Harry Palmer

Somebody else got the same idea as me :-

I’ve decided to strip the GP cutdown that’s in france. It’s really being wasted there and going to seed a little. I’ve realised that the last several years of pottering with it have really only been a dry build. Now that it’s more or less mechanically sound I should strip it and have it sprayed professionally.

I took the slow train to work this morning (actually faster than the express due to engineering work) and jotted down some notes. I was planning to rebuild the engine anyway with the remains of the Li125 engine. Combining both will give me the best gearbox in a better engine case. There’s also the chance to re-use a lot of parts and the shopping list is quite short when compared to the first engine rebuild I did. If I’m doing the engine I may as well strip the whole lot, as it’s a lot more managable in boxes. Plus I can use the tires and rims which are in better condition on the Li.

What it really needs is decent paintwork, the frame is currently brush painted black and I sprayed the leg shields white in the back yard. Danny at ScooterMarket that did work on my engine before is also a custom sprayer who’s had some of his work featured in Scootering magazine. Given that so much of the bodywork has been chopped there’s not actually that much to paint. I’m thinking about an “Orange Crate” theme based on the old gasser hot rod of the same name.

Something like that beautiful Ford Cortina metal flake orange would be the choice of colour.

I’m supposed to be teaching myself new skills but from what I’ve read it’s very hard to get a decent finish with no proper spray booth and equipment. Plus I’d like it laquered and that looks very difficult. I also now plan to fill in and smooth the frame properly, take off all the sharp edges. It needs a bit more welding to fill the bigger holes and then filling with isopon.

Trouble is I don’t fancy doing all that in this weather!

I’ve finally got the engine I’ve been building since last year into the Lambretta.

It’s now 186cc with racing carb and Ancillotti exhaust. It appears to run well although there is some drag from the new clutch plates. The new engine is just amazing, like riding a Ducati after riding with the standard engine for so long. There’s a wonderful slurpy noise from the Del’Orto 26mm carb and the kick of acceleration is so much fun.

I’ve already started stripping the old engine with a plan to rebuild it and put it in the other scoot (the GP cutdown thats in France at Estelles parents). Hopefully I’ll be a bit quicker with the next rebuild. As Fred Dibnah said of traction engines “15 years for the first one, I reckon I can do the second in 5″!

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Found some new trainers in Cora last night. One of the dangers of going shopping without adult supervision.

“Did you get toilet paper?”
“Errr no but I bought some new trainers, a crate of Grimbergen and this Lego set”

I think these are the same ones Richard Pryor wears in Superman III.

I modelled myself on this look the whole time I worked at Compuware and nobody ever noticed.

I bought a telescope new in Cash Converters a couple of weeks ago and last night I setup it up properly in the attic. I’d done a test in the back yard looking at the moon but wanted to have it inside over the winter, looking out through the velux window in the roof. After moving lots of things around there is now enough space to operate it but I need to find some kind of “pouf” to sit on as it’s very hard on the knees crouching to look through the eye piece.

It was a clear evening so without knowing what I was doing I started scanning the easterly sky. Quite by accident I found a very bright object which I think (after some research this morning) was the Andromeda galaxy! I have some night sky mapping software but it was too late to turn the computer back on to check.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_Galaxy