Bbb333 ??

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball;102292[SIZE=3

Ahem.... er, Ladies & Gentlemen of the Eastern Canadian & U.S. ilk - we're almost at the starting post, and if you have nothing else planned for the weekend* I would urge you to consider making the jaunt to Hammond for what promises to be a great weekend! Amongst other things and aside from the great comraderie (as always), you will see the only running Windsor Carrier in North America as well as[/SIZE] have a chance to be a running target for the 6 pdr!! Think of what we could tell your children & grandchildren in your absence!!
Seriously folks, this has become a great summer tradition in the Greater Ottawa Area and it's worth the effort getting there! We hope to see you...

We have amended the activity list somewhat. We plan to shoe-horn these events into the already advertised schedule:

Saturday:

- Barn and wagon lines tour;
- Test run of Bob's rolling frame;
- Dodge engine pull ('55 ambulance);
- Cross country run to the S&P Museum for those who want to see what keeps Mike (AKA Gunner) busy - transport will depend on who wants to go and what is available. WARNING - you may be recruited to drive one of his vehicles to BBB333 and return (CCKW/deuce and a half/etc...);
- C15 strip down (third year running and still not stripped); and/or
- sitting on one's can quaffing ale (s).

Note on S&P Convoy 2008: Two factors will limit Mike's convoy this year - a lack of drivers and the cost of fuel. So, here is a chance for a lucky chap with driving experience to pilot one of Mike's treasures. A local consulting company has anted up to cover some of Mike's fuel costs, so we will see at least one truck/gun combo at BBB333.

[RHClarke]

Environment Canada is predicting cool overnite temps for the BBQ. Not to worry tho', Bob has enough wood scrap to keep the bon fire going for days...see you there!

[Bob Carriere]

....and it went by so fast.....!!!

Thank God I had a job to go to this morning so I could rest a little.

I had a wonderful time...... a real wonderful time.

Thanks everyone for making it a success again....... pictures will no doubt follow.

BooB

[Craig Tanner]

Bob!

Bill and I arrived home around 1900 our time, 1800 your time. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that we had an absolute wonderful time, and you are so right... it went way too fast.

I especially enjoyed meeting and talking to all of the other facinating people that were there....... I really hope that you have another one next year! Bill and I agreed that the trip is really worth it.

Now he was the de-facto photo taker and navigator so he will hopefully get some pictures out.

Once again thank you very much for your warm hospitality for the awesome time!!

Craig Tanner

Burton N.B.

[Phil Waterman]

Craig- I want to echo your thoughts, thanks to Bob, Joyce, Rob, Grant and everyone else who help make a enjoyable weekend possible.

My thanks also to everyone who attended and gave the crazy CMPer from south of the border the chance to talk CMP all weekend.

Cheers

Phil

[Sally Ann]

Where to begin??
You showed this ol' gal a great time! From the greetings at the campsite, the delicious cookup at Boobee's place, the start of the bonfire, a starry night with laughter and good company and that was only day 1! Breakfast at Chez Marie's is a dieter's nightmare.. but I was hungry with all that wonderful fresh air and laughter.. gives one an appetite that I am paying for now.. down to two small meals a day again... groan!

It was good to see some familiar faces and meet some more new ones... To learn more about this passion you people have.. turning rustbuckets into actual running machines, showing your "finds" and talking about everything pertaining to and then some.. the pride you have for those who came before and the sense of humour you all share. It was an honour and a pleasure to be amongst your company. Thank you for letting me share this with you guys. (besides... Jif is much easier to handle once he has had a fix of being surrounded by his mates and the sound/smell of freshly fired guns, the bigger the better! )

Rob, don't forget to turn those burgers on their side . Sorry I missed meeting your missus and saying goodbye.. but unless you take off for foreign parts at the next meet, just wanted to let you know Jif was right about ya!
Frank thanks for the Bailey's, aspirin, cat tales and your thoughts. Hugs.
Bill and Craig, had a blast getting to know the Eastern contingent. You guys are hilarious. Come back and visit us again.. like I said, we have a couple of spare beds.
Grant, thanks for keeping that "home/skid" fire burning!
Mike, I learnt a lot, you have a way of teaching that is superb and you made my Sunday with the 6pdr and the ride.. I now know how slow a Windsor can go too Nice to meet your sidekicks/tiedowners too. Wracking my brain for their names.. not my forte.. now faces, those I remember!
Glad I had a little more time to chat with you this time Kristy, I hope you and Dan were able to have a dry ride home and get in a bit more relaxing before the week started.
Phil you are a story teller and a half! and thanks for making the trek up to our dangerous Canucky country, where the men are still just big boys with big toys
Alain we didnt have much time to talk, but glad you made it out there.
Clive, sorry we didn't get to meet.. but I am sure you understand...next time ok?

And last but definitely not the least...Bob and Joyce. Your hospitality, kindness, the way you have of making everyone just feel completely at ease and be themselves, is priceless. From the delicious meals.. corn that sweet should be called dessert! and yummy chicken, to the fireworks that helped wind us down after Saturday's adventures. Joyce I look forward to seeing your book on photography in the future.. you will have one I am sure!! Loved seeing your work and Bob... thank you, a true friend indeed. I am indebted....
We will update you when we know more ... so far.. so good!

Oh and to the Kittehs and their letting me get my dose of pets/scratches/rubs in.. gorgeous every one of them!

So I shall end off saying that it was a memorable weekend to say the least, and we are both looking forward to the next time we all meet.
Sally

[lennrover]

HI everybody. I just wanted to thank Bob and Joyce for there hospitality and also thanks to everyone else that participated in organizing this BBQ weekend.
I had a good time, I met some great people and it's alway reasuring to see that you are not the only one spending time and money fixing things.
See you all next year i hope.
Alain

[RHClarke]

It seems like we have very few photographers nowadays...there must be some other shots of BBB??? If you have some shots, why not post them? Here are a few that I had taken during the event:

A shot of Bob doing his best "Capt'n Morgan" pose:



Bob's beautiful buggy and his CMP hauler:



A few of the lads and lassies lolling about the "lounge":


BBB3 was an interesting event. We finally got to formally meet Sally Ann. Bob finally got to bomb around on his truck "Lettie", we finally got a good look at Gunner's "new" CCKW in Cdn Army Artillery livery, and his Windsor carrier.

I missed Sunday's events as the family was on its way to the merri-times for the requisite duty visits. I am sure a lot more went on than what has been posted...feel free to share your photos!

Looking forward to next year...

[Craig Tanner]

Here is a couple of pictures that I took when we were out and about....delivery of the Windsor carrier.. Bill said that he just LOVED driving that 21/2 ton especially with the "air conditioning on" ha ha

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Craig Tanner

Here is a couple of pictures that I took when we were out and about....delivery of the Windsor carrier.. Bill said that he just LOVED driving that 21/2 ton especially with the "air conditioning on" ha ha

Craig...
When I'm in Georgia this winter I'll pick up Uncle Willy a Harley muscle shirt..size..??
XXS...
Man..what a scary set of "Pipes" on the lad..

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Craig Tanner

Here is a couple of pictures that I took when we were out and about....delivery of the Windsor carrier.. Bill said that he just LOVED driving that 21/2 ton especially with the "air conditioning on" ha ha

Craig, If Bill "loved" the deuce and a half, he would have really loved the LAAT - I swear it moves forward only by pushing it with your accelerator foot...Both trucks are challenges to drive and both will need some TLC. The unfortunate part is that the cost of driving historic mil vehicles is rising because of the high cost of fuel and maintenance. I fear that soon, the running of larger historic mil vehicles will become the province of the rich or well-to-do...sort of like we see here in Canada with historic aircraft. I rue the day,

Anyway, thanks for the pics, and good on Bill for taking up my challenge...By the way, has his hearing improved?

[Gunner]

I have blown over $350 in rebuilding the distributer, replacing plugs and wires and coil on the LAAT in the last 5 weeks and every time we take her out for a test she runs great for 20 minutes and then starts bucking anmd farting all over the place... eventually dies and gets dragged home for the next round of tinkering. Purrs like a kitten at idle and lots of power at first... then... plfftsft !

Bled the M135 brakes the other day... $42 in brake fluid to flush and refill the entire system. Stops on a dime now! Next the steering and then the exhaust manifold! Errk!

My wallet leaketh over!

Mike

[Bob Carriere]

Far from being an expert...... they can be a challenge.

Bottom line only 3 things keeps it running or farting..... Air fuel and spark.... I assume it gets a lot of free air..... then fuel...

could be vapour lock.... a collapsing inner wall of an old rubber fuel line....etc....... I would try to make sure you do have adequate fuel...... set up a gravity feed directly into the carb..... shortest line possible....... it may be a fuel shortage...... have you checked the fuel glass bowl for floating debri...

or...

even if newly replaced..... a new coil could be defective......or an overheating coil...... or condenser affected by heat could cut out....... maybe worth a try to replace with a known good unit....

Pardon the expression but when farting is it a loud crack of too lean a mix or a greasy fart with black smoke......from too rich a fuel diet...?

Any idea of real engine temp...... or vacuum reading...?

What engine have you got.... 216 or a later 235..?

Any spare carb you can swap for a test...?

Keep us posted.....

Curious Bob

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

It seems like we have very few photographers nowadays...there must be some other shots of BBB??? If you have some shots, why not post them?

I have a bunch of them in my gotta-resize-and-resave-queue.... started on them this morning and will finish and post this evening!

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

What engine have you got.... 216 or a later 235..? Any spare carb you can swap for a test...? Keep us posted.....

Curious Bob

Bob,

Mike's LAAT is "powered" by a Ford V8. Hmmmm. Could that be the problem? In any case, I can sympathize with Gunner.

Mike,

I will start beating the ground for other local sponsors...on your OK of course. Maybe we can organize groups to sponsor a vehicle or to do the restoration on said vehicle. Note that I got nil replies from the east end Chevy dealers when I approached them on a similar campaign, but there are others...

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Here are a selection of pics we took at BB3.

Having arrived after a mixed, rainy day, we set up our tents then went over to Bob's house for burgers & beer... a little later, we repaired back to the site and lit the fire. There weren't a whole lot of us there yet, but it was great in a sort of mystic way as the first two pics will show...

The next three show the BB TAC HQ Tent suitably adorned, and two shots of Bob's skeletal C15A... we had a hoot watching him bounce around the field like that! I did take a short film clip of it, but the resolution came out microscopic (damned camera!) and it isn't worth the bandwidth, alas. I got it figured out now...

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

The next series deal with Mike Calnan's 6pdr AT gun, which is a great way to make a lot of noise! Both Phil Waterman and Sally got to shoot it this time, but I digress... the first pic is the 6pdr hooked up behind a really nice CCKW which Mike just smuggled into Canada along with his Windsor carrier...

Next showing the gun itself, then Phil taking his shot and Sally posing beside the gun after her shot. I got a shot video of that too, but again, too damned small. Next time I know what to do...

Last is a herd of us standing about jawing over the gun and CCKWs and CMPs (jeez, what else?)...

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Just some more dumb carrier pictures... but waitaminute, isn't that the only running Windsor carrier in North America? Damn, it is too... I turned the same colour as the carrier with envy. It really is a gem!

Oh yeah, almost forgot... the last pic was sunrise Saturday morning at 0600... what a lovely place for a show!

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

At some point, the decision was taken to drive Frank Moore's truck down to town and grab Clive Law's M38A1, which had been languishing there all by itself. It was terribly lonely but the lads rescued it! Now alternate arrangements have been made for its restoration and I think everyone's happier for it...

Also shown are the Caldwell's packing up Sunday morning in preparation for a long ride home. It was good to see them both once again, as well as Old Bill & Craig from Down East. It's the people who make these little events what they are...

Lastly, I think Sally's expression sums everything up pretty well...

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball

... It's the people who make these little events what they are...

Truer words were never spoken...we are fortunate in that we have a wonderous array of talent and personalities in this hobby - perhaps as many as we have CMP variants and variations.

My family and I enjoyed our (short) time at BBB333. Now the $64 question: Will there be a CC and a BB next year??

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

Now the $64 question: Will there be a CC and a BB next year??

Well, I sure hope you lot decide to keep this going... it's one of the most pleasureable weekends in my annual itinerary! This low-level, low-intensity type of event is what all of this is supposed to be all about.

If the Caldwells are looking for a year off in '09, I can't blame them after seven years' running... but I'll offer this: if we can find some private space in the southwest (Stewart, you and I once talked about this IIRC), I'm willing to start working on hosting an 'MLU' event for late June 2009 right now. Methinks we have to keep the momentum going! John Adamiak had a good thing running until his unfortunate early demise, but maybe we can pick up the slack. Lord knows the Caldwells have done their share!

It won't be easy but I know we have a lot of good people out there willing to participate, and the most important thing is to bring us together at least a couple times a year.