What have you done today

Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
Picked up the C3 from Williams Brothers Speed Shop today after a rebuild of the TH350 transmission . Whoopie Doo !! Well done guys and great service despite being full on busy with project cars and drag racing . (y)
The wallet may be somewhat lighter but .. joy of joys , what big improvement in the way it drives ! Totally transformed and the car seems to feel so much smoother all round .
I even have a fully functioning speedometer and trip meter now after many months of trouble in that department . Just looking forward making up for the recent events I have missed out on so I am sure the next 500 miles will soon get racked up ready for the oh so vital fluid change . :D
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
Nassau65 said:
Glad to hear you’re back on the road again.
Hope it wasn’t too hard on your wallet. 🤑
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Thanks , it`s good to be back in action again but the piggy bank is now sans £3490 but their initial quote said it could be up to £4k !! The work also included a radiator flush and coolant change that I asked them to do whilst the car was up in air to save me a job in the near future plus supply and fit a new speedo cable . Funny how they only charged me £19 before VAT for supply of new cable when a certain well known UK purveyor of Corvette parts charges £79 + VAT !! :eek:
The car came back valeted too plus a nearly full 5 litre can of `Stay Frosty ` High Performance Coolant that is added undiluted for top up purposes .
 
Nassau65

Nassau65

CCCUK Member
Wow, how prices have increased, I’m well out of touch. It’s been god knows how long since I had to have any sort of gearbox work done. I remember a rebuild by Hornsey automatic transmissions on a 80 or 81 vet was £225 😂😂 probably 86/87 ish. Probably still got the bill somewhere as nothing was ever thrown away.
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

Administrator
Wow, £3.5k, ouch. :oops:

If my gearbox ever buggers up, I'm putting a 5 speed in it. Granted it'd cost me more, but at least it'd give me an excuse to get a 5 speed.

As for what I've been up to recently. Not Corvette related, but kind of..... my wife drove my FTO for the first time in years (only driven it twice before in 8 years), and the first proper time the child has been in the baby seat in the back.
The slight tenuous link to Corvette? Well, as my wife is now happy drive the FTO (she's not one for sporty or low cars - but LOVES being a passenger in the Corvette), it means that we can still continue to take the Corvette to local shows near us. Thankfully now the FTO is JUST old enough for us to blag into the shows. So I drive the Corvette, and my wife takes the FTO which has the ability to take the child with us. Added bonus of more space to put our show gear in both cars.
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
CaptainK said:
Wow, £3.5k, ouch. :oops:

If my gearbox ever buggers up, I'm putting a 5 speed in it. Granted it'd cost me more, but at least it'd give me an excuse to get a 5 speed.

As for what I've been up to recently. Not Corvette related, but kind of..... my wife drove my FTO for the first time in years (only driven it twice before in 8 years), and the first proper time the child has been in the baby seat in the back.
The slight tenuous link to Corvette? Well, as my wife is now happy drive the FTO (she's not one for sporty or low cars - but LOVES being a passenger in the Corvette), it means that we can still continue to take the Corvette to local shows near us. Thankfully now the FTO is JUST old enough for us to blag into the shows. So I drive the Corvette, and my wife takes the FTO which has the ability to take the child with us. Added bonus of more space to put our show gear in both cars.
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Happy days all round . (y)
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
Nassau65 said:
Wow, how prices have increased, I’m well out of touch. It’s been god knows how long since I had to have any sort of gearbox work done. I remember a rebuild by Hornsey automatic transmissions on a 80 or 81 vet was £225 😂😂 probably 86/87 ish. Probably still got the bill somewhere as nothing was ever thrown away.
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Inflation and VAT are the killer .
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
Finally managed to escape to the BIG TOY box today after an enforced break of a few weeks of being nursemaid , hospital appointment driver and general domestic goddess for my wife who has been suffering both pre and post operative with a painful shoulder problem . It was good to get back again despite all the work currently being concentrated on our other diesel electric locomotive number D123 now that D6535 is completed , fully repainted and back in service again . The steam loco rebuild is still temporarily on hold as we are held up by things beyond our control that is blocking our throughput through the workshops .
D123 is also part of the UK`s national collection of significant historic locos from the early diesel era of British Railways . It is one of a large class of Sulzer Type 4 diesel electric locos introduced in 1959 numbering from D1 up to D193 . The were the longest , heaviest and most powerful diesel locos of their day with 2,500 bhp Sulzer turbo charged inter -cooler engines giving a tractive effort of 70,000 lbs at the driving wheels . This was almost twice the power of Britain`s most powerful steam locos at the time . They were in regular service on British Railways for over 30 years .
She is currently undergoing body work repairs for a full repaint to its original 1960 appearance of British Railways green livery minus such modern accoutriments as the high intensity warning lights fitted on both cab ends . Today this involved disconnecting the power supply cables from within the cramped confines of the nose / bonnet section at both cab ends accessed through a tiny door from the drivers cab . No room to swing a cat in there as both ends house the large forced induction motors and fans ( best seen in the cab side photo with the side ventilator panel removed ) DSCF3864.JPGDSCF3863.JPGDSCF3880.JPGDSCF3870.JPGDSCF3876.JPGDSCF3871.JPGDSCF3869.JPGplus other gubbins and access to the rear of the illuminated head code panels with their rows of archaic looking 110 volt bulbs .
Next job was drilling out all the rivets that hold the high intensity lamp housings on both ends of the loco ready for stripping off paint and linishing the steel body work for priming and painting . The yellow `warning panel` cab front paint exposed would have last seen the light of day back in the late 1970`s at Derby Locomotive Works when the High Intensity Lights were first fitted . The cab controls and very basic and austere surroundings of the driving cab are worlds apart from those of today`s modern locos all full of high tech and computerized controls !! Lots still to do though as along with D6535 she will be star of the show at the Great Central Railways Diesel Gala Weekend at the beginning of September . No pressure then ? :rolleyes:
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
Well , yesterday evening to be precise . It was another great turn out at the first Wednesday of the Month Earls Barton Classic Car Meet with last nights` feature ` car display area being anything British , Sports or Supercar . The was the usual eclectic mix of cars , rods and and Americana spread across the field and CCCUK member and regular attendee Vic Freeland was there all fluffed up and proud after his recent `Best in Class` win with his lovely C5 convertible . We had a last minute photo shoot as the crowds were leaving when a `76 C3 convertible draw up alongside Vic`s C5 for a chat so I joined the line up just as I was about leave . The owner only had 3 months after importing it himself from the USA and lives in a village only a few miles from me . I always arrive in time for the 4.30pm opening to secure a Pole Position in front of the food venders and was immediately joined by a lovely couple who were proud owners of just 3 weeks of a stunning 1987 Porche 927 S4 attending their very first classic car event so at least we had two 5 Litre V8`s lined up together , mine having a 305 Camaro IROC -Z engine transplant .
Amercana that caught my attention were a stunning 1941 Cadillac , a rare ( in the UK anyway ) Edsel Villager Station Wagon and Chevy Pick Up plus some nice Rods .DSC_5939.JPGDSC_5922.JPGDSC_5935.JPGDSC_5934.JPGDSC_5933.JPGDSC_5929.JPGDSC_5928.JPGDSC_5927.JPGDSC_5925.JPGDSC_5924.JPG
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

Administrator
On the back of the Edsel is a badge saying "NSRA", which I initially misread as "WSRA", and thought to myself "I've seen that car recently, must have been at the West Somerset Railway Association" event. :ROFLMAO:
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
CaptainK said:
On the back of the Edsel is a badge saying "NSRA", which I initially misread as "WSRA", and thought to myself "I've seen that car recently, must have been at the West Somerset Railway Association" event. :ROFLMAO:
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It would have been a long haul from Somerset to Northamptonshire for a night out !! :LOL:
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

Administrator
Chuffer said:
It would have been a long haul from Somerset to Northamptonshire for a night out !! :LOL:
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On Tuesday I took my Corvette to the North Weald track day event with other club members - that was about 440 miles round trip (and then add on the miles around the track).
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
CaptainK said:
On Tuesday I took my Corvette to the North Weald track day event with other club members - that was about 440 miles round trip (and then add on the miles around the track).
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Must have been a real revelation after the narrow country lanes of Zummerzet ?? :LOL:
 
Chuffer

Chuffer

CCCUK Member
Interestingly the guys 1973 C3 and my 1980 could have been `Country Cousins ` back in the day . His was Beverly Hills CA and mine has a Private Members Number 1111 window sticker for Belle Air Bay Beach Club , Pacific Palisades .
 

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