New Year, New Blog - Day 45

Day 45.

I slept quite well last night considering I put myself under a lot of stress. All I've thought about today has been flying and whether I can do it. There are lots of 'what ifs' at the moment. What if I agree to go and get to boarding the plane and chicken out? What if I go and something does go wrong on the plane? I have been looking at alternatives to flying to America. I've looked at getting a boat from Scotland or Denmark to Iceland, then to Greenland and then to Canada. Its something I'd consider doing if it means I can go and see family. Another option is getting a cruiseship from Southampton to New York and then a train to Michigan somehow. That costs about double the price of flying and takes about 8days longer than flying. Thats also something I'd do and be quite happy to pay for. Lots to think about and not long to get all the thinking done.

This morning I was at Simpson Autocare with Chris. I wasn't working on Penny the Peugeot today as we have done all we can until Chris works out the next move. It shouldn't be long now until she rules the road again. Today I helped Chris with Elvis the Escort. I think I shall name all the cars I help with from now on. I just did a bit of sanding as Elvis is a complete restoration job. Elvis is just the shell at the moment, no interior, no engine, no electrics. Just an empty frame of a car. It was nice not getting my hands greasy and doing something different. 

I got back about 2ish and after a shower I sat down to watch the 3rd Lord of the Rings films, The Return of the King. It lasted 242mins. A little over 4 hours long. It was an excellent film and I didn't notice how long it was. I also can't see how it could have been edited shorter for cinema and regular DVD release. I think I'll be adding them to my blu ray collection.

I was told once that I think too much and I have certainly been doing that lots recently, so off to bed I go.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 41

Day 41. 

Half term is here! A week, without pesky kids annoying me, winding me up or making me aggy. Perfect!

Yesterday I told you that I had been at the Simpson Autocare in the evening and I left you all in limbo as to whether Penny the Peugeot started. She did not start. So a hammer was used and after some gentle pursuasion, she spluttered into life and roared! It was an amazing and satisfying feeling that Chris and I had done that. Penny sounded magnificant. She then decided to make a terrible knocking sound just like before with the old engine. My heart sank a bit but then she stopped making the knocking sound and then it started again. I'm hoping that it will be something simple but like everything else with my stupid car, it will be complicated and very expensive. There are some photos of the rebuilt engine and Penny in all her shining glory.

The rebuilt engine.

And again.

From another angle.

From the back.

Penny looking and feeling cold and miserable.

Everything in place and connected.

Just needs to be fired up....

 It just means I'll have to wait a little longer to be able to drive her. 

Todays discussion will take place tomorrow. I am not pressured by time tomorrow so I can get a lengthy discussion going. 

I hope everyone has had a good day.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 35

Day 35.

A very successful day in my opinion. Spent about 7 hours at Simpson Autocare with Chris rebuilding my engine for the last time. We had to pick up a head gasket from Motex and then the real fun began. First rule of the workshop is to put the kettle on, so I did and needed the tea to warm up a bit. It was colder at the workshop than outside. In order for everything to go back together, I had to clean the engine head and somthing else but I cant remember the name of it. I will let the pictures do the talking.

A dirty engine block

Still looking dirty

A clean engine head

The tiny part that caused so much bother

Its tiny!

A clean engine block

Getting there.

Nice and clean

There are a couple more pictures to upload but the internet is slow and I'm off out to a friends to have pizza from Dominoes :)

I will upload them in tomorrows blog.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 28

Day 28.

A day of mixed emotions really. I was really excited to be working on Penny the Peugeot and putting her back together and getting her started. The first stop was a breakers yard at Temple Farm to get a fuel line for Penny. When Chris phone up he was assured they had the right one in the yard somewhere and would take it off for us. However, when we arrived to pick it up, we found out that it wasn't the right part so it would not fit. We tried other breakers yards but we had no luck. Once back at the workshop and the tea was made, Chris started to take the glow plugs out only to find that one had been snapped off inside the engine. This was not good news. I won't go into details about what was said from Chris over the phone to the place we got it from, but they were quite rude to him! He was told to ring back Monday to speak to their mechanic who will more than likely tell Chris to bring the engine back. So as for getting Penny started again, it didn't happen. Chris and I both have our fingers crossed as the dealer said they have another engine coming in on Tuesday.
All of these issues with the car were not something that could have been foreseen. Chris has done an amazing job so far and I know he will continue to do so. I wanted a bigish car for my first car and found one that I fell in love with. It just turns out that a little more work was needed than anticipated, and after a series of unfortunate events and minor setbacks, were nearly there. It just feels like 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards at the moment. But we will get there. So thank you Chris at Simpson Autocare.

Tonight I'm off for a few drinks in town with some friends and I hope it will ease the pain and suffering that is Penny the Peugeot. Of course I'm only joking, but I do hope it will be a good night.

Thanks to the everyone that got thinking about my question I posted yesterday. I had a few replies so thank you to those people. I have to think about having some way of replying to everyone.

I think that is all for tonight.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 26

Day 26.

Payday! Wahoo! It feels good knowing I have money in the bank. I just need to save it for various things next year.
My day was pretty cool, a relaxing atmosphere at work was what I needed, but by lesson 5 I was ready for a nap.  Lessons 1 and 2 I was with the same class, year 7s. They make me laugh so much. In maths, the subject was angles and triangles. One of the boys couldn't pronounce isosceles and called it islosausages and just kept laughing everytime he said it. To end the day was textiles then science. In textiles they were carrying on with their cushion covers which meant I was being used to cut out fabric and pinning. Real macho work. In science I nearly fell asleep. Not because it was boring, it wasn't. But because I was so tired. The class made their own universal indicator from red cabbage and tested different different acids and alkalis. They loved the practical element of the lesson.

After work, I went straight to the workshop at Simpson Autocare. Chris had is brother working with him today to fit a timing belt for Penny the peugeot and another car. The speed at which they both worked was incredible. I was lost as to where all the nuts and bolts went. Chris and myself made a real mess of the workshop. Had a major oil spill and it required sand to soak up/stop the oil flow spreading.

Just some fun Sam and Chris had.

The sand is covering up the oil spill. That shiny part is the bottom of the engine.

The old engine on its side with more oil spilling out.

A close up of the oil spill.

The spill wasn't anyones fault, we did drain the engines before but this was just what was left in the sump (that big rectangle looking thing).We did manages to get most of the parts on the new engine so all we have to do on Saturday is put it back in the car.

When I got back from Simpson Autocare, I had a lovely Chinese and started writing my blog. I did put on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Anyway, time for bed now. Thanks for reading. I will have a topic tomorrow night and might have a question as well.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 24

Day 24.

It appears I made a mistake in yesterdays blog. I called the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film The Fountain of Youth. Its actually called On Stranger Tides. I appologise about that. 

Today was a boring day by all accounts. Only 2 of my lessons were good ones, btec sport and science. The other lessons were dull and uninspiring. I won't go into details as there aren't any, but I didn't do a lot. 

After work I went straight to Chris' workshop at Simpson Autocare to continue to work on Penny the peugeot. I won't write too much but I have lots of pictures to show all of you.

Chris removing the last few bolts

The old engine coming loose

Yes, that is an old seatbelt taking the weight of the engine.

Penny, without her engine.

The complete front end taken off.

Her old engine with all the parts on that need to be transfered to the new engine.

Another viewof the front.

Another view of the old engine.

The new engine all cleaned up.

Same as before.

Other side of the new engine, looking a bit grubby.

The new engine but really dirty.

A before shot of the engine I cleaned it.

The new engine from side view.

What Chris and I did tonight was to take out the drive shafts so we could remove the old engine from a bracket holding it in and then finally removed it from the car. It was my job to clean the new engine while Chris removed parts from the old engine. 

Tomorrow after work, I plan on going to the workshop again and doing as much work on it as I can.

That is all for tonight, I'm tired and need my beauty sleep. 

Until tomorrow.

Jim 

New Year, New Blog - Day 21

Day 21.

An early blog again as I'm going out tonight to a social gathering tonight. Its a birthday gathering for Steph, who I work with. So please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday for the 23rd of January.

Today was a mixture of emotions. I was so excited to be picking up a new/working engine for Penny the Peugeot. When we got to the place we were buying it from, twe saw they had charged us £75 more than they said they would over the phone. I immediatley felt very disheartened and angry but at the same time, very relieved and happy that I finally had a working engine. Chris from Simpson Autocare, was not happy at all! A few choice words were said from both of us, but at least we had an engine. We stopped for KFC on the way back, which was a real treat. Once back at the workshop and lunch was finished, we set about taking the old engine and components apart. There were so many electrical wires, pipes, air hoses and clips to take off, I did get a little confused as to what came from where. Unfortunatly we didn't get the old engine out but we did get most of the components off.

Thats all for today, I shall pose a question and topic tomorrow night as I'm already late for the gathering.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 7

Day 7 and I noticed the amount of visits had gone up from 252 yesterday evening to 350 this evening. Almost 100 visits in 24 hours. I don't know about you but I find that amazing. Thank you so much everyone!

Today was my usual Saturday, wake up, wash, go to Simpson Autocare. My new turbo had been fitted on Penny the Peugeot and we started in anticipation that all would be fine.......not quite the case. She started almost fine, and ran almost ok, and kept ticking over, but there was a knocking sound in the engine (somewhere) so we got her back in the workshop after a few consultations, and stripped the engine down a bit. The first consultation was with Chris' brother over the phone about the knocking sound. He suggested it was the bottom end. I'm not too sure what that means but from the look on Chris' face it wasn't the best we could hope for. The 2nd consultation was with the mechanic next door, Martin. He thought it could be something to do with a leak in the cylinders or pistons (not sure which) or if the glow plugs are misfiring which could be (and fingers crossed is) causing the problem.
 I have been getting quite down about Penny and all the little things that have required fixing. First she wouldn't start, then found a broken oil sump and everything that needed replacing inside that, then the horn wouldn't work, then the turbo needed replacing and now the glow plugs need replacing as well. It seems like I brought a cursed car that will never get on the road! I do have faith in Chris though, and I know he will be able to get her up and running properly soon.

After I got back from the workshop, I had a bath and watched Jackass 2 (yes, at the same time) and this afternoon was awesome. My sister, Samantha, had ordered a Christmas present all the way back in December and it finally arrived today! How awesome!! A Sheldon bobble-head. Sheldon is a character from The Big Bang Theory and its one of my favourite TV shows.

 I read an awesome short story earlier, about a weekend in Essex. I wont go into details but if I get permission from the author to publish her work on my blog anytime soon then you can read it for yourself. It was a very good read.

Mum and dad had guests over for dinner this evening and they seemed to enjoy themselves which was nice for me, to see them entertaining others and doing a bloody good job of it!

Thats all for tonight, got a few things to sort out with some people.

Thanks ever so much for reading. I appreciate it.

Untill tomorrow

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 1

So I had this idea that a blog a day might be something quite cool to try for the whole of 2012 (or at least until I forget or get bored). 365 blogs, 1 for each day of the year.
2012 is set to be an exciting year for Englishmen and women with the olympics only a few months away and will provide plenty of opportunity for blogs during the summer.
For me, 2012 is about moving up the career ladder, joining a cycling club and racing, driving my car at all hours of the day, working with Chris at Simpson Autocare and many other ideas in the pipeline. These will all be blogged about over the next 364 days.


Jim