sublime68charger
Well-known member
Sorry about the fire loss!
They are all okay which is the most important part!
They are all okay which is the most important part!
A Shed Downunder.
- Thread starter 1/2 Cup
- Start date
shortykorte
Well-known member
Probably the worse catastrophe to go through since most or all is lost. Best wishes for your family.
jon72vega
Well-known member
1/2 Cup,
Sorry to hear about your sister-in-laws fire, but I am glad everyone is OK.
Things can be replaced, people cannot.
Sorry to hear about your sister-in-laws fire, but I am glad everyone is OK.
Things can be replaced, people cannot.
With every thing that has been happening I have managed some QST( QUALITY SHED TIME) and made a start on the MG F cylinder head, one combustion chamber done, four hours later.
View media item 54846
I also spent a few hours at my eldest sons home disconnecting the electrics in readiness for their new kitchen install this week.
Have a great day guys.
View media item 54846
I also spent a few hours at my eldest sons home disconnecting the electrics in readiness for their new kitchen install this week.
Have a great day guys.
taumac
Well-known member
rmalkow2
Well-known member
Nice polish job.Takes some quality time but should help the power.
Thank you Gerard.
rmalkow Thank you, there is a lot of time to get it the combustion chambers right.
My focus has been the transition between the valve seat cuts and the chamber, most of this has been done by hand.
The new valves are 1mm oversize and will be seated into the original valve seat.
Using these valves and the standard seating arrangement we should see around about a 33% gain in air flow.
When the chambers are done I still need to check each ones capacity.
I am looking forward to seeing how it goes on the Dyno when we finish, the theory is that it should be a vast improvement over the existing engine as I believe it is still largely stock with improved cam shafts.
We do have the original sheets to compare with.
Have a great day every one.
rmalkow2
Well-known member
Wow 33% improvement! That's a pretty impressive gain. I wondered about valve size and was not sure if they were really larger or it was just the appearance in the picture. Are you porting the intake and exhaust ports as well and matching to manifolds? Will you use different pistons and raise compression? Would love to see more pics of the work as you go along. Porting and polishing heads correctly is definitely an art. Cheers to you, artist!
rmalkow. Yep, a 33% increase in air flow is what the manufactures claim. The valves are distinctly different in design from the originals with a much thinner head and relieved at the stem transition.
Porting both the exhaust and intakes to match the manifolds, removing the boss around each of the valve guides and just blending the ports in respect to the Siamese arrangement the head has.
I will not be polishing the ports as such and will just leave the 80 grit as sanded finish.
The forged pistons my son brought do have an increased deck height, I have yet to crunch the numbers using these pistons as to what the CR will ultimately be.
At this point I do not want to take any material off the head other than to true and clean it up.
I will most certainly post pictures as I progress
Many thanks for your kind comments.
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
1/2: i know just about zero on rebuilding an engine much less a race quality one so with your pictures and tutelage I'll just watch and learn. what are you polishing the insides of the cylinders with and do you remove the rods or leave them in place so as not to damage them or the seats?
cheers and best of luck.
also hope your sister in law and her family is doing ok.
cheers and best of luck.
also hope your sister in law and her family is doing ok.
Thank you drives
I am using a combination of things to get there;
. Carbide burrs.
. Abrasive flap wheels in varying grits.
. Die grinder - is used on the ports.
. Battery drill - mainly because its slow speed and copes with the aluminum removal better and you have more control over the process.
. I am using an old set of valves in the picture to protect the valve seats as I do not want a mark on them.
. There is quite a bit of hand work around the chambers using bearing scrappers to transition the valve seat to the chamber nicely.
. Lastly I use wet and dry, through successive grits to Scotchbrite, by hand to get the final polish.
I trust this helps.
My Sister in Law is doing well considering but at this point has not returned to the house to salvage any thing. It looks like that it will be this weekend and I can imagine that will not be easy for her. The house is well secured.
Thanks again.
Have a great day everyone.
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I have been a little short on Quality Shed Time of late,
Busy as all get out at work, spent a few hours in the morning Saturday at my eldest sons reinstalling all the electrics after his kitchen rebuild then the afternoon trimming my neighbours trees that had grown to an extent they shaded my solar panels in the late afternoon.
I filled two large green waste wheely bins! I get real value for money out of our garbage and green waste fees as they never go out empty.
View media item 37528
Then today it was all hands on deck at my Sister in Laws place to salvage what we could, which was a pretty heart breaking task to say the least.
We did recover six trailer loads of her belongings from the front half of the home that weren't too badly smoke or water damaged.
The back half of the home, three bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry and kitchen were the worst off and I had the task saying no to some things, mainly appliances and the like. The two week old flat screen below is now in the dumpster with its lead cut off.
View media item 54948
As you can see in the picture this is at the front of the home that was not burnt and yet the intensity of the heat alone has melted the split AC above the TV.
We could only spend a few minutes at a time in the home before we had to come out an get some fresh air even though I had removed some of the security shutters to ventilate the interior first. Disposable coveralls, gloves masks and safety boots were the order of the day.
Fortunately there was no asbestos in the home and for a shell still appears to be sound as it could be in the circumstances.
A great days work from every one who volunteered their time and her really nice neighbours that have helped out no end.
Have a great day every one.
Busy as all get out at work, spent a few hours in the morning Saturday at my eldest sons reinstalling all the electrics after his kitchen rebuild then the afternoon trimming my neighbours trees that had grown to an extent they shaded my solar panels in the late afternoon.
I filled two large green waste wheely bins! I get real value for money out of our garbage and green waste fees as they never go out empty.
View media item 37528
Then today it was all hands on deck at my Sister in Laws place to salvage what we could, which was a pretty heart breaking task to say the least.
We did recover six trailer loads of her belongings from the front half of the home that weren't too badly smoke or water damaged.
The back half of the home, three bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry and kitchen were the worst off and I had the task saying no to some things, mainly appliances and the like. The two week old flat screen below is now in the dumpster with its lead cut off.
View media item 54948
As you can see in the picture this is at the front of the home that was not burnt and yet the intensity of the heat alone has melted the split AC above the TV.
We could only spend a few minutes at a time in the home before we had to come out an get some fresh air even though I had removed some of the security shutters to ventilate the interior first. Disposable coveralls, gloves masks and safety boots were the order of the day.
Fortunately there was no asbestos in the home and for a shell still appears to be sound as it could be in the circumstances.
A great days work from every one who volunteered their time and her really nice neighbours that have helped out no end.
Have a great day every one.
vonhef
Well-known member
I can only imagine how difficult the cleanup of your sisters place would be. Wishing your family the best.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
xtremek
Well-known member
Those look like some very high quality panels. What kind are they? It 's a shame about your SiL place. Did she lose a lot of momentos? Flat screens can be replaced, pictures and the like can't. Still no one was hurt. Sigh.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
1/2: nicely done with the tree trimming and your solar looks amazing. I bet your sister in law is very happy you are there to help and keep everybody safe. nicely done and kudos to you for coming to her rescue.
have a great day. BTW is it Sunday for you too or are you on the other side of the timeline where it's Monday?
also Jordan Speith is playing in Australia this coming week and not sure how close he will be to where you live.
have a great day. BTW is it Sunday for you too or are you on the other side of the timeline where it's Monday?
also Jordan Speith is playing in Australia this coming week and not sure how close he will be to where you live.
Denwood
Well-known member
1/2 you've been a busy boy. Engine work, tree trimming, and helping your sister with salvage. Via your posts, she has many folks like myself wishing her well from around the globe...you should share that with her
I did a ground up build on the 2.1 liter Audi i4 transplanted into my Westfalia to replace the 2.1 Waserboxer, including fabrication of intake and exhaust. A very satisfying learning experience..and took the 4600lb van from 0-60 in 23 sec. down to 13.5 I'll live vicariously through your own build up.
I did a ground up build on the 2.1 liter Audi i4 transplanted into my Westfalia to replace the 2.1 Waserboxer, including fabrication of intake and exhaust. A very satisfying learning experience..and took the 4600lb van from 0-60 in 23 sec. down to 13.5
I'll live vicariously through your own build up.
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HOTFR8
Banned
Was the neighbor happy about you pruning his trees so your panels would work ?
A heartbreaking job with that clean up. Hope the Insurance replaces all those items.
A heartbreaking job with that clean up. Hope the Insurance replaces all those items.
Thank you Hef
I have passed all your messages of support on.
xtremek thank you, she lost pretty much all here mementos and clothing, we recovered some photos and discs fortunately. Her personal files were all in tact and apart from a few superficial burns no one was hurt.
Coop, We certainly made some great progress with more to go yet. I really had to take the emotion out of it during the recovery. My SIL is still not at a place where she is able to make a sound decision as yet.
Thanks again.
drives, many thanks it has been a tad hectic.
We still have a ways to go with the salvage and many hands make light work.
Did you see Peter Senior won the Aussie open this week end and Adam Scott clawed his way back to come in fifth.
I will keep an eye out for Jordan as well.
Have a great day, its Monday lunch time here.
1/2 you've been a busy boy. Engine work, tree trimming, and helping your sister with salvage. Via your posts, she has many folks like myself wishing her well from around the globe...you should share that with her
I did a ground up build on the 2.1 liter Audi i4 transplanted into my Westfalia to replace the 2.1 Waserboxer, including fabrication of intake and exhaust. A very satisfying learning experience..and took the 4600lb van from 0-60 in 23 sec. down to 13.5
Dennis I can assure you guys that all you comments and support have been passed on. My SIL has been over whelmed to say the least. Greatly appreciated.
I will check your work out on the rebuild, now they are some impressive numbers and you are right it is very satisfying and rewarding to see an engine build go well.
HOTFR8 the house next door is a renter and we have a good report with the lady there so it was no problem.
It was what I call Proactive Maintenanace rather than let a little issue become out of control in years to come.
Agree the salvage operation has been exactly that. Worst of all the contents were not insured.
Many thanks again every one.
HOTFR8
Banned
Yes it sure looks like you had a proactive weekend. Oh, no insurance.
HOTFR8
Banned
Well what can you say to that except start over once again.
You can only put that in one word. That is > ******.
shortykorte
Well-known member
The picture of the fire damage is a good reminder for us to back up important documents and pictures or store them in a safe place.
I'm sure you have been a godsend to your SIL.
I'm sure you have been a godsend to your SIL.
You can only put that in one word. That is > ******.
Sadly yes but the cup is half full at this point which is a positive.
Thank you shorty
I can't stress what you said enough.
1 - Smoke detectors saves lives. I might add maintain and test them regularly.
2 - Check that your insurance cover is adequate and read the fine print.
3 - Safety switches ( gfci s for you blokes ) should be tested annually and if you do not have them installed, do so.
4 - Have a fire safety plan in place.
5 - Back up all your data.
6 - Store all your mementos and every thing that is near and dear to you in a safe place.
7 - Do not return to a building that is burning.
8 - Every thing has an OFF switch - use it
9 - Electric appliances generate heat - ensure they have adequate ventilation.
10 - be proactive around the home and garage in terms of maintenance and safety it takes no time. We all leave increasingly busy life styles but what price do you put on not doing so.
And todays thought - look around where you are now, it may be a garage an office or your home.
Take a good look seriously do this not for me but you and your loved ones.
Imagine it is all gone and what that may mean to your situation.
Take care, stay safe in what ever you do.
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BuickFarmer
Well-known member
JUST getting here after a long absence and was in shock when I first read the last post thinking that the Shed Down Under had gone up in flame. Still sad to learn that it was not your place but rather your sister-in-law's. My son's apartment burned a week before he and his fiancé got married, lost everything even wedding gifts. So I know of what you speak in the post above. The outpouring of help from family, friends and church got them through it though and I know all the help you are giving your SIL is a True Blessing to her.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
1/2: was the fire at your SIL's from a computer or cell phone charger just being plugged in and getting too hot or exploding? like i said i leave mine on all the time and have for years. i do unplug my 18v Ryobi batteries fairly soon after they reach full charge because i've heard they can have issues too from sitting on the chargers. thanks for taking the time to write down all the great tips for all of us to read.
ALL: two things i've learned since being here on GJ is that a rag with stain in it left in a clump can self combust and start a fire and at least one member and maybe more have had that happen and it burnt down their garage. my neighbor was staining some 2 x 4's and left the rag on his 1.125 plywood bench for a few hours and saw smoke and it actually turned the spot under the rag into a charred mess and was about ready to burn. he was lucky. most of you and now i do have a metal can with a lid on it for stained or oily rags and some members hang them to dry.
another thing i've learned is not to throw a screwdriver or metal rod into a bag with your batteries and battery operated tools because another member did so and the screwdriver went across both connections on a battery and his tool bag went up in flames. small 9 volt batteries can explode by having a key or coin go across the connection if you happen to have one in your pocket (this happened to me while i was driving and i'd just read about it here. luckily i threw it on the rubber mat on the floor in front of the passenger's seat because my pocket was heating up and it exploded there instead of in my pants).
Safety 101 tips i've learned here are amazing and sadly most of them happened after an accident.
Have a great day everybody.
ALL: two things i've learned since being here on GJ is that a rag with stain in it left in a clump can self combust and start a fire and at least one member and maybe more have had that happen and it burnt down their garage. my neighbor was staining some 2 x 4's and left the rag on his 1.125 plywood bench for a few hours and saw smoke and it actually turned the spot under the rag into a charred mess and was about ready to burn. he was lucky. most of you and now i do have a metal can with a lid on it for stained or oily rags and some members hang them to dry.
another thing i've learned is not to throw a screwdriver or metal rod into a bag with your batteries and battery operated tools because another member did so and the screwdriver went across both connections on a battery and his tool bag went up in flames. small 9 volt batteries can explode by having a key or coin go across the connection if you happen to have one in your pocket (this happened to me while i was driving and i'd just read about it here. luckily i threw it on the rubber mat on the floor in front of the passenger's seat because my pocket was heating up and it exploded there instead of in my pants).
Safety 101 tips i've learned here are amazing and sadly most of them happened after an accident.
Have a great day everybody.
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Many thanks BF, I can truly relate to your situation and our thoughts are with you guys as well.
Thank you drives
The fire from all accounts started from an over heated lap top.
I guess this a wakeup call to every one and if I can share a lesson learned as you have done we all are richer for it.
As for batteries we have a strict policy at work - no bare terminals at any time applies - bar none.
I have seen what happens first hand with self combusting rags, not nice.
Thanks again drives.
I would like to take this opportunity from Downunder, to wish every one a fantastic Thanks Giving Day
Regards
drivesitfar
Well-known member
1/2: i wasn't sure if you celebrate or acknowledged Thanksgiving so thanks for the well wishes.
I started a thread in general tools called Grinder Safety 101 and we probably should start one with general safety 101 so the the members don't always have to learn the hard way and might be able to learn from others. i know i took my little bench grinders for granted and rarely even wore safety glasses. here's the link to that thread so you can see even a 1/4 HP bench grinder can cause damage if used wrong.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263083&highlight=grinder+safety+101
I did see that 56 year old Peter Senior won the first of the big 3 Australian golf tournaments, but he's got his work cut out for him winning this week with Jordan Speath and the other guys playing. is Jason playing or is he hurt?
have a great day. do you get the day off work or just being kind and mentioning our holiday?
I started a thread in general tools called Grinder Safety 101 and we probably should start one with general safety 101 so the the members don't always have to learn the hard way and might be able to learn from others. i know i took my little bench grinders for granted and rarely even wore safety glasses. here's the link to that thread so you can see even a 1/4 HP bench grinder can cause damage if used wrong.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263083&highlight=grinder+safety+101
I did see that 56 year old Peter Senior won the first of the big 3 Australian golf tournaments, but he's got his work cut out for him winning this week with Jordan Speath and the other guys playing. is Jason playing or is he hurt?
have a great day. do you get the day off work or just being kind and mentioning our holiday?
akdiesel
Well-known member
1/2 Cup
Nice of you to help your family get things together. Was the bulb in the lamp an incandescent type? I have had one LED bulb short circuit and trip the breaker a couple of times till I figured it out. Even those LED bulbs can warm when they are working correctly but not as hot as the incandescent types.
Being in the fire service I have heard of a few cases of fire fighters going in to overhaul (not on air) and die a few year later with some sort of lung cancer or other respiratory problems. Take caution.
Nice of you to help your family get things together. Was the bulb in the lamp an incandescent type? I have had one LED bulb short circuit and trip the breaker a couple of times till I figured it out. Even those LED bulbs can warm when they are working correctly but not as hot as the incandescent types.
Being in the fire service I have heard of a few cases of fire fighters going in to overhaul (not on air) and die a few year later with some sort of lung cancer or other respiratory problems. Take caution.
drives, Thanks giving day is not celebrated in Australia but I know you guys do so I was just passing my thoughts on.
I agree wholeheartedly with your suggestion about a thread on safety in and around your garage and home, perhaps we could ask the mods to amalgamate every thing safety related in to one specific thread?
Peter Senior did very well last week.
I don't believe Jason Day is playing. They tee off today and the one to watch will be Adam Scott he sound pretty keen to take on Jason SpeathThank you again.
Thank you akdiesel It was an over heated computer that was the cause of the fire but the lights to be very wary of are Halogen down lights as they generate an enormous amounts of heat. We have some very onerous codes here in regards to their installation in respect to clearances from flammables. Another thing that can be an issue is un maintained exhaust fans that are left on and seize up and burn.
I agree fires leave some nasty stuff around and we have instances of respiratory issues with fire fighters as well. Apart from the little we have recovered we will not be even contemplating sifting through the remains any more for that exact reason.
Many thanks again and all the best for Thanksgiving.
southern_tango
Active member
After a while of not being around the forum ,first thing I saw was about the fire ,good to hear your family is fine,that's the most important thing.
Hope they are coping alright with the shock .
I recon the way houses are build in Australia makes you have extra care specially around electricity,as they always said turn off the power from the powerpoint switch(but let's be honest who follows it?)
My best wishes for your family...
Hope they are coping alright with the shock .
I recon the way houses are build in Australia makes you have extra care specially around electricity,as they always said turn off the power from the powerpoint switch(but let's be honest who follows it?)
My best wishes for your family...
drivesitfar
Well-known member
1/2: I turned off the golf last night after Jordan bogeyed 3 of the first 4 holes and woke up to a surprise. he birdied the next two and how about that finish yesterday? Adam even had a good day too. not sure Matt Jones isn't going to win, but it will be worth watching the event tonight just the same.
hope you are having a great weekend.
cheers
hope you are having a great weekend.
cheers
Thanks for dropping by Southern_Tango. I can only recommend that every one switches appliances off at the outlet. Its certainly something we do here and have done for a number of years. I cant stress it enough.
drives Jordan did not have a good round but not that far off the pace, one of the lead after 6. Not a bad effort.
It has been one off those weekends, to much to do and too little time I am afraid.
It went like this:
Friday night my sister in laws ( from the fire) car wouldn't start, arranged trailer, picked up from carpark, deliver to my eldest sons to check it out. No big deal
My Dad calls to remind me that I had promised to fit a power point for his broad band connection but clean forgotten all about it as Mrs 1/2 Cup had arranged for us to do the last of the recovery for my sister in law.
Saturday Sister in law after a text, walked to our place ( not far ) for coffee at around 7 am waiting for my eldest to drop her car off after he replaced the fuel pump, early as he was going to Melbourne for the weekend that early turned out to be 10am.
Lawn edges, lawns and start pruning back a rampart Bougainvillea .
I was charged with feeding my sister in laws dog Rex who is staying at my eldest place so while I was there I was going to take the opportunity to finish some electrical in his new kitchen to get them out of the way, I forgot my hole saws as you do. No big deal I will come back tomorrow.
My son had left some notes for me on the kitchen table:
Dad can you fix this motor bike clutch handle and extract the set screws that were snapped off. ( long story )
Note 2 can you get mum to stitch up my LED light pouch and can you get her to iron these shirts please.
Note 3 Rexs' food is in the fridge.
Feed Rex , load car, back home.
Repaired clutch.
Finished off the pruning.
Phone call from my eldest to check on how things are going. The conversation ended with how are you going with the MG head..........Grrrr.
Beer o clock
Sunday I loaded my trailer and stuff ready for an early start for todays recovery. Sister in Law texts "cant make the early start" so un hitch the trailer, loaded my electrical stuff an went to my sons to finish what I tried to do yesterday this time with the holes saws, finished off what I had to do but could not test as the power had gone out and as I found out later it was due to a car verses a power pole. In the mean time my Sister in law had text " i will be there at 9.30 " as I couldn't do any more there I loaded up and headed home...again
Returned home, unload electrical gear, hitch up trailer and did the last load to the self storage.
Edit I forgot to mention Mrs 1/2 Cup alerted me to a leaking isolation valve in the bathroom just to add some variety to the weekend.
Power is back on at my sons place so it looks like i am doing the 15 km trip again just to fill in the afternoon, complete with a load of ironed shirts that Mrs 1/2 Cup had done.
And I still haven't gotten to my Dads yet.
Edit my nephew came to his grandfather aid and installed the power points he needed.
Update Sunday evening, my Sister in Laws car failed again in Echuca ( 45 minute drive from here)
fortunately her son is there to help.I am looking forward to work tomorrow let me tell you.
Have a good one.
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xtremek
Well-known member
Sounds like your running shoes are almost worn out.