Stuff you have fixed today

[arian]

Captain Pugwash...

Seaman Staines (which is supposdly an urban legend).

 

[Seadog]

It is.

He's Master Mate.

 

[arian]

It is.

He's Master Mate.

Promoted, eh. I suppose he's now in charge of Roger the Cabin Boy.

 

[dobbslc]

Today I fixed my water butt into place by making a small plinth to level it up. Had to ponce a bag of cement off a neighbour as what I thought was cement was actually postcrete
Nice little job in the shade after work.
Happy days.

 

[droopsnoot]

^ I did a similar thing last weekend. I've recently replaced the plastic water butt stand (the one that came with it) because it was starting to split, but I used bricks and it took about 50 to make a solid base that was large enough. I've gathered enough breeze blocks to replace them, so while it was almost empty I took the opportunity to get my bricks back and replacement them with six old blocks. I had to use six (four "vertical" and two lying flat on top) as I need to get a watering can under the spout - it's a bit of a balancing act to get it high enough for that work fit, but low enough for it to run properly off the greenhouse guttering. I presume it's filling up now, as it was slatting it down a few minutes ago.

 

[RichardM]

My water butt has old fire bricks under it (they were free), same tap placement as @dobbslc . The shed which it catches the run off is under a Yew tree so at the weekend I put a lower "total drain" tap in it as the old water in the bottom was a bit smelly, after the weekends' rain it is now full again!

 

[dobbslc]

I filled mine up last night while I had the hose out just to make sure it wasn't leaking, it's now ******* down with rain!
I set it quite low as I don't want it wobling around on a tall plinth, the tap has a hose lock fitting that allows me to fill a watering can with a short bit of hose.

 

[arian]

My water butt has old fire bricks under it (they were free), same tap placement as @dobbslc . The shed which it catches the run off is under a Yew tree so at the weekend I put a lower "total drain" tap in it as the old water in the bottom was a bit smelly, after the weekends' rain it is now full again!

Adding a drop of Jeyes Fluid is supposed to stop that. Not tried it though - no water butts here.

 

[droopsnoot]

I just checked the levels in my two water butts, to find that one is completely full and the other has hardly got any more in than at the end of last week. When I replaced the bricks with breeze blocks, I split the water between the two so they were roughly half-full each - took me ages because I did it by filling a can from the tap, I didn't think of removing the lid and using a bucket until hours later. I've just done the same split again, and at some point I'll have to see why one isn't filling much. One roof is larger, but it's also a poor replacement roof job which leads to any heavy rain running off and missing the guttering altogether. On the other greenhouse, there's no end stop in the far end of the guttering, so that won't help.

 

[arian]

I just checked the levels in my two water butts, to find that one is completely full and the other has hardly got any more in than at the end of last week. When I replaced the bricks with breeze blocks, I split the water between the two so they were roughly half-full each - took me ages because I did it by filling a can from the tap, I didn't think of removing the lid and using a bucket until hours later. I've just done the same split again, and at some point I'll have to see why one isn't filling much. One roof is larger, but it's also a poor replacement roof job which leads to any heavy rain running off and missing the guttering altogether. On the other greenhouse, there's no end stop in the far end of the guttering, so that won't help.

Can you not do a low level connection between the two? Or is that too simple for the situation?

 

[Dcal]

Today I fixed some more rust.

I bought an Alfa 159 SW a year ago and it's mot time.
I've been doing bits piece meal, and decided to sort the rear suspension.
Took the wheels off and found a broken spring.
Also very rusty suspension arms and frame.

Took everything out to have a better look.

Mostly not completely horrible for a 15 year old car, but certainly needs attention.

The suspension was much worse and is possibly too far gone but we will see.

Decided to sort the wheel arches and underside first.
Pressure washed the worst of the crud off but left the diesel tank in place.

Quick grit blast to remove the worst of the rust and a sweep blast over anything that still has paint
The paint is very thin in places but where there is underseal it seems to have held up pretty well.
Where the paint is failing it comes off easily so certainly worth doing.

Then a coat of Jotamastic 90 applied with a brush and some seam sealer applied to the bits the factory missed.

Not perfect, but this is as far as I intend to go with a daily driver shed.

However, I might keep this for a while so it should be a good test bed for the products and methods I use.

I'll let this cure and will apply another coat of 90 tinted a darker colour so I don't miss bits.

It's an awful lot of work for an 1.9 oil burner.

 

[bricol]

Did the rear arms on my 159 Q4 the first lockdown summer when I found a bust spring on each side - and then that only one of the springs was off a Q4! Cheaper to buy four Eibach springs than two Alfa rears!

I only started out to sort the handbrake - but the cable outer snapped . . . half the flippin' interior has to come out to change it! Rebuilt the calipers.

I really should have blasted the rear subframe then, but couldn't face the exhaust, prop etc. I've thought about it each summer since . . . and once again, I've put it off . . . I might apply a good dose of underbody wax again - pretend to myself the rust isn't getting any worse on it

Blasting the arms and applying epoxy paint, then a coating of 3m shultz and a good dosing of noxudol inside seem to have survived well the winters since.

I had to make a tool to get the eccentric bearings out of the upright/arms (can't remember which now) - unobtainable (for the Q4?) so I needed to save them.

When you separate the arms from the carriers that bolt up into the body, make careful note of the angle of dangle between them - you have to tighten the bolt through the bush off the car as you can't get to it once fitted.

I can't remember if you've mentioned before that you've done the front subframe already? If not - take a look quick . . .

Piccie attached linking Alfa with our shared interest in another Italian classic (which was making me smile out on the rain today after accompanying my mum to a hospital appointment to make sure when she forgot her name, her address, why she was there . . . she made it back to the care home)

 

[Dcal]

Yes, I did the front subframe about 6 months ago (I posted about it on here) I have hardly driven it since because of work.

When I went to move it, the handbrake was stuck solid and I had to cut one of the cables to get it released.
I've got two cables to be fitted and as you say, you need to remove the front seats to fit them.

The hands free was carp with the "Blue and me" system so I've also started fitting a radio with apple and android play DAB and a reversing camera (why not) and that means taking even more of the interior out.

I've ordered a full set of Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, (B6s) I'll see what she feels like with them and hope they are not too hard.
I've also done a bit of work on the engine, the front suspension and front arches / inner guards.

Given the work I've done so far this thing is probably worth a project thread if only to put everything in one place, but I'm not sure there would be much interest.

I really should have held out and got a petrol but I needed something in a rush after getting rid of the company car so just bought what was available at the time.

 

[bricol]

I've ordered a full set of Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, (B6s) I'll see what she feels like with them and hope they are not too hard.

I really should have held out and got a petrol but I needed something in a rush after getting rid of the company car so just bought what was available at the time.

I fitted new Bilsteins too - with hindsight, no idea why, as I don't do the miles in it now, as it's a winter hack. But they are perfectly okay in normal use, although I have made some 20 wide collars to sit under the spring mounts to lift it back to standard height - I cracked the V6 front downpipe on my usual commute at my usual speed . . . but I've done two years without working up the enthusiasm to do so.

I wanted a diesel estate Q4 - they are like rocking donkey vomit - so I ended up with a V6 petrol saloon . . . other than the crazy high road tax, its okay. I do like the estate looks though From most angles, the 159 is a fine looking car.

 

[droopsnoot]

Can you not do a low level connection between the two? Or is that too simple for the situation?

Sorry, I didn't mention that they on two separate greenhouses - one lean-to on the back of the house, the other standalone at the bottom of the garden. It's not a massive garden and neither are massive greenhouses, but there's about 15' of lawn and a path in the way. I did pick up a kit to join two together, because I want to add one to the other side of the standalone greenhouse, but I can't use it to join these two.

 

[6ply]

Paid £3 for a rusty set of drawers. The pedestal was completely shot, and duly discarded. The drawers were cleaned up and resprayed with a rattle can. Not perfect but good enough for workshop use.

 

[6ply]

And a very rusty tool box.

 

[droopsnoot]

Paid £3 for a rusty set of drawers. The pedestal was completely shot, and duly discarded. The drawers were cleaned up and resprayed with a rattle can. Not perfect but good enough for workshop use.

Bargain - the Drew Prichard effect has seen most of this kind of thing getting very expensive.

 

[dobbslc]

Is the Drew Pritchard effect pratting around in a flat cap, being driven around in a transit van like it's a limo and being a bit arrogant?

 

[MattF]

Bit?