Grizz' Prozac for the Soul - Berlingo Multispace

[Matt Haigh]

Thought you might have used the other half as a hinged lid?

[Grizz]

Thought you might have used the other half as a hinged lid?

Morning Matt

It is a great idea.  

But the barrel was damaged. And to get the finish with the folded tabs you do end up damaging the other half.

[Grizz]

So the welder died.

I thought I would check the contacts in thengun but all seems fine.

So next step, when I am in the mood (needs to be sooner than later) is to remove all the covers and check out the circuit boars for melt down, or loose connections. 

If that fails to expose a fault, it will be off to a local repair place to see if cash can fix it.



While on the theme of welding, I decided to unpack the welding caravan, and move my tools and hardware into a cabinet.

Thus consigning the caravan to the surplus pile and FB Marketplace for £50.00 

Over 40 messages, a bunch of super dumb questions, an offer to gazump the first guy who was headed over to look at it for £75.00 later, it was gone by Sunday 13.00

Sally swept the space it had taken up the last two years and I mentioned that it meant there was space for another car…….. she was not amused.

A really useful tool it turned out to be. Next life is a Snug for a 16 year old kid.





Sunday in-between all the messages bouncing around about the caravan, Sally had asked me to make more bird nesting boxes, and as she is never shy when it comes to helping me with car or garage duties, it was an easy yes. After all, they won’t go away. And people (her friends) have gone mad for them. 

So I cut all the wood to size, angles for the roofs etc, and made her drill the holes and screw them together. With some squeaking and squealing she got on with it. 







One cheap teapot short. 



I have two Blue tit nests that have had families every year since I moved here 10 years ago.

But I decided to add one more to the wooden archway I previously put up.

My mum was a tea drinker, making her tea with loose tea leaves and always in one of these aluminium teapots that eventually sported a wooden handle and knob that my dad had made for her. 

Using a license plate as a weather shield and an offcut as a cap over the entrance hole.



Today is Sally’s Birthday so I have committed the day to her.

But further plans for my week include a bit of gokart messing.

And if I can get onto it, I wanted to see if I could disconnect steering, dash connections and body from the chassis of the Rezin Rockit.

If I can get that done this week, I will chuffed to bits.

Rain is not allowing any outside play right now anyway.

[ffrenchie]

My mum was a tea drinker, making her tea with loose tea leaves

We still do but in a pot tea pot, it's the only civilised way (Co-op 99 tea and don't forget the strainer). Happy Birthday Sally and many happy returns. Good luck with the welder I couldn't manage without mine, There's always something need fixing or making with it.

[Grizz]

My mum was a tea drinker, making her tea with loose tea leaves

We still do but in a pot tea pot, it's the only civilised way (Co-op 99 tea and don't forget the strainer). Happy Birthday Sally and many happy returns. Good luck with the welder I couldn't manage without mine, There's always something need fixing or making with it.

Thank you. Will tell her. 

Yes on the tea. 

Welder….. absolutely. 



Some days just don't go according to plan.

Today was a great day like that.

At least I got three bolts n 6 nuts undone and removed from the spare wheel carrier on the Rezin Rockit.

Update on that later.

Mate Sam came to collect the beer keg BBQ,

Sally made us coffee and cake while I painted the frame for him as he asked. 

Painted.





After getting in from the walk and dinner, I primered and painted one set of rusty car ramps in orange, @50p a can, it is worth painting it. 



As Sally left the sun was saying a good night too.



Rum and Pepsi tonight.

[Grizz]

After the three bolts on the Rezin Rockit, we had got to 3.00pm 

So Sally asked if we could go walk down to the Thames river for a walk and scavenge.

Photo dump.

A lot of water.









Jelly fish?



Bumble bees working.





Sally would not let me bring this home in her car.



But this bit of railway sleeper made it into her car.



Good walk, about 2.5 miles.

[Grizz]

Taking the week off with Sally has given me time to get to loads of little jobs, also spend some “payback time” with Sally who always just gets on with stuff, often stepping back nd letting me get on with stuff, or mucking in and doing jobs I cannot be bothered with, or helping with the ones I am doing.

Of course it was her Birthday on Monday.

Yesterday mate Sam brought me two packs of South African style beef sausage “Boerewors” and collected his beer keg BBQ which I ended up then painting the stand of, rattle can takes a bit of time, so two hours of coffee, cake (thanks Sally) and visiting took a chunk if the day. 





I rearranged the carport, helped Mickey with some extra hands at his place.

Then I got onto Rezin Rockit business.

As it had been a while since I bought the wheel adapters and spacers and I could not remember how it all fitted together, I though it sensible to get them together again.

So I have 4x108 hubs and 4x100 wheels that I still really like. 

There are two different sets, both 20mm thick, and then 5mm spacers.

So all the wheel studs will need to be removed and replaced with longer ones. 

I need to get a set of 8 shallow wheel nuts to attach the one set of adapters as they came without. 

There are some of these black wheel nuts missing as delivered, so will look for them too. 

Tyres will be replaced with fresh, wide rubber, none of this silly  stretch, that does not suit this build.



Then up on a ramp in the rear using the jack and a tall block, chocks in place to prevent rolling off them.



Axle stands under the chassis up front.

This should help me a bit, as my back won’t let me crawl and slide around under cars anymore.

Seems stable as can be. Jerking and shaking it.



Mickey came around just when we were going to close shop to go for a walk along the Thames river as the tide was headed out.

So I used the opportunity to ask him to drive the rattle gun to undo the spare wheel carrier which was double nutted up under the rear of the body. 

In situations like this you need extremely long, rubber arms, or a spare set of hands.

Typically the nuts were rusted well into place, but we managed to get them undone.



After this closing up shop and going for a walk and flotsam/jetsam scavenge was in order. 

Loads of nice views and pics taken. 



After dinner I went down and rattle can painted the other set of ramps with a 50p can of spray paint. 

Looking forward a few more loosened nuts and bolts today. 

Later.

[Grizz]

Remember George Poteet whose car farm we visited last in 2019? 

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/210...nnis-kelly

Land speed record holder.

Good alround guy and philanthropist.

Been over 400mph more than 50 times.


https://www.caranddriver.com/features/co...ed-record/


Check out the link above.

Seems that he is not slowing down, despite little challenges.

Amazed. 



Had to laugh at myself today.

Went shopping in the truck,after osteopath getting my back done.

Once a year I eat a pasty, followed by heartburn to remind me not to have it again.

So bought these.



I hate messy food being eaten in my cars.

So I could not wait once I got out, and had to give it a go before heading home.

Still warm, it was rather delicious.

And no heartburn in the end.




Spent an hour with the Rezin Rockit in the end.

[Grizz]

So yesterday was planned for nuts, bolts, rusty stuff, side cutters and a grinder 

Lazy slow start, then chatted with @pauly about the roll cage or hoop options for the build.

I want something chunky looking, and different is a great option.

He sent me a pic of the half cage from one of the phases of his 56 Chevy.

I think it may work.

With a bit or lot of work.



Then Sally called, and all hell broke loose. 

I got to cut the grass, weed and clean a bit of stuff around the yard. 

She asked me if I could help her to help Uncle Bob with some trees that had grown too tall, and were interfering with overhead power lines. 

Of course I had to say yes, no problem.

So while she washed her car, I gathered all my bits, went to buy 5 liters of fuel to mix up for the chainsaw, filled the chain oil and fuel reserves, and tried to start it, third pull it took, this after more than 2 years since the last time I used it when building the garden wall,



After washing her car, I had to buff back the one fender and bonnet that must have had a paint repair at some point in the past as they always fade away, and if she is selling the Corsa, it needs to be presentable 

Then off to Uncle Bobs. 

Unpack, find a double length ladder and get started. 

Fortunately Uncle Bob was away at his yard, spraying brambles and weeds, so we could get on and just do the job without him supervising.

He had shown us on an earlier recce in the morning which trees needed to come down. 

9 of them in total, though a lot of other plants needed some serious pruning and cutting back (he stopped looking after the large garden 14 years ago when Sally’s mum died as she used to love the garden and manage it) , certainly more than one days worth of work, having to plan and operate between various structures and abandoned treasure cars etc.







Despite a used, somewhat blunted chain, I managed to proceed.

Sally drew the cuttings away for me and built a huge pile. I had to cut quite a few branches into smaller manageable sizes too.

Two tanks of petrol, and one refill on the chain oil is how long it took me to get the first two trees done.

7 trees to go, a job for another day.



Perfectly timed, for us, Uncle Bob for home just when we had finished cutting the lot down and piled up. 

He seemed happy, almost 75 now, I guess jobs that were a breeze when he farmed, now are both tiring and dangerous.

.


Now I need to find a petrol chipper locally to use, or one to buy as there is a load of work left and the other 7 trees to cut down.

Having all the cut branches and stumps removed will cost more than the price of a used petrol chipper I suspect. 

After we finished at Uncle Bobs we went to Sally’s place for her to try out the mower I had got her for her birthday, seems she likes it.

Even got a pic this morning from her to say she was happy with the finish, which made me smile. 

She loves her garden. 



Maybe today I will get an hour or two on the Rezin Rockit.

After going out with Sally.

[Grizz]

On a slightly different tack, I had a big grin and chuckle today.

Reading this written by a reader on another forum.

Seems I am influencing scavenger culture.

Free money is great.



Howdy. Catching up here a little bit. I learned something about hanging the flag vertically. Makes sense that the blue stays in the upper left hand corner but I had always thought of that as sort of the back side of the flag since it's opposite side from what usually shows when the flag is oriented horizontally. And I learned it from a South African who lives in England, haha. That little barbecue you made out of the keg was fantastic. What a great idea to utilize the legs from those stools. I don't think it would have occurred to me to upside-down one of them like you did. Came out really nice. Had to chuckle when you talked about picking up stuff out on your walks. In the last week I've come home with a set of driving lights, one with a cracked lens which is replaceable. A hose reel on wheels that I think will store a couple of 50 footers. And a computer desk that's in perfect condition. I could carry the driving lights pretty easily. I had to go back after my walk to get the hose reel and put it in the trunk of my car. But I decided to see if I could carry the computer desk the five blocks home. Had to set it down a couple of times but made it, haha. Added a bit to my workout. I like it when my walks become part exercise / part treasure hunt.


So most of today ended up being spent on more domestic chores, house cleaning, garden work, and cleaning up and out the BBQ in preparation for the weekend. 

So when headed to town to get a few things, Sally clocked this car, she had seen it before, thinking it was another fiber glass replica

Turns out it is metal bodied, looks like it has high and low range options. 

No creature comforts.

Could it be a Mahindra, from India? 





I really liked the zip up padding on the cage, makes it look chunky, a look I am going for.



Fold down screen.





Eventually home by 4.30

Coffee, then shop time from 5.00pm

.