I've always loved machines and engines.
I like a bit of nostalgia too.
Here's a 1962 Twin Tub in action - I spent many happy hours in the company of a machine just like this as a child!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvs1aJ7ES60
Have you got a favourite machine or engine?
That's quite extraordinary harmonica playing - really enjoyed that - hard to believe it's possible to get all those different notes and effects. Truly amazing. I must check out Genevieve - have never seen it.
Completely understand what you mean about challenges of face to face conversation - my first one is always trying to establish if it is the person I think it is!
Even if I am in the same room as someone I would much prefer to text or email if it didn't seem weird to want to do so. Met my husband online so got to know him through emails and text, as well as talking. Think that helped a lot.
how strange i have that film on my pc in my black and white folder (one of the 3000 films i have on the 5TB hard drive) and i only watched it yesterday that's such a coinky dink lol
my mum had one of these hotpoint twin tubs right up till 1995 it was always on (she had ocd about clean clothes etc) i also remember when i was a kid she had a washing machine with a a mangle on it i was fascinated with that thing and would always help feeding clothes through to wring out the water i can even remember my grandma having a wooden posser and galvinised tub see pic
Wow I To was fascinated watching chitty bang bang movie, the old guy was an eccentric with a pith helmet in, to build a wreck of a car out of bits and pieces to create a magical breathing vehicle, didn’t he consider using a long ladder for the chassis, they were easy going films and had fun and joy in the story line, takes me right back when ever I hear about the film,
my all time favourite memory was watching the London to Brighton classic, was it called Geneviève? The story and mostly the harmonica took hold of me and I was so mesmerised by the sounds, He was the master player of harmonicas, my memory as usual stops my ability to have an ordinary conversation as I cannot remember his name, I know it, I live the mans playing yet it eludes me, this isn’t age related either, all my life words u know just suddenly vanish as I go to use them or they are hidden and it takes me too long to remember them, just googled it, Larry Adler, that was easy. But prior to google I often got left not daring to start a conversation as I knew I would fail to remember key things,
Enjoy I did,
I've always found the big cars were cheap to buy and cheaper on insurance - all the risky boy racers go for little cars.
I go for powerful expensive models just when they hit minimum resale value - I've had a few Vauxhall Senators, 4 Omegas, a couple of Carltons, a top-of-the-range Renault Safrane - and back in the day, the top Austin Princess & Ambassadors. They were all grandad cars so came with standard comfy slippers - but with lots of power for lazy cruising.
Thank you Trainspotter some really great suggestions and observations about the joy of machinery. I agree that they are often really beautiful and, as you say, it's a multi-sensory experience.
Tangential thinking took me back to that breakfast scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (link below). I've always liked crazy inventions, loved playing 'Mousetrap' as a child (not bothered about the game, just wanted to set it up and set off the mechanism!)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc9h6FC6QgU
Must watch I'm All Right Jack again. Classic!
Being a late model it was most likely the case, get them sold, so offer anything they want that is still left in the storage, with Volvo 240 at the end you could order just about anything, any spec, so I owned a car that was registered after end of production, it had a 2.3 l engine with manual gearbox, antilock brakes, all small screw in it were no longer posidruve they were torq ones, now the last models available were mostly Torslander models, basic with 2.0l engines, they all had the 2.0l engine, mine was an SE model, but had every conceivable option fitted from the factory, using up any parts to get them sold when they were about to be phased out, a rare car indeed,
Two of my friends had rover SD 1 ‘s , both v8, one auto one manual, big cars got cheap when they were old, we enjoyed owning luxury with power as teenagers, the insurance wasn’t an issue as our dads insurance covered the car , we were just added as drivers for a small increase,
Oh yes mangles - they were a brilliant form of entertainment!
My dad was always mending and making things and we spent many happy hours together. I remember using blow torches and soldering, mixing cement and concrete, mending the car with a cereal carton and my mum's old tights...
Dad helped me fit a kitchen when I was in my 30s. Neither of us know when to stop so we finished at 1am in the morning. I remember getting a kebab after I dropped him off, the best I have ever tasted!
I like mending broken toys. There's a very simple fix where the batteries have corroded and stopped them working. So satisfying seeing them come back to life, and I then have to test (play with) them of course!
Your BS 25 ss goldstar sounds lovely. I often feel regret about letting go of vehicles I previously owned, I suspect they mean more to me than they do to NT people. Love the fact that Neil Young wrote a song about his Pontiac hearse 'Mort' (Long May You Run!)
Inboard discs take all of the rotational forces away from the suspension and hubs so much softer springs can be used - the ride on the P6 was really smooth.
I had a late SD1 VdP V8 with a manual box and fuel injection - which, according to the club, was not a combination available. My car must have been imaginary.
The TVR was thirsty - never better than 10mpg with my right foot problem.
Hope your flashbacks are 'ok weird' not 'horrible weird'. I definitely remember things I shouldn't be able to. Strange thing is this has only happened since I became aware of probably being autistic. For me it is recalling objects not people that brings the past alive.
Not sure how far back this is going to go... I feel intense panic whenever my head gets stuck in clothing, so maybe I remember the sensation of being born!
Yes the rear drive shafts had in board discs and calipers, a real pain to get access unless a fully equipped garage was available. Aluminium boot lid and bonnet to save on weight, the chassis design was unique for its type, mine was top spec , shame it wasn’t an “S” though as the manual was a far quicker car, loved every detail of it, if I were rich I would buy one now, upgrade the engine as you say and keep up with modern cars equally,
yes the hydraulic lifters, on mine it was lack of lubricant in the camshaft, we had turned it by hand to find where it was screeching, we oiled it with a can prior to the start up as best we could, I was only about eighteen then a Lol, It was lucky no real damage was done, mine had the spare wheel in the boot mostly as there wasn’t much room in the boot, for those unaware it had a removable badge on the centr if the boot lid, take it off, replace with a bracket that held the wheel flat in top,
I liked the P6 - interesting suspension for its day - horizontal front springs and a DeDion rear end.
I like the way the original 3500 V8s can be swapped for a 4600 with no mechanical mods - 150bhp magically becomes 330bhp for the cost of a scrap Range Rover.
You were lucky the engine had hydraulic lifters - low oil pressure stops the valves opening fully so self-limiting engine power when there's no lubrication to protect the bearings. Another accidental good design....
The rover v8 was a much sought after engine back then,, as you say small in over all size, light and was used in just about anything and everything, I was lucky to own A p6 3500 automatic, wedge shaped, way ahead of its time, the whole dash reminded me of a space craft, so many dials and each lit up in green at night, very quick car, drank petrol, the reason I was lucky was that it was screeching and the owner was told it couldn’t be fixed,, was siezing up,
I guessed it wasn’t, took a chance, paid very little for it.
It was a blocked oil strainer, took Off the sump oh boy thick sludge,, cleaned it, changed the oil, turned it over, screech for a second then all nice and quite, it had fairly good oil pressure considering, they suffered with ever decreasing oil pressure anyway, I owned that when I only had a provisional license, my parents sat besides me or one of my mates with a full licence. Thank you for the memory mr plastic,
My favourite engine is a Rover V8. I've had a few in various cars from an SD1 to a TVR and it's a joy to work on. Very logical, very simple, very small & light. Even the fuel injection was a doddle to work on. So many modifcations available to improve them. A perfect design.
The film I'm all.right Jack has some brilliant fictitious production line macinery in it.
And rhe starting credits of the film Mousehunt is beautiful in the photography of the string production macinery.
For anyone interested in spinning and weaving mavhinery, a visit to Styal Mill in Cheshire is fascinating, the sight of those weaving machines in action is a real.thing of beauty if a little loud.
One of my fascinations for steam locomotives is the action of the rods.and pistons and the rhythmic sound of the steam.combined with that wonderful smell. So much better than a diesel.or electric machine!
You keep giving me weird flashbacks, I had a major one before with the school milk bottle crate picture and the discussion around the smell of the warm milk, now this taking me back to a house I shouldn't remember (any others of you have this? Remembering things from v early childhood?), think I'm regressing badly, will I re-experience birth in one of your future posts?
Hey there,,, my mum had one of them,,, I was responsible for mending it after she bought it at a jumble sale, I wasn’t very old,,, She automatically assumed I would get it going, well I did, eventually,, it just needed unclogging and a thorough clean up,,,, it was an improvement on her little twin tub,
I loved watching it working, we had may types of washer, we even had a mangle, massive thing on sturdy legs. I learnt how not to crush the buttons in shirts Lol. one machine not unlike the one you found had a mangle that swung out and locked in place, it had a flat steel sheet for the water to drain into the tub,
I was mr fixit for just about everything, most things were either given to her or very cheap often needing sorting out,
My favourite machine was a BSA 250 road/ trials bike, it was called a B25 ss goldstar,,, no not a proper gold star,,it had a revamped c15 engine with trident forks and front wheel, I loved how it would still plod along in second gear or third just above tick over,
They weren’t desired much back then but now fetch thousands, wish I had kept it,
