Post by grumpynorthener on Mar 30, 2024 9:24:31 GMT
Saturday of the show
Whilst the others cracked on with the Bradford Van which was commencing its restoration, the exhaust was being fitted to the Javelin and the location of the body mountings were finalised on the Short 2 Tourer for the new ash frame - I commenced the reshaping & welded repairs on the wings for the Short 2
I had them shot blasted to remove all paint / rust
They all have various areas of damage / rust perforation / poor repairs on them but they are all repairable - The nearside front is the worst off having been subjected to a dose of impact damage
Immediately opposite us was a club called 'Klasyczna Polonia UK' - A UK based Polish car club - they were about 25 members on the stand and all mad but in a good way
They were building a FSO Polonez from a rolling bodyshell over the 3 days of the show
They were superbly organised with everything packed well / placed to stillages etc
Obviously a great deal of work had been undertaken behind the scenes to bring this to effect (We pioneered this concept for the show with a Javelin built from bare bodyshell 8 years ago)
Everyone on the Jowett team kept at it and even the odd live interview was squeezed into the work schedule
And more parts were dissembled from the Bradford Van - Pretty remarkable team effort in my book because whilst everything is bolt on every nut & bolt was rusted / seized yet they still managed to get everything apart without creating undue damage to the panels & fittings
At 16:00 hours the National Car Club Awards are announced & presented - we have a strong track record at picking up the awards but I had discounted winning anything this year - I thought that the judges may give us a year off along with the fact that the Polish club in my book were very worthy candidates for best live working restoration stand
However the judges loved our multiple vehicle stand with multiple restoration activities & disciplines demonstrated - In their own words we had simply knocked it out of the park once again
They also recognised the fact that we offer our welding facilities to other clubs at the show that may require help (several of them did) - This is a hugely significant win for the Jowett Car Club being a hat trick for 'Best Live Working' whilst also being our 10th award in 10 years of the show (Discount the fact that for the first 2 years they were no at show awards then discount the 2 years lost to the pandemic / lockdown which brings a score of 10 awards in 7 shows) We always undertake the show on the basis of taking part rather than aiming for a win but a win always helps
Post by grumpynorthener on Mar 31, 2024 10:40:52 GMT
Some other stand displays
The long established Sporting Bears 'Dream Rides' were out in force
Owners offer up their own cars at their own expense in return for a driven trip out in the car whilst at the show
In return you make a minimum donation - prices range from £20 - £50 - the donation goes direct to children's charity of the vehicle owners choice - there's a vast selection motors everything from a 1920's Model T Ford to some of the latest supercars - They raised in excess of £19,000 for charity over the weekend
Great work! Respect! Did do it myself for the Alfa club in Essen. Always a lot of work (even the years I did only bring some cars for the stand).
Concerning moving cars around in the barn using some help makes sense. I know that the fancy electric pallet mover based machines are useless on the underground you have but a friend of mine who has the same "issues" modified an old two-wheel motorized cultivator to move the cars (and to save his back). Removed the cultivator part and made a kind of push and pull bar to do the heavy work Thom
Great work! Respect! Did do it myself for the Alfa club in Essen. Always a lot of work (even the years I did only bring some cars for the stand).
Concerning moving cars around in the barn using some help makes sense. I know that the fancy electric pallet mover based machines are useless on the underground you have but a friend of mine who has the same "issues" modified an old two-wheel motorized cultivator to move the cars (and to save his back). Removed the cultivator part and made a kind of push and pull bar to do the heavy work Thom
Example picture:
Not a bad idea - I was going to look for an old lawn tractor / mower - not thought about a modified rotavator
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 2, 2024 7:49:38 GMT
New exhaust was fitted to the Javelin
New water pump & all new hoses fitted
And after some coaxing the team managed to get the engine running on Sunday afternoon - That will be the first time in 58 years since its run - The distributor is badly worn so I'll commission a rebuild on it - I then need to have a few days fettling everything else on the car
Elsewhere in the show - The Polish team had completed the rebuild on the FSO Polonez
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 3, 2024 8:16:17 GMT
More progress on the front nearside wing of the Long 2
The welding has to be undertaken under controlled conditions - i.e, within a enclosed fire retardant welding tent with the welding screen drawn over
A previous owner had cut the side panels on the Bradford van and fitted windows to it - Its being returned to a van and a pair of original side panels from a scrapped van had been sourced
These were trial fitted but will need to come back off in order to undertake repairs to the ash frame
Meanwhile any bolt on panels were removed from the vans body
In between collecting parts from some of my suppliers that were attending the show I managed a brief look at the barn finds stand
This huge Cadillac 'Flower Car' won the best Barn Find
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 4, 2024 9:58:14 GMT
More pics of other stands
Colt Sapporo (Mitsubishi) Must be ultra rare by now
The end of the show draws in pretty quickly and there's a lot to do in a limited time to get everything out of the show
The Javelin gets loaded to my trailer along with the vehicle lift - The blue Bradford Utility has already been loaded to Duncan's trailer and is enroute back to my workshop
The boot space & interior is packed with loose stand equipment / tools etc
The Long 2 on to Bruce's trailer and its heading for 20:00 hours before we get out of the hall
The following morning The Range Rover is unloaded of the shop stock
Then the Javelin & lift off loaded at the barn
Back up to the NEC to load the Bradford project along with the display boards (blue cases)
Transported back to the barn and temporally parked up
Then the vehicle lift has to go back to the workshop on the trailer
Winched into the workshop
And placed back under the MG
Back to the barn to shunt the Javelin & Bradford into position
And park the trailer up
Still not done yet - Team overalls to wash & dry
And that's it for another year - currently assessing how to make it easier on myself - Its a huge undertaking and takes a month out of my life to organise / transport / logistics - even now I'm still putting stuff away and playing catch up - I will need to delegate some of my undertakings in future years as I cant maintain the current level of commitment - None the less - a great result from a fantastic team at a superb show
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 12, 2024 7:16:29 GMT
Some pretty strong publicity for the club since the show - we featured in Classic Car Weekly
And Practical Classics did a great write up
Good (free) publicity is critical for a small club like ours - Unlike the larger clubs we just don't have the budget to advertise or employ staff that are year round working on active membership campaigns
