Stuff you have fixed today

[Blue Chips]

Just a small repair today. I'm overhauling the steering gearbox of our 1953 Ford NAA tractor, and while I'm waiting for the new parts to arrive, I've started doing some repairs to the sheet metal, which actually consist mostly of fixing so-called "repairs" or improper maintenance by previous owners. For starters, one of the brackets that connect the dashboard section to one of the the hood sides was broken off and missing. So I fabricated a replacement bracket this afternoon from some 16-gauge cold-rolled steel by notching the corner, bending the sides up, welding the corner, and touching it up with a Dremel to make a similar radiused corner, then welding it onto the dashboard section, with one weld through a drilled hole and two additional welds. It's a pretty decent match, I think. I'll bead blast the entire surface of this and other sheet metal sections before priming/painting. The next sheet metal repair on the tractor will be more complicated (upcoming in a few days).

 

[sardine]

Made a new grate for my coal stove, 16 mm bars that can be swopped out when they burn away.

 

[blackolive (Ste)]

Made a new grate for my coal stove, 16 mm bars that can be swopped out when they burn away.


View attachment 406953
View attachment 406954

What are you burning on it now that us mere english peasants aren’t allowed coal any more

 

[sardine]

What are you burning on it now that us mere english peasants aren’t allowed coal any more

I live on a boat and I can burn anything i want.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I live on a boat and I can burn anything i want.

But not the floaty boaty.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

What are you burning on it now that us mere english peasants aren’t allowed coal any more

He keeps burning the Norbert's I send to him.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

My mate's battered old SLK threw a rod on Friday night, so at the weekend I took him round some potential new cars, and he bought a very tatty, but rust free and apparently well maintained Celica for the princely sum of 1400 quid.

About 40 minutes after he bought it...

The clutch went, with zero warning (despite being clearly on its last legs when we finally got it unbuttoned).

Leaving him with two knackered cars, no money to replace or repair them, and needing to get to a new job on Monday.

So towed him back to my yard, loaned him the Hilux to get into work (advantage of WFH, I don't need-need a car) and agreed to take a day off Wednesday when the parts would arrive and do the Celica clutch as a favour...

Actually not that bad a job, but the parts didn't get dropped off untill about 11:30, and there's a couple of really awfully designed engine mounts that make disassembly and reassembly a right pig.

Took nearly 2 hours to get one particular engine mount off, and around an hour to re-fit it, which I'm shown doing here around midnight:

Anyway committing to doing it in a day resulted in a 3am finish, which was sub-optimal... The dawn light was pretty though!

It's a fair few years since I've last done a clutch replacement on the floor like this (the last time was Christmas Eve 2017, in the snow, out of pure necessity) and the first time I've done one without recourse to a workshop manual...

So despite the grueling way I went about it, I am pretty chuffed with how well it worked out all things considered.

 

[Brad93]

My mate's battered old SLK threw a rod on Friday night, so at the weekend I took him round some potential new cars, and he bought a very tatty, but rust free and apparently well maintained Celica for the princely sum of £1400 quid.

About 40 minutes after he bought it...

View attachment 407047

The clutch went, with zero warning (despite being clearly on its last legs when we finally got it unbuttoned).

Leaving him with two knackered cars, no money to replace or repair them, and needing to get to a new job on Monday.

So towed him back to my yard, loaned him the Hilux to get into work (advantage of WFH, I don't need-need a car) and agreed to take a day off Wednesday when the parts would arrive and do the Celica clutch as a favour...

View attachment 407052

Actually not that bad a job, but the parts didn't get dropped off untill about 11:30, and there's a couple of really awfully designed engine mounts that make disassembly and reassembly a right pig.

Took nearly 2 hours to get one particular engine mount off, and around an hour to re-fit it, which I'm shown doing here around midnight:

View attachment 407053

Anyway committing to doing it in a day resulted in a 3am finish, which was sub-optimal... The dawn light was pretty though!

View attachment 407054

It's a fair few years since I've last done a clutch replacement on the floor like this (the last time was Christmas Eve 2017, in the snow, out of pure necessity) and the first time I've done one without recourse to a workshop manual...

So despite the grueling way I went about it, I am pretty chuffed with how well it worked out all things considered.

Been there done that. gone to bed and gone to work next morning in the cad. I no longer try to touch my own cars. Nothing quite like swearing at something at 3AM and hearing the dawn chorus

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Been there done that. gone to bed and gone to work next morning in the cad. I no longer try to touch my own cars. Nothing quite like swearing at something at 3AM and hearing the dawn chorus

When I still had a "spare" Mondeo kicking around I didn't particularly mind working on my own cars, but doing it when I'm also reliant on it makes me a bit nervous...

We do tend to do most of the work on the missus's MX5 ourselves, although usually it's me giving executive direction/confidence injections whilst she actually does the work for herself as it turns out that's something She's interested in learning...

Doing someone else's car out of pure economic necessity, turns out to feel substantially more stressful again, but what are you gonna do, leave a mate high and dry?

 

[Robotstar5]

Been there done that. gone to bed and gone to work next morning in the cad. I no longer try to touch my own cars. Nothing quite like swearing at something at 3AM and hearing the dawn chorus

I was rebuilding my motorbike one evening in the back yard and lost track of the time, got it all back together and fired it up to check everything was OK, next minute my dad's shouting out the bedroom window "it's half one in the morning"

 

[brightspark]

I was rebuilding my motorbike one evening in the back yard and lost track of the time, got it all back together and fired it up to check everything was OK, next minute my dad's shouting out the bedroom window "it's half one in the morning"

i regularly worked on stuff till 2 in the morning getting carried away id pay thousands if i still could

 

[MattF]

I was rebuilding my motorbike one evening in the back yard and lost track of the time, got it all back together and fired it up to check everything was OK, next minute my dad's shouting out the bedroom window "it's half one in the morning"

I bet a good few on here have been in that "hated by everyone within hearing distance" club in the wee morning hours.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

I bet a good few on here have been in that "hated by everyone within hearing distance" club in the wee morning hours.

I soundproofed my workshop when I moved in...

There was no point pretending to myself that I wouldn't end up merrily using an angle grinder at 2am oblivious to the time.

 

[LewisT]

Fiesta rear spring, very easy disconnect the shock pull rear axle down swap broken spring.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Bit of fun yesterday. In-between fixing neighbours car, coffee, lack of sleep and beer.

The Pad saw.

The handle is ebony. It was cleaned up and finished with clear french polish, the blade was sharpened and set.

Boiled in citric acid, then polished with wire wool. Then warmed and bee's wax was applied.

Just a good clean and polish.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

This was done to prove a point to some omne at MIS, who thought:

"Rust converters converts the rust back to steel, by removing the oxygen."

I knew this can was rusted past the stage of being saved.

No idea what that mess was, but it had to be brunt out.

Citric acid removed the rust, it did not convert it to anything any good.

A hole is good in the right place for a hole.

Zinc rich paint and more holes.

Pen holder now.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

This old style brake tester came my way the other day

The tester itself was only 8 weeks out of calibration.

I got a friend to get it re calibrated, when he had his done. worth the £20.

It weighs in at 15kg.

Can you spot the repair?


Back edge, I removed the slat, as it was split and damaged.
Used it as a pattern and re fixed the new patch. The whole box was sanded and the new wood aged.

Many layers of french polish.

Metal work cleaned, just be fore I chemically black them.

 

[octo0072000]

View attachment 407252

This was done to prove a point to some omne at MIS, who thought:

"Rust converters converts the rust back to steel, by removing the oxygen."

I knew this can was rusted past the stage of being saved.

View attachment 407260


No idea what that mess was, but it had to be brunt out.



View attachment 407262

Citric acid removed the rust, it did not convert it to anything any good.

A hole is good in the right place for a hole.


View attachment 407263

Zinc rich paint and more holes.





View attachment 407264


Pen holder now.

plant pot?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ A Tapley meter?

 

[octo0072000]

View attachment 407266


This old style brake tester came my way the other day

The tester itself was only 8 weeks out of calibration.

I got a friend to get it re calibrated, when he had his done. worth the £20.

View attachment 407269

It weighs in at 15kg.



View attachment 407270

Can you spot the repair?


Back edge, I removed the slat, as it was split and damaged.
Used it as a pattern and re fixed the new patch. The whole box was sanded and the new wood aged.


View attachment 407272


Many layers of french polish.


View attachment 407273

Metal work cleaned, just be fore I chemically black them.



View attachment 407274


View attachment 407275

Tapley meter comes to mind from distant past still can be used to test even now unless that's changed @doubleboost would know
slim beat me to it