Unkel Kunkel

I tried using the little tool from Rimmers for this job which is a metal strip bent over at degrees as a hook at one end and formed into a ring handle to pull at the other.The idea I think is to balance the clip in the hook bit and pull upwards at the sane time as pressing the seal downwards.I found it really difficult and frustrating.Ended up positioning clip with long piece of 2x1 and tapping from above and below. I wish I had thought to open the clips out a bit as per Pete and Keith and to use cotton / blue tack! During the frustrating fitting session I did ponder ,"So how did they do this at the factory,then ?" I cant think the production line slowed at this point to wait whilst cursing folk chased escaping pinging clips.Was there a special technique? a fiendishly clever gadget? or was it down to dexterity and a lot of experience -a thing we used to call skill?

Good morning,Gollane - or perhaps "Moghrey mie,Gollane"? - for the benefit of those on the adjacent Isle, it is Manx. The sodium hydroxide worked which is interesting.As you point out, a really serious potential for skin burns and eye problems can be disaster. The solvents in general ,don't seem so successful The general answer may be with detergents rather than solvents , especially when you consider that is what they put in petrol to lessen Gumming up. On the detergent rather than solvent approach , I see someone was succesful with Comma Manista and a variety of brushes and success claimed from use Ariel washing powder. Incidentally, After hours of carb. cleaning from failure to drain off fuel from 2 mowers in winter storage,I now put tiny amount of Shell Advanced fuel additive in the tank- no problems.The motorbikers use it to prevent gumming up of their stored steads and also users of garden machinery Gollane,you can buy it at Eden Park Garden centre in Douglas

Welcome, Andrew Andrew

Regarding compatibly of the mechanical components - dont know .Hopefully Pete will come up with the answer to that! But, the starter motor- assuming it was ok before should be ok (now unless its storage has been very unusual). I'm a bit unclear about what was connected to where I presume there wasn't a battery in the car you are attempting to start? The negative lead from the donor was attached to ? engine (best) ? chassis of the "recipient " i e was there a good earth route to the starter? you touched the donor +ve to the starter- it got hot - the starter or the wire? how long did you turn it over for? As soon as you have long leads ie jump leads and questionable earth routes everything go werrrrr..slow and any high resistance areas wiil get hot. perhaps the next step is to connect a battery directly to the "new"car's wiring and try again also ensuring the neg lead has a good connection via the braided earth strap to the engine bell housing bolts.

Very interesting , Pete. I for one, was not aware of this - presumably this applies to other vehicles too? Is there a distance for which it is reasonble to tow? So, I suppose could remove the prop shaft or raise rear wheels?

Thanks, bivvyman that's all very interesting. The last time I looked at such a thing the prices were off putting , but as you point out they have fallen cosiderably

The solar panel sounds an interesting approach , bivvyman. Any further details - where did you get it? I have a cheap way of monitoring various batteries whether they are being charged or stored. You can get digital volt meters on Ebay for less than a tenner each now They are water proof -I think they are intended for boat use soldered i to the supply leads and the joint covered in epoxy. can monitor voltage on stored batteries and recharge when voltage falls. Also have one visible externally on a car which isn't used much in winter -I dont want a mains cable running to it .-a quick glance at the "the dangle meter' shows me the state of charge. if it starts to fall I connect up to a charger (same leads) for some reason when I try to attach the the picture it comes upside down ....so has an upside down damn dangle .. but you can get the idea!

I have the exactlly the same sort if filter on car and also on 2 lawn mowers with gravity feed fuel lines. the appearance is the same as your pic re varying amount of filter that appears empty of fuel -and they are running ok On one unusually hot day last year mower conked out. Filter looked empty.1/2 hour later, fuel in filter -started fine. so ?? degree of vapourisation occurring - but dont know really. If it wasnt transparent you wouldnt know...

Not sure which one you have in mind, Dave, pressure not the main issue as most will generate 150 psi ie 10 atmos = 10 approx x 15psi , and most air tools seem to quote air consumption at 90 psi it is more how much volume can be delivered to cope with the consumption of what your running and the cycle time ( ie everything you're doing has to cease whilst machine has to "fill up" the reservoir) So you need to compare the FAD free air delivery capacity against what you will be needing and the cycle time. For most Small scale use , this means a 3 hp motor and no less than 50 litre reservoir. Much above 3 hp and your looking at something more than your normal single phase electrical supply. I am sure someone wiil be on soon to quote FADs and consumption of various tools and I will leave that to them. Small compressors will work most things but sometimes just for brief blasts. So Spraying Waxoyl no prob for most.Air wrenches maybe as brief bursts - sanders and sprayers use a lot. and its no good having to stop every minute. -but ..There is a point which many overlook and that is ... NOISE -some of the cheaper compressors are very noisy to a degree that is unpleasant and if used a lot,even if you're happy, it will test the tolerance of spouse and neighbours! The noisy ones have direct drive and run at high rom in order to give output. So if poss go for a belt driven compreesor - runs at lower lazy rpm and is not unduly noisy and wiil last longer.These ussualy have more than one cylinder in the compressor. I can reccomend ABAC, well made ,good performance - and nice and quiet

Probably a good idea to protect concrete floor from the battery rather than the other way around!. Years ago battery casings were hard rubber and to a degree porous.It was thought a slow discharge to earth was possible.If therewas dirt or damp there was also a degree of acid creep too on the top -after carrying an old battery a long distance( dont ask, I was as a teenager) my mother wasn't amused when she found the front of my shirt had disintegrated.. Discharge of standing battery inversely relatesto temperature so there may be even an argument that sitting the battery on the cool concrete will,if anything, help maintain its state of charge....

The concrete floor thing, Colin- haven't heard that for a while.Never really subscribed to that idea as I just don't get it -why should it be a problem? I had two practically dead old batteries one 2006 ,the other 2007 from different vehicles last year.Sat them on concrete garage floor (whilst getting around to dispose of them).Connected them each up to a CTEK charger (just to see ) and left them for three months.They then were both able to hold 12.7 v when disconnected for over 2 weeks .They appear to have been substantially rejuvenated -even on the concrete

Water Wetter is an anti corrosion additive and a surfactant -reduces surface tension of water.Reduce hot spots and cavitation and flow through confined areas like rad fins. H2O has excellent heat capacity and as a coolant in a pressused system only has 2 draw backs - corrosion and danger from freezing. Both these adverse properties well addressed by using suitable antifreeze. Despite many peoples beliefs , there is no advantage in using very high concentrations of antifreeze above what is required to prevent frost damage with respect to the weather where you live as antifreeze is simply not as good a coolant as water. I remember some chap expounding that he used "far more" than 50 % glycol on the basis that "RR Merlin V12 engines used "glycol only " as a coolant as it was "better than water".This was if course nonsense(.In fact they used 30% glycol 70% water) 'Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice" of course.I use a suitably diluted good quality antifreeze and change it now and again - about every 2-3 three years.There are other concerns in life...

Unless I am missing the point somewhere I do not see the advantage of waterless coolants for motor cars. For a substance that has one of the highest heat capacities available (twice that of glycol) and therefore one of the best liquids available for convection cooling, is easily available anywhere at virtually nil cost water has no serious rivals for me. Perhaps it is just too common place and cheap and ordinary for its properties to be valued. Liquid dihydrogen monoxide sounds much more impressive (almost dangerous) and strangley has the same properties...

Hi Kai, My least favourite job is removing paint! All methods seem to involve a lot of time, dust, noise and noxious fumes, or a combination of them all. - though the latter is reduced now dichloromethane is not so readily available. I asked an "old hand ' years ago about how to remove really stubborn paint and he replied " The first question should be -Why do I need to remove it?" - just a thought..

Colin and Pete beat me to it .... what they said! If you were able to spin the engine on the starter, start up and run , the battery has remained charged and then later start up normally then alternator sounds ok. Only ever had one alternator fail .It was working then it wasn't.The battery went down quickly.As it did so, The ignition warning light glowed even when the ignition was switched off - and key removed- which I thought was intriguing ( but inconvenient more than anything at the time) .Presumably caused by the diodes failing quickly shorting out and draining it flat as a battery can get.

It depends .. On what you want to use it for On how much you want to spend (range is very wide £20 odd to several hundreds of pounds) Range If you are looking at using it on a Spitfire then I think the largest torque setings are about 150 ft lbs (rear hub .crank pulley) mostly less.10-65 So buying one that only goes to 45ft lbs isnt going to help.Equally buying one that goes over 200ft ilbs isn't either If you think you may use it for other things you may want a bigger range-the front hub nut on a modern VW for example(!!) So it is horses for courses -I have a small cheapo Draper torque wrench of the bendy bar type, a trusty old Norbar (200ftlbs) and a big bugger old Britool. Type simplest and the earliest ever made, I think, is the bendy beam type.- cheap..Accuracy depends on reading the scale which you will find can be really awkward in many situations such as under a car and therfore a major minusalso therefore no" fail safe" to prevent over tightening if cant see scale accurately .Otherwise they are fine.. The various Clicking and types have the advantage that once set you don't have to peer at the needle like a bendy bar type and no risk of going beyond setting. Dont know about digital but note Pete's point about batteries - I have a small lathe which has digital read outs and the batteries have always given up when I want to use it the darned thing... Drive Square drive -3/4" is for the big things,tractors ,lorries, LandRovers etc etc- not little Triumphs so 1/2" ( 3/8" less beefy but a lot of it around and if if every else you've got is that size..) There are loads of torque wrenches for sale these days..Auto Express did a sort of Survey 2015 and Halfords came top. .Hfds. do have some really impressive stuff -worth looking there,,Machine Mart.?. ....even B&Q do them ... Good hunting .

I know its cheap, but is mild steel the only suitable material for these things? The original dished type marketed as a Welch plug was said to have originated when a Mr Welch hammered in a coin of suitable diameter in the early 1900s as a road side repair when a tapped plug came out of the engine of whatever early motir he was driving.

It is along time since I replaced either but it was surprisingly easy though I did need two attempts with a disc type. cup/bucket or disc/welch plug type they do the same job which is to fill the hole. dig out the remains if the old one clean off the rough debris on the the cast surface.For the cup type a smear of lubricant helps when the cup is drifted in use apppriate size drift - a socket is useful. the disc type is fitted dome upwards then a single strike from a ball pein hammer should spread it to fix it .Don't keep giving it one more tap " to be sure" or it will distort it and leak....OK buy a few. If they save a head or block from frost damage that has to be good thing- in the US they use the term" frost plugs"but this is just fortuitous as the holes are there as a result of the need to remove the sand during the casting process.

Apologies-Only just noticed your post, Colin The carraige was £I4.95. This was exceptional as the thing was really mighty heavy. Carraige costs to IOM seem very varied and irrational - some firms don't even want to know,others want to charge massive amounts and some are even free-This was one of those pleasant surprises. sometimes firms dont even know where IoM is ! - even confusing it with the Isle of Wight ( or Isle of "White" as one parcel was addressed which amazingly did eventually find us!) Manx Independent Carriers have set up "Ship2man" recently. You register with them and then when you buy some heavy bulky item in UK it is sent to their UK hub in Kirby Lancs (ie a Uk address) then for a small fee sent by boat and delivered to your door in IoM.It works well. if such a system extended to NI it would help you . if not , a business opportunity awaits for someone perhaps? Andrew

I bought a one ton crane few months ago. From Foxhunters online via Ebay It was only £109 something and carraige free for UK (I paid extra carraige as I live off shore) You would be most welcome to borrow it but the logistics would be impractical! It is really good quality. Even folds up -so takes up very little room It has helped lift spitfire body off chassis and then used to lift and tilt chassis for outrigger replacement - so no need to buy ir make a "rotisserie" Andrew

For an impoverished teenager in the sixties ,tools like sockets and spanners were very expensive. The alternatives were to try and find a shop selling ex Gov tools (which were really good Britool,Eagle Bedford ,Footprint etc coated in wax and special brown paper stuff with a gov bench mark arrow and a date such 1945 ) or buy some really cheap rubbish made of something little stronger than cheese with "foreign" , 'empire made' or some really poor stuff with no makers name but 'made in Germany' which bent /snapped very easily.I think I can still find the scars.... Later ,better German stuff appeared -Elora ,Stahlville then the Taiwanese Kamassa. Now it seems ,there is some really nice stuff in Halfords and even B&Q and it all seems tough ,well made and remarkably cheap and very, very shiny. I have a mixture of the ancient: -two tools made by my Grandad which he stamped "1909" as an apprentice, the old : model T Truck spanner and various exGov spanners British,as mentioned , USA usually Ford ,and some Stahlville, Kamassa and some attractive very shiny Halfords Professional stuff. I have quite a strong attachment to the old stuff .It certainly doesn't shine, but then it hasn't worn out yet either and ,(this may sound rather nerdish ),each has distinct associated memories - and so far, none have ever caused me any injury. Time will tell about the new shiny stuff. - if I hang around long enough, that is....

The use of the word "nipple" seems to be causing undue titillation- stop that giggling at the back at once! The Americans, I notice tend to use the term "zerk" (s)or more rarely Alemite(s) This is not because of any prudery or that there , err .. nipples are called " Zerks" but after Mr Oscar U Zerk who invented a one way valve for grease points - spring loaded ball bearing valve , patenting it for the Alemite company in the 1920's. The design has remained effectively unchanged since. He had also invented oilers for steam engines and railway axle bearings. Reluctant to enter the "The Great Oil or Grease Trunnion Debate' , viewing it as a spectator sport. However: 1 I would only say that the Wanner 315 grease gun never fails or leaks for me. 2 ... here goes,.. I humbly offer the suggestion of using EP90 GL4 but with Molyslip gear box oil additive so getting perhaps the best of both worlds -best that oil can offer with the added back up of the molybdenum disulphide for it's 'dry' use ability.

This what I was I had in mind btw Happy Birthday ,Colin ! Andrew

Apologies - I have posted this under" bodywork" rather than" chassis" .... fairly close.. I can see your point, Colin, regarding weight on a large scale boxing in but I am thinking here about short piece of say 28 mm dia tube - weight I would guess about 100gm max - plus filling in the other two small holes. I was wondering if they were holes that assisted in the manufacturing process somehow and now rather redundant. The outrigger I am about to replace was really rotted through - mid way along on its lower surface. A drain hole there would have been useful. - I intend to put one in on the replacement part

I am about to replace Spitfire outrigger/s Question, please: Are the holes-the three holes in the vertical anterior face - largish one inboard( through which on nearside the brake pipe travels and two smaller outer ones What is their function (apart from the routing the nside b pipe )? - Is it a reasonable plan, before fitting new one ,to "tube" the larger and close the smaller ones to prevent debris ingress and lessen rust progress ?