GRIZZ’s Chevy S10 - Random Rambling NEXT ROADTRIP 27/10/23

[grizz]

Preparation is paramount

Or something like that.

Measured up the wall that needs replacing, 7.5 meters long and then up to 2 meters tall should work.

So on Friday afternoon late, Mickey, Sam from no 7 and I moved the old Shed Caravan that is full of truck parts away from Mickeys side hedge as the woodwork shed needs a new front veranda and new roofing felt.

Of course, typically it has exposed more work to be done.



2.8 meter Galvanised posts came from Germany over 10 years ago when oldbus delivered the Taunus Transit to me.

They will now be used for the carport as planned.



Not easily seen is the way the paving has collapsed over time, Mickeys yard is about 500mm lower than mine, and the soil was obviously not compacted well 9 years ago when it was done.



So this will mean lifting about 1 meter of paving along the boundary, digging out, compacting and possibly putting some concrete down, adding blocks to create either a low wall, or stable base for the paving to go back down.

Seems the list keeps growing.

Saturday morning early, before heading over to @johnnybravo to collect the cement mixer, I decided to hack back the hedge hard while I had some,time.









How to maximise a wheely bins capacity.




More later.

Time for some woodwork and shed repairs now.

Later.



.

[totti]

Hi,m8t!

Cutting a hedge this way in May?
In germany this will cost you up to 50000Euro penalty....!

Because birds are breed now....

Greet

[grizz]

May 17, 2020 9:17:12 GMT totti said:

Hi,m8t!

Cutting a hedge this way in May?
In germany this will cost you up to 50000Euro penalty....!

Because birds are breed now....

Greet

I totally get you.

No birds down there.

Remember that I am incredibly protective of all wildlife at my place

So I feel comfortable doing that. Its where the caravan killed the hedge a lot.

It is also why other jobs are getting done before I carry on with wall.

My Blue Tits nest is behind the garage door roof. And until they leave....... no progress.

[georgeb]

May 17, 2020 7:10:27 GMT grizz said:

Still, one should not complain, I am fortunate enough to continue being employed.

Why didn't I think of this as an opening slide? So appropriate!

But yes, you're right, we're lucky that we can work from home. Many here are struggling badly.

My next door neighbour drives a Jeepney, so hasn't turned a wheel for weeks. Apart from having to shift it from in front of my garage of course. Yes, he's an idiot!

Gave a couple of the local lads a few peso to machine polish the '38. Did a damn fine job too. I overpaid, but still cheaper than buying my own polisher! So they went off very happy.

Basically, any little jobs that need doing, I get a local guy in to do it. As I'm here all day, they get watched and tend to do good work under constant supervision!

I also send my company driver a bit of cash each month, as they don't get paid whilst they're not shipping us.

Our weekly food parcels are given away as well.

We can only do what we can do.

[grizz]

May 17, 2020 10:15:25 GMT georgeb said:

May 17, 2020 7:10:27 GMT grizz said:

Still, one should not complain, I am fortunate enough to continue being employed.

Why didn't I think of this as an opening slide? So appropriate!

But yes, you're right, we're lucky that we can work from home. Many here are struggling badly.

My next door neighbour drives a Jeepney, so hasn't turned a wheel for weeks. Apart from having to shift it from in front of my garage of course. Yes, he's an idiot!

Gave a couple of the local lads a few peso to machine polish the '38. Did a damn fine job too. I overpaid, but still cheaper than buying my own polisher! So they went off very happy.

Basically, any little jobs that need doing, I get a local guy in to do it. As I'm here all day, they get watched and tend to do good work under constant supervision!

I also send my company driver a bit of cash each month, as they don't get paid whilst they're not shipping us.

Our weekly food parcels are given away as well.

We can only do what we can do.

Morning georgeb

I am sure you will have time to include the slide as per photo

Generosity of spirit encompasses much.

Your employing locals will circle out much wider, like ripples on a pond.

Food parcels too, will help more than one family.

Well done.

[grizz]

So Saturday morning, I started early.

Insomnia and body aches have their merits.

Cut back the hedge as reported before.

Alarm set for 09.20 to remind me to lock up and head out to @johnnybravo to check out his new machine shop and collect the mixer he had offered me.

His build of engineering amazement here: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/178941/1972-mazda-rx2-moves-home

35 minute unencumbered drive was the longest drive I have done in 8 weeks, and showed just what a pleasant and comfortable drive this Galaxy offers.

Johnnybravo getting on with the whole social distance thing after the House Elf helped him move the mixer from his Berlingo van to the Galaxy, leaving me to capture the load on film.



Along with the machine came a new replacement fan and cover for the electric motor, part of the “Needs some attention” message, needed some modifying to get to fit.



Had a restricted visit and shop tour with JB and the House Elf, who is both better looking and nicer (not yet jaded by life sucking) than his dad would admit ;-)

Amazing how much efficiency they have managed to bring to the shop through sensible planning and layout, with the Mezzanine level adding another 60% of useable space for machines and of course automotive storage.

Being that they are working alone, against the proverbial clock, we kept it shorter than usual, and I missed out on a coffee and cookies, so after leaving a case of Bud Lights, I headed home where work was not doing itself.

Back home, I carried on with cleaning and clearing up the hedge that I had cut back earlier.

Sally popped over by about 11.30 to help me unload the mixer and plant some sunflowers and green beans she had grown.


So first view of the mixer was not exactly encouraging.



After coffee and cookies with Sally, I started to look at the mixer barrel, and decided that a bucket of gravel and some water would be the way to go.



Messy cement and dismissive use in its previous life as a hire company (that had gone bankrupt) evident around.

Note exposed motor axle on left, that would be needing some attention.



The stand again, showed dismissive use in the past, with cleaning not a priority, ever.



Two hours of running it in various ways with changing content left me with the drum inside looking a lot better.

Lump hammer had to be pulled into service to break out a load of real thick concrete in the bottom nd around the paddles.


At one point when it became obvious that the stones were not progressing, I added some sharp metal edges and chain, which seemed to help, along with the the lump hammer.



And a sobering last thought at this point.

The cost of a new mixer online means the three or more hours it may take to get the machine back to where it will be an asset here when I start mixing and building is time well spent.




.

[tineca]

Looks good, there is a product called liquid hammer for mixers but its not cheap. I am picking a mixer up next weekend, the owner bought it new from a site called dirtyprotools.co.uk/. China's finest. 😉

[strikey]

Many a happy hour spent (not) cleaning out mixers that bone idle sods just left! Thankless job , especially big 4/3 diesel site mixers where you end up head and shoulders in! Far easier to keep clean than get clean.

[glenanderson]

My big mixer is in a similar state. It needs an injection of love and some new drum bearings before I can use it again.

[grizz]

May 18, 2020 9:20:31 GMT tineca said:

Looks good, there is a product called liquid hammer for mixers but its not cheap. I am picking a mixer up next weekend, the owner bought it new from a site called dirtyprotools.co.uk/. China's finest. 😉

@johnnybravo gave me a 5 litre can of brick and paving cleaner, but I have not used it yet.

I think that if I keep on top of cleaning it, the way it stands now, it should be good.

May 18, 2020 17:18:41 GMT strikey said:

Many a happy hour spent (not) cleaning out mixers that bone idle sods just left! Thankless job , especially big 4/3 diesel site mixers where you end up head and shoulders in! Far easier to keep clean than get clean.

I never cease to be amazed at the way some people who borrow tools, will return them dirty, broken or disabled.

Despite loving Mickey next door, he has lost me more than one tool over the years and now there are certain tools I outright won’t lend him.

May 18, 2020 18:20:20 GMT glenanderson said:

My big mixer is in a similar state. It needs an injection of love and some new drum bearings before I can use it again.

I still need to figure out servicing the angle drive on the machine too.

I suspect it has never been serviced or maintained.

[kevins]

I used to have a very similar mixer but with a Briggs and Stratton rather than the electric motor, much better made than the more modern one I have now, which has had to have new bearings both for the drum and the drive pinion plus the pinion shaft sleeved and now the drum is beginning to crack..

[mr2fc]

Somewhere whilst discussing Galaxy stuff I mentioned seeing a photoshop in a Cossie style, and as you can see I finally found it!

Probs too low for practical use, and as they're VW not Ford the wheels are an unlikely choice, but doesn't it look fantastic!?

[grizz]

May 19, 2020 8:30:18 GMT kevins said:

I used to have a very similar mixer but with a Briggs and Stratton rather than the electric motor, much better made than the more modern one I have now, which has had to have new bearings both for the drum and the drive pinion plus the pinion shaft sleeved and now the drum is beginning to crack..

The reason I was happy to gove this one a go is exactly that......

Older model, larger capacity and possibly decent engineering.

The company got taken over or became part of Bell mixers if I got it right from JB.

Did some more work to it late Sunday.

Post pics later.

[strikey]

might have a gearbox (in bits) here , if needed. it was stripped as oil seals gave up the ghost but ended up scrapping the rest as i ran out of storage. shame as the drum was new and only ever had half a dozen mixes trough it at most.

[grizz]

May 19, 2020 10:32:13 GMT mr2fc said:

Somewhere whilst discussing Galaxy stuff I mentioned seeing a photoshop in a Cossie style, and as you can see I finally found it!

Probs too low for practical use, and as they're VW not Ford the wheels are an unlikely choice, but doesn't it look fantastic!?

I do like that.

The choice of wheels works for me.

I am a big fan of the whole “wheels from other makes ethos”

Check this link: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/99066/wheels-borrowed


And you are right, practicality May be swept under the lowered body. But man, it looks good.

I put my vans lowering on hold till the weather changed for the better, as I always seem to be crawling around my concrete drive with Paul Y in mid winter when we see 3’C etc.

Now of course COVID is on the way somewhat, and it’s MOT though I believe we have them extended, is “expiring” today.

I did not want to make the changes until I had a new MOT on the Galaxy.

[grizz]

May 19, 2020 20:54:23 GMT strikey said:

might have a gearbox (in bits) here , if needed. it was stripped as oil seals gave up the ghost but ended up scrapping the rest as i ran out of storage. shame as the drum was new and only ever had half a dozen mixes trough it at most.

I hate when a rebuilt item fails due to some older part not being up to the demand of the newly fitted parts.

I guess YouTube and Google will have guidance on how to service the drive,

[grizz]

Sally is a bit of a menace with her camera, but sometimes it does make me chuckle

Sunday early.



Back to random little jobs that steal time.

Fitting the new cooling fan to the motor.

I started by carefully filing out the inside to get it to slide onto the axle, fail.

So measuring the axle showed 16mm and fan15mm so one of the old large drills I saved years ago was ground down to 13mm to fit the chuck on the pillar drill.

Hey Presto !

Hammer persuasion.



Cover on, tested, all good.



Sally had been bugging me for weeks to strip back and paint the BBQ table made from the garden gate last year.

Unfortunately all the layers of paint and varnish had started peeling badly, having stood outside in all weathers.

So I told her she could sort it out.

Carried the table onto the lawn, gave her a steel brush and some fence paint......



Result.



Another Sally generated job, the BBQ I built 9 years ago has started to show its age.

forum.retro-rides.org/thread/102679/bun-oven-industries-build-kent

So the plan was to strip back just the tiles on the work surface.....

Ooooppps.... mistake.



Suddenly the wood frames looked rubbish, so I tore apart what was built not to be replaced.



Managed to get repair sections in.

Ideally would have loved some resilient marble or synthetic all weather replacement material in place of the tiles, but will get that figured later.



Now the doors were clearly looking rubbish.

Guess they need replacing too. Took them off.



Repurposed and cut down to become floors to holes, will keep kindling etc dry.



Busy week ahead, though it’s Wednesday morning already So not much will happen with dy job stuff getting in the way.

Doors to make up next, once I find some wood to use.

.

[grizz]

Another Sunday afternoon job was to address more of the wear and tear from abuse to the mixer.

A bit of grinder and welding action resulted in what will hopefully be an extended life.

Both the paddles in the barrel showed holes where the welds had torn away over time, and obviously leaked out when mixing cement.

Started by cleaning them up and cutting patches to weld over



The rolled rim was broken and barrel torn and one could see the metal was worn thinner around the edge.

So I took a 6” nail and bent it, cut a 50mm length off the top, including the head to slide into the rolled rim.

The nails head would partly fill the gap and allow me to bridge the tear.



Aligned and kept in place with my extra fingers.



Gluing metal.



Camera menace



Barrel patches.





Rim.



And finally late afternoon, just because I am like that, I took a belt sander and ran the mixer and sander in different directions to clean up the barrel a bit more.

Then added some random Dulux paint I bought unidentified years ago for £1.00 for a litre tin .





Ready for work once all the prep is done and materials ordered in.


.

[grizz]

May 19, 2020 20:54:23 GMT strikey said:

might have a gearbox (in bits) here , if needed. it was stripped as oil seals gave up the ghost but ended up scrapping the rest as i ran out of storage. shame as the drum was new and only ever had half a dozen mixes trough it at most.

Any advice on servicing this thing mate?

[strikey]

Yup....if it aint broke , don't fix it!! Other than changing the oil (not sure of grade) i would honestly leave well alone if it runs ok.