Manky's Pop.

[BikerGran]

Wonderful to see pics of it out and about!

[morrag]

Get yourself a gallon of "Waxoyl" Mr. M, and a 4" brush, job done, and if its good enough to stop oil rigs rusting............... ,and Denso tape you will find far better to cover up weld holes, temporarily. Regarding steering, when I started out everything was "recirculating ball", or even earlier "worm & peg", so you can imagine what a revelation the first 'motor' I had with rack & pinion steering was!!You can also understand now why all those old American films where people are driving cars,& seem to be 'twirling' the wheel back and forth over a 60 degree arc, whilst still progressing in a strait line,appear to manage the task! ....ho, hum, between that and "hard tail" bikes, I am beginning to wonder if you have a pain fetish!!! but nice one, all the same,and so  , ciao, Morrag

[spanners]

RUSTY, SIDE ,,UP,, GREASY,, SIDE,, DOWN,,

[Al]

well done andy  glad it is finally out on the road and looks great

[Olds]

Nice to know it's on the road Andy.
Seems you chose a good day to check out those mudguards side light mounts

[steven brock]

.

Could you put two chrome vertical exhausts stacks up either side of the truck bed I think that would look cool

http://youtu.be/sc4VNFkwac4

[panthershaun]

nice one mate, not going to make it tonight, don't fancy the drive down on my own 

[Manky Monkey]

That's a shame Shaun, but understandable.

Wonderful to see pics of it out and about!
Been lots of times when I really didn't think it'd ever happen. Many thanks to everyone who's helped with it or just encouraged us here.

Could you put two chrome vertical exhausts stacks up either side of the truck bed
Yes, we could, but we won't. Not my kind of thing!

so whats it like to actually drive it on the roads after all this time Andy?
Like any old car, it's hard work to drive compared to a modern one -but that's half the fun. It's the same as a custom bike or trike compared to "normal" vehicles. You have to put a bit more effort in, but you get a lot more enjoyment out. I'll continue to refine it -should have the cab watertight fairly quickly & eventually it'll have a heater, sound deadening material, carpets & upholstered panels on the doors, cab back & roof. So it'll be quieter, drier & warmer, but it'll always be bumpy, rattly & heavy on the steering. With both fuel tanks plumbed in, it should have a range of about 200 miles, (10 gallons at 20 ish to the gallon), but when I was riding hardtail trikes regularly, I found 100 miles was my limit, not the vehicle's, before I needed a 5 minute break to stretch my legs & rest my arms. I reckon the Pop will probably be the same. I'm looking forward to some Summer cruising. 

i think you nead some mudgurds on the front
I think we need a snow plough on the front. Been snowing here all morning. Starting to thaw now, but we've made a majority decision at the 'shop that it'd be wiser to leave the Pop at home & go to the party in my daily driver instead. I'm disappointed as it would've been cool to rumble into the carpark in the truck, more so with it plastered in mud than if it was super clean & freshly painted. For once the chaps were being sensible though. An untried vehicle, in the dark, on snowy/icy roads, on vintage crossply tyres, with an inexperienced auto pilot, (that's a pilot not used to autos), no glass & no heater -not a good combination really.
So it looks like it's debut will be the Surrey Street Rodders' WheelsDay show at Rushmoor Arena next week instead, (Good Friday). At least then I'll have time to get underneath & check everything, refit the drivers door handle etc, then get some road time in, even if it's only just cruising round & round the Basingstoke ring road.

[Tony oily bike]

An untried vehicle, in the dark, on snowy/icy roads, on vintage crossply tyres, with an inexperienced auto pilot, (that's a pilot not used to autos), no glass & no heater -not a good combination really.

Ya don't say!!!!!! 

Wheels Day forecast for Good Friday currently suggests a scorching 4 or 5 degrees (with windchill that'll be minus 1), and a tad wet in the pm.........  fingers crossed the weather fairies will sort it out........... 

When were you planning to fit the heater?? 

[cunningplan]

An untried vehicle, in the dark, on snowy/icy roads, on vintage crossply tyres, with an inexperienced auto pilot, (that's a pilot not used to autos), no glass & no heater -not a good combination really.

Ya don't say!!!!!! 

Wheels Day forecast for Good Friday currently suggests a scorching 4 or 5 degrees (with windchill that'll be minus 1), and a tad wet in the pm.........  fingers crossed the weather fairies will sort it out........... 

When were you planning to fit the heater?? 

I thought it had one between the seats at the back 

[Manky Monkey]

Heater's fitted. Pipework isn't.
Rigid pipes under the transmission tunnel with rubber hoses up to the heater itself. The hose joints were leaking so I disconnected them at the engine & rerouted the water back around the engine while we were doing the SVA test. Just needs an afternoon re-doing the hose connections. Also need to fit a switch & supply for the electric fan in the middle of the heater unit. I've seen lots of vintage heaters for sale at recent events, so maybe they're becoming a must-have accessory?
It's starting to look like a repeat of last year's show season, with lots of events being waterlogged or rained off. Fingers crossed for WheelsDay.
We took my daily driver to the Valley Gas party last night,

http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=12497.0

About 300 party goers & maybe 2 dozen rods in the carpark. It was in total darkness outside though, with everyone indoors in the warm. So wouldn't really have been any point taking the Pop. It fired me up to get out there & start driving it though.

[spanners]

. It fired me up to get out there & start driving the truck though.

i,m all ,fired up,,, to get ,,EMILY,, on the road ,, just the weather,, the finances,,and my old bones ,,,arnt quite up to it,, but i,m ,banging,, away at her  every day ,,,ONE PIECE AT A TIME 

[merv]

Sounds like johnny cash at work

[spanners]

Sounds like johnny,,,STRAPPED, FOR, cash at work

[Manky Monkey]

It was so bitterly cold at the 'shop yesterday that everyone agreed it just wasn't worth trying to work on stuff & we took the day off.
Slightly warmer today. At least the Arctic wind had died down a little. So it was back to it when I finished my shift at the Post Office.
First job was to jack the Pop up & crawl under the back end to investigate the clonk Loony & his Dad heard while braking in it the other day. Couldn't find anything loose or broken. Did manage to get another half a turn on a couple of bolts but that was all. The wheel nuts are all tight, no problems with the exhaust or fuel tank. Suspension & prop shaft are fine. Only thing I didn't check was the brakes themselves. It could be a loose wheel cylinder -I'll check them tomorrow. Otherwise, it's all good underneath, just filthy!
While I was there, I fitted a second inline fuel filter. Already got one in the engine bay. Now it's got one between the tank & fuel pump too. When we eventually plumb in the second tank I'll add another to that too.
Not a lot of time left, so I scrubbed the surface rust off that's accumulated since our jaunt in the rain the other day with a Scotchbrite pad & soaked the bare metal in WD40 oil. Left it for a while then scrubbed it into the metal with another pad, before wiping off the excess.
Lots of jobs to do, but don't want to start anything too major before the WheelsDay show on Friday, other than rewelding the drivers door handle mount, (I cut it back out because it sat at an odd angle), so I'll probably spend tomorrow afternoon wire wheeling more old paint off.