h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have the Albigensian-B30. The shaft seems to shake a bit when it reaches 120 degrees.

Each to their own I guess...

Well, the 3/8 sprunge throcket has been fitted, the Mk. IV adaptor and the '68 "Zinger" gasket are (so far) doing a good job of keeping it on... now to see if it works...

*Flicks the power switch and starts pumping the trussock lever*

Listen to that, purring like a kitten who's just found out that his new owners have an infestation of mice.

I didn't know there were any of the old Albigensians left, Bomba. People seemed to turn against them a while back and there was a sort of Crusade to get them off the streets. But I suppose you might still find a few lurking in basements.

There are one or two left, but they aren't very fashionable. They can still be quite effective, but I have to keep mine indoors with the lid off.

Is the story about Albigensians being dangerous to long-haired cats true?

Note to Trillian's Child - no need to become a southpaw, just reverse the crank settings & you can use it right handed.

yeah, but if you do that careful of where drain spigot is pointing!

Well, I had a rather fruitless weekend searching the various car boot sales for a B30, thought I might be in luck after S-B's post, but seems you were just lucky to get yours!

Although I did pick up an adaptor kit that apparently lets you convert the main input to steam power. That could be an interesting project I thought.

Oh lordy... it's a bit rusty, and the topside flange is broken but I managed to pick up one of the rare Russian-made 'copies' of the 1959 Albert & Virginia AV-32!

Icky, have you tried the Ministry of Defence Disposal Agency?

www.edisposals.com

Ships, aircraft, the lot here.

Unfortunately they tend to decommission the weapons systems before they sell them, so you might be lucky to track down a B30.

Now I know a man at Marconi who might be able to do you a flagdown (cash only, of course).

oooh, do tell if you get the AV-32 going, that'd be a treat to see! I remember seeing one of them when I was a kid in some military museum somewhere. Sorry state it was in too, but they certainly came into their own in the cold war!

My flange fell off today and the toolkit didn't seem much help, do you recon I could do it with gaffer tape?

You could, but if you took it to any meets or rallies you'd be a laughing stock.

You could fix it with a couple of cable ties - you can fix most things with a couple of cable ties.

Except for the things that can be fixed with string.

Mine's ran happily for years with a couple of laggy bands holding the regulator cover on. No probs.

Didn't that chafe the governor?

Wouldn't he be cross?

I finally found a new flange to replace the one that fell off, and now the sprocket lever won't always flip back... I've resorted to gaffer tape and just swearing at it a lot...

Really? where'dya get the flange from?
Oh, and before you replace the sprocket you have unsleave the spline shaft and feed through the regulator control cable *then* reverse the retaining spring and finally secure the sprocket. Has to be done in that order or you'll find it goes 'SPOING' at exactly 15,253 revs.

I traded mine in for a '71 all electric model. Bakelite-tastic man!
Not the same though so I may have to go looking for an original '66 again.

I was lucky with the Flange, I bought a box of assorted sprocket posts, and the flange was just lurking in the bottom, of course most of the sprocket posts were no good as they weren't even Imperial measurements...
I rememberd to unsleave the spline shaft, as luck would have it, but It was heck of a job to get the regulator cable through; It only just reached; I'm sure its a previous botched repair job, and that the regulator cable tightener is off of a differnt model that someone's just adaptoed roughly to fit... and it won't let enough of the regulator cable through...

The sprocket is definately good an dtight, but I think the sprocket lever is a bit loose, can't tighten the bolt, as I think thats threaded too... Of course, its not the normal botl on this model, its reverse threaded with a X-splaide end, from where it connects back on to itself... its a bugger to find anythign to fit it from my normal toolbox, but luckily I've the origional tool kit it came with, which does seem to fit...