MennoR
-
Posts
114 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Posts posted by MennoR
-
-
A dentist or not, he's not a nice chap, to begin with.
Menno
-
My neighbour who lives in the lane parallel to mine is a Dentist. Used to buy a new R/Rover every year and has a Porsche in the garage. About 5 yrs ago, he was no longer 'able' to buy a new car, due to the fact that dentists were 'wrung' by the insurance companies. Sadly for him, his lamentation didn't land here...
Medical care is still extremely expensive - but not on doctor's wages. Nurses' wages, high end machinery cost a lot of money. A friend of mine is a self-employed financial controller for hospitals and medical care in general. His idea of cutting costs are pretty down-to-earth: "Top of the range operating theatres are idle during the evening, night and weekends. Doctors don't want to work those hours! Better use of that material (once bought) can cut costs!"
What these older dentist did: selling their practice + patients to younger people for over-the-top money. Millions sometimes; being their pension. The new dentists had to charge weird money to earn back that money. Now it is not longer allowed to charge that. Some dentists have gone bankrupt due to the fact that they've paid too much. Some university friends of my wife are dentists. One of them is struggling to keep 'afloat': practice, rent, assistants etc It takes a lot of money.
Finally, a sailing-mom (her sons sails in the NL National Squad) used to run her own dentist practice. She has moved to the university as a lector; better earnings, no more fuss.
Menno
-
In the Netherlands, everybody is insured. It is mandatory, but you can choose your own insurance company. Something car insurance. Sort of semi-privatised. Costs are about 90 euros/month, but you can choose more expensive insurance. Children under 18 are FoC. All are covered with that. Free GP, free hospital etc. There's an annual 350 euro threshold (pay it yourself before insurance pics up the remaining bill) for special things like teeth-whitening etc.
Seeing a doctor is no problem: the same day. Hospital is mostly within a week (when it's not something 'bad'). Waiting times in the hospitals etc is never more than 30mins. Casualty Ward is longer of course.
Doctors, pharmacists, dentists - you name it, are all LTDs over here. A few years back, those one-man-band LTDs earned up to 1M euros annually. So the costs of medical care were extremely high. Aforementioned insurance companies + the government refused to pay that sort of money anymore and now these LTDs have to make a living out of a modest 300/350K annually.
Menno
-
13 hours ago, Alex said:
Oil feed into the head is the devils work!!
Not my experience: 80K kms trouble-free motoring with the oil feed. That included various trips to the Alps and North Spain in the summer (that was before I had kids). My biggest concern was sun block...
After I'd sold the car in 2003, it kept on performing - but now I have lost track of the car. It still exists and runs (MoT'ed - Dutch version)
-
Put the cardboards between the engine and the wheels back, including the ones in front of the radiator. Those boards 'guide' the airstream from the fan all to the back of the engine. Especially the last cylinder (the one close to the bulkhead) is the one that needs attention (cooling).
Currently, with modern-day fuels, which generate more heat than the ones in the past, I would consider the installation of an oil feed line into the cylinder head.
-
Are you sure it's only plastic? Here it is called Uponor, however...other brands are available. We use that stuff here since the mid-90s and it is actually metal pipe with a plastic cover. So-called 'more layers piping'. Proper brands have special fittings / connectors to connect the Uponor to copper or the faucets.
A proper supplier will rent out or even lend you a professional cutter and press for all the connectors you need to attach.
Menno
-
I had a pageant blue '78 Spitfire for years. The only downfall were the waxstat carbs. The guy who'd previously owned my Spit was a really skilled mechanic and he'd overhauled the carbs and had come up with his own solution for that: leaving the outside untouched, but he'd totally revised the inside.
An oil cooler is a good idea. I would recommend a fine metal mesh in front of the cooler: somehow these low-positioned coolers attract stones! One tiny pebble ruins your trip! (Don't ask how I know...) Cooling is always somewhat of a problem. A proper wide radiator and an elec fan (salvage yard!) do the trick. Even the position of the license plate is something to consider!.
Ultimately, after almost 10 yrs, I sold the car to buy the TR3A I currently own (since 2003).
-
Over on the other forum where I found the 'Joe Lucas' postings, there was another interesting posting.
Someone stated that he was glad to see that the pilot and co-pilot had parachutes and ejection seats to get out (contrair to the Lancaster bombers before the Vulcan). Then some replied...
QuoteBut unfortunately the three guys at the bottom of the ladder didn't.....
A hundred years ago (1960s) I was a medical rep selling anti-inflammatory drugs, and was very cheered to find out that Vulcan crews at Waddington used a suppository version of my drug (Indomethacin) to relieve postural rheumatic pain on their long flights to the north of the USSR.
The GP who told me this looked after Vulcan crews and service families from a surgery on the base housing estate. As for security, I just walked through a gap in the hedge outside said house.
He told me that he had been baffled by a strange series of visits from a single (rotating) member of each Vulcan crew to get signed off sick when they were due to do low level flying over East Anglian marshes. Then someone confessed that if one crew member was sick, the flight didn't go. The crew in the back (down the ladder) were shit scared with the turbulence caused by rising warm air off the Broads, knowing that there would be no chance to escape if something went wrong at under 500ft, and as far as the doctor was aware whole crew(s) inc. the lucky(!) two up front were sympathetic to the ruse.6 -
Mine is still for sale. I'm contemplating about another elderly person car/toy: a camper... but that's still in the back of my mind.
Have a great weekend!
Menno
-
Over on another forum, a guy posted some pics of a Vulcan bomber. He also added some pics of the 'intestines' of that plane. The colour coding looks remarkable familiar... so does the routing of the cables. The absence of grommets where the wiring goes through the metal housing, worries me... I'm proud to say that my TR's wiring loom looks a lot tidier than this!
-
Powder blue is always great!! Best colour in fact.
Menno
-
No, I didn't and you're right! Best to do that next year then!
-
12 hours ago, Nick Jones said:
A scooter?
Yes. Have a look at the pic. The guy is sitting on what we call a 'wheel-scooter' or 'auto-scooter'. Somehow, I was under the impression that it is a universal name for that contraption.
-
6 minutes ago, Nick Jones said:
Yes - but maybe the tyres are flat-spotted from standing so long. This does happen, how badly and whether it with self correct with driving depends on the tyre age and how badly flat-spotted.
I thought about that too. I will have the wheels balanced locally. Luckily for me, that shop is regarded to be the best in the country. There's always a bunch of exotica there for alignment and balancing. Since my car is on w/wheels I'm going to discuss the possibility of balancing them on the car, with a 'scooter'.
Menno
-
The weather today was perfect. Hitting the 20C today. The highest February temp ever recorded here in the Netherlands. (The old record was yesterday's temp...). Since I have a few days to spare, this was the perfect day to get the TR on the road. I hadn't driven the car (according to its logbook that I've started since the car got back on the road) since August 24. 2017. Too many cars and too little time alway came between me and the TR.
But not today!
After a check of all fluids, I crossed my fingers and pushed the starter button. Mmmmm, not much. The battery was more or less empty. A few hours charging with the Ctek was enough to get the car blasting into life this afternoon! I always take off the LT lead to the coil and use the starter motor to provide the oil pump with power to pump the oil until I can read the oil pressure. As said, the car woke up pretty quickly. A short trip to the fuel station (They sell RON 102 without Ethanol! Yes!) and everything started to 'sing in tune'!
I took the car for a 50 miles round trip, mostly to towards the eastern part of the country and I even tried a short blast on the motorway. There's some judder at the rear above 60 mph / 100 km. It is speed related, not rpm related, so I guess that it has to do with the wheels or tyres. Balancing is on the program one of these days.
Menno
-
... or getting an alarming message that your need to check your tyres (deflated) after changing the wheels from 'winter' to 'summer'. There's also the use of bizarrely slotted/profiled bolt-heads!
Menno
-
6 hours ago, Nick Jones said:
Chris has modded a pair of bowls to give access from behind.
As a former Spit owner, I can say that I applaud that! One of the best ideas. (Perhaps next to the two triangled canvas bags I once saw above the wheel arches/in the cavity between wheel arch and bonnet. There's enough place to store much-needed car parts to overcome a break-down of the car).
-
Friend of mine used to be a director at Renault Holland. He told me that the factory in France is pretty 'lose' when it comes to setting prices for parts in various countries. E.g.: those plastic hub caps costed next to nothing here in Holland. In France however, they cost an arm and a leg. Reason: most Dutch cars are on alloys... and in France, most cars were (are?) on steel rims, needing those caps!
Talking about Porsche prices... a colleague has two older Porsches. Both bought at an indy about 10 yrs ago. The hassle and the money it took to get them 'on board' at the main dealer again! It took him nearly 9000 euros before they were 'roadworthy again' (Main dealer's text...). He hardly uses the cars: less than 5k kms/year a piece. Both are serviced every year at the dealer's. Last autumn he had to fork out 3200 euros for one and 4800 euros for the other; just for annual inspection, oil change etc. For the stamp in the booklet... When I suggest that he can have them serviced for less than 40% of the dealer's price, he always answers: "...the cars' value will go down without the stamps in the booklet?" My return: "Are you planning to sell them?" You can guess the answer: "No."
I rest my case...
Menno
-
Beautiful pic.
Nice car. But this car with this set-up screams 'Brooklands'!
Menno
-
3 hours ago, Hamish said:
Maybe you do not drive in the rain but may be sometimes you drive below sea level !!
and we complain about salt on the roads !!!
H
Not where I live. I live a whopping 12 mtrs above sea level! When the polar ice melts and the sea level rises, my house will transform from a house at the edge of a park to a house on the beach! I just have to change to a beach bum...
Back on topic: I've decided to sell the Porsche so that I can use my spare time to drive the TR.
Menno
-
TBH... my TR drove only 26kms last year... Combine that with the splendid summer we had and you don't have to be a wizz-kid to figure out that it was 100% dry motoring!
Quote -
Uhhh... is this the correct place and time to write that I don't drive in the rain?
-
6 hours ago, 2.5piman said:
Mennor,
what you say is true but only half of the story. One part is that the wind farms are in the north but the power consumers (industry) are in the south and a vast programme of transmission line construction has started, at a huge cost, to connect the country directly. A lot of their power is currently (sorry) routed through neighbouring countries and it destabilises their grids. Wind energy in general is not a stable source of power particularly in variable wind speed conditiond. Without the inertia of thermal turbo alternators the system would not work. Also wind is not dispatchable , i.e. it does not cater for load increase or decrease, this balancing is done by thermal generation..
Unfortunately the general public is never informed of the very many real drawbacks of renewable generation and the real liability is that there are times where Europe is becalmed so virtually no wind power. This actually means that we need as much thermal generation capacity as peak grid demand meaning all the capacity of installed wind generation is wasted. No wonder Germany's electricity is so expensive, similarly as is ours.
It is ludicrous that our government is planning to shut the few remaining British coal fired stations without any plan to replace that plant with new dispatchable plants. Not only that it leaves our grid at the mercy of gas supply and this is generally constricted during very cold weather, when peak electricity demand is greatest. We relied on coal to keep our grid functioning when the 'Beast from the East' hit the U.K.. That will surely occur again in the future. The relatively minute amount of CO2 from these stations is not a reason to shut them without adequate replacements.
I believe it's a matter of when not if we have a major grid failure due to the inept policies of various energy ministers of our government. Because of this I have bought a diesel generator for our small business as insurance.
Alec
Interesting additional info. Thanks for that. I remember that he told me that energy prices are high in Germany. However... Dutch prices are on the rise as well... 46% of what a household pays, is tax!
Menno
-
... that coal burning in Germany is an odd thing. I am a certified sailing instructor and a few years back I had a nice German gentleman on my boat for 5 days. He wanted to learn to sail. He told me that he was a Board member of RWE (RWE website) and one of the things he told me that on certain days, Germany is capable of producing >100% of its energy needs from solar power and wind. On a sunny but windy day, the windmills in the north and on hills and solar panel parks on the south-facing banks in the south produce more power than Germany needs! Coal power is cheap but Germany's last coal mine closed down last year. So perhaps it's time for them to switch to other resources as well.
Menno
Exactly 10 yrs since restoration
in Members Cars and Project threads
Posted
Next week marks the 10th anniversary of my 3A’s restoration finish! I’ve kept a logbook since day #1 and that’s how I found out. Coffee and cake, I tell you.
10 yrs of virtually trouble-free motoring (knock on wood). Only hiccup was a leaky radiator two winters back.
I planning to treat myself / my car: a present. Currently, the car is on w/wheels. Great look perhaps, I am always under the impression that it’s not ideal. That’s why I’m drawn to Minilites (or replicas).
Having said that, I’m also drawn to the idea of ditching the windscreen and go ‘hardcore’ with only a set of Brooklands!
Interested to hear (read) your ideas of splashing out for a nice ‘present’