Blanco

I haven't fitted anything yet, it came to me in it's current form, an aftermarket reel at the base (approved for Australia!) and a swivel fitted at shoulder height

Well it stayed pretty good apart from physical abuse until I welded it, for 20 odd years it had been shiny so always assumed it was 316 or maybe 'marine' grade. Interesting that the corner brackets also in the pic were welded at the same time by a friend, they are 304 and they seem much less affected?? (mind you they are 6mm thick and he wasn't chasing holes all the time!😄)

Looks good, ... have you done your own hinges for that, or did you have some of the bits? My RRC should have one, but doesn't at the moment.

Mine are at floor level, which means you either kick the reel, and /or have to make sure the belt is properly home before stepping through, it just is less tidy. I suspect the later ones run the belt inside the pillar but the reel would still be anchored at the bottom

Can't think why I didn't look at merc before, some cl and sl seats do look promising, not that they seem any more affordable than the Bentley on the bay,

Just thinking cars again lately and this is something of a vapour trail at present as my focus is on the P38 which is off the road during the current emergency and is long overdue some attention. The classic is still 'on' the road as it has cheap tax and just before lockdown I found some cheaper insurance. The current interior of the classic is Disco based (not by me) but it fits where it touches and updates the driving enviroment slightly. Front seats too are D1 3 door and as the seats don't have integral seatbelts, a later style mount has been added down at the base of the B post. As this vehicle isn't original by any means I would like to keep the modernisation rolling gently along and improve the seats, so I have been looking out for likely candidates from 2 or 3 door vehicles, but I want to get back to seats that have the belts integrated again as the B post solution in the 2 door just doesn't please me. Not having much luck though, the choice seems to be van/camper style items which obviously lack adjustment in most cases or at the other extreme I have found this... GT seats Anyone seen anything else that might be a contender?

I'd be a bit anxious it might mess up the paint, I think I will just buff it up and apply some yacht varnish, (not having any lacquer as such), that should last a while, by which time hopefully he'll have it back and it won't be my problem

Thats a great shout, I will, thanks..... I am going to carry on tomorrow, the flaps and the box seems OK now I've removed the coins, have to try and check out the blend motors in the morning and then clean up the flow and return pipes. If all that checks out I have a passenger door to swap over.... another big job I haven't been over eager to start but no excuses left!

I knew it was a big job but I don't think I realised just what was involved last time I did one was probably a Morris Marina, ... about a quarter of the components. While I am waiting for the bits, I have been busy cleaning, drying, and attending to the seat, Bought a passenger seat a little while back , Plan is to swap the base over to overcome the wear on the outside of mine. Tricky part was separating the seat back from the base but it let go eventually and went back in without any drama, I was pleased and surprised.

Total going up 😄

Well Covid 19 has focused my efforts at last, the P38 is to be SORN'ed at the end of the month and the insurance was up for renewal yesterday so the big decision was taken to take it off the road now and get into this coolant leak. Spent yesterday afternoon taking the dash out (soo many bits!... woooo) Spent much of today working out how to get the heater box out of the remains, tricky stuff, Rave isn't great on detail here. Finally managed to extract the core unit and have uncovered some issues I wasn't expecting; some pillock (me) has ordered the wrong size of o-ring for the leaky heat exchanger pipe connections. Also previous owners kids were using the vents as a money box, I have about 30 odd bits of small change recovered from various parts of the system! some of them right in with the heat exchanger, which has it's own leak in addition to the o-rings so there will be a delay putting it all back together while I wait for the parts. At least that will give the floor a chance to dry out, very wet !!! And since the drivers seat is out I will try and swap the seat base over

That bit actually hails from Sheffield about 60 odd years ago and has been recycled a few times, I think the quality was all there once, it is just what I have done to it, I guess lacquer of some sort is the answer, I wondered what the acid base of the gel they use is and whether any other household chemical might clean it up?

This was my first attempt ar TIG welding a few weeks ago, ... where I had replaced all the timber on the brother-in-laws fishing boat the new transom in hardwood was quite a bit thinner than the old one and I tried to tidy up the S/S panel where the outboard sits, it wasn't a great demonstration of TIG technique but it got the job done. As he hasn't been out since the lockdown started, the boat is still sitting at the back of my place and I just noticed this morning that the S/S panel is going a bit rusty, now I know that the pipework lads use an acid gel to get rid of discolouration, and I dare say the flap wheel I used may have been contaminated, but this is way worse than anything I was expecting, I would like to clean it up a bit ...... what to do for the best? any thoughts please?

We had a S3 2.6 on an L plate, lovely engine, better than the diesel that preceded it but wow! ...... 24mpg. That is impressive! (should say that was about 1979 when the vehicle in question was only about 6 years old)

Hmm, me too,.... it's hard to see how the cross member could be stressed there in normal use, twisting the chassis is the only obvious scenario, but to crack like that suggests repeated max load stress? could be the edge of the haz from construction.

I think what you are are suggesting is illegal. It is not legal to change the identity of a chassis. I have a similar situation with my 130 which was rebuilt on a supposedly 'new' chassis, that turned out to be fudged. The only correct solution is to embark on the IVA trail. Of course that will be more painful

Next door farmer to me in 47 had a 6x4 JD 'Gator' UTV picked up at a good price 2nd hand locally, great machine and lived pretty well on the clay slope. much easier to get stuff into than a dumper, it tips and its light over the ground. Only trouble is finding one

This is interesting,... I can't help with the core request for experience because I don't have any yet, but I had no idea that printers were down to this level of price already, ....that in itself is food for lockdown thought. So many questions follow,.... what are the parts modelled in? can such a printer read different softwares,... can existing parts be scanned etc. etc. Don't let me derail the topic, but what a great prospect.

👍

I thought when I first saw the suspended boards it looked like modern art,.... now they're black it's even more 'zen'!, ...... very cool

I'd be concerned that the filler would crack away from one side or other,... maybe a butyl seal strip? (never sets, sticks like ....) Looks great, ... and that does look like nice plywood, ... leave one in behind , that'll stop the drumming

Re the sardine key version (or similar), if you fold the static side tail underneath, ie next to the axle then it is tidier and self clamping when the tension is wound on.

Fair point but wasn't Deranged talking about creating space behind the engine, up over the tunnel? Under the cab rather than the whole vehicle?

My thinking exactly, ... the best way to secure the flow is to duct it directly either over or under. Pressure reduction under the vehicle will be modest at worst because its isn't contained by skirts or anything, (I presume), it is more about flow control.

... oh pheww!, there was me thinking my AO level in Computer Studies from 1979 was going to waste, .... all I need is a 'Bluepill',. hang on a minute... I've seen Bluepills advertised haven't I?