OMG - The Triumph is gorgeous! Very nicely done...

I think your “barn” is bigger than my whole property, house included...

Looking good... Keep in touch...

 

Thanks for the nice complement on the Triumph. Just to prove I really have lost my mind, every nut and bolt is polished stainless. Not just polished but the writing ground off the head of every bolt, then polished...

The problem with lots of space is you tend to fill it! Plenty of unfinished projects. I made a pact with myself to not drag any more projects home. I'm going to have to live to 100 as it is...
rj

 

Nice work, Rob! The Triumph looks fantastic!

The question is, could you have finished the Chris Craft for the barn addition cost? Or deep down do really not want to finish it because then you'd be out your biggest project? 😉

 

The question is, could you have finished the Chris Craft for the barn addition cost? Or deep down do really not want to finish it because then you'd be out your biggest project? 😉

That's a good question. To be honest I probably could have bought the nicest 29' used ChrisCraft out there for the cost of the barn, with [lots] money left over! But the barn addition is there forever so I guess I'm increasing the value of the house, mostly to the benefit of my kids when I'm dead...

I think the issue is that I have so much work in the ChrisCraft I can't make myself walk away at this point. And as it sits I'm not sure it's worth anything to anyone else.

Plus I'm not a quitter. How many other FG boats have a real mahogany transom?

How do you make a $10,000 boat worth $15,000? Put $25,000 into it...

Like I said, I'm not a smart man, determined, but not smart.

robj

 

Beautiful restoration on the Triumph! That's great that you've got the connection with that bike through most of your adult life! Lovely barn as well! I'd love to have something like that at my house! Got any pics of the ChrisCraft? I saw one for sale recently; it needed significant work before it would ever be seaworthy again. Seemed like a huge undertaking.

 

Rob's still has a ways to go before being seaworthy, as well. It's not what you typically think of when you think "ChrisCraft." It's much larger! Still a very cool project and quite the undertaking. Yes, I have seen it in person.

 

When I was growing up my Dad had a nice size sail boat that we would go out on during the summer weekends and we would usually meet up other other boaters we knew. One of these people own a 42’ (I think) Chris Craft from the late ‘40s (maybe). Gorgeous boat. One very memorable thing about the boat was its name. The owners initials were ROW and you can probably guess the boats name...

 

Back so soon, [Not]

Originally meant to be an inexpensive DD, after everything in the build and getting completely carried away, the $500 Blue Car ended up a sunny Sunday "garage queen".

Been running great except for a slight stumble when first starting and today I got a code for "Camshaft Sensor-Left Bank", which makes sense considering the occasional stumble when starting.
A dumb question before I pull all my books out;
Is there more than one camshaft sensor? If not, what's the deal with the "left Bank"?

I'm sure I replaced it during the build as I replaced all the sensors. How long do these things normally last?

Thanks,
robj

P.S. The barn addition [which I've been working on pretty steady is coming along. That's the good news. The bad news is it's so far over budget may as well have not had a budget! And still needs insulation, walls, electrical, etc...

 

Isn't that the way most projects end up? Over time and over budget?

 

Not sure if this helps
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=12_1100

It only shows a cam sensor and a pulse generator. Not sure if they are related.

 

I think the code description can be generic, and left bank would be for V style engines.

Or you got a French car.

 

It's pretty true with everything I do. Been thinking/planning the addition for 5 years. Pre-Covid I would have been pretty close to the budget. Post-Covid, everything, and I mean everything was 25% more. Some stuff more than that. Like 48' laminated beams...
rob

 

HaHaHaHa... and I don't paint or own a beret....

 

That makes sense as from what I've read if the cam position sensor is going south the crankshaft sensor takes over to figure what position the cam is in. Symptom, stumble and slow or no start, Second try, starts right up.[After crank sensor figures out what's going on]

Pretty much what mine is doing. First time for the code though. I cleared it and am going to see if it comes back.

I'm positive I replaced that but can't recall if it was OEM or aftermarket. If I determine that is it I think I'll go with OEM.
rob

 

Holy Sh*t!! I just noticed, 38,000 views on the $500 Mini build Thread! Hoping it helped or inspired someone, somewhere. I just "breezed" through the whole thing. Took over an hour! Hard to imagine what it would be in "Real Time"....
rj

 

It was entertaining reading in real time. You've been missed.

 

It’s been a fun follow worthy of those views...

 

Thanks guys!
I had fun posting everything, hoping I might inspire, or maybe save someone some grief. It took quite a while to go through, hard to imagine how long it took to post everything, but sharing my pain/pleasure probably helped the project along. It felt like a team experience. I've decided I have project attention deficit, once they're done I'm like "ok, whats next?" I do have to say this was one of my "funner" projects, mostly due to the feedback from you guys. Like I said, a team effort...

Thanks again for sticking around!
robj

 

Back again. So it's been a while, almost 2 years. The mini has been doing great but to be honest I don't drive it near enough. I'm going to work on that. And yes, all those pretty painted parts no one will see are now pretty grimy looking, made a bit worse but a slight oil leak I can no longer tolerate.

I first thought it might be the oil filter housing, [seems to be a common issue] but on closer exam I "might" be lucky enough that it's the cam cover gasket, despite the fact that I put a new one on previously. On the other hand it could be both. Looks like the filter housing gasket is going to be a real son of a gun if that's the issue.

So in the meantime the workshop got finished. Was working on the '73 bus. Got the engine mostly finished then stumbled across a car I've lusted after since I was about 10 years old and read the book, "The Red Car"

So now the sorta proud owner of a 1948 MG TC. It's pretty much 1930's technology, basically a leaf sprung go-kart frame with a body that consists of a wood frame with sheet metal nailed to it.
First car I've ever owned that I needed a wood chisel, a plane and a saw to work on. Good news is the engine is solid but the rest was sort of loosely bolted together and the wood body frame needed work. Was going to try and do just a few pieces but ended up preparing to do an entire new tub.

Anyway so photos of some progress and some very slow progress...

robj

 

I am envious of your time and resources, Rob. Great projects and the shop looks like it turned out great. Did you get the Chris Craft out of the storage unit, yet?

 

Yes, finally got the boat here probably a month after it came up last time. Pretty amazing how quickly stuff accumulates and how long it takes to get it moved and stored away, [properly- not just piled up which is way too easy to do]
Had it shrink wrapped so it's in hibernation for now.
The MG was at a price I couldn't resist even after swearing "NO NEW PROJECTS!" . It lasted a little while but when there's a car/project you've lusting after your entire life, and you just turned 72, ya darn well better get on it!

rj

 

Glad you're back!

I've been out for quite a while too. Moved to a new house and had to build a garage extension in order to get the Mini back together. I had about 5k on my new short block when the oil pump failed and the #1 rod bearing joined the oil pump. 😕

Finally got the garage ready so I started reassembling the motor last weekend. Will drop it back in the car tomorrow.

I Greg up with MGs and always wanted a TD, but the closest I got was an MGA in high school. I've been looking at them again, and am probably going to give the Mini up to help fund the purchase. Its fun seems to have run its course.

But I will have to put at least 1k miles on it to break the motor in properly. 😅
​​

 

That's a really bummer about your motor. Especially after 5 K on it you figure all is well. One of the tensest things ever is cranking up a new engine, but to have one die after you figure you're home free. .. Was it a new oil pump? Just curious. With the state of aftermarket parts now a days it's a real tossup to remove a known good working used part and put new in.

Now that I know more about T series MG's than I ever thought possible, the TC [which is what I just had to have} is pretty ancient compared to TD's and TF's. Other than the grill and fender style you would never know they were made buy the same company. TC is pretty much a slightly wider 30's production while the others were more modern in numerous aspects. But I just had to have a TC...

rj

 

Yep, new pump.

​​​​​​I never knew that much about the T series, just that they were cool. Glad you got the opportunity!

 

Nice to see you back on here. Was an interesting journey watching the mini go to brand new looking. When you delve into it, I'd love to see how bad the oil leak has affected the gloriously clean underside of that car. Looking forward to seeing more again!