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

[LT7A]

I like the orderliness of the vertical sample, but since there will be a GB superimposed over the US flag, I would go with representational rather than literal. In other words, using the diagonal as a stylistic element, rather than an actual flag depiction.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I like the orderliness of the vertical sample, but since there will be a GB superimposed over the US flag, I would go with representational rather than literal. In other words, using the diagonal as a stylistic element, rather than an actual flag depiction.

Spot on.

Also, the maker posted the vertical flag back to front.

Thanks, I like what I got.

[Grizz1963]

Done.





Happy

[Grizz1963]

Three parcels in the post today.

A nice Union Jack snoody thing for shopping.

A parcel from Michigan containing traded license plates and some cool stickers.



And a fascinating and ultimately mind blowing parcel addressed tus:



Contents to be revealed later.

Now to figure out who sent it.


.

[Grizz1963]

So back to the random acts of kindness that crosses our paths daily.

Once I opened the parcel, it turned out that the contents put a big grin on my face.

Made in Japan, it does need a head.

I tried fitting some new batteries, and tried the power and siren buttons, none worked.






So, who was the benefactor?

Fil who did all the hard work, driving to fetch the Rezin Rockit for me was the man.



Once again, I can say that life is good.

[Grizz1963]

Well, sweltering heat this week, followed by a lot of rain.

Woken at 2.30am on Friday with some water dripping furiously outside my bedroom……. Rain was hammering down outside.

Found this…….



Put out some plastic buckets and towels and kinda went back to sleep.


Up by 5.30 when the first lodger got up and started opening and closing doors, he is not good at just leaving his bedroom door open when he goes to pee and when in the bathroom, the door has to be shut noisily and locked every time. Seriously.

Greeted by a load of plaster on the floor and bucket half full of water.






So I cleaned up the mess as much as I could and did some day job work.

Later I called One Call Insurance (underwritten by Legal and General) and was told that there were no storms reported in the area, somI could not get any “emergency response “ to secure the roof or inspect what had caused the leak.
I was put on to hold on for a different department, eventually the phone was answered by some random person, who took my details, to be called back later.
24 hours later I am still waiting for a call back.

Later I went to ask Mickey if I could use his extending ladders, and he said no……
He would come and go up instead of me, as he did not want to call the ambulance if I landed on my head.

Typically, he came at about 1.00pm just about the time I get ready to go to my weekly osteopath appointment.

Up he went and the reply was that there were broken tiles and a load of moss in the gulley of the roof.



So he came down, we got 4 spare tiles stolen from Stuarts pile two houses down’s stock for his extension build.

Tiles went up, then a bucket, grinder extension cord and Mickey.

I had to leave, filled with fear that he was working alone up there.





When I got back the ladder and tools were gone, and Mickey was sitting inside my place, waiting for his cuppa tea.

He said he had removed a half bucket of moss from the gulley, and replaced 4 tiles.



Wet and dirty Mickey. Also happy with some pocket money he gets to earn.




So after that it rained hard a few more times and overnight, not a drop of rain inside.


In the mean time I wonder if the insurance company will actually make contact with me……..


Or do I just get on with having the repairs done and get on with my life.

[Grizz1963]

So when I go walk, ostensibly for my back, but also to get out the house, I take loads of pics, sharing some with a good ceramicist friend in Tulsa Oklahoma

She draws, paints and sculpts too.

This time of year the Poppies are doing really well.

Up at the farm, this is especially true.





So Linda prints out a load of the pics and takes themalong to paint when she and her husband go travelling and camping.

This one took her an hour to do from start to finish,

I do admire talented people.







While out walking I invariably collect some hedgerow asparagus

Pan fried with a bit of garlic and a dash of olive oil……..

Magic.



All kinds of sizes, and even the longest ones are super tender.



Yesterday Sally and I went out in the truck for some shopping and our first “meal out” since lockdown.

Parking the truck up and walking over to pay for the parking for GRZ733 ( foundmyself looking back at it, grin ing and then taking a pic.

It has to be the right car if you get that feeling.




Lunch was predictable, but brilliant.



When the bill came, I noticed the coffees had doubled in price since March 2020 and the Lamachun had gone up by 40p each.

At the new prices, it is still a bargain imho and considering the hardship the hospitality industry has had to face recently, not something that would stop me supporting them



Rain again today, but a few things to do.

No bootfair sadly.

[Grizz1963]

And then a head was found.

[Grizz1963]

Had my midyear review on Tuesday.

Seems the bosses are happy with what I am doing at the moment, going by the feedback email.

Yesterday was one of those days where I had been working in the morning and by 13.00 it just felt like nothing was happening, so I called the boss and asked to sign a half day leave or just have the afternoon off, he thought about it for a moment, and said to just take the rest of the day off. I actually carried on working till 13.45 and then headed out to mate Darrens engineering shop Unit Engineering for some mental health recharging.

So I took the truck out and headed over to Sheppey.

Always good to see him, catch up with the stuff he is always doing, both cars and engineering and making a living.



Slow but constant progress on his V8 Beetle build.





After two hours of coffee and chat, both of us felt a lot better, as even the therapist sometimes needs therapy.

I scavenged some round and flat bar from the scrap bin, to be used in my driveway changes.



Headed home by 4.30 for dinner that was being made for me by Sally.

Truck making me grin all afternoon.

[Grizz1963]

Looking out the kitchen window last night as I do, often, at the truck, I noticed something was wrong.


Poop.




Mounting spot.




So the job will be to either find someone to repair it, as an autoglass company, if I can find that, or buy some specialised glue and fixing system.

Dennis uses this in the USA in his bodyshop.

May be available on Amazon though.






At least I have the day off a a vacation day, so able to do my own stuff.

Rain forecast for the weekend too.

[Grizz1963]

Bootfair today was small.

Sally panicked when we stopped and only 1/4 of the field was taken up and likewise parking are nearer 20%

I told her, often when these quiet days have happened, with less people milling around, I have had great days.

Less people also meant less pushing and shoving, and rude non English speakers, thus a chance to look and find stuff in the typical piles made up by spring cleaning or house clearances.

Mate Craig and us got lucky today, with a few great pieces from one guy, everything was £1.00 or less..

Medium sized Crowbar £1.00



Grubby, rusty hatchet, £1.00



Maybe a bargain of the day for him, glass and chrome bodied courtesy/roof/map light for his 1950 Chevy truck or the 1948 Fleetline. Coat £1.00



Sally bought 3 blue glazed garden pots, and I got a green one, you guessed it…….. £1.00 each. Go price check those.



Other items from the same seller included a weird pair of spring loaded, flat beaked pliers, a plumb line and a new padlock with 3 keys and a spring loaded metal punch, all for £1.00



Also at the same seller a small unused spirit level for £1.00 for mate Kevin who loves tape measures and instruments of accuracy.



We bought a few plants ranging between £2.00 for a nice Rosemary and £1.00 for mint and some shrubs for Sallys new pots.

Other items included a £2.00 dinner lap tray for one lodger, a hand rail £2.00 to be used as towel rail in the lodgers bathroom, a woollen floor rug to replace one I binned recently £2.00
Three Coffee mugs, 20p each, VW one for Craig, Batman for a colleague and large bunny item for my kitchen, size large for Mickey who likes a large mug of tea.
Really nice, but dirty paper towel holder to replace the hateful one I have in the kitchen.



So all in all, a decent outing today.

Clean up Craigs hatchet, put away the bits, then carry on digging the second set of holes for the archway on the drive and make up the structure, before the rain really starts to fall.

[Grizz1963]

Took Friday off as mentioned, also went out in the truck to fetch a long passage carpet runner for Craigs wife, new, unused (the carpet)

Started chatting to the sellers husband as you do, turns put he has a 1963 registered VW Beach Buggy (for sale like all things in life)

He used to be a Land Rover guy for many years, short story long, he sold me a screen for £10.00 which I gave to @glenanderson who was popping down on Sunday to drop off a windscreen for me to use on the Rezin Rockit, as well as some signs from @forkliftfred whom he bought an engine from.

Into the truck it went, along with the passage runner.



Saturday afternoon I started on another distraction that has been years in the want/planning.

An arch over the bottom of the driveway that once overgrown will help create a visual line and block the line of sight down to the garage, looking from the street.

Basic idea, just to get the feel for what it will look like.

Ot should be 8’2” tall on the underside, with a pair of 15” trellises front and rear that will be removable, either by unhooking from clips, or unscrewing if it seems to need extra stability.

Not at all like this by the way.



Measured out.



Hedge carefully cut back to create a recess, so that actual drive is not compromised for when cars or trucks come to the bottom. Also allowing the caravan to be removed.



18” deep holes dug both sides for the small holding foundations on the uprights.



After that, my back asked me to slow down, so I started a fire instead…….

You know what happened next of course.

Both current lodgers were in, So Sally and I decided a BBQ was a perfect way to spend the late afternoon.

Drinks, Pretzels, chat…….



Fire, food.



Served.



Happy, all of us, it was a good meal, music and alcohol.

David the Electrical engineering managers wife and kids are in Vietnam, last saw them February last year, that must suck.
Interestingly, he mostly works in Saudi Arabia, Emirates and other places where alcohol is less used, and as a habit does not use alcohol.

Anthony is a retired Royal Engineers RSM who runs his own training company. t2p.co.uk

David may stay a year for his full contract, or if Saudi Arabia and the rest opens up, he may go back there sooner, Anthony is sorting his life and could be here for an indeterminate time.

In the mean time, the are good company.



Sunday was Bootfair and a bit of together time with Sally, making stuff.

More later.

[Grizz1963]

So a few little things along the way.

Cleaned up Craigs hatchet a bit.

From this.



To this.


Via some of this.



Also added a 50p bootfair handle to the cast aluminium head mate Andy cast two years ago.





Done.



In other news, my local village has a secret person who is crocheting toppers for post boxes and bollards.

It is proving really popular, and people are leaving them in place, which is great to see.



Anthony my one current lodger has a business to print stuff, like emergency bags, T-shirts etc.

He offered to print me a pic of the S10 on canvas.

Brought these samples back Monday night.

I need to frame the canvas next.



Last night he brought home an even bigger print.



Pretty chuffed with these.

Just need to frame and stretch them now.

[Grizz1963]

Sunday was a good day to spend tome with wanted to make gifts for her three best friends.

Blue Tit nesting “boxes”

I have two nesting boxes that have breeding pairs returning every year.

These are obviously not boxes in the traditional sense, but they should attract birds.

I made her do some of the helping, which really did pi$$ her off a bit, especially when my camera comes out, she hates cameras.

Also she does not have the technique or force to drive those screws into the oak that I used, despite pilot holes being drilled.

So I calculated, measured and cut for three boxes and then assembled them one at a time.




The tea pots were getting glued down with some special magical glue.




Different sizes, as thats how you buy from the bootfair, they come at around £2.00 each.



Progress.



Lids glues down on the front porches.

The front doors need to be painted pastel colours after gluing into place





Sunday evening @glenanderson popped in to drop off some signs from @forkliftfred and the front screen from his Land Rover.

Glen took the screen I got last week and went home as it was raining and his day had been a long one.



Screen for the Rezin Rockit



Weekend suddenly over again.

[Grizz1963]

Remember that spoiler I bought a few weeks ago?

A random pic sent to my by a friend.


Tongue in cheek.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@boom666" source="/post/2685508/thread" timestamp="1625271808"]this is different . https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184915859....c101198.m1985[/quote]


Ebay seller may be hoping for a sale.

I like that.

At £2k it is a touch steep for me, but unique enough.

Chassis is a 1971 and of course being a Q plate does not bother me.

MOT expired 2006 which is a long time ago.

Mine expired at an unknown date, first registered 1991


I think this one could be a Filipino kit, imported and fitted to a Q plated chassis.

But hey….. what do I know.




.

[Grizz1963]

Well guess the date 🇺🇸

Yup 4th of July. Again.🇺🇸🇺🇸

American Birthday-ish.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

So as I have this whole American thing and a load of good friends over there…..🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸


Happy Independence Day.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸


🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

🇺🇸 Old




🇺🇸 New.




Raining here now.

Not ideal.

[Grizz1963]

Busy weekend, working on the arch over the driveway.

Because of my back, progress is slow, but amazingly, the amount of work I did on Saturday and Sunday was way more than any day in the last three months.

Osteopath and gentle exercise by walking 2km most days, seems to have allowed some recovery.

I will do the archway write up in one when it is completed. I have one more piece to build and mount, along with the day job.

Saturday Sally painted the nesting teapot doors, a nice shade of yellow.



Resulting in a nice finish after she waxed all the wood twice with a nice beeswax based wood treatment.

Her friends should be happy.

You will note that one is missing a lid.

Sunday bootfair it was on the list of stuff to find, a lid.




Sunday bootfair was minimal, possibly 15% of its usual size, due to threatening rain.


I only got to spend £2.20

20p for a broken sugar bowl, which donated its lid for box no 3

And £1.00 each for a bag of steel wire staples, and yes, we still use them.

Also a bag of random sized split pins for £1.00 which was great, gain as our older cars, especially American stuff, still uses split pins.



Happy with the result of the 20p lid.



Also went out in the truck to go looking for some cement, but two hardware stores had zero stock.

Imdid manage to spend £168.00 on a large electrical pressure cleaner.

If it lasts s well as the last one did, I will be very happy.







Created a nice obstruction to pi$$ off speeding freaks that do 50+ mph in the 30 zone in front of my place, a small win.

Before reversing the truck back down the drive.




And suddenly the weekend was over again.

But pleased with what I got done.

And driving the truck.

[Grizz1963]

So a quick photodump.

The idea was to create a arch for the garden to the right to grow into and over so that it partly camouflages and draws attention away from the garden.

Recycled timber was free.

Screws expensive, cement overpriced, and paint paid for before.

The rest mostly labour and using stuff paid for before.

Total cost, probably under £80.00


You saw the 450mm deep holes go down before.




I decided to sandwich two beams per post. Cut to length and screwed securely.



Test fit.





I also used some of the blackened sections to create a ladder for each side.



Painted, thanks to Sally carrying on with the paint while I built no 2.



On Sunday Sally worked, so I placed the uprights in the holes, alone, my back is recovering its strength, though the damage is permanent, I am moving easier and better every day compared to three months ago.



NextI made a set of cross beams up. The front gets a wide one tomcreate the illusion of size and sheer bulk, spindly would not work.



Next up , squaring and levelling it all out, then anchoring in position.



Followed by cross beams.



This was followed by screwing into position the individual cross pieces, as the whole lot would have been to big, heavy and unwieldy to put up alone.



I knew I wanted to have a front section hanging down, but removable for when the welding caravan gets removed finally.

So mocked up with a piece of trellis fencing, just to help visualisation.

Realised it needed to be a bit shorter.



Final height.



I tried to get some cement to mix for the foundations and neither B&Q, nor Wickes or Homebase had any.

Went to my local village hardware store on Monday afternoon………

No cement, but had some bags of “Post Mix” at £10.00 per 20kg bag.

Trust me, not impressed, but little choice, so I paid my £40.00 for the convenience.



Tuesday afternoon I also decided to try out my new pressure cleaner.

NVH is bad, trigger is stiff, no lock on it, oscillating head does a weird thing where it goes through frequencies that seem to change the effect.

Not sure it is worth the money at £168.00 vs the £110.00 model.





My fig tree, propagated last year has produced one fig, pretty chuffed with that.

[LT7A]

Glad that you're getting out for your daily walk and that your back is improving. I chuckled a little bit when you talked about the rug that you threw away, because I'm so accustomed to your resourcefulness. I figured it must have really served its time, haha. Carry on, the landscape work looks great.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Glad that you're getting out for your daily walk and that your back is improving. I chuckled a little bit when you talked about the rug that you threw away, because I'm so accustomed to your resourcefulness. I figured it must have really served its time, haha. Carry on, the landscape work looks great.

I sometimes shake my head at myself, you,call it resourcefulness, thank you.

I am not sure I would be that flattering.

BUT….. a lot of my toys are possible due to a sensible approach to spending.

I was telling someone recently, a free table, worth $50.00 that I could use, released that cash as I was not spending it put my pocket.

And like a used car, it is only new till the ckeck clears at the bank, then you have amused car worth 10-20% less than before you paid for it.




Next job was to make the lower valence up.

Again, made as I went along.

Cut first, measure second.



All of this has been a pain to do solo, as it is high, the ladder is uninspiring, and I worry about my back letting me down, well crashing me to thw floor really.



The whole morning there was a Robin keeping me company, chatting and making an angry noise, I guess he has a nest somewhere nearby.



These should ensure I can dismantle the valence later, to remove the caravan with ease.



Once squared up and screwed together, it was time for the post-crete to -be added to the holes, along with a load of water to set it off.



Done.



Followed by some decorations





I also cleared the excess wood off the drive, in under the carport.

And put up some road signs, andmy battle weary Stars n Stripes.




Later on the Robin was sitting atop the structure, singing away merrily.



Went to bed at 12,30 and by 04.10 the night was over.

Not ideal, but at least I took yesterday and today off work.

Sunrise was nice.





My weekend is here, loads of clearing up to do today, and maybe mounting the dentists light under the carport too.

[Grizz1963]

One for Craig, along with the Coke trucks and a small beach buggy.

He is a VW aircooled and Coke guy of course.



A nice carved wooden cat for mate Kevins new courtyard garden



And for myself a set of license plates for my collection.

No idea where they are from.



So total haul included.

Wooden picture frame, unused £1.00
Wooden blue star £1.00
Wooden carved cat £2.50
60’s Beach Buggy £4.00
Three toy cars £1.00
4 teapots, to be used as Blue Tit nests £1.00 each
vintage Porcelain bathroom light pull £3.00
License plates £2.00 of both.
Three Poppy scarves unused, for £1.00
Half a box of gutter bolts for a cart iron bench build £2.50




The rest of today was spent clearing out the carport, followed by sorting out Mickeys and my communal lumber into size, type and length, clearing the shared alleyway about 80%

There are still two pallets worth of aerated breeze blocks that we need to find a new home for in the alleyway though.

Once done, I want to build some decent shelving and support doe all the wood to be stored, giving me back the carport for the Rezin Rockit build.

Decent weekend, almost over.

[LT7A]

Our philosophies on utilizing used items are quite similar. I try not to accumulate for the sake of accumulation, except in limited circumstances with a few areas of things I collect. I would rather get something and renew it to use for a need I have, then get something new and watch it accumulate scratches and dents in use. Somehow the drive for improvement is what makes it worthwhile for me.

Are you planning on establishing a giant colony of birds residing in those teapot nests? It seems, that with a few more, you could be selling them off your tailgate at the boot fair. I'm glad that you explained what they were and how they go together, because a blue tit nest conjures up images of a much different venue and situation.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Our philosophies on utilizing used items are quite similar. I try not to accumulate for the sake of accumulation, except in limited circumstances with a few areas of things I collect. I would rather get something and renew it to use for a need I have, then get something new and watch it accumulate scratches and dents in use. Somehow the drive for improvement is what makes it worthwhile for me.

Are you planning on establishing a giant colony of birds residing in those teapot nests? It seems, that with a few more, you could be selling them off your tailgate at the boot fair. I'm glad that you explained what they were and how they go together, because a blue tit nest conjures up images of a much different venue and situation.

I do accumulate, but it is always available for anyone to use.
Though a clean up is needed from time to time.
Every time I reuse, repurpose or use free materials, it puts money back in my pocket to use on other things.
And yes, improvement is a great feeling too.

I certainly wont make the nests for selling, they are all earmarked for friends. Including Mickey’s wife next door.
Blue tits at Hooters?







Some of you may remember the gokart chassis I bought a while ago.

Barstool racer is the objective

Not shortened as is traditional but full length with a small pickup bed over the motor.

So how many horses should I look for in a motor.

No need to be a rip snorting turbo NOS driven nutter mobile.

But needs to be reasonably capable of drawing around 150kg around a field.


I see Briggs and Stratton motors on rotovators with 3.5 hp and bigger on other stuff.


Go on…….


Don’t kill me.

[Grizz1963]

Up at 05.00 (old age, sore body, restless mind) showered, shaved, mug of tea, quick scan of internet etc.

Down at the bootfair by 6.15 and field was already full, with the line down the side of the exit route being filled with vendors.

Actually not a lot for me, but still had a nice few hours and home before 09.00 for brekkie.



Total haul.

Smalls.



Glazed plant pot £2.00
3/4 of 12 liter fence paint £3.00 and a nice chat.
Firemans helmet, unused, with working speaker £1.00
Another teapot £1.00
Aluminium drain downpipe corner and a gate slider £2.00
King Dick 50p
Metal sign 50p for shed.
4x VW Beetle/Baja’s £1.00
Union Jack Mini - Free
Small tools all for £2.00 from nice seller with teapot.
Includes Oil filter chain spanner, vintage pliers, multi-tool for closed boxes, two very flat spanners, two beautiful vintage drill bits, rawlplug tool (punch) 3 micro drillbits, 2x tyre pressure gauges.

So that was the haul, not big but nice to be out and the fence paint alone makes up for the rest.


More random reports later.

Hot out today.