That Weekend

It's that weekend again.

Now there are three options:

1. Jesus was crucified on a cross and died.
2. He was merely stunned.
3. He was dead rose from the dead on the 3rd day.

I think the first option is the most likely and obeys Occam's razor. The 2nd option is a possibility, although the Romans were quite good at killing people on crosses. The 3rd option is the least likely, circumventing all known laws of physics and chemistry.

Talking of the Romans, is it possible they left Britain because they couldn't see the point of British Summer Time?

Pilgrimage

On Wednesday we went up to Thornton-le-Dale in Yorkshire to see Mathewson's Classic Car Auctions, famed for the TV programme Bangers & Cash.

On the way there we spotted a scruffy dog trotting along the hard shoulder on the M42 with something in its mouth. There were no cars nearby on the hard shoulder and nor were there any houses nearby. Curious.

We camped in a motorhome literally just behind their HQ for 3 nights. You can see my face where we were and the building at the bottom of the image is Mathweson's. Small campsite that doesn't cost very much at all, but I bet it's rammed on auction days.

Unfortunately there was no auction taking place this weekend.

Hay wasn't too impressed with the shop, which mainly sells Mathweson's promotional stuff; however, as I explained to her, what else are they going to sell? Their main stock in trade is sold in the auction.

Women, eh?

There was an interesting item in the shop - an engine made entirely from wood by a model maker in 2021.

You really can't see that it's made from wood - it's so realistic. Naturally, it doesn't work.

Here's a short video showing the campsite (our motorhome is in the top right of the field behind Mathewson's) and the Thornton le Dale site, which contains the shop. Auctions are held in the Village Hall opposite.

Before catching the bus to Whitby, we walked just over a mile to Mathweson's other site at Pickering where I had a chat with Paul Mathewson, who was prepping a car trailer for a collection. I asked him whether the public were allowed into the warehouse to look at the lots, but be told me their insurance only allows that just prior to an auction.

He did sanction some drone footage, but the wind was too high and I didn't have enough time.

Then an hour journey on a lovely bus to Whitby. There were announcements all along the way telling us what we were passing. You could also charge your mobile from recharging points and some seats had electrical sockets, just like trains.

At Whitby we had to take in Whitby Abbey.

I managed to get some drone footage, although the wind was rather high and I only managed less than a minute.

We're coming back today, minus a dilapidated E-Type I could have rebuilt, had one been available and had it been auction day. That is, however, something I'd like to do after I finish the GT6.

Jammy

My favourite tipple is Jam Shed Malbec. There was a time when it was £5.99 at Tesco and, once a month, you could get 25% off for 6 bottles or more.

However, there hasn't been a 25% promotion for the last 2 months. On top of that, the price has been steadily rising and reached £7 a bottle, which didn't put me off. The final straw, however, came last week when Tesco advertised it an the 'low every day price' of £7.25 - a bloody increase. This week it's £8, for God's sake.

Hay became aware of a Malbec at Aldi, the label of which looks surprisingly like that on Jam Shed. So much to that I think they're both made by the same people. Anyway, Aldi's Malbec is called Jammy Red and is priced at £5.99.

This is my new tipple.

From the River to the Sea Explained

I've finally realised why all those people descend on London chanting; "From the River to the Sea."

They're obviously protesting about the water companies regularly pumping sewage into our watercourses from the River to the Sea. 

Lessons

Making a new dashboard has taught me some wood butchery lessons.

I sanded down the original, right-hand dash panel using the bench sander I bought last year.

Then I stabilised the plywood with a couple of layers of worktop lacquer, which is hard as nails and impervious to almost everything except bleach.

Next I filled any small imperfections (a couple of areas were indented) with car bodyfiller. Now the first lesson was that car body filler isn't really a suitable base for wood glue and I should perhaps have used wood filler. That's not to say it didn't work when I applied glue and the veneer, but it wasn't ideal. I couldn't, however, sand it perfectly flat as it would have taken too much of the ply off and leave a step when mounted next to the centre panel on the dashboard backplate.

Using a craft knife, I cut out a suitable piece of veneer. Now veneer is very brittle and you can see in the photo below where a couple of bits chipped off during the process.

Not a problem, I thought, as I could fill these tiny areas in with small specs of veneer after the main layer was stuck on.

After applying the glue I added the veneer and then used another piece of ply as a press, clamping the whole lot down for half a day.

The problem arose once I tried to take off the plywood press - some glue had squeezed out and stuck the press to the dashboard panel, requiring some force to release it and chipping off even more pieces of veneer in the process. The lesson learned was to use a silicone mat (left over from my resin lamp making phase) between the two pieces of wood to ensure they didn't stick together.

I decided to remove the veneer I had applied using the bench sander to take it off in thin layers. The interim result produced a beautifully smooth veneer, so I'll use the bench sander to refine the veneer on the final panel before applying high-build, clear polyurethane.  

Having some time on my hands, I had another go at making a totally new right-hand panel and learned another lesson.

I carved out the indent for the steering column using my jig-saw and thought; "Damn! I should have used a drill hole saw at the top and the jig-saw for the sides - a jig-saw is too imprecise. I should also use hole borers for the instrument holes, rather than a jig-saw." I corrected the error by clamping a spare piece of ply under the indent (to give the centre of the drill bit something to bite into).

I pulled out my hole borers, but didn't have one the right size for the required instrument holes. So I went on to e-Bay and ordered a set for every conceivable size. Only a tenner. I also spotted a variable hole borer which allows you to bore out any sized hole you want. It only costs a fiver.

I'm going to have to start from scratch, but I'm going to wait for the centre section I bought on e-Bay to be delivered, plus I need some more burr walnut veneer.

So, the lessons learned were:

1. Use wood filler for small imperfections, not car bodyfiller. Wood filler grabs the wood and polyurethane paint better.
2. If the imperfections are too deep to fill effectively, use a new piece of ply. Pressing the veneer with another piece of ply won't facilitate the veneer adhering to the dents.
3. Don't use a jig-saw to cut out holes - a drill hole borer produces a far more precise cut.
4. Use a silicone mat between the veneer and the wood that's clamped over the top to press it down to aid release.
5. Don't pre-cut the holes in the veneer - cut them out with a craft knife after the veneer has been firmly glued to the substrate. Doing it beforehand risks splintering and cracking the veneer.

I did carry on with the original right-hand panel, just as a test piece, but again I managed to chip a piece of veneer off on the far right corner, which I glued back on before gently sanding on the bench sander and applying one coat of  polyurethane varnish. For a first attempt it's not too bad, but not to the standard I want.

Once I've built up a good depth of polyurethane coats and it's thoroughly dry, I'll sand it back to a flush, satin finish (to avoid glare) and see what it looks like. It's been useful for learning from.

The panel on the right is the one I'm actually going to use, as there are too many low sections on the original and they're damned difficult to fill properly, being on thin edges with little sideways support. 

The new section of plywood has the advantage of being totally flat and I'll bore the holes to the correct size when I receive the tools I ordered. Reboring them to the correct size will be a doddle if I back the panel with some ply and clamp the two pieces of ply together.

Here's the panel with at least half a dozen coats.

It has a good lustre and depth, but needs a good week to dry out thoroughly before sanding. Even then, I may have to add a couple more coats to ensure an even, flat surface.

Inside the Matrix

For a while now I've been having issues with my car stereo - the display goes all squonk on me after a minute or two. Sometimes it inverts completely and at other times it banks out half the screen. I can still operate it, as I know all the presets.

Last week, however, it decided to enter the Matrix.

See what I mean?

Never send a human to do a machine's job.....

Beaker People

Our friend, Simon, called round on Friday to collect some pottery he's left with Hay's sister for firing in her kiln. He specialises in prehistoric pottery, specifically beakers and fermenting ewers. He also volunteers with demos at Stonehenge.

Here's his facsimile of the kind of beaker produced by the Beaker People of Bronze Age Britain, which is roughly 2,400 to 1,800 BC.

The Beaker culture existed in the late Neolithic in continental Europe, but the art form didn't reach Britain till the Bronze Age.

Lyrics

There was some music on the radio the other day from the late '60s and early '70s and I was struck by the idiocy of some of the lyrics which we all used to sing along to.

I'm sure some groups developed really good tunes and thought; "That's brilliant, but we can't simply do an instrumental - we have to come up with lyrics," upon which they each took turns to write a few nonsensical lines that vaguely rhymed and strung them together.

I believe this was actually a strategy for David Bowie and saw a documentary many years ago showing how he did this using the cut-up method, which involved taking existing text and cutting it up to create new pieces of text. 

Bowie would often use random sources, like newspapers and diaries, and put the words together to form new lyrics. He believed that this method helped him to be more creative and to write lyrics that were surprising and interesting, which in his case they were.

New Tool

Just bought another tool that will help me - an air punch and flange maker.

One side punches 5mm holes in steel and the other crimps small flanges into flat plates so you can slide repair panels under existing metalwork, with the result being flush.

The punch is a help when doing plug welds, especially on areas like wheel arches. 5mm is a little on the small side, but adequate. Drilling risks distorting the steel because of heat build up and pressure, whereas this little gizmo just punches clean through.

The flange accessory facilitates lap welding two plates; however, lap welds are frowned upon due to the increased thickness being difficult to dolly. However, there are instances where one might need to slide a plate under an existing one, such as where there is no pressed repair panel and you have to fabricate something. 

At £35.99 I thought it well worth the money; however, there were issues. Firstly the dust cap on the air inlet was rammed on tight, requiring me to clamp the body in a vice and use a box spanner and hammer to remove it. It was dry as a bone and had obviously been inserted a long, long time ago.

 Secondly, it came with a 1/4 inch air connector, but the air inlet on the punch is 12mm, not the 1/4 inch advertised on the e-Bay advert. You'd think they'd know the details and provide the correct adaptor. A complaint was made.

Anyway, I used it to punch the necessary holes in the lower wing repair section wheel arches (took less than a minute) and the flange on the mudguard where it attaches to the headlamp cowls I had previously welded in.

I then put the o/s mudguard into position with clamps ready for plug welding; however, I'll accomplish that with the bonnet laid upside-down, flat on the ground, so I have gravity working with me.

I also took the opportunity to seal as many seams as possible with Tiger Seal, additionally squeezing a thin bead into the joint between the upper bonnet and the lower repair section, which will prevent any water ingress. I contemplated smearing the inside of the wheel arch seam with sealant, but thought better if it in case it caught light during welding. I can always squirt some in later and smooth it out wearing a rubber glove.

I tried fitting the headlamp outer cowl - some adjustment is necessary to make it fit perfectly, but nothing I can't accomplish with a bit of grinding. I only have one outer cowl and so have yet to find another.

Took delivery of the burr walnut veneer, but I must have got something wrong on my measurements (no surprise there). There's certainly enough to do one dashboard, but not three, and I'm going to have to make a 3 piece dash because of the dimensions of the veneer. That has to wait though until I receive the middle section I bought on e-Bay.

Birthday Present

 No.1 Son's birthday present to me arrived yesterday - a rather nice, wooden steering wheel for the GT6.

Just in time!

How can I get cruise control on the GT6?

Work@station

I used public transport yesterday and took a train to Bedford. I spotted this at Bristol Parkway rail station.

A neat, mobile workstation in the station cafe.

The Purpose of a Project

I regularly check Faceplant Marketplace for parts for the GT6 restoration and came across this very interesting item yesterday.

A galvanised Spitfire Mk IV Spitfire chassis, complete with rebuilt suspension (wrapped in plastic). It's an abandoned project priced at £800. The chassis and suspension on the Mk IV Spit is exactly the same as the Mk 3 GT6.

Now if I was pressed for time, this would be a very good buy, as it would save me ages in welding the front of my chassis (never mind about what I may find further up it once the tub is removed) and cleaning up/rejuvenating the existing suspension.

Projects have three traditional elements; price, time and quality. However, there's always the 4th element that's invariably missed out - the learning process. Arguably, there's a 5th element - sheer enjoyment of the process.

While I'm sorely tempted, and a similar offer is unlikely to materialise for a long time, I think I'll stick with renovating my chassis and suspension, as I'm not pressed for time (within limits), I enjoy the learning process and I obtain enormous pleasure from doing it all myself. Why spend £800 when I have all the parts and the only cost is my time, which is free and I have plenty of.

Dot Dash

I'm getting a bit previous with myself, but I thought I'd have a go at renovating the GT6 dashboard well in advance of when I'm likely to install it. 

I hunted high and low in the boxes of bits for the original dashboard, but all I found was a rather dilapidated right hand third - the dash is actually in 3 pieces. Renovating the piece that I do have and fabricating the other two sections from ply and veneer is an option, but some people do have a one-piece dashboard which, while more elegant looking, is a bit of a fiddle when having to perform maintenance on the wiring behind the dash.

I needed to make a template and scoured the Interweb for a one, but drew a blank. On that basis I could feasibly simply sell copies of my template, when finished, or even digitise it. I used the existing piece for the right hand section and traced it and then the rest onto a piece of cardboard by using a marker pen from behind the metal dash support you can see in the photo below.

Below you can see the template taking shape, along with the right-hand original piece.

The intent is to make a single piece dash and decide, once I've made the basic shape from ply, whether to split it into three.

This is how it should look in situ, although this one is missing a gauge hole on the left-hand section - probably because it's a Spitfire and not a GT6.

And this is how the bits look when bought. You'll perhaps notice a slight difference on the steering column gap between mine and the original - I've swept it a bit more on the left of the hole, as I think it looks better and balances it more. As an aside, the GT6 has one of those steering columns that can impale the driver in a severe, front-end accident.

I bought a slab of 10mm ply from B&Q for £15 (enough for 3 dashboards), cut out the dashboard shape and fitted it with a clamp against the dash support metalwork. Not a bad fit for a first attempt.

I've also ordered a sheet of 60cm x 56cm burr walnut veneer on e-Bay for £46, which should give me enough to make 3 or 4 dashboards. 

Given pre-made dashboards sell for £342, I could make a handsome profit if I sell a couple. Actually, I could be a bit more creative and put my lampshade making skills to use by covering the ply in some patterned cloth, covering it in several layers of clear resin and rubbing it back to a matt finish. Just think of the fun I could have with that - a tartan dashboard, perhaps...

However - bugger me! I then received a message from e-Bay that someone had made me an offer on a central piece of a dash from a MkIV Spitfire they were selling for £36. Well, I couldn't turn that down and here's an image of it.

Grotty, but eminently repairable with new veneer and it has all the holes in the right place (the image was actually upside down). Having that and my own section makes the whole job easier, but I'll still proceed with making a single section dashboard from burr walnut, but use the two pieces I'll have to ensure the correct tolerances. The passenger section is a doddle.

Having scrutinised various dashboards, I was confused as to how it is attached, but I learned that it's mainly held in place by the clamps on the back of the instruments, which hold it against the metal backing plate. A neat idea that removes the need for messy screws, although I may add a few knurled nuts that screw into the backing plate for effect.

I will continue, however, to make a single panel dash or two and sell them.

Talking of wood - No.1 Son bought me this for my birthday, which is on Friday.

Nice of him.