GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

Saturday I also measured the beam.



Long old thing.

And heavy



So by 4.00pm we closed shop.

Andy chopped the wood while I prepped the meat.

Started the fire.



Freshly cut earlier, I cleaned the steaks before getting onto the business at hand.



Three degrees.

Well done,
Medium rare
Blue/Bleu

All to be served at the same time.



Sally was as always incredibly tolerant as Andy and I finished what was left of a litre of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey and then attacked a second bottle.



As you can see, at this point it was Beer, Jack and a kilo of Sainsbury’s chocolate toffees.



An amazing afternoon and evening

And fortunately I managed not to go look at cars for sale on eBay


Thanks for checking in.

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[Grizz1963]

And another score

Headed for the clearance skip......

7 weeks of use from new.

Too expensive to repatriate back to the depot so written off.

Guess I have an almost new fridge for my lodgers extra stuff.

The other one I have is now free to someone for collecting. PM if you want the other one that I previously got.



Free stuff. Free money.

Love it.

[Grizz1963]

More progress.....

The rules.



Getting the posts cut down to the right height

Measure, use a level said Mickey, I rarely do.



I have had these posts since Boxing Day 2007 when Oldbus delivered them, along with my 1963 Ford Taunus Transit.



A significant OOOOPPPS moment.



Made up some new 10mm thick top plates, drilled and prepped and cut to size.]



Handy having a welder on site.







Decent grip......

Gluing steel



Posts welded, and put on foundations.

Only one problem, the tall one is facing the wrong way by 90’ as it would not seat on the foundation.

Problem to be addressed.





Posts are heavy enough to make them a two man lift.

Managed to damage the thread on only one.

Another thing to correct later.





One other job Andy did for me, was to weld together my stainless steel BBQ grille which had deteriorated over the last 10 years.



I did help........ honestly.




End of the day.....

Weekend over.

[Grizz1963]

Well......

This popped up on FB Memories this week.

Two years since adding the Toyota Argo front bumper section.

Best ever banger for your buck.



Fixed the thread.

Copper slip applied and all nuts tied down.



Also took the post out that was facing the wrong way and adjusted the holes by about 1mm each with a tungsten carbide grinder on my power drill

Then shimmed and tied down, plus cut the threads down to length and added more copper grease for future protection.



Using a Christmas gift from 15 years ago for the first time.







Nothing like getting that spirit level bubble just perfectly set.



Some design and redesign of the wall plates happened too.

More about that later.


But then time for some fun.


Picked up these stainless steel plates at the scrapyard for £2.00 along with a galvanised 3 bike bicycle rack.




Yup.......

Needed to make up a sign for the door on the compressor room.


All to be blamed on @PaulY





Done, with hanging tab.





Also delivered the bike stand to @PaulF while collecting a bicycle for neighbour Sam.

Got to meet new addition to their family, Ada.







.

[Grizz1963]

Made another batch of aniseed rusks inbetween Zoom and teams meetings.

Man must eat.

House smelled rather good for two days.



Plan originally was to create wall plates to hold the roof on the garage side.

But like all great plans, it was reviewed after we had measured and set out the steel as planned, then I decided that there was enough steel to use full lengths resting on the ground and bolted to the wall.


So start afresh....

Measure out 16 tabs and two straps on 65mm x 10mm flat bar, pilot drill, then 13mm holes to take the M12 Fisher bolts (Like Rawl Bolts, but longer threaded bar inserts to cut to length after fixing)





25 of these puppies for £29.00 or thereabouts



Tabs cutting used 1 x 1mm disc per 2.5 cuts.



Pile of bits to clean up, and grind a decent weld edge onto.



Better, ready to weld onto steel beams.



Also noticed what a mess the garage had turned into since starting this carport build.

Hopefully it will all come together and result in some real work getting done too.




During the day while working at the day job, I got a pic from one of the inmates of this forum and he was not a happY guY

On a train, Londonbound, wearing a virginal white gimp mask.





Later.

[Grizz1963]

So on Wednesday evening after work, I grabbed the supersized grinder and a new disc to start cutting the 200 x 100 beam we previously welded in half again as it was going to serve as one of the front upright posts.

I donned full PPE as that machine intimidates me.

Three quarter way through, I heard loud laughing when I stopped the machine to turn the beam onto its side.

It was Andy, stood with a beer in hand, camera in the other........

He also had never seen me wearing it all, including earplugs.

I was pleased to see him.




So once the beam was cut, we cut the last of the three galvanised beams @Oldbus had brought years ago in 2007 down to the right length for the rear support.

Then Andy burned two holes through the steel, we used a Bullnose Tungsten burr cutter to tidy the hole so that a long reach socket could get in there, and started to weld in two straps from behind and a bunch of tabs, all to hold the post that would be resting on a cement base onto the garage wall.





Done.



Then in another unprecedented move.......

I used a spirit level to Andy’s shock and dismay to get it straight.



Up the ladder with the SDS drill, 12mm first, followed by 20mm holes 100mm deep.



All the bolts ready, Ductape keeping it all together for the next fun step......

Threading all the tabs in at the same time, while holding that heavy beam in place.



I think Andy was impressed.



Job done, red oxide next once I made a spray painting cardboard mask to add to the job.



Only needs to top plate to be welded in

I will measure, drill and cut it on Saturday, welding Monday after work.

Bit by bit. Getting there.

One more upright to make up, and the paving to be completed around the other posts where the bolts are in the concrete foundations..



Need to start figuring what cross beams to use and the lay out of the frame and roofing.

[Grizz1963]

Just when you think there is a bit of time to relax, you find more jobs that need doing, or do they find me?

Painted the house in about 2011

So it is kinda due again, and with adding the carport that will be stopping me getting up most of the front of the garage, I need to paint it before the roof goes up.

That means the house gets painted too......../

Went looking, along with device from the forums, Got Sandtex at Toolstation.

10 litres for £60.00

Colour is a PITA as I like brighter colours, but none available.

Ended up with pensioner spec Colour Cornish Cream.

I prefer brighter colours, but nothing worth having out there.

Last coat lasted 9 years, and I am mainly painting as the carport will cut garage front gale in half, so only need me on the roof in 10 years or so, let’s hope for good weather for a bit next week or so.



Saw this on FB today.

You forget how big a C10 actually is.



Bootfair in the morning

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[Grizz1963]

Prepped the last of the carport mounting plates over the weekend.



Also got a signed for parcel from Andy in Tulsa,Oklahoma yesterday.





Andy the lodger came back from his long weekend, he leaves on Thursday for his next contract.

Brought me a great garage gift for the kind of guy who works in flip flops , as evidenced the last couple of weeks doing a load of cutting and grinding.

An awesome ground magnet.



RESULT !!



I also had @PaulY complain because I had not found a KING DICK spanner for the door handle to his annexe.

So we made one up for him, hope he likes it.






Welded up, mounting plates came from a balustrade I found somewhere. Cut them shorter.



Then one to the real, last job on the list.

Welding the top plate up, and then onto the 200x100 RSJ



DONE !!



Followed by these, and Sally cooked us spicy chicken wraps.





Taken two days off work this week,

Hope to get some steel guys to come quote on making up the steels and fitting a roof for me.

.

[Grizz1963]

Dennis has been forging along with various jobs.

Including the NASCAR C10 build.

Radiator in.


Fuel lines in, hopefully the last time.



And an effort to make the truck lighter.

Also on the cars is Dennis making a full, fibreglass hood for it.







From Fayetteville in Arkansas, Clem at Tubatrucks.com sent Dennis some gun racks for the truck too.



Also landed from Andy in Tulsa, another parcel with his ‘reject” Alu-Bronze castings.

I love their imperfection, Andy the welder/lodger scooped one Bull**** Corner, and I gave him a good Hope -lacquer too.



Every now and then I realise I sooooo live in the wrong country.

Workshops, trucks, trucks, trucks.



Dennis currently dailies this, rather than his supersized GMC, says it is a nice change driving the little GMC Cabalero.

I love driving it when I go there, for a one owner from new truck before he got it, it has areal 70’s feel, despite being an 87 model.



At work, his Son Adam bought this 2006 for $250.00 including a full tank of gas.




And was given this one for free two weeks late.

Time we changed our employers.



In other news.

From Russia, Vladimir offered me a Moscow plate for my collection.



Saturday came and went.



Sunday Bootfair delivered.

At £4.00 compared to the normal range of £10-20 fora jockey wheel, this price was right.



Meaning I could move the shed carAvan and the welding caravan plus other junk off the drive.

Consolidating pallets with half bags of sharp sand and gravel for concrete when I chop up the driveway and move it 400mm to the side in order to straighten it out.



Looks like a holiday camp.



Looking better.

Posts in perspective.

Loads of work to get to this simple point.



Other direction




From Mickeys place, he is about 500mm below my level.



Once all was tidied and sorted, I put stuff back in place




Have called a steel rigging and roofing guy to come look if he is prepared to take on a small job like this.

Hopefully he will come on Friday to look.

[Grizz1963]

Early morning chore on Friday.

Collect a non working medium sized glass door fridge about 7 miles from here in the Galaxy.

Purpose?

Airtight, solvents storage cabinet with a bit of insulation.

Should work.





So living rurally has its perks.

Harvesting and baling out behind the house till 11.00pm

Being able to watch or even go for a ride in the combine

Beats city living any day.



Amazing how these big trucks run through the fields to collect the large bales of rapeseed canola “Hay” to go to Holland by road.

Military style operation.





Started to paint the garage, before the roof goes on the carport, so I have full access to everything, and can do all the cutting in in nooks and crannies.



Two charts everywhere with a 1” brush as it gets into places.



Roller next, two coats as well, to give good cover on colour change.



Next is brush paint the whole house, which is covered in rough pebble dash.

Why do people do it.



Happy Sunflowers.


A new to me, used tool.

20000rpm 90 degree die grinder, ordered some quick release 2” and 3” grinding wheels for it.

Seen them used, and Dennis lives with his in his body shop.

Wanted one a few years as they seem really useful.





Andy the lodger brought me an air powered impact wrench with torque adjustable power settings from his garage last weekend, he bought it for a job years ago, never used it since, reckoned I would use it more after seeing me use the electric Clarke, I had bought to use in the C10 5 years ago and have used regularly on various jobs since then

Nice.



New company car was due mid-March.

Delivery yesterday.

Chuffed.





Sunset last night, pics taken 10 minutes apart.

Looking toward London’s Canary Wharf.

Moon 35 minutes after sunset.

Crazy.





Moon.

Looking away from London, toward France.

[Grizz1963]

It was mate Andy in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s best friends 71st birthday yesterday.

So he took her on a little road trip to Kansas on back roads through Osage county.

Loads of oil it seems, belonging to the Osage Tribe.

He sent a pic of the FJ next to the road, with an oil derrick in the background.



Wish I was there.

[Grizz1963]

Had steel guy over yesterday.

Quote to come when he has done design and pricing..

Pulled down the posts last night after measuring, they need a 200mm drop to get it more right.

Cut them shorter at lunch today, new plates to be drilled and welded possibly tonight.

Photobucket is a pain.

[Grizz1963]

Lunch hour break on Wednesday.

Making this happen

Line On wall is bottom of the RSJ Level and new roof slope angle.








Mickey came to check up on the noise.

While I am intimidated by the big grinder, he is light as a feather and happy to climb on top to cut that down from the awkward side.



Went to the industrial estate and spent £9.00 on this.



Leading to this



Three of these new 10mm top plates.

Centre punched To be drilled to 14mm



And one of these for the 200mm post, all to be welded back onto the perfectly cut and angled posts to incorporate the fall of the roof.



Another job the same day was to screed the plinth the woodwork shed lives on.

Been bothering me for years.




Sally was complaining that the big table on the deck needed to be painted.

So I set her up to sort it out while I carried on with other jobs like painting.



Better



First of 4 coats of wood paint.



Now the chairs all look rubbish, guess they will need a few coats next.

No, legs were not painted.



Enough.

[Grizz1963]

How suddenly a quiet Saturday afternoon can change.

Sitting on the deck with Sally, planning the redistribution of the one sheds contents with a beer in hand, I decided to go look in the shed.

Knowing there has been a “friendly wasp nest” near the door for months, imagine my surprise when a few zapped me as I opened the shed door. (They live in a log on the ground, covered by a shrub)
Stepping back, in surprise, I tried to see why when more stung me randomly.
Moving away faster than Sally has ever seen me move, one more stung me on the foot.

This is that one.



15 minutes later, I was regretting, yet still laughing at the pain, which is a lot more than stepping on hot welding splatter or flux. Trust me.



45 minutes after the attack, I realised things were changing and collected a few things, including Sally and headed for A&E 10 miles away.

My view when seeing the Advanced Nurse Practitioner.



Observations and an antihistamine later, discharged with extra orders, including not sleeping alone.

From virgin skin to this and worse...... guess my body is not happy.

Will admit that even now 4 hours later, the sting spots all still burning and my arm and armpit Hurt like feck.




Tomorrow we will burn the bastards out, hospitality withdrawn.

.

[Grizz1963]

Bastards for sure.

I am still laughing, despite the pain nd itch.

My lymph nodes under my left armpit are so swollen I can fill my hand.

Need to get the shed door closed and then plot my revenge.

It may have to be done under cover of darkness, and using some unpleasant chemical agent.

As the log is on the ground, and against the shed, under the bush.

Entrance approximately where the arrow shows. A bit more to the left and lower though.


Not spending £60.00 for a pest service may still led to regrets and a second casualty visit.

[Grizz1963]

Amazing how the itch continues, despite antihistamines, guess it will be worse, without. My armpit and right groin lymph nodes continue to be swollen, obviously something to do with the histamine reaction from the toxins.

Sally found me some ant powder at Sainsbury’s after Morrison’s had none yesterday.

So a cautious approach at exposing the nest after dark, and hopefully a quiet end to all this.

[Grizz1963]

So I was too knackered, and actually uncomfortable at 11.00pm last night to go get dressed in triple layers in order to cut back the bush where the nest entrance is, approximately.

So today I decided to do a modern warfare version of wasp control/extermination in stead.

I used faithful old Ducktape and a 5 meter off cut of decking from last year, and then tossed the whole bottle around about where I think the entrance log was.

Let’s hope is works.




Mate Kevin also offered me some 3 ,meter wasp foam spray, which may become plan B if I missed the entrance and resultant kill altogether.



Here’s to peace in the garden.

[Grizz1963]

Anyone remember the guy (Robert) taking a London Taxi chassis from the scrapyard to build a twin motored car?

LINK: https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...rd-engineering


Well, that is done....... Pics below.


However, he has picked up and started on this LINK: https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/215234/temptress

Should be good too.


Just a few pics to show what he ended up building on the London Cab chassis.






Other side.

Hand spun trumpets.




Currently working on a small, lightweight bikini type roof for when it really gets wet.




Not bad for a home build, using whatever was laying around.

New build should be very interesting.

.

[Grizz1963]

Went out tonight.

I went out at 10.00pm in four layers, T-shirt, two hoodies and a fireproof overall, safety boots, leather welding gloves and safety glasses and a fireproof hood over it all. Cut a bit of the bush away. They sounded like a gang of chainsaws. I foxxed right off and shut off lights and closed the workshop. Then walked back to house. These 7 still hitched a ride inside the clothes despite me shaking and brushing myself off while still in all the layers. One got me on the belly under the four layers and the rest got poison or the glove. Bastards are pissed now. Be interesting to see if they let me out the house in the morning.
Sally helped a lot with screaming and pointing in panic.



One scar.

One pill. Antihistamine

Another later before bedtime.

Interesting thing, it seems the other stings have started to sympathy itch too.




Bootfair in the morning if it’s not rained out.

[Grizz1963]

still need to go back again to sprinkle some reaper dust later today, and remove the bits of shrub I cut off in the dark last night.


Paracetamol, (Tylenol) Ibuprofen and Chlorphenamine Maleate at 11.00pm ensured a good nights sleep, woke a few times as normal.

Did go to a single Bootfair that was a bust, except for a single sign.

However, the sting had swollen up and is a handful today.

[Grizz1963]

.


Movie time.


https://youtu.be/A81s_hNZqxw



.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Hey Grizz, I enjoy your day-in-the-life-of posts. I have never been to the UK and it's cool to me to see the differences. And the similarities. Also, hearing about what you like about the US.

Where you live is beautiful. Thames, beach, fields, your home and garden. I can't quite get the layout in my head because there seem to be so many nooks and crannies but I like how you fix and maintain on it over time.

Sorry about the loss of Harley. Grew up with cats and have never been a huge fan but would have loved a cat like that.

A huge theme in your thread is the giving/sharing/finding things for others. Sometimes you snag something that I bet you would like to keep but you pass it along to someone who will like it even more -- outstanding.

I will now be following along. I forget to pop over here to the burban/blazer side very often, but will more now so that I can keep up.

I thought I would copy and paste a comment from a good friend whom I have only met twice.

He was here yesterday.

Originally Posted by sparkplug

Indeed - this is the way of the Grizz and it's why we play so nicely together.

We share this common vision for the redistribution of 'things'

It's the only form of communism that ever worked because the first rule is that you never keep score

All my close friends follow the same basic way of life and outlook.

Live and let live.

Too many focus on only themselves.

Sharing ferls great mostly.

[LT7A]

As luck would have it, I am a builder, and coincidentally about to start putting up my own 20'x30' carport. I think what you want to build can be relatively simple and I would bet I would mostly be confirming ideas you already have. I have a couple ideas to throw into the mix as well. I can't offer CAD but can offer some experience.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

As luck would have it, I am a builder, and coincidentally about to start putting up my own 20'x30' carport. I think what you want to build can be relatively simple and I would bet I would mostly be confirming ideas you already have. I have a couple ideas to throw into the mix as well. I can't offer CAD but can offer some experience.

Part of my love of forums and the culture on here is all about the learning.

My posts are often to learn but also to teach and forewarn others not to make the mistakes I already made.

My friend Fil “Sparkplug” suggested I cut a hole in the roof and floor and mount the post on the plinth anf get square geometry with only the slope to worry about.


So I am happy for you to start educating or making suggestions.

[Grizz1963]

Russians....

Stas in Siberia



Doing his day job.



Sunset



Cooking pork steaks, we may collaborate on a cook book one day



And 5 hours of time zone difference away, Vladimir was elsewhere in Russia in his workshop, having a beer, wearing a familiar Primark T-Shirt.



Seems dark beer rules.



Later, Sally popped in to drop off two sets of vintage Halogen spotlights, from a friends loft.



Minutes after posting about going to the scrap merchants to look for some trolley wheels, in order to build a cab trolley, but only scoring a wheelbarrow for neighbour Sam,. A buddy, Fil “Sparkplug” from Cambridge posted up these pics, offering free home delivery...... This week.

Yup, life certainly is good





Wood is rotten, but I was only looking for wheels to reuse.



Suddenly more pieces were falling into place.