Eunos Chump

The Rover 75 has a cheerful little temperature gauge with a sunny, optimistic attitude.  He'll tell you everything is fine and dandy in engine land, right up to the point where it reaches critical mass and does a China Syndrome.  However, you can display the real temperature direct from the sensor by careful tapping of the trip reset button: With the engine running, press and hold the button After a few seconds, the number 1 will appear - tap the button to advance the number to 19 After a second or so, Test will appear - press the button again Now tap the button until 7 appears After a couple of seconds, the true engine temperature will be displayed To remember this, I think of Star Wars - 1977.

You are looking at a FULLY OPERATIONAL Rover 75.  Insurance, tax, £240 of new tyres, £5 worth of car wash and it was good to go.  It is so lovely and smooth... multi-cylinder petrol engines will be extinct before long and it's going to be a shame.

The thermostat housing on a Rover KV6 motor is made of plastic; it's then plopped (along with a couple of associated pipes) right in the centre of the engine vee where it can get nicely toasted. These parts appear quite acceptable for the overflow plumbing of a toilet cistern, but certainly do not seem suitable as critical components in the cooling circuit of a complex engine.  I'm sure there's a good reason this material was chosen... I'm guessing it's because chocolate wouldn't last out the warranty period. Predictably, after a while the housing starts to leak.  For the past couple of weeks I've been attempting to replace those parts, WITHOUT dismantling half the engine to reach them.  After much grief, swearing, cut fingers and the use of BBQ tongs, it's fixed.  There was a point where I was ready to raffle it off on Autoshite (£1 a go), but persistence paid off.  The super Pela fluid extractor pump I got for my birthday really earned it's kee...

The cast came off today, I'm free!  Managed 21 miles (including hitting 70K on the VFR), but the last 5 miles was pretty painful on my wrist.  Went out again in the evening and managed 30 miles before it needed a rest.  Feeling very 'blunt' though. I cannot begin to describe the wondrous sensation of scrubbing my freshly-released arm with a pan-scourer and some detergent... it was almost worth breaking a bone for.  The doc said it will need 2 to 3 weeks before it was back to normal, and I should avoid heavy manual work.

I've been on my holidays in exotic NORTH YORKSHIRE.  It was bloody lovely and I'd like to have spent the entire Summer there, but alas have had to return to the penal colony of Hampshire. Sherpa van serving ice cream - is the beginning of gentrification for the humble Sherpa?  I first came to York museum in a Sherpa minibus in 1979, which delivered me to this very spot.   Sinister spark-plug man at Beamish open air museum. Deltic at NYMR.  I'm not a train geek or 'owt but I admire the engineering of these. The view from our cottage, Roseberry Topping in the background.  On one very still day the turbines stopped, and it was slightly disturbing - they reminded me of dead Tripods.

I'm only plastered to the elbow now, and it should be coming off altogether at the end of August.  It's had a big effect on my life though, there are so many things I struggle to do now.  Obviously no driving or riding bikes - I've only been out of the house a couple of times for hospital appointments. I've been able to work from home but it's been frustrating typing and using a mouse with a single left hand.  It's not been all bad though, I've spent much more time with the Mrs and the pace of life seems to have slowed considerably. Bored of watching TV, this morning I started working on Roger.  The bent bar-end eventually came off with some persuasion from a hammer, and apart from the brake lever all it needs is some cosmetic work.  It even started first time. Camera mount is toast. Odiham had banned cameras, which is just as well else that would have been wrecked too.  Side panel took most of the damage but will repair.

Track day at RAF Odiham! Roger running well, I'm pushing him hard with my usual ham-fisted technique and ignoring the squirming rear tyre. Accelerating hard out of a corner, I give it too many beans and lowside it.   After 6 hours in A&E it turns out I've broken my radius bone (right forearm) at both the wrist and elbow, so I'm plastered to the shoulder.  Roger has come off much better - it only needs a brake lever to be made operational.  Lots of fairing damage but I'll just fill that and slap some more paint on. Leathers are wrecked (almost holed on the shoulder and arse), gloves ripped.  I've got an imprint of the brake pedal in my calf, a cut finger, and a bruised face but DO NOT PANIC - I'm still beautiful.