Starting to get back into it this week. I’ve disappeared into the garage each night and I don’t hear much complaining from my wife. I think she’s glad ‘that smelly thing on the couch’ is gone… I needed something simple to get started since I’ve been away for so long. The steering coupler and shaft seemed like a good place to begin so I knocked that out quickly and was on to the filthy rack next. I’m repeatedly reminded at how serviceable all of this old stuff is and the rack was no exception. Strip it, clean, inspect, new paint, …
The Tired Brain and the NLA Inner Tie Rod
One of these is not like the other… Murphy’s law dictates that the bent one must be the NLA tie rod while the dead straight one is readily available. Guess which one is which. I beat it with a hammer, torched it, pulled and pushed it with long bars until it cried out but it didn’t budge a millimetre. Also crying out must have been my annoyed neighbours as it was well past bedtime. Behind me a 20 ton press stood quietly, snickering at my madness. Why it didn’t speak out earlier I’ve no idea. I blame my tired brain …
Steelies, Hubcaps & Aquajets
I first contacted the owner in Dec 2016 and over 2 years later I have collected these wheels and hubcaps. The hubcaps have never been fitted but unfortunately some moisture got to them and they have surface rust. It’s mostly on the inside but the important thing is all four are straight. They’re not the early type but I’m happy to use them until I can find a correct set. As part of the deal there were seven hubcaps with three heavily rusted and only good as wall decorations. The Topy steelies are all in good condition and will scrub …
Spring 2018
Priorities I’ve seen it – and used it – numerous times. It’s the age-old excuse… “I don’t have enough time.” I’m going to call myself out on that one. Not having enough time is an excuse used when other things in our lives take priority. You can dodge around exercise for years and then one day your doctor gives you some unfavourable news – shakes fist – and you suddenly find the time. The only thing that changed are your priorities. I phoned it in this quarter. There were opportunities for me to progress the project and I kind of …
Winter 2018
It’s Getting Crowded In Here You go through life thinking you’re a tough bugger and then you watch your wife give birth. What a humbling experience. We welcomed Lillian to our little clan this Winter. She’s a bundle of joy. 🙂 Chipping Away After fumbling around with the heater box a while ago the blower was an easier task. I tried the molasses trick to remove the rust and had less success this time. I only left it in for a week where last time it was two weeks so I’m guessing that’s the difference. I’m finding that the most …
Hardlines… Tick!
Very pleased to have learned a new skill and I’m happy with the results. Let’s hope they don’t leak!
Autumn 2018
Reproduction Autumn started off with a bang! On day one I finally joined the exclusive club of RH door mirror owners thanks to Ian from the Gong. I can clearly remember scouring eBay for door mirrors as early as a month into purchasing my rusty shell back in January 2014. They might not be as rare as I make them out to be but you do need a lot of luck to find one. A couple of weeks ago Chinese reproduction RH door mirrors popped up on eBay and by all accounts are an excellent copy and likely to be …
Are Copper Nickel Brake Lines Legal in Australia
Copper Nickel alloy brake lines, otherwise known as Cupro-Nickel, Kunifer or Cunifer, are mainly used in Europe to protect the braking system from failure due to corrosion caused by salt on their roads. In Australia there is no salt on the roads, unless someone drops their McDonald’s chips, so the product is not widely known or used. Cupro-Nickel came to my attention as an alternative to zinc coated steel bundy tube in early 2018. It appealed to me for three very good reasons. Inherrently corrosion resistant with no coating to wear out Bends much easier than steel or stainless steel …
Datsun 240Z RH Door Mirror Disassembled
A few weeks ago a kind gentleman by the name of Ian gave me a right hand door mirror on a handshake and a promise for some form of payment down the road. I’ve been searching for one of these for 4 years now! They are rarer than rocking horse poo. So what’s the first thing you do with something so rare? Why, break it of course…! I’m sorry you had to see that… breaking it was hard, much like punching yourself in the face with the intent of splitting skin. The only way to get the stalk off the …
Summer 2018
Collaboration I dabble in a bit of photography and I keep hearing the arty folk liberally throw around the ‘collaborate’ buzzword. At work we recently dealt with a young company and their hip employees couldn’t resist using it in every paragraph of every email they sent. I’m not quite that hip but allow me to use it just this once. I’ve been collaborating with some amazingly generous and passionate people lately. Without their assistance my results would be sub par but I’ve come to realise that, outcomes aside, it’s the relationships built that are far more precious. Progress was elusive …