A Day in the Southeast Finland
News - SAAB
Written by Administrator Monday, 19 July 2010 00:00
I took the SAAB out for a spin in the southeastern Finland. The occasion was a yearly run arranged by the Women's Vintage Automobile Club of Finland. That means that I was the co-pilot and mechanic since the driver has to be female. There were 28 participating cars and the majority of people were dressed according to the period of their vehicle. All the arrangements were really good and the scenery was very nice. The weather was also excellent, the temperature could have been several degreees lower, it was quite swetty sitting in the un-airconditioned car in the period nylon shirt from the sixties :-) We were actually victorious since we won the first prize in the competition for dressing according to the period and style of the vehicle.
Hood Arches
News - Singer
Written by Administrator Wednesday, 14 July 2010 00:00
In the past couple of weeks I have repaired the hood (convertible top) arches. The arches were bent here and there and they were all modified from the originals. The original mounting screws that connect the vertical posts into the actual arches were all cut and new holes had been drilled into the arches to make the arches a little bit lower, maybe because the replacement hood was not made according to the original pattern and could not accomodate the higher arches. The vertical posts of the middle arch were cut and shortened about six centimeters. Or it is also possible that the hood was lowered intentionally, who knows.
First I dismantled the vertical posts from the arches and sandblasted all the parts.Then I drilled out the cut original screws from the arches, repaired the threads, welded the extra holes shut, sanded the welds smooth and painted the parts with etch primer. After assembling the arches back together and tested them in the car I noticed that the arches need bending here and there to get them in the correct shape and fold down neatly. I made a separate holding jig to hold the arches while bending and testing them so that I dont accidentally damage the car paint while puttin g the arches on and off the car. After several rounds of bending and testing in the jig the arches seem to be in decent shape and fold down neatly. Next stop will be painting them with filler and black top coat.
Official Work
News - Jaguar
Written by Administrator Tuesday, 29 June 2010 00:00
This tuesday I had a real inspection day. First I went to an optometrist to check my eyesight. Here in Finland at this age one has to deliver a document of sufficient eyesight for road traffic to police in order to maintain driver's license validity. So that is done now, no problems in my eyesight and I still dont need glasses.
Then I took the SAAB into MOT check for roadworthiness inspection. Two hours later I went to the same place with the Jaguar for the same reason. Both cars passed the inspection with no remarks. The next inspection for SAAB will be in 2012 and Jaguar in 2014. A museum registered car, as they both are, here in Finland has to be inspected every second year if it is from 1960 or newer and every four years if it is 1959 or older.
Wheel Preparation
News - Singer
Written by Administrator Wednesday, 16 June 2010 21:48
Last weekend I did some preparation on the wheels. They were sand blasted and primer painted already a few years back. There is some pitting on the surfaces so I have sanded them and filled the pits with polyester putty. Still some more sanding and filler required before they can be sprayed with the black top coat.
Blue Smoke
News - SAAB
Written by Administrator Sunday, 23 May 2010 20:24
Today I fetched the SAAB from the winter storage. The car started up very nicely after just a few seconds starting. As typical there was a lot of blue smoke in the air because of all the oil left in the engine and carburettor when the gas has vaporized during the storage. It was really fun to drive with the two stroke again and everything seemed to work perfectly OK. After returing home I washed the car free from the winters dust and it is now all set for the summer of 2010.
The elderly Lady sings again.
News - Jaguar
Written by Administrator Thursday, 06 May 2010 11:26
Yesterday I fired up the Jaguar after the winter storage. She started pretty easily but quite typically did not run smoothly at all. I drove a little tour around the neighboring blocks so that the engine reached the normal temperature but it was still coughing quite a lot. One reason might be that the modern fuel does not preserve very well and filling the tanks with new fuel helps. It will propably also help to run the car for a longer period and drive at higher speed and engine revolutions. The engine has a tendency to get spark plugs really sooty when used only for short periods without letting the engine heat up properly.
I also noticed that the seems to leak more oil than previously. I need to lift the car up and investigate the situation. I wouldn't like to have to lift the engine off since it is a big and heavy lump.
Anyway, the Lady sings once again (no-one said she's fat, nooo, she just has the right curves ;-)
