Wheels In Motion Newsletter - August 2021

COVID PROJECT

One of the things that many of us have done during COVID is to embark on a project. It might be a renovation, a paint by numbers, some craft, paint a room etc.

For me it has been to rebuild an old 186 engine that I had lying around.
For those of you who are familiar with old Holdens you will know that the legendary ‘Red Motor’ is one of the simplest engines ever built. A no frills inline 6 cylinder, single camshaft, two valve pushrod motor that goes forever and is easy to work on and rebuild.

I’d love to hear about some of the engines that you have had over the years?
Let me know what you have done to a ‘Red Motor’, this is my plan.

Bore 40 thou, fit starfire conrods to good pistons and rings, new bearings, stage 2 cam power range 2000-5000rpm (it’s a cruiser) all new lifters, pushrods and roller rockers. Balance bottom end, fit larger valves to head and double valve springs, clean up ports in the head, new oil pump fuel pump and water pump.
Going to run a small 350 cfm 2 barrel Holley, a set of extractors and an electronic distributor.

I’ll chuck it in my HG Kingswood and it will run for the next 20 years, LOVE IT.

I have found that it has given me a sense of calm, it’s been a while since I’ve swung spanners. Woody

NB: More engine photos online

SAFETY THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE'S EYES

Have you ever taken time to look at something from someone else’s perspective?

Some of you know that I have two adult sons and a pre-teen daughter.
Because of my interest in safety, I sometimes try to put myself in their shoes when faced with a risk. It’s worth giving it a go, especially if you have the opportunity to do it with them.

My daughter has been home a lot lately, lockdowns and remote learning have meant we get to spend a lot more time together.

We have made a habit of going for long family walks or bike rides. This means we get to cross roads, deal with traffic and pedestrians and just talk about things on our walks and rides. I’ll often let her ‘Lead’ when we need to cross a road. I allow her to use the traffic lights and I ask her what we should do when riding towards an intersection.

This does two things, it makes her think about the choices she is making and I can guide her if she makes a wrong or poor choice. But it also let's me see how she sees these situations from her point of view.

Sometimes as parents we think we need to tell our kids what they should be doing, when in actual fact they should be thinking about the choices they make and it is our job to guide them to make sure they make the right decisions.

Oh and it’s really good to spend time with a 9 year old who knows EVERYTHING!

VICTORIAN STORM UPDATE

by Bek Hutchin

It’s been over 2 months since that windy night in June and the cleanup continues... Most days here in Kalorama, Victoria, you can hear chainsaws and the smell of smoke in the air. I have been busy raking, burning, cutting - with my baby battery powered chainsaw AND safety gear of course.

It turns out that all three of my water tanks have been damaged in the storm and will need to be replaced. Still surviving off a 9000 litre water tank that was designed to collect water only, but we have been lucky with lots of rain so far.

There are 3 trees identified as dangerous and learning towards my house - windy nights are a little nerve racking. I have been in touch with the Bushfire Recovery Victoria organisation as they offer a clean-up program that assesses your property for dangerous trees and damaged structures and removes them for free. I have had an assessment done and hoping they will approve the tree and damaged tank removal.

My NBN finally got reconnected, after two long months of terrible data backup, so happy to see that little green light on the modem! Especially being in lockdown, home schooling and working from home.

We all have heaps to clean up and summer is coming…Stay Safe!

If anyone needs support in this region please visit
https://www.vic.gov.au/bushfire-recovery-victoria

TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED

A few weeks ago I had to go into the city for a meeting. I thought about driving in but the last time I drove into the CBD it cost me nearly $50 in parking so I decided to call a taxi.

Now just to explain, I can use a normal taxi, I transfer into the passenger seat and the driver puts my wheelchair in the boot or the back seat. But I have a shoulder injury at the moment and I didn’t want to aggravate it by transferring into the passenger seat so I ordered a Maxi Cab so I could stay in my chair.

Did you know that there are not many Maxi Cabs available and you usually have to book 24-48 hours in advance?

It made me think that I need to put a lot more planning into things than someone who does not use a wheelchair.

It also takes some of the spontaneity out of being able to do things quickly or changing plans. The taxi is usually booked for many jobs and can’t just change its schedule.

Anyway have a look at how this works for me, can you imagine having to get loaded in and out of a cab like this?