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Re: Mike's Cabrio Build
My Cabrio is in the garage in disgrace.
Sue's Cabrio is in the garage a hero.
Of course its the same car, just viewed differently..........................
Since I completed my Cabrio - and that means getting it painted - there has been a monumental shift in attitudes in the Garner household.
For Sue, who had lost interest and given up on ever seeing it "Finished", there is now a real car in which to go places. Suddenly its fun: it has character: and she loves it!
For me, I see it as nearing the end of a long, but thoroughly enjoyable project, and if I'm honest, sad that its coming to an end.
And driving it?
Lets say it has been a little disappointing.
Its the best car I could build - I was not capable of doing any better: I've poured my heart and soul into it.
But it has rattles.
It is draughty, and noisey when the hood is up.
It leaks water into the passenger footwell when it rains
......... and the ride does not remotely compare to a modern day tin top.
But, all of that I can forgive.
What is not acceptable however, and in my book is a cardinal sin, is unreliability.
Mechanical objects are designed to work, and if they don't they are failing to meet their purpose. I can not abide things that do not work.
My Cabrio let me down 3 times yesterday.
Firstly, I got in it to back it out of the garage, and the gear selector failed - the gear stick shot over to the left with no resistance.
"That's it! We're not going to Sheldon in the Cabrio!" were my honest and unexpurgated words to Sue.
Failure Number 1: Undriveable with no gears.
But my pride wasn't going to let it beat me that easily.
I fetched the farm forklift, raised my Cabrio up onto it stands - its the next best thing to a four post car lift - and had a look underneath. My spirits rose!
The gear selector rod that I had cut, sleaved, and welded to shorten, had failed. I had ground down the weld too much in my desire to leave a neat looking job, leaving it too thin, and it had cracked. No gear selection.
But, this was going to be an easy fix! I could get at the circlips without removing the exhaust and prop shaft, as I feared, and remove it easily.
30 minutes later, re-welded (and left rough!) we had gears again.
So, Sheldon in the Cabrio was back on again, albeit late.
We drove 95 miles over to Sheldon with no problems, and although we'd missed having lunch with the others, we were able to share a couple of hours with them, meeting some old, and some new faces. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and we were made very welcome.
Last man standing: My Cabrio parked alone outside the Cock and Pullet in Sheldon
IMG_0510.JPG
Failure Number 2.
There was a reason it was all alone........... its not that I can out drink the rest ............. it was because my Cabrio would not start and we were waiting for the AA to come to our assistance!
The AA were brilliant.
They arrived within 20 minutes, and between us, Stuart (we were on first name terms as soon as he complemented me on my fantastic car, and asked how much it was worth!) and I had it back on the road within 10 minutes. Using some clever sophisticated electrical test equipment he established there was no power to the fuel pump.
The solution was far less sophisticated - a quick hammer blow to the fuel relay pump! According to Stuart it was sticking. We were on our way.
I drove 15 miles to Slaley (near Matlock) and spent a couple of very pleasant hours with Sue's family.
At 7.00pm it was time to leave - I was quietly confident thatif I had the same problem, I knew the solution - a big hammer!
Failure Number 3.
It would not start again.
Big hammer liberally applied - it still would not start.
It took me an hour of head in the footwell (feet up in the air) looking up at the mass of wires trying to work out why I had no power to the fuel pump.
Eventually I determined that the relay the AA man had told me to thump, was in fact the intermittent wiper relay! I could thrash it all day and it would not make any difference to the fuel pump!
But after an hour, somehow, I disturbed something, and managed to start it again.
Now the big question was, at 8.00pm, and 85 miles from home, should we try to get home?
After a short discussion we decided to go for it.
It was not a relaxed drive home..... constantly fearing it might cut out again, but each mile got us closer to home, and slightly more confident we would make it.
Two hours later, we had arrived home - without further mishap. But I was emotionally exhausted.
My Cabrio was parked in disgrace - it had let me down 3 times in one day.
Sue's Cabrio on the otherhand received a loving pat on its rear, and a "Well done" for getting us home!
I guess it comes down to that glass being "Half Full, or Half Empty".
My Cabrio is in the garage in disgrace.
Sue's Cabrio is in the garage a hero.
Of course its the same car, just viewed differently..........................
Since I completed my Cabrio - and that means getting it painted - there has been a monumental shift in attitudes in the Garner household.
For Sue, who had lost interest and given up on ever seeing it "Finished", there is now a real car in which to go places. Suddenly its fun: it has character: and she loves it!
For me, I see it as nearing the end of a long, but thoroughly enjoyable project, and if I'm honest, sad that its coming to an end.
And driving it?
Lets say it has been a little disappointing.
Its the best car I could build - I was not capable of doing any better: I've poured my heart and soul into it.
But it has rattles.
It is draughty, and noisey when the hood is up.
It leaks water into the passenger footwell when it rains
......... and the ride does not remotely compare to a modern day tin top.
But, all of that I can forgive.
What is not acceptable however, and in my book is a cardinal sin, is unreliability.
Mechanical objects are designed to work, and if they don't they are failing to meet their purpose. I can not abide things that do not work.
My Cabrio let me down 3 times yesterday.
Firstly, I got in it to back it out of the garage, and the gear selector failed - the gear stick shot over to the left with no resistance.
"That's it! We're not going to Sheldon in the Cabrio!" were my honest and unexpurgated words to Sue.
Failure Number 1: Undriveable with no gears.
But my pride wasn't going to let it beat me that easily.
I fetched the farm forklift, raised my Cabrio up onto it stands - its the next best thing to a four post car lift - and had a look underneath. My spirits rose!
The gear selector rod that I had cut, sleaved, and welded to shorten, had failed. I had ground down the weld too much in my desire to leave a neat looking job, leaving it too thin, and it had cracked. No gear selection.
But, this was going to be an easy fix! I could get at the circlips without removing the exhaust and prop shaft, as I feared, and remove it easily.
30 minutes later, re-welded (and left rough!) we had gears again.
So, Sheldon in the Cabrio was back on again, albeit late.
We drove 95 miles over to Sheldon with no problems, and although we'd missed having lunch with the others, we were able to share a couple of hours with them, meeting some old, and some new faces. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and we were made very welcome.
Last man standing: My Cabrio parked alone outside the Cock and Pullet in Sheldon
IMG_0510.JPG
Failure Number 2.
There was a reason it was all alone........... its not that I can out drink the rest ............. it was because my Cabrio would not start and we were waiting for the AA to come to our assistance!
The AA were brilliant.
They arrived within 20 minutes, and between us, Stuart (we were on first name terms as soon as he complemented me on my fantastic car, and asked how much it was worth!) and I had it back on the road within 10 minutes. Using some clever sophisticated electrical test equipment he established there was no power to the fuel pump.
The solution was far less sophisticated - a quick hammer blow to the fuel relay pump! According to Stuart it was sticking. We were on our way.
I drove 15 miles to Slaley (near Matlock) and spent a couple of very pleasant hours with Sue's family.
At 7.00pm it was time to leave - I was quietly confident thatif I had the same problem, I knew the solution - a big hammer!
Failure Number 3.
It would not start again.
Big hammer liberally applied - it still would not start.
It took me an hour of head in the footwell (feet up in the air) looking up at the mass of wires trying to work out why I had no power to the fuel pump.
Eventually I determined that the relay the AA man had told me to thump, was in fact the intermittent wiper relay! I could thrash it all day and it would not make any difference to the fuel pump!
But after an hour, somehow, I disturbed something, and managed to start it again.
Now the big question was, at 8.00pm, and 85 miles from home, should we try to get home?
After a short discussion we decided to go for it.
It was not a relaxed drive home..... constantly fearing it might cut out again, but each mile got us closer to home, and slightly more confident we would make it.
Two hours later, we had arrived home - without further mishap. But I was emotionally exhausted.
My Cabrio was parked in disgrace - it had let me down 3 times in one day.
Sue's Cabrio on the otherhand received a loving pat on its rear, and a "Well done" for getting us home!
I guess it comes down to that glass being "Half Full, or Half Empty".
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