:: Diary - July 2017 ::

:: Saturday, July 1, 2017 ::

The car is due on the Sporting Bears display at Corbridge in Northumberland tomorrow, so I had better give it a bit of a clean. Half of the cleaning time is spent on the whitewall tyres - they don’t half get manky!

When it’s finished, though, it looks fandabby!

Then I go back to it half an hour later, and one of the rear tyres is flat. A bit of investigation shows that the wheel trims have all rotated on the wheel, and have pulled the rubber tyre valves over. On that wheel, it has resulted in a leak around the valve stem at the wheel.

It’s 12.15. The tyre shop closes at 12.30. I don’t have time to try anything else - I jack the car up, deflate the tyre, throw the wheel in the back of the Range Rover, and nip round to the tyre place.

It’s now 12.22. They are about to close. The woman in the office says they can’t do it today. I ask the fitter to come out to the boot and have a look at it. While he’s there and out of sight of the office, I slip him a tenner and ask him if he’s sure that it can’t be fixed today. It appears that it can!

He takes the wheel in, and breaks the bead off the rim, 30 seconds later we have another valve in, and I say that I will inflate it myself.

It’s now 12.28. Her in the office comes out and says “oh was that all it was?” and charges me a fiver. I pay it because I don’t want to get the guy into trouble.

Back home, compressor on and re-inflate the tyre, and refit to the car. Then I go around the other three wheels rotating the wheel trims back so that the valves aren’t bent over.

:: Sunday, July 2, 2017 ::

Up bright and early today to take the Chevy to Corbridge - it’s 100 miles each way, so the furthest from home I have been in it so far. Yes I know that 100 miles isn’t far, but it is when you’re on about 10mpg in a car that didn’t exactly demonstrate optimum reliability the last time it was out!

The drive down is pretty uneventful, though - the car just bowls along, with the speedo and fuel gauge needles moving at approximately equal speeds. The car is really quite comfy though, and covers the distance quite comfortable.

There is the usual queue to enter the snowfield, and this is the big test - but the temp needle doesn’t waver. I think that the new fan has done the trick!

I get parked up eventually, and set about collecting dosh from the passing masses. There is a lot of interest in the car though - well. it does stand out a bit, eh?

I do get a chance to have a wander around, and find the American car club, who were waving at me as I came in. This Dodge Charger is very nice. There’s also a few Mustangs (including some more modern ones) and a very nice old Pontiac.

One thing I do notice is that some of these cars have authentic American number plates, which look a lot better and “period” than the black and silver ones I have. I ask about legality, but they say they don’t get any bother, provided that you’re not driving like a nutcase. Hmmm…

I have a wander around some of the stalls and displays, and then back to the Chevy and the Sporting Bears.

The local newspaper arrives, wanting a photo - and she’s picked the Chevy. I don’t know how celebrities deal with the fame and recognition - it’s really getting on my tits.

Then it’s time for the drive home, with a stop for fuel at Jedburgh, since it’s nearly empty (at 150 miles from full). By the time I get home, Ive used a tank and a half of fuel to go 208 miles…

What a car!

:: Thursday, July 13, 2017 ::

When I was fitting the radiator fan, I noticed that the connection to the fusebox for the interior heater fan, was partly melted - it looks as though it’s just corroded to the extent that it has built up too much resistance, overheated and melted the insulation. I cut the connector off and crimp on a new one - the heater fan now works!

I also find, while I am lying down there, that two of the four control cables for the heating / ventilation system have come off their levers, so I slip those back on as well.

:: Saturday, July 15, 2017 ::

Another Sporting Bears day - this time it’s “Classics in the City” - our own display in a pedestrianised area on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh City Centre, collecting money for the Hearts and Minds Clowndoctors..

Historic car, historic setting.

We can’t set up until 10.30, because the pedestrianised area is full of vans servicing local shops up until that time. As we are getting started, I spot one of the Council’s parking attendants starting to write down all our registration numbers, while another one goes to speak to Daddy Bear. It turns out that nobody has told them that we will be there, so they have to give us all tickets for being in the pedestrian area “out of hours”. We show them the permit from the Council. “Nobody told me though”. We show them the letter from the police saying we can be there. “Nobody told me though.”

He calls out his supervisor, who then tries to phone the appropriate people in the Council. They all work Monday to Friday though, so there’s nobody available on a Saturday.

The rest of us continue to put up the gazebo and manoeuvre cars into position, while all this is going on.

It’s all resolved amicably though, after a bit of "we're not authorised to let you stay" versus "but you're not authorised to kick us out either, so we’ll all deal with the fallout on Monday”, followed by “We’ll call the police” versus “Do that, they do work on Saturdays and they know we’re supposed to be here”. Oh right …

Edinburgh Feckin’ Council - not even in a moment of misplaced graciousness could they aspire to be described to be anywhere near as good as "bloody useless".

With the cars all set up, we get to collecting for our charity for today.

We have 4 clown doctors along for the day - 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon.

They certainly help to draw people over for a look.

Even our parking attendants join in!

The car appears to have been mysteriously decorated on every available appendage.

A brilliant day out, and we managed to raise just over £600, which is one of our best results for a single day collection.

At the end, I have to load the kit into my car for the next event, because Daddy Bear isn’t going. It’s amazing how much stuff a 1950’s American tank can hold!.

When I get home, I order a set of American-style number plates for show purposes only.

What a car!

:: Sunday, July 16, 2017 ::

I was out last night, so the first task today is to empty all of that gear out of the car and into my garage.

Then I am off to another car show, organised by “The Phantoms” - a car club of predominantly American cars and hot rods. This is the show that I was invited to by people I met at the show in May. I don’t have time to clean the car or anything, although one thing I have to do is rotate the wheel trims.

Rotate the what? Well, I have found out that the wheel trims all rotate forward around the wheels as you drive along, and pull the valve stems out of the rim. A bit of research has shown that this happens because the wheels are made of thinner steel than you get now, and when you put radial tyres on instead of the original cross-plies, the extra grip makes wheels flex - so you have a “Mexican wave” of tightness and looseness that travels around the wheel as you drive, and the trim moves into the loose bit all the time.

I need to think of a solution, but in the meantime, I have to take off the trims and put them back on straight, every time I use the car.

So with all that done, I set off for the show. And what a show it is!

I get parked up, with the intention of giving the car a bit of a clean after its outing yesterday and its night out last night, and a journey along a rainy motorway today. But first, I need the loo!

Then I am distracted by the bacon roll stand.

Then I am distracted by this mental 3.9 litre V8 RWD Mini. Speaking to the owner, he says that it’s hilariously scary.

Then Andy’s ’30 Ford Model A.

Then the Indy500 Pace Car Corvette that I have seen on the road and at Bob’s garage.

I ponder on the option of new custom wheels to get over the wheel trim problem - expensive option though, likely to be close on £1,000 by the time I get them here.

No this isn’t my car, it’s a twin from Grangemouth - the owner imports American cars (but mainly trucks) and uses this for weddings.

I ask him about the rotating wheel trim thing - he says his do that as well, although he doesn’t know why.

Another thing he tells me is that if you put wider custom wheels on the back, you can’t get the wheels on and off past the fender (wing) - you have to disconnect the shock absorbers and lower the axle to change a tyre. Not appealing - so it’s either standard size custom wheels, or another solution needed.

Other photos from the show:

I also have a wander around the trade stands, and find Trevor, the hot-rod builder from Uphall, near me. I buy a couple of valve cover gaskets and thank God that he doesn’t take cards, and I forgot to go to the Cashline before I came in, otherwise I would have been coming home with another car full of shiny stuff…

Everybody is very friendly (probably because we all share the same grief and trouble of keeping these old beauties on the road), and time passes quickly..

Right, back to cleaning the car - oh what do you mean people are going home? Is that the time?

A fantastic day, really enjoyable with great people and cracking cars.

When I get home, I decide to fit metal tyre valves, like I have on the TVR - those won’t bend over with the trim, and pull out of the rim. I order a set.

:: Wednesday, July 19, 2017 ::

The left side of the engine is covered oil, which seems to be leaking out of the valve cover. So today I decide to change the valve cover gaskets, and put in bolts with a longer thread. I also decide to use the spreader bars I bought (but couldn’t fit because the threads on the bolts I had, weren’t long enough).

Nothing complicated, except that the threads on the bolts I bought are slightly too long, and are bottoming out in the head, so I have to make up 10mm spacers.

:: Friday, July 21, 2017 ::

The American number plates came today.

And very nice they are too!

:: Monday, July 24, 2017 ::

Another reason for the plug fouling up, could be that the oil is too thin when it’s hot. I drain the oil out and put in a classic 20/50 oil.

That was the easy bit.

I also decide to fit the metal tyre valves. I jack the car up and take off the two front wheels and throw them in the Land Rover, and head along to the farm, where they have a tyre machine. Deflate the tyre, break the bead and remove the rubber valve, then screw in and tighten the metal valve. That sounds easier than it is…

Bring them back to the house, fit them to the front, remove back two wheels, back to the farm, repeat…

Back to the house again, tyres on the car and then refit the wheel trims. What do you mean, the wheel trims don’t fit over the valve stems? No, the valves stick out at an angle that catches the edge of the trim (the outer edge of the trim where the metal bends out towards the rim, so you can’t really cut it away).

Bugger.

I go back online and order flush tyre valves - they fit flush with the rime, with a screw-in cover, and you get one valve stem to screw in to blow up your tyres.

:: Thursday, July 27, 2017 ::

Back to the drawing board with these tyre valves. I can’t be arsed carting tyres to and fro between here and the far,=m, so I load a trolley jack and some tools into the boot and take the whole car along to the farm.

Then I spend another delightful half-day removing each wheel, deflating the tyre, pushing it off the bead, removing the metal valves and installing the stemless ones, re-fitting the tyre, inflating it and then refitting the wheel to the car.

By the time I have done 2, John is advising me that if I am thinking of applying for a job at Kwik-Fit, I should save my pen and paper and not bother. Nice to be appreciated, eh?

With all 4 wheels done and wheel covers securely re-fitted, I drive …back to the house feeling just a wee bit smug - well, at least, relieved that it’s sorted.

:: Saturday, July 29, 2017 ::

I have agreed to take part in a charity event today - it’s not an “official” Sporting Bears event but we have been asked to help out. The British Transplant Games are being held in Glasgow next week, and they are looking for volunteers to take the kids out in classic cars for an hour. We are to meet at a hotel in the city centre.

I get parked up in the driveway, and notice that there are a number of other interesting cars there…

Including this dune buggy, that the owner built to look like a radio-controlled car for the road…

and this Panther Kallista...

and this 7.6 litre Pontiac GTO.

I also notice two police traffic cars, with kids playing with the lights and sirens. There is one older policeman, and two younger girls.

We get some kids piled into the cars, then it’s time for the off. Only 3 or 4 of the drivers know the route, so how are we going to keep 12 cars together in convoy through Glasgow at 5pm on a Saturday though?

Easy. It turns out that the two police cars (which I had assumed were there just for display at the start) are actually on some kind of “special escort” training. Police car 1 stops the traffic outside the hotel, we all follow police car 2 to the next junction, where she stops the traffic, then car 1 comes past to the next junction, and so on, with rolling closures of junctions and slip roads so we could all pass together.

The kids, of course, love this “special escort” stuff, and I have to admit, so do all the drivers! At one point we all come up a slip road where one of the cops comes up the slip road past us, and straight out behind a BMW which is “tanking it” along the fast lane of the motorway. He nearly stands the BMW on its nose when she looms in the mirror… he has absolutely no idea where she appeared from.

We all do 2 runs with kids and parents, who are all excited at getting a run in the cars. The noise through the Clyde tunnel, there and back, is just amazing, although drivers of some of the more sporty cars report that the road surface is more slippery than a Trump administration Chief of Staff.

Tea and cakes are available at the end, although Hamish and I can’t find them. Tip for life - if you're ever in a situation where you can’t find the free savouries, just wait and follow the cops - their cake-detecting skills are unparalleled. 

It turns out that one of the “girls” (the blonde one in the photo) is the sergeant who is training the other two.

Between the two runs, somebody points out that one of my back tyres looks a wee bit soft. So it does… nothing I can do about it at the time, but I stop on the way home, wheel trim off, valve stem screwed in, blow up tyre to recommended pressure, stem out and wheel trim back on. Maybe I just didn’t blow it up enough the last time?