My Xmas Day.....

**Big Rob** · 25-12-2014, 09:35 PM

Christmas Day is a celebrated in so many diverse ways, mine was a little bit different to what most of you got up to (or maybe not!).

December 25 is also my birthday which sucked when I was a kid and isn't a whole lot better at 55, but it is what it is.

Today was supposed to be a quiet day off before I get hammered by all the tourists needing bicycles and repairs and services etc...., so a nice lunch with my Wife and Mum at a local restaurant was the plan. Without going into the details, Mum spat the dummy when we were a bit late picking her up and pulled the plug on lunch.

I wasn't too bothered anyway, as I wanted to fit my mags and new BFG T/A's on the van, plus I've got some gas struts for the tailgate and needed to fit them, and I picked up a klaxon horn ages ago, so it went on the "to do" list.

So, lunch went from a 3 course Xmas feast to a peanut butter sandwich and a can of Coke and I got to work.

Horn took 10 minutes, struts took about and hour after a bit of mucking around making sure I could use the existing holes in the body rather than drilling more. The tailgate sits a bit higher now when up, but has the added bonus of not being so low as to hit my head. Pics included.

Then, the wheels..... The rears were a piece of cake, 10-15 mins all up, but the front ones were a pain. The balance weights on the inside of the rim jammed the fins on the brake caliper so the wheel wouldn't spin. I've had this trouble before (about 30 years ago) and remember the answer was to grind the fins off the brake caliper to provide clearance. I guess these days most people fit 15/16/17/18" or larger wheels, but back then it really wasn't an option.

So the 5 inch grinder and a new flapper disc were put to work and 3 hours later I was done, covered in sweat, grinding dust and caliper paint.

The wheels fit, the tailgate stays up and doesn't rattle and the horn is loud and scary.

Back to work tomorrow with a feeling of accomplishment. Here's some pics, I'll take some decent ones on the next sunny day.
DSC02926 small.jpg DSC02929 small.jpg DSC02930 small.jpg DSC02931 small.jpg

**mauser** · 25-12-2014, 09:45 PM

haha mine was lunch/dinner with the kids and family.... Drive down to your neck of the woods tomorrow and relax at Mossy Point.

I guess you can call me one of those pesky tourists but I have owned a house there for 16 years and been coming down since I was a kid.

Hopefully the weather is nice to run the Bull Terrier up the track to Moruya airport and back down that beach..... wonderful spot of Australia.

Mauser

**Big Rob** · 25-12-2014, 10:07 PM

Mate, you've got to drop in and see me, 77 Smith at Broulee. Shop's open 1-5pm, I may open early, but drop in any time.

And the tourists aren't pesky, they are a source of income!

Watch out for the snakes on the track to the airport, they're everywhere at the moment!

**damienengland** · 25-12-2014, 11:47 PM

I sat in front of my chassis and engine today, looking at how i can squeeze all the mod cons in. Glad someone else was fiddling with cars. Cheers

**Valencia** · 26-12-2014, 01:37 AM

Happy birthday Rob hope you had a good day

**prophecyaudio** · 26-12-2014, 01:42 AM

Happy birthday Rob. I know how you feel. My daughter's is the 27th, and mine's the 29th. Try to make a big deal for her birthday every year.

**RAEME** · 26-12-2014, 06:20 AM

Did all the usual a family things, was a good day. Like the wheels Rob, I think I've seen guys avoid the wheel weight problem by using the flat strip stick on weights. Had some on my Jelly Beans, they certainly stick on there.

**Frosty** · 26-12-2014, 09:33 AM

Nice work with the wheels Rob, very cool. My guess is from your past posts that you don't want to shut you're tailgate so I'm surprised you didn't screw in pieces of wood. Happy 55th

**Big Rob** · 26-12-2014, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by Frosty

Nice work with the wheels Rob, very cool. My guess is from your past posts that you don't want to shut you're tailgate so I'm surprised you didn't screw in pieces of wood. Happy 55th

Yeah, I considered some steel rod with an eye at each end!

The missus vetoed that idea. The gas struts are almost as stiff until you get them moving so should provide a strong, rattle-free solution.

Thanks for the Birthday wishes everyone, by a weird coincidence I had 2 customers in the shop today at the same time, one's was the 24th and the other the 26th! So the 3 of us had never met before and had birthdays on the 3 consecutive days..... spooky.