Bush Mechanic

With regards to the effect of friction under the nut face, a good friend of mine, (apprentice mechanic), brought home some of that new-fangled Teflon, many years ago, and turned up some washers to fit under the head studs on his mad Morris Minor. Quite a shock when the studs snapped, one after another, attempting to reach the correct torque with the wrench. Seems the friction was no longer significant at the turning surfaces. That was a lesson neither of us has forgotten. And Spinneyhill, you're probably as suspicious of torque wrench accuracy as I am. If I have reason to doubt them, I give them a test. Not sure of the accepted method for this, and my method might sound a bit rough, but owes something to common sense. I clamp a socket extension bar in the vice, horizontal, with the set torque wrench mounted on it, also horizontal, and measure out an accurate foot from the centre-line of pivot. Then a bucket hanging from the 'foot' line is slowly filled with sand, until the wrench 'clicks'. Then I weigh the sand and bucket. I'm always surprised how accurate my 45 year old torque wrench actually is! Mick

After the tractors it was our post war Austin truck, and a series 1 Land rover. Guess the first real car, on the road, was my 1939 Chev Sloper. The Pooncarie copper was out on the sheep station where I worked, doing some shooting, and suggested I might like to drive into town some time and pay for a licence! He knew I had come from interstate, driving it, and had never bothered with a licence. So drove into 'town', population about 20, dug him out of the pub, (after shouting him a beer), and we wandered down to the police station, where he wrote out a licence for me. Never did take the test. Mick

Gotta love the gate hinges on the suicide door!

I haven't forgotten my Dauphine! In '74 I needed a disposable car to drive from Melbourne to Darwin via Sydney. Must be a 2500 to 3000 mile drive. Bought a Dauphine at the motor auctions for $270. It had been painted with a yard broom, but sounded sweet enough. Outside of Sydney it burned a hole in a piston. Limped to a friends place, and borrowed some tools. Then luckily I located the last remaining piston/sleeve kit available from Renault Australia. Changed the cylinder sleeve assembly in the street, re-using the head and sump gaskets, (no point in over-capitalising), and headed for Darwin. North of Boulia in Western Queensland, on an unsealed road, a fast approaching ute, was throwing up stones, so I pressed my fist against the glass to absorb any impacts, as was standard practice. The screen shattered and my fist went through to the elbow. Zero visibility from dust, blood and shattered screen, but managed to pull it up. Wrapped my hand in a shirt, and continued on. Any dragon-flies that missed my face from then on hit the rear window, and formed a thick mat on the parcel shelf. West of Mt. Isa an orange and black wasp came in, went up my shorts leg, and stung me on the scrotum. Panic stop, leap out, drop my shorts and deal with the b....! I still cringe thinking about it. The Dauphine had a tendency to run hot when the ambient climbed over 90 Fahrenheit. I found that propping the rear lid open with a 4 inch stick, then holding it in position with a rubber band, cut from a discarded inner tube, was the answer. What I liked best about that car was the 50 mpg (imperial) achieved at a steady 50 mph! The headlights were hopeless, especially when one globe blew. I drove past a Saturday night dance being held in a hall in the middle of nowhere, and the local copper detached himself and chased me down with an 'un-roadworthy' infringement. I guess as he had to live there, he couldn't very well book the locals! Before boarding a flight to East Timor, I sold the Dauphine to a Darwin wrecker for $120, a surprisingly high price, considering it was unlikely there was a windscreen available closer than 1800 miles, and zero demand for used parts in that part of the world. But he drove it, so maybe he fell in love...

Ha, ha, kids! My youngest daughter went to a posh high school, and would rather walk there, than be taken in my rough old HJ45 Landcruiser tray. I would park further up the road, picking her up, but she would still be mortified. Must go with the red hair, Bernie! She has matured somewhat, and now covets the Austin-Healey, when I fall off the perch. I still use the HJ45, but she isn't interested in that one. Apologies if this wandering off subject a little. Mick.

A split window Kombi sold here in Tasmania recently for A$91,000, far short of the record, in Sydney, which I believe was well in excess of $200,000. When the iron ore price was high, a few years ago, scrap merchants were encouraging people to bring in old cars. Many interesting 50's and 60's cars were crushed, especially from the drier areas. Vanguard, Hillman, Humber, Ford, Holden, Vauxhall. Many were runners, as there were set prices for runners and non-runners. (They wanted the batteries, radiators, alternators, etc). Amongst them a friend of my brother found a Kombi bus with the curved windows along the roof-line, fairly intact. He sold it on ebay to a buyer in the US for A$107,000, as found. Better than scrap prices! I have a younger friend in Germany who is into rescuing them. He assures me they have a very strong following there, and a high proportion of the enthusiast are in their 20's and 30's, which is encouraging. When he was out here visiting, he was amazed at the numbers still on the road, and at how cheap the basket-cases were.

Assembled an MGB engine, then got sidetracked fitting front control arms in the Camry. Attempted a wheel alignment without the use of the inspection pit, (to avoid moving the Metallurgique and an MG). What a tedious carry-on that was!

I now spend a considerable part of each year driving on the left. Find that I need to do a mental check most mornings as I head out onto the road. I ask 'Which side are we driving on today, Miss Daisy?' And she patiently reinforces my thinking. In a minute or two it becomes natural. Even when I get home, it takes a little to change back to RHD. Have had a couple of frights. Worst one was doing a U-turn, tired, looking for a camping spot in the Rockies, and headed back up the lane I had driven down. A fast approaching pick-up truck got the message to me pretty quickly, though!

Yes, that is the first article I read, as well. Then I had a look at the company website, and it seems there may be more than one body trying to discredit them. The reports on properly conducted tests by Californian Environmental Engineering, the Victorian EPA, among many others, and a number of fleet owners around the world, make interesting reading, though. I tend toward having an open mind on this. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

Alright, it's time for me to come clean. In 1995 I purchased an apparatus which claimed to reduce fuel consumption, emissions, and to reduce DETONATION. Pinking, we call it here. I was getting desperate, having carefully rebuilt my 1275 MG Midget engine along David Vizard guidelines, but with the compression ratio apparently a little too high for pump petrol. (It is a road-going club competition vehicle). Despite different distributor curves and timing/mixture settings, I couldn't stop the serious pinking. Our car club received a promotional offer for one member to try a FUELSTAR canister, at a reduced cost, if I remember correctly. It caused quite a bit of mirth around the committee table, but I decided to be the bunny. And it wasn't inexpensive, but with a money back guarantee. I duly fitted it in the engine bay, with a bypass hose in the fuel line. Headed off to a long hill, which the car would not even climb, due to detonation. Back to the bottom, plumbed in the Fuelstar device, and the Midget zoomed up the hill, running sweet as a nut, and pulling the new red-line of 7,000 without any pinking at all! Astounded, and thinking it wasn't possible, I disconnected it, and once again it wouldn't pull the skin off a custard. My news was met with cynicism, if not derision, within the club, so I largely kept quiet about it. As I don't bother monitoring fuel consumption on this vehicle, I can't offer any opinion as to their other claims. I must add that I have no connection with the people producing the device, and haven't even given it a thought for about 20 years, until reading this post. But it's still on the Midget, and still working, I guess. I just found their website, a NZ concern, and they seem to be still in business, despite detractors. Make of it what you will. I'm still scratching my head! Mick.

John, I had a similar problem with my 1275 Midget. Finally traced it to a loose earthing screw on the condenser. Worth a look. No doubt you've checked the oil in the SU dash-pots. And Bernie, that looks like a nice little Bug-eye project. Had one in the 60's, which I had going pretty well. Drove it across the Nullarbor Plain when I was 19, when it was a rough, unsealed 'road'. Slow trip. I could completely hide the car down in some of the holes in the road. Lost a valve in the AC mechanical fuel pump out in the middle, but I carried spares, so no problem. Unfortunately I hit a 6 foot kangaroo, which went clean over my roll-over bar. Nasty dent in the door, and wiped out the 'roo. BUT, no Lucas problems. I have generally found Lucas systems to be quite reliable, especially if you service the points in the electric fuel pumps occasionally...... I still run a couple of Lucas equipped cars.

Mark, I have found Agility Logistics to be helpful between Europe and Australia. They have a good agent in Hamburg, and likely further North as well. They will construct a quote for you. Container freight is fairly cheap at the moment, the bulk of the cost being add-ons. I have used them from Hungary and also the UK, to Tas. They can handle the paperwork side of it for you, which can be a big help. Mick

Hello Floats, Forgive me if I am barking up the wrong tree, but is it possible to open the chain? My new Silent Chain was supplied with spare link-pins, to rejoin it.

While looking for cars in the US I spotted something quite similar in a yard. On inspection it turned out to be a VW based MG TF look-alike kit car. Complete with 'wire wheel' hubcaps, padded luggage compartment under the bonnet, and a hard hit on the right front corner. Owner insisted it was a steal at $1500. Really....

Back when Chrito was active, our regional gallery here in Australia aquired one of his more modest 'artworks'. When the crate arrived, two part-time workers took it out and unwrapped it. They were perplexed to find nothing more than a few thin sticks...................or so the story went.

In the late 60's a mate and I drove my '59 FE Holden ute the 600 miles to Sydney, to visit a young lady friend. We arrived on Christmas Eve, and influenced by a short story we had read in primary school, we decided to watch a sunrise in the Blue Mountains. We made an early start, making it over the 90 miles of winding roads to the chosen lookout, where we watched the splendid sunrise over the distant city. Meanwhile my dog had stolen the roast chook we had brought along for Christmas lunch, so hunger drove us home early. I still remember swooping down those curving roads going back, with the old FE purring away, singing songs, with the dog yaffling and drooling in wind in the back. A real treat for boys from the desert, to drive those roads. When I tried to reverse out of the driveway next morning to head home, the steering wheel spun free in my hands, and I found that the ball joint on the Pitman arm had let go, and the steering linkage had dropped off. It had hung on around all of those bends, and probably dropped off when it cooled. Luckily we always carried fencing wire, so we were able to make it back to the bush OK.

If using a timber beam, it's a good idea to use a pair of props under it close to the trailer. I use 4x4 timber props, with a batten each side extending past the base of the beam. Screw these on to keep them safely in position. I'm not familiar with Texas timber, but a 3x8 Australian hardwood beam would then suffice for that load. A cradle such as Xander suggested can be made with pivots each end with verticle adjustment, allowing for the shifting centre of gravity, as you strip the engine. Good luck with it.