Making progress on our Tonka Truck

We finished up the body work on the entire cab and front end of The General! All has been media blasted and coated with epoxy primer after extensive body work. The inside of the cab got a thick coat of heavy duty truck bed liner.

We just finished the custom seat frame today (pictures coming soon). The frame will hold 3 bucket seats. Now we need to find a sleeper cab from an old Peterbuilt and an M105 military trailer for the bed. Next, we are going to rebuild the entire brake system, so we can start driving it more than down the street. The entire drivetrain is getting new fluids and the axles are getting all new seals, too.

Driver beats up traffic warden on duty

One Gideon Eloho, a resident of number 23, Trademore Avenue, Trademore estate,  have appeared before an Abuja Magistrate’s  court for assaulting a senior traffic warden.

The driver in charge of a golf car with registration number AZ 77YAB is facing charges of criminal force and assault on public officer and mischief which runs contrary to Sections 267 and 327 of the Penal Code.

The prosecuting counsel, Sergeant Abdullahi Adamu told the court that on August 22, 2011 a senior traffic warden,  Ayuba Usman attached to Divisional Police Station,  Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, arrested and brought the accused person to the station.

He  said that the accused person intentionally disobeyed  the officer’s hand signal while he was performing his lawful duty along Herbert Macaulay way by Sir Kashim Ibrahim junction, Wuse market Abuja.

In an attempt to apprehend the suspect, he was said to have  alighted out of the car and  beat up  the traffic warden,  tearing his uniform in the process and leaving him with internal injury.

Corporal Idoko Ogidi  was said to have intervened in the process of the fight, but the accused person held and cut off his uniform button.

After listening to the prosecutor, the accused person pleaded not guilty to all the charges leveled against him.

Magistrate Fatima Malo, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 and a reliable surety who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, adjourning the case to a later date.

Credit: Independent News

21/09/11

National Theatre parking lot abandoned

The multi-million naira car park built within the precincts of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, about two years ago has been abandoned.

A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that the park, located close to the entrance of the theatre complex, is now covered by weeds, with water tanks, four broken down plants and vehicles abandoned there.

The park, constructed in 2009, has the capacity for, at least 100 vehicles.

Officials, who spoke with NAN, said that the parking lot was constructed to solve the problem of parking space for visitors and fun-seekers, who besieged the National Theatre particularly at weekends and during festivities.

But the general manager of the complex, Kabir Yusuf, declined comment on the abandoned park, saying it was not built by the organisation.

He, however, disclosed a comprehensive plan by the federal government to re-design the complex into a world class tourists' destination. According to him, a five-star hotel and other facilities are to be provided within the premises of the complex.

On security, Mr Yusuf said adequate measures had been put in place to ensure the security of lives and property.

"It was in those days that people were robbed and girls were raped, but now there is security at the complex.

"We have introduced police patrol and we also have police dogs to curtail any criminal activity; criminals cannot operate here anymore because there is no room for them," he said.

Mr Yusuf urged the government to increase the level of funding to the national monument.

"There is need for increased funding of the National Theatre for its maintenance," he added.

Credit: 234NEXT

17/09/11

The British Invasion returns

Once again it's time to head for Vermont, for the British Invasion

Here's a preview of a few of the cars we are bringing:

Please join me on the show field, and meet the crew from Robison Service.  We will have cars in Land Rover, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Bentley and Triumph classes.

When engines run too fast, or too lean . . . valves break

Last week, we received a 1990s Range Rover Classic that ran rough and made some noise.  A local garage had changed the plugs and wires, to no avail.  They did a compression test, and found one dead cylinder, with 25 PSI compression.  A normal reading on a truck like this is 175.  That's when the owner decided to ship the rig to us.

We did a leak down test, where we put air into the cylinder through the spark plug hole, to see where it comes out.  Air came out the exhaust as fast as we put it in.  There was only one thing to do - we pulled the head.

We found just what I expected - a burnt exhaust valve.  You can see the two valves in the cylinder head photo above.  The intake is on the left; exhaust on the right.  See the ragged edge on the right side of the exhaust valve?  That's the failure.  Here's the valve, removed from the head:

In this photo the failure is unmistakable.  That was where the story got complicated.  The owner said, "The engine only started skipping after I got the truck back from having a new transmission installed."  I asked why he had the transmission changed.  "It stopped shifting gears," was his reply.  "It stuck in low."

I decided to look at little closer.  Look real close at this photo of the piston.  Note the little line just below center right:




















It looks to me like the valve touched the top of the piston, ever so slightly.  BTW, the liquid in the cylinder is residue from disassembly.  It has nothing to do with the repair.

I thought about what the owner had said, and I concluded one of two things must have happened.
A - He ran the engine too fast because the transmission was stuck. As a consequence, the valve "floated" and hit the piston, causing it to fail
B - The engine was racing way too fast with a light load because the transmission was stuck.  As a result, it ran too lean, and the lean running caused that cylinder to overheat because its injector was a little marginal.

I don't know which explanation is correct, and of course one of you readers may suggest something totally different.  For now, I am going to use my best judgement and recommend we change that injector, and fix the valve.  Changing the injector covers both the bases for us.  The trans repair took care of the over-revving, and the injector will take care of possible leanness in that cylinder.

As you can see, there is no sign of damage on the cleaned up piston:



















The valve looks just as fried as ever.  We'll fit a new one, and new springs just to be safe.  We will also touch up the valve job on all the other cylinders and clean up the seats.




















If you go back to the top photo, you'll see there was black carbon all over the valve.  What does that tell us?  It says someone tried to drive this truck a ways with the failed cylinder.  That suggests it may have failed earlier than the owner thought.  However, it does not change the diagnosis.  

Is there a moral to this story?  I think so. When your car starts to fail, or act at all unusual, park it.  Don't drive it home and then say, "it sounds funny."  By the time you get there, it may be too late.  This fellow started with a transmission repair, but when he kept driving, it became an engine repair too.

In his defense, I must say that we see this all the time. Modern cars have loud stereos and lots of sound deadening around the motor.  Most of the lights and gauges we had 20 years ago are gone.  It's easy to drive today's vehicles until they go up in smoke, and then ask ourselves, "How did that happen?"

As owners (I am an owner too, not just a repair guy) we have to be extra observant because the sounds and smells that used to warn of danger are no longer there for us to see, unless we look real close.  Check your fluids every now and then, and if you ever feel something may be amiss, slow down, open a window, and listen and smell.  It it ticking?  Does it smell hot?  Is that gauge pinned in the red?

In the end, if our cars fail, we pay the price.  So it pays to be vigilant.

Parking Company Recruits Massively

Newly established, the 1^st and the only real professional car parking company registered in Nigeria, V-Park Management Solutions Limited simply refer to as “V-Park” is massively recruiting now for professionals and general staff. Please visit website via this link http://www.v-parkms.com/Careers.aspx, to find out about available positions.

Salaries and Benefits: Very Attractive

Credit: Africa News

12/09/11

KIIRA EV ( UGANDA )

The KIIRA EV is Uganda's solution to sustainable transportation for Africa's urban cities. KIIRA EV is a concept car that is 100% electric; It seats 2 people, is styled compact and designed to meet needs of Africa's expanding urban environment. An 18 horse power motor drives the KIIRA EV to a top speed of 60mph. The KIIRA EV was designed by Makerere University at the College of Engineering and Technology's Centre For Research in Transportation Technologies (CRTT). The Vehicle Design Project (VDP) is part of the CRTT that sets the stage for this ambitious venture which will lead to more advanced concepts in transportation technologies. The KIIRA EV is the concept car that ushers in the era of green energy technology to power vehicles for the African continent.

More details will be released in the coming weeks.