The pleasure of nuts and bolts

Weds.24.10.07. This has been a collection day of massive proportions. I have been over to Paddocks to gather all the hoses, gaskets, brackets and cables. Then, returning to Wigan placing an order for the missing fan belt from Bill at Ledsons, that John, inexplicably, could not supply. A visit to B and Q to view their carpet offerings proved fruitless as did Fishers and Queen Street carpets. Lastly, the final stop at Brabbin and Rudd, for the ultimate nut and bolt orgy, is always a pleasure. The company has an honest age; bottomless stockpiles of supremely engineered items, knowledgeable professional staff and, equally importantly, tradesmen customers who speak the same language. “I need quite a bit of stuff, lad, 120xM8 M/G galvanised countersunk washers, 4x 5/16 UNF 1.x1.5 HT brass setscrews, 12x M10 Hex Full nut Z-Ps chromed, 2x M12 type P milled nyloc nut Z-Ps, 2x M12x 150 Z-P HT bolts stainless, 12x 5/16 UNF type P domed nyloc nut Z-Ps, 36x M8 ZP HT slotted setscrews, steel, 2x M12type P flathead nyloc nut Z-Ps and 2x 60 copper cup pozi SQ Hex-ZPs, all manufactured to standard DIN603/001, can you manage that?” no probs, was the brief reply.  Returning home I have managed to make a few calls, spray another coat over the boot box and inner skin, re-fin the undertrim before I gathered then labelled all my swag, removed the brush from up my arse making ready for delivery to Westmead.

Another Christmas had arrived for Chris as he eagerly poured through the bulging plastic sacks that were crammed with all the goodies usually found in a Cadburys chocolate selection box. But would all or any of these components actually fit the car? Luckily, the hoses slipped comfortably over the vacuum pipes, the gaskets hugged the equivalent portals, the endless variety of nuts, bolts washers sparkled on the floor where they had been excitedly tipped, the world was a happy place. Many of these parts were the missing pieces to the puzzle, the solutions for the unfinished, flawless brand new couplings, the icing on the cake.