I suppose that at foreign governments, that were ignored by the economically powerful western governments are always going to be suspect as they gain more and more worldwide power. Such as China and Russia under Putin. Putin has already stated that he intends to make Russia in a world dominating power, although he could find himself struggling against China with its massive numbers of cheap labour.

Russia has the advantage of huge amounts of energy, whereas China has the labour force. Who wins ? The energy suppliers or the vast human labour force.

You can see what Putin is up to in Russia, he has got the Russian authorities to start arresting and prosrcuting anti-Putin protesters, such as the Alexei Navalny political opposition party. If the members get prosecuted they face up to 10 years in a Siberian prison. So much for democratic opposition. Putin wants to crush any idea of democracy, and then reform Russia as the old USSR with a huge land-based army. Then, I bet he will over-run Latvia, Lithuania, and the Ukraine and put everyone back behind the Iron Curtain. Happy days are here again !!!

I think that the States is knackered anyway as a world power. I recently watched a couple of really good programmes, on TV, about how America drove massive factory production after the war and into the early sixties. Another programme was about a rocket silo in Nebraska [I think], which is now abandoned, and was so advanced that it almost certainly put an immediate stop to Russia's sabre rattling in the late sixties. At that stage the States was the place to be, loads of good employment if you were prepared to work, and a country that you really could do very well for yourself.

Unfortunately, the country is now full of self-serving, greedy grab-alls who care nothing for their fellow worker. It's all about climbing to the top by stabbing your co-workers in the back and taking the rewards.

If Britain [and Ireland] want to get people back into work, and look forward to a future they need to re-introduce large scale factory manufactering for all those young people who have no second or third level qualifications and who never will have. Give them productive jobs in factories, and apprenticeships, instead of just leaving them to live on social services all their lives.

OK, that's me done 😅. Me, I'm going back to training my donkey to go to the shops on his own with a shopping list - it hasn't been a success so far.

Pierre3.

Richard, the big issue for me is the complete ignorance of government ministers of the intentions of the Chinese government. It amazes me that they don't seem to have realised that the chinese are not building infrastructure in the UK just because they like the UK. They want to control the output, and therefore profits, of the countries that they build factories in, and supply infrastructure projects.

If the UK government, in the future, and after Westminster has handed over all power generation to Peking, doesn't do what China wants it to do, for instance ban people from Hong Kong from getting out of HK on UK passports, then they would just switch off the nuclear reactors until the UK politicians behave themselves and kow-tow back to Peking, grovelling and squealing.

The UK surely has the technical expertise to build nuclear power stations, and it would also provide a good stream of work for local labour. But hey, the British government doesn't really care anymore about using British engineers and builders !!

Pierre3.

I believe that the Vauxhall plant, in Ellesmere Port, was very similar, the night shift guys all had day time jobs because they could sleep in the factory at night.

I also read in a magazine, a long time ago, about the night shift crews in the BL factories who used to race Dolomite Sprints around the factory grounds. Until two got totalled in one night !!

Pierre3.

Wow, fitted new headlight wiper blades !!! I'm impressed with my own productivity - I could never have got a job at British Leyland, I'm just too productive.

Pierre3.

mad-as wrote:

hi Pierre3 you are required to do nothing other than take some notice of the comments and make your own decisions, thats the media comments that is . you will see what is going on with the way it's put to you . as thunderburg would say "you have 1 year to make the change before it's to late " push the fear factor , create confusion buy not stating what the change will be and then give direction buy doing what she says . sorry it's not a joke , it's what is really happening and most are not seeing it . it is also how the media works ,especially when it comes to the government or the side they pick in an election .
PS i don't know what will happen if all the cars run on h2 , it's a question that i asked and isnt it all about the weather? if their is a risk that the weather pattern might change then it;s a no go as that is what all this is based on ,weather patterns . how humid would it be in heavy traffic in the city with no wind , an increase in humidity could produce fungus and molds too., we just dont know the effects and they are not going to tell you . as you stated the steam trains didn't cause a problem but they moved all the time not sat stagnant in traffic so the spread was greater also they didnt come in their millions world wide. just looking at the big picture.

Hi Mad-as, I know exactly what you meant in the original post - I was just gently making a bit of fun :(

I have always been in favour of using nuclear power, due to the huge output of modern nuclear reactors. What I have a huge objection to is the totally idiotic decision to employ a French/Chinese consortium to build and run the network. I can only think that any British politician who thinks this is a good idea either is a complete and utter dimwit, or else has got his hands deep into the Chinese governments pockets. It is obvious that the clowns in Westminster didn't take any notice when Russia cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine.

Pierre3.

Hi Richard, I don't wish to sound pretentious but getting the screws and captive nuts were the first thing I did when I bought my P38. When I got the cat home I noticed that one of the back screws had no spring on it, and the front captive nut was missing out of the front grill bodywork. I ordered three new screws and captive nuts from Rimmer Bros, if I remember correctly.

Dave [if I can shorten your forum name !], the grab handles were a bit awkward to replace, indeed. When I did the first handle I fecked about trying to carefully poke holes through the material in the correct position, but I soon realised that doing it that way was pointless. So, I screwed the fitting screws into the roof a few times, to see what the angle was and how far up the roof screw hole was, then I just got hold of the handle, forcefully [!!!] held the handle back against the return spring and just forced the screw through the material until I felt it meet the screw hole.

Once I found that that worked the other handles went in fairly easily.

The reading lights above the back seats were a bit of a pain and I found the easiest way to get them back in position was to first use a longer screw to get the light located, then screw in one of the two original length screws, and finally swapping the longer screw for the second, original shorter screw.

I think that any of the adhesives for sticking roof lining material are all instant bonding. I asked four different suppliers of material adhesives whether it was possible to move the material after it was initially stuck down. Each one said "no" as the adhesive is a contact adhesive. I think that the only way it would be possible would be to spray adhesive on only one side of either the material or the roof panel, and I think that then the material wouldn't adher properly. It seems that when the adhesive is sprayed onto a surface it immediately sticks to that surface but also then expects another layer of adhesive to be laid on top of it, and the two surfaces stick firmly together. I don't think you would get very far glueing one side only.

If I may say, you would have been better starting at the back of the panel because then the material has been able to adher to a large section of the panel before you get to the sunroof opening and all the humps and bumps around the opening. I think that I may have recommended making sure to glue down the material on the "underside" of the panel. The only parts where ther needed to be only a small turnover is over the door edges, because the roof panel has to fit comfortably into the door seal channel. I think too much could mean the material starting to bunch on the back of the panel.

I did leave generous amounts glued to the "underside" of the panel where-ever I could, but the edges around the sunroof opening didn't allow for very much extra at all.

I absolutely agree about expecting it to be easier having watched an American video. If you saw the same one that I watched it shows a guy with the panel on a work table and using an air powered spray gun for the adhesive, so that he did the whole panel in about two minutes !!! That guy probably did a panel every week by the look of it.

I think that, if you are like me, you are probably pretty critical of your own work, assuming that it is not as good as original. But I have found that after a few days things seem to settle down, and unless there is a big obvious crease, no-one is likely to notice small bumps in the material, especially when it is around the grab handles because the handle bases cover up most of the imperfections. The way I look at it is that I have saved €500 from not paying some-one else to do the job, and also I would have been really jerked off if some-one else installing the material didn't do any better job than I have - but I had to pay him to do it !!!

Pierre3.

Dave3d, I am pleased to hear that you got the headlining done. I do think that if you had to do a second one then you would probably do it without any creases. I know on my headlining I would have taken a slightly different strategy in dealing with the areas around the grab handles, and the dips and humps where the sunroof opening is.

But, to be honest, I had a couple of people look inside the car, when I told them that I had redone the lining and they thought that I was taking the mickey, they thought that it was original. I think that [a] you tend to see any small imperfections yourself, no-one else will, and [b] it looks a bit like the material has all settled down after a month or so, and any creases and stuff seemed to have disappeared.

I am particularly pleased that I fitted the extra grab handle above the drivers head though. I think that it just balances out the view of the headling.

As far as fitting the soundproofing panels in the back half of the car, I don't know if I notice any great difference. I have been out for a few short drives but I can't say that the car is like as quite as a Mercedes or something. I think the cabin noise is not an issue anyway, but it might be a little bit less. I need to go on a long trip to see.

Pierre3.

Hi mad-as, sorry, I am confused about your message, and I am very worried about what I should do. Should I do anything, or not do anything about anything ? I don't know, I just don't know, and now I am afraid that the Thought Police are on their way. Please can you tell me what to do ????? 🤣. Should I go and see my priest and ask for salvation ??? 😅.

I can't see that emissions from hydrogen, water, will ever become an issue. I would suggest that with all the steam trains in the world there was no effect on the weather. Although, I suppose you could say that there may be millions of cars. But, a steam train would easily require 3 or 4 thousands gallons of water, and this was all puffed out into the atmosphere.

Maybe if hydrogen cars could effect the weather then it would probably be with rain. So if there was a very dry summer we could get all our mates to call around and run their engines until it rains !!! [OK, I think that that's enough with the jokes stuff].

Pierre3.

I didn't think about the fitting scenario. But, I agree with you, I wouldn't ask Halfords to fit anything, if for no other reason that I know how to do regular service replacement things. I have seen too many stories of Halfords staff making a dogs' danglies of simple things, like changing wipers or bulbs and getting it totally wrong !! Duuuuh !

I checked under the bonnet of my vehicle, this morning, and there does seem to be a bit of leeway with the positive battery lead, so that it is possible to fit a battery with a centre terminal configuration, such as the Hankook MF31-1000. My car is a 2001 and looking at the positive terminal clamp there are , I think, three cables connected in the clamp. There are two heavy, red, ones, one going to the alternator, I suppose, one going to the starter motor, and one going to the fuse board. This is only from memory, and they are factory fit and not modified. There is a bit of movement on the clamp which would allow an inch or so of sideways movement.

The difference between a side edge terminal post configuration and a centre post configuration is probably only an extra inch or so.

One other annoying thing is that I emailed three different battery suppliers, two are distributors and the third was Yuasa UK, and I haven't heard back from any of them. There are two versions of the Yuasa HSB334 battery depending on where you look. Halfords list the battery as "HSB334" but other suppliers list an identical one as "Yuasa YBX5334". So, I emailed two suppliers, and Yuasa UK, but no-one has replied to me to explain the difference. The only difference that I can see is that on the Halfords item there is a label that says the battery has a 5 year guarantee. The other battery, although exactly the same specifications, doesn't. Maybe this is the difference.

Pierre3.

I saw a new piece, I think that it was in the Guardian online, from some numpty again bashing the idea of using hydrogen. This time the argument was complaing that there would still be a reliance on ICE vehicles.

But that is exactly what I would want. Use hydrogen instead of petrol, and perhaps diesel if it could be made to work in a diesel engine, and keep the perfectly good vehicles that are powered by internal combustion engines. The idea of trying to scrap millions of ICE vehicles around the world just be replaced with new electric vehicles makes no sense to me at all. Especially when you consider all of the pollutants that will be generated by scrapping the vehicles. Surely, any right-minded person would rwalise that there has to be a solution whereby existing vehicles can be economically kept but just converted to run on another fuel.

GeorgeB is probably correct in saying that those who shout loudest, despite not necessarily being right, win the argument by drowning out any alternatives.

When you watch a lot of "successful" politicians on television you see them doing exactly this when being asked difficult questions - they start to talk loudly, constantly, and never-endingly, preventing the questioner being able to repeat the question.

On an aside, I wonder what it is like to have a dogma ??? I wonder if I could get one over the weekend and show everyone I know ? Although as I know only three people it probably isn't worth my while. Bugger. And I really did always want a dogma, especially an English Mastiff dogma !!!!

Pierre3.

Hi guys, thanks for the information.

I will go and have a look and see whether there is any leeway in the positioning of the positive terminal lead. From memory there doesn't look to be a lot of flexibility on how far I can move it, but, from looking at the pictures of the battery, perhaps it doesn't need to stretch much further. Maybe I am being a bit over-cautious. I need to actually check the amount of re play on the battery lead to be sure.

Dave3d, just as a vague comparison, the Yuasa HSB344 battery at Halfords Ireland is listed at €155, what's that, about £135 ? Rather a lot more than the Hankook from Batterymegastore UK at £95 [as near as dammit],

The Yuasa HSB344 from Halfords UK is [from] £129, so not a lot cheaper than in Ireland. Although I am not quite sure what they mean by "from". Surely it is either £129 or not ???

Looking around at difference sellers and different manufacturers there is quite a big variation in prices, anything from the cheapest 800 CCA, 100Ah battery at around £75 to well known brands such as Exide coming in at around £150.

I guess it's a case of "You pays your money and you takes your choice" !!

Pierre3.

Pierre3.

Richard, I was just looking at the pictures, on the Batterymagastore website, of the Hanook MF-31-1000 battery and it appears that the terminals are centre posts, rather than at the rear edge of the battery.

Do you happen to know, or perhaps someone else [Dave3d], with the 2.5 diesel will the battery leads stretch to the centre post terminals ?

I know that the Yuasa HSB334, as sold by Halfords, is a rear edge configuration.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Pierre3.

Does anyone think that it is practical to take out the engine from the P38, and hitch up two friendly donkeys to pull it while I sit in regal splendour in the car ?

I could be doing the gardeners a favour by letting Eddie and Bert [ the two donkeys] drop their poop along the road so that the gardeners can collect it and put it on their tomato plants.

Instant soluion to global warming and emissions.

Pierre3.

Years ago I was working in a factory and, similar to your picture Brian, an electricial was drilling through a concrete floor to pull in new data cables when everything went dark. He was drilling through with a core drill bit and cut straight through some lighting cables.

The rather stupid thing was that the concrete floor was a pre-cast with round holes, about 1 foot in circumference, for lightness, and a previous electrician had decided to save a few pounds by using the holes to run lighting cables from on side of the floor to the other so that he didn't have to install metal trunking !!!

Pierre3.

Yes, I know all about ELCB, RCD, MCB's etc. etc. I used to install fuse boards and power systems as part of my job, before retiring.

Todays episode was definitely an attack of lame brain !!!!!!!!!!!!

Pierre3.

Very excited, having taken off the drivers' side side step, given the rubber a good scrub with a wire brush, then a scrub with washing liquid and wash/wax mix, and lastly polish it off with spray wax. As I had done this to the passenger side earlier I now have both side steps looking good.

I also drilled out the fixings and fitted new stainless steel 8mm bolts right through. Someone had fitted 6mm bolts and I felt that they were way too small, and bound to break sooner or later.

I also found out something about electrical cables, as well. If it helps anyone, if you have a trickle charger plugged into a trailing socket which is run up under the passenger side of the car, in a gap under the EAS block and beside the engine, don't move the vehicle without unplugging and removing said trailing socket.

I discovered that by reversing out, with the socket still under the bonnet and still plugged in, that 1.5mm2 3 core cable doesn't actually stretch. What is does is go "booooiiingggg" and a bare end falls onto the drive. Never mind, turn off the engine, remove the trickle charger and trailing socket, which really is trailing now, and take the bits back into the garage, unplugging the snapped cable from the socket in the garage.

I had to do a run around, to inflate the two front tyres and go to the supermarket, so I was gone for an hour or so. Then I looked at my mobile phone a notice a message to say that the house alarm was reporting a power failure. I wandered back home, in no rush, and when I got back I checked the downstairs fuseboard. Ha, so snapping plugged-in extension cables does actually trip the ELCB as well as the trip-switch for the socket where the extension cable was plugged in !!

This particular event is really not a recommended course of action as all the sockets connected through the ELCB seem to lose power, and become pwer-less !! This is not what the power sockets are designed for. They are designed to plug things into them, and those things can then be used to do stuff. I now know that without any power you can't do stuff ! Unless you have a push lawnmower.

Just so you know............................................

Pierre3.

Pierre3.

Karlos, no news yet, I haven't heard anything. I am wondering whether the Claas dealer is a dead end

Pierre3.

I have read quite a bit about using hydrogen and it really annoys me that all the clap-trap waffle is about electric vehicles. I just really, really wish a large company would push the idea of using hydrogen in our vehicles, instead of the flat earth tossers constantly bleating on about how electricity is the only alternative source of power after petrol and diesel.

By the way, did I mention that I really, really, really dislike the whingey little spanner Thunderberg - sorry, Thundberg or whatever her name is.

Pierre3.

Karlos, I emailed the local Claas dealer, about 30 miles away, and gave them the battery size etc. so I will be interested to see if they come back to me with anything useful.

Pierre3.

Heavens above, that Thunberg is snotty, squealy little git, I do dislike her. Trying to tell people how to live their lives and the little weasel is still in school.

Let's ban everything from Brazil and China instead, and manufacture it all in the UK - where it used to be done !

Pierre3.