Issues

 The day started full of hope that a little light fettling, for an hour or so, would see us ready for the next leg of our journey. Ha!

After a quick power wash for all cars, the light fettling started. First, Nigel wanted to check his tappets. He enrolled that leviathan of mechanical excellence in the shape of, none other than, moi……(what? This is literally incredible, Ed). No worries, I thought, I can do this. My confidence was improved dramatically when Hugo joined the party. He really knows his stuff. 

Soon after completing this task, Nigel announced four of his push rods were bent. Hugo and I looked at each other. Should we feel responsible for this? We decided it was not our fault. Hugo went walkabout with Nellie, whilst I returned to worry about my radiator. It has been dripping for a few days. Loose nuts were to blame (and in this instance, we mean of the threaded type not as a euphemism for anything else). To hell with it! No more dilly-dallying around. Let’s take the radiator off and have a good look. 

The real engineers were summoned to help Nigel with his engine before any thing other than scratching the surface could be achieved by me. Nigel carries a lot of spares. His car is like a Tardis. Where does he fit it all in and also dress in different clothes each day? Beats me. Anyway, the push rods were replaced and then deconstruction of the Vauxhall began in ernest. Nigel, David and Chris came to the rescue supplying parts and knowledge. I have removed the Vauxhall radiator several times but not for a few years (Meknes in 2009 to be precise). There are some fiddly nuts to undo and one can only do so one flat at a time. (If in doubt what this last sentence means, Paddy is on the help desk today and can explain). 

Chemical metal and gasket sealant will, we hope, provide the proofing required. 

Tomorrow, Nellie and I have to refill the radiator with coolant, properly sieved and filtered and then we have a long drive. We trust the Chinese authorities have laid out a flat tarmac road for us.