Having been warned off using Iridium Spark Plugs in my XJS I sent away to 'Santa' for the very same ones that I had used before, which were NGK BR7 EF

These Plugs worked Amazingly well in my other V12 'Cherry Blossom' although I did have a bit of a problem in trying to track some down, although I eventually found a Set on ebay

Very inexpensive and if I remember correctly were only about £2-50p each

The last time that I changed the Spark Plugs only took me 3 days (lol)

But now having done this job before, I think I should be able to do it in 2 days and if so I'll be very happy with that!




NGK BR7 EF Spark Plugs worked really well in my V12 'Cherry Blossom' so now I've got another set for '50 Shades' my Grey XJS

Although I've got a Straight Air Drill, I just couldn't resist getting hold of one of these, which if I remember was about £12 and Yesterday was the first time that I tried it out

As you can see from the Photo, it is very small, which is very handy for having to drill holes in awkward places

I was putting some wheels on my Welding Set (more about that later) that was gifted to me by the GF's Dad, who is a Professional Welder

And this Air Drill was ideal for that, as the drill went through Steel like a knife through melted butter



What's in the Box ?



Just what I always wanted a nice little Air Drill



It's nice small size and compact design makes it ideal for getting into very awkward places



Easily zipped through the round tube of Steel of this old Bakery Trolley which I converted into a Welding Trolley

While I was always hoping to never have to do any Welding on my XJS I cannot get away with it any longer, as 3 years ago when I got '50 Shades' my Grey XJS back on the road

I noticed a massive Bodge Up on the Exhaust Pipe, that either the previous Owner or a Shop he took it to must have put together with 'Sealing Wax And String' although even so She's never failed an MOT

But help was at hand or so I thought in the form of the GF's Father, who just happens to be a 'Fully Coded Welder!' which some how leads me to believe that when it comes to Girlfriends, I know how to pick em!

Though on Second thoughts maybe not! as her Father put me in 'promise land' to do that 'little job' which of course he never got around to, which seems to allude to the Theory that if you want a job done then you have to do it yourself!

Or else you could take it to a Shop, except of course that just maybe one of those Exhaust Shops did this unbelievable Bodge Up that it could well deserve a place in the Museum of 'Modern Art'

Except it wasn't all bad news as he gave me his old Mig Welder, when he bought himself a New one which some may say was a random act of kindness although I tend to think of it as a Massive Bribe to take his Troublesome Daughter off his hands

But since like the Mig Welder She came with no guarantee unfortunately I cannot send her back, not of course that I would ever want to, as She is always right and I am wrong

Except the only other thing that She will never know is that with a 'Welding Set and a Concrete Mixer'
'A Man can conquer the World' (@'Greg') So that only leaves the Concrete Mixer to buy!

But lest I digress, I've got 'The Mig' (which I've heard you can get cream for) though up until very recently the Mig just wouldn't work and so along with GF, that makes two things then

As the Mig Wire kept slipping on the Feed Roller, which of course would cost Megabucks to replace and so the only thing to do was order one from China! which cost about £2-50p and took 3 Weeks to arrive

But now that I have put that on, its working perfectly and I've been practising my Welding Skills by making lots of stuff that I don't need

Except the one thing I did need, was a Welding Trolley to push it about on and I found just the thing in a Scrap Yard in the form of a Bakery Trolley, which I hacked about a bit to get the Mig to fit on it and it is just the job




Making a Mig Welding Trolley

Except that is this Trolley had a little flaw, as the Wheels were much too small and kept getting stuck in the Mud of the Perfectly Manicured Lawn, which you can see in the Photo above, at 'Orange Blossom Towers'



One Wheel on my Wagon, that kept getting stuck in the Mud

So what I really needed was another Axle and another couple of Bigger Wheels to put in the Middle and I had just the thing to do the job



Remember this Hanging Garment Rail, which once belonged to the GF that I cut up to make my 'Hybrid Gas Struts' when the GF told me to dump it



'Hybrid Gas Struts' made from Garment Rail

Well as it turns out, this is the 'Gift that really keeps on giving' because as well as the 'Hybrid Struts' in amongst that pile of Junk is another Axle for my Mig Welder, with those little Black Plastic Cross Pieces being of Special Interest



I think I've just 'Struck Gold' those little Black Plastic Cross Pieces, were just what I wanted to make the New Axle



OMG! Just the Job or What! Now all I need are 2 more Wheels, although the hardest part of that job is now out of the way!

So Glad I talked the GF into buying one of those Garment Rails even though we had no place to keep it!



I'll say one thing that Mig is blinking heavy!



Nearly There



Now all I've got to do is try and wheel it into the Garage



Already for Welding up the Exhaust in the Spring



Storing the Reel of Mig Wire away for the Winter to prevent it going rusty

Maybe it would have been easier to take it to an Exhaust Shop but I guess I just like doing things the hard way

Well Strictly Speaking it wasn't this:



I bought this 1/4 Socket Set in the Summer of 2018 from one of those well known High Street Shops, as I needed it to fix 'Carmen' my 1995 XJS Celebration Convertible

And since it didn't come from a Tool Shop, I wasn't sure what to expect, as I have bought some cheap sockets before that didn't cut the mustard and as such either broke or rounded off

So I bought this in a bit of a rush as if in an act of desperation, as if you haven't got the Tools you need to do the Job, then you are precisely going nowhere and so for just shy of £18 I thought I'd take a Punt and try it out

It took every single thing that I threw at it and in fact I found it quite amazing! as all the Sockets felt solid and the Quality and the content of what was in the box, just exceeded all my expectations

So whenever I go tripping in my XJS this is always the first thing that I put in the Boot/Trunk before I go out, as it has almost everything that I would ever need for a Road Side repair



The most incredible little Took Kit that I'd never be without



I've had this for almost a Year now and I still cannot get over how many useful Tools they've packed inside!



Flexible Extensions, 'Wobble Heads' it's really got the lot and so the First thing on my 'Christmas List' was to buy its 'Big Brother' which was also going to be the 'First Proper Socket Set' that I have ever owned, as I have never had much interest in Mechanics

To be Continued.......

What's in that Big Box?

As a Kid when growing up I never really had much use for tools, except for a few Spanners that were in my dad's garage, which I used to make a go kart that was powered by a Lawn Mower engine

That me and my mates used to ride up and down this local dirt track road, although I can't remember it having any brakes, as the object of the exercise was more to get it going than it ever was to stop

Where looking back at all the things that Kids like me got up to, when I think about it now it also seems surprising that I'm still here in one piece!

Though having said that I've always had a thing for making something out of nothing and as for that Flame Thrower, just don't get me started, except to say those really were the days

As for my dad, he didn't fare much better for although he was a lovely guy and totally non PC, he was a 'Jack of all Trades but a Master of none and to be perfectly honest a bit of a 'Bodger' who never did anything properly

Like the time that he rewired the House which then started a Fire in the Garage which in turn then melted a lead joint in the Gas Pipe, which went on to Start a Fire that even someone like 'Red Adair' might have struggled to put out

Which in its own way I found quite exciting at the time, seeing those fire engines turning up outside the house, which were called out by our next door neighbours, as my dad was quite convinced that all that was needed was a garden hose

That as 'Sod's Law had decreed was not quite long enough to reach the Garage but 'Full Props' to the Firemen who put out all the Flames, that had lit our Street up in the middle of the night

Until the Garage roof was just reduced to nothing more than just a bunch of smouldering black embers, except of course that none of them knew about the broken gas pipe that had melted when the fuse box underneath it had caught fire

At which point those smouldering embers then reignited the Gas that had now built up inside the remaining brick walls of the Garage, which without any warning, went off with a bit of a Bang!

Well maybe Bang! is understating it a little bit, as in truth Explosion is the word you're looking for, as the last thing that I saw were the Garage Double Doors flying through the Air like some sort of a home made Hang Glider

This was a disaster movie that had come to life with Fire Engines and the Street being evacuated, where the only thing that I could see now missing from the Scene was an action Hero just like 'Steve Mc Queen

Together with the upstairs bedroom wall, from which I remember the view was so amazing that when he had the house rebuild mum and dad decided that this would be the perfect time to take advantage of that view and put a Window in

So seeing just what can result if you go and 'Bodge' something, unlike my dad I've always tried to do whatever job I've done just as well as I can, even if I haven't had all the Tools required to do the job

Or to put it another way, let's just say that lessons have been learned and so apart from a few spanners and other bits and pieces that were in the Junk draw of our Kitchen dresser, it was really just a case of make do and mend

Up until one Christmas when one of our relations was kind enough to give me my very own Tool Kit, which I still have to this very day and this is it




Yeah! I know what you're thinking, you'll never repair an XJS with something like that! and you'd be right!

I even broke a Spanner when I hit it with that Hammer and so apart from household stuff it was about as much use as an ashtray on a Motor Bike, although it was a start

And then the next thing that I got was a sort of Socket Set if you could call it such, which just like the Spanners in the Pic above, wasn't really up to very much



For reasons that escape me now, I was thrilled to bits when I got this and I don't know why either!

I guess you've got to Start somewhere but unlike now, at the time I wasn't interested in mechanics and never had the kind of Job where they were required, as the only thing that I wanted to do was to go out and have a good time

Right up until about 4 years ago, when I decided that I would try and get my XJS back on the road, where in order to do that I knew I would need more than just a FBH and Screwdriver!

Where as unbelievable as it may sound, I still didn't have what resembled a proper Tool Kit, as I used to get my Spanners from the 'Pound Shop' and somehow managed to acquire a random jumble of Sockets, which I picked up at Car Boot Sales



'Its Good but it ain't right' Could be the words you're looking for

But the right Socket must be in there somewhere!

Though the 'Breaker Bar' and the 'FBH' were up to now the only recent additions to my motley collection, of what looks like a pile of junk, which I used to get my XJS back on the road

Although I must make special mention of a couple of favourite Tools in my Collection



My indestructible 'Chinese Spanner' which I was unable to break, when I hit it with that FBH!



Battle Scarred and Bloody! my indestructible Socket Wrench that I've used with a 4 foot Scaffold Pole and as you can see has been whacked a few times with that hammer!

Though once I got my XJS back on the Road again, with Special Thanks to 'Greg' and 'Grant' as well as the rest of you Guys that pitched in with suggestions, not forgetting Electrical Genius 'Warrjon'

The next thing to happen was Paranoia set in, where I had developed such a fear of breaking down that I went from one extreme to the other and used to carry every Tool that I could get my hands on, in the Boot/Trunk 'Just in Case!




At this point Paranoia had started to set in, where with a fear of breaking down I used to carry every Tool that I could get my hands on!

And then on Christmas Morning I woke up and smelled the Coffee, when the GF went and bought me the very thing I had been longing for, which was my first proper Socket Set

That instead of that big heap of junk that somehow used to masquerade as Spanners, I now had some proper Tools to Carry in the Car, which look hopefully enough to fix anything

Where the only reason that I asked for these, was that I was so impressed with the smaller Socket Set of the same type that I bought last Summer




If you can't fix your Car at the side of the road with this little lot then I'd say that you've got a big problem!






Just what I always wanted and for the Bargain Price of just under £34 let the games begin!

As I need my Mig Welder (which was passed onto me by the GF's Dad) to be fully mobile when moving it round the Garden at 'Orange Blossom Towers' The first thing I did was to mount it on a 4 wheel trolley, which I found in a Scrap Yard




I made a Mig Welding Trolley from one that I found in a Scrap Yard (see previous post but one for full description)

On a level Concrete Surface, this would have been ideal but whenever I've moved it around on 'Grass' the Wheels dig into the ground, so what I really needed was an axle in the middle with 2 much bigger Wheels

And while I was down the 'Scrap Yard' I found just the thing, which was a broken Ride On mower that someone had tried to turn into a 'Go Kart' although unfortunately the engine had got a rod through the side

But it did have a strong Axle on which the PO had fitted 2 Solid Wheels and Tyres of just the right size, which as luck would have it, were just what I wanted to go on my 'Mig Welding Trolley'



The Rear Axle of this Broken Ride On Mower was just what I wanted and only required the minimum of modding!



Axle removed from Scrap Mower



Drilling Mounting Holes for my 'Mig Trolley'



I made an old wooden template to make sure I drilled the Holes in the right place



Trial Fitting the Wooden Template



Axle and Wheels now Bolted in place for which I used Nylon Spacers which came off the GF'S Clothing Rail which She told me to throw in the 'Skip'!



Those Nylon 'Cross Spacers' on that curved tube were just what I wanted to mount the Axle on the Trolley



Exactly what I wanted as the Centre Axle is about One Inch higher than the other 4 Castors which now means that its easy to turn and no longer gets bogged down, as I will need to be able to move it around to repair my XJS Down Pipe



Another unexpected Gift from the GF's Dad was that he treated me to a much larger Bottle of Welding Gas than I had been using before, so now time to practice my Welding before I get to work on the Exhaust