Pounds & Pennies
Main
Posted by min200 Thu, October 23, 2014 08:35:49


Does anyone else get messed around at work? I seem to have a face that attracts it, maybe because I am an easy going guy but maybe they just like to take the **** and are waiting to see how long it will be before I loose the plot and start killing folks there who knows.

I have gone from a start time in the afternoon to a morning start time again after being informed "due to a reshuffle your start time doesn't exist anymore" I mean don't they realise what this means? I will have to come home in the early evening just like a normal person and see the Wife and kids SEVEN DAYS A WEEK!!! My god the secret to a happy marriage has been only saving that horror for the weekends before so now I will have to listen to the drivel that teenage girls and wives spout on a daily basis! Still could be worse I suppose...I don't know how yet but I will find something to take solace in as the day goes by.

:hysterically_laughi

Well, isn't that what Land Rovers are for? That and a shed.
 
When I'm busy with a big job like a brake rebuild or a suspension rebuild my partner describes herself as a 'Land Rover widow'.
 
Padded Corners
Main
Posted by min200 Sat, October 25, 2014 18:02:46


I had bought tickets to go to a Medieval Fair at Nottingham Castle today for me and my youngest as Wifey was off first thing to a Spa for a fiends birthday. Well my daughter dumped me at the first chance to go away on holiday for a week with my parents I mean who would rather go away with their grandparents to be spoilt rotten for a week when you could go for a few hours to look at folk dressed up like jesters and the like eh?

I'm glad she went because the Fair was bloody awful. Don't get me wrong here there was a lot of effort put into by the "players" and if you were seven or under it would have been a spellbinding place I am sure but as an adult it was, lets say, cringe worthy. Each to their own.

Luckily the castle, which is well worth a visit at any time you are passing, was holding a large display in the gallery about The Great War and its effects on the local folk who both fought in it and those lefty behind here. I am just going to take a moment here and say we owe so very much to those lads that fought and died in the most awful of surrounds. We owe al of our forces both now and then our way of life and our luxuries thank you just doesn't seem enough does it?

After a couple of hours milling about I forced a KFC down my neck for lunch (be rude not to while in town) ad headed home to see if I could finish those pads off on the last three corners. I have to look at brakes that way "the last three" because I do hate doing the spiteful bloody things.

I went for a change in tactics today because I knew the clocks are going back tonight so not as much light later in the day to play and the fact Wifey will be back around lunchtime to spoil/tell me about her pampering stuff. It will have something to do with hot stones and massage I am sure but what I am not so sure about is that it all sounds like a list of what's available at the local whore house.

So first I finished off the back brakes and this all went rather swimmingly. I plugged myself into my music, this is a first for me whilst working on the landy but I fancied a change, and set to removing the front wheel and old brakes along with the cylinders. An elderly gentleman walked past looking me directly in the face and grinning wildly which seems a bit odd but we live in a city and there are a few odd balls about.

The front brakes have the twin cylinders so this made the job of refitting the pads a lot easier as you only have to battle on spring at a time instead of the two on the back end. Time for a change of album on the phone and the wheel went back on.

A couple of spotty teenagers walked past staring at me and grinning away...again bloody odd twice in a row but maybe they think I look daft in my bandana you know with me being over twenty one and all.

The last corner beckoned so I delved in full of confidence at how easy this was going to be because I had worked out a couple of tricks on how to slide the pads in using a large screwdriver. New album and a bit of country music this time always good for making you feel happy. So moving my head in time to the music I notice a mum and her kids walking past me staring away and smiling like Cheshire cats so this is getting creepy now. I have been working on the Landy how long? and no one has ever walked past staring away at me and looking at me like I am the funniest looking ape in the zoo so surely there must be something daft on my face? A quick check in the door mirror proves nothings wrong just a devilishly handsome chap staring back so the last brakes get my attention again.

The new cylinders fitted, on auto pilot because I'm good at this now, but something looked amiss.

Spot the mistake?




Yep fitted the bloody things backwards. Not just the top mind when I should have noticed it but the bottom as well! The suns out and the country mix has me tapping away so no bother just undo all the nuts and change them around again.

Chucked the new pads on and it looks much better.



Tidy up time and a lad in his mid twenties walks past mostly looking down with a smirk on his face and the odd furtive glance my way and I have to say people are starting to **** me off now because not only are they rude but the next who smirks or grins at me like a nut job is going to get a serious amount of abuse.

I throw my tools in the back of the Landy and spend ten minutes just taping up a few wires and fitting an inline fuel filter. Then As I walk up the side of my house my neighbour is stood there smiling like a nut job at me so enough is enough and I pull out my head phones and say to him "Why are you smiling at me like you havejust taken all the bloody happy pills? Loads of people have been all day and its starting to **** me right off" to which he replies without missing a beat...

"It's your singing voice chap, very dulcet tone indeed and an all afternoon performance for free!"

Apparently he is going to copy me in on the videos of it going up on you tube.
 
:lol:

but then, you was happy eh.....


my 14yo grandaughter is just the same when she stays with us, pinches my big `ol cans if shes forgot her dr beats or whatever, but the off key droning goes on for ages...

anyway, a man who never made a mistake is a man who`s done nothing
(with landrovers).....lol

I refuse to speak of your calling brake linings "pads" - so there.. :)
 
They are bloody pads...the linings are the bit stuck on the metal ;)

It has been suggested I enter the X factor....more for the idiots at the start that make arses out of themselves im sure!
 
The strangest memory popped into my head this morning t was one of those things you notice when you are out and about think to yourself "that's a bit odd" but carry on with whatever task you were doing at the time.

It was at work on Wednesday evening and the heavens had opened up. The rain was coming down sideways and I was dropping a trailer onto a bay when I say a driver come out of the building covering his BALD head with a bit of A4 paper while running toward his truck. What's odd about that you ask? well break it down.

He was trying to protect his head with an A4 sized bit of paper now lets face it you are not going to be covering up much with that are you?

Oh and he was as BALD as a baby's backside. He could have casually strolled through a waterfall and only would have had to wipe his hand over his shiny dome to dry it!

Maybe it was some built in primal instinct to cover his full and funky locks from days gone by who knows.

OK then My project is coming along nicely so it was time to look at the electrics and here is what we have going on.

The Front headlights and side lights work just fine.

The indicators only work on the off side.

The hazards only work on the offside.

The rear side lights only work on the offside.

Fog lights don't work at all.

The horn, wipers and washers don't work.

have taken the dash off and there is this wire just floating about looking like it should be attached somewhere...





The fuse box looks past its best if I am honest with corrosion on the terminals and if you move it around the dash instruments work then don't then do!

The pile of freshly cooked spaghetti behind the dash looks like its going to be great fun! I am learning as I go here on the electrical front on Land rovers and its looking like it will be a steep curve!

I have pleaded for help across a few forums so I will update as and when I make any sort of headway.

As for those of you who re thinking to themselves "hang on I thought he was doing the brakes?" you are right and yes I am but I'm a bit stuck until the new pipework arrives next week so I thought I would give myself a stroke by pretending to be a sparky for the morning!
 
unless you already have a better one, a cheap and cheerful electrical tester is a godsend.
you can check each wire for power before guessing its home.
also as usefull is a length of circuit wire with a crocodile clip on one end, a perhaps pointy bit on the other with an inline fuse near to the end you hold.
connect the crocodile clip to power source = battery
and use the mobile power lead to "touch" electrical circuits at bulb holders and such that dont work to see if they do work when powered up - even if it momenterily so ...
it defines whether the bulb/bulbholder is no good, or the supply is no good.

being old school I always carry a length of wire under the discos bonnet but as said length of wire but with crocodile clips at each end.
if I loose power while out somewhere, one end clips on to battery power, the other clips to lost power source to light an unlit bulb.....till I can get home and sort it propperly in the daylight.

it has other uses I will not repeat on here ;)
 
Sounds like a plan chap. Be getting myself some clips and wire then ;)

Bought myself a cheap tester a few months back...still learning how to use the damn thing properly!
 
Last edited:
Sounds like a plan chap. Be getting myself some clips and wire then ;)

Bought myself a cheap tester a few months back...still learning how to use the damn thing properly!

cheap testers are great, I only used the DC section, adjusted to the power range that needs testing = 24volts in your case ??

If like mine its powered by a 9volt battery, ensure its switch to off before you put away....

(I have a few spare 9volt batteries coz = :eek:.. )
 
Lights on.
Main
Posted by min200 Sun, November 02, 2014 17:01:13


I've been looking forward to today all week. It was the one morning that I had nothing booked in and no chores to run so it was to be time to put the brakes back together.

I woke up to the sound of pouring rain hitting the bedroom window so plans had o change. I admit I was feeling a bit peeved to say the least as the prospect of getting over another milestone on the old project was appealing but seeing as I have no garage to work in I am at the mercy of mother nature and as much as I would like to make her do differently she is a fickle mistress who will do as she pleases.

The ran passed by nine thirty but the driveway was soaked so no lying on it for today but I then remembered I had a load of electrical bits to be sorting out on it as seeing as most of that is inside I grabbed my babygrow and hopped in.

After looking at the fuse box last week I ordered a new one because the corrosion was pretty bad on the contacts.



It didn't look any better when I had taken all of the wiring off so I think I made the right call here!




Obviously I have taken pictures to make sure I put the wiring back in the right place and not cause myself any unnecessary headaches but the shiny new one looked good before putting it on.

All surprisingly went well and with everything refitted I had a check through to see if it had cured any issues at all...it had! The wipers now work and I am hoping the washers will too once they are refitted as its the same button (I think but im probably wrong!) To say such a simple noise form a motor and a simple action such as the rotten old wipers smearing themselves across the screen can bring such a feeling of happiness is very very true....it felt like Christmas and I felt like a proper mechanic right up until I checked out the indicators on the near side. They still were not working.

SO I set to work changing over the indicator relay that had turned up in a box of bits that I bought a few weeks back and had been living down south in my Dads shed until I collected them yesterday. It made no difference at all the light sat there doing nothing and taunting me silently..."I am no mechanic" I thought as the euphoria of getting the wipers working faded away.

Out came the trusty multimeter I bought some time back and with apprehension I tested the bulb holder wiring both front and back. There was power to the back one so I checked it over cleaned it up and put the bulb back in place...let there be light!

One down and one to go....the front one didn't want to play but I managed to figure out there was power up until where the wires joined for the holder but none after it. Connections checked and still nothing happening so I delved into my box of spares and pulled out a spare bulb holder wired it up and it worked!!!!!!!!! Drilling out the rivets holding on the old one was a quick and easy affair along with fitting the replacement. Indication is no longer a problem for me nor is the hazard warning for the many times I will undoubtedly be broken down on the roadside!

The fog lights just will not play though. I only get a faint reading of power anywhere on the circuit so that will be solved either by the excellent advice I get on the forums or by removing the lights and switch altogether as they are not a legal requirement on a 1983 motor.

I cant find the horn either? It was getting dark but im buggered if I can see it??? Still another job for another day. All in all a good day in dragging my Landy back to life!

Just turned 40.
 
Alcohol.

Main
Posted by min200 Sun, November 09, 2014 08:31:31

I have changed...long gone are the days of boozing heavily getting up and starting again the next lunchtime. Last night I had 3 pints of Hobgoblin a bottle of Budweiser and a shot of something green. I am glad I stopped there because my backside stinks worse than a rotting dog and this morning I am teetering on the edge of having a hangover and that's enough of a reminder that I don't like them very much. Also what is with not being able to sleep properly when you have had more than a couple of drinks? Is it just me or does everyone else have this happen as well? I am a grown up now or just a proper lightweight?

I will stick to my bottle of beer and cheeky vodka on a weekend evening from now on but the reason for a few extra's was it was the mother in laws surprise 60th Birthday party. It was that much of a surprise I didnt know about it until yesterday morning but according to the Wifey she told me weeks ago. The reasons I was a bit miffed about it were the fact I didnt want to go and we were supposed to be off out with the Nottingham Land Rover Club for a bonfire and play away off road...bloody family lol.

Today is a free pass day though so I get to go and try to finish my brakes off but I wanted to do a quick update on parts bought and sold. I managed to sell the two way tank switch for a nice sum and I bought a new exhaust system, flexi hose pipes and a proper number plate light. Below are the latest figures and I will update later about how many brake pipes I ruined changing them over later!

Landy Project Costs

Land Rover £375

Sanding Discs £11.70

Ignition Barrel £20

Heritage letter £21.75

2x Batteries and rear 1/4 light £35

Pair Battery Terminal Clamps £3.99

Floor pan nuts & bolts £6.50

Grinding disc £2.25

Under Seal £8.99

Complete set of lights £85

5 Litres Primer £24.99

4 Discovery Wheels £10.20

Rear Door £21.00

Front Door £20.00

Handbrake spring £1.50

2 Discovery wheels

Two seatbelts

Wing Mirror

2 Headlight surrounds

2 headlight frames £60

2 Front Doors £60

Nato Green Paint £36

Rear Window Seal and insert £9.99

Wiring connectors £3.00

2 tins of silver metal paint £7.00

Fuses & Sandpaper £4.50

5x tins black spray £5.00

5x more tins black spray £5.00

Clutch fluid

Exhaust putty

WD40 £8.49

Car Boot Bits £13

Front & rear shocks £59.45

Front & rear brake rebuild kits £81.62

Fuel tank & filler £40

Wheels complete with tyres £250

Fuel pump

Fuel hose

Indicator stalk

Bonnet strap

Brake switch

Fuel pump gasket

Fuel line clips £67.74

24v Wiper motor

24v flasher relay

24v heater

24v front loom

oil cooler

Door tops x2

Rear bench seat £67.50

Roof rack £100

Wheel nuts £8

Brake pipe kit £39

Wheels & Tyres £250

Exhaust System & Flexi hose pipes £66

Number plate light £5

CREDIT FOR BITS SOLD OFF OF PROJECT £424

TOTAL £1414.16
 
Alcohol.

Main
Posted by min200 Sun, November 09, 2014 08:31:31

I have changed...long gone are the days of boozing heavily getting up and starting again the next lunchtime. Last night I had 3 pints of Hobgoblin a bottle of Budweiser and a shot of something green. I am glad I stopped there because my backside stinks worse than a rotting dog and this morning I am teetering on the edge of having a hangover and that's enough of a reminder that I don't like them very much. Also what is with not being able to sleep properly when you have had more than a couple of drinks? Is it just me or does everyone else have this happen as well? I am a grown up now or just a proper lightweight?

I will stick to my bottle of beer and cheeky vodka on a weekend evening from now on but the reason for a few extra's was it was the mother in laws surprise 60th Birthday party. It was that much of a surprise I didnt know about it until yesterday morning but according to the Wifey she told me weeks ago. The reasons I was a bit miffed about it were the fact I didnt want to go and we were supposed to be off out with the Nottingham Land Rover Club for a bonfire and play away off road...bloody family lol.

Today is a free pass day though so I get to go and try to finish my brakes off but I wanted to do a quick update on parts bought and sold. I managed to sell the two way tank switch for a nice sum and I bought a new exhaust system, flexi hose pipes and a proper number plate light. Below are the latest figures and I will update later about how many brake pipes I ruined changing them over later!

Landy Project Costs

Land Rover £375

Sanding Discs £11.70

Ignition Barrel £20

Heritage letter £21.75

2x Batteries and rear 1/4 light £35

Pair Battery Terminal Clamps £3.99

Floor pan nuts & bolts £6.50

Grinding disc £2.25

Under Seal £8.99

Complete set of lights £85

5 Litres Primer £24.99

4 Discovery Wheels £10.20

Rear Door £21.00

Front Door £20.00

Handbrake spring £1.50

2 Discovery wheels

Two seatbelts

Wing Mirror

2 Headlight surrounds

2 headlight frames £60

2 Front Doors £60

Nato Green Paint £36

Rear Window Seal and insert £9.99

Wiring connectors £3.00

2 tins of silver metal paint £7.00

Fuses & Sandpaper £4.50

5x tins black spray £5.00

5x more tins black spray £5.00

Clutch fluid

Exhaust putty

WD40 £8.49

Car Boot Bits £13

Front & rear shocks £59.45

Front & rear brake rebuild kits £81.62

Fuel tank & filler £40

Wheels complete with tyres £250

Fuel pump

Fuel hose

Indicator stalk

Bonnet strap

Brake switch

Fuel pump gasket

Fuel line clips £67.74

24v Wiper motor

24v flasher relay

24v heater

24v front loom

oil cooler

Door tops x2

Rear bench seat £67.50

Roof rack £100

Wheel nuts £8

Brake pipe kit £39

Wheels & Tyres £250

Exhaust System & Flexi hose pipes £66

Number plate light £5

CREDIT FOR BITS SOLD OFF OF PROJECT £424

TOTAL £1414.16

I feel your pain. Alcohol is an anaesthetic and like all aesthetics it stops you going into REM sleep. Cycling between different sleep cycles (esp REM) is whats needed for high quality, refreshing sleep. Which is why you feel knackered no matter how many hours of 'unconciousness' you've had.
 
Thank God I am not a big boozer! I dont sleep much anyway so sleep lost has a big effect!
Not boozing saves a fortune as well we spent £50 last night and have bugger all to show for it! Could have gone towards some seat lol
 
Brake pipes

Main
Posted by min200 Sun, November 09, 2014 19:31:57

Well that was ****s and giggles from the start. "Change the brake pipes" I thought "how hard can it be" I thought "I mean its only nuts on the end of pipe so should be done in a couple of hours."

Try all bloody day from breakfast until the light went out of the sky. I bought a kit because I am lazy and it would save cutting and flaring the pipe but I am so very glad I did because if it took me all day to fit the ready made stuff I would have been there a week building the pipes as well.

It started ok with the rear pipes coming off easily enough and the new pipe going on. It was at this early stage though that I realised that each of the pipes had been cut a little bit longer than was needed and this would prove a pain later on the longer bits when I had to be inventive in bending it in such a way that I could lose some of the length into gaps where it wouldnt get ripped off when I am off road.



So the back done and the long pipe from front to back bent into places I tackled the front brakes. The flexi hose were shot so I decided they had to be replaced.



Came off easy enough.






The new hose went on no problem along with the new pipe from hose to drums but when I came to fitting the link pipe from the top of the drum to the bottom I realised I had made a mistake...it is almost impossible to fit the bottom of the link pipe to the bottom brake calliper with the calliper fitted to the back plate.
Off came the newly fitted pads and then the calliper removed so I could feed the pipe through the back plate screw it in place then refit all snug and tidy.

The only other issue I had was the master brake cylinder. This must either be an odd military spec one or the pipe kit had the wrong screw fitting on one pipe end because the screw/nut that goes into my master cylinder closest to the front of the motor is a larger size. Seems a bit odd but hey what do I know and luckily these front two pipes were the only ones that were any good so I took them off and gave them a clean up before refitting. Of course one of the screw ends did not want to go back where it had come from for a good twenty minutes but two skinned knuckles and a few new kick dents in place all is well.

The following picture is of my drip tray.....



Now this is a fantastic bit of kit for when you are draining oils out of anything and for any leaks you have going on and this one was doing just this when I backed up under the Landy bending pipework into place whilst simultaneously dipping th eback of my skull into it. With an oily skull I jerked upwards into the chassis with my forehead then back down hard into the concrete driveway with my wet skull both cracking it hard and collecting plenty of rusty dust and general dirt.

I love rebuilding my Landy at times and at other times I wonder what the hell I have started....
 
LOL..
"I love rebuilding my Landy at times and at other times I wonder what the hell I have started"

think most owners of older landies feel the same at times,
but for me, it`s when I climb into mine, get comfy, turn that key to start, and as it idles while I get my seat belt on, phone charger connected, first gear - handbrake of,
I`m already smiling again....
 

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