I went over to Craddock's early on Saturday. They were good enough not to laugh at my mistake and give me a credit note. Well more of an exchange. I selected a few choice goodies to the approximate value of the two items I returned. I got a proper tow rope which was on offer and had a shackle to go with, a work light to fit at the back and a radiator cap. The rad cap was the only thing a really needed. Craddock's netted the cost of the new selections against the returns and I had to make up the difference.....two quid. That was a result. Honour served all round.
When I got home I fitted the rad cap. Then organised the well under the passenger seat to hold the new tow rope, first aid kit and jump leads. Seat back on and all is well.
I still have to find a new home for the high lift jack. It is in the way where I have put it.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Craddocks
I went over to Craddock's on Saturday morning to collect the roof seal I had ordered. It was waiting for me. I decided to have a couple of mud shields for the underside of the front wings. When I got home I offered up the off side mud shield only to find there was one installed. That means the Land Rover mechanics had fitted them at the nuts and bolts check after the rebuild. Thing is they did not charge me for them.
Now I have to ring Craddocks and see if I can get a credit note for the mud shields and buy something else. A radiator cap and quality tow rope might be a suitable exchange.
I did a job on Steve's lightweight. I did not ask for money but Steve said I could have his high lift jack. It is a great gadget but it is bid and heavy. The credit note might buy me a load spreader for the foot of the jack.
Now I have to ring Craddocks and see if I can get a credit note for the mud shields and buy something else. A radiator cap and quality tow rope might be a suitable exchange.
I did a job on Steve's lightweight. I did not ask for money but Steve said I could have his high lift jack. It is a great gadget but it is bid and heavy. The credit note might buy me a load spreader for the foot of the jack.
Steve's Landy
Steve has a 1981, 2 1/4 litre petrol, lightweight. It ages since it was serviced and it up for sale. Steve bought all the bits; plugs, points, condenser, HT leads and a distributor cap. Whilst Steve made a brew I parked Degsy backwards on to the Steve's bonnet. I rigged my basha over the propped up bonnet of Steve's motor and the roof of Degsy. We now had a dryish place to work. We had a test turn over of the motor but it would not fire up, in fact it would hardly crank over. Not a good start. I checked the radiator water, found that it was low so I got Steve to top it before we started.
I took the plugs out then took the distributor off. Steve had not bought a new dissy cap but as it happens it is not in bad shape. The dissy cap was put back on and the HT leads changed for new ones, one at a time. Next was to tackle the points. The screw that holds the points base plate to the dissy base plate was just spinning in its hole. I took the dissy off the engine block to get at the recalcitrant screw. I did want to dismantle the dissy but that is want happened. After much faffing about we got the screw out. I had a rummage in my collection of nuts and bolts. I found the perfect screw to replace the recalcitrant screw. Re-assembling the dissy was a pain. Steve and I did not quite have enough hands to hold the dissy and fit the advance and retard mechanism. It was, however, useful to be able to set the points whilst the dissy was out. 15 minutes of wrestling and it was done. After that it was a fairly straight forward job to re-assemble the dissy. I had been careful to note where everything went. The dissy dropped in, plugs tightened up, HT leads connected.
When cranking the engine, as a test, I saw sparks and smoke coming off the earth strap by the dissy. I took the bolt out and cleaned up the contact area of the strap. With the strap showing bare mettle I refitted the bolt. I made the bolt good and tight. Then the big moment. Steve cranked the engine. The engine turn faster than it ever had before and it fired on the second turn over then it run more or less perfectly. We left the motor running to warm up the engine whilst we tidied up, cleaned the tools and put away the basha. The rain had eased to little by this stage. Steve made another brew and we were done.
Nice landy with lots of extras for sale.
I took the plugs out then took the distributor off. Steve had not bought a new dissy cap but as it happens it is not in bad shape. The dissy cap was put back on and the HT leads changed for new ones, one at a time. Next was to tackle the points. The screw that holds the points base plate to the dissy base plate was just spinning in its hole. I took the dissy off the engine block to get at the recalcitrant screw. I did want to dismantle the dissy but that is want happened. After much faffing about we got the screw out. I had a rummage in my collection of nuts and bolts. I found the perfect screw to replace the recalcitrant screw. Re-assembling the dissy was a pain. Steve and I did not quite have enough hands to hold the dissy and fit the advance and retard mechanism. It was, however, useful to be able to set the points whilst the dissy was out. 15 minutes of wrestling and it was done. After that it was a fairly straight forward job to re-assemble the dissy. I had been careful to note where everything went. The dissy dropped in, plugs tightened up, HT leads connected.
When cranking the engine, as a test, I saw sparks and smoke coming off the earth strap by the dissy. I took the bolt out and cleaned up the contact area of the strap. With the strap showing bare mettle I refitted the bolt. I made the bolt good and tight. Then the big moment. Steve cranked the engine. The engine turn faster than it ever had before and it fired on the second turn over then it run more or less perfectly. We left the motor running to warm up the engine whilst we tidied up, cleaned the tools and put away the basha. The rain had eased to little by this stage. Steve made another brew and we were done.
Nice landy with lots of extras for sale.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Birthday money
With the cash from birthday prezzies I went over to Craddocks. Click HERE for their website. They are in Cannock so it was just a 45 minute drive. They had everything for Land Rover. I got a dog guard, a tyre cover and a door stay. When I got home a brew was in order. I got changed and set about fitting the guard. The guard is not for keeping dogs in the back but to keep all the other stuff in the back and not in the front seat under braking. The guard just came with two brackets that fit onto the top of the tub's bulkhead. It did look like look like a very strong fixing to me, however I marked up the bulkhead for drilling the holes for the bracket bolts. That done it was a small matter to fit and tighten up the bolts. The Guard was then fitted to the brackets. To my surprise the bracket made a very secure fixing for the guard. A bit of a clean up and the guard was done.
I bought a stay for the back door. It was a fiver. I figured out where the anchor bolt needed to be positioned. Another hole in the bodywork and a long bolt with washers was fitted. I put the roller end of the stay into the track on the door. I popped the anchor end of the stay on the bolt and secured a pair of the nuts on the top of the stay to finish the job. However the roller end of stay kept jamming in the track. A closer inspection showed the track was not even. A couple of judicious whacks with hammer sorted the wayward track. I gave the door track a good greasing. Another job ticked off.
I bought a steel tool box many weeks ago at a car boot sale. I think it contained a power drill.I bashed the dints out and straightened up the panels with the hammer. I offered up the box to the back door, marked to back of the box and drilled several pilot holes. I put a screw in the pilot hole, offered the box to the door and ran up the screw. After that it was a matter of fitting a further six screws. The box is now the home for the Trangia and brew gear. As what was the box lid drops down it creates a shelf for the Trangia when it in brewing mode. It also frees up a plastic crate from the back of Degsy. Whilst I had the back of Degsy emptied out I gave it good brush out. I reorganised the crates back into Degsy. I took a few minutes to find a new place to put the rake and hoe. The guard was bought with the idea of finding a place to store the long handle tools such as the rake.
The last thing was a soft cover for the spare wheel on the bonnet. I think I have bought the wrong one. The cover is for a fatter tyre. Never mind, it will keep the wheel from corroding.
I bought a stay for the back door. It was a fiver. I figured out where the anchor bolt needed to be positioned. Another hole in the bodywork and a long bolt with washers was fitted. I put the roller end of the stay into the track on the door. I popped the anchor end of the stay on the bolt and secured a pair of the nuts on the top of the stay to finish the job. However the roller end of stay kept jamming in the track. A closer inspection showed the track was not even. A couple of judicious whacks with hammer sorted the wayward track. I gave the door track a good greasing. Another job ticked off.
I bought a steel tool box many weeks ago at a car boot sale. I think it contained a power drill.I bashed the dints out and straightened up the panels with the hammer. I offered up the box to the back door, marked to back of the box and drilled several pilot holes. I put a screw in the pilot hole, offered the box to the door and ran up the screw. After that it was a matter of fitting a further six screws. The box is now the home for the Trangia and brew gear. As what was the box lid drops down it creates a shelf for the Trangia when it in brewing mode. It also frees up a plastic crate from the back of Degsy. Whilst I had the back of Degsy emptied out I gave it good brush out. I reorganised the crates back into Degsy. I took a few minutes to find a new place to put the rake and hoe. The guard was bought with the idea of finding a place to store the long handle tools such as the rake.
The last thing was a soft cover for the spare wheel on the bonnet. I think I have bought the wrong one. The cover is for a fatter tyre. Never mind, it will keep the wheel from corroding.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Temp gauge
The temp gauge has started reading high. I checked the radiator level. It had dropped. The rad took a pint to bring it back up the level. I checked the oil. That too was down a bit. I had to buy a can of 20/50 before I could top Degsy up. I put in a litre. I had a errand to run so went in Degsy. The temp gauge is back to normal.
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Nuts and bolts
Degsy went back to the garage last Friday for a nuts and bolts check. They also sorted the trailer light sockets, side step and the hand brake. The offside front indicator decided to stop working. After the lottie I had a look at it. The bulb was not popped so I tracked the wiring back thinking it might have chaffed through on the body work. What I found was that the earth wire was loose in a connector. I put the bulb back in and refitted the lens. All's well again.
I am now thinking about how I am going to fit the fog and reverse lights. There are also the interior lights to consider. Oh and the front spot lights and maybe a rear working light.
I found a dog guard on ebay but it still a bit too dear at £40. I am hoping a can find a second hand one at Craddocks. I fancy a trip out in a few weeks time.
I am now thinking about how I am going to fit the fog and reverse lights. There are also the interior lights to consider. Oh and the front spot lights and maybe a rear working light.
I found a dog guard on ebay but it still a bit too dear at £40. I am hoping a can find a second hand one at Craddocks. I fancy a trip out in a few weeks time.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Degsy's Refurb
Degsy went for a new chassis on August 1st 2010 and it came back 4th Feb 2011. Even though they had it so long they did a few extra jobs for me at no extra costs. I gave the mechanics a petrol tank, windscreen and heater matrix. The mechanics fitted these items as part of the job. They also fitted a new gearbox oil seal and checked the clutch plate. I was worried the heavy duty drop plate would not be transferred but I should not have worried. They also fitted a complete set of new copper brake pipes. On each wheel there is a flexible brake hose. The normal hose is rubber but the mechanics fitted stainless steel braided hoses which is a result. The axles have had a really good cleaning. The exhaust has been fixed so the engine is very quiet now. The contacts and rotor arms were changed and the timing set. Degsy runs really nicely.
Despite the long time it took from start to finish the mechanics did extra jobs and all for the same price as was quoted. The only downside is that the trailer socket has not been refitted and the hand brake needs adjusting. I have to take it back on the 18th to have everything checked and tightened so I will have the outstanding items fixed.
Despite the long time it took from start to finish the mechanics did extra jobs and all for the same price as was quoted. The only downside is that the trailer socket has not been refitted and the hand brake needs adjusting. I have to take it back on the 18th to have everything checked and tightened so I will have the outstanding items fixed.
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