Johnny

Footage (starting at about 13 1/2 minutes in) from yesterdays local news of the Weston Recovery Services Pioneer winching a car out of Weston beach. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04ls6n6/bbc-points-west-30102014

I've had some success with heat, and lots of it! Aluminium oxide is very hard (used in abrasive paper/ sandblasting, etc) but it's also brittle. Breaking it's bond is the key. For a steel bolt in aluminium, the bolt needs to be heated - ideally to red hot, then allowed to cool. This expands the steel which crushes the crystalline aluminium oxide causing the bond to break. Several repetitions of heat cycles may be required. Oxy/Acetylene is the best thing to use as it's so intense, and the heat can be localised, but care should be taken not to melt the aluminium! Obviously heat can't be used in all situations, like if the part is still fitted! Spark erosion / Electrical Discharge Machining is the correct professional way to remove corroded bits from alloy, but it can be expensive, unless you can find a friendly engineer who will do small jobs for a couple of beers!

1: any alternative suggestions to rejuvenate the battery. Optimate type battery conditioners are the best way to try to recover batteries. They do charge, drain and recharge cycles, testing along the way. They can't work miracles though, and not all of them are suitable for 6V batteries. 2: has anyone removed the guts and used the case for a modern battery.... Yes. I did this with an old Vespa battery. Flushed it out, then removed the guts and fitted a modern 6V Gel battery inside (possibly from an alarm or something similar). As the space was limited, I could only fit a slightly lower Ah one inside, but as it was only used for parking lights and the horn it wasn't a problem. Might not work if a bike has electric start and needs full power though. 3 or time for a new battery ...any recommendations for an authentic looking battery.. Quite a few places do nice repros of the old rubber batteries now (but they aren't cheap), or modern alternatives. Have you got the battery code or part number? I'd suggest going for Gel (if available), they seem to be a bit more rugged and longer lasting than most modern batteries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-26955238

Doh!! I misunderstood! :blush: I thought you meant the diameter of the bars. I'll go back to sleep!

Any clues on which make of bike? There are several variations, and most bikes use slightly different sizes for the throttle and clutch sides. The common combinations for old British bikes seem to be 7/8" and 1" for throttle, or 1" and 1 & 1/8" for throttle. The basic bar thicknesses are usually 1" or 7/8" though.

Apologies if it's a silly question, but is trying to get the broken jet out an option? I'm not familiar with these carbs so don't know how difficult it would be, or even if it's possible!

Crosley? I Googled Humber Hexonaught and it came up with a picture of this! http://crosleyautoclub.com/War_Years.html

They've changed the page, and reduced the price! http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=bacon%20grill

It's still available, and a guilty pleasure of mine!! http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=bacon+grill&sc_cmp=tescohp_sws-1_bacon+grill

According to their website, JB Weld is good for 260 Celcius /500 Fahrenheit. http://jbweld.net/faq.php A quick google search brought up these links to bore repairs using it. These seem to be mostly tractors, steam and stationary engines, but possibly not too dissimilar to yours!! :-X http://www.steamengine.com.au/index.php/ic/faq/166-fixing-cylinder-bore-pits-with-jb-weld http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=80087 http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39486 As your damage looks to be quite a way down the bore, and it's water cooled then heat may not be too much of an issue. Is it below the travel of the rings? That may be a factor.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-1930S-LIVING-VAN-SHEPHERDS-HUT-GYPSY-WAGON-CARAVAN-VARDO-ROLLER-VAN-/260996759653?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item3cc49e8065

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid 70 years ago today. Unbelievable audacity and bravery. The fact that 5 VCs and 84 other decorations were awarded to the raiding party shows the level of bravery displayed. Jeremy Clarkson presented a very good documentary on the raid a while back. Even if you don't like him, it was very well made and worth a watch (it's available on YouTube - Search for Jeremy Clarkson's greatest Raid of all time)

Have a read through this page (and the following few) from the Antar Gallery section...http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?7085-Antar-Gallery/page44 There is a bit more info on 54BH26/YNJ932T and some recent (2009) pictures.

There is quite a bit on Google. I did a quick search using "Hazeley Heath tank" and "Hazeley Heath ww2" A lot of it is text based, but these two have interesting pictures. Lots more info available if you have your reading head on! http://www.pillbox-study-group.org.uk/tankramppage.htm http://www.hcv.hampshire.org.uk/hcvsites/hazeley.htm So was it a tank ramp, or a cable testing facility? Looks like an interesting site.

Absoloutely agree. An auto darkening helmet is invaluable for a beginner and makes welding so much easier.

What sort of work will be be doing with it? I've got the older version of this one from Machine Mart and it's been brilliant. http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/110e-mig-welder Most of the welding I do is on thin sheet, so I deliberately went for a relatively low power one. If he is likely to do heavier work then a more beefy one might be better, but for a cheap light usage/starter one the Clarke is ideal. The disposable gas bottles can work out quite expensive, but they do last reasonably well on mine. Don't bother with no-gas ones, they're a waste of time!

Probably not military, but just spotted this on Austin7nut's Flickr pages. It's part of the new London bus museum at Brooklands, but their website doesn't give any details of it. Looks like the differential is still there, and I love the front leaf spring spacers!!

I have tried several different tank lining products and they have all failed. I followed the instructions to the letter and removed corrosion, roughed up the insides using gravel and dried them thoroughly, but they all still peel off. Some of them were brand new tanks with zero rust. I've now decided that it's better to weld up any weak areas in the tank and leave the insides uncoated. Pressure testing is good for finding pin holes or poor welds, then just weld up and dress those areas. Obviously the tank will need to be repainted, but the inside shouldn't need touching after that. Pre-mix two stroke bikes have the benefit of oil in the petrol to help prevent the tank rusting inside, but there may be issues on a four stroke. With ethanol in fuel (which is hydroscopic), many people now recommend draining the tank and storing the fuel in an airtight container if the bike isn't going to be used regularly to help prevent tank rusting.

If it is clearly the big end that's failed, I don't understand why you have concerns about the piston? Why do you want to change to another make or source? I doubt that any make of piston could have survived a catastrophic big end failure. You say it was running fine before, and it's highly unlikely that the piston could have caused the big end to fail.

The NGK website lists the 350 Bullet as needing a B7HS. This is a standard short reach plug. http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/apps/motorcycles/make4.asp?id=5925&type=reg The Bullet is the Indian version, not sure if the originals would need anything different though. Is yours an original or an Indian one?

You have the wrong end of the stick! I'm not aware of any loopholes regarding older bikes as all of the bike learner laws now focus on engine capacity rather than power alone. You will need to complete a CBT before you are allowed on the road. If you passed your car driving test before 1 February 2001 then you can ride a moped (50cc and below) on L plates on that licence, but to ride anything bigger you will need to do the CBT. If you have a full car licence you may ride motorcycles up to 125 cc and 11 kW power output, with L plates but you must still do the CBT course. You will then need to do your bike test before being able to ride anything bigger. If you want to ride the Norton then you'll need to do the A test. Quoting from the links below.... "There are two types of full motorcycle licence: a light motorcycle licence (A1), which restricts riders to any bike up to 125 cc and a power output of 11 kW a standard motorcycle licence (A), is obtained if the practical test is taken on a bike of over 120 cc but not more than 125 cc and capable of at least 100 kilometres per hour (km/h per hour).. After passing the standard motorcycle practical test, you will be restricted for two years to riding a bike of up to 25 kW and a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0.16 kW/kg. After this you may ride any size of bike." http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/RidingMotorcyclesAndMopeds/index.htm http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/RidingMotorcyclesAndMopeds/DG_4022568 If you wanted to ride anything more powerful within that 2 years then you would need to take a direct access course, but the Norton should be well within the 25kW limit! [h=4][/h]

Contaminated fuel. Fuel drained from cars whose owners have filled up with the wrong fuel by mistake. A mix of petrol and diesel in varying amounts. Garages would normally have to pay to dispose of it as a hazardous substance, so if someone offers to take it all away then everyone's a winner! I'd heard that some older diesel engines would run on it, but I didn't realise that an old petrol lump would like it too!

Quite possibly, but that doesn't necessarily make it legal.On the flip side, there are plenty of vehicles legally on the uk roads which I don't believe are safe, like boy racer hot hatches with body kits and the like. The law is an ass!