They are not repairs they are improvements

Back to work Wednesday with many people with sore heads, Thursday I’m off to tea at Brian & Jan’s and we have a lovely Pork Roast.
Friday I fit the guard back on and the car nearly looks like a car again. Just need the Powder coat to ring up and tell me the Roo Bar is ready so I can fit it on the weekend.

It’s Saturday morning we have no power and it is pissing down. Can only keep typing for a few more minutes, I knew I should have charged the laptop last night. Lucky I have 12 volt and gas to cook breaky. It’s been a long time since I had to boil water for a coffee though. I better check out the BOM site and see how long this rain is hanging around for.

Car repairs Australia Day

Have to go to work today, and it’s a long day but I do manage to get the guard & panel welded. A cash job for $ 100. Tuesday is Australia Day and I’m working on the car again, I glue up the gear lever cover with the one I got from Palmerston 4 x 4 and also glue the floor mat. The guys at Cole motors didn’t fit the gear box/lever casing properly and so I fix this so there is no more gearbox noise entering the car. Next job is to get the new sound deadening and lay the floor vinyl back over the top. It goes fairly smoothly and apart from a couple of broken seat bolts it would have been quite any easy job.
The triple JJJ hottest 100 is on so I have some nice music to listen too.
Tina is in Wallaroo laying concrete for Carol and can’t get reception there.
It’s a long day with many little jobs done. The cricket is on from Adelaide so I watch this as well. I bought a new car battery, the one in there was the original one when we got the car, exactly 2 years ago today and I thought it would lucky to get us home from Heathcote. So in it goes with a painted up bracket. You can paint anything once you have a tin. On Australia Day in Darwin they have a Ute run and everyone gets in their Ute put up Aussie Flags (made in China of course) and drive down the highway, it’s the most amount of Bogans and Rednecks I’ve ever seen.

Car Repairs Day 2

A good night sleep and I’m ready to go again. I finished tidying up the wiring and next I take out the clutch pedal, it’s a bit sticky but it all seems good so I give it a clean and put it back in. I painted the jack brackets & Wiper assemblies and now I’m using my Christmas Present the 5 minute araldite to glue up the Steering Wheel casing.

Next job is to take of the right front guard because the bracket is split and has been for a long time. It’s a bit of a job and it uncovers that the inner panel has a lot of cracks so there is a bit more work than I first thought. It takes all day again in between watching a bit of cricket. The Aussies thrash the Pakies so its an early night.

Car repairs - Part 1

Saturday I’m up early, bit of a sore head but with a mission. I have to get the Side deck treads and Roo Bar off to the powder coaters who close at midday. I don’t rush and if I get it done in time I will be happy. It all goes pretty well, most of the work was removing all the old wiring. I get it ready just in tome and drive down there with 15 minutes to spare.

Next job is the new Coil springs, I’ve been waiting for Rob to buy a set of Coil Spring Clamps but he hasn’t come through so off to Supacheap $48 dollars so a good buy. There is a chance I can lower the diff enough and will not need them but I don’t want to find out once its to late. Anyway didn’t really need them but they made it easier. They go in easy and the car sits really good now(sorry no photo’s Tina took the camera to Adelaide.) Looks like some new shockers are on the list the ones that are in there look very sad. It all goes together really well, so onto the next job, rewire the spotlight wiring. All installed , just need some new spotties. Then the noisy gearbox, got a new clutch and the clutch, thrust bearing sound louder than ever. So out come the seats and floor matting to find they didn’t put the Gear leaver cover back on properly and there is a broken seal so not happy but not surprised. Off to Toyota on Monday to get a new one. I had to take all this stuff out anyway the sound deadening if stuffed thanks to a 250mm flood in Brisbane with a leaking windscreen(which still leaks, might need a new seal). So that’s it for today I’m buggered I worked longer hours than during the week.

The Kids fly home

It’s Midnight and we are off to the Airport, there is a bit of a storm around and its only just that the kids get to see one more storm before they leave. Tina & the kids check in and we sit around waiting for take off. Its quite sad and after 3 weeks I’m used to having the kids around again.
Then they board and they are off, this will be longest Tina & I have ever been apart, but I have lots to keep me busy. I get little sleep and Thursday is a tuff day at work and I’m very tired.

Friday night I head out to have some beers with the Bachelor Boys. We spend most of the evening at the Deck Bar, drinking, watching the Aussies beat the Paki’s and doing some window shopping.

The Kids settle in to Darwin life

Well the time has really passed quick, we have done lots of stuff with the kids but not all the parks, waterfalls but it is the wet season so a lot off stuff is closed.

The kids got a little spoiled with lots of dinners at the Dinah Beach Yacht Club, Trailer Boat Club, Hogs Breath, Fisherman’s Wharf & even some HJ’s. We had another couple of visits to the Wave Pool & Leanyer Slides. Tina took the kids to east Point museum and we even got to sit around a bit watching the non stop rain.

One day we headed over to Mandorah to try some fishing. Brian brought over one of the boats and both kids got to go out. It was a bit rough in the Harbour and in a little boat it was pretty bumpy. Both kids were not well and I don’t think they are that keen on boating.

We all had some turns at cooking and had a go at a few recipes as well. The kids got to play with Jorja & Emily lots and we had a couple of BBQ’s at Brians.

But all off a sudden it was Wednesday and time for the kids to fly home. Tina is going down to Adelaide for 10 days and I’m home alone with a list of jobs.

This morning we were up early and off to the Parap markets, they are great and we met up with Nathan, Megan, Jorja, Emily, Mel, Glenn, James, and Sam. I love the aromas at these markets plenty of food, jewelry, clothes, paintings and much more. One very popular stall was the one with the croc teeth necklaces they also had a lizard and snake you can hold & get a photo for a gold coin donation. All of us kids had a go!

Then off to Crocosaurus Cove, this is the new attraction done by the same people who used to run the Crocodile Farm that is now closed. The Crocosaurus Cove is right in the city on Mitchell street, it was quite good

We saw & held some more reptiles, watch some people get lowered into the Cage of Death, that is being lowered into the Big Croc cages inside a perplex cage……. mmmmmm still not sure I could do that! Kirsten, Jason & Andy swam in a tank with heaps of metre sized crocs on the other side of the glass, and then the kids fed these crocs with buffalo meat on a fishing rod, very snappy little critters.

After lunch we met up with everyone down at the wave pool this is such a great idea that the government has come up with, only $16 for a family all day that is cheap as. We spent a good 4 hours there, they have 4 different sets of waves they run there, some of them made me a bit sea sick when sitting in the tubes that are provided (they also supply boogie boards) even the little girls got amongst it. I am sure I can vouch for everyone that it is a great work out therefore we were all left very tired and ready for bed. We all met Dad & Jan at the Trailer Boat Club or dinner, I thought the meals were a little expensive for a club, but when the meals came out they were a huge serving so I guess that’s why they are priced like that. An early night & off to bed.