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May 21, 2024 21:24:42 GMT
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I retired at the begining of May with visions of plenty of time to play with the cars. So far that's been a dream, I gutted the bathroom then Father in law was taken ill with a sodium deficiency which is like instant Dementure, he's on the mend now but the bathroom is going slowly. I've completely gutted it then knocked a hole in the wall to fix a leak in the shower for the ensuite behind it.  That's now fixed, all the plumbing is done, the walls primed so next up will be jackoboard on the walls and plastering, mind you another medical appointment to take Fil to tomorrow so progress will be slow.    After this I'm supossed to be doing the in laws kitchen and Nieces bathroom plus my daughter is just buying a older house.... |
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Last Edit: May 21, 2024 21:27:27 GMT by kevins
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May 21, 2024 21:25:52 GMT
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life has a habit of getting in the way
happens to all of us
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,219 
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May 22, 2024 11:06:30 GMT
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I retired at the begining of May with visions of plenty of time to play with the cars. So far that's been a dream, Funnily enough I retired at the start of the first lockdown with the same dream ........... it's still just a dream ! I can't figure out how I ever had time to work  |
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Last Edit: May 22, 2024 11:07:07 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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eurogranada
Europe
To tinker or not to tinker, that is the question...
Posts: 2,556
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May 23, 2024 11:24:09 GMT
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You might just as well sell out now! Those cars will have to be patient I guess... All will find a balance, but do keep track of yourself as well. It's easy to forget. |
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May 24, 2024 13:03:55 GMT
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the older ones seem to be behaving but at 110000 miles the modern Fiesta has developed a few heavy clonks on rough roads, seems to be the front anti roll bar and rh engine mount, only a mornings work but I don't have many free mornings at the moment. got the Jackoboards up on the outside wall then had a go at plastering learning from on the trowel on you tube, I'm pretty pleased with the results. the bottom half is tiled so only worrying about a decent finish on the top.  |
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Last Edit: Jun 17, 2024 18:45:45 GMT by kevins
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Jun 18, 2024 18:47:31 GMT
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So the bathroom is nearing completion.  but I'm now also re-doing the in-laws kitchen, I've got help from my Nephew here though, in the last 2 days we've gutted the old kitchen including the ceiling, and knocked thd wall down between it and the dining room floor is soaking looks like waste has been leaking for years. T98omorrow we start putting it back together, finishing the first fix wiring building various bits of studwork and plaster boarding.  Also uncovering some of father-in laws bodges, how about a chimney held up with platerboard.  |
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Last Edit: Jun 18, 2024 18:49:07 GMT by kevins
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Jun 21, 2024 20:37:36 GMT
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In-laws Kitchen and dining room are now one room, new ceiling is up ready for plasterer on Monday, we have done the first electrical fix, we skimmed the walls though as they are all hidden behind units or tiles.   Tuesday we will be ripping up most of the old kitchen floor, the waste was leaking so its wet, soft and stinks, it's also 20mm lower than the dining room, then it's second fix and starting to put the kitchen in. Reckon we'll have a vaguely functioing kitchen by the end of next week. |
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Jun 22, 2024 18:47:50 GMT
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Finally got round to tinkering with cars, but not my cars the wife's 2010 fiesta changed both the front control arms which were clonking heavily, all went easily enough, got to use my trackrite for the first time which seemed to work well. Did notice one other issue though:  That's a supposedly genuine Delphi track rod end I fitted 2 months ago on ebay! I've ordered a genuine Ford one can't be messing about with this sort of thing. Did have to get the others out to use the ramp though, TR hasn't been started in 4 months and predictably had a flat battery but a insertion of energy from the range rover got it going easily enough, it's on charge now if the weather holds out I might take to to a local car meet on Thursday. (Need to get new tyres the ones on it are terrible in the wet).  |
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Jul 30, 2024 21:29:37 GMT
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kitchen / diner finished  onto the next project my Daughters new house, nothing so major here, just sorting out some dodgy wiring routing, new skirting and a new hot water tank.  most of it is being re-plastered, reason for sorting all of this out now, I've fitted metal capping because it doesen't have Any RCDs but we will be changing the fuse box at some point to, currently only uses 4 trips so won't be much of a task! |
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house is getting there, had another go at plastering.  which much to everones suprise came out rather well, re-routed all the upstairs wiring in the correct zones  I've also fitted ceiling roses (rather than bunches of uninsulated choc blocs), removed the hard wired very old smoke alarms that kept going off for no reason and started on re-routing plumbing in one area that can then be boxed in, only a day or two left now until it's ready for the plasterer, I also used the TR for a couple of trips out there. |
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Aug 12, 2024 20:12:49 GMT
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still plugging on with the Daughters house, hopefully get everything finished for the upstairs t be plastered tomorrow. Today though has been car work, not the retro's but the wifes 2010 fiesta which is due an MOT soon. She bought it a year ago from a dealer and it had had a lot of service type work done (cam belt, twist beam bushes, full service, new discs andc tyres etc). It had also had a patch welded on the sill which looked the typical "to MOT standard" repair, and was already going rusty again. So on the hottest day of the year (34degC) I set to with grinders and welding. this is what I started with  started to cut it out, looks like it had a small area of rust around the rib (all the others had the surface stone pecked ) and the patch slapped over it had formed a poltice to rot more of it away.  it was cleaned up further after this but I didn't take a picture. made a repair section for the sill including the rib and bottom of inner arch.  welded the arch section in painted the insides.  then welded the outer sill on (forgot to tale pics) here it is after grinding and painting.    Then cleaned up and gravitexed both sills.  When I get a chance I'll flat it back a bit and give it a coat of gloss. also need to give it a squirt inside with cavity wax, the underside also needs a coat of some sort of protection as well before the winter. before that I also need to change a track rod again, after only 4 months the boot has rotted away, after this it should be good for an MOT. |
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Last Edit: Aug 12, 2024 20:36:56 GMT by kevins
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Aug 21, 2024 20:52:35 GMT
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changed the track rod end on the fiesta where the boot had rotted away after 4 months, still need to waxoil the underbody but it should be ready for its MOT now. On the Building front, got all the wiring, plumbing and remedial work done and the plas8terer is round my Daughters this week also layed a temporary patio (directly on the soil but its coming up again next year)  Also got on with the porch at home, moved the door to the centre (temporary door we have a new wider one to go in eventually)  before the winter plan is to externally insulate and render it, including bringing the overhang of the roof further out, then put a radiator in. Also been thinking about fitting cruise control to the Range rover, they had it as an option but the parts are very expensive, it's a generic valeo system which was also fitted to Ford Granadas/scorpios, I know this because the for first 15 years of my career I worked in SVE at Ford, when we wern't doing interesting things like Escort Cosworth or Puma we did the install of the VM motori diesel into Scorpio, one of the bits I did was the cruise control instal. Scorpio parts are dirt cheap though so I have all the parts and a scorpio manual for less than £100 (the going rate for just a range rover module). |
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Last Edit: Aug 22, 2024 8:17:50 GMT by kevins
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hadso what have I been up to? Cars very little, fitted the new throttle pedal and seats to the Fiesta, no engine fault messages since, have all the bits for the range rover cruise control but no wiring diagram or time. Most of the tome has been on building, had the electrician round to fit a new fuse box at my daughters, the living room and upstairs ring I'd replaced were fine but the untouched kitchen wasn't, turned out it still had sections of old rubber wiring and joints burried in the plaster, so I've replaced all of that now and he's been back checked it and connected it. on our house the porch has external insulation and a new roof, hoping the weather holds out for the renderng, I have also started another bathroom at the neices which I have stripped, plastered and am now putting back together.    |
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Last Edit: Nov 9, 2024 23:18:01 GMT by kevins
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Nov 15, 2024 10:12:10 GMT
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porch roof done( extended out 2 tiles all round to cover insulation) and external wall insulation all basecoated.  got to have a couple of days dry and above 5 deg C before I can put the render on. the bottom is going to be tiled with brick slips but that may wait till the spring, The bathroom is also progressing. plastered Jackoboards around the wimdow where it is going to be painted on tuesday,  Fitted the bath yesterday. had an issue with the waste, where the original copper waste went into the cast iron was loose, the thread had rotted away, fortunately 40mm plastic waste was a tight fit into it so I smothered it in fernox pipe sealant and drove it in a couple of inches, hopefully it will be leakproof. |
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Last Edit: Nov 18, 2024 21:43:10 GMT by kevins
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