kevin the chicken

The trouble with timber is it needs constant maintenance otherwise it will deteriorate quickly. Also you have to think about how it will look to your neighbours,you can bet your life that the retired colonel at number forty four will be on the phone to the council if your man cave looks like something from the worst part of soweto.Prefab ones are ok but you still need a decent flat base to put it on, they are not that cheap new and second hand ones tend to get knocked about because of their weight and size. They are however waterproof and maintenance free once they are up. Brick is obviously best because it is permanent and built to your design but costs can be prohibitive. I bet that if you look into the rules and plans agreed to by the council that there will be some sort of caveat regarding the size of extensions and garages in relation to the size of the house. I personally would go for a decent shed first whilst salting away my hard earned cash and keeping an eye out for some sort of prefab.

We will have to try to meet up, perhaps I will wear a pink carnation so you can recognise me. Perhaps not though might get more than I bargained for. Weather looks to be cool but dry which will be an improvement on last Sunday.

Claire looked at a discovery which was for sale at 4800, but when her dad test drove it the auto box wouldn't change up. The garage engaged a gearbox specialist who said it needed a replacement box so they wouldn't sell it to us but Claire's dad persisted and got it for spares or repairs for 1800 pounds. He is an engineer and figured it might be something simple as he's done gearboxes before. Trailered it home and within an hour of it being off the trailer phoned us up to say it was fixed. Turbo waste gate was stuck open so the engine wasn't getting any boost so wouldn't change up. A couple of squirts from the oil can has got to worth three grand. Kept it for two years and then sold it for 3500. The only time we've ever made money on a car

I'm taking my series 7 to Peterborough on Sunday as long as the weather is not terrible. I think the forecast is reasonable at the moment. I'm going with my neighbour who's taking his Lincoln town car, there's two extremes for you.

You might need to put some rubber trim on the front for iva

Hells teeth that was a mess. I'd heard the same as you about that engine, somebody I know was thinking of buying one but was warned off by the local garage who had earned enough money already from them!

I have to agree with the others, you can get way more air in than out. If you look at the area at the front of the car where the air comes in you will see it is much larger than the total of all the louvres and vents. Getting it out is always going to be the problem. There must be a large volume of hot air waiting to to get out as even more is being rammed in from the front.

Definitely wasn't going out today without taking the wheels off and putting a propellor on the back. Nasty bank holiday, never mind managed to put a hoist up in the garage so that my kayak can be stored out of the way to allow some tinkering space.

Went to the gransden airshow yesterday which was sadly hobbled a bit by the weather but still an enjoyable day out. The weather forecast was accurate with rain coming in the afternoon so I had taken waterproof clothing for the journey home. For some time now I have been thinking about making a roof of some kind, maybe a surrey top for just such occasions as I don't intend to go out if it's wet but sometimes you just get caught out. I made a break for home between showers about 4.45 and got halfway home before it started raining again about fifteen miles from shelter. It rained enough to want the wipers on constantly but I was quite snug in the car with a waterproof coat and a helmet on and when I got out of the car in the garage I only had a wet patch the size of a fist on the side of my leg. The inside of the car and the dash were still completely dry. So I am just not going to bother with a roof as I don't do any long distance touring and my tyres are not really suited to wet conditions. I think I am just going to put some new bigger cycle wings on as mine are not big enough and buy a decent set of waterproof trousers!

It's an alloy or aluminium rocker of a redtop. The inside hasn't been touched with the blaster but I was going to clean it to get rid of any loose dust that may have settled in there. I was just wondering if the powder coat paint was up to exposure to oil

Getting seriously worried about dan, upgrading a 2008 caravan. Way too posh. We are still running around in our early nineties van although every time we use it I have to run around with the glue gun or some more substantial screws to fix all the bits back on that have fallen off!

Just had my rocker cover powder coated because it was looking a little tatty and very nice it looks too. Obviously I am going to clean the inside very thoroughly as it has been grit blasted to prepare for the paint but I was wondering whether I should remove the new paint from the parts which could come into contact with the oil such as the breather pipe fittings where the hoses will go over. Is this a good idea or am I worrying needlessly, old woman that I am?

My red top is on webers but it goes like stink, it made 153 hp at the rollers. It is a good engine and mine feels very torquey right through the rev range so that I rarely exceed 5500 revs as there is simply no need. Take it back and get an explanation, some of the blokes on here could build a car in 11 weeks!

I plan to do mine in the winter as they are not quite long enough for my liking. I was wondering how to get them out, now I know and it sounds right up my street. I thought that when I put the new ones in I would put them in the deep freeze before I wound them in, don't know if it would make it any easier but it can't hurt.

Damn you bob, must type faster

Definitely. The viscous fan is only turning over at the same epeed as the engine. The electric one will turn over mega fast, when it cuts in you will see the gauge drop. If you have just done 350 miles without boiling over there's not much wrong with your cooling system and I would expect the electric fan would stop your bum making worrying noises. Not only that the viscous is absorbing engine power when it is not needed, the electric one would only cut in when needed in traffic. Get a puller if you can fit it in, if not a pusher will still be a massive improvement.

As above, the chassis is the item that keeps the log book. Hence the popularity of old landrovers, lots of them are used to build up vehicles which look fairly new but are tax exempt due to age

I'd go for that. As soon as I had the final payment in my hand they could have the car

Can you not lie it down and run some penetrating oil in to it? You do seem to get a sort of crusty deposit forming on the sender. Maybe if you can get some lubricant in it and worki it up and down it may free it off. I don't think they are that expensive if it fails, well mine wasn't but its not a smiths one.

I sometimes carry a special warning system with me. It shouts SPEEDBUMP at 150 decibels in my ear. You should hear her shout at the children.

Factor 50 would be a good idea

Check timing. When you get it running try it from cold with rad cap off, surging of water and overflowing means you still have air in system. Bubbles means head gasket, hope not. A compression test will rule it out Drill one or two small holes in the edge of thermostat to help vent air when you fill, think I used one 3mm hole. Together with a header tank this cured all my problems. Before I did these things I tried everything to get rid of the air including jacking the car up to no avail, still had a big ol air bubble somewhere. If I can get around it with my lack of patience and knowledge you can!

I take it you are not in Leicester. Curse of the British summer here, flies, lots of them.

Valve stem oil seals that are worn quite often show up with a cloud of blue oil smoke when the engine is started after being sat for a little while as the oil has had time to run in to the cylinders from the head. The smoke clears as the engine warms up and burns the oil away.

My wife is thinking of replacing the knackered hood on her spartan with a Surrey top which she intends to make herself. What is the material your mum used on yours? I saw a top yesterday which used awning rail and I was impressed on how neat it looked, for a moment I half considered having one made for my car. Are there any hints and tips for a would be roof maker?