alastairq

Proper meaty jobs, those old Yankee pickups.....I like 'em, even if the fuel consumption is a tad scary? At least they don't snap in half, and are robust enough even for my style of driving..

Wire wheels, and narrow tyres point to the car being built on an Austin Seven chassis...[Track looks narrower than that of a Ford [front] axle, too.]

Rivarossi used to make a B&O Dockside switcher....and used the same mech for a tender version[with a slope back tender]. They had full valve gear, so may be worth keeping an eye out for? Their motors were huge, and could threaten the integrity of the National Grid when pulling a long train. But.....if non-working, could be a good source of parts for a Varney? [As well as having a nice plastic bodyshell]

I have something almost identical sitting in my back garden.... An Ashley 1172....a bodyshell, with a flip front[like a Spitfire]......and a centre section with boot. Mine is cut in half, as a previous owner wanted to fit it to a Mazda bottom half....I have Pop chassis [with V5c] that I intended to go under it, but old age has crept up on my brain....so nowadays I struggle a bit.

Most probably Austin Seven. Body shell likely a Microplas...

Off topic a bit [I don't use the other thread]...but I seem to think the Pug 106 had a slightly heavier bodyshell than the Pug 205? I may be wrong in that, but the topic did come about back in the day [still this century, however]....when my eldest son dropped his dead 205 GTi in my garden for storage....

I had a Metro once....Or rather, my last Ex-missus had it [I bought it, she drove it] It had a rust patch and hole.....in the middle of the bonnet! I briefly had a Peugeot 106 which I quite liked. Seemed to be a stouter car altogether than the 205? Yonks before, in a previous marriage, my Ex#2 bought herself a 309 GTi lookalike. That went well enough..when it went! I managed to graduate her onto an Alfa 33 green cloverleaf soon afterwards [Pug became a write-off, so Alfa purchased courtesy of someone else's insurance...as was my wont through life...getting someone else's insurance to fund my/our next 'new' cars... ] That Alfa had its flaws, but went like stink, especially after we had the carbs rejetted [all 4 chokes]... That lead Ex#2 to have a passion for Alfas from there on in.....I think she still has one, even though she is now retired and in her 60's. At the time my personal motor was a Renault 4...followed by a VW type 2. How odd? My Pug 106 was a Rallye version....with the non-standard gearbox...Rather a frantic thing to drive..couldn't help but drive like a rally driver in it. Purchased off me by an ardent enthusiast, since something went wrong with the drive shafts. Also, I never did get the speedo to work...

I think it's all down to the freely available media for the past 30 or more years...where old car enthusiasts suddenly turned themselves into 'classic car' buffs...and 'values' overtook the technical interests, as a priority? No longer do we get asked ''wotllitdo, mistah?'' Now it's ''wotsitworth, mistah?'' Yes, greater percentages of ethanol in fuel can lead to issues with stuff like hoses and certain gasket materials...Not to mention issues regarding when there is an ingress of water into the fuel tank [water attracts ethanol...[alcohol]...which can then settle on the bottom of a tank in blobs of very acidic watter]...just be very careful if filling up in the pouring rain, tis all... The issues with hoses, etc and ethanol makes me wonder whether we have a 'chicken-&-egg' situation here? Have we ,in fact, actually seen a 'change' in the quality[cheapness?} of the stuff hoses and certain gaskets were made of, in more recent times? Which has led us t having issues when the percentage of ethanol was [very slightly] increased, in fuel? {Bear in mind, E10 means there might be a maximum of 10% ethanol in the fuel.....Reports suggest the actual percentages of ethanol may be lower, depending on time of day, month of year, or the whims of the fella doing the mixing at the refinery? However, has anyone really looked into what other stuff has been introduced in our so-called 'petrol?' The fact that, in petrol [fuel] these days, the head-end components have a much lower temperature of evaporation than the fuel of the 1960's....which has also led to higher exhaust temperatures in older types of engine design... Which leads us to issues in old bangers [classic cars?] of things like, hot starting issues, etc... Apparently our modern day motorcars need the modern day fuel mixes in order to perform miracles? Remember , also, the hoo-haa surrounding the introduction of unleaded fuel? The sudden rise in the trade offering to convert cylinder heads to 'unleaded?' For vast sums...which the newly found classic car owners were all to happy [and well-off enough?} to rush out and trumpet that they've had their cars 'converted?' I seem to recall a premium being added to an old banger's value if its head was 'converted'..... Yet, the bug bear [valve seat recession] only really raised its ugly head if the old banger was flogged up & down motorways day in & day out, at 80 mph all day long. [I wonder how many had poor valve seats to begin with, before the 'conversion?' Then the conversion would provide that miracle of improved performance, would it not?} Folks still bung lead pellets in their fuel tanks, in the mistaken belief that they're solving the issue.... Methinks there still is an element of ''witch-doctory'' concerning the ''classic car'' industry??? I've purchased a manual tyre changer...50 quids worth....so I don't have to rely too much on the 'trade'....It is currently bolted to a decent CHP pallet....But its outside, and due to rain and pain [I'm old,so I've been told]....I haven't yet tried it out... I also got a plastic 'duck's bill' to modify the cheapo chinese tyre changer with... Cheapo tools are fine [often improvable]....for me as a casual amateur banger-fixer-upper.....Wouldn't do so well if I started doing jobs for all & sundry, however......but for me they give an element of independence to do my own thing, in my own time. In my area of the country, current lead time for local fixer-uppers of cars[motorcars, or otherwise]....is more than three weeks...Local Farcebuuk pages full of requests for fixer-uppers who can take on jobs almost immediately... If I had purchased they tyre changer 5 years ago, it would have paid for itself twice over subsequently.... [What value do we place on two packets of Custard Creams?}

Hi folks..I have just viewed the most recent video on the channel of Ian Peter Strange, concerning his rebuild of his AC 2 litre saloon.[Which I follow avidly]... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfU_NHFjnkI At the end he includes some 'extras', displaying the dairies his Father kept regarding things motoring, from, I believe, in this case, 1962? His Father noted stuff like fuel costs, repairs, etc...and noted his use of Cleveland Discol fuel. Cleveland Discol fuel contained ethanol [nothing new on this world!], and, as I recall, did no harm at all..indeed, performance of what i used to drive may have been improved? Anyhow, the point I note is that, the actual percentage ethanol content of Cleveland Discol isn't currently 'known'.....but Ian's Father noted that Cleveland Discol contained 15% ethanol! [As well as being, in the early 1960's, lead-free!!].. So the above might place a more positive view of information missing in time? Also, being lead-free at the time, puts into perspective the modern day issues amongst old banger car owners over today's fuel, with its mere 10% [or less] ethanol content, and leadless to boot. Perhaps our issues today, in truth, concerns the other additives in fuel, designed to make our moderns drive more efficiently, instead?

In 1964, surely that would be, the creation of a deliberate oil leak? When did Ziebart actually arrive???

A reality check?

I am a renter..... The old cat flap in the back door was broken, and would only open outwards, not inwards. Next door's moggz were welcome to come inside if the door was open..I wasn't concerned about the door, as they could always get out again [if the weather suggested sucha move...or it was tea time next door?] A Couple of years ago, the folks next door got some more cats from Cats Protection....they could live outside [all were usually ex-feral]...if they wanted, as they always had access to next door's garage [hence, garage cats?] I found that two of the latest arrivals had obviously decided they would prefer to live at mine, thank yo very much. So they started knocking on the door...coming in with a 'ta' [they probably were feral kittens originally..they were under 1 year or so old at the time]...when I opened the door. They could exit when it pleased them, so there was no 'trapping' going on. They obviously [to me] had taken up residence, being very 'affectionate' towards myself , and visiting family. Last year I fitted a new, working cat flap, of a similar sort to the original [the hole would be the right size....not!!]....We 'lost' the B&W tom to the 'main' road, some 400 meters away across the field behind us...but have since acquired another oddball tom..obviously youngish, said to be a can short of a six-pack according to next door...whose acquisition he actually was..but who decided to live with me......As has his chum, an old, black {?} long haired bundle of fluff, built like a breeze block...but very much not into confrontations. There are times when the cat flap is going like the Dorchester's revolving door! As my 'resdent' not-mi-cats, and next door's permanent indoor/outdoor cats, come & go as they please. I can tell who has come in, without looking, by the way the cat flap is operated. My resident mouse-hunting, SAM system female tabby [with white socks] arrives with a crash and a bang... Her colleague [the new lad, slightly a sandwich short of a picnic....] arrives with a lot more care, but positivity....Vinnie the long haired auld lad comes in very carefully, making the cat flap squeak gently..Next door's cats arrive with slightly more aplomb than Vinnie....but more care than Bloo, the weird lad.....[He sometimes behaves like a whirling dervish!] The slower one's can manage to jam the cat flap open, so careful are they..which is a nuisance as it suddenly gets draughty through the house. My daughter's new house [literally] has an all glass back door...she spent nearly a grand getting a cat flap inserted by a specialist for her two B&W oddbodz... Oddly, the family have noted how, when they visit mine [at least one or more times a week] that they are always greeted by Tiggy the tabby, Bloo the oddball, but really very 'sweet'....and probably at least two of next door's cats as well...The place always seems to be crowded... yet when they visit my daughter, it is rare to find either of her two lads at home...never mind those from their neighbours. Vinnie spends his 'day' curled up on top of a 4 by 4 pole that supports a lattice arch round the back...dunno why, maybe it's a 'high ground' thing? He comes in doors for the night, around 8 pm, and has taken to sleeping in front of the telly....which is a nuisance , when the remote ceases to work. He also leave an awful lot of long fur around the place....Still very wary of hoomins, however.

Interesting viewpoints

One of my not-mi-cats has a habit of being forgetful...leaving a good three inches of tail draped in the washing up water..... One can always tell where one's sharing cats have also been...by sniffing the fur for perfume?

Indeed, folk forget this when they use excessive speed around roundabouts. They forget that they, too, have a duty in Law.....to exercise proper care and consideration for other road users....Which means, even when on a roundabout, one has to consider that, if another entry point is not visible to you, there may be a slower moving vehicle [large, or not]...that has set off, when their view to the right shows a clear path...which may make one a 'following' vehicle, rather than a ''crossing'' vehicle...when one hoves into view? I find that the horns usually sound, not because anyone is in any danger of hitting anyone else...but when someone has invaded what may be deemed as, someone else's visual air space. [Getouttamyway''syndrome..?] How dare anybody appear in my vision.... Once actually 'on' that roundabout, it really doesn't matter if one isn't capable of high speed acceleration. They're all following vehicles, so can chunter all they like. As far as I'm concerned...