Working in a winter wonderland....

Well - not quite but the recent cold snap made the day of working on 326 a little chilly! I felt guilty that the pressures of school meant that I hadn't been down for almost two months so a day of action was certainly needed!

After a few turns, 326 fired up (filling my car with smelly black fumes in the process) and quickly settled to a purr. Having not turned a wheel since the end of August, and before the truly cold weather arrives together with salty roads, a quick run out was required to keep everything in order. So we had a quick spin along the A52 to the Bingham roundabout and back, some 25 miles. No problems at all - good to be back behind the wheel actually!

Then on with the work.... The main plan today was to start fitting the battery isolator switch. Having had this proper Lucas period switch in a box for over 9 months, I thought that it was probably time for it to go on. Drilling the hole was easy given that the wood is well seasoned and soon it was in place. The cables had been made up over the summer so the new negative cable is now on. All that remains is soldering / crimping the spade connector onto the existing negative lead. The solder I had made little impact so I think more solder and a blow torch will be better! So a job two thirds done.... Still - looks pretty neat I reckon!

I then fitted the LED front side lights and two of the four LED bulbs needed at the back for the sides. After faffing with the earth leads on the battery (no lights at all initially) the side lights then again burnt out the fuse wire. Once that had been replaced, the circuit was back on line so the bulbs were swapped. The new lights are so much brighter and given the speed of 326, any additional light is welcome!

After that, because the temperature had dropped so much, not even the coffee was keeping the cold out so 326 was put back to bed in the barn once more.

There are a few winter tasks to be completed so as and when time permits.....

Any old iron...

Well, had a pleasant few hours chatting with Brian Burgess today, the owner of PGW 163 up in Manchester. A super chap, he served with the RAF during Op Burberry (the fire strikes) in the late 1970s, driving 163. Then, when they were sold off, he ended up purchasing her! Anyway, he had a few bits and pieces so, on the basis of you can never have too much stuff, I purchased a collecting head from him. Designed to allow multiple hydrants of lightweight pumps to feed into the 6 inch inlet on the main vehicle pump, it's quite a piece of engineering! It'll look even better when it's clean....

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I was leaning on a lamp post.....

Well, a good couple of days at the Rauceby War Weekend this weekend. Loosely themed around the 1940s (we won't tell them my goddess was made in the 1950s....!) I missed Saturday owing to delivering some Land Rover tyres but made both Sunday and Monday and joined some of the chaps from the NFS-AFS Vehicles Group who have a number of wartime (grey) Austin and Fordson appliances.

On both days we not only displayed the vehicles to the public but made it into the ring for not only a demo circuit with blue lights and sirens but a full drill demonstration using an Austin K4 turntable ladder. On both days, this was connected to the goddess which had a full tank of water, enabling water to be squirted across the arena. Thankfully, the goddess performed smoothly as ever and having been tested last weekend, the pump is now working faultlessly, although I did have to fill up with fuel on the way back on Sunday - over £100!

Those magnificent men in their flying machines...

Well, after a few weeks away on holiday, it was a great weekend to bring 326 back out. The occasion was RAF Cranwell Flying Club's 'fly-in' weekend where people fly in from all over the country to meet, chat, relax and perhaps be entertained.

So, I wandered along with the chaps from the NFS-AFS group who have a number of world war 2 grey National Fire Service appliances.

We arrived at RAF Cranwell on the Saturday afternoon (after a few stops to make running repairs to the turntable ladder which was with us) and went straight to the airfield to await the first aircraft arrival - a Spitfire mark Vb from the Historic Aircraft Collection at Duxford. After a couple of short, low flypasts it landed and taxied in. Once on the apron, we then assembled the appliances for a super evening shot with this superb piece of aviation heritage, built in 1942. The history of G-MKVB can be found here. In addition to spending nearly 30 years as gate guardian at RAF Church Fenton in Yorkshire, it saw initial aervice with the Polish Squadrons based at RAF Woodvale near Southport close to where I grew up.

Spitfire Mark Vb G-MKVB just arrived:r:k Vb G-MKVB just arrived:

 The Spitfire with fire appliances:

 PGW 326 and G-MKVB:

Once done, we helped to put G-MKVB to bed before putting our own vehicles to bed in an adjacent hanger:

After a liquid dinner in the Daedalus Mess bar, we retired for the night.

After a herayt breakfast we were at the airfield early in order to collect the vehicles foir a photo call in front of the college buildings at Cranwell:

Then it was back to the airfield to set up for the day which consisted of watching the planes, slavering over the Spitfire and conducting a few evolutions of fire drills. Also, we tested 326's pump for the first time from a 500 gallon dam - and after a bit of coaxing, it pumped extremely well, especially considering it is some 7 years or so since it was last used! All in all a great weekend.

Raindrops are falling on my head...

Well, the East of England Show is over - show number two! A good weekend, and great to catch up with Chris Perkins who owns Goddess RXP 558. After meeting up on Saturday morning, we travelled in convoy down to Peterborough, arriving slightly late after I had to work on the ignition system yet again! The show was touch and go given the torrential rain on Friday but the show went on, unlike many others recently.

Rough running was the issue with 326, the plugs were badly sooted again. A cursory clean failed to solve the problem so removal of the leads to clean the terminals was in order. One lead fell apart when I touched it, then the HT lead exploded when I removed it! That might be a problem. Having searched the road for the bits, and rebuilt it all, it fired perfectly, so new leads and a coil are in order!

Saturday saw small numbers of people to be honest, kept away by the rain and these straightened economic times perhaps. That said, the afternoon was hot enough for my head to burn whilst sitting listening to one of the live bands! After evening meal and a few beers with the Royal Navy recruiting team in the Elgoods beer tent, I settled for a night out of the rain on the surprisingly comfortable bench seat at the back of the cab.

Sunday started wetter but cleared up during my bacon butty; crowds seemed bigger with the collected fire engines attracting interest. Sadly, again it was too wet for any action in the parade ring. Then it was a mini convoy back home, with enough time to clean the mud off the tyres and to remove all the locker contents to give the lockers and hoses an airing in the afternoon sunshine.

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Bring me sunshine! The East of England Show...

Well, this weekend sees the East of England Show at Peterborough. It's still on according to the show's Twitter feed (even though the main site is currently down!!) despite the deluge today. Have been up today to give 326 a quick wash and a fire up, all well. Meeting with fellow owner Chris Perkins, owner of RXP 558, early doors tomorrow to form a very mini fire column down the A1 to the show, so come and see us in the preserved fire appliance section.

Pics to follow, let's hope that the rains lets off just a little!!

I can see clearly now...

Another little pleasing job which was done the other day was cleaning the window rails on the cab windows - used to open and close the windows. Years of peoples' paws all over them had left them pretty mucky, so a quick wipe with some white spirit and hey presto - gleaming! Clean - sit back - admire!

I owe you nothing...

Well, the V11 arrived  for 326 today. Always nice to see the 12 months highlighted and accompanied by the word 'nil'! Sadly, as it's MOT exempt, I can't renew on line! So the V112g needs printing and filling out for a trip to the Post Office. Maybe after November when all pre-1960 vehicles become MOT exempt I'll be able to do it all online!

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Starter for ten...

Well, with the charging fault sorted, I was just manipulating the engine cowling back on when I noticed the grotty knob on the engine starter just behind the engine. Covered in brown paint, it had also had gaffer tape stuck on at some stage too, which had then been painted over! I popped it off and brought it back home. After a wash and some scraping with a fine screwdriver, underneath is a rather neat galvanised metal knob! Sometimes, small jobs can be very pleasing to do!

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All charges dropped...

Well, the good news is the charging fault has been solved! I got an auto electrician to come out this morning to have a look. After dusting off his knowledge of dynamo systems he then had a poke around. Battery feed seemed OK. We then fired it up briefly, lots of power from the dynamo (up to 50v), so we know that's working. We were just discussing taking the regulator off to bench test it when he noticed the main battery feed. It wasn't massively tight, had scorch marks and when he took it off, it wasn't that clean and the sheathing covering the connector fastening was partly covering the connector surface. Although I fitted the new regulator (it must confess to not noticing and I don't think the scorching is new) it must have been like this when in service (maybe the old regulator was more tolerant than the solid state version?). Anyhows, with the connector cleaned with sand paper and the sheathing cut back, it was popped back on. Started up and warmed up to working temperature - fine, no dramas at all! Charges well with peak of just under 14.5 v coming out of it. Charge light goes out fully and stays out, and of course, it runs sweet as a nut! The verdict - due to the poor main 'B' connection, as it ran, the terminal was getting warmer (I had noticed the bottom of the regulator getting warm) until it was so hot and the resistance so high, nothing was passing through it so it was pretty much running on the battery.


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I also charge you with....

Here's the video of the charge light with the engine almost at operating temp - it's now off at idle and glowing brightly at speed.... Apologies for the poor camerawork again....

I charge you with.....

Well, the charging issue - hmmmm. It developed on the way home from Belvoir Castle when the charge light decided to come on at speed. It had been glowing dimly but gradually became brighter. I had another look today - same thing. Fine as it warms up - glows at tickover then goes out at speed. As it warms up, it begins to glow at speed until it's brightly lit. As the revs drop, the regulator clicks, the charge light goes out brifley then re-lights. Here's the video - apologies for the quality, although you get the idea and can here the voltage regulator click in and out....

Engine partly warming up, choke out:

Belvoir Castle Show, May 2012

Well, show one has been and gone a few weeks ago. Sadly, the warm and dry weather which preceeded it disappeared and I gather the Saturday was wet and cold! Still, Sunday was drier though not before the ground was damp; I got the impression that the crowds were down too. Anyway, a useful day and a first show outing for 326 although sadly it developed a charging fault on the way home which needs sorting in due course.

326 in between a Foden EKA wrecker and an Alvis Stalwart in the military section:

The view of the military section:

Two neat ex-AFS Land Rover 109 station wagons nearby - built in the late 1960s and neat because they lived undercover, did about 20,000 miles and weren't sold off until the late 1990s!

The Daimler Ferret which won the best military vehicle:

The final countdown....

Well, in a fit of pre-first show energy, a quick visit to 326 this afternoon to do a few jobs...

Ever since I got 326, the passenger side of the cab has an empty, forlorn looking modern fire extinguisher bracket bolted to it. Checking the Fresco kit list on RSOLES, it confirmed that this was a 2kg (probably dry powder) extinguisher. Thinking that carrying a working extinguisher was probably a good idea, a quick search on eBay resulted in a suitable replacement which is now fitted:

I also fitted an empty vintage extinguisher to the underside of the crew bench at the back of the cab, date-stamped 1959, so very green goddess era!

A box of parts arrived from Rhys in sunny west Wales today - a few bits to further complete the work on 326. It's all original GG spares, so it's in the 1950s / 1960s paper packaging! A joy to behold and almost a shame to unwrap....

There's a replacement part loom that runs from the original regulator position under the bonnet to the cab near the drivers seat. The insulation on the original is getting crunchy so I'll try this - it might be as crunchy or not!

 There's also the pump dials for the rear as the paint is flaking on mine after over five decades:

 Also, as a bonus, there was an original pump operating instruction book and a replacement glove compartment knob!

Rock on Sunday and the Belvoir Castle Steam Festival and Country Fair!!

Because you're gorgeous.....

Well, 326 returned from it's hols in Shropshire yesterday and what a difference! The guys at Fire Engine Services have done a super job! Such a nice drive home, much more pleasant to drive! I sat at 40 but my foot was a lot further off the floor than previously, I did have a quick push to 45 with no dramas.

So what's been done? The brakes have been rebuilt (only one was fully working!) and the fluid changed, also the clutch was replaced and then the underside was blasted clean and sealed:

The front wings and cheek panels were also repainted but not before they were stripped and the corrosion removed before priming. The joints between the wings and cheeks were sealed before painting for good measure.

Once back today, I polished the newly-painted bits and then began the massive job of t-cutting then polishing the rest! Well, having started at 11, I knocked off at 7.30 with the right hand aside behind the cab still to do! There's always tomorrow I guess..... I then refitted the badge and also a transfer with the old Branston fleet number on (G57):

I also managed today to fit the new tax disc holder - a stuck-to-the-windscreen just didn't seem right, so now there is a 'much more commercial vehicle' style holder inside on the windscreen pillar:

The roof was also stripped and recovered whilst it was away, with all the components repainted:

Anyway, the results of today's polishing session.....

The polish I used  - Collinite 476s Super Doublecoat Wax - was made in the USA and styles itself as detergent proof (so make sure you it's the last thing you do to the paintwork!!) and lasting a year. We'll see, but really, really easy to put on and leaves a great shine!

I can move, move, move any mountain....

Well - here's the rejuvenated PGW 326 climbing the wash ramps today before a good blast prior to having the underside painted tomorrow. Very impressive! Here's the washing in progress.

Looks amazing - they've done an awesome job! Rebuilt brakes, new clutch, new roof, the front repainted and corrosion-proofed and the timing and mixture sorted out.

Can't wait to get it back!!

A badge of honour....

Well, after several coats of Smoothrite to protect the back and several layers of Autosol Liquid Chrome Polish, it was time to put the bonnet badge back together! I must say, it looks very good - see what you think!

After:

Before:

Work in progress....

Well Ron and the team at Fire Engine Services are cracking on apace with the work on 326. The brakes have been stripped and are being rebuilt - new wheel cylinders fitted today. The roof was completed last week, Just the front repaint and fuel mixture and engine timing to do now, then it can come home!

Progress pictures from the  Fire Engine Services Flickr stream.

I'm in pieces...

Well, Ron and the Fire Engine Services guys have been busy in the last few days and found a number of faults to fix!

The brakes were a priority and they found a few issues both front and back. The rears were leaking fluid onto the drums and the front cylinders were rusty and seized, if not totally, so not too much braking efficiency there! They've also replaced the rear hub seals.

Plus, they have also traced the reason for it bucking in 1st and reverse - two blocked drain holes near to the clutch letting oil onto the clutch plates, so hopefully that will improve the drive somewhat!

Next week will see those done and a start on the roof....

Pictures from the Fire Engine Services Flickr stream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68501405@N07/


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We're all going on a spring holiday....

Well, 326 is now on its hols in deepest Shropshire having been entrusted to the capable hands of Fire Engine Services for some much-needed work. The run across was uneventful with no problems at all, other than the A50 being the most boring road in the UK!! Crucially, the charging problem seems to have been sorted although you can tell that the plugs are sooting up yet again.....

First on the menu is a check of the brakes to see that they're OK then some new brake fluid. Then, a check of the clutch to try and sort out the 'bucking' in first and reverse. Then, time for a new rear roof so any summer showers can be repelled and so that the roof structure remains in good condition. After that - who knows, more likely let's see how much money is left!!


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All that glitters is chrome?

Well, after 2 months away, the badge backing for the front arrived back. Goodness, what a shock when I opened the parcel!

Because 326 had been stored with the nose poking out of the dutch barn, the badge backing was very rusted. So rusted, in fact, that when I rang around most re-chromers thought it too far gone.

However, as 326 has been carrying this around for all of its 58 years I didn't want to just find another one despite the fact that would have been the cheaper option. So, through a web search I found Bryan Purves Ltd down in West Sussex and he said he'd have a go. Here's the result - fantastic!! Just got to paint and seal the back of it and re-attach!

I'm the invisible man. Incredible how you can see right through me.

Well, a short visit tonight in preparation for next week's move across to Shropshire for some much-needed repair work. The rear number plate is back on, so I'm legal again. I also decided to replace the rear reflective marker panels since on A roads and motorways, moving at 40 mph in the dark or in poor visibility doesn't strike me as fun really, so any help in being seen is needed! Also, as 326 will be preserved in Op Fresco livery and they were already fitted, it keeps it in the condition it was when it left service.


The old and new - the older below, past their best and slightly faded:

That's better!

I also whipped the spark plugs out and cleaned them yet again (though not before I had to invest in a decent socket set as they were tight in...) - totally sooted up after the delivery journey and a couple of hours running to the extent she was almost mis-firing on the run out last week! Sorting the mixture and timing out is a must!!

I then messed about really, and tried the front vents, including the footwell side panels that had been painted shut and obviously not opened for a very long time! You can see the paint on the picture so a screw driver was needed as a lever:

Anyway, that's it now really - the next visit and run out will be to head to Shropshire next week!

Spring has sprung!!

Well, after the 4 month winter lay-up, it was time for a spring clean! So out with the jet wash for the first clean since I bought it back in November and, I suspect, for the first time in several years.

Luckily, as I've been prodding the brake pedal every time I've been, the brakes didn't bind at all after the months of inactivity which was a massive bonus! So, 326 was moved easily and quickly outside. Then, a good blast of the roof, body and underneath with a bit of Morris Cadence Traffic Film Remover which seemed to work pretty well when fed through the pressure washer with a rotary brush attachment.

That done and with the tyres pumped up, there was more than enough daylight left for a quick spin, so a couple of runs around the back roads clocking up another 10 miles or so. No problems whatsoever - battery charges, all the lights work etc. And, the opportunity for a few pictures of the gleaming 326 in the late afternoon sunshine! Then, back to bed in the barn, though not before I popped a few drops of oil into the two-tone horn compressor and - hey presto - they work!!

That done - time for home, though not before I had to borrow a battery charger as I'd deadened the battery on the MG by using the compressor....

A great day, all in all. Roll on summer and a few shows!