[Rod Salter]

Posted about the broken piston on facebook, not too amused by some replies

Yes Bruce, thought of slipping the broken piece in as a spacer, being alloy, it might not score the bore. I would if I was selling it to somebody I hate
(Now realised they are cast pistons)

Thanks Mike

Terry, The soil here is SO acidic, right off the scale, rusts so quickly coupled with dew every night, metal disintegrates very fast. Aluminium turns to powder
The soil is that black crumbly type, everything sinks to the chassis in a few years, one sump on a Toyota has rusted through, you can see the crank
Advantage is that white ants/termites can't come through it

So now I am putting one together using the clearing sale block, but all the parts from the recon engine

All the parts have surface rust and have to wire buffed and polished
the rust has crept in behind the big-end bearing shells, and I have polished it out, buffed the back of the shells
I am not actually gauging them for clearance, I tighten one, then turn crank, loosen and do the next, feeling the resistance similarity, motor turns nicely when all tensioned, I can turn the crank with a large screwdriver on the dowels at the flywheel end

All bolts have to be wire brushed/buffed
New gaskets made from cornflakes boxes
It is slow and time consuming

Did I mention I have a Bedford engine, Looks so similar to a Chev,
Full recon, never fully assembled, to put together in my spare time!
Actually have a starter for that in my “stuff”
and a nice welder generator to couple to it
LOL I could run the arcs in the 32mm projector with it
“Next life time” I'll mount the projector on the 30cwt ford and go a travelling show

Slightly off topic
In 2017 I was paralysed with 2 prolapsed discs, couldn't even pee, weeks in hospital {useless, but I got a big box of laxatives {I hadn't eaten anything for days} and a new set of un-adjusted crutches, I couldn't even use}
They wheeled me out in a wheel chair, My sister took me to a chiropractor straight out of hospital, [or I would committed suicide to escape the pain] I am sure I screamed like a girl at a Micheal Jackson concert each time she touched me. But after a couple of hours of separate 1 minute manipulation I could at least dribble pee again
Exhausted all our savings at chiro and remedial massage almost a year of agony and super meds
had Hallucinations and weird dreams before my system rejected the drugs
Then I couldn't eat, lived on teaspoons of fruit juice for weeks, lost a lot of weight

Started other nice dreaming and I have written a book based on those dreams, All 386 a4 pages of it

I was born with a crook back, infact I should have had an older sister but she died of spina bifida at 29 days
I have spina bifida occulta they tell me
Shearing sheep and digging holes with a crowbar probably hasn't helped

Also have chronic diarrhoea. Doctors no help for 50 years.
You will never believe this, I stopped drinking coffee because of my heart fluctuations, seems I was intolerant to the acidity of coffee, It was burning my insides. Getting better, at least no nausea and pain all day


I haven't done much of anything for a few years, except mow and spray grass, then had a memory loss for an hour,
220 or something over 195 blood pressure, thought that would be good for a oil pump
Doctor was not amused
I had headaches so I was taking aspirin, or could have had a stroke it seems
The little pills have me right on target now

Sometime I wonder about getting out of bed, but the thought of washing the sheets gets me going

Had covid for 2 weeks, “Warning” I am one of those disease spreading great un-vaxed

I have finished all the radio collecting I ever wanted, and slowly working through sparking them up, Had a rush on telephones that got out of control, But I have some nice telephones, some wired and working {be a post on their own}

No longer do 7 ¼ inch trains, took up cowboy action shooting instead, promised myself I would continue with that for 4 more years, that will get me to being 75

I'm having a little rush at the moment and getting things done again

How long will my enthusiasm last?
Probably until summer, can't stand heat anymore

Off to scrappy today with that stripped car body and batteries

still lost in the shed and long grass rod

p.s Long post, ah well