So....this is what's been happening in my life recently. On the DIY/house side of things I have replaced all the guttering - living in Wales that is kind of important! Also done a fair bit of plumbing in the room that is to become the kitchen, it now has a working LPG cooker, and hot, cold and waste water pipes. I hired another digger to remove more tree stumps, had the worst weekend weather wise imaginable, but removed about 30 stumps, 'levelled' the area and now grass is growing doesn't look too bad.
The mower still won't generate a spark (no, it's not 'gone off' fuel!) which is puzzling to say the least. The original coil checked out OK resistance wise, points are working correctly so I changed the condensor in case that was at fault (only £2). No spark. Maybe the coil is breaking down under load, so I replaced that. No spark. It's a magneto system with magnets built into the flywheel - they are magnetic but maybe not strong enough???
The BX - well I put a rag over the inlet manifold (intercooler removed) to keep any debris out. Needed to move it a couple of feet so I tried to start it, thinking I'd removed the rag like I meant to. Ran for about 3 seconds then stopped. Whoops I thought, well maybe not exactly that word. Spent 2 hours trying to get the inlet manifold off but can't get access to one bolt. Plus I still need to do the valve clearances, see if that's the cause for the running on 3 cylinders.
Just returned from a week touring France when I was stopped twice by Customs, twice by the Gendarmarie, and had the inside checked by the woman in the ferry ticket booth as she didn't believe it was a campervan! Do I look that dodgy? I have the job of route planner for the BXagon trip - I'm really looking forwards to the whole thing. I'm not a fan of Satnav systems but I am considering getting one before the trip as a back up, but I would hate to rely on one. Let's see if I am converted...
The next picture shows something that makes me very happy!
![Image](http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x150/mat_fenwick/19092008837.jpg)
This may seem a little sad, but every vehicle I have ever owned has had a rev counter until I bought the van. It's something I really miss, and was in fact fitted as an option, all the wiring is there utilising a pickup in the alternator. But, it was extremely rare - speaking to a specialist LT35 breaker who has been doing it for 20 years, he has never seen one, so I thought the chances of me getting hold of one were slim at best. But while I was wiring up a few outbuildings for a friend down the road, someone knocked at his door (who had spotted my van) to tell me he'd just scrapped his van and wondered if I would like his stash of spare parts before he binned them. In the spares I found a BRAND NEW boxed rev counter that he must have bought but never fitted! Well worth £10 for the lot I think!