glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 23, 2023 17:59:17 GMT
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Locking wheel nuts are an absolute pet hate of mine. The only person they ever stop doing anything or inconvenience is the actual owner of the car. Anyone who wants to steal the wheels will have the kit to get them off quicker than you can say “Alexa, order me a locking wheel nut removal socket”.
Almost as stupid as a system that makes it impossible to just buy a replacement for the number plate you’ve just had stolen.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 23, 2023 14:15:39 GMT
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Jeez. You’re worse than me! 🤣🤣
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Triumph Toledo C20XEglenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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WHS ☝️
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nice job picking up the Marina. 👍
I’m pleased to hear that you’re planning on keeping it largely stock. Something like that with some really subtle upgrades would make a great companion to the lunacy of the yellow peril. 😃
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Hanging around here a long time but totally missed this. They are not a truck I have ever seen before being a Uk thing and me not from there. I find it very unusual looking and the use of glass-fibre in the front is, I'd guess, fairly rare. My tuppence-worth on the decision you face is simple really. Is it possible to get it moving, which simplifies selling, transporting (for you or a potential buyer) etc and surely elevates its worth? You are quite close in the greater scheme of these thing. Anyway it’s been an interesting read sir, thanks. I’ve been watching your progress through the thread today, measured by your “likes”. I am pleased to hear that you have enjoyed it, and I hope that, now that you’ve got up to date, you’re not too disappointed with where I am with it. The only way to get it moving under its own steam would involve finishing the chassis work, refitting the Cummins engine and gearbox, and getting it hooked up to the rear axle. Way more work than I can do until at least the spring when the weather improves. It would tow/roll as it is. As to value, it’s highly likely to be worth significantly more in bits than it is as a project.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 21, 2023 21:30:50 GMT
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my niece has just passed all the classes and literally just got out in a real life train with an instructor Wish her the very best of luck from me. It can be a hugely rewarding job. But, and I know that I am coming from a position of bias, tell her that she absolutely, unquestionably, needs to be in ASLEF.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 21, 2023 17:15:26 GMT
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Everything about controlling a mainline train is done by the driver. There are no systems whatsoever that “drive” the train, not even a speed limiter or cruise control. How/when/where you accelerate or brake is all dependent entirely upon the driver’s experience. 600+ tonnes, maybe a thousand people onboard.
There are a number of failsafes that can intervene in the event of a driver making an error, particularly one that involves excessive speed, or the possibility for passing a signal at danger. Unfortunately, triggering one of those systems is not something we are allowed to do. The ethos is “you were going to have an accident if the system hadn’t intervened…”
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 21, 2023 16:28:04 GMT
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Yeah, there’s no “clutch” beyond slipping the belt. Speaking of which… a parcel from America arrived Friday. Gives a better idea of just how badly worn the original one is.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 21, 2023 15:35:43 GMT
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glenanderson back to your quandary you mention work may go wrong ? why ? and if you are thinking that way maybe time for a change .. I am a train driver. I have been doing it now, for fifteen years on passenger work. It’s a fantastic job, and really suits me, but the pressures for perfect performance, coupled with the shift work, are considerable. You really don’t get many chances to make errors, even minor ones, and as you get older it gets harder. I have seen many really good and experienced drivers decide to call it a day in their late 50s and early 60s, earlier than planned, because of the way we are managed, particularly after an “incident”. Making a change though, is really hard. You don’t drive a train by reacting to what you see in front of you like you do a car or lorry; you have to drive it according to what you know should be happening where you are. A bit like a proper London cabbie has “the knowledge”, and knows exactly where it is you want to go and how to get there, I have about 500 miles of railway line memorised to the degree that I can drive a train along it, at full speed, when visibility is down to a few yards. You can’t just up and go somewhere else and start driving different trains on different routes, it takes literally years to get fully proficient. I am currently benched because of a minor incident and, although this time it looks like I am going to be ok, next time I might not be. I am working towards standing for election as a full time union representative, but I still need to get through both the current wobble and the next few years. Ten years ago we were in a situation where my wife’s parents were in a bit of financial trouble, and we decided that the solution would be to combine our forces and buy a large property. At that point, both my wife and I had solid and well paid jobs, our son was pre-school, and the potential looked very positive. We were on track to have the house paid for by retirement, and I was planning on squirrelling away as many future projects as possible. At the point I committed myself to the Austin it really didn’t matter how long it took to complete, or even if it was never finished, it could be a long term thing, even a retirement project. Unfortunately, the best laid plans can still go awry. The domestic situation with the in-laws can only politely be described as “challenging”, and a surprise redundancy for my wife has definitely derailed the potential of having the house paid for by retirement. Regardless of finances, living here has been far less idyllic than we had hoped, and both my wife and I have no desire to remain here for any longer than we need to. We have significant equity, more than enough to relocate somewhere less expensive to buy and run, so there seems no point in staying here and scraping by if we don’t have to. Having made the decision to sell at some point in the not too distant future, then the lorry becomes something that can’t be just set aside. It either needs to be finished and capable of moving around under its own steam, or it needs to be gone. Without the lorry, pretty much any reasonable house with a driveway and double garage would be ok for us, and there’s literally millions of those out there, but with it, whether mobile or not, choices are way more restricted. If I am brutally honest with myself, at 44 I could have done the lorry. At 54 would still be possible, but with everything else going on only just. Another year or so and I genuinely don’t think I will physically be able to manage it. improvement in mental health and bank balance. Yes. That’s pretty much where I am at the moment. Even just mulling it over on here has been a help. I have had a couple of long conversations with mates over the last couple days, and their advice has been very close to that offered here. I think the decision is pretty much made, really.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 20, 2023 15:28:34 GMT
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ordinarily i would have said "don't do it" but having just "done it" myself, that would be a bit two faced. "CUBE... PLEASE SIMPLIFY THE GAME" Hey Darren, how's tricks? What have you pruned?
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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What John says. 🤞
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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1937 Ford Model Y Hornglenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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Nov 19, 2023 23:34:03 GMT
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I used to have a 37 Model Y, but I cannot for the life of me remember how the horn was connected. I seem to recall a hollow steering column, but I’m not convinced that I’ve misremembered as I know for sure that my P4 Rover worked that way.
Any chance of a picture of the horn push, the back of the steering wheel where it meets the column, and one of the bottom of the steering box.
Chances are, the horn would have been wired with a permanent live supply to one terminal, and the other grounded via the horn button.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 19, 2023 22:37:33 GMT
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I think that the idea of keeping it as a shed does have some potential. However, it would need to be located somewhere other than where it is now, and the practicalities of getting it, say, to the bottom of my garden, would probably require complete disassembly and reassembly. If we are going, ultimately, to move away from here, then I would end up having to leave it behind as well, which pretty much makes putting the effort into turning it into a bespoke kind of shed pointless.
I’m going to mull things over for a bit. I’m meeting up with a couple of close mates early next month, both of whom are very much into the same kinds of things, so I’ll no doubt get their input over beer, curry and mickeytaking.
The issue might be taken out of my hands if work goes south. If that happens, then I won’t have much choice but to scale back on everything.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 19, 2023 19:13:15 GMT
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The only advice I would offer is to ask yourself the following questions: 1. If you sold it will you regret it now or later? I think I will always regret not being able to see it through. I suspect that I am already at that point though; if I were going to have been able to finish it, it would be much nearer done by now. Its value is already pretty low. I paid £500 for it, and the seller had struggled to find a buyer even back then, so I suspect that it’s worth as much or more breaking it and weighing it in as it is selling it complete. It’s already worse than it was when I bought it. Every additional month it sits is more work when I eventually get around to doing it. No. I will probably always harbour the desire for a classic commercial, but I wouldn’t buy another all the while we are living here, because I don’t want any potential future move to be limited/prevented by the need to store a lorry. In the unlikely event that a future property has the space to keep something this size, I’d really only be interested in buying something that was already restored, or at least roadworthy and drivable. Finished, I doubt it would be worth half of what it would cost to do. I think I would use it; but I also thought it would be long finished by now. If work circumstances don’t go favourably, then I don’t think I am going to have the necessary finances to run something like this as a toy.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 19, 2023 18:52:49 GMT
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Thanks, folks, for your input and perspective. Much appreciated. 👍
I have been thinking long and hard about my fleet for the last six months or so. At the moment, it and the domestic job list, stand like this:
Land-Rover. Still performing its duties as a daily jack-of-all trades. It’s always going to need more attention than a “modern”, but I don’t think it makes any sense to replace it.
1953 D1 Bantam. Still not running right, but I’m not really in the right place to part with it at this moment in time. I might consider letting it go, but it takes up little more space than a bicycle and doesn’t really have a huge amount of financial value.
1954 D3 Bantam. That’s my son, Finlay’s. It’s up to him what he does with that.
1956 D3 Bantam. That’s definitely going to be sold. Just waiting for the amended V5 to come back from the DVLA incase they want to inspect it as it’s worth way more in bits than as the partially complete bitsa that it is.
1971 Triumph T25SS. Sold and paid for, but currently waiting for my mate to collect.
Canta. Well, that’s not a major project, and Finlay is keen to make use of it as the technical part of his D of E this year. Really, it doesn’t want a great deal of work, and a concentrated push would see it done in a few days. If it’s rubbish once done, then we’ll move it on.
The Austin. Well, if you have got this far you know exactly what that means. I don’t actually have a great deal of money tied up in it, but it is a great big immobile and time consuming lump. And one that, domestically, comes absolutely last place in the priorities of anyone else in the house.
I have recently sold my 2016 Honda CBR500R, and intend replacing it (along with the other Triumph and the’56 Bantam) with a new Triumph 400X Scrambler. So my bike tally will be one and a half rideable ones, not one rideable one and three in bits. If the new Triumph is as good as I hope it will be, then I can see myself moving the D1 Bantam on. Maybe.
I also need to finish an en-suite bathroom project. All the first fix is finally done on that, and I’m currently waiting on the plasterer.
I then have to do the adjoining bedroom, insulate and floor the loft, rebuild the existing Victorian conservatory and fit out a utility room that’s currently just an empty shell.
And try and do all that while holding down a job that requires working shifts, and is like sitting permanently under a sword of Damocles.
I am fairly heavily involved, locally, with my trades union, and there are opportunities for further involvement that would release me from the shift work and 99% of the driving. It would bring its own challenges, definitely, but it is an avenue I intend to explore.
I have had a long chat with Mrs. A, and we are in agreement that we aren’t going to stay at this property on retirement; so the priorities are, really, to get through the current wobble, and then work towards being ready to move out somewhere between six years time (the earliest I can realistically look at retirement) and twelve years (the latest I want to be working).
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Fun On The Farm.glenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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Diazepam? You really don’t want to get reliant on that, or anything like it.
My dad, REME during the WW2, got into the very unfortunate habit of liberating any Axis kit he came across of the “vitamin” pills they gave to their drivers. Pervitin, or amphetamine as it is better known, allowed him to very effectively burn the candle at both ends for years. In the 50s and 60s you could buy it over the counter at chemists. By the 70s he was pretty much reliant on them to get going, and Diazepam to sleep.
He might have managed forty years work in thirty, but he almost certainly took twenty years off his life.
As a result, I have an extremely strong aversion to taking anything stronger than paracetamol or rennie.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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That era of Merc always puts me in mind of my dad’s brothers, Alf and Don, who had a succession of them when I was a kid. Don was still driving a W123 up until the early 2000s.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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This is a bit of a tough post. I haven’t actually made a decision yet, but I’m seriously considering pulling the plug on the Austin. Life, work and domestic issues have constantly seemed to block progress. Particularly in the last three or four years. I’ve, genuinely, managed almost zero progress in over a year and, despite the fact that I really, really, want to see this finished, I’m not sure if I want to continue making sacrifices elsewhere so that I can keep it but still not finish it. I’m ten years older than I was when the idea of saving JOY first started. If I’m honest, I’m drowning in projects, and I’m tired. My work involves constantly having to perform without error, the pressures that brings are hard to convey; and the consequences of making an error, ultimately, can mean no job (or worse). Like many, I’m sure, I’m “trapped” by circumstance. Need the job, to pay the bills, to keep the house, which is where all the goods and chattels are kept. One of the things stopping me from just pulling the plug on the job and house, and doing something less stressful, is the “where does the lorry go?” question. It’s a bit of a sunk-cost thing. Knowing that we are all subject to the whims of circumstance (as I’m sure vulgalour and grizz will testify) I am thinking that a big rationalisation of stuff is probably long overdue. I had already made the decision to sell several of my motorcycle projects, as well as a lot of other “get around to it one day” clutter, but very recent developments have made me start thinking about an actual “escape plan”, if that’s not too dramatic a phrase. Not having a lorry in bits, or even a drivable one to house, would simplify my life massively. Sorry for the ramblings. I’m really just thinking aloud, in a space where I know those who’re going to read this will have a better perspective on how attached we are to our projects/plans/ideas than most people.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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1964 Bedford J6glenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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Brilliant progress. 👍👍
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,262
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Nov 18, 2023 14:50:26 GMT
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That’s the one with the T16 turbo engine in. It’s a bit too “obviously modified” for me, but I would love to build a Q-car type resto-mod Marina using that power plant. 👍👍
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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