Manky's Pop.

[Manky Monkey]

I've got a rechargeable LED worklamp, which sticks to the wall by magnets, (onto one of the roof tie straps), so I can work on into the evening, but don't stay too late cos I don't want to annoy the neighbours. Several of them have taken an interest in the Pop & stick their heads round the door to see how it's progressing. Unfortunately the local pub backs onto the garages, so if I'm there in the evenings I get the occasional drunken Chav coming for a look too. I don't want too many people knowing it's there, so don't stay much beyond 7.0.clock. Shame cos I quite enjoy evening tinkering, radio on, just pottering.
The upstairs window with the light on in the photo is the flat above the shops where the owner offered to run an extension lead from. The gates are the back of the pub.
 

[MIXA]

Looking good the chassis has cleaned up well, i almost got a 150 mig but they insisted it would not work from a normal house supply , then had to have one of the fans repaired and was told it would have worked perfectly as the apartment has a 45 amp supply , but up to yet the 135T has been ok , great find the guy in the pub yard could make your jobs a lot easier

[Manky Monkey]

Never had a problem with mine on ordinary 13amp plug sockets. I used to weld a lot, building trikes & bikes, but have got out of the habit -I've been at Loon's workshop for 7 years or so & it was just easier to hand him parts to glue together while he was welding other stuff, so I only did the occasional small job, though I did a fair bit on the Pop chassis when we first started it. Been putting off welding the silencers mounts cos they're stainless & will move all over the place when I start putting heat into them. Also think I need either a new glass in my mask or better reading glasses, cos I'm starting to have trouble seeing where I'm welding -several times I've laid down a perfect bead, then lifted the mask to find I've wandered off line. Gotta be done though & that might be the last welding I need to do.
That's the gate of the pub. The Labour Club's in the other direction, behind the back of my garage. So we'd need to push the Pop down the length of the service yard behind the shops, out onto the road & round the corner. A 5 minute push with a couple of people, but slightly uphill & it's a heavy bugger to push.

[stinkey]

Pushing hotrods about at night ? At first I thought a bit eccentric but now I'm wondering is this man a lunatic ?

[Manky Monkey]

I am a creature of the night. You'd be surprised what goes on in Basingstoke under cover of darkness. 

[Manky Monkey]

Another afternoon spent hacksawing & filing various unwanted brackets off the chassis, (still can't get my generator going).
That little diamond shaped bit on the inside of the righthand chassis rail -all bloomin' afternoon I've been filing that.  
Also spent some time laying under the cab with a hacksaw blade after I spotted that at some point I'd accidentally tack welded the body to the chassis. Sorted now but awkward to get to. Then I slapped a layer of filler across the cab back.
That's all I can do for a week now, cos the housing association who own the garages are resurfacing the concrete roadway so I won't have access to the garage.
So I'm off to Scotland in the morning for an impromptu week's holiday.  

[merv]

Have a good break away boss, we will all look after things in your absents and come back refreshed

[Iceman]

It's glorious up here just now! I'll put the kettle on

[Manky Monkey]

  Staying in Kinlocheven for a couple of days. Want to go a bit further North than I usually do, but will give you a shout if I get a chance. At Lancaster services on the M6 at the moment -it doesn't get any classier than that  Always looks like something from Thunderbirds to me.

[phunkie hiboy]

Have a trip over to Skye and go visit Charlie hot rod in Staffin!!

[Manky Monkey]

I'll see how far I get 
Just reached Tyndrum & stopped for something to eat. The 8 or 9 hour journey's taken 12, after a major accident closed the main road beyond Loch Lomond & a logging lorry got stuck on the only alternative route. Still, I had an interesting view of the Clyde Naval base for a couple of hours

[phunkie hiboy]

I'll see how far I get  
 after a major accident closed the main road beyond Loch Lomond & a logging lorry got stuck on the only alternative route.

Heard about that on the radio earlier. Tyndrum to Lochalsh ,couple of hours maybe? Used to do the whole lot Farnham to Staffin in 10 hours, one stop at Abington!!

[Manky Monkey]

Yeah, I usually just stop at Loch Lomond to stretch my legs. Got here safely, in time to see the Jacobite steam train trundling through the Bridge of Orchy in the setting sun. I think it's finished it's Summer season now, between Fort William & Mallaig, so must be a special chartered trip, (it goes the other way, down South, for the Winter).

The Falls of Fallach.

I'll get back to Pop stuff next week, so will post a few snaps of my trip in the General Discussion bit.

[Manky Monkey]

.

[Manky Monkey]

Taking the weekend off to recover from the Scottish trip, (got home yesterday evening), so will start afresh on Monday.
Walked over to the garage this afternoon to check everything was O.K after the contractors re-laid a couple of concrete ground panels. All was well & the garage was just as I'd left it, (had visions of them bringing heavy machinery in & shaking the place about enough to drop the pick-up bed off the ceiling onto the Pop).
Dropped off a few bits that had arrived in the Post while I was away. Got the new water hose -needs trimming to length but the 2 ends fit fine.
Also got new multi pin connectors for the rear lights so I can fit the same ones on the temporary light board as are already on the pick-up bed.
A new coarse hand file should help finish off the unwanted brackets & de-rust the hard to get to chassis sections. Ebay is a wonderful thing.
Nice to see Mr BayChimp, who'd wandered over to see if I was about. 
Back to work on this next week.