17th January 2020
Sightseeing in Tasmania
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| Evie & Olie inspecting Troopie ! |
Saturday, 15 February 2020
0013 Heading back to the Mainland
0013 Heading back to the Mainland
17th January 2020
Sightseeing in Tasmania
We
left Benn & Sarah & the girls in Hobart on the 14th January
after a wonderful month with them. Lots of fun exploring the area,
getting to know the girls, reading lots of stories and having lots of
adventures, and also learning a lot about Benn & Sarah's Fox Friday
brewery, which I am most impressed with. Impressed with their vision
for the future, and also impressed with their beer !! After saying
farewell, we headed NW out of Hobart, on the road to Queenstown and
Strahan. We had 3 days to get to Devonport to catch our ferry, so we
were just planning a wander up through the NW corner of the State.
17th January 2020
Sightseeing in Tasmania
Monday, 13 January 2020
0012 New Year in Tasmania
0012 New Year in Tasmania
6th - 15th January 2020
We have some adventures around Hobart !
Apart from one day up around 40 deg C, the weather in Hobart has been very similar to an English summer - except no rain ! But most days have been around 26 deg C in the day, then it cools off at night so you need to put a jumper on, which makes the evenings and sleeping very comfortable compared to Queensland at this time of year. So we started off the week with Christmas Day itself, and the temperatures were just perfect, which is why we came to Tasmania.
6th - 15th January 2020
We have some adventures around Hobart !
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| Our Christmas table ! |
Apart from one day up around 40 deg C, the weather in Hobart has been very similar to an English summer - except no rain ! But most days have been around 26 deg C in the day, then it cools off at night so you need to put a jumper on, which makes the evenings and sleeping very comfortable compared to Queensland at this time of year. So we started off the week with Christmas Day itself, and the temperatures were just perfect, which is why we came to Tasmania.
Thursday, 26 December 2019
0011 Christmas in Tasmania
31st December 2019
0011 We drive to Tasmania for Christmas
As were boading our flight home in Perth, literally as we were stepping off the walkway through the door of the plane, Janet's phone rang - And it was a message from son Nick in the Netherlands so she immediately knew the twins had arrived ! Janet walked on into the plane as if on a cloud, and when the flight attendant chased after her to see her boarding pass, I knew he had no hope of succeeding, so I hurried after him to reassure him that she was with me, and that I had a copy of her boarding pass for him !! Needless to say, Janet didn't sleep a wink all through the night on the way back to Brisbane.
0011 We drive to Tasmania for Christmas
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| Sophie & Emily arrive |
As were boading our flight home in Perth, literally as we were stepping off the walkway through the door of the plane, Janet's phone rang - And it was a message from son Nick in the Netherlands so she immediately knew the twins had arrived ! Janet walked on into the plane as if on a cloud, and when the flight attendant chased after her to see her boarding pass, I knew he had no hope of succeeding, so I hurried after him to reassure him that she was with me, and that I had a copy of her boarding pass for him !! Needless to say, Janet didn't sleep a wink all through the night on the way back to Brisbane.
0010 A few days in Perth
18th November 2019
We go to Perth for a few days.
Unfortunately a good friend and work colleague from my Perth days died a while ago in the USA where he recently lived, and his wife arranged a Celebration of his Life in Perth for all his family and West Australian friends. This was scheduled just before we were due to set of to Tasmania, so was good timing for us, and also provided a good opportunity to catch up with Damien and Meisha and the kids. So Janet & I flew over there - My first ever flight on Virgin ! A virgin on Virgin, you might say !
We go to Perth for a few days.
Unfortunately a good friend and work colleague from my Perth days died a while ago in the USA where he recently lived, and his wife arranged a Celebration of his Life in Perth for all his family and West Australian friends. This was scheduled just before we were due to set of to Tasmania, so was good timing for us, and also provided a good opportunity to catch up with Damien and Meisha and the kids. So Janet & I flew over there - My first ever flight on Virgin ! A virgin on Virgin, you might say !
Tuesday, 24 December 2019
0009 The engine comes back
15th December 2019
Lots of things to do before Christmas !
Two days after my heart attack on the 20th October, I got a call from Gary at Conti Motors up near Bribie Island - "Your engine is ready for collection" ! I knew he wanted me to pick it up as soon as possible, so as soon as I could arrange a trailer, I set off up to Gary to pick the engine up and bring it home. It was just over an hours drive to get there.
Once we had loaded the engine onto the trailer,
Gary told me all the things he had done - Basically it was a new engne. He had fitted new main bearings to the original crankshaft, new conrods, new pistons, new heads. There was also a new camshaft that should be slightly better than the standard one, and everything was cleaned up nicely. He has also tapped a thread into the block so I can fit an oil temperature guage, as being an aircooled engine, it is most important to keep an eye on engine oil temperatures as you have no radiator or water temperature to monitor.
Lots of things to do before Christmas !
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| Engine returns |
Gary told me all the things he had done - Basically it was a new engne. He had fitted new main bearings to the original crankshaft, new conrods, new pistons, new heads. There was also a new camshaft that should be slightly better than the standard one, and everything was cleaned up nicely. He has also tapped a thread into the block so I can fit an oil temperature guage, as being an aircooled engine, it is most important to keep an eye on engine oil temperatures as you have no radiator or water temperature to monitor.
Sunday, 17 November 2019
0008 Rear axle & more painting
0008 Rear axle and more painting
17th November 2019
In which Clementine goes for a (small) outing !
Once I had my fine pitch bolts for the LH front steering arms, I got the
LH side back together and finished off the rest of the steering. All the original seams around the car are sealed with old material that after 49 years has gone hard and was crumbling, so I had to chip it out wherever I found it. New seam sealers are totally different, more like a silicone, and relatively easy to apply with a gun, and this has to be done for all seams, to re-waterproof them, and ensure they will last for another 50 years.
The inside around the footewells was done, as well as the rear wheel
arches inside the car where about 4 panels all meet. Also cleaned up
the little interior light which was all rusty, corroded, and filthy, but
a couple of hours with WD 40, toothpicks, ear buds, and other similar
fine tools soon had it (almost) as good as new. Hard to buy now, better
to recover the original German VW parts wherever possible. Tested it on
a battery, and all working properly !
17th November 2019
In which Clementine goes for a (small) outing !
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| Sealing seams |
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| Dirty interior light |
LH side back together and finished off the rest of the steering. All the original seams around the car are sealed with old material that after 49 years has gone hard and was crumbling, so I had to chip it out wherever I found it. New seam sealers are totally different, more like a silicone, and relatively easy to apply with a gun, and this has to be done for all seams, to re-waterproof them, and ensure they will last for another 50 years.
The inside around the footewells was done, as well as the rear wheel
arches inside the car where about 4 panels all meet. Also cleaned up
the little interior light which was all rusty, corroded, and filthy, but
a couple of hours with WD 40, toothpicks, ear buds, and other similar
fine tools soon had it (almost) as good as new. Hard to buy now, better
to recover the original German VW parts wherever possible. Tested it on
a battery, and all working properly !0007 Stuff starts coming back
0007 Stuff starts coming back
31st October 2019
Starting to run out of space !
No sooner had I returned from the hospital than the phone started ringing with people telling me parts were ready for collection ! I had to wait for a couple of days as I was not allowed to drive at first, but I really feel as though I am making progress as new and refurbished parts pile up ! Mick called me from Northside Transmissions to tell me the gearbox was done, Adam called me from Affordable Power Steering to tell me the steering box was done, and Bearing Services called to tell me the new Timken front wheel bearings were in. Now I just had to collect them, and also continue dropping off some of the other parts like the generator and starter motor.
31st October 2019
Starting to run out of space !
No sooner had I returned from the hospital than the phone started ringing with people telling me parts were ready for collection ! I had to wait for a couple of days as I was not allowed to drive at first, but I really feel as though I am making progress as new and refurbished parts pile up ! Mick called me from Northside Transmissions to tell me the gearbox was done, Adam called me from Affordable Power Steering to tell me the steering box was done, and Bearing Services called to tell me the new Timken front wheel bearings were in. Now I just had to collect them, and also continue dropping off some of the other parts like the generator and starter motor.
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