Gone to a good home

This evening Dez (in the cap, above) fitted his A-frame to Lily using chains from my hoist and, with his mate Damian taking up the rear, towed her away. He has definitely been earning her with the work he has done on my leafsprings, axles and brakes.

He is back after the Bank Holiday to finish off the rear wheels and take away my fuel tank for renovation, along with various spares for Lily, which I hasten to add is not my J Type but a Ford Prefect.

It was sad to see Lily go but she is going to be looked after far better by Dez and I have had my money's worth out of her.




Also, the neighbour whose garage I rent (see pics) is taking my Lamb Chop (just visible in some of the shots) off my hands for the cost of 60 weeks' rent, so there is progress there too.



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Quid pro quo for Uxor

I am selling Lily and the chap buying her, Dez Stringer (a mechanic and restorer of predominantly American classics and rods), is exchanging expertise and a few days' hands-on effort (plus a Schwinn cycle and the renovation of my J Type fuel tank) for her.

It is a great deal......mainly because I haven't done anything on this project for well over a year -mostly because I spent a year getting my flying licence, but also because of a loss of confidence. The amazing thing is that Dez can accomplish in an afternoon what it might take me weeks of research, planning and worry to get done; months, if you include prevarication.

Moving the parts needed to Paul's (neighbour's) garage cleared space for me to work on the cab in my own workshop, which had become cluttered. It is so nice to have a clear space to work in. I assembled all the sourced parts (finding them took months of research) and Dez pronounced confidence that we had everything needed to assemble a rolling chassis (wheels, brakes, springs etc).

Yesterday Dez fitted my leaf springs and mounted the front and back axles, treated the back plates for rust (which I primed and painted last night) and took away a few other bits to clean up in his workshop. Today he is going to assemble the brakes. He has even promised to sort out some of my less penetrative welding and given me advice on where to get dampers, which he said are the same as those on VW Beetles.

Fantastic progress at last.



(must remember to use proper digi-cam instead of phone)

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Progress?

Having provided a link to this site from facebook, I am so very conscious of not having done anything on the 101 for months and months. The email address is still current if people want to get in touch, and as soon as I have my flying licence, which ought to be in a the next month, if weather holds, I will get back down to the workshop and make progress.

One job which is lined up and for which all parts are ready, thanks to my mate John's machining skills, is the hanging of the new leaf-springs with hang-bolts which he has made beautifully.

Where's Tinworm?

For anyone who doesn't know and is wondering why there has been no progress on the 101, I have been learning to fly at Sywell, staying up there and variously camping on the airfield or sleeping in the hangar.

Sorry if you haven't received responses to email. tinworm@hotmail.co.uk is the best way to keep in touch but I don't get online as often as usual.

see my flying blog: http://tinworm-wings.blogspot.com/

Normal service will be resumed in September.

Dash it!

Finally, after a month of inactivity on the van and having handed the Magpie blog over to Magpie himself, I got down to the workshop yesterday and removed all the instruments from the dash. I struggled with one pull-push switch, which just would not come out. I got it off today, by brute force, unfortunately; there was really no alternative. I had first established from the manual that it was not an original fitting.

Today I cleaned up the dash, removed sticky binding from the stearing wheel and red-oxided the metalwork on the outside and hammerited the internal surfaces.

I am going to do it in a black crinkle finish, as Truman did so beautifully. I don't know if that is done over red oxide. I just took a gamble.

Wythall - 60th Anniversary of the J Type

I came home from Wythall last night buzzing with ideas. The highlight of the day had been seeing Dennis Bradley's inspiring JB tipper truck, sweetly finished in red and grey. It is an absolutely superb bit of work. I took loads of pictures (incl. detail shots) and a few short films....though, idiotically, I hadn't realised that I was taking the latter side-on, as I took them on my new phone! Dur!

Another highlight was meeting Bjorn and Mona Stensson, who had brought their JB Planner van from Sweden to the show. Bjorn's modifications are not quite my thing, but he has done them all elegantly, turning his van into a camper with insulation and an efficient Volvo heating system running off the Morris Oxford 1622cc engine. He is a clever chap. The ceiling of his van was even timbered!

Harvey Pitcher's van was beautifully finished with the livery of his wife's balloon company, Huff Puff and Away - clever name! A nice touch was helium filled balloons bobbing in the cab.

The only 101, that I am aware of, was Peter Page's fine looking, crested van. Peter, charming and bow-tied, told me about his trip to St Petersburg at a speed never higher than 40mph!

Here we see my mate John standing in front of Iain McKenzie's Meccano van. It was good to see it again. I first saw it at his workshop when I went to spend those few days with him, picking up some tricks of the trade and helping him make me some parts. This is one of my favourite J Types and I do hope that if he ever gets the chance to spend some time on her, he does it sympathetically because the tired look suits her. I appreciate that it isn't an original livery, but this is one where concours finish would ruin her authenticity.

Actually, I did think that about a number of vans there. Sadly, too many vans are used as business advertising and are therefore done in brand-spankingly new liveries and the slickness just feels wrong. People forget, these were working commercials. So, it was nice to see some of the less flashy vans, brush painted - the more human touch.

And speaking of the human touch, it was great to finally meet people who either got in touch via this blog or who introduced themselves as readers. I was pleased to meet Ken and Jill White and their grown-up kids. The Whites are new to J Types and restoring a planner van. (Incidentally, Ken, did you notice Bjorn's wings? I think they are fibreglass.) Steve and partner Teresa were taking research photos when I bumped into them....they were obviously doing serious under-the-floorboards research, so we quickly realised who we were and introduced ourselves Also I met Alex, whose JB is currently based at Iain McKenzie's, where it is about to go under the knife. Alex was anxious about her condition, but actually his JB has loads of potential, even though its rear cross member collapsed when it was being transported and had to be quickly shored up with a sheet of chipboard as a cross-sectional stiffener. Alex is an interesting chap. He drives freight trains, which seems to be a lucrative business - it is one I considered giving up teaching for last year. We will have to talk more about that, Alex!

On the subject of the humanely done van, it was sad not to see Magpie at the show, though of course I knew in advance that he wouldn't be there. A show doesn't feel complete without OBL. Also, I had hoped that Truman would be there; we had talked of it some time ago. Truman disappeared off the scope a few months ago and I am frankly a bit worried, him being in the Fire Brigade. I have just written by snailmail to see if I can raise him.

A real highlight was the official photographer throwing his toys out of his pram about me going up a bus maintenance gantry to take some photos, while the organisers were setting up an aerial shot of the show. In a squealy voice which belied his gruff, beardy appearance he yelled, "Hey, has anyone told him that only I am allowed up that gantry!" Woooooooooooo! LOL Silly man.

Though I know I wasn't exhibiting, I was a bit disappointed not to be invited to join in any of the photos, when all J Typers gathered under the gantry in front of the vans, but Mrs Pitcher stopped me to take my photo at one point, saying she was running a competition for best T-shirt at the show and would be doing a feature. Beth will be pleased!

Under the clock, carrying a rolled up copy of The Times, wearing a carnation

For those who don't know me but who have said they'll meet me on Sunday, I'll be wearing the bright green shirt my sister had made for me for Christmas this year.......with a J Type on the front. I may even have a yellow satchel type bag with a van on it (stuffed with camera, sandwiches and a notebook). Come and say hi.

Really looking forward to meeting everyone.