Monday, April 17, 2006

Some progress at last

Well time to report some good news at long last.
The restoration has moved forward somewhat thanks largely to an early morning leap out of bed. The kids were up early ( 7 ish) on my first days hol (Good Fri)
so I made a hearty breakfast for us all and set off down to the bottom of the garden by clearing out the shed and unearthing around the shed of old dead leaves and unknown things.
I really hate clearing up the leaves as there's always lots of worms and slimy creatures scuttling away to darkness. The 10 kg bag of chicken manure pellets didn't
help either. It had a plastic bag over it and a half housebrick.
I know why now.
At some point the lid had broken and since it was to be left outside a bag placed over it, however water had got in.
Got in big time, and it was supporting a whole new life culture of maggots, worms and other things.......All swimming in 10 kg worth of the smelliest liquid Sh*t ever. ( very good for the garden though.....but not mine, sorry ours)
I had to get the wife to move it further away from the shed area so I could carry on working. Smells are not my strong point ! Sorry don't do foul smells.
So, all non relevant things banished to on side destined for the dump-it site
and the rest, well..................How the hell is it all going to fit back in the shed ?
It was like Dr Who's tardis. Could this stuff really all come from Inside the shed ?
More ruthless discarding and several re-arranges of inside and there it was.
Loads 'o' rooooom.
Still a strong smell of Sh*t though.
Then another Idea. Wrap the tub in a strong black refuse sack and tie up tight.
thereby stopping said foul smell ruining garden and scenic tranquil atmosphere.
Smell all gone ( tub will be magically inserted into wheelie bin next bin day)
A more than slight improvement actually that would allow at least 3 or 4 boxes and trim bits into the shed.
Yipeee !!! Action stations restoration.
removed Right wing in less than 15 minutes ( It took nearly four weeks for the Left)
Admittedly most of the work had been done in a fit of frustration at the spinning nuts of the left wing.
Removed fuel tank after wrestling with only one rounded nut which I had to drill out.
This was a bit scary as it was the nut nearest the fuel filler hose inside the boot.
Today up early and drained oil ( wifey did not see this, good job a some has been deposited on drive) the old cat litter tray came in useful for once.
Emptied water....sorry coolant system. Removed radiator and hoses.
Removed oil cooler and some pipes.
Only bad news is that I broke the top hose connection on the oil cooler matrix.
Too much brute force and a cheap aluminium housing.
I think I can grind, weld and hammer to my hearts content now !!!!!
............If only I knew what I was doing...................

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Who turned off the light at the end of the tunnel ?

The title just reflects my frustrated mood of late.
After attempting six time in two days to set up the tile cutter to cut six tiles I finally abandoned the effort to the weekend.
I did feel much better for it though.
The present tile cutter is new and works like a dream. Well it just works like any tile cutter should do. They fit perfectly. Next job is to lift all loose tiles
( approx 50% of them) and stick back down. It looks like I'll have to have a day off work to complete this or do it one evening to stop little feet walking on them till their fully stuck.
How I came to get to this stage is like a de ja vue dream. Similar to the cheap tools I bought earlier on in the year.
The present tile cuter is on its last legs. Its not mine, its my mates which I've had on permanent loan for about seven months. Brother in Law borrowed it for his tiled floor and I'm afraid it just wore out. perhaps the 15mm thick tiles he was cutting had something to do with it ?
Anyway,I decided to buy another one. Did the usual trawl of B&Q, Do-it all, Wickes etc. Decided on a "cheaper" model from B&Q: £ 29.99 and made of "stainless steel with 150mm cutting disc"
Gawd ......what a mistake.
When assembling on kitchen worktop ( yes it was raining outside) the "stainless steel" tops rectangular hole where the blade pokes through was mis-aligned.
Mis-aligned is a kind phrase. The only way the blade didn't touch the "stainless steel" top was when it was tilted at 45 degrees using the unique selling feature of " even cuts tiles on the angle". It a moment of testing I accidentally started the motor, only to see sparks fly, Howling graunching noise and a team of people rush into kitchen to expecting to see six tons of girders there with me underneath.
Crap............
I got out the trusty angle grinder to try and modify/remove the offending mis-placed hole. Reassembled and.........Crap.
Took the thing back to B&Q and got a full refund. I don't know where it was made but i suspect made in C**** was somewhere cunningly hidden.
Exactly one week later I visited B&Q and there I spied a Plas****s tile cutter for the same price. Admittedly a little smaller. I bought it and its wonderful. It did the job, easily with no fuss. I got frostbite from cutting tiles outside in the howling wind with wet hands, but hey.......the job done, almost.
My next rant is how ironic life is.
A while ago i posted on the internet somewhere, may have been this blog, the probs with the spinning captive nuts inside the wings where they were inaccessible.
I received last week a very kind and lengthy reply on how to resolve this issue.
In fact i had already resolved it, but nevertheless, the tips were excellent but not applicable in my case as the cages were inaccessible.
I still have faith in good ole E-bay. I was watching a bodyshell hoping it might go cheap. Did not win but decided to contact the winner.
A fellow MG restorer and by the sounds of it a willing and understanding bloke.
The shell is about to go to the scrapper as he has all the parts he needs from it.
Bless him, he offered to cut off the parts i need ( LH rear top wing, gutter section ect) I,m sure he will come through. Especially if he reads these pages.
I'm going for the sympathy vote.
All I've done MG wise is re-tie the poly sheet countless times after wifey bought some clothes line especially for me. To replace the 60 meters of telephone cable the Sky installer insisted on leaving I've been using.
The Easter weekend signals some positive action though...if....big if... the weathers good I'll tidy shed, dispose of lots of crap and organise the removed items from the MG.......hopefully, and after the tiling is complete.