19 Dec 2022

 

Sunrise on the way home

Left Canberra at 4:30am and decided to stop on the side of the highway for a quick dawn pic around 5am. only came head to head with one kangaroo heading the other way, though we were both able to get out of each others way before there we were too close for comfort.

Along the way the car developed a few strange vibrations, like a wheel had lost a balance weight or something, though it went away and the car seemed fine after that. it powered along fantastically all the way back to Melbourne, returning fuel usage figures between 38 and 44 mile per gallon, not bad for a car built in 1955 (though with a slightly later 948cc engine).

The only casualty seemed to have been the speedo that stopped working all together. It had a cable replacement and had been working really well on the way to Canberra, mind slow to get up to the speed and drop back. Prior to the new cable it used to flick about and only work when it felt like it, you could not ever rely on it. So the speedo will need to go and have a spa retreat with an instrument reconditioner now and maybe yet another new cable.

It also seems that due to the slow creep of noise over time and driver industrial deafness from being in the car for so long that I failed to notice the increase in noise from the diff along the way. After being home for a while and then going for another drive it was alarming to notice the amount of noise coming from the just over 12 months old, expensive, reconditioned diff. This must have been where the previously mentioned vibration was coming from it seems, though inspection since shows that it was not brought about by lack of lubrication. Not sure what has caused this melt down in the diff, though I am willing to bet that it probably was never reconditioned in the first place. I would not be too surprised if the company I bought it from not only installed the incorrect oil seal (27 Jul 2021), but also just selected a reasonable looking second hand one and just painted it shiny, did nothing else and sent that to me as a reconditioned diff. Disappointed I can tell you.  

18 Dec 2022

Well, travelled to Canberra over the weekend where a very good friend did some surgery on the Count. The surgery consisted of replacing the bumper mounts on the front of the car so that for the first time since I have owner the car the bumper no sits straight on it! Grinding, welding and a lot of planning and calculations went into the work and everything went brilliantly. Really very happy and thankful for the efforts that went into the job, it's awesome!

You can see it hangs down and the over rider is leaning back, been that way for 30+ years

Problem was made worse when someone hit the car recently

Removing the bumper mounts

Angle grinding and patching the old, not too great welding

Both new brackets in

Final result is awesome

4 Jun 2014

So yep I messed this one yesterday unfortunately, ran out of time trying to do too many things at once. Anyway...

So the morning started out quite grey and dull, though luckily it didn't rain and once the cloud/fog burnt off it was a nice sunny afternoon, as you can see by the pictures below. Started out trying to get hold of some bolts to put through the rear bumper brackets that I actually thought were missing so dropped into Bunnings hardware to see what I could get. Once I got back to the car and managed to get everything out of the boot i discovered at some stage in the past i have actually put the bolts back in there and thus it is obvious that is not where the water is getting into the bottom of the boot from. Though I also discovered that I have forgotten to install the grommets around the wires for the rear lights, so chances are that is where the water is coming from. Quick liberal application with the silicone around the areas and hopefully that will be a good quick fix to any further rain getting through there, mind it should not rain any more because later in the afternoon my friend Simon very kindly sorted out "mastic-ing" the back window seal so that hopefully there will be no further leaks through there either.

After that I drove over to the Parliamentary Triangle area to have a look around and to get some pictures of the Count in the area, so heaps more of them below, which have the cloudy and sunny aspects as per above, bit circular but there you go. Anyway I managed to get the car into some reasonable areas and was able to stop and take pictures as there was actually very little traffic about, fantastic not to be at work on a weekday for doing things like this.Was then off to the Yacht Club for lunch, sounds flash, and a spot of lunch with Simon closely followed by some more pictures of the car on the lake shore behind the club.

The Australian War Memorial rounded out the afternoon plans and to be honest it was over run with some exceptionally noisy school excursions, so a quick look at a few exhibits and then a hasty retreat out of there. It really is an impressive place and there is just so much to see, always worth visiting as quite often things change in the public galleries, there new things to see all the time.

From there it was over to Simon's place where he expertly sealed up the rear windscreen for me and then off to dinner at Jamie's Italian with Goran, good dinner, great conversation, really good evening. Isn't it amazing how it's possible to not call someone or send a message one day and then suddenly it is so many years later and you just can't figure how that happened.

 Looking across the lake to the Australian War Memorial and Mt Anslie

 The National Carillon and the Australian-American Memorial Eagle Statue

 Old Parilament House, with the new House Flag Pole visible

 Waiting for the sun by Yarralumla Bay

 Australian Merchant Seamen's Memorial

This massive bronze sculpture used to be inside the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial before it had to be relocated when the Unknown Australian Soldier was entombed there 11 November 1993

 Guarding the Tomb and the Eternal Flame

Members of the Federation Guard at the entrance to the Hall of Memory

3 June 2014

Had a wander around the City proper and around to New Acton and the London Circuit/Marcus Clarke street area today, all very interesting and so much development it's amazing, buildings have sprung up everywhere and some old hovels that looked like that should be demolished when I lived here some years back have become a refurbished new hotel. Times change I guess and property becomes worth so much that they just have to develop it.

Just a few random shots from the day.

The Academy of Science Building

Is this what you call POP art? It's all popcorn!

Modern Man statue at New Acton

What a shop front awning! New Acton again

I fairly much limited the day to that area and unfortunately didn't get many good photos as the sky was terrible, though at least it didn't rain! YAH! The New Acton area is certainly worth a walk around and there is quite a bit packed into such a small area worth looking at. I went there specifically looking to have breakfast at Mocan and Green Grout as I have heard good things about it, though it was packed with suits at 0930 (what does no one actually work in this town, or perhaps it was a "working Breakfast") as it is only a small space. It is funny you know, I am happy to drive around the country at 80 kilometres and hour, but expect me to wait to get a seat at a cafe and you can just forget it, nowhere is that good that there isn't another place around the corner.

I also want over to the National Film and Sound Archive, wow it has changed there is a huge extension out the back of the building, but the actual display space is about less than half what it was 12 years ago and to say that the whole thing was rather dated and low budget primary school kids excursion spot would be an understatement. Really it used to be quite something special, I guess that times and expectations change and probably more telling so do budgets, you can only do what is able to be paid for when your annual budget is slashed. They must have so much information and objects in storage there, it is just a shame that more people can't get to see it.

Anyway we're hanging with the rich and infamous tomorrow, Yarralumla around all the Embassies and the Parliamentary triangle, lunching at the yacht club and then old and new Parliament houses, followed by a quick drive along the lake edge before crossing over and heading to the War Memorial to see the latest changes since my last visit. Should be a good day, supposed to be fog then sunny! Woo Hoo! 

2 June 2014 - Day Two

Well this morning was wet, not just tiresome drizzle, it was chucking it down and to be honest everything in the car was wet or damp, really have to locate the leak in the boot! Anyway hit the road and it was really very uneventful, along the Sturt Highway to the Hume Highway and then through Gundagai to Yass and the Barton Highway to Canberra. It was a really good run through and the car just cruised along brilliantly, mind you can tell when you're getting close to Canberra as the air temp is just right for the car to really respond and it really just loves the crispness of it. The rain finally started to drop out just before getting to Canberra and then kicked back in for a huge downpour, luckily I was able to find a undercover car park at the shops to meet up with some good friends for lunch and then this afternoon has been rain free, YAH, I just hope it stay that way long enough to dry the car out!

Arriving into the ACT, been here before

I'm back in town for a few days now, hopefully the car will get a chance to dry out and I have family and friends to see, and hopefully some photos to take, so it will be a bit of a break before we're off back inland heading for Bourke