A very cold day, shaking off a sore chest and head cold to work on ‘Percy’ my old Reliant van, making myself a mackerel salad lunch during a short period of rest before to bed tired and achy. US Secretary Shultz gave support to Palestinian self-determination during his visit to Israel as more horrifying TV pictures emerged of terrible Israeli atrocities and trouble in Panama after a disputed coup
Another poorish night with my chest still hurting and cold coming on. Dressed in my oily clothes again for breakfast and then out on a cold morning to continue battle on Percy. There was a touch of frost today and my cold is getting worse. I wear a vest, three jumpers and anorak to keep warm! It was time to start the engine and do some adjustments today. I managed it without too much difficulty, but it seems to overheat. Then tightened up the cylinder head nuts to 30 ft lbs and had trouble with them slipping and the threads failing. Still, managed in the end, though some future work will be needed. The engine and dynamo now satisfactorily charges the battery, with two switch positions on the dashboard for summer and winter charging currents. Then the task of putting on the road wheels and adjusting the brakes to match on all three wheels.
I found that applying the foot brake helps ease the strain on the hand brake lever. After a while it was time to change the engine oil and, after removing the sump and retaining bolts (which were a jumble of shapes and sizes), I found nearly half an inch of sludge on the bottom. The sump shape was quite distorted and so I had to go into St Neots to get some jointing compound. Pete and Joan gave me a lift there and I took the shuttle back. I had quickly made myself a mackerel salad lunch. Worked on until called in for tea. This evening, working with floodlights, I readjusted the choke cable to function reasonably. This should let me start it without having the bonnet off! Later, I lowered the Reliant by use of the jack and axle stands, then started the mammoth job of cleaning up and sorting out my tools. In at 10.00pm, when I let Di put my old coat into the washing machine. The water was an oily black colour! Straight to bed, as tired, achy and suffering from my cold. I hope to road test Percy if the weather is fine tomorrow and perhaps even give a ride to the girls for the first time. The news spotlight today was on Israel and Palestine, where US Secretary Shultz gave support for Palestinian self-determination during his visit today. At the same time, horrifying TV pictures saw Israeli troops using rocks on a captive to try to break his fingers and arm. This as the latest atrocity. Trouble in Panama, where the President Eric Delvalle refuses to accept defeat after being deposed by Manuel Palma Noriega. The stock exchange is advancing then retreating day by day as uncertainty prevails.