Manky's Pop.

[Manky Monkey]

Wondered when someone would ask!
No camera for a week or so cos Janie borrowed it. We went to a bike show in London yesterday & it broke while she was using it. Not her fault, but I will be making her feel guilty about it for as long as possible 
So I haven't been able to post update photos -not that there's been much to photograph. We've had a wet couple of weeks here in Hampshire & the Pop's outside under a tarpaulin that's proving to be completely un waterproof. Nothing more depressing than pulling the cover off to find the bit you fitted the day before's already rusty. We've lost a few days when it was just too wet to work outside.
I've been plodding on though. I've welded up some of the holes in the back of the cab, around the rear window. Welding thin sheet steel ain't my strong point though & several times I've ended up chasing holes as the 60 year old steel burns away to nothing. I've got down to the swage line around the cab back though & used seam sealer & anti corrosion paint on the inside, before coating it in Dynamat sound proofing. I've also welded in the mounting tabs for the upholstered panels that will hang around the back of the cab. Just the bit from the bottom of the rear window to the floor to do now.
I've had a few parts powder coated in black, including the rods that connect the radiator shell to the bulkhead, the top of the air cleaner, which had started going rusty, the new switch panel, which I re-made in heavier gauge steel & the steering wheel, which has been coated once already, but I'd managed to clout it against something in the workshop & take a chunk out of the coating before I'd even fitted it.
Also had the 2 panels under the dash covered in black vinyl by Phil the upholsterer. The glove box lid doesn't quite shut now though, so I need to adjust the latch a bit.
So progress is being made, but it's agonisingly slow & just feels like I'm getting nowhere at the moment.

[poprodder]

great to hear your still making progress. you'll soon be on the road again.

[Manky Monkey]

  I took it off the road for a while during the worst of the Winter weather & thought I'd try & finish some of the half done jobs -that was 5 months ago & it's still not road worthy again.
Looks like we're in for another week of rain too. I was seriously thinking of putting in some late nights this week, (with Mr Loon's permission of course, as it's his workshop), & getting it sorted for the Billing fun run, (a big weekend rod event in Northampton), next Sunday. The weather forcast ain't good though & that show's all on grass. A hundred mile drive in a leaky truck to squidge about in the mud for the day doesn't sound very appealing -but then again, I just want to get back out & drive the damn thing. I'm supposed to be visiting relatives in Canada for 3 weeks in July so won't be able to drive it till early August -at this rate I'm not going to do any miles in it at all this year!

[kapri]

A mans got to have deadlines. even if they come and go.

[Manky Monkey]

Yup, next one after Billing's the Beaulieu show.

[morrag]

Well,Mr. M, there's the alternative view, that, if you had finished the truck, you would have moved on to the next disas...I mean project ......seriously, its a hobby! so chill out, it'll be done in the fullness of time, well that's what I tell myself, now let me see, just how much of that "time" can I expect to have, anyway.......... ..........mmmm, maybe I shall have to start revising that logic ...............Morrag

[Manky Monkey]

Know what you mean Dave -I've been building & riding custom bikes & trikes, (& now a hotrod), for 35 years. Probably half of those years have been spent going to shows on "straight" bikes because the custom one's still in bits in the shed.

[NeilG]

Hurry up and get another camera Andy i'm getting pop withdrawal symptoms here 
Hopefully see you at Beaulieu in it.

[Manky Monkey]

Yup, hope to be there & definitely at the drags at Shakey, (it's already promised as the tow vehicle for my brother's drag car).
Mr Merv has very kindly donated a Fuji camera, which is winging it's way to me, via the miracle that is Royal Mail, as we speak.

[NeilG]

*cough* 3 days to Beaulieu *cough*

[BikerGran]

And you must have recieved that camera by now - where's the pics?

[Manky Monkey]

Yup, camera safely delivered -& very nice it is too -& free. Thanks Merv.
No real progress to report though. I'm working on the damn thing every day, but it never seems to get any further.
My working day at Royal Mail's gradually getting longer too, which doesn't help. Yesterday I got to the workshop at about 4pm. We'd had blazing sunshine all day while I'd been trudging around the streets delivering the Mail, but almost as soon as I pulled the tarpaulin off the Pop, it began to rain. I was cutting Dynamat sheets to shape & sticking them in the cab, but by 8pm it was still raining & both the cab & I were soaked, so I gave up & went home.
Today was better & tomorrow's my day off, so I'll finish the Dynamat, weld up a few holes in the footwells, then bleed the brakes. Once Mr Loon has primered the fuel tank & dashboard, I can flat them back & hopefully he can get some topcoat on them so I can reinstall them. Once the dash is in, the windscreen can go in & once the fuel tank's in, the engine can be fired up, (hopefully). If Mr Kapri's free soon, I need him to check the kick down cable adjustment & the gear change linkage adjustment, (we had a scare over the Winter when the gearbox dropped into reverse while the motor was ticking over, because I'd taken the free play out of the linkage). I think it's back to where it was before, but would appreciate a knowledgable second opinion, just for peace of mind.
Then the gearbox tunnel can go back in. Seats, steering wheel etc & it's ready for MOT.
Photos tomorrow. Promise.

[panthershaun]

Photos tomorrow. Promise.

it's now tomorrow!!!! 

[Manky Monkey]

Right then. Photos.
Not a lot to see -it looks the same as it always does, but lots of small jobs getting done & half finished jobs completed.
Mr Kapri very kindly made the journey up from the South Coast to the workshop this afternoon & took a look at the gearchange linkage & kick down cable adjustment. A little tweaking & he assures me both are now fine, which is nice to know. Wisely, he declined to help bleed the brakes, so that'll be a job for Mr Loon & me tomorrow. Thanks for your time Kev. Always nice to see you. 
Almost finished the Dynamatting. Just the driver's footwell to do now, but there's a couple of unwanted holes to weld up first so, again, it'll be done tomorrow. That'll be the whole cab done, except the main floor panels either side & the doors. 4 packs of Dynamat, at 65 quid each means there's 260 quid's worth of heat/sound insulation in there. Let's hope it works.

[Manky Monkey]

Mounting tabs welded to the rollcage, (it's not really a rollcage, just a framework to support the body, so we can lift it off the chassis without it folding up). The tabs are for the upholstered panels that'll hang between the tubes. I wanted to get all the welding done, so I can just cut & upholster the panels at my leisure over the Summer. Everything down to the bottom of the rear window will be done in black "tuck n roll" material, like the doors. The lower panels will be done in plain black vinyl to match the gearbox tunnel & dashboard panels. The tubing will eventually be sprayed the same colour as the body, (pale green).