david1212

While is is clear you enjoy the restoration and equally your complete vehicles don't want to be used too often perhaps you should enjoy the end result of your labour a little more often ?

I did too not least it was one of the cheaper models. Most iconic to me though was the DUKW. Occasionally we went past MOD Ashchurch where in the 70's if not later some were outside and visible. In the same era was the one, or were there more?, at Eastbourne.

You must be pleased with that run after so much work to get this far.

Blimey I didn't think anything could be that bad. I don't suppose you noticed if they were marked as type approved, although if they were was any testing actually done ? I recall a test comparing Chinese etc tyres to a premium brand. At just 30mph there was a significant shortfall in the stopping distance. Wanli was one of the worst. At the time National Tyres supplied these as their budget range.

I wonder how the degradation of cheap Chinese etc ' Ditchfinders ' compares to the major brands and their second line brands often made in the same plants. Equally for the vehicles listed when in regular use even on trailers do tyres normally last 10 years ? Someone I used to work with had both tyres of their caravan blow on the motorway during the same ~ 150 mile trip. While outside this consultation for cars the issue is spacesavers spares as they can not be used like years ago when normal practice was as the first pair needed replacing just a matching tyre to the spare purchased and the best old tyre kept as the spare then the spare replaced with a newer tyre each time a pair was purchased. For vehicles discussed here if applied it will be hard given both the cost and availability of a new set of tyres.

Are the terminals OK ? If so maybe better to solder new wires to the existing ones and cover with, ideally coloured, heatshrink sleeving than try and dismantle ?

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=29650

I do too along with your reports / reviews after each event.

OT but I am impressed with the load pulled by the rail wheeled Land Rover. I would have expected traction / adhesion to be a limitation. While a narrow contact area I would have expected those with road wheels and tyres plus guide wheels to have better traction.

Given the temperature the resistance wire will melt at I doubt a 10degC rise ambient temperature would have been significant. The combination of higher voltage plus the running time is far more likely. As to the RAC I wonder how often they deal with vehicles with traditional ignition and so don't think to check for what were once common failures.

Say 'Holocaust' alone to most people and the majority response would be to link it to the Nazi concentration camps. However you proposed 'Nuclear Holocaust'. Nagasaka and Hiroshima are the only two nuclear bombs dropped in warfare hence the potential link. While clarified by ' a history of the cold war period ' some might misinterpret that or have already stopped reading. I think your choice of 'Iron Curtain Museum...A History of life during the Cold War' is good.

Like others I think including ' Holocaust ' in the name will be off putting to potential visitors. Might some think of the exhibits predominantly being linked to Japan 1945 ? Something like ( British ) Museum of the Cold War would be both more appropriate and not put off the general public.

DRAPER BATTERY MASTER 12V TRICKLE/MAINTENANCE CHARGER - 22685 i.e. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-Automotive-Battery-Master-Charger/202180474776 Is very low output hence unlikely to to damage but will take for ever to put in enough charge for a start into a near flat battery. To bring a battery up overnight needs at least a 4Amp charger, 6Amp or 8Amp will be quicker. From time to time Aldi / Lidl have them for £15 or so. A Draper 6amp charger https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-6A-Intelligent-Battery-Charger-Garage-Car-Workshop-6-12V-38254/122349508506

There are very few key variants for these so not very secure. If an intruder was defeated on their first attempt as not expecting this type they could return prepared.

A booster is intended for very occasional use. When actually starting it will share the load but during the time between connecting and starting it will be charging the battery very fast. Since you will be planning to go out after not using the vehicle, rather than the AA/RAC call out situation of either that battery very low because of something left on or the battery failing, put the battery on a gentle charge with good modern charger intended for regular cyclic use for a few hours before. With no drain a battery will loose little charge over a month. For modern vehicles the loss is the alarm etc permanently connected as much as the self discharge. Also while a cold battery can deliver less power also the self discharge is less.

One potential issue is that typical battery chargers of years ago were not regulated nor intended as the main source for charging. This could result in the battery being overcharged. Another issue that will shorten the life is regular very fast charging from units intended simply to get the vehicle started quickly. With modern electronic chargers neither should cause a long term problem. Batteries do like to be used and will deteriorate left in a state of low charge.

I have just read this post http://photobucket.com/p500/?hotlinkfix=1516928810657 $99 is of course rather more than £18, and the £-$ rate has improved, but equally rather better than £350.

I'm pleased to read you have found a suitable replacement within the budget. However reading that the fact your Range Rover had a Vogue interior but that this was not allowed to be relevant is 100% wrong. They know they have you ' over a barrel ' because you need transport. You should be able to receive an interim payment and still be able to negotiate on the value of the vehicle written off.

My insurance tried to fob me off by stating that a similar case had been settled 50/50. I wasn't falling for that. To tell you how they will settle the case is simply wrong. To a point I understand their position of not knowing what really happened just from the reports by those involved when no witnesses but they should also be able to draw on analyzing the damage and the location. My case was clearer in that I was on the road approaching a traffic light controlled junction in the outer lane that was clear up when the other vehicle emerged through a gap in the queuing inner lane. As I said to the copper ' I was so close I don't know if he hit me or I hit the brake pedal first ' . As to the car value I had bought 4 tyres just weeks earlier and had a full tank of petrol. Out of ' good will ' they added less than half of the cost to their offer. On a car worth, and of course insured for, around £3000 I was easily £250 out of pocket. Eventually when I would not give in the solicitors representing me through the legal expenses put a summons to court. The other party insurers then gave in paying out to my insurers, I had received the payment for my car less the excess from my insurers within a month if not sooner, paying the excess to me and an award for expenses. The latter at least covered the difference between what I received for my car and what it was worth. My insurers then re-instated my no claims in full. It was protected I recall 2 claims in 5 years so no actual policy increase. In between my renewal was due and effectively I could not change company since at that point the claim showed as 50/50. Ultimately the winners of course were the two solicitors. Had the other insurers accepted their customer was to blame and paid out in full right away solicitors need not have been involved at all.

I feel for you. I've played this game and it is hard work. It should not be. To the individual(s) dealing with the case 50/50 is the easy / least work option and overall corporately the lowest cost. It is wrong but almost inevitably you will not get a payout to buy like-for-like privately let alone from the trade. Did you have legal expenses protection? If so through that you should be able to claim your excess. Beware of two other potential factors - First once your car is written off if you had cover to drive other vehicles that is lost as the policy becomes suspended until you transfer it to a replacement vehicle. Second if not settled with no blame to you it will affect both your no claims discount and the base price of your policy come renewal date.

I tried to edit the second entry to the text below but on clicking Save it changed to Saving but the edit was never saved - a gremlin to be investigated? On my screen the first reply did not appear to be accepted hence I tried again. My screen did not change. I pressed F5 to reload / refresh the page and found two posts. Hence I have edited the second to this. Generally needing to use F5 may be a gremlin to be investigated and resolved.

The best I can see is this: Click the big HMVF main logo graphic top left At the top right of the white background below the search box, you should see Unread Content Click this and the topics with content you have not read will be listed. The default list order is newest first but you can change that to oldest first. The right hand item of the boxes just above the first item is Sorting. Change this to oldest first. Initially for me nothing happened until I pressed key F5 (top row of keyboard) to reload / refresh the page. At the bottom of the list is Load More Activity Eventually you will have the last updated topic at the bottom of the page. The other boxes in the row above the first listed topic have selection / filtering options I have not investigated. For each topic you can go to the first entry you have not read by clicking the small green dot between the larger coloured circle containing either a letter ( default) or the profile image if the thread starter has uploaded one to their profile and the title of the topic. This function is not obvious at all. I discovered it by accident when randomly the mouse pointer was hovering over the dot. This is just what I have found. Maybe someone else will detail other options that will help both of us.

The best I can see is this: Click the big HMVF main logo graphic top left At the top right of the white background below the search box, you should see Unread Content Click this and the topics with content you have not read will be listed. The default list order is newest first but you can change that to oldest first. The right hand item of the boxes just above the first item is Sorting. Change this to oldest first. Initially for me nothing happened until I pressed key F5 (top row of keyboard) to reload / refresh the page. At the bottom of the list is Load More Activity Eventually you will have the last updated topic at the bottom of the page. The other boxes in the row above the first listed topic have selection / filtering options I have not investigated. For each topic you can go to the first entry you have not read by clicking the small green dot between the larger coloured circle containing either a letter ( default) or the profile image if the thread starter has uploaded one to their profile and the title of the topic. This function is not obvious at all. I discovered it by accident when randomly the mouse pointer was hovering over the dot. This is just what I have found. Maybe someone else will detail other options that will help both of us.

OT but a change from the two Astra's I had a 1984 1.3 and a 1990 1.6. On both the thermostat opened early so in winter did not get up to temperature. The 1.3 was OK for access but for the 1.6 the timing was in the way ( I can't recall if belt or chain ), it was possible by carefully loosening a pulley and sliding along the shaft. On my current Skoda I had the dreaded VAG group EGR failure. Replacement 5 hours workshop time most of which is the dismantling required for access then reassembly .......

Araldite metal loaded epoxy changed a while ago, most likely due to elf and safe tea banning an ingredient, while the price increased significantly. I can't recall exactly why now but it seemed inferior for the application too.