What's made you smile today?

[DaveMcT]

The other week we took a walk down the River Teign (it runs off North Dartmoor). salmon or maybe sea trout were spawning, Kingfisher diving on the other side, huge dragonfly, Very friendly crow came asking (politely) for food. A duck paddled by.

The kids had a great time paddling but to them it was nothing special. To a bloke brought up in Derby where the Trent was a polluted cesspit it was stunning stuff. All about 2 miles from the river's tidal reaches and 1/2 mile from a new housing estate.

If I said all this before - tough. I was well impressed.
If I did not say it before - you heard it here first. :slayer:

 

[jimboy]

The other week we took a walk down the River Teign (it runs off North Dartmoor). salmon or maybe sea trout were spawning, Kingfisher diving on the other side, huge dragonfly, Very friendly crow came asking (politely) for food. A duck paddled by.

The kids had a great time paddling but to them it was nothing special. To a bloke brought up in Derby where the Trent was a polluted cesspit it was stunning stuff. All about 2 miles from the river's tidal reaches and 1/2 mile from a new housing estate.

If I said all this before - tough. I was well impressed.
If I did not say it before - you heard it here first. :slayer:

Aye it’s times like this you start appreciating Mother Nature, it’s been away awhile. We are out in the sticks and the wild life was down in numbers due to a few things, not least lack of hedge rows and farming techniques that interfere with nature nowadays. It’s coming back though, aye simple pleasures.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Spent Saturday and Sunday applying protective coating to my boy's "garden room" - big shed to you and me! (Barrattine Wood Preserver - wonderful stuff if you've never used it, No namby pamby water base, no siree! full finger blistering oil and spirit base! Not great for the fingers - mine are now bright green - but absolutely wonderful at protecting bare wood.

Sunday morning, heading south approaching Dobbies Garden Centre, just as I'm approaching the wee roundabout directly outside the centre, a wee bright red and immaculate looking Sunbeam Alpine with Minilite type alloys on it approaches the roundabout on my left (I would guess he's been overnighting at the hotel and is now going to join the A7 south). By now I'm almost on the roundabout when I notice another one pulling up behind him. Both are bright red with Minilites. The first has his hood down the second has a black hard top.

What a treat I was thinking to myself when I suddenly spotted the Tiger badge on the front wing of the lead car! The Tiger, for anyone who doesn't know, was Rootes Group's attempt at making their version of a Cobra! They got Carrol Shelby to drop a small block Ford motor in it, later using the Mustang engine I think. When the Group was taken over by Chrysler the project was junked, some say because Chrysler couldn't live with one of their products being Ford powered! It's one of the top vehicles on my "wish I had one" list, a much "prettier" looking vehicle than the brutish Cobra (but I'll take a Cobra if you insist!).

They pulled out two cars behind me and we headed off down to wards the big roundabout. Both of the cars behind me went straight on leaving the Tigers - I think they were both Tigers - following me onto the A7 south. They were in no hurry and just cruised on behind me (I was in Becky, our Panda) for several miles on the A7. I had my window down, as I always do if Mrs J is not with me, and could clearly hear the lovely V8 burble whenever we pulled away from roundabouts. I took the slip road off to Newton Grange and they went right at the lights up the hill under the railway viaduct and on south on the A7. The sound of them pulling strongly away up the hill was absolutely glorious! Fair set me up for the day!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Here you go, Sunbeam Tiger!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyqo03zmzZw

If you painted it red that's what the lead car looked like!

If you listen to Jay's friend talking about his wheel alignment he's absolutely right. I actually did tracking on one of these and it was a nightmare. To get the engine in they moved the rack forward so to get the track rods to align they put a bend in them. The toe out on turns was ruined and I would think bump steer was also a problem. But for the everyday grease monkey like me the problem was you couldn't rotate the track rod - because it had a dog leg bend in it - so you could only go a full turn of the track rod end at a time. Luckily track rod ends are not all manufactured with their threads starting in the same place and often different after market manufacturers will have slightly longer or shorter castings where the thread is (take note those who think they can end up with accurate toe in/out by counting the number of turns when removing an old track rod end and replacing with a new one wound on the same number of turns!). Anyway we ended up with a satisfactory (perhaps not perfect) result after the boss called in a few favours and "borrowed" the entire stock of track rod ends from at least two of the local factors. But Oh deary deary me, how I want one!

 

[dave]

Aye it’s times like this you start appreciating Mother Nature, it’s been away awhile. We are out in the sticks and the wild life was down in numbers due to a few things, not least lack of hedge rows and farming techniques that interfere with nature nowadays. It’s coming back though, aye simple pleasures.

i get to see these every day, my unit is right next to this pond
I've known them cygnets since they were eggs.

 

[jimboy]

i get to see these every day, my unit is right next to this pond
I've known them cygnets since they were eggs.
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The swans and their signets are quite magnificent. My wife who works from home now is a lecturer at the Highlands University. The campus and grounds are quite spectacular, with lake and wildlife swans as well. Every year the swans came back to the area. I used to meet my wife for lunch or just a coffee, and we would sit and watch the swans and the ducks. Very calming and therapeutic.There was a pier/walkway out in the water, and walking out, the birds would all be attracted looking for tit bits. Happy days.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Here you go, Sunbeam Tiger!

To get the engine in they moved the rack forward so to get the track rods to align they put a bend in them.

Regarding those "cranked" track rods. If you look at this about 3.30 minutes in you can get a good look at the weird "bent" arms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK_1h8FOqHQ

On most cars which have a steering rack (Ok, I know there are exceptions, the Imp being one which immediately comes to mind) you adjust the toe in/out by slackening the lock nut on the track rod end and rotate the track rod so the track rod end either moves in or out of the track rod so increasing or decreasing it's effective length. On the Tiger the Track rods have to end up with the bend pointing backwards towards the uprights, as you can see in the video, so you can only go a complete turn at a time.

I only ever did the one and my recollection of the job is a bit hazy after all these years. It's N/S track rod end had free play in it I remember - think the MOT guy had failed it? - I can still visualize how I had the car positioned in the garage and that the job was a fair bit of "agro" but I don't remember much of the detail of doing the job itself apart from at first thinking the track rod itself was the problem as I'd never before seen one like this unless it was accident damaged.

 

[DaveMcT]

Trundling into Kingston tonight behind a very blobby, very shiny, mega Mini with very dazzling brake lights. The driver had an aversion to anything more than 25mph and seems to like showing me his brake light but I can live with it. The AH behind me in a BMW coupe was no so chuffed. Hooting his horn speeding up jamming on his anchors (like I could do anything about it). Then he burnt past and slowed to a stop in front of Fat Mini.

What a laugh.

But at least Fat Max did improve his speed slightly and kept his foot off the brake pedal for a while.

 

[DaveMcT]

Trundling into Kingston tonight behind a very blobby, very shiny Mini Fat model with very dazzling brake lights. The driver had an aversion to anything more than 25mph and seems to like showing me his brake lights but I can live with it. The AH behind me in a BMW coupe was not so chuffed. Hooting his horn speeding up jamming on his anchors (like I could do anything about it). Then he burnt past and slowed to a stop in front of Fat Mini.

What a laugh.

But at least Mini Fat did improve his speed slightly and kept his foot off the brake pedal for a while.

The only downside is that Mini Fat held up BMW tyre burner though the 20mph speed cams. Such a shame he was not allowed through there at his normal pace.

 

[portland_bill]

Needed a small part for my Dyson vac.
Saturday, late afternoon, found the part on their website, £3.50, reasonable, plus £3 postage, but 48 hours, no choices. Ordered it, late afternoon, expecting despatch Monday.

Later Saturday, received a 'despatched' email. Surprised.
Delivered today, as promised. Brillaint.

 

[dave]

Needed a small part for my Dyson vac.
Saturday, late afternoon, found the part on their website, £3.50, reasonable, plus £3 postage, but 48 hours, no choices. Ordered it, late afternoon, expecting despatch Monday.

Later Saturday, received a 'despatched' email. Surprised.
Delivered today, as promised. Brillaint.

you know you are old when a new vacuum cleaner part makes you smile

 

[portland_bill]

you know you are old when a new vacuum cleaner part makes you smile

Agreed, wholeheartedly.

I would counter, less shallow than many things some youngsters think important.

 

[SB1500]

Bought a bunch of car care stuff today, tar remover, clay bar, detailer, new cloths, polish pads, drying towel but most excitingly some of this new Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic wash and wax, and wax and polish stuff. Hope it lives up to the hype I’m reading about online...

 

[dave]

wash and wax,

wash it off your windscreen with washing up liquid, wash n wax makes visibility in rain bad

 

[SB1500]

wash it off your windscreen with washing up liquid, wash n wax makes visibility in rain bad

The plan is to buy some of that windscreen ‘Rainex’ sort of treatment for it next month for the glass. It’s got AutoGlym glass polish from the last waxing - not sure exactly what difference it makes mind you!

 

[dave]

The plan is to buy some of that windscreen ‘Rainex’ sort of treatment for it next month for the glass. It’s got AutoGlym glass polish from the last waxing - not sure exactly what difference it makes mind you!

i dont rate ‘Rainex’ for front screen good for sides but leaves an invisible film that distorts light beams. I dont think the people who rate it have ever had a grease free screen so know no better.

 

[Eklipze3k]

I used to use PPG Aquapel, never had an issue with light distortion.

 

[jimboy]

Off into town this morning and took my Coop. Ah I miss that turbo push back. Haircut by my usual lovely hairdresser. Very relaxing and a good blather, then Aldi’s for some goodies and refreshments for the weekend....Not a bit of grumpiness in sight.......

 

[rmjbn1]

Both of the cars behind me went straight on leaving the Tigers - I think they were both Tigers - following me onto the A7 south.

The sound of them pulling strongly away up the hill was absolutely glorious! Fair set me up for the day!

Thanks for those reflections on the Sunbeam Tiger, Jock I understand a few 'compromises' were made adapting european models to take more power or adapt to the US market, but cranked track rods is an original solution! Certainly lives up to the notion of 'shoehorning' a big V8 in there

There is something about that distinctive burble of an American V8, isn't there? Maybe not the most sophisticated or efficient of engines, but that lazy, effortless (and reliable!) grunt makes them very appealing.

On a side note, I think it's a pity those big Corvettes won't run at Le Mans again. They made a big impression on me the first time I went, added a certain drama to the aural experience of the event:yum:

Whenever I hear a delivery scooter go farting by I think the electric/fuel cell revolution can't come fast enough But then there are some engines that are a joy to hear.

I've always had a soft spot for the anglo-americans like the Tiger and Cobra. Seems to me those fine engines finally found a suitable home where they could deliver their potential. And the British chassis received a healthy dose of slightly more power than they could comfortably handle

Allard, TVR Griffith, Bristol and Gordon Keeble are all cars I'd love to experience. And of course that Buick/Rover 3.5V8 that powered just about everything from 1960's Rover P5B to Land Rovers to 2000's TVRs. And always Morgans!

 

[jimboy]

News flash, I’ve just managed to post up pictures on goods I’m selling on gumtree and best of all I’ve just sold a mountain bike. Happy days I’ve other car parts on as well, new bits, so complete with photos, I recon they won’t last long....