Mr FIAT - Your #1 source for vintage car parts

What's made you smile today?

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What's made you smile today?

On an entirely different note...

Not actually been here when it's fully in blossom before..

PXL_20250419_135543150.MP~3.jpg


Also ridiculous duck race..

PXL_20250419_120224142.jpg
 
My first ever 'app' is published and live on the App Store for Apple Watch. It's a simple little thing that you open, it tells you to take a breath and then flick your wrist to see a random Buddhist phrase. Things like 'this too will pass' and along those lines. It was really just a very simple, simple way to put something together and if it could remotely be useful or worth distributing, all the better. It's free and more for the sake of having something out there like a live portfolio.

The next one is a bit more complicated. A simple iPhone app that tracks 'days since' and 'days until' an event you programme in. This exists and there are a tonne of apps on there that do this... with various customisation and add on features. The issue is... they're all free with a subscription. Personally I don't care if they let me change a background colour or whatever... I see the value in paying once, and that's it. It's not like they need to pay to run some sort of server on an ongoing basis. Mine will be bog standard... plain and a one off, £1.99 or something like that with no subscription. The use?

Well, I've quit things or stopped things in the past and found it sort of motivating to every so often go and check how long it's been... the average time between resets if I did the thing again. Handy for crushing bad habits. Then of course, counting down until things like holidays or other events - right now, paying off things, the day of being completely debt free.

Mostly about learning how these things work and the process of gradually adding small little features as time goes on. For the love of it, if I can make back the £79 a year Apple charge to be listed on there that's my only real money goal with it.
 
Mike1alike said:
Tell it to the Easter Bunny! 😁
Click to expand...
If there was a right hand drive Panda 4x4 available new in the UK I would definitely be 1st in the queue. But we arnt good enough for Stellantis the stick insect. So my old one will get an extra special clean and polish instead.
 
Last edited:
What made me smile today? I got to make a 1934 Packard engine start and run today.
BXzHV5Il.jpg

The Packard belongs to a younger guy I haven't seen in years. We were in the same car club in the late nineties, early oughts. He called me out of the blue last Friday for help. I rebuilt the carb for the Packard a dozen or so years ago. He was happy as a clam as the car ran like new. Then the car went through a frame off restoration over several years and the carb sat with fuel in it. Fast forward to last month. The guy was having a heck of a time getting the engine to run, so he soaked the carb in paint thinner to clean it up but only partially dismantled it. So I went to see it today.

I deduced that the combination of the carb sitting with fuel in it and the soak in paint thinner probably damaged the accelerator pump piston. I was able to make the carb 'squirt' fuel into the venturi but the flow was weak. Played around enough to get the engine to start and even run, but it wasn't well enough to take the old girl for a spin. That old flat eight did sound nice, though, and Ken was ecstatic. Next step is another rebuild on my bench with the correct tools and cleaners.
There wasn't enough room in Ken's garage to get a good pic of the car but here's one of the instrument panel.
83f8HL9l.jpg


Ken also has this in his garage.
RKGzhFIl.jpg

It's a restored 1942 Harley Davidson WL. The engine has been punched out to 57" and has an HD Servi-car transmission with reverse for the future addition of a period correct sidecar.
 
Cheest said:
What made me smile today? I got to make a 1934 Packard engine start and run today.
BXzHV5Il.jpg

The Packard belongs to a younger guy I haven't seen in years. We were in the same car club in the late nineties, early oughts. He called me out of the blue last Friday for help. I rebuilt the carb for the Packard a dozen or so years ago. He was happy as a clam as the car ran like new. Then the car went through a frame off restoration over several years and the carb sat with fuel in it. Fast forward to last month. The guy was having a heck of a time getting the engine to run, so he soaked the carb in paint thinner to clean it up but only partially dismantled it. So I went to see it today.

I deduced that the combination of the carb sitting with fuel in it and the soak in paint thinner probably damaged the accelerator pump piston. I was able to make the carb 'squirt' fuel into the venturi but the flow was weak. Played around enough to get the engine to start and even run, but it wasn't well enough to take the old girl for a spin. That old flat eight did sound nice, though, and Ken was ecstatic. Next step is another rebuild on my bench with the correct tools and cleaners.
There wasn't enough room in Ken's garage to get a good pic of the car but here's one of the instrument panel.
83f8HL9l.jpg


Ken also has this in his garage.
RKGzhFIl.jpg

It's a restored 1942 Harley Davidson WL. The engine has been punched out to 57" and has an HD Servi-car transmission with reverse for the future addition of a period correct sidecar.
Click to expand...
The accelerator pump faulty operation was a common thing in the old days, a good job there is enough of us old "wrinklies" who know how to fix it.;)
 
portland_bill said:
I think US Pro is a made-up name, by a UK company, for Chinese made average quality tools. I don't think the brand exists in the US.
Click to expand...
I got a tap and die set from them (10yrs ago roughly) and it stated it actually was made by a US company but, looking under the tool retaining foam, it said made in the UK, it’s a craftsman tools product
 
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