Lord Jims pub in Rio de Janerio

There are pubs and there are pubs but one of the more unusual ones I have had a pint in was Lord Jims,in Rio,its a short walk up from the beach I remember.

The McBride girls pose for dad to take a picture,the camera was a Canon SLR FT with a 1.4 lens

R McB

Aquilla,the pride of Hout Bay

Well certainally one of the better maintained Hout Bay Harbour fishing fleet boats,to be honest she has just come off the slip and I was asked to take a photo of her so a local artist can do a painting of her.

Picture taken by Roy McBride

lets hope this tele lens shot suits the painter.The camera was a Canon G11 using an auto setting except for the tele lens,the time was about 5pm and the sun was still quite high and over my right shoulder.

Left click the image for a full size view!

Lornas new shop in Estcort

We are Opening 26 November!

Linga Lapa

Nottingham road exit from N3

Come and visit – beautiful stuff from around South Africa– including ceramics, jewellery, childrens toys/crafts, felt and crochet creations, handbags and more! J

Please pass on the message

Thanks!

Hope to see you there
X Lorna

The Mark 1 Hillman Imp engine

The Imp came out about May 1963,one of the features of the engine was a crank case breather pipe,another was the so called Curly Block top edge,later to be replaced by the Mark 2 and a straight top edge which was stronger.

A very early series one Hillman Imp block,note the black crank case breather pipe,there is a small hole at the top inside face of the pipe and a round filter inside the alloy lower boss.

Note,the valves have been sprayed with a coating of Shell Ensis V to stop any corrosion,this product is also recomended for cylinder head bolts for the same reason.

A mark one cylinder head with the valves and camshaft fitted,the head is ready to use,there are some surface marks on the face but they will sit in the water cooling space,so not an issue.This head and its 875cc engine will give out 38bhp,not a great deal by todays standards but enough to push the Mark One imp along at around 80mph all day long,thats just under 130 kms. I well remember doing this with friends and a car full of camping gear on Germanys Autobaans.

All standard Imps had the Solex carbs,that was right up to 1976 when sales were discontinued but only the very first Imps had the large round air diaphram you can see in this picture,a plastic tube from an actuation foot pump at the drivers end controled the throttle.

Now about 48 years old,this Imp cylinder head is ready for use,it will make a good stand by unit,excellent for a generator perhaps?

Note also the round black plastic cover on the carb,that was the automatic choke,which worked very well in the English winters I was used to.With the air pump foot control,both were a delight to use.

Now  quite rare items,I still need the foot peddle unit if anyone has one?

Production of Imps

Production	1963-1976 440,032 made

R McB

Hillman Imp 998cc special gaskets

Rare as those things called Hens Teeth,a special 998cc copper head gasket and a stainless camshaft carrier shim arrived from the suppliers in the UK today,dont even ask the price but we needed the genuine artical and quickly.

Solid copper sheet thats 1.5mm thick,laser cut to suit the block and head.

Brought in as a back up only,if we do not use it,I think it will get framed and hung on the wall behind glass, its probably the only one in Africa?

Look closely,there is a stainless steel shim on top of the camshaft carrier,at 0.06mm thick it gives us room to adjust the valves and over head camshaft hight.

From another angle.

Boats in a Hout Bay fog

A reminder of the winter thats past.

Photo by R McBride,the camera was a Canon G11 on an auto setting.

Taken on July 2nd 2011 at 9.22am,shutter used was F/4.5 and speed was 1/800 sec.

HBYC Marina gets a 60 knot wind speed indicator

We often have members asking what our wind speed is recording,seems to me if its windy on the marina,its a sight more so out in Hout Bay,so to enable any member or visitor to see the wind speed,the club now has a B & G mast head unit in place,its the C type and with  a matching 4" (100mm) gauge,which has a bonus in that it reads to 60 knots,as the later series Syncro types only  read to 50 knots. (only?)

The mast and MHU is on the seaward end of the Marina Managers office,the read out is in a window just before the office door.

The end mounts are a little on the butch side but I reckon rather that, than see the entire lot fly off in some future breeze?

The 316 stainless steel mast head plate is fitted to a thick wall 63mm alloy pole,the top of which has a meranti plug epoxied in place,the two stainless 6mm studs have been fitted with Loctite and should last some while.

The B & G Hornet computer box,its a circa 1975 set but works a treat!

The C type mast head unit also gives wind direction,this will not be displayed as we hope folk know where the winds coming from.

The B & G (brookes and gatehouse) Hornet display,its a really nice easy to read unit,they still sell the same size today.

R McB

Reliant Robin

Why would I want to post a blog on a three wheeled car,is it a car,or is it a motor bike? For sure its origins start as a three wheeled motor bike,as the front wheel and suspension was just pure motor bike,with the driver/rider sitting inside an enclosed cabin.

Seen here at the local shops and opposite Maghulls Meadows Hotel,the driver told me he gets about 48mpg,thats not bad,the motor may be the Reliant 748cc all alloy unit,its in the front,which leaves a huge amount of space for two and rear lugage.

The body is all GRP so is rust free,check the large loading rear door,what a gem to park and collect the shopping with.

A carfull owner,not too sure as the car has signs of a bump on the other side and I note some overspray on the drivers door.Insurance wise though,the Reliant Robin drivers return some of the lowest in claims each year.Can you believe its as low as 0.9 % a year with over 1100 similar cars being insured.

Cruising the Coast of Brasil by Marcal Ceccon

We met Marcal and his family about fifteen years back,they had just sailed around the world,almost,as all they had to do was sail back home to Sao Paulo,in Brasil.Their boats name was and still is Rapunzel,they were moored right next to us. Before sailing off and back home I purchased a copy of volume one of Marcals cruising guide of the coast of brasil.

Rapunzels crew.

I now have stocks of the 2010 and updated version (on line updates exist too) they will cost you U$40 only (R320) plus postage etc,this price will increase for the next order due to shipping.

Easy to use,the pages can be turned and left open as pairs or folded underneath,so just one A4 page is visible.

The guide covers from all the way south to the north,thats over 4000 miles in one guide.

Contact me now for the special price,there are only five at that offer.

R McB

 Do not forget to take the national flag of Brasil when you go there,all boats seem to carry one,even small ones.