A was for Austin, but now B is for Bedford

So, has anyone heard from PDU?
Did he make it to Clare…..(hope so)
gumpy

WOW
Life has been a little hectic for me of late and very unlike me, I haven't logged in for a couple of weeks

this is truly impressive episode with the brakes
PDU I am impressed with your achievements and apologize for my complete lack of moral support of late
Hope things have progressed okay for the test run etc


Paul

PDU is still alive and kicking, albeit with some egg on his face . . . clarification following as I respond to each in turn.

grumpy gumpy 1: There is still plenty left to do (particularly considering the latest developments) so ample chance to bore you yet.   PS Where are you located?

Swishy:  Hopefully you were referring to the master cylinder and not me!?  

grumpy gumpy 2: Yes I did make it to Clare BUT the truck didn't!  Not exactly one of my greatest weekends B for-wise. Thursday: Caravan, wife and Ollie the dog to Clare - set up and discovered no power in the van! We appeared to have lights but nothing at the power points and no means of heat (it was below zero overnight two days before). Left van where it was ands returned home to warmth, television and a chance to try out the truck the following morning when the permit would commence.  Friday: For the first time it left our driveway and managed/struggled about three truck lengths up the road before back firing and generally coughing and spluttering along. Just could not encourage it to supply anything that even suggested it might improve. This was totally unexpected and no idea why at this point. Two blocks completed and barely made it back onto the drive and into the shed. Rest of the weekend: Back to Clare with (extension cord and power board) where we discovered there were now no lights either! I could explain further but will refrain! Other than that and despite our problems we enjoyed an excellently organised run thanks to the efforts of Allen and Karen Bilney. 

Mrsmackpaul:  I have always appreciated your support but unfortunately the test run was an absolute failure and I'm confused why it did what it did. Has left me feeling as though I have egg on my face.    Also I noticed your fraulines happening two days late.    As I only saw this when I returned today (Monday) I thought John Farnham's Friday kind of Monday might be an appropriate song? 

And so where does that leave me right now?  Immediate intention is to sort my tools out once more after the exploits of the last week or so, attend to some jobs that have been waiting for too many years (wife is patient but there are limits) and generally have a break from anything truck related for at least a week or two.

Note: Sooner-than-later I will be contacting Power Brakes to discuss rebuilding the master cylinder and then will take it out again (I'm getting plenty of experience with removal/refitting techniques). 

Over and out, PDU. 

I was hoping for a successful trip for you, but alas the gremlins struck. I'm over waikerie way at a nowhere place called naidia
gumpy

On the Saturday the run was at Anlaby Station (well worth a visit) and reasonably close to you, 120-130km from Waikerie or Naidia whichever you are at grumpy gumpy. 

PDU was not the only one to attend without a truck, and so he should not feel bad at all.

I had entered, and so had replaced the gearbox output shaft oil seal on my C1800 on monday, but as the truck was "temporarily" loaded with a hay machine, i did not bother road testing the truck until it was unloaded on saturday. 
New gearbox seal performed perfectly, but i soon discovered the pinion seal had gone out in sympathy, and so a mate and i only joined the club group briefly on sunday in a modern vehicle instead, but i am glad we did.  
I regret missing the saturday visit to Anlaby.

The vehicles are most certainly a "driving force", and wonderful aspect of the club, but in my opinion it is as much the people who actually make the club what it is, and i was very happy to catch up with them all again, including PDU, although very briefly.

Brett.

PDU 
im at Naidia, which is 45 ish km south west from waikerie, which is where another member, Eddy, is from. I saw him last Friday and I mentioned to him that I had been going to pop up for the day but another friend was visiting us.
gumpy

Well Pom Down Under

Never fear, my first venture out in my bucket of bolts after major body work and a lick of paint

Well didn't go exactly to plan

Ayr to Gumlu, it pissed down
Wipers went all, "nah not today"

Pulled up and found a circlip off

Then towards Gympie Mrs Mack got awfully quiet

Turned out some joker never turn the tap on, on one of the fuel tanks
Managed to prime it up and get restarted on one tank of air for the air start
Rolling into Brisvegas and I glance in the mirror and notice the freeway has vanished in smoke

Turns out a couple of tyres on the float decided they no longer needed air, blocked the highway and all

Rolled into Coonabarabran and thought I best fix these tyres lacking air, found a drive tyre was serverally deflated

Point been, we all suffer these dramas in varying degrees, I just push on and go, "stuff it"

You'll get it all sorted PDU, stick at it

Paul

Thanks for the laugh Paul, nice to know that we all suffer and not just me. I realise this has just been one of those things that happen to cause us angst  and what seems like a disaster now may well be a profound bit of knowledge down the track and/or worthy of a few chuckles. 

I was almost beginning to think that the big cheese upstairs was having a few laughs on me.     But Brett's comments about the people on the run is spot on, with the weekend turning out far better than I had expected despite B for not being there. 

Five days of experiencing life in the outside world away from the truck. Promised myself two weeks away from it and after five days have actually fixed a door frame in our laundry that termites had reduced to air covered by paint! It has been like that since we moved here and nothing has changed, with no termites evident despite inspections . . . 

I have picked up some of the tools used in the last few weeks shambolics, sorted out my 8-ball area, and done a tour through the Heritage Centre today. Wife and I are heading to our daughter's place the other other side of Adelaide on Sunday (ready for her regular grandma Monday) calling in on some old friends enroute before returning Monday night for a Men's Shed Meeting on Tuesday   AND it actually feels like I'm relaxing . . . so relaxing I've even started reading a book (sci-fi, not truck related)! 

If I can find the time on Monday I hope to reclaim my trailer from another daughter (IF they have unloaded their 8 ball table from it!?) and call into Power Brakes with the "spare" master cylinder to see what they think about it. 

All things considered it feels too easy at the moment (almost boring), but I think I was definitely overdoing things a bit and it really is nice having this break.

PDU is regenerating.