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Post by 33grinder on Jul 15, 2011 9:13:21 GMT
First posted 18th January 2010Well, not much Daffing for me to report from this week, except for a lovely break in the weather today allowing me to extract Gavina from the garage for a wash as she was still filthy from the snow, which thankfully has all gone now from my part of the badlands. Saturday was to hopefully see myself, Matt and Dan meet up for some daffing, however Dan is in the building trade and work committments meant that we was no longer available on Saturday. Matt and I took a raincheck, as it was hissing down with rain and I didn't much fancy driving Gavina in that nor working outside. We decided to call a hault to any daffing plans and reconvene another time. Besides, Martin (the friend who's workshop I rent a corner of) was due back from 3 weeks away in Malta, so I thought it would be nice to catch up with him and do some work on the Renault. A mutual friend gave Martin a lift home from the airport Friday night and the head gasket blew on his Audi on the way home, so they went straight to the garage and proceded to work on it. Martin left the workshop in the early hours having been there all night, James was still there with his Audi and after a quick brew we got the final bits back together and engine started, all was well but the water pump he'd only fitted six months earlier (when he changed the cambelt) was totally kn@ckered, the metal fins had all sheared off! Anyway, here's some photo's of Badlands South. View from the front (there's a side door as well, and an outside lav too, although in the cold weather the water in the cystern freezed up, luckily it's all fine now! ;D There's a nice log fire in the workshop to keep things (well, within a ten foot radius) nice and toasty. Otherwise there's an office/kitchen (not photographed) which is always warm. We need to replace some flourescent strip lights, last time we used a forklift truck with a palet on the forks to let us reach the tubes. Now the guy who owns the forklift has moved on and is no longer on the estate. The high ceilings make changing bulbs quite hazardous and photos on my mobile came out dark. I've tried to lighten them on photoshop, hope they come out ok. And finally my little corner. I've since cleared all the parts of the Renault onto the shelves behind, together with the half dozen garden bags full of spares that were in the car. For those who follows/remembers/cares about the last Renault instalment, you'll know recovering her was a royal PITA and once I'd dumped her in the corner and mopped out the excess water from the dashboard that was all I could be @rsed to do. I've now had a chance to check electrics and I have indicators, rear lights, reversing lights, horn, interior lights, and one electric window. Not bad considering the dashboard was out of the car when I got it. James and I decided (after another brew) that we should try and get her started. We patched up a bad lead the starter and put some jump leads onto James' Audi, to no avail. We thought the starter may be ropey and bench tested our spare wihch was fine. We then shorted the starter terminals and got it to turn, however the solenoid was stuck. We ran a new wire straight to the batter so we could operate the solenoid ourselves, and managed to get the starter engaging. That freed everything up so she could be turned on the key. After some coughing and then remembering she has a choke, we eventually got her going. That's after James had tested for a spark and forgot he was holding the spark plug in his wrong hand (the one with the metal plate in this thumb). Anyway, she was running sweetly for a little while before she looked like she was going to overheat and the overflow bottle started to bubble up. Whether that is because the fan wasn't kicking in or the thermostadt was stuck remains to be seen. That was pretty much it from me. I shan't dwell too much on the Renault, nobody seemed overly excited about it last time, just thought it better to post something to read than nothing at all. Matt did get some Daffing done though. He is working at the MOT requirements for Animal who is now out of ticket. Some success for Matt today in that he sorted out a lot of electrical woes and now has his indicators back. Goldie is proving a reliable daily hack, as Matt's list for Animal is growing and include half shalf boots, anything else rubber apart from engine mounts need replacing and perhaps even a spot of welding. A Daffer's work is never done!! That's all for now! Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Jul 16, 2011 23:56:25 GMT
First posted 26th January 2010Back again with another week's round up from the badlands! There was the possibility to meet up with Dan at the weekend, regretfully battery woes with his Alfa put paid to that. For my own part, I've been belting around the badlands and putting some miles under her belts. Saturday night saw a scorned Mrs G. and a rushed journey home where 85mph was seen on the speedo , a new record although that was down hill in a valley on the A130 (yes, we do have some hills in Essex you know) and by the time I crested the hill at the other end of the valley she had dropped down to 60mph. I'm getting very used to driving her again now, as to whether she is used to my leaden right foot I'm not so sure! ;D I have also located another steering column complete with steering wheel, barrell and key and will hopefully get this next weekend. Once the whole lot is swapped over I can dispense with my temporary screwdriver key. ;D I can report that whilst Matt is not being disturbed by the farmyard chickens he has found time to get on with some Daffing. Going back to Matt's 66 parts car, he has finally managed to get the 1300cc engine to turn over, allaying fears that it was seized. She's not firing yet, but some fresh petrol may help. This one will be broken as she is too far gone to be saved, but it is nice to know the engine is working before she is pulled. Work then turned to Animal. Matt started to remove the half shafts and found some rust in them, together with the rubber boots being cracked. He has cleaned out and at the time of taking the picture needed to apply some fresh grease. With animal off the road this has given Matt time to evaluate the grot spots and he has sent me some photos for your perusal. Matt discovered this hole whilst poking around under the driver's side front corner. Here's the driver's side rear of sill and arch: Nearside rear quarter panel and arch: Matt is going to text me a list of rubber parts that he needs for Animal which I'll put under the parts section of the forum, so look out for it and if anyone can help then Matt will be greatful. Well, that's all for now! Cheese, 33G. First posted 1st February 2010Hello all and it's that time for a report of this weekend's Daffing at the Badlands. Saturday started late for me as I had to pay a visit to a friend in Romford, the opposite direction to Matt's barn in Colchester. Still, the sun was shining, I wasn't wearing shades and had half a tank of petrol so I set off in Gavina and 45 minutes later met up with my friend. Some time later I set off for Colchester which would be a good hour away. Still she was running fine and I thought I would take a different route to Essex central. Trouble is I found myself a little uncertain of my whereabouts and called Matt for directions. (Incidentally, if anyone can offer advice as to how to wire in a 12v cigar lighter so a fcukwit like me can run satnav so not get lost due to a total lack of spacial awareness and no sense of direction then please enlighten me!!). I confirmed my whereabouts and then Gavina stalled on me. I managed to restart her but using the choke. Performance came in bits and drabs and I called Matt again to say that I was possibly not make it to the barn. We struggled along and then I called Matt. 'Hello Mate, I've broken down' 'OK mate, we're on our way' 'You won't have to go far, I'm at the gate' ;D Fortunately Dan had already arrived and he and Matt helped push Gavina to the barn. I sheepishly admitted she may be a little low on go-go juice but she had only just gone into the reserve. Then I found that Gavina is a liar. This will put a strain on our future relationship, but I now know how far I can take her before a pitstop is imminent.!! Having said that, she's not that great on the MPG. Half a tank made it from Rayleigh to Romford and not quite Colchester, about 76 miles. I can't be @rsed to do the maths, but does that sound right? OK, we then dug out my spare heat exchangers for Joe and John's bonnet hinges. Matt couldn't find any spare throttle cables for Paul, so Dan took one out of the white 44. Then the obligatory cuppa was consumed and we refueld Gavina. Today Matt and Dan were working on Goldie as her Speedo had stopped working. Matt tried swapping over for another clock and the road test (to the petrol stationto fill Gavina's jerry can) showed that whilst Goldie was running in sterling fashion 3 up with a tool chest in the boot, the dial refused to budge. So the original clock (which also has lower mileage) could go back in. Eventually Matt found that the cable 'had wound itself up'. Here is another problem that he found, the plastic nut which is prone to breaking when changing the cable. Then in the fading light Matt told us that he had to be home for 6pm as swmbo had a job for him to do and we all went our separate ways. Matt was hoping to accompany me to visit our acquintance Stephen Balls who I had promised to visit for a while now, to catalogue more of his stock. More of that will be posted on the appropriate part of the forum so look out for that. But before we departed we made an interesting discovery. Yes, chickens prefer Ovlovs to Dafs!! But then again, what do they know, they're reknown for their bad taste (unless roasted or fried that is!!) Well, I'm no chicken but it must be said that Dan's Ovlov 66 estate is a very nice example. The panels are straight and there are just a couple of faded areas. Inside she boasts a clean 300 type interior, those seats certainly look comfortable! Now, I like to keep these reports light hearted and they can go off track occasionally depending on the current state of affairs of the author, however I realise that mention of Stephen may involve thoughts concerning a certain individual who, whilst I am not at liberty to name here, if you slightly alter the corus of The Italian' Jobs theme tune you will get a clue. I would ask for none of those comments being posted here, no IBTLs as I do not want to be lynched by our webmeister if I do make it to Princethorp!! ;D So, more tea was consumed at Stephen's and some Daf banter followed, amongst photographing more of Stephen's stock. Steven had kindly kept aside a spare steering column / wheel / barrel and key ensemble for me from a 33 van. He had spent a couple of hours cutting and polishing the wheel and I can report that a very nice job of it he has done too. He was pleased to see my 33 as it is only the third one he had seen. I then set off home and although she didn't seem quite so peppy (must have sucked some dregs into the carb or filter) she did well enough until, when being a numpty and reaching for the control to put hot air onto my cold feet I knocked the dangling ignition wires and one fell out killing the engine. By zippo light I connected the wires and no more trouble was experienced on the way home, except I did stop for petrol!!! Today hasn't seen much chance for daffing, but I did install Stephen's replacement parts and I can now start Gavina by key rather than screwdriver, which is good as the plastic gizmo was getting harder to turn as the screwdriver kept taking chuncks out of it. I now have the luxury of not having to carry a screwdriver around with me! ;D Finally, I can report that there was a Daf Parts Wanted ad in one of the weekly inkies and Matt has responded. The chap wanted some electrical switches which Matt has supplied, but he also needs a 44 bonnet which Matt cannot help with. If anyone can help with this then please let me know. Also, should anyone come across a 6volt anti-run on valve for Dorothy, Matt's 44 then again, please let me know. That's all for now and happy Daffing! Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Jul 18, 2011 21:22:53 GMT
Gosh, Animal and Goldie woes, Rover woes ( ) and the discovery of a 32, 66 and 46! Plus a mention of holding a camping weekend - oo-er! What were we thinking? ;D First posted 8th February 2010Hello all, and welcome to the round up of this weekend's Daffing from the badlands of Essex. This weekend's activities started with a call to Matt on Saturday morning to see what Daffing he was up to. I was fully expecting him to be working on preparing Animal for her MOT. Sadly this was not the case as, on way to the barn Goldie's power suddenly diminished and was accompanied by a clanging noise under the bonnet. Upon pulling over to investigate Matt found that a spark plug was hanging loose from an HT lead! This was carefully screwed into the cylinder head and Matt continued his way on full power. Once Goldie had cooled down, Matt tightened up the plug which has remained tight since, including following an hour's drive to the Grinder residence this morning. More on that later though. And so with Matt safely at Essex Central, we'll return to him in due course after details of my day's non-daffing activities I decided to tackle the Rover's electrical woes. The headlight switch was becoming worn and I have a problem where if I use the beam and release the stalk I loose the headlights and have to switch them off and then on again! A previous check of the fuses and relays did not show any faults so, given that I had previously replaced the faulty wiper stalk with a band new item, the headlight switch and beam stalk may be at fault. Unlike the wiper stalk these only come as one complete item, which includes a new wiper stalk and the whole assembly requires removal of the steering column. I removed the nut and was in processing of gently pursuading the wheel from the column by applying a copper faced mallet to the back of the wheel. At this point my mechanic friend Martin arrives and says 'this is how we do it to the Landies' and clouts the end of the column (no nut on it) with the mallet. Unfortunately Rover is a little more genteel and the top of the thread got damaged. Just bad luck that could happen to anyone I guess but frustrating nonetheless! So, out came the angle grinder, file and hacksaw and the thread was repaired. The unit was changed over. Here's the old one (note the nice wiper stalk : Work then turned to the R5 GTT's broken starter motor. Now, I don't know what it's like to remove one from our water cooled Dafs, but let me tell you in this car it is an absolute son of satan, beelzebub's spawn, bar steward of a job! Two brackets had to be removed to access bolts that are not visible, just to get access with tools that you can't actually use as there's no space to use them! After two hours of wrestling with it the R5 gave birth to an unhealthy starter motor!! ;D The fecking fecker!!! Really, I don't know what is worse. The fact that I have to do the job in reverse which will probably take twice as long, or the fact that the 'spare' which came from the car is not identical. Knowing what I do now about this job though, I'm not going to be taking any chances and a new item will be going back in. That pretty much concludes my day, other than a kebab and a few beers but you don't really wan't to know about that, so I suppose we shoud really return to Matt at Badlands Central. The Chickens didn't come out to play today so Matt got straight onto work with Animal, setting out his tools to replace the drive shafts and gaiters. Matt will be the first to admit that the most effective tool in any Daffer's Arsenal (that one just for you Matt ) can be seen directly behind the ratchet! Matt started on the driveshafts and the gaiters were shot And after some Daffing the replacement driveshafts and gaiters were installed. Much better! So, what jobs are left on Animal? Well, a wiper jet to be unblocked and three patches to be welding in. The welding will be done in a fortnight's time, all being well, which is just as well as Animal is about to loose her parking space within the barn and will be joining Daphne the 66 1100sl outside the barn. More on that later though! Matt needs some rubber parts for Goldie and Animal and more detais will be posted on that at a later stage. DD, whilst I remember, any news on that chap who wanted a swap a 6V anti run on valve for one of Matt's 12V ones? He would be very grateful as it would help return Dorothy (the 44 estate) to the road. Anyway, we now fast forward to this morning, which saw Matt and Goldie at the Grinder residence, as previously mentioned. Tea was consumed and discussion turned to Daf matters, as often happen when Daffers congregate to consume tea. The reason for our meeting at Badlands South was to visit Dave, or 'Mr. M' as previously mentioned on this thread. Dave is the chap who was featured in Practical Classics magazine's 'Barn Find' article who we tracked down a few weeks ago and for those who frequent Retro Rides he is known as 'Flannelracing'. Great bloke and hopefully he's going to join this forum! Dave turns out to be a really affable chap and a true petrol head. There was some lovely metal at his barn and I am especially jealous of him having a petrolhead missus who actively encourages him to buy more cars!! I must say that the time flew past and Matt and I spent a very pleasant couple or three hours chatting with Dave and looking at some of his great motors. Sadly his Buick Riviera was elsewhere this morning, but here's some pictures of the other metal, just to whet your wistles: Note at the back the just visible yellow 44 bonnet which hopefully will be finding its way to the chap in Cornwall I mentioned in our last thread. Dave's missus has a 33 which is remarkably sound but Dave pulled off the road as he thought it was getting a little 'scabby'. In reality the worst of it was a rear wheelarch, and Matt may be able to help Dave with a wheelarch from a 33 that he has previously broken. We gave Dave plenty of encouragement to return the 33 to the road and he now plans to do this as a surprise for his missus. She is mechanically sound as have beautiful pinstriping bonnet and boot (we're talking about the 33 here!!) with a period radio containing a push button FM preset and chrome surround, which this numpty here forgot to photograph!! Dave also has a 46 which was at his friend's paintshop until it had to be moved back to his barn. He's now awaiting the chance to get her back. She's going to have moon discs and different rear light clusters. Having spoken to Dave we look forward to to seeing her finished as, given Dave's requirements in the minor details we expect it to be good quality. Now, I mentioned Dave's missus 33 and that is of great sentimental value to her being her first Daf. Dave was going to use a donor for repairs. Thankfully he has since decided that the donor is too good for cutting up. Here's the donor vehicle. Don't be fooled by the plates as this is an early 32 wearing 33 numbers as this car has a little identity problem. It still wears it's chassis plate and the engine is apparently original. We're hoping we can get some more information concerning its identity and date of manufacture from the DCN. Anyone know who we should contact? So, it was all there under the bonnet excepting some soft metal on one of the suspension turrets and the battery tray. The interior was a real peach, the only thing letting her down being the dashboard padded top where the foam has started to disentegrate. Most of the missing original trim was to be found in the boot. Dave told me she has covered about 3,000 kilometres (the speedo is in kilometers and has a trip counter too). There then followed some discussion and an agreement was made, hands were shook and I then found myself the owner of a Daf 32. Well, Matt's day was to get even better when, under some stored items emerged a blue 66, which had an MOT 2 years ago when Dave bought her as a stop gap whilst he finished his 46. It was incredibly solid and, well, you guessed it....Matt ended up also making an agreement with Dave and shaking hands!!! ;D So, two more Dafs will be arriving at Essex Central, the first being the 32 which will arrive once Animal's welding is finihsed in a couple of weeks hopefully. In merryment and shock we returned to the Grinder residence where there was much more banter and more of this: So, an absolutely great day for myself and Matt. Matt was meant to get home for 4pm to get down the pub to watch Arsenal loose again on the big screen, but that was soon forgotten after today's activities! Sadly Dan was unable to accompany us, although we hope to catch up with him soon and Steve, Matt's friend, too, so that welding on the Van can be discussed. So, that's about all from the Badlands. One more thing to mention though. A couple of people from on here have mentioned that they would like to meet up with us. We're always happy to entertain visitors and relish the chance to meet new Daffers. We also realise that we're some way from the core membership and that to make it worthwhile you need some time down here. We were therefore thinking of holding a Daf weekend down here. There is a good pub in close vicinity to Essex Central which offers good cheap accomodation. There may also be other options. If there is enough interest then we'll look into it further, do let us know on this thread, a PM's fine but mention it here and others may follow, the more the better and let's try and make a memorable event!! Also note that whilst Matt is currently not working Saturdays, he will at some point resume doing so as it is what pays for the Daffing, so weekend opportunities may not be available for too long. Well, that's all for now, off for a dutch moment as this darn laptop has lost me over three hour's work tonight, it's been an absolute nightmare! ;D Cheese, 33G
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Post by 33grinder on Jul 19, 2011 20:09:24 GMT
First posted 14th February 2010Here's what we've done this weekend. Matt freed up the brakes on his 66 Marathon Coupe and it was rolling again within 15 minutes. All this to empty his barn to take Paul's requested 'cars on driveway' photograph. Meantime I ran a wire from Gavina's battery with a 15amp blade fuse in a fuse holder, through the grommet where the heat exchanger controller cable runs through the bulkhead: And here is the end result, a cigar lighter to run Satnav. No more getting lost (although I'm sure there are those who would sometimes like me to!!!). Replacement stereo doesn't work - what a p!sser. Cheese, 33G. First posted 22nd February 2010Hello all and a belated report of daf activities from the Badlands. I can report that our Badlands North member, Dan has changed the water pump on his 55 marathon coupe. He has encountered the usual snapping bolts problem but otherwise all is progressing well. I really must get over to Dan's at some point soon and take photos of his garage and lovely collection, which includes some of his brother's cars. Dan's brother is into Fiat 500s and 126s and there is a fine collection there. And to Matt. The chickens came out to say hello. Once he had finished playing with the chickens, Matt cracked on with his work on Animal and her electrical woes. Animal sulked, first loosing her horn function which later would return. Matt has checked at the fusebox and found two broken connections, although even that was not the problem. Matt suspects bad wiring or switch connections as he's missing dipped beam although his indicators have started working again. The suspect was not found but Matt has some other ideas and battle will recommence soon! So, state of play with Animal for MOT is as follows: 1 wiper jet to be unblocked, dipped beam to be reinstated and some small plates to be welded in. Running a Daf as his daily, Matt likes to ensure he always has a reserve Daf. Goldie has given sterling service, even keeping Animal's ropey battery going with jump starts. ;D For my own part, having a 5 year old son means that he picks up all the colds from school and then thoughtfully shares them with mum and dad!! I have felt a little under the weather of late and so the thought of Daffing outside in the cold and wet didn't appeal. Besides, my mechanic friend Duncan called me on Saturday morning and arranged to meet me in Rayleigh at Europarts where they had a starter motor for the Renault 5 GTT which he would get for a trade price of £58. When I saw the receipt I found that the price for joe public was almost double that!! So, that's in the boot of the car as I felt even less inclined to work on the Renault. So that's pretty much it from the Badlands. I have noticed that sometimes our thread gets plenty of comments and banter going on, whilst other times it is deadly quiet and I hear the distant chiming of church bells and see the tumble weed going past. I always think that a forum is only as good as those who participate on it and being an active member means posting text and photos for others to view. Naturally I'm happy to do so, especially for Matt and Dan who have been of much help to me but cannot post to this forum for themselves. It does take time though to download photographs from the mobile 'phone and camera, upload onto Photobucket etc and put onto this thread. Plus this laptop can and often does chuck wobblies, it clicks back a page without being prompted to and looses all of my work thus far. The post with the Dafodil photos took about 4 hours! Basically I'm happy to post to this thread but am aware of 'give the people what they want'. Are people happy with it? Are more photos required? Are they too long winded? Are my jokes even worse than I thought? Would it be noticed if I stopped posting to this thread? Is this merely paranoia fuelled by a surfeit of dutch moments? Do tell me and I'll give you what you want (within reason). One thing I had thought of was to try and show you photos of individual cars at Essex Daf. To start with, and for the special benefit of Mr. B, Matt has chosen the Mimosa 55 saloon. This one he shares with Dan. It has done 56,000 miles and is quite solid and clean, she is structurally very sound underbody and above. She has no name yet so if anyone has any ideas reply to this thread as Matt and Dan haven't been able to sort out a name based on her registration. Here's some photos: Matt tells me she is missing a couple of front trim peices, otherwise she's all there. The only downside to the body work is this nasty scrape down the rear offside quarter which was there when Matt and Dan bought her. Interior wise, she is right on the button! So, with pictures taken, she was put away in the good company of her sibblings. And then Animal was put away for the night. Let battle commence next weekend!! Animal was due for some welding action this weekend, sadly that wasn't possible. I do hope she's not going to get too cosy in there, she's taking up the space for the 32!! ;D Well, that's all for now. Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Jul 20, 2011 20:23:40 GMT
After that report there was some amusing banter and the 55 was named Mimi. I hope all are enjoying the Omnibus edition of Essex DAFs. We will catch up and usual service will be resumed! First posted 1st March 2010Hello all and welcome back to our weekly round up from the badlands of Essex. I have been fortunate to find time for some Daffing earlier this week. This started with undoing my previous work whereby I removed Gavina's functioning (badly) push button radio and installed a digital radio/cassette player which turned out not to be working. For a little while now I've had a replacement stereo sidelined for the Rover but on reflection couldn't be doing which a removal and instal in the Rover and then another in Gavina, so Gavina was the recipient of the new head unit. The head unit has been attached with two angle iron peices which nut and bolt into the dashboard rail, the wires were later cable tied out of site. Next problem was the original footwell speaker, which made farting noises when trying to achieve any volume audible over the sound of the Van Doorne's finest. So, what to do? The mounting to the inner wing was quite rusted up and would necessitate drilling out which I didn't much fancy, and a probe round the back of the unit revealed a rather small speaker, so to replace it with something new probably wouldn't achieve too much. So I was intending to mount some box type speakers in the inner wings or through the bulkhead. But, I really don't like to drill holes or make any irreversable changes unless absolutely necessary. Then I found some 'pod' speakers on flea-bay for £24.99 and the company selling them was but a short trip down the A12. Job done. They are Radiomobile triple cone speakers and I think look the part, if not 70's then a retro '80's update, if that makes sense? They came with fixing bolts but I didn't want to cut through the parcel shelf. So, bargain of the day was 1 meter of self adhesive hook and loop velcro for the princely sum of £1.73 including postage of course. Simples!! They are stuck down firmly and haven't budged at all, despite some spriited handling! They've even stopped the toilet role from leaving the parcel shelf. The wires were run under the carpet and required small extensions to read the head unit. Unfortunately, like the owner, my head unit has absolutely no memory retention and cannot remember which track was last on the CD (or that the CD was being used etc), namely as there are two lives, a permanent and switched live and I have them the wrong way round. So a future job will be swapping these wires over. I also have no radio reception, probably due to the naff aerial. I think an A-pillar mounted aerial will be the solution, although I am feeling rather reticent about drilling a hole in it. Still, whilst I procrastinate I can still play CDs and overall I am really quite pleased to finally be able to listen to the music of my choice, often to the chagrin of my passengers of course. ;D And so onto this weekend's Daffing activities and we shall start with Dan. Dan reports that his replacement water pump is looking good, aside from a small leak around part of the casing which he has solved using sealant. All appears fine in the cooling department and next Dan will be turning to the oil pump as he thinks this is leaving the top end of the engine dry. More reports from Dan to follow and hopefully some photos too. As for my Saturday, unusually there were many committments to fulfil (or at least try to) and so the day started early, with belting over to visit my friend in Romford, purveyor of many a fine dutch moment. Then followed a surreal drive over to Brentwood to help my mechanic friend Martin move to some new digs. 'Pull Gavina round front and we'll load her up first' he instructed, and we formed a chain with him bringing his gear from bedroom to door and my collecting these possessions and loading up Gavina. She did rather well, much to Martin's surprise as she had taken 'at least half the stuff, if not more'. I think he was truely surprised at the size of the boot and just how much she could carrry. She truely was loaded to the gunwalls as we set off. ;D Moving also involved moving Martin's washing machine for which the Landie was required. Gavina waited dutifully at the workshop for my return. It was then that I noticed she was about to turn 40! Strangely I have covered about 500 miles in her within the last 2 months and up to that point, her only fault had been due to a loose connection under the bonnet. I remember thinking that the 'shakedown or breakdown' was finally over and I should just start enjoying her and not having these worrying niggles regarding reliability. So eventually we set off again east down the road of our choice for the day the A12 and, as the Rover club meet would probably be over by then I decided to head over to Essex Dafs Central to meet up with Matt and Steve where work on Animal was due. On way however and about 20 miles short of destination, Gavina's engine note took on a rather agricultural sound, followed by a clanging and then a rattle under the car. Out of the rear view mirror I just happened to see a peice of hotspot pipe come flying out. Not wanting to stop for it I sent Matt a text saying 'don't put welder away, zorst broken, on way'. The lads heard me from some distance away and this was my reception, the cheeky bar stewards!! ;D Well, Steve had a quick poke about and Gavina had a nibble on his hand... Being a top man, Steve said 'hmm, let's see what we can find' and came back with some metal plate and an exhaust u-bolt which instantly improved matters to no end. I'll gum-gum it and hopefully that will hold for a while. Meantime the manifold part of this arrangement remains open and uncapped. Not sure what to do yet but she seems to be running ok thus far. Steve doing his magic. Thanks mate. And so onto Animal. You may remember the small hole in the driver's footwell. Well, after a spell with the angle grinder said hole turned out to be larger than expected... A new plate was duley welded in place. Remember the gnarly rear outer sill? With the rot cut away, here's what the lads were left with... Luckily Matt had some spare metal from the 46 which he broke. This came in handy with making up an ideal repair patch. And here's the finished article The other end of the sill received similar treatment. There's some rubbing down and filling to be done, but this work should certainly be good enough for the MOT, and any further rust is just cosmetic. There was more good news as Matt got the wiper jets functioning again. So that just leaves restoring the dipped beam as the last job to be done before Animal's MOT. Electrics couldn't really be undertaken whilst welding was being done. Hopefully the battle will commence the week after next when Steve is due to return. All good news as Animal moves ever closer to returning to the road and leaving space in the barn for the 32! There was one other thing which occurred and regretfully I was unable to see it personally. It concerns our friends the chickens, having expected the body work and exercising their extreme quality control....yes, that angle grinder is live. ;D The decision was taken to undertake further scientific research, to ascertain whether chickens could be persuaded into cannibalism. It would seem that they can! What happened next I'm told is that the chicken ended up walking around with the crisp packet over it's head. Matt was too busy laughing to photograph that one, and who can blame him! ;D After a couple of brews we went our separate way and I visited Stephen for the nearside outer sill panel for the van. Discussions had earlier taken place between myself, Matt and Steve and hopefully within the next few weeks we will be in a position to crack on with some body work on the van. Today bought no Daffing for myself today and a return visit to my Romford friend to secure future dutch moments. The Rover was pushed into service for this important duty, although she does invoke a feeling of paranoia. Is it the errant temperature guage, the smoke exiting the bumper, the booming exhaust? I keep getting a feeling a tug from the Met plod is overdue in her. Guess I have been lucky so far and just 'blended in' with Romford's finest boy racers. Matt on the other hand did get some Daf action in. Today he concentracted on Mini, reattaching her starter motor. I am pleased to report that she starts and runs, albeit she has a fueling problem. Matt tells me that her battery is not especially great and, once she has a fully charged battery attached then he'll be able to look into that problem more thoroughly. So, a good weekend Daffing for all it would seem. Another week of the day job will follow, let battle commence next weekend. Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Jul 23, 2011 22:48:34 GMT
More crusty DAFs, chickens running amok and a trip to Badlands North (or is that Fiat Central)? Crikey! First posted 12th March 2010Hello all and a belated welcome back to Essex Dafs. I'm sorry this is such a late update, as I've had some personal stuff to deal with and haven't had as much time as I would have liked. Well, there's been no Daffing for me since the last update. Dan on the other hand has been rather more busy, his Ovlov 66 having earned a fresh MOT. He's also drained the radiator on his 55 coupe and topped up with fresh antifreeze. After taking her for a run it is evident that she is not changing up properly and some further investigation into the vacuum system is required, says Dan. As for Matt, work has continued on Animal. The solution to the wiring faults still elude Matt. Fortunately Matt has had the last week to Daf at leisure. He's spent most of this time breaking the rusty blue 66 photod on this thread a few weeks ago. For those of you with memory retention like mine, here's a reminder: The good news is that he may have found some psychedelic carpet for Passionwagon! ;D And of course, Matt did have the chickens to help, and what they don't know about Dafs isn't worth knowing! And here's some of the rusty bits: Headlamp brackets: Driver's footwell: Passenger footwell: Rusty fuel tank: Bumpers welded to body by rust. Attempts to remove generated dust piles ...and various stages of dismantling: Matt also found time to get Goldie a fresh MOT, once she had a pre-MOT inspection of course! ;D I'm glad to announce she passed without too many issues, a binding front brake and the windscreen squirters not working. This is a bit of a theme in the Badlands, as my Rover's squirters have now stopped working in sympathy. As the shutters were up last weekend, I took some workshop photos, shame we're moving out in April. Never mind! The workshop on a tidier day! ;D The office where the hot beverages are consumed> The towing mule in action: Sorry for the naff report; we've got some good things planned for this weekend, so hopefully there is a better report to come. Cheese for now, 33G. First posted 15th March 2010Hi all, I'm back again! And it doesn't seem too long since the last report Saturday saw Rover being used is my stead for the day due to harboring a guilty conscience as she has not really been used recently other than to move her off the driveway to get Gavina out of the garage. Well, the fact she had half tank of petrol too was also a deciding factor. I trundled off to Brentwood to collect some Daf spares and then bolted down to Daf Central to hook up with Matt and commence the afternoon's Daffing activities. Us grinders are not known for our punctuality and Matt at first assumed I wasn't attending so upon arrival I found him finishing off the dismantling of the rotten spares only 66. In fact my timing was quite serendipitous as it coincided with removing the vario, and that put me in the right place at the right time to operate the jack whilst Matt guided the vario out and onto his caster mounted trolley to push away into the storage barn. There was even time for a quick brew (of course) before locking up and setting off for Sudbury to meet up at Dan's for the afternoon's Daffing. On the way over and following Matt in Goldie, I felt compelled to try and film her with the mobile phone camera. Finally I would be forced to look into uploading video onto youtube. Unfortunately the quality is pants and I thought I would be able to rotate the view like I can with pictures on photopheckit but regretfully not. ::)Apologies to all for the imminent crook in the neck. ;D So, after about an hour or so we arrived at Dan's. It's certainly true we were overdue a visit and I have rued forgetting my camera last time around. This time I intended to make up for it. Dan shares his workshop with his brother. As well as Dafs, Dan also has a penchant for pocket Fiats, namely 500s, whilst his brother likes the older chrome bumpered 126. There was some fine machinery there and I only wish that I had Dan here as I type this to tell you more about each car, as I have the memory retention of a goldfish. I do very much like these little Fiats having previously owned a late 126. Anyway, here's some photos of Dan and his brothers fine collection. The mustard yellow one is Dan's daily 500 and whilst currently off the road will soon be MOTd and back in action. It is a very clean motor. The white 500 is Dan's current project and features a later 600cc engine from an early 126, a common upgrade I believe. Dan also has this nice 6v 44, albeit Dans told me that it has suffered from electrical woes since he has owned it and not been able to get to the route cause of it. Dan also has an Ovlov 66 and 55 estate and coupe too, all of which I have taken some detailed individual photographs which I'll save for another time. Then, photos having been taken and tea consumed, attention turned to the van. The initial plan was to start on the shock absorbers. I've had a spare set for Gavina for some time now and she seems fair enough. Passionwagon however has a missing shocker on one side. All went fine on the nearside and the shocker was duly changed. The other side wasn't so promising, as we found that the spring was broken; it actually looks like it had been intentionally cut. Quoites anyone? ;D Dan reconnected up the handbrake and after we left he had the drums off to find that the shoes and cylinders had been replaced not too long ago. He was also going to check that the piston cylinders can move freely. Assuming that they are ok, I think I'll be changing the flexi hoses which appear quite old. We also looked at removing the rotten exhaust but were pleasantly surprised to find the van still has her hotspot pipes. We decided to wait until I have new gaskets. We'll then replace the whole system as a while ago I was fortunate to locate a full system for a saloon. So that was pretty much it for that afternoon, aside from some general tinkering. Funny how she still sat p!ssed even when on stands! ;D Then there was time for another brew before the 55 coupe was bought out and Matt and Dan took her for a drive to see if they could get to the bottom of the problem with the vario not changing up. Dan thinks the problem now lies with the vario unit itself. Having said that, she did achieve 40mph on test and considering she hasn't been on the road for some 8 years, this was considered a vast improvement over the last road test that Dan took her on. I did manage to shoot some very bad video footage on my mobile. I will get better at this stuff (I hope)!! And then it was time to leave and go our separate ways. The satnav took myself and Rover through some delightful narrow country lanes which gave me the chance to open up the V8 in short bursts, and whilst there are no chickens at Dan's, I did see (well, almost run over) a pheasant in the country lanes. Also, once back into civilisation (well, dual carriageway) I passed another Rover SD1, so all in all a good day for all. Today being Mother's day saw no Daffing for Dan nor myself. Matt was more fortunate and managed to get the 66 loaded up ready for weighing in. Now, I've seen the underside of this one and it's fair to say that the body is holding the chassis together, and what's on the body isn't all that either. There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity and I don't know who exactly would take the decision to restore this one!! ;D So now the green 33 is parked up in the breaking spot, ready to be raped for anything that may be of use for the van (and our own 33s of course) before being weighed in. Doesn't she look good on the 14" rims? One for retro rides? ;D Well, that's all for now. I'm off to Photopheckit's server room with my angle grinder!! Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Jul 26, 2011 18:40:05 GMT
A nice look at Dan's Ovlov 66 estate and more stripping (of the car variety) at Central. The jokes aren't getting any better either. First posted 23rd March 2010Hello all. I guess it's that time of the week to give you the round-up of this week's Daffing from the badlands of Essex. You would think, that between the three of us, some Daf action could be had?!! Well, I can confirm only one of us would see some Daf action, who could it be? Could it have been me, down in Badlands South? NO! TRY AGAIN!Regretfully I've been grounded this weekend my Mrs G. Sunday was Grinder Jnr's 6th birthday and strangely enough, he wanted to spend the afternoon attending a friend's birthday party. I think that was compounded by being a swimming party, with 20 or so of them in the pool. Now, if that doesn't look like bedlam, having 7 of them running around the Grinder residence for 2 hours the day before certainly was, and usually attending children's birthday parties being the preserve of Mrs G. I was amused to find how the parents drop off their child and say 'right then, I'll be back in two hours' with a knowing smile!! ;D Anyway, needless to say it was not something Mrs G. wished to undertake unassisted and hence the usual weekend activities took a very distant second place. I would have liked to gungum Gavina's exhaust or at least wash her. Never mind. So, was there any Daffing done at Badlands North? ERM, NO!At this rate I thought there would be nothing to post, so I prepared to release a feature set of photos of one of Dan's cars. I thought you may like to see them anyway, and Dan has first chosen the pictures of his 1978 Ovlov 66 estate for your edification. Dan bought her some 8 or 9 years ago when she had done some 29,000 miles (and she is still on her original drivebelts some 4,000 miles later). There's an interesting story behind her purchase too. Dan bought her from a small MOT station come second hand car dealership in the Stanstead area. They in turn had bought her from the local scrappies. They were asking £395 for her and allowed Dan to have a tinker as he had expressed an interest in her. It transpired that whilst the engine would run she wouldn't drive. Dan acquired her for £100 and a clutch replacement later she was back in action. Dan's next plans for her are to perform some localised paint repairs in areas where the paint has faded. Otherwise she is in very good condition. Mechanically she's as clean as you would expect a 33K mile car to be. The interior is pretty well spotless! This is one of two daily hacks for Dan as her use is alternated with Dan's 55 estate. I've got some nice pictures of her too, so look out for a feature on her sometime soon. So, I guess that just leaves Matt at Daf central to do some Daffing last weekend? Well, Matt is in a very enviable position of having a large barn and the conundrum of number of cars to inside working space ratio. Personally I think he has the balance just right in filling the barn with as many Dafs as possible! ;D The downside to this of course is it leaves him working outside in the elements and so inclement weather on Saturday spoiled play, so Matt's fun couldn't start until Sunday, when he continued the dismantling of the 33 which is being broken for spares. Of course, with the blue 66 loaded up for weighing in, space became available for breaking 33, not that she couldn't have been broken in a patch of brambles and nettles of course. Seeing as I seem to have become 'Mr A' recently, this one is really going to be stripped bare of every conceivable part that is any good. First thing was the nearside sill, part of which will become a part of Passionwagon (well, after a little patching up). I do like the thought of greenie as I call her living on in another Daf. After a little bit of a fight the sill submitted and Matt was left with this That was followed by the nearside floorpan And so that is as far as Matt got with the dismantling yesterday afternoon. The only other news is that the chap who advertised on this forum as wanting a 1300 engine has bought the one from the blue 66 Matt was dismantling. The chap came up from Kent to pick it up. Apparently he is in the process of preparing a rally spec 66. Hopefully he'll keep in touch to let Matt know of progress. Well, that's about it, aside from the chickens. What can I say, when you've got a Daf you attract all the tasty birds! ;D That's all for now! Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 5, 2011 20:52:40 GMT
Tigga the 32 comes home - has it really been that long? Ah, this'll be the Easter special report then... First posted 6th April 2010Hello all, and welcome to Essex Daf's special Easter report (well, it's got more pictures in it)! We were planning on visiting another member on Saturday, that wasn't to happen, but an enjoyable afternoon Daffing was to be had nonetheless. First off, we join Matt at Central. Those following this thread from the beginning may remember that I posted a photograph of Matt's daily hack from his Cornwall days. Well, I'm pleased to hear she is still on the road and Matt recently sent some parts to Cornwall to ensure she continues. Also, some more details regarding the 1300cc engine Matt supplied to a garage in Kent for the rallying Daf they are preparing for their customer. They had sent away their cylinder head for work but apparently it couldn't be salvaged. They had experienced problems locating a replacement, hence Matt supplying them the engine. It is going to be back on the road soon and within the next few weeks we are expecting a visit from them. The car will be wearing the number plate 'DAF 1' no less and has been featured in a magazine article. And so back to Matt. Saturday morning started with Animal's eviction from the sancticty of the barn. Oi! Out! Her welding is done, other than some cosmetic bits, but she still has the electrical problem preventing her MOT. Her space was needed for a new delivery to Essex Dafs so Animal duely complied and vacated her space. In fact, the opportunity was taken for a little reshuffle, but more on that later. Meanwhile, at Essex South, I met up with my friend James and his 3.5tonne VW transporter, then we proceeded to Dave's to collect the 32. Conditions were wet underfoot, however the loading went smoothly. We then proceeded to Central. Luckily James' satnav was working as mine seems to have packed up. It's getting power but not switching on. No clues for Gavina's Speakerz this week, it's quite an easy one but fairly appropriate I thought! ;D Knowing that I was belting along, James was quite considerate and made sure that he didn't loose me. When he overtook the lorry, I was unable to pull out as a Ford Focus was barrelling down the fast lane. Then the dozy twonk driving the Ford Gallaxy boxed me in so that they could get a good look at Gavina. Flattering but it lost me my momentum so I was only up to 50mph as I crested the rise and then had to catch James up again. That's my excuse for the bad camera work. Sorry.! So we arrived at Matt's, and Dan was shortly to arrive after. Due to the rain earlier, Matt hadn't yet reschuffled his fleet. James wasn't in any rush thankfully and could help with moving the cars around. We soon unloaded the 32. We're sure the registration isn't right so we cannot name her just yet, but James came up with Tigger, so that'll have to be her name for now. She was moving a little stiff to move, but we soon showed her who's boss! ;D We suspect the brakes to be a little seized on the rear nearside, and the shock absorber parting company with it's turret on the front nearside didn't help matters! Then the kettle was put to good use. First for making a round of beverages, then for washing the new acquisition, twice! So whilst I got washing, James decided that he didn't have much else to do, so he would help Matt and Dan get to the bottom of Animal's electrical woes in the headlight department. Matters were made worse by some previous bodgery in the wiring department. There was much head scratching and the manual came out and the wiring diagramme consulted. In the end, James was to find the problem, being a faulty stalk and previous wire bodgery, and the problem was then rectified. Sidelights, dipped and main beam all now functioning, Animal may now be booked in for an MOT! Problem sorted, she was parked in her new home, later to be joined by farmer George's Ferguson tractor. It won't be for long though, once Matt has her MOT'd she will be back on the road. Tigger came up quite nicely - nothing a little T-Cut can't sort out! ;D Lots of the trim was to be found in the boot. A lack of proprietary cleaners meant I didn't do any cleaning in the interior. Oddly enough, she has a temperature gauge! There are lots of switches for which I don't know yet know their purpose, perhaps I will when I have a 6V battery for her. I don't hold out much hope of finding a 32 owner's manual, but if any other 32 owners do have one and want to scan the instruction page for the instrument panel then please be my guest! ;D There's plenty of work to be getting on with here no doubt! Then, Dan was elected as the Daffer likely to weigh the least was was relegated to steering junkie whilst we pushed the Dafs back to the safety of the barn. Don't worry, we let him exit Tigger from the otherside, before she was blocked in with other Dafs! Now, you may be wondering why we drink so much tea so quickly at Essex Central. Well, you just can't leave your tea anywhere these days! ;D They are devious blighters them chickens, you just can't trust them! Mimi was left at the front of house, more on her later though. Having spent a most pleasurable afternoon, we then embarked on our separate ways. There's not much to report from Badlands South other than today when a welcome break in the weather allowed Gavina to receive a good wash and undertake a small journey to visit a friend who has a spare batter for the R5GTT. Matt on the other hand got cracking on Mimi. One of the rear drums was tight and took Matt a good couple of hours to get off. Eventually, Matt was to prevail and the brakes were finally sorted out. Matt also suspected that the exhaust back box was at fault and, having a spare available it will be replaced. Jobs left to do include replacing the leaking fuel tank, greasing brake pipes and replacing the rear tyres. Well, that's all Matt has found thus far. Today saw no Daffing for Matt, Dan on the otherhand was more fortunate. Having identified some end float in the distributor of his 55 coupe, Dan has fitted a spare of Matt's, and has timed everything, awaiting a test run to see whether that has improved matters. He's also had the chance to look at Passionwagon's brakes, getting the cylinders moving nicely again and everything nicely adjusted. Thanks Dan. I did get some details from Dan about his lovely 55 estate, and promise to post the photographs soon, Photofeckit has been really slow tonight. Anyway, that just about concludes our Easter weekend and is good proof that Dafs do come out in spring. Our plan was to visit John Smith in Harwich, although we couldn't be sure until the last minute whether that trip would take place and as it happens John had other committments. However a good afternoon was still had by all, and Dan was today to bump into John at a car show. John will be going to another car show on drive it day, April 25th and I will post details once I have researched it. I hope you have all had a lovely bank holiday weekend and enjoyed Essex Daf's Easter special. Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 20, 2011 20:18:25 GMT
A nice photo shoot of Dan's gorgeous 55 estate. First posted 12th April 2010Hello all and welcome to our world of Daffing here in the Badlands. For my own part there was to be no Daffing as I am still assisting my friend Martin with his workshop move, and that involves moving my own stuff too! For that I needed my trusy steed Rover. I boxed up my Rover spares so they could be stacked neatly at the new workshop. Of course I couldn't take the front cross member or engine and gear box that was down there but I got everything else loaded into the Rover. I then transported that lot to the new place, then came back and after a swift cuppa got the Renault spares packed away into the car ready for trailering over when Martin is ready. Then all car activities were cut short as Mrs G. decided it would be advocable, whilst the weather was nice, to do a car boot sale on Sunday and what with her Fiat 500 having a tiny boot needed to press the Rover into service and wanted it back home for loading up! Liking a quiet life I returned home. Over at Essex Centraal, Matt was busy this weekend and his attention has now turned to Mimi the 55. I am very pleased to announce that Matt has had her up and running around the barns. He has been quite busy working on her. He's rubbed down and greased the rear brake pipes, cleaned up the battery tray and negative terminal where they had suffered acid residue from a previously leaking battery and removed/replaced the rusty petrol tank. Dorothy kindly donated her rear wheels as her tyres are road legal. That's the good news. There are some jobs to be done though. First off the brakes, as it has a very hard brake pedal which Matt suspects is the master cylinder. She also has no washer button/switch and one drive belt is nicely tensioned and the other is slack. The exhaust back box still needs replacing and the reverse lights don't work. He does have some work to do but hopes she will get an MOT before too long. Dan, our northern Essex correspondent has also been at work this weekend on his Ovlov 66 estate as previously featured on this thread. He has been touching up the areas of patchy paint. He's laid down the primer and has had some paint specially matched and will rattle can her. I will meet up with Dan before too long so will try to get some photos. Passionwagon has also been receiving Dan's attention this weekend. I mentioned in the last report that Dan had sorted out the rear brakes, albeit the offside drum was proving troublesome to get back on. Dan has that sorted now but did find a lot of play in the reduction gear shaft. He thinks this will need replacing and that it may be best to just replace the whole secondaries. Matt has a spare from the green 33. That will be interesting when it comes to it! It may explain why her vario guards are missing and the spring had been cut. Perhaps they were trying to get to the shaft. Since our last report I've spoken wtih Dan about his 55 estate and got the pertinant facts that should accompany photographs. She has been on this forum before as she appeared on the North meets South thread. Dan's had her for 13 years now and she's showing 54,000 miles, 5,000 more than when he bought her, through an advertisment in Reading Classic Car Mart. She really is very clean and is not needing any work. When Dan bought her the clutch was on its way out and so Dan replaced the pressure plate. She's also had one jacking point welded as well as the front and rear valances. Otherwise she has only needed regular maintenance. She really is as lovely as she looks in the photos, Dan is a lucky man I am quite jealous of her lovely condition. I think Stef, Onne and DD can vouch for that. ...erm, not that I'm jealous, I mean they can confirm what good conditions she's in! ;D ;D I was determined that the weekend would not end without any Daffing action for me and so I decided to visit an old friend in a neighbouring town who was overdue a visit. One of the main roads through the badlands is the A127 and that connects up with Rayleigh at the Weir, a roundabout and underpass arrangement. Normally that is 30 seconds from my house, but due to roadworks on a peice of road no larger than the size of an average family bathroom I now have to drive around in circles to get to it, adding another three minutes to the journey. So, I was an angry young (?!!) man today when I filmed the roadworks and Gavina's speakers were pumping out some punk music from 1977. Your clue to the author is 'what superman would wear when his eyesight gets worse'. Good luck! Sorry about the prolongued view of the steering wheel until I was certain plod hadn't spotted what I was up to! Having fun, I decided to stay out in her a little longer today and I did about 50 miles in the end. All in all a lovely weekend weather wise and even getting stuck in a traffic jam for an hour didn't phase me nor Gavina. In fact I would have been fretting in Rover that she would overheat! ;D ;D I guess that's all for now! Cheese, 33G.
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 22, 2011 21:46:49 GMT
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