PeteH

I do have a facache presence, but never acknowledge any unsolicited contact anyway. My Grandaughter had a very bad experience a few years back when some “oik” from her college hacked her fb page and posted all sorts of abuse. My son, her uncle, tracked him down, hacked him in return, and destroyed his software. It would have been a full rebuild at the best. He does cyber security work, so it’s all in a days work for him. Pete

That is a very contentious issue amongst the Motorhome Forum`s. Especially when talking about tyre`s costing up to £200 a boot!. Pete

Yes it`s quite good too. I had the "silver" for a repair to my last Motrohome matched, When I traded in, the dealer went round it and failed to pick up on the "repair". And silver`s are a Right bitch to match properly. Pete

Post, Prompted to have a look at the Paperwork for "Plum" it transpires that it`s MOT expires 9th April. Which will fit nicely with certain plans. In My opinon there should be a requirement for a Basic MOT style test for all "historic" vehicles even if only semi annual?. Pete

"Yummy Mummies" on the school run are the bane of our lives. We live within 150 yards of a Primary school. We have double yellows, wavy school no parking lines? and the obligatory flashing 20mph sign, Total waste of time. They park as they like ALWAYS get the "little darlings" out onto the road not the verge, `cos that will muddy our 7" heels, so not only is there a parking hazzard, but we have loose kids on the road as well. How there has never been a fatality (a few near misses) is only down to the extra care the rest of "us" take. Compounded by the fact that we also have a lot of farm traffic use the road and those HGV`s making delivery. I live in a close almost opposite the entrance, so our close is the "car park". Including our driveway, which they often block. "won`t be a min, got to pick my kid(s) up" is the cry. Most have come from less than 1/2 mile, which is the nearby estate. To add insult. within 100 yards of the school entrance, is the Pharmacy, and the Doctor Surgery. Many of whose staff and clients also use our close as parking!!. I now have the front "garden" hardened and gravelled on which we park our own vehicles! Sorry guy`s. Rant over.😬 Pete

A Lot will have to do with the quality of steel used in the manufacture of NON O/E studs. The strength of any threaded component is limited by the dia of the bottom of the thread which in the case of a 3/8" "bolt" is of the order of 0.06sq inch. Not a large cross section to resist the forces normal to driving, and which would be degraded further should the bolt be overstressed by overtorqueing, especially if it takes it beyond the "elastic limit" after which the bolt never returns to original length and the dia is "waisted" making failure even more likely. In essence, once a bolt/stud is overstressed it should be in reality replaced. Uncle Pete, has advocated that if studs are replaced, serious consideration be given to upgrading, the use of land rover? studs (12mm?) Is I think the option. On balance I would definitely agree. Pete

Interestingly, My recently purchased 13/60, ("Plum" for those who remember Jeff), has a 1300 ex Spitfire singe carb engine and the o/d box. Obviously I have no means of comparing with O/E, short of swapping engines, which `aint going to happen, but it seems lively enough to drive. My veiw is the O/D makes a difference though?. Another thought?, Chasing speed and power in "elderly" cars, will only add unwanted stress to already tired parts further down/up the drive chain. Years back, swapping engines, upgrading braking sytems et-al was meat and two veg with an end use (Stage Rallying). Now a quiet Sunday drive with the hood down and a Lunch at the end of it is a more attractive option.😁 Pete

True in 90%+ of cases. Usually the torque for Alloy wheels is Lower. IE: My Motorhome, Sprinter based, has alloy wheels, the torque Figures for those is 240Nm (177Ft/lb) for Steel rims, and 180nm (133Lb/Ft) for Alloy. I would guess, with no "factory" figure to fall back on. that 38 to 40Ft/lb would be OK? for Alloy`s on a Herald or Vitesse. OR whatever the alloy wheel supplier sugested if buying new. Pete

"Nicked off faceache": Enterprising or what?. Pete

Pity the poor tyre fitter in a Truck Bay then. 400 to 450Lb/Ft and 10 Nuts per wheel. When I did a bit of LGV work, you always knew when the truck had been for service, Because the scheduler would leave the Torque Wrench, 5ft long and heavy, across the driver seat, your job then was to go round all the wheels, 4 or 6, and check torque all the nuts. If you got the 3 axle, It was 60 nuts to check!. ☹️ It was your responsibility if a wheel came off, no one elses. Pete

The subject of tyre "life" occupies vast amounts of forum time on Motorhome and Camper van websites. The generally accepted "norm" would appear to be in the order of 7 years. Tyre life is dependant on many parameters, "in use" on a daily/regular basis the tyre tends not to suffer from cracking or tread delamination etc; asuming the correct pressure range and not abused, and a life of several years is subject only to the depth of tread. In storage it is recomended that they be kept darkened and preferably removed, exposure to U-V is detrimental to the tyre materials. Slight overinflation (+10psi?) helps to stop flats being generated, better still placed on stands. I have an `09 Motorhome, the 5th tyre (spare) is dated late `08 so by now it is 16years old and never been fitted. It was in a locker when we purchased in 2018 so 10 years old then, It looks in pristine condition, But would I trust it, even as a"get you out of trouble" fitting, I doubt not, as I have NO desire to grovel and fit a spare to a 3.8t vehicle, not when I have full breakdown and recovery, so kept at home and saved 28Kg of payload for more beer. Pete

Yes, We only just escaped one year by the "skin of our teeth" so to speak. With the help of a Nuclear Powered Russian Ice Breaker!!. It`s very eerie, in an Engine Room, listening to the ice scraping the paint off the hull as you move. Pete

Likewise, I was in the last year/18 month of my Aprenticeship, and on Night Shift for most of it. My old Thames Van sometimes had to be push started at 7-30am, to get me home, and driving to work in the dark, was a nightmare!, as the main and side roads started to re-freeze. Kept a small paraffin sump heater under the engine during the day. 50% antifreeze in the engine, and an old army greatcoat on the engine/radiator under the bonnet. Hardboard in front of the radiator too. Still managed to walk to the pub though👍 Pete

Co-incidently I spent an Hour this afternoon, Watching "The big Snow of 1947" As a 3-1/2year old I remember very little, but one thing that does stick in the mind, was the snow over the top of my little wellie`s!, and very, very, cold feet, I think I got chillblains?. -20+Celcius was the low. The country ran out of coal, which everything ran on, gas was made from and all homes where heated with, almost out of food, which was still (war) rationed. Siberian conditions for 7 weeks, followed by major flooding as the snow melted. Hundreds of thousands out of work, rolling blackouts. Now "they" throw the towel in if the temp goes below zero. Pete

I removed a similar product, manually with a combination of scrapers and rotary wire brush, from the Bonnet of a 13/60, prior to welding repairs. It was all over the Chassis as well, Hours and Hours of work. Hazard warning!!!!. Back in the 80`s, our two teenaged sons came back from the pub, Late, as they tend to do, and finding the barbecue still warm had the "brilliant" idea of cooking burgers. Throw a few coals on and squirt barbecue lighting fluid on, the inevitable happened, the thing cracked into a ball of flame and badly singed the eldest. First we knew of it was the racket as the youngest threw him in the shower and turned it on him and his self. Rest of the night spent in A&E, One son with no hair to speak of and third degree burns and the pattern from his T shirt where it had fused to his skin. He survived, his hair grew back, the A&E houseman said the youngest`s action had probably saved him from more severe burns. Lesson learned, he is now a financial vice president of a Texas Oil company. And Master of the Barbecue/Broiler.😁 Moral? Don`t mess with volatile fluids and flame/ignition sources, even if you think they are dead. Pete

I seem to remember the articles being published in the Courier? It interested me, as I was involved with frequency dampers on a 3 Cylinder double acting opposed piston marine engine. That invoved massive springs in a housing weighing several tonnes, rotating at 120+rpm. Once "fettled" it did work. Pete

I ocasionally wonder how come I`m still here?. Getting under cars on Brick`s,? Riding Motorbikes without helmets?, and falling off, bouncing off trees in the Dalby Forest. Safety Glasses?--er---No. When we started work, PPE, was still 40years away. Swinging about in Force9 Gale on a Bosuns Chair, no harness, with a Gas Axe in one hand, 20ft above a steel deck. I wonder? was I a Cat in a previous life? Pete

Cheers Guys, I now have to find out if Jeff or another P-O has already done the upgrade. Looking at the Adaptors, It`s a quite simple job of turning/screwcutting, if I have to do it. I may even have a 55deg thread tool in my old box. The Thread guages are with the Micrometers. 👍 Pete

I think the post office now, BT, only got rid of that type of system for power backup in exchanges, sometime in the 80s or even later. When my youngest went to work for them. The Yeovil exchange, he sad, still used those old 2v glass cells. Pete

No chance of a picture?. I suppose. I`ve got brass stock and a lathe plus a full Tap and Die set if needed. I even reckon I could still "screw cut" even though it is about 40+years since I did?. Pete

Not exactly a new phenomenon either, If we flame cut steel, it often got left on the floor. so we chalked "Hot" or "OTAZEL" on it as a precaution, Always some Divi would burn his hand trying to see just "how" hot!. How many times do youe see "wet paint" signs, and what happens, someone WILL touch to see! Farmer, put a sign up "Bull In Field" and the "ramblers" still walk through!. You can`t Legislate for Loonies.

Proper solder nipples are available on Flea bay, and might be another solution?. eg:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232608316648?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338268676&toolid=10044&customid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJad9BxhCxiSfXIS5M7gZZegRFrmJh3YdJMT2qaAKcJJ1XuWWEEXWacaAvnBEALw_wcB Often supplied for the traction engine/steam model fraternity btw. Pete

On my "moderns" recently I`ve been using Mann Filters?. But I`ll have to check what the 13/60 has as it`s supposed to be a 1300 Spitfire Engine. I don`t know if the Oil filter is the same? Pete

One of the issues with "Sealed" batteries is the fact one can no longer test individual cells with a Hydrometer. Something I think is a Retrograde step. There are, clearly, situations where having "open" cells would be dangerous, but under the open Bonnet of an old(er) car?. Testing with a Hydrometer was how I discovered the just one battery in a Bank of 6, was defective and the "cause" of lost capacity. With 6 batteries and 300Watts of solar panels I could "Off Grid" for nearly a full week. I suspect "plum`s" battery is nearing the end of life, It takes a charge overnight, and by the following day is down to 12v or less just standing. Not having the "Ghost drains" of a more modern vehicle I think a new Battery is on the cards soon. Pete

The last one I did, (Ford Cortina) I turned up my own aligment tool from solid brass. Been used as a Dolly and Punch since then.😂 so not quite pristine now. Pete