MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Jul 17, 2011 13:31:00 GMT
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Ive just spent most of the weekend reading this thread after joining the forum. Sounds an brilliant place.
Don't think I'd ever be able to come down for a full weekend (too old for that amount of drinking). But a day visit would be great, I'm only down the M4 as well.
Should have a Cinquecento Sporting track car project starting next month. Love the silver stripped out one, don't want to go quite that far.
Advice on renewing brake pipes and arch rolling would be welcome.
Mark
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Jul 17, 2011 16:31:18 GMT
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Cracking weekend everyone. Many thanks to all who helped with my car. Thanks to Matt for his help in spite of his 'health issues' Thanks to Ben for taking charge and risking his spine to help obtain a new flywheel! I'll just leave this pic here.  |
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Last Edit: Jul 17, 2011 16:35:31 GMT by Fennec
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Jul 17, 2011 17:00:30 GMT
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Nice name change, Alanski ;D
Awesome weekend, I'm sure some of you are still there now, I fell asleep as soon as I got home!
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring. |
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Steve
Posted a lot
Making progress in small, easy to handle chunks of awesome
Posts: 2,039
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Jul 17, 2011 21:22:06 GMT
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Attendance FAIL  Sorry chaps.......will endevour to be there next month for a full weekend! Hope the weekend went as planned  Steve |
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Jul 18, 2011 14:58:25 GMT
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Dom here with the 73 bug, big thanks to the guys at area 52, couldnt of broken down in a better place!! lol with a helpfull bunch of guys. thanks again. will post some new stuff when I get the chance ;D ;D ;D ;D Hi Dom, It was good to meet you - glad we managed to help you out and get you back on the road. I was hoping you'd have signed up on here....you really ought to check the site out fully, you'd certainly fit in well here. Hope to see you back at the unit soon? You're more than welcome back and I hope the car is still running fine? |
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,962
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Jul 18, 2011 15:13:36 GMT
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Had a great time, can't wait to see how the Ka progresses. Sorry for doing something wrong with the Lada propshaft bolts. I took them off and put them back on and I can't remember there been any washers but maybe they were hiding in the grease. At least the clutch worked and the new flywheel will stay wheel shaped. Also sorry for the "happening", will get myself checked out this week. Just glad I finally got round to a bit of fabrication on the Sunday evening.
Matt
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Jul 18, 2011 15:23:55 GMT
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Well, what a weekend! Far too much to put into words - everytime I start thinking about the weekend I think of something else that happened or was said. I think we had it all....ambulances, floods, cool cars, LOTS of tinkering, copious amounts of beer, amazing food, new machinary and most of all....great people. Friday, no sooner had Matt (Stealthstylz) appeared with the Ka project car, Dave (Butterz) arrived followed by Dan (VIP) and Bryn (err...Bryn). Bryn popped over the road to grab a pint of milk and on his return mentioned to me that there was a Beetle broken down in the road just outside the entrance to the unit. I headed out there and met Dom, the Beetle owner, and offered to get the car into the unit to see if we could help him out. We stopped the traffic on one of Bristols busiest roads while we pushed his car in and got it straight on the ramp  Despite having broken down, Dom was happy that he'd unexpectedly ended up in some random place called Area 52.  The car had lost drive and we suspected the diff/gearbox but something didn't seem quite right, so we started taking the nearside wheel off. As I removed the wheel bolts I noticed a lot of swarf on the threads of the bolts. We decided to remove the drum a look a bit further. I had to go next door to borrow a socket large enough to remove the hub nut:  All seems fine there (brake shoes removed to clean them up while we were at it)  "Guys, I think I've found the problem"  Bryn goes with Dom to GSF to get a new one. Spot the differerence:  All sorted, we decide to let Dom go  Happy his pride & joy is driveable again. He's owned it for five years and it's a nice motor...good to meet you Dom and hope you come back sometime ;D  |
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Jul 18, 2011 15:42:16 GMT
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As more and more people start to arrive, Adam (Brawr) appears and announces he's brought a big pot of Chili for us. Some of the guys head down to Sainsburys for cheese, guacamole, salsa, nachos etc....and dinner is ready. I think there was almost total silence as 12 blokes from all over the country tucked into some amazing tucker. Om nom nom  Sure, it looks messy, but it tasted so damn good. There was a lot of love for Adam's Chili - thanks Dude.  The evidence of a tasty, hearty Area 52 meal....all over the unit - empty plates.  At this point Robin (RobinJI) decides to pull out a box chock full of his Mum's rice krispie cake. Made just for us boys, it was perfect. No kidding, the nicest rice krispie cake I've ever had. Thanks Robin's Mum ;D  Lots of tinkering went on before and after dinner until the early hours, but guess who didn't get any photos??  The beers flowed and many funny tales were told throughout the night. A perfect Area 52 evening. |
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Jul 18, 2011 16:51:17 GMT
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Saturday morning there is quite a bit going on as more people arrive. Robin (RobinXR4i) and Ben (Ben711200) give the ramp an overhaul with the help of Andy (Hardcore) and Robin (JI). With the ramp all greased up, it just needed putting back together but the fixing bolts for the base plates got swept up and thrown away. Comedy moment as the wastebin was carefully dissected CSI style in the search for the missing bolts.  It works so much smoother and much quieter now - thanks guys! I'd brought my vinyl cutter down to the unit to make some large stickers and Ryan decided to have a go at 'weeding' - I think he now appreciates how fiddly & time consuming making the A52 'Authorized' stickers can be.  Patience and a steady hand are needed. He was proud when he finished the sheet of 12 stickers and started pondering about getting his own vinyl cutter.  Outside, Rich had just arrived back from picking up his new wheels - seeing as the weather was (for the only time all weekend) dry & sunny, he couldn't wait to try them on  Enjoying the brief spell of sun, most people chilled in the yard while Rich was changing the wheels over  Wheel win, stance fail. Some arches, some different tyres and some ride height adjustment will be forthcoming. Rich was over the moon with his new purchase and knew it would entail some further tweaking to get them to work properly on the car.  Meanwhile Ben & Matt get started on Alans car. Alan was planning to change the clutch in the yard "it'll only take half an hour" but with the weather mostly on the very bloody wet side I suggested he put it on the ramp. Delayed because Tim decided to arrive and proceed to take the ramp for an hour, the car was finally on the ramp and things underway.  Clutch out, Matt & Ben pronounce, "I think you guys need to check this out" while looking up onto where the bellhousing had just come off. Alan responded, "It'll be alreet" Errrr...no Alan "I'm not letting you drive home with that" The flywheel was soon removed and a whole roadtrip entailed with Ben & Alan heading off in Robins Sierra to collect a new one from Basingstoke (finding a NOS Lada flywheel on a Saturday afternoon....he's a lucky boy!)  Ben & Alan arrive back from their trip a good few hours later and work on the Lada went on until 2am getting everything back in and bolted up. New clutch and flywheel - Alans car should drive a bit better now. |
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Lawsy
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,615
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Jul 18, 2011 19:27:24 GMT
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looks like i missed another corker - 99% certain there next time tho Dom could never have been in such a lucky place to break down.. cracking work guys oh and i saw this on another forum and thought this thread was more deserving  |
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Jul 18, 2011 19:48:21 GMT
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Nice name change, Alanski ;D Awesome weekend, I'm sure some of you are still there now, I fell asleep as soon as I got home! Right, now I'm awake after a nap as soon as I got back yesterday AND oversleeping this morning... I had a truly fantastic weekend and it was great to see so many people. Adam's chilli was epic, Alan's flywheel was deadly enough that we did a 160 mile round trip to The Lada Man to buy a new one on sat night.. Despite Robin-Ex-arrgh-Fore-Aye owing me a spine because we took his drift spec Sierra, and us ripping the bumper off, I really quite enjoyed going to pick it up with you, Alan. Champagne whilst changing a lada flywheel? Oh the decadent irony ;D I've forgotten loads, but roadkill featured strongly, as did homebrew between me and Colonel Colon, and I've never been quite as greasy as when servicing the ramp with Fore-aye ;D Thanks, Bruce |
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring. |
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Jul 18, 2011 20:57:11 GMT
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Epic is a much over used word, but a trip to A:52 is always epic. Had a great time, don't know where to start! In an effort to increase the caster angle on the Sierra, thus aiding self centring of the steering and making skids better I'd wondered about making some spacers to push the arb forward. So with a good dose of help from HC, Colon and Ryan these were created.......   So there was a need to test the results later on that evening  there did seemed to be an improvement. Was awesome fun ripping up the black top with Ryan and Colon. Alan's 30 minute clutch change turned into a Jason and the Argonauts style saga, which involved Alan and Ben disappearing in my Sierra for god knows how long! Worrying texted messages via Bruce about broken spines and bumpers got me worried, but thankfully the Sierra was returned in perfect order, thanks guys Think Matt freaked us all out with his fainting on Saturday night, glad everything was okay (snickers and coke seemed to be the best cure). I think the paramedics were a bit worried about entering A:52 incase they didn't leave ;D Apologies to...... Colon - for trying to kill him on our late night streeto raid across a very wet Bristol. VIP - for cutting frankly curse word holes in the switch board for the Diahatsu you can tell the one that Ryan did cause it's a nice tight fit. Mini fail! |
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Last Edit: Jul 18, 2011 21:02:47 GMT by Robinxr4i
Sierra - here we go again! He has an illness, it's not his fault.
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Jul 18, 2011 21:11:17 GMT
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Last Edit: Jul 18, 2011 21:12:47 GMT by Ratters
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VIP
South East
Posts: 8,302
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Jul 18, 2011 21:29:49 GMT
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VIP - for cutting frankly curse word holes in the switch board... It's all good, they don't come out, and you know if I'd done them, they'd have fallen straight through. Another good fun weekend, Adam's chili knocked mine into a cocked hat, but I'm glad folks were pleased with my homage d'Stealthstylz bbq marinade. Good progress made in the form of more working machinery, a la the lathe and tyre changer. I can see both of those being put to many hours of good use. |
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RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
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Jul 18, 2011 21:37:52 GMT
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Another good weekend at A52, I'm really enjoying being able to stay the full weekends at the moment. The Volvo made a nice bed, and was a pleasant change from my usual place in the barracks.
I'm looking forward to next month, and will likely be back in the Scirocco by then, likely with some tinkering to do as I've just made a rather large 'to do list' for it.
Unfortunately I may have to become a less regular face down at the unit come term time, due to being based a bit further away once I'm at uni, so I'll be making the most of the next couple of play-days before I leave.
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,962
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Jul 18, 2011 21:54:44 GMT
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Ratters those are the most emotive pics of Area 52 i've seen, just that fact that they're all shot without the subject knowing you were shooting makes them look amazing.
Forgot to say - thanks to everybody for looking after me. If anybody in my group of local mates passes out they end up with their kegs round their ankles, permanent marker everywhere and covered in imac lol.
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brawr
Part of things
Posts: 650
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Jul 18, 2011 22:14:33 GMT
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Quality weekend as always! Cheers for the positive comments about the food, glad you lot liked it! Ace write-ups so far guys, and excellent photos as always. This one of the ones above made me laugh, looks like Matt is strongmanning the whole Lada on first glance: Enough exertion to make anyone need paramedic assistance! |
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Last Edit: Jul 18, 2011 22:15:16 GMT by brawr
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Jul 19, 2011 10:50:40 GMT
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Lee, those photos are simply stunning! I keep going back and having another look at them - they really capture the atmosphere. Thanks Dude ;D Dan, I'd have to call it an even split if I had to choose between Adam's chili and your marinated pork steaks - they were both equally amazing. I was so busy enjoying the BBQ'd pork on Saturday night that I didn't think to take any pics of it. Another class meal for us boys that makes me so glad we moved away from the 'burgers, burgers and more burgers' approach of the early days. Some pics from the rest of the weekend - not many because I was busy with other things. Sunday morning we were met with the remnants of a flooded unit - the main drainpipe (which runs down through my part of the unit) got blocked, so the water came flooding through the unit instead. Poor Matt (who was sleeping in the middle of the workshop) woke to find his clothes soaking and had to borrow some dry clothing from Dan & Alan. A windscreen wiper screwed to a length of wood made for an 'it'll have to do' squeegee to try and push the water out...    Later in the day, when the floor was starting to dry out we had another massive downpour and it happened all over again Dave & Ryan did their best monkey climbing onto the roof and got to the drain area only to find it blocked with a roof tile, some apples and the rear case of a point & shoot camera. How random! Thanks for that guys....sorry about you getting your feet soaked  The floor squeegee'd once again, we could carry on. Alan continued getting his car back together which resulted in a Lada with a new clutch and (unexpected) new flywheel.  Around this time, Jamie appeared and very kindly set about fixing in a 3 phase socket so that we could finally power up the lathe and the tyre machine. AWESOME! Before long there was lots of activity around the tyre machine as Ross, Robin, Matt and anyone else brave enough started poking large quantities of grease into every orifice of the machine. Once done, there was a flurry of excitement as the machine was put to use removing tyres, fitting tyres, removing tyres etc.... As Dan says, I think this machine is going to be VERY useful and so will the lathe. Area 52 expands its equipment range and many thanks must go to Jamie again for sorting the wiring out. ;D It was such a wet weekend that anytime it stopped raining, most people headed outdoors just because it was nice to get some fresh air away from Colon's, Harcore's and Rich's rather evil farts!  Sunday lunch was a return to Mexican with the leftovers of Adam's lovely chili but Ryan decided he wanted something with a bit more sugar. We all thought he'd die of sugar overload before finishing the whole pot (which he did)  Comment of the weekend for me - when Hardcore read the label for Ryans chocolate pudding stating what a QUARTER of a pot of this stuff contained, he calmly proclaimed, "You need more salt"  The rest of us worked our way through the chili, refried beans, home made guacamole, salsa and cheese...  A couple of parting shots (again, because I didn't get to take that many ) - and Area 52 favourite activity...grinding, LOTS of grinding. And welding, and painting.....  ......but mostly grinding!  It was a GREAT weekend ;D |
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prey
Part of things
Posts: 856
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Jul 19, 2011 12:28:01 GMT
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looks like a great weekend indeed. very much looking forward to getting down to one of these! i can't believe i've never seen a puma bumper on a ka before either, looks like it was meant to be.
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spiny
Club Retro Rides Member
Wiki Admin
I am abivalent towards car electrics ...
Posts: 1,331
Club RR Member Number: 167
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Jul 19, 2011 13:53:28 GMT
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looks like a great weekend indeed. very much looking forward to getting down to one of these! I can't believe i've never seen a puma bumper on a ka before either, looks like it was meant to be. ah, i was trying to place what was different there, good work |
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there did seemed to be an improvement. Was awesome fun ripping up the black top with Ryan and Colon.
