Nothing to report regarding GAM, except that I continue to use it for local runs perhaps 3 times/week, it always starts easily and runs very well. It will be time for the annual service in April.
My time has been consumed by the ‘Vegas house project, and in particular by a flooring contractor that has let me down half way through installing LVT throughout the whole house. I’ll have to change the locks and assess the damage tomorrow morning. I’ll now have to quickly learn how to lay LVT and finish off the rest myself.

:shocked:

It can be a problem, not knowing the tradesmen in a new area . A new(ish) neighbour who moved in nearby has suffered similarly.
I suspect you’ll do a better job anyway.

Still a pain though.

I think you may have noticed from my recent posts in the 200 section that the flooring contractor (just about) came good in the end Andrew. It went right down to the wire: I drove over to 'Vegas with new barrels locks in my toolbox intending to change them on Sunday last week. The tradesman showed up on time, not a lot was said (apart from 'would you like a cuppa') and he cracked on with the job. Apart from one hiccup (he had miscalculated the quantities again so I ended up dashing up to Yorkshire to buy some more tiles on Monday afternoon) the job was finished on Tuesday morning.

In the end this worked out okay: the chap did a nice job and the house looks really good. The cost (even after me having to buy a couple of extra boxes of tiles) was still £900 less than my other quote. It was an irritation having to watch over the contractor to keep him focussed on the job, but unfortunately I have found that to be the case with many tradesmen here in the UK (that is why I have acquired so many skills myself).

All's well that end well :speechless-smiley-5.

A good result then!
Things like ‘Check a Trade ‘ , are no real help . There are some companies on that locally to me that I wouldn’t have if they were free!

Your ability to do things yourself is the best Trump card in such cases.🧐

I have a very jaundiced, sceptical view of things like Check-a-trade Andrew. I've always felt that the people who review on things like that have no real knowledge of how the job should be done in the first place and as such, their review has no real value. As long as it looks good when it's first done, they leave a 5-star review and 6 months later when (for example) all the tiles lift because not enough adhesive has been used, they can't go back and change it.

It's a bit like the reviews i see quoted in a tv ad for "pay up front funeral services". How on earth can reviews be left by the people actually paying for it? They won't know if the job was done well! :err:

I've always found word of mouth is a better way of finding someone reliable and good.

I concur 100% Dave. Our modern, transitory, nomadic population is a cash crop for sure!

I’ve just noticed it is annual service month for GAM. I’m split between two houses (Corby Del Sol and ‘Vegas) at the moment, so this will have to wait until after 6 June.

This is just a reminder to myself to order the items and service the motor car as soon as I’m settled in ‘Vegas.

:cool:

I was adjusting the clutch throw this morning and happened to notice the four M8 bolts that hold the gearbox onto the bell housing were all loose. I’d have removed and replaced these when I fixed the overdrive immobiliser a year or so ago. I didn’t use any thread lock when I re-fitted the bolts, and wonder whether I should have done? I can’t find any mention of using thread lock in the green book - what do people think?

I spent a little while removing part of the garden fence yesterday so I could try GAM for size where the car port will go. It fits just nicely…

I suppose a blob of weak thread lock would not hurt,
although I would think it unnecessary but you have encountered an issue it would solve.🧐

Let’s hope Aunt Maud settles in!😃

The bolts should have lock washers. Check the torque settings.