A great day out. – Forumite.site

This topic has 12 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by The Duke.

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May 29, 2017 at 5:16 pm #8149
Bob Williams
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@bullstuff2
Forumite Points: 0
This weekend SWMBO and I joined our son and grandson at the Carrington Steam & Heritage Show, as we do every year.

https://tinyurl.com/yb4j7arh

It gets bigger every year and a different aircraft from the BBMF gives us a flypast: this year it was the PR Mk. XIX. A really great day out on Sunday, massive numbers of vintage and veteran cars, trucks, tractors and steam engines. Plus the Stationary Engines (my lad showing several of his own engines) Too many stalls, attractions and sideshows to mention. Food and drink of all sorts from burgers to a 3-course meal. Cloudy start, but very sunny all day, made 23º in the afternoon.

Two pictures here for those interested, with a question for those who think they know their cars. First pic is of the rarest car there: what manufacturer and model is it?

Second car is one that might suit me, it’s a C******c and has reg. plate that fits my former MM moniker. Answers on the reverse of a blank signed cheque please! Prize is a knitted fog blanket. Third pic is a pair of shortened mini open-tops: owner is the Sheffield bloke with his back to camera phone, listening patiently to a muppet demonstrating his lack of knowledge about all things mechanical.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
May 29, 2017 at 5:34 pm #8152
JayCeeDee
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@jayceedee
Forumite Points: 230
I think it might be a Standard Vanguard. Friend got one after he passed his test in an old Austin A40 that gave up on him. Replaced a year or so later with a Rover 95, then a Rover 110. Very comfortable motors, great for pulling, but his TR4A was the one that did the trick with the birds. But only good for getting you to somewhere comfortable……… :good:
May 29, 2017 at 6:23 pm #8155
Richard
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@sawboman
Forumite Points: 16
Jowett Javelin a flat four engined independent suspension machine.
May 29, 2017 at 6:39 pm #8158
PlaneMan
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@planeman
Forumite Points: 196
I love a Mini, not a MINI.

I had a Mini estate, bought it off some bloke in Barry, he’d replaced the engine and drivetrain with a MG Metro Turbo engine (bored out so it was close to 1400 CC) and some other bits. The car was a pig to start because the starter motor was too weak. I lived on the bottom of a hill at the time so I’d park about 100m up and bump start it. It went like mad, even before the turbo span up, when it did it was an interesting time, torque steer was immense.

My mother also had a Mini Cooper with a sliding soft top roof section, hated the roof as it would pop out of the guide rails all the time and get stuck, loved the car though.
May 29, 2017 at 6:44 pm #8159
Bob Williams
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@bullstuff2
Forumite Points: 0
Correct, Richard. Jayceedee, I can see where you think it might be a Vanguard. My big bro had a Vanguard and the sloping shape of the rear is similar. This is a good source of information: https://tinyurl.com/y8vd4uub

I never worked on a Javelin, a source of regret to me as it was a very interesting car for its time, almost revolutionary. A “boxer” engine, i.e. cylinders horizontally opposed, like a Subaru is now, and some Alfas once were. When I tell people that the car was an executive model, made in Idle, near Bradford, I get some disbelieving looks. But that’s very true. There is an owner’s club, but there are very few left, let alone in the condition that the one pictured remains. There were a lot of classics at Carrington but the Jowett was the rarest car there. Engine:

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
May 29, 2017 at 7:04 pm #8162
Bob Williams
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@bullstuff2
Forumite Points: 0
PM, I bought a 4th or 5th hand battered Singer Chamois (posh Hillman Imp) instead of a Mini, a long time ago. The Chamois was a twin-carb version of the Imp and it was discovered that cutting one link from each rear coil spring, would make it handle better. It could be tuned with the lowered springs and suspension tweaks, to corner ‘tail out’ faster than a Mini. They won a few Rallies before too many amateurs like myself wrapped them around too many pieces of scenery and street furniture! The handling was totally different to a Mini, watching one being raced or rallied gave a new meaning to “4-wheel drift”. They went round corners sideways, given enough encouragement.

I was an adrenalin junky when young…

Eventually I also got hold of a 1275 GT Mini Clubman, which I just could not get on with and sold within weeks. But as you say, the MINI is not a Mini at all, it’s a BMW. I remember my first view of the original Mini in 1959: I was in Innsbruck, Austria, at 14 years of age on a 2-week school trip. Someone got hold of a teacher’s News Of the World (old broadsheet paper) and it carried a full page ad for the ‘Mini Cooper’. I could not wait to see one in the metal, but recall what an impact that little car made. It was the most revolutionary design for years.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
May 30, 2017 at 9:13 am #8182
The Duke
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@sgb101
Forumite Points: 5
Pm talking of mini engine swaps, Mighty car mods (show) , not long back stuck a older Honda civic type R (iirc 180bhp)in his. It was a lot of work, bulkhead, drive train, 5 speed gear box.

There work was spot on, from the out side it just looks like on old (but mint) Cooper S.

The done suspension and a round disks too.

I do love the idea of this, but a mini is not a car I’d like to crash in with all that power.

Talking of the new MINI my sister in law has one, 09 Cooper S. I don’t see how they are so popular. They are terrible on motorway, no designed for that, around town their handling is far to heavy, it’s like driving a huge heavy car, BUT on the country lanes, it swings to life, and is one of the most fun car I’ve problem driven. But off the lanes, its not a good car. Also they are so expensive to buy, and really cheap inside. Not a fan. Except for the country lane dash ?

Our local car show was in town yesterday, I didn’t attend this year, usually do, but forgot about it, untill I tried to nip tesco, and couldn’t find a space to park anywhere, on or off tesco. So done without.
May 30, 2017 at 7:48 pm #8211
Bob Williams
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@bullstuff2
Forumite Points: 0
Steve that reminded me of the V8-powered milk float, courtesy of E bay and Ed China from Wheeler Dealers. (I watch those a lot, being an ex-spanner swinger)

https://tinyurl.com/y9pxp24u

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
May 30, 2017 at 11:31 pm #8229
The Duke
Participant
@sgb101
Forumite Points: 5
Ed China has now left the show bob. Discovery took over and Ed didn’t like the direction so he walked. Mike has stayed.

Ed had a yt channel now, and atm he is bouncing ideas of his subscribers. He also talked alot about the show spit.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheEddChina
May 31, 2017 at 8:15 am #8239
JayCeeDee
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@jayceedee
Forumite Points: 230
Thanks for that link Steve, I liked Edd China – he was the main attraction for me – Mike Brewer was the fluff that filled the schedule. It seems Ant Anstead is going to be working with Mike now. I enjoyed the run of restorations he did with Philip Glenister recently.

As usual I disappeared down the YT rabbit-hole and didn’t resurface for an hour!!
May 31, 2017 at 12:40 pm #8249
The Duke
Participant
@sgb101
Forumite Points: 5
Youtube can do that. I think it’s one hell of a great resource of entertainment and knowledge.

It’s grown on to one the most useful repositories on the Internet. Once you get past the crappy cat videos etc.

My 9 year old daughter almost exclusively watches yt, from learning shows, akin to play school, to actually following, very closely and getting really invested, some of the YouTube vloggers. Gamers and vloggers will be the new “rock stars” for her generation. It and they are huge now, and at this point it’s a kind of nieche medium, that few older people, including my age don’t yet understand it, or what’s happening there. It is huge.

I monitor what she watches, and have the filters turned on. Some times some stuff does creap through, but even then youtubes stiff is quite clean, nothing worst than after 9pm on TV.

She also lover all the wildlife stiff on yt, she has a fascination of which animals eat what. She likes to know the order of where we stand in the getting Eaten pecking order.

She so has got to the age where religious stuff is now confusing her (F-ing school and teaching religion, keep to facts!), as it (religion) doesn’t line up to the facts of life around her. And when I she found out about multiple religious and gods, she started to question me more about it.

The issue is, kids of her age take the teachers word as gospel (intended), so she when It turns out its doesn’t look true, she finds it hard to process it. It’s Interesting to just listen to her thought process.

That took a tangent, just like going down the YouTube rabbit hole.
May 31, 2017 at 9:06 pm #8307
Bob Williams
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@bullstuff2
Forumite Points: 0
Steve, I didn’t know about the WDealers upheavals, have only just returned to the old shows on Dave, don’t like the Discovery shows, never did like Mike anyway. Edd I can relate to, being an ex-mech I find his work to be absolutely professional. Which is not true for many shows on most TV today. Following him on YT and FB now, thanks for the link!

I know exactly what you mean about your daughter and how her generation enjoy different entertainment. My 11 yo gdaughter uses gran’s lappy when she comes here for a sleepover. (all Friday & Saturday this week) I can’t follow half of what she does watch, but she also uses it to do homework and if she comes across something she doesn’t know, she knows how to find it. A few months ago she bypassed the Parental lock on her account. I didn’t get annoyed, because I knew what must have happened: asked her 23 yo network engineer brother – “You know how she nags, granddad! She’s just like mum!” Yes, I know, I said, they both take after grandma. :negative: :whistle: 🙁

I put her on honesty: told her to reset Parental lock, which she did, and asked her to respect the time we gave her on the lappy. I have always impressed THIS on our kids and their kids – don’t lie to dad/granddad. If you do something wrong, tell the truth about it. If I find out you lied (and I will!) then I lose trust and respect for you. As a family, we have to have trust and respect for each other. That seems to have worked, with one or two exceptions which were soon sorted.

As for religion, all except the 11 yo have made up their own minds and they find the idea of organised religion ridiculous. Youngest is wavering, she is studying science atm and trying to reconcile the idea of a god with what she is learning. We let them all make up their own minds. One subject at her grammar school is “Comparative Religions”, which makes me laugh, although not in front of gdaughter. How do you compare all the billions of deaths that all religions have caused, by opposing each other?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
June 1, 2017 at 12:10 pm #8324
The Duke
Participant
@sgb101
Forumite Points: 5
Religion being taught to young kids, who take all that the teacher says as fact, annoys me no end!

In high school I’m abit more relaxed about, as they (or mine did) taught about all religions, and what’s different about them, plus at that age you can tell what is fact and not. In infant and Jr school, kids take it as fact, then spend from the ace of 8 upwards confused.

I just try to balance her out with extra science shows.

Ed is a good guy, likable and talented. I’m sure he will do well.
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