HEC updates

[romanyrose]

WOW what a day! although good it was a long one for me and even longer for the navYboz who had a ride down from Leeds to give me a hand and pick up part's. Chris the father set to and made up two strengthening support's from my drop plate which was the ladder type to a good anchor point a good 18 inches or may be more further up the chassis rail's.
I have always been a bit worried that the chassis might not have been strong enough when towing heavy gear, this only started to bother me after seeing a 109 stopped with his drop plate at a right angle to his chassis and the trailer in the ditch with a scrap car on it.
Although i had inspected the cross member and the welding having had a replacement fitted, thinking back it was a very long time ago so while the floor is out along with the loom from inside the chassis i had asked Chris for help.
Bless them, although a car pulled up at 08-50 while i was on my computer incase of any messages i didn't twig it was them, eager was not the word but a brew was made while discussion's were had about what i had in mind and why.
I know now i was worrying about nothing , but for me that is nothing unusual because my memory is not that good unless it was 30 or 40 year's ago which i remember as though it was yesterday .
Anyway to cut a long story short, while Pete and i or should i say Pete moved the heavy stuff around for me he was also looking for what i wanted out that i could not get to, although we stopped for some tucker and a brew time just flew by as usual.
Chris wanted to put the floor back in for me it has to have some paint first, i dug out this anti rust primer that was a tad thick with a very strong smell, bless him it was so strong it gave him a thick head as though he had a cold coming.
Time was getting on now so they tidied up and set off home, from the way they were yawning i think they will sleep well tonight .

All i can say is THANKS lad's it was really appreciated, this mean's i can now go back to tinkering and painting in my own little world with the light at the end of the tunnel getting brighter

Catch you later. R-Rose .

[RMS]

Are you ok Brad, haven't seen any of your updates for a few days

Hopefully you're just out enjoying the better weather and lighter nights

Cheers,
Robin.

[romanyrose]

G'day Robin, thank's for your concern but no i am not well at this moment in time, confusion among other thing's seem's to have sapped what strength i had.

Hopefully i will be on a roll again soon. Catch you later. Brad .

[romanyrose]

G'day chap's, i must say thing's have been a bit rough but thank's to the navyboz and there help i can just do very small job's but a bit at a time.
I guess this is the beauty of my hobby that i have become to rely on so much to keep me just sane let alone anything else, although of late confusion has taken over that's hopefully a thing of the past for now, i might be reverting back to normality if there is such a thing in my life .

Catch you later. R-Rose .

[romanyrose]

G'day chap's, i guess i am on a roll again with my Dixon-Bate drop plate fitted and my home made bracket's now fitted to the chassis for extra strength i am a lot happier regard's how the job's have turned out.
I guess i went over the top when i cut a half circle out of the steal from the chassis to the DB drop plate so the silencer has clearance but at least it won't catch and make a racket while trunderling down the road.
I have some painted up eight spokes with 205 tyres that will be replacing the wheel's and tyres i took off my ambulance which will be stored in a dark shed till i am ready to use them on another truck.
The next job will be to clean up and paint the underside of the chassis and outer rail's although they are already undercoated i have just got to make sure i have not missed anything .
I will be fitting an extra battery between the seat's to help with the camping side of thing's, although she is a petrol at the moment i might just fit a diesel to help with the mileage i would like to achieve.
As my late father used to say, a petrol in good fettle can be as good as a tired diesel so whether it happen's i guess all depend's on how i am getting on.

THAT'S ALL FOLK'S . Catch you later. R-Rose .

[romanyrose]

G'day chaps, i must say situations are looking a tad better and i managed to get out and do some more painting of the rear 3/4,s of the chassis, after that had dried i cleaned up the lip the rear floor sit's on not that it needed much just a case of knocking out the odd rivet head i had missed earlier.
I managed to get the old gal jacked up on axle stand's at the rear end so the wheels could be taken off to allow me to take a peak at the brakes which will be cleaned up with the brake pipes fastened down so as not to get caught up at anytime in the future.
Although i have always kept an eye on how my brakes work i will still be having them apart to clean up and rubber grease the seal's, having not mentioned the back plates but i have always kept an eye on those having had adjusters seize in the past.
Of course i talk as though i am only going to look but this to be honest is never the case having had brakes fail in the past so prevention is better than a cure but i enjoy it anyway so know matter.
I know it does not seem a lot to some people , but i enjoy tinkering and having been unable to do it for a good while makes one realize how much fun i have been missing .
Catch you later. R-Rose .

[romanyrose]

Hey up chap's, when i eventually manage to rise from my slumber i must say i took a bit of getting going but my little dog helped by trying to drag me from my bed all because she wanted a walk the tinker.
Anyway to be honest i really wanted to crack on but the need for some tucker and a brew before taking my hound just had to be done, of course while hobbling around the field with a body that has seen better day's what job's had to be tackled were going through my bonce.
Another brew was made before cracking on and the rear cross member was going to get some hammer , well i attacked it with no mercy and to my surprise it was solid although i should have realized after making the support's from the drop plate to the chassis.
Well i was really chuffed having expected the worst, this meant it was just a case of cleaning off the rust and treating that area then some primer and undercoat then left for another day.
Unfortunately by this time my excuse for a body had started to object so this meant going on to a smaller job which just happened to be some electrical work, although that sound's technical all i ended up doing was binding the rear loom across the cross member so it is at least tidy with a few extra wires bound into the loom just incase they are needed at a later date.
That's it for today folk's . Catch you later. R-Rose .

[romanyrose]

G'day chap's, i bet you guy's think i am nut's doing what i do , if you could see what i have been up to today you wouldn't think but know i have a bit missing .
In a true romany style i use what paint i have, the same goes for what paint goes where but it is not always a case of being different to other's but in my eye's some paint is better than leaving thing's bare unless you cover thing's in an oil base substance.
Many years ago i had a Commer camper with a small Perkins in, this leaked and burnt oil at a rapid rate but the chassis on that camper was a purler made even better with a few gallon's coming my way in a gerry can when filling a Bedford KM .
Anyway now the cross member is painted red with blue outlines and the double step is also blue with red outlines my modern day romany ruck is coming together but done in a way Romanies painted there cart's {Free Hand}.
Unfortunately rain and my excuse for a body stopped play today, although i have yet to pack up at least i have got a bit further and am happy with how the old gal look's. Yes some might take the mickey but i am known for being a tad different to other's and variety is the spice of life so they say .

Catch you later. R-Rose .

[romanyrose]

Hey up chap's, i seem to be on a roll although very slow i can now see my old gal coming together , and yes i am a tad excited but i feel it has been a long haul.
Some how i acquired some strength to help my motivation and had the old gal jacked up took off the drum's and checked for seized piston's due to standing and my bad memory of what was done and when , i like good brakes so don't mind just incase i had missed something.
You must remember HEC has been an on going long term work project since i changed the gearbox for one i had rebuilt, i have also added some safety features and extra's because of what i use my truck's for but then if you have read this post from the beginning i guess you will understand my waffling.
My blue and red eight spokes with 205's are now fitted with my next job tomorrow which will be fitting the extra long rear mud flap's that were found on the side of a main road,these had come from an HGV or two which are ideal to hang from the back body in front of the rear cross member.
Although it might sound strange being hung in front of the rear cross member but behind the rear wheel's stop's the cross member filling with mud and of course salt in the winter month's .
That has got to be a good idea surely but it is done now anyway although only on one side at the moment or till tomorrow if i haven't overdone it today.
Right i am back to enjoying a ooor two. R-Rose .

[romanyrose]

Many a true word said in jest , having got carried away with excitement being able to get back and tinker on HEC i did joke about over doing thing's and yes it caught up with me. Unfortunately i had to revert back to doing small job's before tackling the last back brake and wheel, so it was dig out a couple of rear wing support's ready for cleaning and painting and repair the lip's on the bottom lip of the wheel arches if that makes sense .
As usual my great big lump's of meat called hand's didn't want to play but i am very stubborn and made them bend eventually getting done what i needed to do by which time i had to call it a day, frustrated but at least something got done.
Time to give the old gal a scrub up and get rid of the green stuff that's a tad slimy from being stood so long and not being touched, now this really made me at myself for not keeping on top of the old gal and i felt ashamed and need my back side kicking.
After washing and scrubbing the old gal as best i could while continually muttering to myself how i had let my father's pride and joy get in such a state, i then remembered how it had effected me with the loss of my best mate my father .
To those that didn't know him and the reason i felt as i did, i bought this landrover as a form of therapy after he suffered a massive stroke , it was this that kept him going till we got it on the road.
Unfortunately he only drove it when off road but struggled with the use of only one arm, sorry i am waffling now but the time is coming when she will be burning rubber again.
Catch you later. R-Rose .