Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

L

LKSF

Pennine Hillbilly
Wind you say? :ROFLMAO:


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V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
L

LKSF

Pennine Hillbilly
It rains and blows so hard and for so long here sometimes it actually forces the rain through the Millstone grit and into the house.

Our old cat won't go out if it's very windy. I don't think she stepped out the door from November to March. I had to pick her up and put her outside when we had that last sunny spell to remind her the outside still existed! Unless it's warm and sunny she only goes out for a drink now.

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The car doesn't look much, but its a rare-ish Mazda 6 2.5 petrol and forms part of my business (which I'm taking a break from to make this old farmhouse habitable and build a new workshop to carry on working from).
I specialise in building two types of engine, the Fiat/Lancia twincam found in the integrale and the Duratec engines. The Lancia stuff i've let go for various reasons and am pushing on with the Duratec and MX5 thing more as there are more opportunities there. This is a Mk3 MX-5:

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Chopped it in for the JCB 803!

All the Mk3s have Duratec units in them, either a 1.8 or a 2.0, they also have an in built issue which (without going into too much detail) sees them start burning oil at a rapid rate. Often then running out completely and running the bottom ends.
Which is where I come in, I either fix them for the owners or buy them up. Fix the engines and sell them on, or more excitingly, put bigger and modified engines in them.
All Duratec engines look and measure the same on the the outside, so I take the 2.5 or the 2.3 from old Mazda 6s, rebuild them modified and put them into MX-5s. Either for the road or track:


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This was nicknamed Hitler.

As you can imagine a small car like that with a modified 2.5l in it is a lot of fun, if you lifted the bonnet though you wouldn't notice the difference, they can look bone stock unless you don't want them to.
 

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V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
It rains and blows so hard and for so long here sometimes it actually forces the rain through the Millstone grit and into the house.
Our old cat won't go out if it's very windy. I don't think she stepped out the door from November to March. I had to pick her up and put her outside when we had that last sunny spell to remind her the outside still existed! Unless it's warm and sunny she only goes out for a drink now.
The car doesn't look much, but its a rare-ish Mazda 6 2.5 petrol
As you can imagine a small car like that with a modified 2.5l in it is a lot of fun, if you lifted the bonnet though you wouldn't notice the difference, they can look bone stock unless you don't want them to.
old Jotul ... had the same in Pam's old house ... great woodburner
we have a similar issue with our South facing pine end, when it's really howling and the wet stuff's horizontal

thought it was a Mazda 6 .. a mate had one ... grin factor 10 .... bet the little un's are a real fun drive with a 2.5L in 'em ... license killers though :(
 
L

LKSF

Pennine Hillbilly
old Jotul ... had the same in Pam's old house ... great woodburner
we have a similar issue with our South facing pine end, when it's really howling and the wet stuff's horizontal

thought it was a Mazda 6 .. a mate had one ... grin factor 10 .... bet the little un's are a real fun drive with a 2.5L in 'em ... license killers though :(

No it's a Stovax. I've had it for probably more than 20yrs now and it's been a good stove, brought it with us from the last house and really glad I did. (The last owner had left us with a cheap Chinese thing which he'd abused so it got thrown straight out. I might make it into an oil burner perhaps.)
Back then it was a useful addition, now it gets a lot of hard use. It's a pre-emissions model so you can norty slumber it. The only annoying fault it does have is the riddle gets made up with ash so you can't shut it down completely after a while. Then you have to completely strip the innards out (firebrick liner and all) and clean the riddle out so it'll close.
I was shovelling the wood in like it was the Flying Scotsman on a high speed run some nights here.
Have you got a stove now?
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
No it's a Stovax. I've had it for probably more than 20yrs now and it's been a good stove, brought it with us from the last house and really glad I did. (The last owner had left us with a cheap Chinese thing which he'd abused so it got thrown straight out. I might make it into an oil burner perhaps.)
Back then it was a useful addition, now it gets a lot of hard use. It's a pre-emissions model so you can norty slumber it. The only annoying fault it does have is the riddle gets made up with ash so you can't shut it down completely after a while. Then you have to completely strip the innards out (firebrick liner and all) and clean the riddle out so it'll close.
I was shovelling the wood in like it was the Flying Scotsman on a high speed run some nights here.
Have you got a stove now?
yeh little hearth Morso .. will only take 12" lump, so it all gets lopped to that, but is a great fire ... wound up, you can't breathe in the barn :oops:
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the cats' favorite spot :giggle:
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
You might want to think about some ventilation, you sure its gauchers and not carbon monoxide poisoning you've got.
plenty of ventilation in a 350 yr old barn Gaz and don't think I have a gene for dealing with CO .... :LOL:
deffo not got the GBA one I'm 'sposed to have to deal with the issues of Gaucher's disease :(
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
Lovely view you have there 👌

took a bit of finding ... 'bout a third of our panorama , day after we moved here .. previous owners hadn't cut the grass in months
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misty Feb morning, last year ..... well it was down in the valley :giggle:
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and a sunset for you
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three counties - two countries Monmouthshire, Powys and Herefordshire ... Wales and England :) ... took a looong time to find this place :rolleyes: ... goin' from here in a box ...... hopefully not for a while
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
And just to round the day off ..... feel like i got a cold coming on :(:mad: ..... but could be my allergies kicking in .....
nope ..... ferkin' cold :cry:... sh1t night :mad:... haven't had one for a considerable time :rolleyes: ...... now WTH have I been in contact with this week ??? :unsure::unsure: least I could still taste me coffee and toast this morning (y) was starting to wonder last night, taste was positively iffy, but then that's the start of the sniffles for yer ... clearing well through the day .... reckon it'll be gone by tomorrow evening 🤞
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
well i got a couple of bits of 19 x 38 cut and painted green earlier .. holed and ready for some screws .....
staple gunned the flaps on initially and then wound 'em in between the battens, sandwiched and screwed in place .. will do for now, 'til i come up with any better ideas :rolleyes: ....
just need some securing devices now ....
..... considering some antiluces bolted to the frame and a couple of eye plates attached to the flap stiffeners ...... should keep 'em well and truly contained
chucked a sand bag on the one for tonight ..... makes them a damned sight easier to roll up on yer own ..... was a wrestling match before at over 6 ft wide
gonna have to get some bolt on antiluces .. only ever bought weld ons :rolleyes:
sorry about the one crap pic...
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anyone have any better ideas? they zip to within 6" of the stiffeners
 
L

LKSF

Pennine Hillbilly
took a bit of finding ... 'bout a third of our panorama , day after we moved here .. previous owners hadn't cut the grass in months
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misty Feb morning, last year ..... well it was down in the valley :giggle:
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and a sunset for you
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three counties - two countries Monmouthshire, Powys and Herefordshire ... Wales and England :) ... took a looong time to find this place :rolleyes: ... goin' from here in a box ...... hopefully not for a while

It looks lovely and also a very familiar tale and pictures! I won't flood your thread with mine.
Oh go then, just the one 😁
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