Slow but steady
It may appear that I am taking my time restoring ROJ, but in fact I am learning as I go along - some jobs I have to do several times before I get them right. I am also slowly getting all my stock of parts into some sense of order, sorting by condition as well as function.
The parts that came off ROJ all have to be checked as so many different nuts and bolts were used during the numerous bodge jobs (Not to mention, wire ties, gaffer tape and blue tack!) So i have been slow but getting there steadily
This weekend was unusuall in that I was the only one working on a car. Robert was nowhere to be seen - his Rochdale untouched. Gary declared it was too cold to work on his Alfa - so built a greenhouse instead. And poor Malcolm looked thoroughly fed up as he had a massive web job to complete for a client, he spent the whole time hunched over his laptop rather than the chassis of his Renault.
New Threads
Each month I tend to buy myself some useful new tool (Machine Mart has taken over from Hamley’s as my favourite store). This month was a set of taps and dies - both imperial and metric. I put them straight to work on several blocked captive nuts and a stud with a twisted thread.
 Aston Martin at last
 The other jobs I managed to get done were:
Fitting the pedal gear and pedal box (IIf you look very closely, you will see on the foot rest, to the left of the brake, the words ‘Aston Martin’. ROJ has got it’s first named item - it’s gone from a pile of metal to an Aston Martin again;
 
I had to take the steering collumn out again to give myself space to work.
STOPPP!!!!
Of course under the pedals are all the bits that work to make the car stop. IÂ didn’t fit the master cylinder as the brake pipes had got a bit out of shape).
I still need to do the final adjustmens once we’ve gor the cylinders and pipes connected up
Shlippen Shlappers
 and, the second most important part in an Aston Martin after the brake pedal - the windscreen wiper armature.
Wise after the event
To anyone intending rebuilding a car from the chassis up I say this: Don’t paint the bloody thing gloss black - it makes it very difficult to see what you’re doing - my previous Aston chassis I painted in red oxide and that worked very well.
Rural Politics
Last week the Secretary of State for Defra, David Milliband in his blog took a rather unfair swipe at the Commission for Rural Communities’ report into rural proofing. It did not paint a rosy enough picture for his tastes - ‘rural crime is down’ he proudly claimed… er, has he been out into the countryside lately? A few days ago someone brazenly drove onto the farm, hooked up a trailer and drove off with it! We can just be thankful it wasn’t one with a Renault on it or Malcolm really would have been upset!