mike65

Have a tube in my toolbox, been meaning to do it but it has been winter. Thinking of squirting a bit on the drive to make things seem normal. Mike

Well the old girl passed another MOT again on Tuesday One advisory though, "slight oil leak on offside front axle”. Yup no all about that the swivel hub seal weeps, especially after filling with oil. Lovely day today so I thought I would make a start on the front nearside wing. The outer is a bit bent so I acquired a pair of wings of Ebay, for the princely sum of £10 each. But they did come with headlight bowls washer bottle, 24v water pump and those little spade flaps for the cables. The PO had painted in in stone. Whilst rubbing down I noticed something peculiar. The back portion had a lot less paint. Why was there red primer and grey in layers. In fact there is an obvious line on the wing More rubbing down and it more visible going over the top. So doing my best Tony Robinson impression. Time Team not Baldrick. I went and investigated the other bits further. The rest of the wing has similar paint so does the opposite wing and also a distinct line. The other wing has 2 "rivets" and a slug of filler in a 3rd location. Cannot find any holes in the nearside wing yet, but there is a shed load of underseal on the rear. Bit more rubbing another day might reveal some filler. Some am I about to add some ex-Piglet wings? Explains the grey and change in paint layering. Did they have FFR Piglets? Mike

Think I will take you up on that provided you can locate them. I know what these things are like. The one I made is like the radio battery box , a temporary thing till the real one turns up. Mike PM sent

There as twice as many Zulu's in the wide screen version. Got to say I really like Kelly's Heroes, if its on have to watch it. Saving Private Ryan, excellent sitting on the sofa with surround sound turned up, shells whizzing over head, sofa vibrating as the "Tiger" comes up the street. Explosions sounding as if they are coming from next door. Ah could be the niieghbours banging on the wall. Apocolypse Now Again improved by surround sound. Hueys flying round your living room. We Were Soldiers another one I really like. Mike

What do you mean there is a right and wrong way. I have seen both options on one vehicle, on numerous occasions. Mike

You should be asking Rosie that one. I have heard a rumour (unconfirmed) that the old WW2 fuel pipe line across the channel is being resurrected to flow the other way. Mike

Please do not publish stuff like this. If they get hold of it er will se a rise of 16p/litre. OOPS should not have typed that either Anyeay what is wrong with miles and gallons. Every year the mileage recorded on my MOT goes up. According to them I did jyst over 900 miles last year. Shame it is actually Kilometers. The army metrocised my 109 years ago. Mike

Mike - cos its my name (officially Michael alledgedly after Mike Hailwood) 65 - well that's when I was born. Mike

Cracking along nicely there. Know exactly what you mean about latex gloves, I thing mine came with holes. Wish I had a garage I could get down both sides of a vehicle and past the end. Mind you I get moaned at about the 1 and a half Land Rover wings on the patio. Sorry half a patio, I think that might be the real problem.:-| Mike

Blimey you will have him falling asleep on the job. I bought a 1" thick oil resistant foam mat that is about 2 ft by 4 for a tenner (IIRC) at Newbury last year, one of the best things I have done. Really comfy for lying, kneeling or sitting. Mike

Those are nice. Makes you want to be a stamp collector. Mike

You luck person. I believe my last pay rise was 4 years ago. Provided you do not take into acount the reinstatement of the 10% cut. Mind you I did go insane in that period and bought a Series 3 FFR Land Rover. I was hopefully getting better but I seem to have a hankering for something else green. The last increase even shocked me and I walk to work. A week after filling up at 133 a liter it was at 139. Makes me think about how and where I drive. How much revenue does it actually generate if people stop driving? Oh and it will not save the planet. The planet is big enough and old enough to look after itself. When something on it gives it grief it has what scientists term a mass extinction event and then starts off where it left off. Oh and for all those who thing Polar Bears are cute and cuddly (including the wife) by all accounts you can cuddle them once. They are the only animal that will actively hunt humans and they used to be brown before it got cold and they evolved. Mike.

Definitely looks good. Hopefully you used paint and not printer ink on it. Mike

You may not have an excuse for not going to work but it does take an exceptionally long time to get there when it does. Especially if you offer to pick up all your skiving colleagues. Anyway lots of good advice above, Hope it turns out to be a good one. Mike PS: Still think your better off with a 109, plenty of room for accessories and sleeping.

Not sure if mine is one but I do like to come home and spent an hour or so doing a few bits. Kind of helps me unwind. Yours is coming along quite nicely Mike

I believe summer has arrived, be over soon, so made the most of it and went out and worked on the truck. Some things seem to take longer than you expect. Especially fitting the strengtheners that rivet to the underside of the floor for the battery frame to bolt to. Suppose it would have been easier with 2 people.. But got around this with some 2" long bolts that I could hand thread in underneath and then use to pull up to underside of the floor from the inside. After that managed to fit the radio table and "temporary" battery box in the rear. Still missing a few cables and need to put the battery frame in when I get the bolts. Pioneer brackets and straps on the tailgate. Mike

Wayne That cable rest is not Clansman, wrong connector type. That be the connector for Larkspur cables. Only know this as some kind person told me. As I acquired some wings of a late 109 which had some. Mike

Monty Glad to be of assistance, even if indirectly. Do think Alaskan has done a fantastic job on his. Some might disagree but I would rather see something modified and usable than static. On top of which I do like Hotrods and a Hodrodded Saracen is something else:-D Mike

I think that breakdown cover is one of those things that is rather random, you either have a good experience ot a bad one. These tend to be what you remember. Before Britannia I was with the RAC and I only really go by the last time when they left me for 3 hours using some lame excuse that they could not mind me. The rest of the world could on an A road at a double mini roundabout.. The first was a 2.4 hour wait for a recovery truck as they did not believe me when I told them it would need one as the crank was broken, "We can probably fix it" was there response. The AA put my brothers Peugeot205 S16 off the road for the best part of 2 weeks after using brute force and ignorance to fit a clucch cable. They somehow managed to break the connection on the heater matrix. The fact he had to wait 3 hours for a recovery on a Chevy Blazer was kind of his fault as it was a bit wide with 36" tall tyres. Would not fit in the rollers for MOT test and only just on the ramp. Casically you pay your money and take your chances. Hopefully you do not need to use it. Mike PS: If you have a 24v Landy tell them as no one will try to solve the dropped cylinder and they just send a recovery truck.

Nice job. The front looks rather nead.. Personally I would have gone for the NI 5 bar gate look http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alvis_Saracen_Mk_2_front_HKMCD.JPG Well in this case a HK 4 bar gate. Mike

Blimey has it been that long since I posted, where was I? Oh yes waiting for summer to arrive, it did but that was the beginning of October and went to Newbury Sort Out and then went on holiday. By the time I got back it was winter again and Christmas seems to get in the way for months. So I have been fiddling in the garage I did however get all those bits on the floor bolted in and a few other bits Acquired a radio table (Clive might recognize this) Took that apart and cleaned it up with a new bit of wood. Just need to get it in the truck. Radio battery box is still a hard to come by option for the Series so I have this, which will hopefully do until the real one comes along.. I am awaiting some bits for the battery tray and wondering where I can get some 1/4" UNF CSK bolts from. Mike

Have you tried Britannia Rescue. They cover us for both the car and the Land Rover. We pay about £70 a year which is basicaly UK Assistance and Recovery, but not home. Also covers us for other vehicles we use or travel in. They recovers the 109 no problem when it went onto 3 cylinders about 18 month ago. Give them a go. Cannot guarantee what proce you will get as we get discount as wife is a member of the CSMA. Mike

Tinweasel (Tinweasle) is on here and EMLRA, from time to time. So you could try contacting him to see if he still has it and get you more detail. Looking at the pictures again you may have a few to many bits. Mike

Well lets see. Battle of the Bulge, did not work for me a s a war film or a comedy. 633 Squadron and Ice Cold In Alex classic just goes to prove the had Land Rovers in WW2. Please Jack can I bring mine to A&E. Iwill even paint a white star on the bonnet as most people thing iit's a jeep anyway. Battle of Britain so what they used Spanish planes and exploding models, they even blew up a hanger. Beats CGI in my view. The models blew up more realistically than some CGI ones. Then don't trust my opinion, my favorite war movie is "Kelly's Heroes". off topic Best car chase movie Gone in 60 Seconds. H B Halickis original not the Nicolas Cage remake. No CGI just one car some spares and a big hammer. Mind you the remake did have Angelina Jolie on an MV Agusta Mike

Wayne You have definitelt over done the fuel tap, unless you are going to bling it up. Unitary table should end up something like this http://forum.militarylightweight.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=175 Mike