[Aberdare]

Just a quick update... been busy with two big jobs in the workshop, so there has been no time to work on the Van or any other projects. I did a complete R&R of the power pack from a 2004 Volvo XC90. The transmission final drive dynamited and spread shards of metal from the planetary gear set into the transmission pan, but thankfully, the filter kept the valve body clean. We had another 2004 XC90 with the same power pack, so it was decided to use that as a donor for internal parts as well as a replacement casing to do a proper rebuild. The original engine also got a servicing with replacement of the Variable Valve Timing actuators (both intake & exhaust) along with new seals to fix an oil leak that has been getting worse over the last year, in addition to finding an almost elusive coolant leak. It has been a slow process with every internal component of the transmission disassembled, cleaned, then reassembled with clean semi synthetic transmission oil and new seals. Doing the rebuild in house saved $3500, but it has yet to be fired up and given a good test drive... another 7-9 hours assembly to get everything ready for that, but it gave me some labour on my time card versus sitting around all day with nothing to do.

The second big job has been an entire top end rebuild of a 5.3L V-12 fitted to a 1998 Jaguar XJS Coupe. The Customer's wife simply loves the car, so no expense is being spared. The head gaskets on both banks were blown, allowing combustion gases to migrate into the coolant jackets. The 21 hours of book time didn't even come close to covering all the excessive repair time, which included a complete cylinder head rebuild with valve clearance and guide checks and valve spring tension measurements. Only two valve springs needed replacement as they fell under spring tension specifications. The Customer was really quite impressed with the attention to detail and the additional 14 hours of labour it took to bring the engine back to life.

I took the opportunity to check on my parts trucks and other projects in the barn, and found someone had left the barn door ajar sometime before the snow began... I had a four legged vermin take up residence in the cab for the 1966 fleet side. Considering there is not much that can be damaged, I decided to leave momma Fox alone with the den she'd made... and her presence will keep the rodent population under control, which also includes the two legged variety that seem to come and go as they please. Just to make sure she sticks around until spring time, I set out a 60kg bag of feed for her and her litter. She should make a good security system to keep the two legged rodents out of where they don't belong.

If there aren't any other big jobs coming into the workshop before the end of the month, there should be time for me to get the Step Van down off the trailer and get some more fabrication done on the body. More than likely, February should be ok to allocate some time to get things done before sending the Step Van to the body shop. I will probably also have the time to fabricate a transport cart, so that the frame can be stripped down and refurbished, while the body gets new paint.

I will post more photographs once the Van is back in the workshop again.

Cheers!