Berrimilla Down Under Mars Status Report 26 June 2008

THURSDAY, 26 JUNE 2008

Pause – and an amazing event on the way to somewhere or other

in the middle of huge day. Started connecting it all up at first light -ish this morning. Cold! First asess the job, sort the tools and clean the threads of the 4 shaft coupling bolts and the engine mounts. Wriggle past the side of the donk, clothes and ribs getting snaggerd on the pointy bits, bolts and socket driver in hand …is it lined up? Some preliminary fiddling at full and contorted stretch and – totally amazing – the first bolt engaged followed by the other three. So – engine came out, jiggled around a lot, new gearbox attached, jiggled around some more and remounted and exactly lined up with the shaft. That sort of thing never happens to me! The gods must be preparing me for something nasty. Everything else seemed to attach more or less how it came off, although getting the gear cable and the throttle cable attached and lined up and clamped was interesting and may still not be quite right.

Am now in the hall of the GI warming my hands while I ring JW to check that ATF Dexron 3 will do instead of 2 – nobody sells 2 here. Then off to get some and back to fill the gearbox and take heart in mouth and try to start the thing… Dinner with Steve Tomkins tonight. Will try to report before we go.

POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 22:43