Three of Four (& Seven of Nine)

Here's No3 of the Quartet.
Mathieu - Heavy Vehicle Gearbox Expert.

Unfortunately Mathieu confirmed our worst nightmares -  
The Commer had crunched it's last cog !
Luckily we are Men of Iron !
We did not cry.....although we felt tears in our eyes...
Fear not - Worst things have happened at sea............which is were the remains of the gearbox probably lay.

No amount of looking could find the missing teeth........or the propeller...




So, you've now been introduced to 'Three of Four'......
Definitely not to be mistaken for 'Seven of Nine'
No Comparision !!!
The Arcade is still Borg free...

One & Two of Four start work (& Seven of Nine)

Only fools rush in.........
So, not wanting to appear to look like fools (and to satisfy those readers that doubt the thoroughness of Oilyracer research) the Big Book of Commer Trivia was consulted before work commenced on the side engine mounts. No specification for rubber engine mount wobble could be found amongst the ancient scriptures.

 

Two red T shirts looking are surely better than one.......
but no luck today for Team Red

Unknown engineering territory once more would be where our fearless team would be heading.
The remains of the marine mounts were of a quality unheard of in todays 'Chinesecheapshit is ok' world....
These were forged from Blighty Steel........built to last......built by men who wore flat caps and drank 8 pints of warm beer every night before staggering home for supper
That's a good enough reason to try re-use them we think,  2 additional plates were cut from the remains of an R.S.J. left over from the build of the Arcade and welded at 45deg to triangulate the mount.

More substantial steel was found for the chassis mount and slotted to allow engine settling after the hoist was released.

You know what ? That bit of action took nearly 2 days !!!!!!!!






Oh and just so you can see Oilyracers One of Four and Two of Four have no similarities with the Borg and  'Seven of Nine'.........
No Comparision !!!   While our heros were grinding and slotting Seven of Nine was busy with the pies

Two of Four....(& Seven of Nine)

Albert here.
First job is an introduction - So, four were there......
and here's 'Two of Four' - Oilyracer Koen (Mr Arcade).........
(Hey...who you looking at ?)

Lets crack on -  Commer Comet Cried Continued -

The monster powerplant was in limbo.......it needed mounting........and pretty damn quick before the supporting chain snapped.....
One of Four and Two of Four took a trip into downtown Leopoldsburg. A town that brings fear to Viragosmoothies everywhere for this is Harley Hardman country. A place where big hogs hang way loose once a year and sickles are ridden bare chested.......and that's just the babes..... ......the guys stroll around in cowboy leather chaps.......anyway..whatever.....
One and Two where visiting a far more interesting emporium in search of big, and very hard rubber mounts .
LAO (Limburgse auto onderdelen) A place where a man can usually get what he wants, and tools to fit most nuts hang on hooks.
 The guys at LAO came good. They found treasure........in fact they had had them for years and were happy to sell them at pre Euro prices....
Under the thick layer of dust were the old price stickers -  470 Belgian Francs  
1 € = 40,344 Fr so that converts to 11,65 € each.
Turns out these precious mounts were originally destined for a 1966 Mercedes Benz 230 S.

Best of all after exchanging coins of Euroland they were ours ! Whoopeeeeeee!
Back to the Arcade....lets get Vintafaking.......






Oh and just so you can see Oilyracer Koen - Mr Arcade - 'Two of Four'  have no similarities with the Borg and  'Seven of Nine'.........
No Comparision !!!   It's just a names and numbers thing......

 

One of Four........ (& Seven of Nine)

Well a big hello to all you Oilyracers....! Albert here !
(or you may want to call me One of Four because I was there the day the Commer Comet Cried)
Total recall has happened, and for those thinking I suffered any permenant mind damage from drinking Belgiums finest beers then think again....... they were the lubrication that enabled thoughts of great magnitude to transfer from 'Matter to Metal'
First job on arriving in the Arcade was to carry out a full site survey.
Hum....(Albert thinking) .there's work to do alright...

A plan ? Let's just say we had a rough sketch.
The Comet engine was still attached to its sea mountings...........a hefty engine hoist was taking some of the strain aided by a reluctant 1928 Citroen chassis with vintage leaf springs....which were very saggy and almost resting on the floor (just like you would expect any 90 year old ladies bouncy things to be)

It was soon evident that the gearbox ( which we were told had been customised for Off Shore Powerboat Racing and World Championship Mussel dredging) was well past it's best. Refusing to select any motion either back or forth. It had had it's chance.......Removal was the only alternative..
By crikey, even this small part of the package weighed more than your average small car.....

 

 Once the gearbox was removed the Comet engine was slowly positioned in it's new home. Lucky ? Nope, it was pretty obvious to anyone with vision that the Commer Comet was always going to fit....

 with at least a couple of millimetres to spare.....

Albert thinking - Should be running by the end of the week.....maybe...

Day one done.  Time for a beer and to reflect on the importance of our work sat around the fire bucket.

 Signing off for now...........but stay tuned for more Comet Cried coming soon..

Oh and just so you can see  'I' Albert Crackleport - 'One of Four'  have no similarities with the Borg and  'Seven of Nine'.........
No Comparision !!!

Official witness statement....

Your Oilyracer Worships, Lords, Gentlemen and Royal Brass Buffing Men of Yorkshireshireshire. 'I' Albert Crackleport do swear on the holy workshop manual of Virago that I was present when the Commer Cried ! (Lucky Bastar* I know)
It was a tense moment......in fact it was a suprise too, for the compressional explosion was unexpected..
4 Wise men were there to witness this happening.............What an honour.......1 of 4 that's me ! Not quite as famous as 7 of 9 but I will be soon............(Albert Crackleport 1 of 4 mmmmmmm suits me!)
It is only now after an extended lie down and a flagon (or 2) of falling down cider can I start to remember the event.....
Hey guys......................ya gonna have to stay tuned on this one 'cos the painful recall could be spread over an earth day or two........................or three.............dependant on the alcohol lubrication of the memory databank.
Stay tuned................................I am entering recover mode......................I'll be back a.s.a.p.

.

The cry of the Commer Comet....

without words.....

The clock has ticked - it has started.

Well a big hello to all you Oilyracer Bloggyheads......Albert 'C' here...
A small corner of Belgium awaits.......I have prepared for the journey and am ready to answer the call !
First though I have had to make and pack my sandwiches.......it's hell of a long way to the Arcade.
So, here's what your Uncle Alb will be having for Sunday lunch tomorrow.....(Under the Channel on the Euroshuttle)
A French Bagette (Morrisons really) with a Crackleport special B.L.T. filling....and I'm taking a pot of proper salad cream to pour on top at the last possible moment........mmmmmmmmm!

That should keep me going till teatime....

Keep checking in...........Next week is an important week....