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[w3526602]

Hi,

I've been asked "Why?"  I'll answer in open forum, as Barbara reads my Emails (not a problem) and has found she can read my MESSAGES (usually not a problem). How did that come about? I don't understand the technicalities, but my emails come up on her Kindle. If there is a Club MESSAGE alert, she follows it through, in case I need to need to know ASAP.

What follows is in the public domain ... you only have to look ... but Barbara would rather not discuss it. So please ....

Barbara could rightly be described as an eighty year old tetraplegic. Her right shoulder, elbow, wrist and grip were destroyed, by a doctor, when she was three days old. It is only recently that her orthopedic surgeon explained that the doctor took the right action ... but three days too late. If done immediately after birth, there would have been no problem.

Both of her knees are now crippled with arthritis. She was scheduled for new knees in October last year. She accepts that it ain't going to happen. She is unable to use most walking aids due to her arm. She cannot hand propel a wheel chair, so has to foot paddle it around, which hurts. He has difficulty getting in and out of a wheelchair. Her arm prevents her using crutches, nor a Zimmer.

But she is a "tough cookie". I taught her to drive, on Penang Island, in a Sunbeam Talbot 90. She had one professional lesson, before taking her driving test in South London (Crystal Palace) in a rusty Mini, that she drove for the first time the previous day. She has been stopped twice, on the M4, exceeding 100mph in her Honda CRX ("Don't let me catch you again!") I have watched her argue, eye-ball to eye-ball, with a police sergeant, both standing in the middle lane of the M4, with traffic passing on both sides . "Get your wife out of my sight, and I'll say no more about this!". She has "Historic Rallied" her TVR Vixen ... she did not lift off when she met a car coming the other way on a forestry track ... 60mph+ ... both cars "broke left", UP their respective banks. (Smell it? I was sitting in it). For 9 years, her shopping car was a Reliant Sabre 6GT ... the club magazine poured scorn on the author of a Modesty Blaise novel that had the heroine using a Sabre as a shopping car. During a "grass auto-test",  a bloke sitting on a traffic cone gave a howl of protest, and "took it on his toes" ... as Barbara lined up on his cone, and gave it some wellie. Oops! Wrong cone". That particular cone was not part of the course. Barbara has driven (but not enjoyed) all my Land Rovers, and my "hairy" Ex-Robin Rew (and raced by) Reliant Scimitar GTE, which pulled 30mph per 1000RPM, and red-lined at 6,500RPM  (Dunno ... I chickened out at 130 on the M4)

To the point. I want a Series. Barbara will want to climb into it, but the seat will be too high. Solution - fit smaller round things, lower the suspension. Problems ... driving round Milton Keynes with a screaming engine gobbling down the Amber Nectar.  The project car comes without an engine. Solution, fit a smaller engine that is better suited to screaming.

Nothing is, as yet, written in stone. I'll get my coat.

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

I was offered a newish un-fitted Richards chassis, which would have been ideal for my little project, but unfortunately there was no documentation (eg: Receipt) available. The original purchasers cannot be contacted. Richards have checked their records , but have no trace of selling a new chassis to the person named.

My understanding is that proof of "newness" is required when claiming VED and MOT exemption.

However, Richards ended their mail with the following comment ...

Also if you check the bulkhead outriggers on one of them there should be a square plate welded with an order number on

My hat off to Richards

Hmm! If the owner of the project vehicle could be persuaded to give me a delivery date. And something similar arranged for the chassis. And Barbara could be persuaded to release funds for both, plus several hundred pounds to erect another 40ft of 2M high fencing, and gate, along side my "delivery" area, and the Planners let me ... and pigs could fly.

I recently mentioned that Barbara was unable to get over the uPVC threshold, and steps down from front nor back door ... effectively making her house bound. Social Services replied to her letter, asking what she wanted. An easy question to answer. But is there any point? Are any of our members clued up on this sort of thing? Please PM, if you can advise.

602


 

[Porkscratching]

Surely if getting over a step / threshold is a problem, a simple smooth ramp or incline is the answer I'd think.
As regards a new chassis, as long as you have a V5 and you stamp the no on whats obviously a new chassis, who's going to know or indeed care 

[Peter Holden]

There are doorframes without a threshold that can be fitted to allow mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs to go through.

Peter

[Genem]

My understanding is that proof of "newness" is required when claiming VED and MOT exemption.


602

Not so. Both can be done online with no proof of anything required. Stamp the ID of the chassis you are replacing into the new chassis and away you go, pretty well bomb-proof.

I suspect that when it comes to Planners, DVLA, VOSA and the like, you are significantly over-thinking the problem.

 

[w3526602]

Hi,

In answer to the last three replies ...

The threshhold is in two + one stages ... the main frame, about  2" high, with a 1" upstanding rim that the door butts up against. The is also a flange (?) of about 1" all round the door.

Once through the door, to the outside, there is the same 2" frame, but with a 3" wide "drip off". Assuming that she doesn't stand on the frame, there is a 6" drop from the house floor to the red-tiled front step, 18" wide, followed by another 6"drop to the to the drive.  In effect, she has to go up 3", then drop 15". 

We have been thinking of having something permanent ... which will still need 1" up (assuming the 1" lip is hacked of, and a 14" drop, assuming 1" is hacked of the door.

OK, so let's look at ramps both indoors and out.  A three inch high ramp to get out shouldn't be a problen, as there is a clear 48" approach,  without problems getting onto the ramp .... say a 1 in 16 grade. But the ramp will need to be moved to close the door.

Out side, we will have a 14" drop, spread over about 108" of drive. Lets call that a 1:8 slope, probably a bit steeper if wheel chair turning at the bottom is taken into account. She would then have to get back across the front of her car, then down the side past her driver's door, and into the driver's seat.

OK again, she now uses her electrc buggy around the house, using her feet for no more than getting into and out of the buggy into an arm-chair, or on and off the other "throne", or into bed.

My knees are starting to suffer from when I've had to lift her, and her wheel chair, when tight maneuvering was required. That is less frequent, now she has the electric buggy. She only uses the electric buggy in the house, and carries a push wheelchair in her car.  She has a second push wheel-chair in the house, but it's being used less and less frequently.

The medics shout at her (literally) saying that if she doesn't walk, she can't have the operations. Barbara replies that if she could walk (she can't handle either type of crutches, a Zimmer, nor a Rollator) she wouldn't bother with the operations, and would live with the pain.

We have medical insurance with Beneden,(in Kent) carried over from when we were both civil servants. We are still paying a "short"£20 a month in subs. I have just learned that Beneden have some sort of agreement with the Nuffield Trust, who have a "clinic" near Oxford.  Once "Lock-down" has finally ended, I think we will take a run out, see what they have to offer. I'm guessing that we will still have to fork out about £15,000 to have both knees done.

602

PS,

I will look into front doors without thresh-holds, and report back.  I wonder if the NHS (or whoever) would sub us for a 20ft long cantilever canopy, 10ft wide, over the drive outside our front door?@:   That would allow the car do be parked further from the doorway, so the first step could project into the drive, as the car would then not need be in front of the front door. I could make case for needing 30ft. 

[w3526602]

Hi.

We called the man who's telephone number was on the flyer that came through the door. £4.000 for a door with a a flush threshold.

Our builder happened to drop in. We explained the problem. He reckons he can remove the existing door frame, and recess it into the step so no threshold to clamber over. That still leave the steps up to the front door, but I reckon that a pair of proprietory buggy ramps a couple of metres long would suffice.  We'd then have to thik about getting her into the drivers seat. I think it will be a case of leaving the buggy indoors, and using her "car" wheelchair to get to the driver's door ... almost a full circuit of the car.

I'm having thoughts about asking the council to provide a cantilever canopy over Barbara's parking area. 

She phoned Social Security, told them she simply cannot get out of the house. "Tell us what you want!" They replied. I wish they had offered some guidance about what she is entitled to.  Back to my sister, retired Team Leader, Social Services, South London.  It's not what you know ....

Our builder now wants to extend our "ablutions"  ... extend into side alley and link up with the garage, then roof over.. Room for bath, easy wheel-chair access to shower. Bidet? Scatter-can Lad's urinal?    We shall see.

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

To return to my project ...

Memory (yesterday?) says that Wittsend thinks I won't have enough points ... or something like that. My apologies if I misunderstood. I can't find that mail.

My calculations are...
.
CHASSIS. Original or new = 8 points.

AXLES (both) = 2 points. (I find that confusing. Do they mean you need BOTH axles to get 2 points, and get nothing for only one axle? Or BOTH axles get you two points each, so four points? I will assume the former, and use both axles.

TRANSMISSION = 2 points. I presume that means gearbox and prop-shaft? What happens if I don't fit the front prop-shaft?  Still two points? Or zilch?

STEERING = 2 points. I will assume that a replacement heavy duty rods rod will be acceptable? I would like an S3 steering box, and boy-racer steering wheel.

ENGINE = 1 point.

At this stage of the game ( I haven't thrown a double-six yet) I will assume that I'll be using a qualifying chassis, both original axles, and qualifying steering.

I make that 9 points (5 + 2 + 2). I only need 8 points.

If push came to shove, I couild retain the original gearbox, giving me two more points.  But I'm back to considering going automatic.

I don't think I can make that deciision until I have a bare chassis in front of me.

Auto boxes all have long "tail". Landy boxes have a transfer box stuck on the back end.

Auto boxes drive is in line with the centre of the crank-shaft, suggesting that the rear only out-put could be through the big PTO hole in the middle cross-member. Landy drive is cranked, down and sideways, through the transfer box, with the rear propshaft passing under the chassis cross member.

QUESTION FOR TODAY

What are the chances of poking the gearbox tail through the PTO hole in the middle chassis, and cranking the prop-shaft down and across to meet the drive flange on the differential? Assume I have a little lee-way on spring height, but sideways is written in stone.  A 109" chassis would be more forgiving.

The obvious solution is to drop the back of gearbox tail, to go under the chassis cross-member, but that would mean dropping the whole engine gearbox assembly. Not a problem with the gearbox support cross-member, just order a chassis with a detachable cross-member.

But the cross-member under the flywheel is a different matter.  Fingers crossed that the donated clutch housing is physically smaller. If the donated engine is physically shorter, it may be possible to move the whole assembly forward, so taking the clutch housing diameter out of the equation, allowing me to drop the power unit by maybe a couple of inches.

I try to play by the rules (whenever possible), but things would be much easier, if the chassis could be supplied with two left hand engine mountings, which would allow me to centralise the engine, subject to other obstacles. I met this on one of my early projects, that the PO had fitted matching engine mounts to accept a V8. Rather than weld a new RH mount on the chassis, I cobbled a cantilever mounting that bolted onto the side of my S2 engine, to bridge the gap.

I won't go into fitting a Cortina four cylinder engine into a Scimitar GTE ... the engine mounts were a sort of "contrived" Z-shaped construction, not difficult, and it worked. Mind you, I still wake up screaming.

Something just crossed my mind. S1 rear axles have a flange on the end of the half shaft. S1 front axles have the same system as S2s. Just an idle though sneaked through what passes as my brain ....

Will S1 half-shafts fit an S2 axle? And if so, could I fit similar looking "blanK" discs on the hubs of a non-driving front axle? Just to confuse people, you understand. 

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

Crunch time approaches. I'm unable to contact the owner of my proposed project. I know he has problems that I wouldn't wish on anybody, but ...

I've decided to start looking for an alternative project, starting from first thing next Sunday morning. If any vehicles are offered to me before then, I will not make any decisions until Sunday morning, but feel free to tell me what you've got, at any time.

However, I consider myself bound by my present offer to buy, subject to the present vendor getting back to me before Sunday, or even before I accept another offer, on, or after Sunday morning. Does that make sense? My current offer stands until Sunday, and then until I buy something else.

To recap, I'm looking for any Series SWB, but preferably S2, VED and MOT exempt. I plan to buy new wheels and tyres, but would need it to be rolling, until so fitted, after which the originals will be returned if wanted.  I won't need an engine, might not need a gear-box (undecided which way to jump).

Getting whatever I buy, home, will be a major factor in my decision. I'm near Milton Keynes.

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

I've just had a PM from 109+1.

He says he has been having a problem with his MESSAGES and that I "should start without him". I think we are still friends. 

I'll post a WANTED thingy in the morning.

602