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New Series - RR Heavy


Shackleton

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Nothing planned at present, but next time I drive over I would happily take part in a forum relay. The welder issue has been on my mind particularly, if enough of us threw in a fiver I'm sure we could sort it for him, ..... it is great entertainment, ....and it cost more than that to go and see Mamma Mia!!

LR4x4 sponsered welder then? Either directly or indirectly by sorting the carriage or whatever

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Don't know what to say gents. Thank you! I read this stuff earlier and had to sit back. 

I got to thinking. What I want to do as soon as the Vogue is done is get the Sprinter recommissioned and tested. It's currently full of the dismantled RR. Would you believe they failed it on a brake line that was re-run the wrong side of a bit of linkage, fair enough, but if that hadn't been the case they also deemed a worn sliding door bottom runner arm a fail. It drives great but has some sort of gear linkage issue where the sift is just a little stiff. Anyway maybe I can take it to the UK and do the rounds!

On the welder thing, a patron took it upon himself to set up a one time Go Fund Me thing to get me a welder. I'm not pushing it, these things are awkward for me but here it is anyway.

PS -  "...and it cost more than that to go and see Mamma Mia!!" 😆

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Well I've thrown a few quid at the already started welder fund....., and the road trip sounds like a great idea, ....... I would offer to share the driving, who knows where we'll be when it all comes together?

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Everything's an episode, or at least part of one! ;)  A.B.C. - Always Be Creating! I have a cool colour scheme and branding I'd like to do on the Sprinter. I'm thinking of making it a hand paint feature, as much to satisfy my own curiosity as anything else.

Gents thanks for the pledges on the go fund me thing!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

George, saw your welding with a decent welder, its transformed! not perfect but did you notice the distinct lack of pockets after grinding back and how much easier it was to get good penetration without blowing through?

 

the kit you're using there i suspect is high end pro kit, so stuff you'll get in your budget wont be That good. but cebora kit (high end pro kit but cheaper than most pro stuff)is excellent and id strongly recommend it :D  even though your budget wont :D

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/2/2018 at 7:48 PM, qwakers said:

George, saw your welding with a decent welder, its transformed! not perfect but did you notice the distinct lack of pockets after grinding back and how much easier it was to get good penetration without blowing through?

only 100% mate 😂

I've been intentionally fooling myself into believing the gasless unit was good enough. We'll it was in a sense but the minute I used the lads MIG a little voice said 'it's time to stop mucking about'. Can't wait now and I'm angling for a plant that has TIG capability too because I've been wanting to start down that long road for years.

The Vogue is a very big elephant in the room at this stage. It's incredible that you can do so much work on a car like that and at the final hurdle run out of steam. Have to dig deep and finish it asap. It's just the last thing I want to do for some reason. Sorry this took a month mate :)

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Could be worth chatting up a friendly supplier, I know at least one posts of the mig welding forum - it might be MigTigArc (MTA) who do some decent welders and are UK based.

As for welding Birmabright, it can be done, I've seen it, but maybe not advisable as your first foray into TIG.

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Going to hit up a few brands I've been recommended. The kitty is a fair size now and there are 30+ people vested in it so I'm in great stead in terms of a micro influencer marketing :)

Don't presume to be able to tough something as thin as a LR panel in alu to begin with but I've a few little SS ideas I'd like to start with and practice on. Hopefully I'll find an expert to give a demonstration and do a little learning from.

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George, I am liking your recent stuff, it is definitely more 'morsel size, which is often what most people have available in a lump of time, so I bet it is helping things, or will do in the long run.

One thing that I thought of the other day, the reason people watch a lot of the other car type programmes (Top Gear is a prime example...) is the interaction between the people on the screen, within a car sphere, and the different ways things are tackled etc. I suppose what I am saying is, have you thought about getting a second presenter to work alongside you? I guess going to Greece and doing it may be tricky, but practicalities like that can be overcome once money starts moving :) 

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Have considered having someone else to share the presenting aplenty. Even aside from would be dynamic gains, it'd take so much pressure off me. You can't manufacture rapport though, ironically Top Gear is the perfect counter example of that, and with the greatest respect to the one or two car buddies I have who would have the confidence for it, they'd [unintentionally] transform the series into a style that I don't want it to be. I mean we'd end up contriving stuff despite the best of intentions. SOUP is really about perseverance and spreading the motivation to get the car done, and it's more powerful with just me in that sense.

The channel is young, only a year and a half old. The view/sub numbers aren't bad at all and there's a generally accepted pattern that a channel needs to be at least 3-5 years old before it gains critical mass. [Project Binky is 5+ years old]. 

Anyway the people dynamic is part of the reason I've done the interviews, and have tried to do how to's, that bit of interaction. I've been squirrelling away little bits and pieces to convert the Sprinter into a mobile podcast studio/camper so I can do tours of Ireland, the UK and the Continent in comfort and bring that relaxed interaction back in in a meaningful way. That takes us back to cars...

So what I have so far is an emergency hatch/roof vent from an ambulance, a pair of alpine windows from a D2, a tiny little stainless steel sink, a mock up of the exterior and this very early and rough floor plan...

 

 

Sprinter SOUP Window.jpg

Sprinter Floor Plan.jpg

Edited by Shackleton
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Was originally going to go captain's chairs, found a supplier for the swivels for less than £100 each too, but I'm going to keep the bulkhead, put a door in it and swap out the bench seat for a single instead. It'll be easier to heat the cab, it's more secure and less obviously a camper and the main area can be a more pure design.

The logo on the side is a polycarbonate window wrapped in branded perforated vinyl, and I hope you noticed the D2 alpine windows in the roof ;)

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20 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

George, I am liking your recent stuff, it is definitely more 'morsel size, which is often what most people have available in a lump of time.

Gotta agree with this sentiment. My viewing time in between dealing with the demands of small people is short. 15-20 mins is manageable - 40 mins is not.

The interviews didn't really grip me. I found myself fast forwarding parts of them. The work on the cars, the facilities, and the explanations of what you're doing are my thing. I'm a Landy guy with a 110 to keep going, and a Vogue SE to bring back to life one day, but I still find the Esprit very interesting.

 

19 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

... part of the appeal is the whole lone DIY thing...

This is because so many of us also are lone workers on our projects.
The fact you are working alone makes your achievements seem more within the grasp of the rest of us.

Keep up the good work George

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4 hours ago, mickeyw said:

I'm a Landy guy with a 110 to keep going, and a Vogue SE to bring back to life one day, but I still find the Esprit very interesting
The fact you are working alone makes your achievements seem more within the grasp of the rest of us.

Keep up the good work George

That's the most resounding sentiment I get from most who get in touch. Thanks Mickey, with the motivation it really is a case of reaping what you sow!

5 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

How're you fitting a big round polycarbonate window into the side of the van then? :huh:

Going to cut a big hole and weld in a frame. Nothing fancy. It'll be a large expanse of polycarbonate so I may put a stay through the centre of it, tied to a brace on the inside to stop it doing a wobble board impression. There'll likely be one or two of the vans side ribs directly behind it, it depends on what I find when I start measuring up for the window. The panel vans have more ribs than the passenger versions so it's notionally possible to lose one or two ribs either. 

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19 hours ago, Shackleton said:

Going to cut a big hole and weld in a frame.

That sounds like a hellish amount of work and a good way to bu&&er the resale value of the van compared to an easily-done square window that any auto glazier should be able to whack in in their lunchbreak, if you don't mind me saying!

Especially as you're lodging in a body-shop right now, someone must know someone who can fit a couple of windows in your van for a few quid.

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