49.053+01:00

Or more like white then white....

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-3794083995615309442010-06-14T23:01:00.003+01:002010-06-14T23:18:12.153+01:00

..how quickly stuff gets done when you get yourself organised and it stops raining.I was on decorating detail this weekend, and as you know watching paint dry is er... dull so rather than sit drinking tea looking at my handy work, I was popping out to the garage to do little bits and bobs so before I knew it, Jessica has the tank in, rear light on and was ready to go on the ground again. Still

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-47754541137296932922010-06-12T18:20:00.005+01:002010-06-13T12:56:21.854+01:00

Classic car lifestyle all seems like fun, fun, fun, I know. You have this image of me and people like me just basking in the reflected glory of our trusty (or not so trusty) steeds. I must, dear reader at this moment shatter your illusion.The entire fleet is road legal but due to a logistical problem no vehicles older than 10 have turned a wheel in a month.Boo..The reason is that Jessica

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-66284269368478820122010-05-27T22:29:00.004+01:002010-05-29T08:48:55.746+01:00

Work has begun in ernist on replacing the rusty holes with proper steel. The fuel tank is out (for safety) and the holes have been made nice and neat. Then I made up some repair panels with the sheet metal bender, joggler and nibbler (if you don't know what the are - they are as much fun as they sound - believe me...)half a holeI had to do some welding from inside the van which entailed a little

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-78974377064574297902010-05-18T23:04:00.007+01:002010-05-27T23:08:28.051+01:00

Yeah - bin grinding again... I can't help myself you know. While me and the mrs were chatting and drinking Cider on Saturday night, I got all hypnotised by the bubbly crumblyness of Jessica's offside rear panel.Crumbly like a hobnob but not as nice...Full of cider and looking forward to me welding for the next month or so...So today, like a good classic car enthusiast, I took a look. With an

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-76451032908549427192010-05-17T22:12:00.006+01:002010-05-18T22:56:21.739+01:00

After all the messing around for over 6 months with the van - this weekend it was time to remember what it it really for. Oh yeah camping .... As it has been such a long time since we last went away we decided to just take a short trip not too far away for just one night, so we popped up to Kinross about 35 miles north of here. Its on the banks of Lock Leven and a top place for a camping trip.

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-53554419059367462232010-05-12T23:00:00.006+01:002010-05-18T22:41:01.968+01:00

All together now! I know , I know I've not been posting recently, well it all comes in one go round here. I took a week off work and used some of the spare time to put Molly back together. It all went to plan - should have done too as I've done it loads of times before. So she's up and running again, but (as ever) there is lots more to do. I remembered to change the oil and do a flush job too.

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-59985380476817266332010-04-17T09:59:00.004+01:002010-04-17T14:14:47.890+01:00

Molly's rattling valve gear has finally spurred me into acton - her head has been removed! I have a new (second hand) set of rockers, new tappits and pushrods. The reason for this is that the rattling noise can only get worse (they always get worse) and the only way to investigate to to get the spanners out.this is what happens when you cross the Queen of HeartsOnce the rockers were off, I

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-75469243722642660642010-04-17T09:00:00.005+01:002010-04-17T13:42:20.960+01:00

So its looks as though spring is here. There are daffodils, and lots less snow and even some sunshine, so what do all classic car loving people do on a sunny Sunday afternoon? Well they go off to the beach in their camper vans. I took it as a bit of an opportunity for a shakedown after the winter work. The snag list so far has been:fuel leak (easily sorted, tightened up the hose clip)

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-41773187894164623552010-03-30T22:28:00.005+01:002010-03-31T08:49:03.228+01:00

The recent mild weather has had me thinking about getting the van on the road again, day dreaming of warm summer evenings, drinking cider and watching the kids run about. I've spent some time over the past couple of weeks (sorry about the lack of posts by the way) to tidy up the interior of the van by re-making some of the cupboard doors. Firstly the glove box doors had some horrid carpet stuck

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-75910002567776888922010-03-23T23:02:00.004Z2010-03-30T22:27:57.262+01:00

The ominous noises coming from Molly's engine haven't yet been diagnosed, but I thought a little oil change couldn't go amiss, so Rory and I took to the driveway and did what had to be done. I'm not sure he was too keen to be honest...The radio in the van is all done too and doesn't look all that bad. I even managed to wire up the ariel (don't tell the Mrs - I can have Radio 4 when we're away)

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-9049753885128364302010-03-09T22:10:00.007Z2010-03-13T13:49:05.135Z

Dare I say that spring is on its way? Every time over the past few months when I've thought that, a new, thick layer of snow has appeared. Never the less, I managed to get all three cars washed at the weekend, so everything is spic and span. Molly is tucked away in the garage while I wonder about the tappitty noise that is coming from the engine. The valve clearances are OK, but its still

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-53759026283797461902010-02-21T11:54:00.005Z2010-02-21T15:53:11.839Z

Back when I lived in Manchester I used to rent a room from my friend Lee. He was (and still is) a bit of a car nut. He has a much greater throughput than me and has owned a range of exotic VW's Fiats and a Ferrari. As you can imagine moving in with him was perfect for me. Car tips, advice and free welding. It was also an eye-opener in terms of living in a classic car supportive environment. For

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-12663598617897815252010-02-11T23:18:00.008Z2010-02-11T23:51:11.616Z

Many years ago when I started at University, I met a chap I now know as Gib. We met when I took his last ciggie in the Banshee night club in Manchester. It turned out that he was on the same course as me - and the rest is history...He was a school chess champion and whilst he didn't teach me how to pay chess, he did give me a top tip (so I didn't loose so quickly) - sit on your hands - (don't

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-34030188964501762222010-02-10T22:40:00.007Z2010-02-11T08:12:04.701Z

Last weekend my little brother did the honorable thing and married his fiance. It was a really nice event at a very posh castle in Yorkshire with just the right amount of everything. I was an usher, which seems to be something I like to do (bossing people around and being in charge of things). At one point it seemed as though everywhere I turned there was an old school friend or relative I

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-8875829891882116382010-02-04T23:38:00.003Z2010-02-04T23:45:33.570Z

'tis a funny old place the web. One minute there are things like this, the next there are things like this.Without the web, classic cars and vans would be rusting and mouldering unloved and unwanted. Then again kids would be kids for a little bit longer... you win some you loose some. Over all I think it kind of (only kind of) evens itself out.

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-53968787067067802292010-02-03T21:54:00.006Z2010-02-04T07:54:52.711Z

Earth Mother EarthMother F******* Bad Earth...Yeah that manky old piece of earth strap was what has been stopping Jessica starting properly since I got her. Once I swapped it out for a proper shiny bit of copper everything was fine and dandy. The snow has come back (just as I was enjoying the dry weather) so I decided to switch the cars around before it got too bad. Guess what... Molly wouldn't

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-44300323897621934592010-01-30T23:05:00.009Z2010-02-03T22:38:08.599Z

Now for the science bit...Aliasing is a term taken from signal processing. It describes the situation when the sampling rate has a similar frequency to the frequency of the thing being sampled. If you are really keen, then you can read up on the Nyquist frequency here. Imagine sitting on a beach watching the waves crash on the shore. If they come in every second (for example) and you also blink

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-31414476057704987482010-01-23T18:41:00.012Z2010-01-25T08:19:30.333Z

Scruffiness is my middle name (actually its not but you know what I mean). I have a slightly shambolic air about me. I don't dress very well (not for long anyway), most of my ties now have soup on them. I like to see the big picture rather than the details. I'm not sure if this is a character flaw or my flawed character. Or, to put it another way - Should I try to fix it?Many years ago whilst

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-67533943561502219792010-01-17T20:11:00.003Z2010-01-17T21:34:27.050Z

Its amazing what you find when the snow melts. Random carrots on the lawn, muddy puddles (I'm sure they weren't there before the snow fell) and I even found a couple of classic cars! Today the sun shone and I had an opportunity to move on with the master plan.It goes a little something like this: I took the passenger side door off the van last year. I've been busily welding and painting it to

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-55543740417255626352010-01-07T22:10:00.006Z2010-01-07T23:09:24.316Z

The welds on the heater box got ground down tonight and it was all prepared for paint (with Hydrate80 from BiltHamber) but the paint was frozen.I'm not going to start banging on about the snow. We have some snow, we live in Scotland and I really like snow so its not a problem. The thing is though, I want to be good at dealing with snow, I want to enjoy it when it comes (rather than panicking).

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-22580471864807400762010-01-06T22:29:00.005Z2010-01-06T23:16:05.245Z

I'm finally getting into gear again after Christmas (and the pre-Christmas flu) so I popped out into the freezing garage for an hour or so tonight. Before Christmas I took the heater out of the van. The heater is attached to a metal box with is in turn screwed to the inside of the front panel (behind the air intake). Unfortunately it was kinda crusty because it had got full of water over the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-16259854565145124182010-01-02T13:58:00.011Z2010-01-06T23:13:05.178Z

Happy new year everyone. The Christmas excess is now over and the fiscal and physical repairs can begin. Our Christmas break this year was superb. We had a trip to Yorkshire to be with the family and more snow than you could ever want (or need). My brother's Series I lannie was doing excellent service lugging things to the recycling and ferrying Christmas trees. That is until the points

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-3697268155500342222009-12-23T15:30:00.006Z2009-12-23T20:50:07.831Z

More snow last night, in the intervening period Molly got all her snow scraped off and her cover fitted, so last nights snowfall replaced the previous nights.Jessica is doing a rather good impression of a high top van.The trains decided not to proceed today so I was stuck at home. The kids didn't mind as I gave them a quick lesson in sledging.

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-89617271903673228072009-12-22T21:10:00.002Z2009-12-22T21:34:45.912Z

No not bah "humbug"... its the noise snow makes when you walk on it. Oh yeah we have had a big load of snow.Unfortunatly Molly got caught in it. Why wasn't she tucked away you ask? Well the idea was (before the snow) to keep her pootling around throughout the winter. So much so she just earnt herself a lovely new starter motor.are you starting something?The kids have been out making use of the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-10302173968171353722009-12-09T22:07:00.008Z2009-12-09T23:32:30.991Z

The work on the cars is now slowing down to such a crawl, there has been hardly anything to post about. That said a little pottering has been going on (its only natural).I've managed to get a little more work done on the van door, its now welded up and filled (another bad bodge job I'm afraid) and I'm starting to get on with the painting. There in lies a big problem, I was planning on using the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-52793809657027451702009-12-04T10:22:00.005Z2009-12-13T22:20:16.149Z

The weather has deteriorated somewhat. After all the rain (oh boy did we get a lot of rain), the frost has arrived which is nice but obviously a little cold.I prefer the frost as its nice and dry. The down side though is that once I'm in the garage of an evening, the condensation starts dripping from the ceilingI'm finally getting somewhere with the van door, and about time too as I discovered

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-27633499101946664192009-11-20T23:46:00.003Z2009-11-21T00:21:23.567Z

After being laid up for a few weeks and fiddling with radio controlled models, the full sized project vehicles have started backing up.Molly has been pressed in to service as a daily driver, just like the good old days. Unfortunately (but not wholly unexpected for a 47 year old car) there are a couple of niggly glitches which need to be sorted. Namely the horn and the interior light have stopped

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-79718531383994420742009-11-19T20:28:00.007Z2009-11-19T21:44:19.923Z

First up dear readers, an apology. I've not posted for a long long time. This is mainly because I have had very little to post about, which is due in turn to a popular autumn ailment - flu. Plus a chest infection, plus the old favourite - asthma. All rather dull and boring and kept me off my feet and out of the garage for almost three weeks now.I'm finally getting myself together but as I've been

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-85331266060181595562009-10-30T22:00:00.004Z2009-10-30T22:45:23.853Z

One of our favourite seaside towns is Morecambe. Its a pretty little down-at-heel seaside town in the northwest which is slowly but surely regenerating itself as the place to be.This little seaside town donated its name to Eric (Morecambe) who did a lovely version of Bring me sunshine with his pal Ernie. Anyway why this rambling about Morecambe?I work for an engineering software company and the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-24198345436311054722009-10-25T16:59:00.011Z2009-10-30T22:49:14.677Z

With Molly performing well (how long will that last?) we've been out enjoying the autumn weather again today, feeding the ducks at Linlithgow. Its kinda soggy round here at the moment, the wind is pretty fierce and leaves are everywhere. So the drive was rather exciting.The rain eased off a little so I took the opportunity to take the passenger side door off Jessica for a little TLC. Commers have

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-77592325744626693182009-10-16T20:59:00.009+01:002009-10-20T21:44:49.405+01:00

Autumn has arrived right on cue in West Lothian. The trees are dropping their leaves, the mornings are nice and chilly and nights are closing in.I like Autumn for many of the same reasons I like Spring, the way that nature isn't just a background on life - its in your face. Like the lashing rain and the wayward leaves.Enjoying older cars in Autumn takes a little more determination. The

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-38751590136355751362009-10-11T22:13:00.004+01:002009-10-11T22:18:06.083+01:00

So I managed to snatch a couple of hours work on the van today and finish off the bottom of the front panel. The welding is done and ground down and the first layer of filler is on.Its going to need a fair bit of sanding and touching up but it's looking good so far. Oh and here's a piccie of the chrome vent cover I got from Martin yesterday. Bling!

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-32693984971905398702009-10-10T20:46:00.003+01:002009-10-10T21:55:50.296+01:00

This blog is about some old cars and how I muck about with them. It is however heavily biased towards getting them on the road rather than enjoying them. The main reasons for this are:The cars are often not on the roadI often forget the camera when I'm out and aboutWhen I'm out having fun, I'm not thinking of what you want to seeAnyway last weekend, I popped out for a quick trip to Halfords (for

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-82409277119112304532009-10-09T22:38:00.004+01:002009-10-09T23:21:56.927+01:00

...RUST!!!Jessica has embarked on her now annual bout of restoration. This has (as usual) begun with no rhyme or reason. Basically it all depends on which way round she is parked when the urge takes me to do some restoration.So the front panel it is then!There were a few flaky patches at the front, presumably from stone chips gone bad.Now this area on the van is a double curvature (sounds

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-32007901977247363552009-10-03T09:08:00.006+01:002009-10-03T13:47:23.031+01:00

After the past few weeks of frenzied show-based activity its (probably) time to settle down a bit to home life. Thanks to Rory's glee with model boats and steam engines, I was inspired to have a rummage around in the loft and came up with this little lot.First up my Mammod traction engine. I got this when I was about 14 (22 years ago!). It has been lurking around the house since I liberated from

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-87683064840173167032009-09-22T23:22:00.006+01:002009-10-03T23:55:08.644+01:00

Rory and I popped over to Selkirk on Sunday to the excellent vintage rally. It was a great show which was nicely squeezed into a quite small field. Apart from the usually selection of single marque club stands, this one stands out with a few really interesting other exhibits. Like this 60's hydroplane up from Cumbria. It runs a flat head V8 with open headers. Sounds superb!Big engine with a small

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-85501604988403648992009-09-17T22:41:00.006+01:002009-09-23T12:55:58.605+01:00

My first car was a teal blue Austin 1300. I was given it by my great aunt when she gave up driving. It vaporised its rear subframe and sills thereby preventing it from getting an MOT, so I never got to drive it on the road (...well maybe once). It was a pretty rubbish car, but it had me hooked. The only kind of car I was interested in was an old one. I spent hours pouring through Practical

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-5544287047379745912009-09-14T21:36:00.005+01:002009-09-15T08:28:28.216+01:00

... ok then....Jessica has been plagued by moss in her windows since we got her. It gathers (unlike a rolling stone) between the two sliding windows on each side, and in the channel they slide in. Apart from making her look even more untidy, it allows the channels to stay damp therefore causing more damage.So... (you know where this is going don't you) I decided to make use of this weekend's

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-69782864892576533822009-09-13T17:45:00.005+01:002009-09-16T12:52:02.423+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I popped in to see my old friend Paul. I know him from the good old days in Manchester, a fellow Manchester MMOC branch member. Back then (10+ years ago) he had two minors, a white traveller with a Midget 1275 engine and a black 1960 four door. Well, the traveller has long gone, but the intervening years (and Paul) have been kind to the 4 door.Paul has taken a lot of time

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-22773776088075785922009-09-07T22:04:00.004+01:002009-09-08T08:57:37.116+01:00

As you may know I've been having a little trouble with Jessica. Too many times she has developed a bit of a misfire when she's hot and coughs and splutters her way home after a nice day out. So I've decided to have another crack at sorting it. A month or so ago I changed the fuel pump (no change) and swapped out the coil and plug leads (no change) then I took a look in the carb dashpot (nothing

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-3762423002974216692009-09-04T21:45:00.006+01:002009-09-04T22:33:03.407+01:00

Yeah... I got stuff and lots of it.I had a little tidy in the garage this week, lucky I did as the rain has come down in a big (wet) way which has resulted in a soggy garage floor, inspite of all the water management I have in place - including the indoor guttering (tm). So Molly is nicely tucked away in the garage where I can have a look at the leaky screen seal, the scratches and the mucky

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-53785246735972506942009-09-01T21:40:00.003+01:002009-09-01T21:44:42.025+01:00

Or Yellowy street lamp... I admired Molly's new wing...Not bad eh - the rare trishade highway yellow is coming through nicely

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-41013234176493534952009-08-29T10:52:00.002+01:002009-08-29T11:04:49.584+01:00

Guess what I did last night? Go on guess...OK I'll give you a clue...Doesn't look too bad does it?* The girls where having a girlie night in last night with Jack Black in School of Rock - top film with an ace sound track, but due to being a boy I wasn't allowed to join in - no popcorn for me... Ah well. I had a productive time with the spray gun and a tin of cellulose paint. I didn't do a very

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-49745001594935135122009-08-27T22:37:00.005+01:002009-08-27T22:58:13.546+01:00

Things have been going ballistic at work recently, so garaging has been a rare event over the past week or so. The reason is that the software I have been working on had a little meltdown so I have been putting it back together again. Oddly enough I have rather enjoyed the late nights, the stress and the general hectic lifestyle. It means that the team I work with has gelled a little more. The

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-12973761608092389652009-08-25T22:55:00.003+01:002009-08-25T23:07:58.492+01:00

Todo posts aren't really that exciting for you out there in readerland - I know and I'm sorry. Saying that, they are good for me, they mean I can plan the things I'm going to do when I get home from work.Molly -paint the rear wing (suspiciously hidden from most pictures...)stone chip the rear inner wingsfix the drivers side window (it won't go down)flat all paint, polish and touchupwiring for the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-17318022630501313152009-08-23T11:11:00.007+01:002009-08-25T23:10:34.215+01:00

I've spent the last few weeks sorting out the trailer. It was in need of a few more licks of varnish on the cover, a look at the electrics and a tweak on the wheel bearings. It seems to be in fine fettle now.As I had my woodworking head on, I took another look at the door cupboards and gave them a coat or two of appropriate coloured varnish. Not looking too bad even if I do say so myself. The

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-59970347686799549242009-08-11T22:34:00.006+01:002009-08-12T23:13:19.909+01:00

Last weekend we went off to the wilds of the Scottish highlands for the Belladrum festival about 180 miles away. Jessica performed really well zooming along at 55-60 mph (on the flat at least!)chilling in a laybyThe new bunk and curtains went down well too. Megan bagged the front bunk straight away and we even made a little curtain so she had her own bedroom. The curtains could do with some

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-21009751300424163652009-08-02T12:37:00.004+01:002009-08-02T17:17:26.461+01:00

I have a terrible habit of picking the most inopportune times for doing restoration work on my cars. For example, I start doing bodywork in the Autumn when the weather is so unreliable I can't get a decent top coat on. I also find myself tinkering in car parks (I changed Molly's bonnet hinges on a day trip to a park in Manchester once). This week's inappropriate tinkering is happening less than

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-60605313180667420722009-08-01T20:20:00.003+01:002009-08-01T20:36:29.489+01:00

We got a chance to put up the new (to us) awning today. And boy oh boy its huge!Rory (for scale) and a slightly wonky awningIt has a nice little inner tent (for the Mrs who don't do campervan sleeping) and looks big enough to be very comfortable. It is also pretty straight forward to put up but took a little while what with it being so big. Rory has taken it upon himself to be in charge of taking

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-49829640281697177772009-07-31T22:58:00.005+01:002009-08-01T20:19:56.515+01:00

We're soon going to be off to Belladrum. For those who don't know this is a lovely little festival just outside Inveness. It has a good line up of acts (no one too big you understand) and lots of up and coming talent. The cider is tasty and cold and the people are friendly. We had a superb time last year.Being in Inverness means I need to do a lot of preparation. There have been a few things to

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-13485713669154031002009-07-19T22:22:00.015+01:002009-07-21T23:26:04.550+01:00

This weekend the kids and I went away to North Berwick, it didn't start in a promising way. The forecast was for lots of rain - and we got lots of rain. While we were dealing with that on friday night, Megan trapped her finger in the back door and made a right old mess. We took a trip to the local cottage hospital * and she ended up with a huge bandage. By the time we got back the awning had

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-59130168835945557302009-07-10T23:01:00.004+01:002009-07-11T20:47:01.229+01:00

I like having 2 cars on the road - it's great! I get to have fun and pick the appropriate vehicle for whatever I feel like doing. The Commer is great for shifting big stuff, taking the kids to places they have to be and cruising around in the rain (oh, and camping too...), Molly is great for everything else (including searching West Lothian for classic cars).The problem - of course you guessed

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-4634878065138236452009-06-25T21:58:00.005+01:002009-08-29T11:07:57.484+01:00

As you may know, the fleet scored a full set of MOTs at the weekend. Jessica (the Commer) was immediately pressed in to service at the Bo'ness Steam Railway. Given the choice I would have taken Molly - this isn't littlewhitevan.co.uk you know...However being off the road for around 4 years, I really wanted to build up some confidence first (and of course the bikes might have been a problem). So

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-10318033604450907202009-06-21T17:36:00.005+01:002009-06-21T18:04:34.212+01:00

To celebrate the raft of MOTs we scored yesterday, we decided to go to the Bo'ness railway where they were having a Mixed Traffic Gala. We had an open invitation from bmc_ecosse on the Morris Minor forum, so as it is Father's day and I can do what I want - steam trains and classic cars were the order of the day!So the only thing to decide was which classic car to take (some dilemas are a good

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-49441188393323820822009-06-20T15:06:00.002+01:002009-06-20T15:09:22.625+01:00

Two passes! I'm absolutely astounded! Jessica has a clean sheet and Molly got a couple of advisories (weak brakes and cracked anti roll bar bushes).Time for some fun in the sun I think!

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-60029087278251705672009-06-20T11:30:00.003+01:002009-06-20T11:36:59.271+01:00

Waiting ....The girls have gone for their MOTs today and I'm a bag of nerves. I've done a much as I can (I think). I had a last minute panic over Molly's indicator display light (the glowing green end of the indicator stalk). Sorted....As I was leaving the MOT guy came to take Molly in. I showed him where to put the key, and to pull the starter knob. I hope he finds the dip switch, and works out

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-45402419805612719442009-06-19T23:33:00.004+01:002009-06-20T00:09:09.812+01:00

Molly and Jessica are having their MOTs tomorrow. This week has been a blur of Ministry prep at little yellow towers. I'm not looking for a pair of passes or anything crazy like that, but I'm not up for any big surprises.Jessica has had a good going over, the screen wash has been topped up, the brake lights have been looked at (and tweeked). All in all she's not looking too bad (please ignore the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-42164088792667919972009-06-14T18:02:00.008+01:002009-06-15T08:46:01.034+01:00

All three of them...Megan got her way and we spend a lovely few hours riding our bikes in the Almond vale country park on the banks of the river Almond in and around Livingston. We were expecting rain, but as I had failed to organise the bike ride yesterday - it had to be today. We were very pleasantly surprised and the rain held off.On our return I was inspired to wash the cars as a) they were

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-63208976922330494542009-06-13T19:57:00.011+01:002009-06-15T08:48:39.988+01:00

Another sunny Lothian weekend started with thick black clouds on the horizon, which put of any ideas of a long cycle ride on hold. So it was an opportunity for a spot of pottering (I like to potter you know). After a little gardening I took a sneaky peak at Molly to find this...No not brake fluid - oil. Bum. So it was time to fit a new seal. Now, after many years of Morris minoring I have come to

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-14484725902476224162009-06-11T23:02:00.007+01:002009-06-13T22:31:40.473+01:00

... parts. I order the brake parts I needed for Molly late on Tuesday night, and they arrived today! Now that is service. East Sussex Minors (and their superb website) saved the day. Whenever I talk to people about old cars, they usually say something about "can you get the parts?" well this just goes to show you can - and quickly too.Sometimes parts just look too shiny and nice to fit! I also

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-13394648484412718842009-06-09T23:14:00.004+01:002009-06-13T22:32:05.579+01:00

So today I was geared up to bleed the brakes. I went off to Halfords to get the bleeder, had everything layed out ready to go. Last thing was to run round and loosen off each of the bleed nipples to make sure they were free.You can guess what is coming next can't you. Yup, the bleed nipple snapped off. Bum.So its a quick trip to the East Sussex Minors website for the required parts - and a bunch

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-78300469479596735842009-06-09T09:18:00.002+01:002009-06-09T09:22:37.874+01:00

a bit more progresssill trimstighten up the wing boltsfinish the seatbeltsa bit of a cleanup underneath and some undersealfit the towbarbleed the brakes (and sort the rear nearside corner)I got ready to bleed the brakes last night, but the EZ Bleed I have doesn't have an attachment for Mollys remote fluid reservoir, and I'm not going to bother with that manual bleeding, so it'll be off to

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-87803944642622465872009-06-07T23:19:00.003+01:002009-06-07T23:32:25.140+01:00

Good progress here today. Jessica got some attention today and the engine got started! Yay! The exhaust/manifold combo seems to be gas tight, so after a little more fiddling we could be looking at a go at an MOT.Molly got some attention too. All four wheels were put up in the air and the seatbelt bolts were tightened up. I also popped on the sill trims (but they're going to need some more

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-68454507369084198252009-06-04T22:46:00.006+01:002009-06-05T09:24:59.968+01:00

Everyone has a happy place. A place (you may have more than one) where you feel at one with the world. I have one, its here...Yes its under Molly. Its a little bit dark, quite cool and remarkably clean. I popped under there tonight to tighten up the shock absorber bolts.Unfortunately there was a bit of a nasty surprise...Yeah a little pool under the wheel and a soggy tyre - that's there is brake

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-39447022466285431342009-05-31T22:18:00.003+01:002009-05-31T22:40:24.964+01:00

I know its been a little quiet recently, but I have been busy - honest! In non-car related news, Megan can now ride her bike without stabalisers! It took quite a few hours of cajoleing but she has now got it and we went for a lovely bike ride today along the local cycle paths.In car news, Molly has had some attention (the screen seal is still annoying me though!) and Jessica (as usual) has been

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-40388445578723320712009-05-04T22:46:00.007+01:002009-05-05T22:43:32.758+01:00

I managed to get a few cheeky hours in on the van yesterday. The ongoing challenges which are between her and the MOT are:front step and drivers side doorthe inlet manifoldsome rust at the rear cornerother things I'm sure I've not found yetI've made a lot of progress on the first two. The door has been whittled to a rough shape and squirted with filler and a spodge of paint - and I can honestly

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-21968397379595933542009-05-04T16:42:00.011+01:002009-05-05T13:02:48.732+01:00

British bank holidays are superb. They are an institution. As a nation we feel the need to toddle off round the country and do stuff....Now we at littleyellow towers like to join in and keep this going. This weekend we went off to North Berwick for a random holiday.Friday night was a quiet affair with the now traditional friday night fish and chips for tea - rather good.On the Saturday morning

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-88791193320133725242009-04-24T23:48:00.002+01:002009-04-24T23:57:49.266+01:00

repair work on the door has moved along nicely - still plenty to do though.. In other news, I won a bench drill on ebay at a good price. Can anyone spot the slight problem?Yes - its massive! Infact its so big, I can't fit it on the bench. It would hit the roof! Saying that there are worse things that could happen though. I am just going to have to get a bigger workshop now! In other news,

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-524099279038627562009-04-20T21:50:00.003+01:002009-04-20T21:59:29.880+01:00

so the chop chop weld weld fest begins...holes everywhere! the left side - what it should look like...yuck! Gotta get the doors done too. This is what they'll look like when they're done...

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-37643066781767359402009-04-13T21:40:00.006+01:002009-04-14T08:07:32.921+01:00

After the big Commer weekend, tonight it was time to work out what to do next. Well Jessica won the Commer Van Fan distance award (again!) and narrowly missed out on the Shed award (due to there being no trophy!) so I have been inspired (again!) to do some prettificaiton.Before that though there is the little matter of the MOT. There were a few advisories last year which didn't get any attention

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-73096933265741804122009-04-13T20:53:00.008+01:002010-04-16T13:19:24.262+01:00

Bin a little quiet recently I know - sorry. We've been rather busy at work and I've been bussily preparing Jessica for the big Commer Van Fan Midlands meet. Which was last weekend so here are some pics!We took off on Thursday night and stopped off at Carlisle, it gave us a chance to shake down the van and take it easy on the long long drive.seasoned campersmidnight feastWe got to Yoxall in plenty

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-70356970416662249102009-03-29T19:22:00.005+01:002009-03-30T08:27:36.207+01:00

Time is ticking away and there is lots to be done... What am I banging on about? Well easter weekend is the Commer Van Fan meet in the midlands and Jessica is not ready yet.There are a few things outstanding which - today - would mean that we can't go. These are,the exhaust down pipe, the clutch slave cylinder and the starting problem.Now all these things are under control (if not addressed). A

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-18991309502598294302009-03-24T22:45:00.005Z2009-03-25T07:45:21.527Z

Today my Dad played a blinder. You see my brother is taking on a lot of the running of the family bussiness these days, giving Dad the freedom to take time off when he likes. And today was one of those days. On a whim (and because my eBay junk was cluttering up his storage area) he drove up to Scotland and delivered our new/old trailer. The wiring even works (now I have finally finished the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-522138297354156802009-03-21T21:54:00.009Z2009-03-25T07:46:49.288Z

Well after a few false starts, it looks as though spring is here - seems a bit early, but I ain't complain'. I can tell its spring, ok there's sunshine, and animals and plants, but on big give away is the public displays of alcohol consumption across the Lothains. The beer gardens are full, the off licences are doing a roaring trade and there is at least one sunburnt gentleman with a can of

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-15868307883468586662009-03-15T16:36:00.002Z2009-03-15T16:51:22.267Z

After a rather hectic week last week, things are calming down a little. I have managed to get a few things under control in the dayjob - now I can get on with the stuff I was supposed to be doing. I managed to fail my motorbike theory test - 100% in the questions, but I messed up the hazard perception. I appear to spot non-existent hazards, thereby rendering the answers to some of my questions

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-18755370145260254672009-03-10T21:48:00.003Z2009-03-10T22:03:40.376Z

I'm a little stressed at the moment. Lots of things on you see. First there is work, jolly busy as usual (thats fine, I like it busy), then there's the motorbike test, scary - theory test tomorrow! and finally (but not finally if you know what I mean) I need (want) to get the van back on the road and properly shaken down so we can take her to the Commer Van Fan spring meet. Its all the way down

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-64441845021922234822009-03-09T23:11:00.005Z2009-03-10T08:39:54.329Z

Now we've been here before. Put the gearbox together a while ago now and I thought I had done a decent job. So much so that I stuck the thing in the van. A test drive last week showed that wasn't the case. So now, its a debugging process. Trying to work out what is wrong without re-installing the gearbox. This is very much in line with my dayjob - fixing and updating software.Anyway here are the

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-7127162651932850822009-03-04T23:14:00.002Z2009-03-04T23:18:07.428Z

... the story so far...I have this tatty old van.its quite goodI bust the gearboxI built a new gearbox - with an overdrive on the endI fitted itI tested itand it won't stay in 3rd or 4th gear.but the overdrive worksgot it?So (like a yo yo) its back up in the air again... in the snow...

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-60617462185511689742009-02-27T22:10:00.002Z2009-02-27T22:20:14.141Z

.. classic car parts.PoundStretcher has come up with the goods and the big pile of Hillman hunter parts, Commer gearbox part, Morris minor parts and "stuff" has magically reordered itself into a super duper department store of Classic car parts. Its like Are You Being Served all over again. Bye bye Wendy.Oh and the wine is ready - apparently a £4o kit has produced a £2.99 bottle of Argentine

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-80113979390103174352009-02-27T21:23:00.003Z2009-02-27T22:10:47.992Z

If you know-know-know me, you'll know that Big Monkey Man is a fave tune of mine. It turns out that the Mrs had to play it on repeat all the way home for the kids today - top taste seems to be hereditary!This (and a few cider and blacks) have managed to lift my mood after the van popped out of gear on the test drive. Yeah - months of rebuild and it pops out of gear. On the up side, the overdrive

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426236.post-33241494236801263312009-02-24T22:59:00.003Z2009-02-24T23:09:21.469Z

...are on the ground!I was going to put them down last night, but I realised that every time I got into the van I had been moving something out of the way. It was a tin of underseal. I had left it there to remind me that I needed to stick a coat on while the wheels were up. So last night I went round all the accessible bits and painted them with hammerite. Of course you can't see the underside of

Ruperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713037601835046341noreply@blogger.com1