MadaboutKitcars

Top man Paul
I love that you use her every chance you get.
I was worried you would fall out of love before it was finished.
Now im sure the trek to Norfolk is on the cards in 2017

I am envious of you Paul, the roads up here are covered in salt and last night the temp fell well below zero so it looks like I won't be heading out on the roads for some time.
Great to see photos of your car on the road.

Brilliant Paul she's looking really good. She is a she isn't she?

Molleur - Cheers.

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Roadster - It does make a nice change to be checking the weather forecast for driving, rather than building, conditions.

Today's forecast was a wet and windy wash out, so I knew I had to make the most of yesterday.

There were times when I definitely fell out of love with the car during the Frankenstein Hill-Billy stage of the build.
( As the only light at the end of the tunnel I could see tended to be an on-coming train! )

I still cant quite believe the hugely positive reaction the car gets, despite the "lumpy" nature of the body work in places.

Which leads me to one of my favourite quotes...



So my current plan (and my plans have been know to change ) is to sort out the big lumps and leave the rest.

I will be happy if I can get a smooth surface to paint, rather than a smooth and flat/straight surface.

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Swifty - Funny you should mention salt on the roads, as I was thinking about that myself yesterday.
( As all the cars in my street were covered in frost first thing in the morning. )

I spent so long cutting out and repairing rust during this build that I will also be avoiding salt covered roads.

Those days would be a good excuse to spend some time building a plinth for my passenger side wing mirror.
( As it really is just marginally above completely useless. )

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Deggsy - Thanks.

She is definitely a she, but I have deliberately avoided giving her a name.

I'm sure your car will turn as many heads as mind does when you finally get on the road.

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Cheers, Paul.

Into The Night…
Unfortunately, I was stuck inside all day, with beautiful clear blue skies outside.

Then at around 7.15pm I thought I would head out for a quick spin anyway.



Thankfully I hadn't got far when I stopped to see if I could get a streetlight photo.

Whilst the front headlight are not great, at least they were working.



Which is more than could be said for the rear lights, as both of them have blown.



When I first turned on the lights outside my driveway obviously I could see the headlights were on.

But when I looked behind me to check if the rear lights were on I forgot my foot was on the brake.

Therefore the red reflections I could see were the brake lights, which are working fine, not the rear lights.

For the journey home I had to stick my LED fog lights on.



But at least I didn't have to drive far to get back home.

Not really the test of night time driving I was hoping for.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Welcome to kitcar electrials. Electrickery as it is known.

Barber - Thankfully it was an easy fix.

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I Can See The Light…
By chance, I ended up buying a box of stop/tail bulbs during the build.



So it should have been a straight forward job to replace them.



Driver's side - OK.



Passenger side - Brake light filament comes on instead of tail light.



Not sure how that hadn't been picked up before now.

Still, it was easy to take the plug from the light fitting...



And swap the green and red wires over.



Which fixed the problem and the tail light filament came on.



Looking at the rear lights from the back, the passenger side is at more of an angle than the driver's side.



So I guess that is why the difference in light intensity wasn't picked up.

With the car unwrapped, it seemed rude not to take it for a quick spin.



Note:
One day I will remember to sit on the passenger side after I climb out and then take a photo.

With a stop for petrol and the photo above, I only managed 16 miles in around a hour.

Still, at least that was enough to break the 600 miles since MOT mark.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

Paul i may be wrong but i think you can get the stop/tail light bulb in the wrong way, by that i mean the brake filament lights when the tail lights are switched on. remove the bulb and turn 180 degrees and refit, this is what happens on the old landy i have, a simple solution is to switch the lights on and replace the bulb when live so you are able to see the lower wattage filament glow. The old bulbs back in the day had offset pins to prevent this but the modern ones have the pins on the same plain or at least that's what i seem to remember.

Good to see you are still clocking the miles up, i think mine will be staying in the garage until the spring unless we get a dry clear day hopefully over the christmas hols.

Swifty - Funnily enough, I did have the engine running while I was fitting the bulbs so I could see it they worked before I put the red lenses back on.

I think I tried turning the bulb around 180 degrees, but can't really remember.

I hope to keep clocking the miles up over the next few months, so I can start the final prep for paint as early as possible.

But as I had to do my first bit of Christmas shopping today, I think family stuff will take more of a priority over the next few weeks.

Although I will still try to sneak out any chance I get.

Cheers, Paul.

Great stuff Paul. I am waiting for the picture of you and the car returning after a shopping trip for your Christmas tree!

I have it on good authority that Santa drives an open top sleigh.

Now there's a sight to see, could even start a new thread with pictures of various sammio's on Christmas tree shopping trips.

If you look at the metal stem of a stop/tail bulb you'll see that the locating pegs are offset to prevent this. A socket that allows the functions to be reversed must be damaged, or the bulb is.

Regards, Mick

Froggyman, Barber & Swifty - Thanks chaps.

Unfortunately, we have an artificial Christmas tree, so I will not get a chance for one of these photos.



Mind you, this photo popped up when I was searching Google Images and I don't think it is a Tribute SWB250!



So there is no excuse for people who have real trees not to use their kit cars.

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Mick - So maybe I did turn the bulb around and it made no difference, which is why I swapped the wires instead.
( I think the shock of being back outside in the cold working on the car was playing tricks on my memory. )

I hope you "Patagonian Ramblings" are going well.

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Cheers,

Paul.

PS
Keep forgetting to mention that the boot lid is not locked into position in this photo, hence the big gap on one side.
( My daughter wanted to borrow some screwdrivers for a school project that were in my tool bag in the boot. )

Mid Week Dash
This was the scene on the roof at the front of my house after midday earlier on.



Which means the drive was close to being both metaphorically and literally freezing.



But with a busy weekend coming up and some spare time available today I headed out to do a couple of domestic chores.

At first the engine was very sluggish as it turned over and took a while to fire up.
( Once I driven around in the sunshine for a bit, it fired up first time when required. )

Got a nice photo opportunity next to a Range Rover.





Only did about 7 miles, but that is still better than nothing.

I bought a handbrake lock, but need to trim the handbrake handle back a bit before it will fit.



That's all for now, cheers, Paul.

You have the later handbrake cover on there, shared with the Dolomite. You need a handbrake cover from a Toledo or 1300 FWD - the security lock will clear then.

Paul
When you do get round to spraying the car make sure you keep it a nice warm garage for a few days first as primer and glass fibre will absorb moisture. What happens is you get a lovely paint job but the next winter when the car gets really cold the trapped moisture expands and you can get micro blisters ruining the paint job and all your hard work. Hope this helps

Derek

Triumph Special - Thanks for the alternative brake handle options.

At least I have something to fall back on if my attempt to trim the existing handle goes horribly wrong.

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Deggsy - Cheers Derek.

I remember Jeff H saying the same thing about the risks of driving around in primer.

At a push, I might be able to put my Circus Tent up on the driveway to offer some protection when painting.



But I guess I will have to wait until the outside temperature warms up a bit before getting the brush/roller out.
( No compressors will be harmed in the painting of this car. )

Thankfully, the more I drive the car, the less worried I become about the final paint finish.

At one end of the paint scale you have the "survivor" look that Gary/Lancelot Link has used recently.



At the other end, you have Jeff H's work.



So my target paint finish is better than survivor, but worse than professional.

As that will match my overall build standard, complete with mis-matches and slightly lumpy bits.

Cheers, Paul.

Christmas Shopping
I was supposed to be spending the whole day sorting out Christmas cards and pressies and not playing with the car.

Then I took a quick break to watch the video clip that Michiel posted of his old Spyder #47 here:
http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showpost.php?p=84640&postcount=206

And before I knew it I was peeling off the covers and taking the Swordfish out to the shops.

It was also a good excuse to try out my new Winter gloves.



Then, with one small present safely tucked in behind the passenger seat, I took the scenic route home.

Although I should have packed my proper camera, as there was a great view of Wembley stadium here.



Just over 10 miles in total, but as the man in the video says….

"I never come home with a sad face."



Until next time, take care, Paul.

Limited Sunday Service:
The good news is that by yesterday I had almost all my Christmas cards and parcels in the post.

However, I needed to return/exchange one gift this morning, but the shops didn't open until 11am.

As I still can't persuade my daughters to go for a drive in the Swordfish* I had to take my normal car.
( * You're sooooo embarrassing dad. )

Which meant it was almost 1pm when I finally got out for a drive.

There was a silly amount of traffic in every direction I tried, so I only managed 16 miles in over an hour.

Waterloo may have been won on the playing fields of Eton, but these are some of the playing fields of Harrow.



I wore tinted goggles today in an attempt to combat the sun sitting so low in the sky.



They helped a bit, but were still not great.

So next time I am out, I will copy something I saw Phil9 do and put somesome tape along the top edge.

Something like this, final size and shape TBC.



Note:
In my haste to grab some electrical tape from the summer house, I picked up black wire wrap by mistake.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

The Swordfish still looking great Paul. If I was your neighbour I'd have come shopping instead. Kids eh!

Dave

Nice to see you're still managing to get out in the car Paul, i had thought i may of been able to get out yesterday but the weather up here is poor plus the roads are covered in salt.

Keep posting the pictures, great to see.

DaveP - Cheers.

Reading is not that far from here, so I am sure we could arrange a meet up for a spin some time in 2017.

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Swifty - My plan is to keep driving it as much as possible over the winter to stop anything seising up.

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PS
I forgot to say that when I was driving on Sunday I did spot a few other hardy souls out with their roofs down.

Including a couple in a 4 seater Audi with a huge wrapped up Christmas Tree on the back seat.

Bloody Fog!
I haven't been able to sneak out for a quick drive, as there has been a damp fog lingering around here all day.

Still, there is some good news, as I've bought a second hand GoPro from Ebay, which should hopefully arrive before Christmas.

Once I have got the hang of it, I will attempt to film and pull together some in/on car footage to the sounds of On days like these.

Unfortunately, I don't have any beautiful mountain passes to play with and the trees around here are currently bare, not green.

So I expect The Wembley Job will not be as glamorous as the original version, but still coming to a forum near you in 2017.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

A Winter's Tale:
Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin...

With a busy day ahead of me, and no chance to drive yesterday due to the fog, I only had one chance to play today.

So just after 9am I did the motoring equivalent of tip-toeing out of the driveway and worked my way quietly up my street.

I then stopped to double check my rear lights were working as I definitely needed to be seen as it was a murky morning.

My first stop gave me a chance to show just how murky it was.



There was enough moisture in the air for it to collect on the aero screens.



But it wasn't actually raining, as the passenger seat remained dry.



A group of older men out for a walk stopped for a chat and to take a few photos of the car themselves.

I was just waving goodbye to them and about to head out of the car park when a police car pulled it.

They looked over at me as they passed and I gave them a friendly nod and smile as I pulled away.

Less than a mile later I spot two people walking side by side on the road ahead (as there was no pavement).

No problem I thought, I eased up and as this was a double centre line stretch was contemplating stopping if I couldn't pass them safely.

Next thing the older bloke stepped behind his mate and tripped over a branch and half fell into the road.

Again, no problem, as I just pulled up to give him a chance to find his footing.

What happened next defies belief…

As I crawled past them, this bloke started shouting and swearing at me, complete with finger pointing and leaning into the cockpit.

Apparently I was driving like a demon and should slow down before I killed someone, etc.

Now I must confess this caught me a bit off guard.

Not least because if I had been driving like that then I would have run him over and he wouldn't actually be standing there swearing at me.

Now I've lived in London long enough to know you can't win an argument with a loony and I should have driven off straight away.

But the dogs abuse he continued to give me did start to wind me up and I drove a bit further up the road and pulled over at the next available safe spot.

I sat there for a minute seriously considering getting out of the car and running after him to see if he would swear this much at me "face to face".

Please Note: This is never a good idea, so don't try this at home!

Thankfully, at this point the police car from the car park reached this bloke who flagged them down and I guess told them what a lunatic I was.

So I just pulled away slowly, as I figured I knew what was coming next, so a short drive would help calm me down a bit.

Sure enough, the police car followed me for a bit before the blue lights came on and I was pulled over.

Now I rode motorcycles for almost 20 years and two things have always worked in my favour when I got stopped.

First - Be basically 'legal', so I never rode without tax, insurance, MOT, a bike registered in my name and I don't drink and drive.

Second - Be nice, the police have a job to do and most of the time I was stopped to check I wasn't on a stolen bike.
( Which I always appreciated, as some stole my first motorcycle. )

Note: This was in the days before number plate recognition software, so carrying your documents also made sense.

Anyway, back to this morning and I switched of the engine and hopped out to have a chat.

I said they may have heard an interesting story about my driving that was a long way from the truth.

I pointed to the car and explained that it had very little in the way of modern safely features.

So I did not drive it like a demented lunatic, especially on misty days with damp road surfaces.

I also mentioned that he was only able to abuse me because I had safely pulled up in front of him with no drama whatsoever.

The officers said that they had already figured out he was a bit of an "excitable" gentleman.

They also said that his story of my speed and his ability to talk to me about my speed didn't quite add up.

However, I couldn't help but smile when they then said…

"Anyway, enough about him. Tell us about the car."

So we had a great chat before I headed off on my way.

I continued to just drive around enjoying the journey before eventually arriving in the Sainsbury's car park just before 10am.



I'd promised to do a big shop on the way back, so had to put stuff in the boot as well as the passenger foot wells.
( HSBC bag is full of tools. )



By the time I got home, I'd racked up another 20+ miles and had just had enough time to get ready for an early family pub lunch.

Followed by a trip to the West End to see 'Matilda', which was my sister's Christmas gift to us.



I'm now going to sit down and have a quiet pint after what has been a rather eventful day.

Until next time, take care, Paul.