Monday 18 March 2024

Bonnet Progress

 Good progress made - the Clico temporary fasteners were a Godsend.


I managed to weld up the splits where the headlamp part of the bonnet meets the top without any issues. I then ground it smooth with Rolec abraders on an air tool, applied filler and primed it, ensuring I used weld-through primer on flanges where welding needs to take place around the headlight cowls.

Unfortunately, during the process, the bonnet slipped and it received a small ding on the nearside as it fell against some machinery. Fortunately I could hammer it out and skim with filler - any blemish on the underside will be hidden by the mudguards, once fitted.


The manner in which I previously dealt with the dents in the power bulge has given me me cause for concern. As I said in a previous post, I hammered them such that they became slightly concave indents and then skimmed these with filler; however, it's pretty obvious on the underside of the bonnet that there were dents. 

A better approach would have been to try to hammer the dents flat, instead of concave, but my panel beating skills are rudimentary, to say the least. What I really needed was some kind of former against which to beat the dents flat (or at least make them imperceptible), but I had nothing large enough and solid enough on which to place the bonnet and beat it upon. 

On most cars it wouldn't be an issue, but the GT6 bonnet opens in the same manner as the E-Type, from back to front, meaning the underside is a very visible feature when it's open.

Next the front crossmember and headlight cowls were put into place with Clico fasteners. They are brilliant.


Then I offered up the offside the lower wing, which had the flanges stripped of paint and weld-though primer applied, first using clamps and replacing them with Clico fasteners once I was happy with the positioning, which was a bit of a nightmare - push in one bit in and another bulges out, forming a very visible lip. Assistance and some muscle from No.1 Son was invaluable.


I then tackled the nearside lower wing panel, where I had to perform a slight bit of grinding on the headlamp cowl to stop it chafing and pushing the lower wing out more than it should.


Overall, I'm very happy with the positioning result - but the spot and plug welding had still to be completed to fix the whole caboodle solidly into permanent position, as well as hammering the rear of the lower wing panels over the reinforcing strip. 

I made a start on spot welding the flanges between the upper bonnet and one lower wing panel - perfect access and I used a stool so I could wield the spot welder better - but it was awful. In some places I got perfect spot welds, but in the majority of locations I couldn't even get a spark, despite me using clamps either side of where I wanted to spot to ensure good contact.

At first I thought it might have been the layers of weld-through primer on the outside of the flanges where the spot welder contacts the panels that was causing too much insulation and so sanded that off, but still I couldn't get a current to pass through. I did a test on two pieces of clean, scrap metal with perfect results. 

I tried drilling a tiny hole through the flanges and spot welding on those holes. That worked, but a little too well, burning through both flanges, but sealing around the hole. Not the best method as it eats up electrodes.


A bloody mess!

It can only be the weld-through primer not acting as it should. I would perhaps better have left the primer off and using sealer after the welding, although the function of the weld-through primer is for the welding heat to cause the zinc in it to melt and form a protective barrier around the weld between the flanges.

I moved on to the cowl panels and the result changed immediately - perfect spots till I ran out of reach.


Now, there is one big difference between the areas - the paint in the photo above has had a week or more to dry, meaning the zinc particles are closer together in the matrix, whereas I'd applied the weld-through primer to the flanges where I was having difficulty only the day before, leaving a lot of crap to dry off thoroughly and shrink. I enquired of the oracle (Google Gemini) and yes, it's advisable to allow the paint to dry thoroughly. It depends on the quality of the weld-through primer and, perhaps, sourcing from e-Bay was not the best idea.

I now want to introduce the concept of magic dust to you. As it happens, I was making some more electrodes for the spot welder, which involves cutting up copper rods into suitable lengths and putting a thread on one end. I was using a disc cutter to chop the rods and managed to make a quantity of what I now call magic dust - fine copper particles. I thought that if I could blow some magic dust into the flange gaps it might increase the conductivity across the flanges, especially as the copper particles were larger than the zinc particles in the weld-through primer. It worked for a few areas, but I didn't have enough and many of the gaps were too small to blow anything between the flanges. As a concept, however, it's quite neat.

I did, however, persist and got the majority of the spot welding done. All that remains is plug welding; however, I think I'll call on the assistance of my mate next weekend.



Once solid, the mudguards can be welded into position and the various struts added. That will complete the upper bodywork and a rotisserie will have to be sourced to attack the underside.

I loosened the engine mounting bolts over the weekend - they were almost solid with rust, but a liberal application of diesel for several hours released them. Not sure whether to remove the engine and gearbox as a complete unit, or just the engine. Both need removing at some stage, so engine and gearbox together seems to be the logical solution.


Sunday 17 March 2024

Moving

Call me old fashioned or call me stupid, but when the IFD claims that they're moving the civilian population away from Rafah before going in to assault Hamas, how the hell do they stop Hamas operatives not moving along with the civilians? 


Hamas don't look any different from the civilians, unless they're kitted out in battle fatigues and carrying arms, which can be easily ditched.

The current count, according to the Israeli government's claim on Hamas terrorists killed and Hamas' claim on the number of children killed, is one child killed for every Hamas terrorist killed.


Saturday 16 March 2024

Hear the Birdie

I've recently downloaded an App from Cornell University that identifies birdsong wherever you are.


It analyses the sounds from various birds in your environment, listing the ones it finds and highlighting them when they cut in, so you can learn to identify them yourself.

Pretty cool. It's called Merlin. Highly recommended for walkers.


Friday 15 March 2024

Argon

 I don't really need to say anything.


95% argon and 5% CO2. Can't wait to get stuck into some welding without getting my clothing burned from spatter.


Thursday 14 March 2024

Cheese Discovery

 I've made an accidental cheese discovery.

A couple of months ago I had to get a blood test because of low iron levels. As a consequence of this I was also diagnosed with high cholesterol, which was likely due to my excessive consumption of cheese as part of the keto diet.

Anyway, I'd already bought a couple of Lidl, Milbona camemberts, which I left in the fridge for a lot longer than normal. I opened one of them yesterday and was delighted at what the time interval had produced.


Camembert is usually somewhat bland, having to be spiced up by injecting it with garlic and herbs before grilling it in the air fryer for 20 minutes at 100 degrees C. However, the cheese had dried out and taken on a darker colour, becoming almost cheddary in consistency. The taste, however, was explosive. Far more depth that usual and with an unexpected bite - and the smell was heavenly.

Just to ensure it wasn't a freak accident, I opened the 2nd cheese round (after I'd scoffed the first one) and the result was the same.

I'm going to buy several camamberts and store then at the back of the fridge for a couple of months.


Wednesday 13 March 2024

GT6 Interim Update

The GT6 bonnet is now almost completely stripped of paint, Jenolited, with all the dents and dings hammered out and any remaining dimples filled.



Any remaining paint in corner crevices that can't be reached with the knotted wire brush will have to be tackled with the sandblaster - an operation I'm not looking forward to, given it's predilection for blockages.

I trial fitted one of the lower wing repair sections - a perfect fit.


Once the sandblasting has been done it's merely a case of fitting the jigsaw together within pretty exacting tolerances. I'm glad I bought those 1/8th inch Clico fasteners and have bought another 10.

I have some delicate welding to perform on some tiny splits in the front corners of the bonnet and so, rather than wait for the 3/8ths BSP to 1/4 BSP reducer to arrive from China, I had a search in my air tool box and fortuitously found a suitable barbed connector, the threaded end of which fitted the MIG welder. All that was required was to remove the double ear clip from the 3/8ths connector and ram in the 1/4 inch one, which fitted the male connection on the welder.

Now I've never used double ear clips before, so had to look at a YouTube video. You have a choice of buying a special tool, or not. I chose the 'or not' method and just ground off one ear.



Still, it's a tool I don't have and these clips are quite useful for gas and watertight connections on hoses - especially in car fuel and cooling systems, which will have to be addressed sometime in the future.

Now the gas pressure from the argon bottle isn't that high, so merely warming the hose, slipping the barbed end into the pliable plastic and treating the male thread on the MIG with PTFE tape worked a treat without the need for double eared clips, but if I run into trouble I'll simply use an ordinary jubilee clip. 

The gas came out of the business end of the welder when the trigger was pressed, so did a little a little trial welding on a piece of scrap metal with an argon/CO2 shield at varying pressures - I couldn't believe the difference! Hardly any spatter at all. 

I'm led to believe that these disposable argon/CO2 bottles don't last that long, and it didn't - about a minute and no more (I had it set at 20L per minute, which might have been too high), but it's more a proof of concept and, on the basis of how it helps, I'll get a large cylinder of shielding gas; however, I went to our local SGS distributor and discovered that a 3ft bottle of argon (5% CO2), with a regulator, will set me back £268, £105 of which is the deposit on the cylinder. I need to think about this and work out the best way of cutting down the cost. Might just pay a mate for using some of his gas.

I have my eyes on a set of louvres for the lower section, which would add a touch of class.


Not 100% decided, but at that price it's worth buying them and seeing what they look like at different angles. They need to be vertical in orientation and raked back at the bottom.


Tuesday 12 March 2024

Car Models

Cars seem to have a preponderance of three letter names, like GTX, VR6, GTE, etc. I wondered whether there's any psychology at play.


The three letter suffixes have to be memorable and punchy. Three letters are easier to remember and pronounce than longer names. This makes them catchy and leaves a stronger impression on potential buyers. 


Sometimes, these suffixes hint at the car's features. For example, GTI might suggest "Grand Touring Injection" (though not always the case). This can pique the interest of car enthusiasts who understand the codes. 


Over time, these suffixes can become associated with a specific brand's performance or image. For instance, BMW's M-series badge signifies high-performance variants, building a brand identity around those three letters.

The most popular ones are SRT, STI and AMG. To appeal to the Boy Racer male, I suppose a good choice for a car would be the AMG STI Big Tits.


Monday 11 March 2024

Woke RNLI

Last night, Countryfile had a programme that was heavily slanted toward the RNLI. I fully expect those anti-woke warriors who never donate to the RNLI and would never, in a month of Sundays, volunteer to man a lifeboat anyway, to launch an attack on this respected institution. They probably don't pay their TV licence fee either and swear they never watch the BBC, yet they do watch it enough to be able to complain about Countryfile.


I personally have no problem with the likes of that pitiful excuse for a human, Nigel Farage, not donating, nor volunteering as a lifeboat crew member. That's his prerogative. I do, as an ex mariner, object to him attacking the RNLI as part of his crusade against refugees.

There again, sn appeal was launched to buy a lifeboat and call it the 'Flying Farage'. To date it has raised £230k. He's the best advert there is for donations so perhaps, perversely, he should be encourage in his attacks.


Sunday 10 March 2024

Bankrupt Councils

Public services in the UK were generally better funded in the past, so what's happened?


Technically, UK councils don't go bankrupt. They issue a Section 114 notice, indicating they cannot meet their spending commitments for the year. 

This situation has arisen due to a combination of factors: 

  • Reduced central government funding: Since 2010, funding for local authorities has seen significant cuts. This amounts to a decrease of around 30% in real terms. 
  • Increasing demand for services: Costs like adult and children's social care have grown, putting further strain on budgets. 
  • Investment risks: Some councils have attempted to generate revenue through risky investments, which haven't always paid off, further exacerbating financial difficulties. 

These combined factors have created a situation where some councils cannot balance their budgets, leading to the issuance of Section 114 notices. 

Meanwhile, the government considers tax reductions from which the wealthy will be the major beneficiaries.


Saturday 9 March 2024

Grade 1 Listed

If a building was erected in the 1700s, it would almost automatically be listed as Grade I or, at the very least, grade II.

However, when it comes to our canals no such listing is facilitated and many have been allowed to become silted up with locks having fallen into disrepair.


A section of a canal near Stroud, called the Missing Mile and part of the Stroudwater Canal, is being renovated; however, a totally new section is having to be created to go under the M5. This will be the first bit of new canal since 1905.